Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio (c. 15 BC52 AD) was a Roman

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 ...

active during the

Principate The Principate was the form of imperial government of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the Dominate. The principate was ch ...

. He was suffect consul in the '' nundinium'' of July-December AD 24, as the colleague of Gaius Calpurnius Aviola. His name combines the two most famous branches of the ''

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

'' Cornelia, the Lentuli and the Scipiones.

Life

Scipio was the son of the identically named suffect consul of AD 2, Publius Cornelius Cn.f. Cn.f. Lentulus Scipio. A dedication erected at Brixia provides details of his career up to his consulate. His first attested office was

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 ...

, which was followed as one of the two prefects (called ''praetores'' before 44 AD) of the '' aerarium Saturni'' in the year 15. He was '' legatus legionis'' or commander of Legio IX Hispana while it was stationed in

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 ...

;

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

mentions Scipio participating in the successful campaign of Quintus Junius Blaesus,

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 ...

ar governor of Africa, against Tacfarinas, and provides the year of Scipio's commission as AD 22. Syme writes his commission makes him "notable, and seems anomalous, being the earliest ''nobilis'' registered in command of a legion when praetorian rank." The dedication at Brixia also attests that he was admitted to the College of Pontiffs, the highest-ranking priests of Rome. The next office Scipio is known to have held was after his consulate, as proconsular governor of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. There is a difference in opinion as to when he held this office. A standard authority, the '' Prosopographia Imperii Romani'', dates Scipio's tenure to 36/37, based on seniority: his predecessor, Marcus Aurelius Cotta Messalinus, was consul in 20, while Gaius Calpurnius Aviola, his attested successor, was consul the same year as Scipio. However, Syme points to an inscription discovered in

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

which indicates the date 41/2; thus three men who achieved the rank of consul after Scipio became governor of Asia before him. "The wide variations in consular seniority will duly be noted," writes Syme, "as conveying the caprice of the Caesars or the influence of their ministers."

Family

Scipio is known to have married twice. Evidence for the name of his first wife has not yet been recovered, but she was the mother of his oldest son, Publius Cornelius Scipio, suffect consul in 56. His second wife was the beautiful Poppaea Sabina the Elder. They had a son, Publius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, suffect consul in 68; his

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; : ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' had been initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, and so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between sim ...

reflects Scipio's tenure as governor of Asia. Poppaea Sabina had a reputation for promiscuity. Messalina, empress and wife of Claudius, suspected Poppaea had been the lover of Decimus Valerius Asiaticus; she had Publius Suillius Rufus prosecute her and Valerius Asiaticus. Messalina went as far as to hire agents to force Poppaea to commit suicide; Poppaea died in the year 47. A few days after her death, while dining with Scipio, the emperor Claudius absent-mindedly asked Scipio where his wife was; the widower replied simply that Poppaea "had paid the debt of nature." Another anecdote Tacitus records of Scipio and his second wife also took place after her death. Called on in the Senate for his opinion about Poppaea, he replied, "As I think what all men think about the deeds of Poppaea, suppose me to say what all men say."Tacitus, ''Annales'', XI.4

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus Scipio, Publius Senators of the Roman Empire Lentulus Scipio 1st-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Asia Place of birth unknown 10s BC births Year of birth uncertain 52 deaths