Quintus Anicius Faustus (fl. late 2nd century – early 3rd century AD) was a Roman military officer and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

who was appointed

suffect consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

in AD 198.

Biography

Born either in Uzappa in the province of

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tuni ...

, or in

Praeneste Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pre ...

Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, it has been speculated that Anicius Faustus was possibly the son of a

Sextus Anicius Saturninus Sextus is an ancient Roman ''praenomen'' or "first name". Its standard abbreviation is Sex., and the feminine form would be Sexta. It is one of the numeral ''praenomina'', like Quintus ("fifth") and Decimus ("tenth"), and means "sixth". Although i ...

and Seia Maxima. A member of the third century '' gens Anicia'' and a ''

novus homo ''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' (Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul. When ...

'', Faustus was appointed the ''

Legatus Augusti pro praetore A ''legatus Augusti pro praetore'' (literally: "envoy of the emperor – acting for the praetor") was the official title of the governor or general of some Imperial provincess of the Roman Empire during the Principate era, normally the larger one ...

'' (or imperial governor) of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

by the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succ ...

, a position he held from AD 197 – 201. During this time he built several defensive forts of the Limes Tripolitanus, in southern

and in

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

, in order to protect the province from the raids of nomadic tribes. Anicius Faustus was appointed '' consul suffectus in absentia'' in AD 198, while serving in Numidia. This was followed by his posting as ''Legatus Augusti pro praetore'' of

Moesia Superior Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

, which he may have held from possibly AD 202 to 205. He then fell out of favour with Septimius Severus, and this continued through

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor ...

’s reign, possibly due to his close working relationship with Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, who was executed for plotting to overthrow the

Severan Dynasty The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus (), who rose to power after the Year of the Five Empero ...

. It wasn't until the reign of

Macrinus Marcus Opellius Macrinus (; – June 218) was Roman emperor from April 217 to June 218, reigning jointly with his young son Diadumenianus. As a member of the equestrian class, he became the first emperor who did not hail from the senator ...

that he returned to favour, with his appointment as the

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a 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 command, or ' ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

, succeeding Gaius Julius Asper, a post which he held for two consecutive years, from AD 217 to 219. His prorogation was made at the expense of the distinguished Marcus Aufidius Fronto, whom Macrinus wanted to humiliate. Anicius Faustus is speculated to have married either a Vesia Rustica or a Sergia Paulla, daughter of Lucius Sergius Paullus, consul ordinary 168. He probably had at least one son, Quintus Anicius Faustus Paulinus, who was a suffect consul sometime before AD 230.Leunissen, ''Konsuln und Konsulare'', p. 373

Sources

* Mennen, Inge, ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193-284'' (2011) *

Pat Southern Patricia Southern (born 1948) is an English historian of classical Rome. Early life Born in 1948 near Altrincham, Cheshire, Southern studied Ancient History and Archaeology with the Universities of London and Newcastle upon Tyne. Career Sou ...

, ''Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine'', Routledge, 2001, , pp. 45, 295.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anicius Faustus, Quintus 2nd-century Romans 3rd-century Romans Faustus Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Asia Roman governors of Upper Moesia Roman legates Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown