Lucius Julius Ursus (1st century AD) was a relative of the

Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty, lasting from 69 to 96 CE, was the second dynastic line of emperors to rule the Roman Empire following the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Julio-Claudians, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. Th ...

, who was originally one of the

equites The (; , though sometimes referred to as " knights" in English) constituted the second of the property/social-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian order was known as an (). Descript ...

who held several imperial appointments, but afterwards was promoted to the

Roman senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

. 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 ...

three times: once under

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

and twice under

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

Life

Ursus was the younger brother of Tiberius Julius Lupus; their father was Julius Lupus, the brother-in-law of the

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect (; ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief ai ...

Marcus Arrecinus Clemens and uncle of

Arrecina Tertulla Arrecina Tertulla () was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century. She was the first wife of Titus and mother of his daughter Julia Flavia. Biography Early life Tertulla came from an Equestrian-rank family of obscure origin. Her mother was Ju ...

, the wife of the emperor

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

. This connection led to Ursus being appointed to the three top equestrian posts: ''

Praefectus annonae The ("prefect of the provisions"), also called the ("prefect of the grain supply"), was a Roman official charged with the supervision of the grain supply to the city of Rome. Under the Republic, the job was usually done by an aedile. However, ...

'', or prefect of the grain supply for Rome, then

(81-83 AD), and governor of

Roman Egypt Roman Egypt was an imperial province of the Roman Empire from 30 BC to AD 642. The province encompassed most of modern-day Egypt except for the Sinai. It was bordered by the provinces of Crete and Cyrenaica to the west and Judaea, ...

(83-84 AD). Upon returning to Rome from Egypt, Arrecina Tertulla convinced her brother-in-law

to grant a consulship to Ursus. He held the fasces for the first time 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. ...

'' July–August 84 AD; his colleague has not been identified. According to

Dio Cassius Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, Ursus was a member of

's inner circle at the beginning. When Domitian, early in his reign, planned on having his wife Domitia executed for infidelity, it was Ursus who convinced him not to do so. Later, after Domitian returned home victorious from his campaigns in Germania, Ursus is recorded as "failing to show pleasure" and narrowly avoided being executed for this. After this, Ursus held no important administrative posts during Domitian's reign, but Jones believes he remained an important member of the imperial court. Ursus must not have been too closely associated with Domitian, for after that emperor's assassination and the ascension of

, Ursus was suffect consul twice more: as the colleague of Trajan in the ''nundinium'' March 98 AD; and replacing Trajan as suffect consul for January–February 100 AD with

Sextus Julius Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube frontier ...

as his colleague.

Adoption

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 ...

has argued that Ursus

adopted 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 ...

Servius Julius Servianus, suffect consul in 90 AD, and afterwards Servianus used the name

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 ...

, thus continuing the lineage; no scholar has spoken against this identification, and it has been considered accepted by all.Olli Salomies, '' Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire'' (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1992), p. 51 Servianus remained close to the center of power, being part of the imperial courts of Trajan and

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

until his death.

Life

Adoption

References

Further reading