Quintus Marcius Turbo was prefect of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortes praetoriae'') was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and ga ...

and a close friend and

military advisor Military advisors or combat advisors are military Military personnel, personnel deployed to advise on military matters. The term is often used for soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries' militaries with their military education ...

to both emperor

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 ...

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 '' ...

during the early 2nd century.

Early life

Not much is known about the early life of Turbo. There are few records or references that provide reliable information regarding his life before he became a soldier. However, it is known that he was born in the late 1st century and came from a city in western

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

called

Epidaurus Epidaurus () was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epi ...

, which was a place well known for its religious temples and healing centers. It is thought he held the rank of '' primipilus'' at one point.

Career

The first record of Turbo appears in 113, during the reign of emperor Trajan.Karol Kłodziński, "Equestrian cursus honorum basing on the careers of two prominent officers of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius", ''Tempore'', 4 (2010) At the time, he was the commander of the '' Classis Misenensis'', the most senior fleet of the

Roman Navy The naval forces of the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman state () were instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans remained a primarily land ...

and under the direct control of the emperor. Under Turbo's command, the fleet sailed to the east to take part in Trajan's invasion of the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

sometime between 113 AD and 116 AD. Approximately at the same time, large portions of the Jewish population in the Empire rose in

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

, uprisings taking place almost simultaneously in Judea, Egypt, Libya, Cyprus and parts of Mesopotamia. The grain supply from Egypt to Rome was threatened and with local authorities unable to quell the rebellion, Trajan sent Turbo, by then one of his best military men and closest confidants, to Egypt to deal with the situation. Turbo reestablished control over Egypt and eventually Cyprus. Turbo became the military Prefect of Egypt for several years while the province went through a process of rehabilitation. In 117 Trajan died and was succeeded by his adopted son Hadrian. From the beginning of Hadrian's reign, Turbo was a close friend, adviser and confidant of Hadrian. After the Jewish revolt had been quelled, Turbo accompanied Hadrian to Mauretania in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

where they jointly led a

military campaign A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from th ...

against local rebels; later Hadrian left Turbo in control of the campaign. As another example of how much Hadrian trusted Turbo, he put Turbo in charge of two provinces in North Africa,

Mauretania Caesariensis Mauretania Caesariensis (Latin for "Caesarea, Numidia, Caesarean Mauretania") was a Roman province located in present-day Algeria. The full name refers to its capital Caesarea, Numidia, Caesarea Mauretaniae (modern Cherchell). The province had ...

and

Mauretania Tingitana Mauretania Tingitana (Latin for "Tangerine Mauretania") was a Roman province, coinciding roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco. The territory stretched from the northern peninsula opposite Gibraltar, to Sala Colonia (or Chellah ...

. After his tenure as governor, Turbo, at the request of Hadrian, accepted control of the Danubian Command, part of the Roman military's presence in the eastern area of the Empire near the

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

. Turbo was in charge of the Danubian Command till 123. Just after this appointment, unrest broke out in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

. Turbo was immediately sent to Dacia and managed to stop any rebellion from materializing. Hadrian, in collaboration with Turbo, split Dacia into two regions in the hope of making the province more manageable and less rebellious. These two new regions were called

Dacia Superior Roman Dacia ( ; also known as ; or Dacia Felix, ) was a province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania and Banat (today all in Romania, except the last regio ...

and

Dacia Inferior Roman Dacia ( ; also known as ; or Dacia Felix, ) was a province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania and Banat (today all in Romania, except the last regio ...

. After his tenure as the leader of the Danubian command, Turbo went to Rome. Hadrian, famous for his long and extensive travels throughout the empire, realized that he needed a reliable representative in Rome while he was away. Therefore, in 125, Hadrian elevated Turbo to the position of

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 ...

, that is commander of the Praetorian Guard. He held this title until 134. It is at this point that no more records are found of him. It seems possible that Turbo, along with many others, fell out of favor with Hadrian later in his reign; however, it is also possible that Turbo died from natural causes.

Significance and contemporary assessment

Without a doubt Turbo had an illustrious career that was made all the more noteworthy because he was from Greece and not Italy. Up to this point in time, the high positions of the Roman government were still reserved for the men of noble and aristocratic families of Roman heritage. However, Turbo's life shows that the general trend inside of the aristocracy was towards a more egalitarian system where one's knowledge, skills and accomplishments were just as important as one's family and ancestors. The Roman historian

Cassius Dio 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 ...

described Turbo as “loyal, assiduous and vigilant.”

Bibliography

*Syme, Ronald. "Guard Prefects of Trajan and Hadrian", ''

Journal of Roman Studies The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies (The Roman Society) was founded in 1910 as the sister society to the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. The Society is the leading organisation in the United Kingdom for those interest ...

'', 70 (1980), pp. 64–80. *Smallwood, Mary E. ''Palestine A.D. 115-118'', 4th ed. Vol. 11. Franz Steiner Verlag. 500–10. *Syme, Ronald. "The Wrong Marcius Turbo", ''Journal of Roman Studies'', 51 (1962), pp. 87–96. * Wade, Donald W
"Some Governors of Dacia: A Rearrangement,"
'' Classical Philology'', 64 (1969), pp. 105–107. *"Trajan (c. 53-117)." DISCovering Biography. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Sacred Heart Preparatory (BAISL). 26 Nov. 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS *"Hadrian, Emperor of Rome (76-138)." DISCovering World History. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Sacred Heart Preparatory (BAISL). 26 Nov. 2008 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turbo, Marcius 1st-century births 130s deaths People from Epidaurus Praetorian prefects Roman governors of Mauretania Tingitana Roman governors of Dacia 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans Marcii