Lucius Funisulanus Vettonianus 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 ...
general and
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 ...
during the reigns of the
Flavian 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 Nundinium was a Latin word derived from the word '' nundinum'', which referred to the cycle of days observed by the Romans. During the Roman Empire, ''nundinium'' came to mean the duration of a single consulship among several in a calendar year.
...
'' of September to October 78 with
Quintus Corellius Rufus as his colleague.
Life
Vettonianus had an inauspicious start to his career, as a ''tresviri capitales'', one 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 ...
''. This was the least desirable office of the four, for men who held that office rarely had a successful career:
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 ...
could find only five ''tresviri capitales'' who went on to be governors of consular imperial provinces. Following this he was commissioned 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 ...
of the
Legio VI Victrix, then stationed at the city of Legio (modern-day
León) in
Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...
. After serving as a
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 ...
in
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, he accepted another commission as the ''
legatus legionis
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 commander of the
Legio IV Scythica
Legio IV Scythica ("Scythian Fourth Legion"), also written as Legio IIII ''Scythica'', was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in by the Roman general Mark Antony, for his campaign against the Parthian Empire, hence its other ''cogno ...
in AD 62, stationed at
Zeugma in
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. At one point Vettonianus found himself commanding the legion under the leadership of
Lucius Caesennius Paetus
Lucius Junius Caesennius Paetus (c. 20 - 72?) was a Roman senator, and member of the ''gens'' Caesennia and Junia, who held several offices in the emperor's service. He was '' consul ordinarius'' for the year 61 as the colleague of Publius Petr ...
in the
Roman–Parthian War of 58–63. The legion, however, was defeated in the
Battle of Rhandeia and suffered dishonor.
The next posts Vettonianus held were civilian ones: 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 ...
'' (or the treasury), curator of the
Via Aemilia
The Via Aemilia (, ) was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from ''Ariminum'' (Rimini), on the Adriatic coast, to ''Placentia'' (Piacenza) on the River ''Padus'' ( Po). It was completed in 187 BC. The Via Aemilia connected a ...
, and ''
curator aquarum
The ''Curator Aquarum'' was a Roman official responsible for managing Rome's water supply and distributing free grain. Curators were appointed by the emperor. The first curator was Agrippa. Another notable ''Curator Aquarum'' was Frontinus, a Ro ...
'' (or manager of the water supply). These were obviously all held after
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
's death, proving he was rehabilitated by
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 ...
of the dishonor from Rhandeia. The prefecture of the ''aerarium Saturni'' could be precisely dated to between about 74 and about 76, but the date of the rest pose a problem. While the prefecture could be held by an ex-
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 ...
, and thus before Vettonianus was suffect consul, the curatorship of the roads was more often held after the consulate, and that of the water supply always was; but the inscription grouped them together, as if Vettonianus held them before acceding to the consulate. It may be that as similar positions, it made sense to group them together in the inscription, or Vettonianus was adjunct ''curator aquarum'' to the man usually considered his predecessor,
Manius Acilius Aviola.
After his ''nundinium'' as suffect consul, Vettonianus was appointed governor of
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
in 79, and held the post through 84, the first of several imperial provinces he held without interruption. Next was governor of
Pannonia
Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...
in 85/86, then from a point before 5 September 85 he governed
Moesia Superior
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballia ...
until 88. While governor of Moesia Superior, Vettonianus participated in the
Dacian Wars with such valor he was awarded 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 � ...
'' appropriate for an ex-consul.
Vettonianus capped his career with 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 ...
ate of
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 ...
in 91–92. He was also appointed to a priesthood in the ''
sodales Augustales
The Sodales or Sacerdotes Augustales (''singular'' Sodalis or Sacerdos Augustalis), or simply Augustales,Tacitus, ''Annales'' 1.54 were an order ('' sodalitas'') of Roman priests originally instituted by Tiberius to attend to the maintenance of t ...
'', but was later promoted to the ''
septemviri epulonum
The (Latin for "feasters"; sing. ''epulo'') was a religious organization of Ancient Rome. They arranged feasts and public banquets at festivals and games (''ludi''). They constituted one of the four great religious corporations (''quattuor ampli ...
'' before his death.
Vettonianus' tomb was erected on the
Via Latina
The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers.
Route
It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ea ...
. His possible descendants include
Titus Pomponius Antistianus Funisulanus Vettonianus, suffect consul in the year 121, and Funisulana Vettulla, the wife of
Gaius Tettius Africanus Cassianus Priscus,
prefect of Egypt
During the Roman Empire, the governor of Roman Egypt ''(praefectus Aegypti)'' was a prefect who administered the Roman province of Egypt with the delegated authority ''(imperium)'' of the emperor.
Egypt was established as a Roman province in con ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Funisulanus Vettonianus, Lucius
Senators of the Roman Empire
1st-century Romans
Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome
Roman governors of Dalmatia
Roman governors of Pannonia
Roman governors of Upper Moesia
Roman governors of Africa
Epulones of the Roman Empire