Lucius Dasumius Tullius Tuscus 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 ...

who was an ''amici'' or trusted advisor of the emperors

Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...

and

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

. 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 ...

in the '' nundinium'' of April to June 152 AD as the colleague of Publius Sufenas. He is also known as Lucius Dasumius Tuscus and Lucius Tullius Tuscus.

Family

Olli Salomies has argued, based on the commonalities in the names, membership in the same

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

, Stellatina, and that inscriptions honoring both were dedicated by the same man, P. Tullius Callistio, that Publius Tullius Varro, consul in 127, was Tuscus' birth father. The "Lucius Dasumius" in his name refers to his

adoptive Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

father, whom Salomies believes was "certainly related" to Publius Dasumius Rusticus, eponymous consul of 119. The origins of he and his father are considered to be the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

town of

Tarquinia Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscans, Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropolis, necropoleis, or cemeteries. Tarquinia was designated as a ...

, which was assigned to the Stellatina tribe. Tuscus is considered to be the father of Marcus Dasumius Tullius Varro; the name of his wife, and any other possible children, are unrecorded.

Career

The career of Tuscus is known through an inscription found in

. As a teenager, he was a member of the ''tresviri monetalis'', considered by modern scholars the most favored of the magistracies that comprised 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 ...

''. It was usually held either by

Patricians The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

or young men favored by the Emperor.

Plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the Capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Et ...

who held this office usually went on to enjoy successful careers. Evidence of this favor appears shortly afterwards: after serving a term as

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 IV Flavia Felix Legio IV Flavia Felix ("Lucky Flavian Fourth Legion"), was a Roman legion, legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD 70 by the emperor Vespasian (r. 69–79) from the Cadre (military), cadre of the disbanded Legio IV Macedonica, Legio IV ' ...

based at

Singidunum Singidunum ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Сингидунум, Singidunum) was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celtic origin, going back to the time when the Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the a ...

, Tuscus served as

quaestor A quaestor ( , ; ; "investigator") was a public official in ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officia ...

to the emperor Antoninus Pius, then was

legatus A legate (Latin: , ) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman army, equivalent to a high-ranking general officer of modern times. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer in comman ...

or assistant to the

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 ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. These latter two assignments provided him with potential for visibility and introductions to influential people. After holding the Republican magistracies of

plebeian tribune Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune () was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of the Roman Senate ...

and

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 ...

, Tuscus was 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 ...

'' (c. 147-c. 150). While suffect consul he was governor of

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 ...

(c. 152-c. 158) and his term as '' curator operum publicorum'' possibly was also simultaneous. His last known office was governor of

Pannonia Superior Pannonia Superior () was a Roman province created from the division of Pannonia in 103 AD, its capital in Carnuntum. It overlapped in territory with modern-day Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia. History It was as governor of the ...

during the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and

Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (; 15 December 130 – 23 January 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with Ma ...

, as the successor of Marcus Nonius Macrinus and predecessor of Marcus Iallius Bassus.Alföldy suggests the dates of c. 162-c. 166 (''Konsulat und Senatorenstand'', p. 237) The inscription from Tarquinia also attests that he was a member of the '' sodales Hadrianales'' and '' sodali Antoniniani'' (the latter most likely after the emperor's death), as well as holding the prestigious sacral office of

augur An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasumius Tullius Tuscus, Lucius 2nd-century Romans Tullius Tuscus Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Germania Superior Roman governors of Pannonia Superior Augurs of the Roman Empire Ancient Roman adoptees