Publius Dasumius Rusticus 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 ...

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 first half of the second century AD. He was eponymous consul for AD 119 as the colleague of the emperor

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 '' ...

. Rusticus is known only through surviving inscriptions. Rusticus poses a mystery to historians of the period. He is known only from his consulship, yet as the colleague of the emperor, a very prestigious honor; why he received this honor is unknown. It may be that he was a childhood friend or associate of Hadrian's, but

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 ...

notes that, in

Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...

, the home province of Hadrian, only six people with the ''gentilicum'' "Dasumius" are known—and none in the other Spanish provinces. For some time, he was thought to be the testator of the ''

Testamentum Dasumii The Testamentum Dasumii refers to an inscription in several pieces found in Rome, that bears the only Roman will inscribed on stone. Originally presenting the complete will, while the surviving pieces of the inscription include parts of all 133 line ...

''. The grounds for this identification was first proposed by

Bartolomeo Borghesi Bartolomeo (also Bartolommeo) Borghesi (11 July 178116 April 1860) was an Italian antiquarian who was a key figure in establishing the science of numismatics. He was born at Savignano, near Rimini, and studied at Bologna and Rome. Having weake ...

: that an heir in the will named "Dasumia" was assumed to be his daughter, and thus his ''gentilicum'' was "Dasumius". This argument was widely accepted, forcing experts to assume the testator was Lucius Dasumius Hadrianus, proconsul 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 ...

(106/107), then later Rusticus, until a new piece of the inscription was identified which invalidated Borghesi's argument. The identity of the testator of the ''Testamentum'' remains unknown. As an adjunct of his supposed association with the ''Testamentum Dasumii'', Rusticus was thought to be the adoptive father of Lucius P.f. Dasumius Tullius Tuscus, consul in 152; but, on learning that the testator's name was not Dasumius, there is no evidence to connect the two, although Olli Salomies notes "the adoptive father -- who seems to be otherwise unknown -- was certainly related to Rusticus."Salomies, ''Adoptive and polyonymous nomenclature in the Roman Empire'', (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1992), p. 99

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasumius Rusticus, Publicus 2nd-century Roman consuls Rusticus, Publius Dasumius