Lucius Antistius Rusticus (c. 48Ronald Syme
"Antistius Rusticus. A Consular from Corduba"
''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', 32 (1983), p. 36193) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

active in the later part of the first century AD. He was

suffect consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

for March to April 90, with

Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus (45 – 136 AD) was an Iberian Roman politician. He was a prominent public figure in the reigns of Roman emperors Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian. He was the last private citizen to receive a third consulship; such honors ...

as his colleague.

Life

Rusticus was a native of Corduba.

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roma ...

notes an inscription recovered there attesting to a magistrate with an identical name. He may have descended from an Italian settler of the gens Antistia. His first recorded post was the minor magistracy ''decemviri stlitibus iudicandis'', one of the ''

vigintiviri The ''vigintisexviri'' ( ''vigintisexvir''; ) were a college ( ''collegium'') of minor magistrates (''magistratus minores'') in the Roman Republic. The college consisted of six boards: * the '' decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' – 10 magis ...

'', which Syme believes indicates that Rusticus was either the son of a senator, or had been granted ''dignitas senatoria''. The

Year of the Four Emperors The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the change from the ...

(AD 69) found him serving as a

military tribune A military tribune () was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribunes as a stepping stone to the Senate. The should not be confused with the ...

Legio II Augusta Legio II Augusta ( Second Legion "Augustus'") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that was founded during the late Roman Republic. Its emblems were the Capricornus, Pegasus, and Mars. It may have taken the name "''Augusta''" from a victory ...

, where

Anthony Birley Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020) was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was one of the leaders of excavations at of the Roman fortress at Vindolanda and also published several books on Roman ...

believes he played an important role in rallying the legions in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

's side based on his adlection to the Senate with

praetor ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...

ian rank, and the ''

dona militaria As with most other military forces the Roman military adopted an extensive list of decorations for military gallantry and likewise a range of punishments for military transgressions. Decorations, awards and victory titles Crowns *Grass crown � ...

'' or decorations he received. This was followed with an appointment to the curatorship of the Viae Aurelia and Cornelia, and afterwards command of

Legio VIII Augusta Legio VIII Augusta ("Augustus' Eighth Legion") was one of the oldest legions of the Imperial Roman army. In republican service They were ordered to Cisalpine Gaul around 58 BC by Julius Caesar and marched with him throughout the entirety of t ...

, which was stationed at Argentorate in

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...

. In 83/84 Rusticus was appointed

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

ar governor of

Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...

. Syme considers this post a "posture of esteem". However, the relationship between this office and being favored in promotions has been questioned: in a study of this phenomenon, Paul Leunissen observed that "the number of ascertained cases remains low altogether and the differences between individual provinces are too small to justify any conclusion in the direction of ranking-differences between them ... only a few testimonia could bring about considerable shifts." One recorded act during his tenure as proconsul was his demarcating territory in a boundary dispute of the territory of the city of Cisimbrium (modern

Zambra ''Zambra'' () (from Andalusi Arabic ''zamra'', originally from classical Arabic ''zamr'') is a style of flamenco dance, typical of the Roma of the provinces of Granada and Almería (Andalusia, Spain). It is believed that the zambra is a continuat ...

). This governorship was followed by a tenure as prefect of the ''

Aerarium Saturni ''Aerarium'', from ''aes'' ("bronze, money") + -''ārium'' ("place for"), was the name given in Ancient Rome to the public treasury, and in a secondary sense to the public finances. ''Aerarium populi Romani'' The main ''aerarium'', that of ...

'' from 87 to 89. After his consulship Rusticus was governor of the important province of

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

Galatia Galatia (; , ''Galatía'') was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (cf. Tylis), who settled here ...

in 92/93. While governor of Cappadocia, the decurions of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

petitioned him for relief from a famine caused by a harsh winter; his response was recorded on an inscription retrieved from that city. He died while still governor, likely in c. 93; his successor, Titus Pomponius Bassus, is attested in office in 94, holding his suffect consulship that same year ''in absentia''.

Marriage

Rusticus is known to have married Mummia Nigrina, whom

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

states shared her inheritance with him (IV.75), showing she came from a wealthy family. According to Martial, she was present in Cappadocia when he died, for he mentions she brought his ashes back to Rome from there (IX.30). Mummia was somehow related to the Valerii Vegeti, but records explaining that relationship, or to other Mummii, have not yet been recovered.Syme, "Antistius Rusticus", pp. 372-4 They are not recorded as having any children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antistius Rusticus, Lucius 40s births 93 deaths 1st-century Romans Rusticus, Lucius Roman governors of Cappadocia Roman governors of Hispania Baetica Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Year of birth uncertain