Lucius Ragonius Venustus (fl. 3rd century) was an aristocrat of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
. He was appointed '' consul ordinarius'' in 240. X. Loriot describes Ragonius Venustus as an example of the "new generation of '' clarissimi''" that emerged under the reign of
Alexander Severus
Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – March 235), also known as Alexander Severus, was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. Alexander took power in 222, when he succeeded his slain co ...
. As the son and grandson of consuls, he attained the consulate without necessarily having served as military tribune, legate of a legion, or provincial governor, unlike his colleague
Gaius Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus
Gaius Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus (fl. 3rd century) was a Roman senator and military officer who was appointed consul twice, firstly in AD 214, and secondly in AD 240.
Biography
Originating from the town of Histonium, and the son of a senato ...
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik
The (commonly abbreviated ZPE; "Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy") is a peer-reviewed academic journal which contains articles that pertain to papyrology and epigraphy. It has been described as "the world's leading and certainly most prolific ...
'', 12 (1973), p. 258
Loriot has traced the origins of his family. The ''gens Ragonia'' had their origins in
Opitergium
Oderzo (; ) is a ''comune'', with a population of 20,003, in the province of Treviso, in the Italy, Italian region of Veneto.
It lies in the heart of the Venetian plain, about to the northeast of Venice. Oderzo is crossed by the Monticano river, ...
in
Venetia et Histria
Venetia et Histria (Latin: ''Regio X Venetia et Histria'') was an administrative subdivision in the northeast of Roman Italy. It was originally created by Augustus as the tenth ''regio'' in 7 AD alongside the nine other ''regiones''. The region h ...
Commodus
Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...
flamen
A (plural ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who served the importa ...
; holding this priesthood implies Tuscenius Quintianus was also a patrician. Tuscenius Quintianus and his wife, Flavia T. f. Venusta, were the parents of Ragonius Venustus.Loriot, "Les consuls ordinaires", p. 255
Loriot suggests that the '' consul prior'' of 289,
Lucius Ragonius Quintianus
Lucius is a masculine given name derived from Lucius (Latin ; ), abbreviated L., one of the small group of common Latin forenames () found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius probably derives from Latin word ( gen. ), meaning "light" (<, is either Ragonius Venustus' son, or more likely, his grandson. Another likely descendant is Lucius Ragonius Venustus who performed a ''taurobolium'' in 390.