Quintus Baienus Blassianus 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 ...

eques Eques, ''horseman'' or ''rider'' in Latin, may refer to: * Equites, a member of the Roman Equestrian order * the Latin word for a knight in chess * '' Eques'', a small genus of fishes in the drum family Sciaenidae Sciaenidae is a family (biolo ...

'' who held a number of military and civilian positions during the reign of the Emperors

Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...

and

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

, including ''

praefectus ''Praefectus'', often with a further qualification, was the formal title of many, fairly low to high-ranking, military or civil officials in the Roman Empire, whose authority was not embodied in their person (as it was with elected Magistrates) b ...

'' of the

Classis Britannica The ''Classis Britannica'' (literally, ''British fleet'', in the sense of 'the fleet in British waters' or 'the fleet of the province of Britannia', rather than 'the fleet of the state of Britain') was a provincial naval fleet of the navy of an ...

, and of

Roman Egypt Roman Egypt was an imperial province of the Roman Empire from 30 BC to AD 642. The province encompassed most of modern-day Egypt except for the Sinai. It was bordered by the provinces of Crete and Cyrenaica to the west and Judaea, ...

. Blassianus' home, based on the presence of a number of inscriptions, is believed to be

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

. Based on his filiation, attested in at least one inscription, indicates his father's

praenomen The praenomen (; plural: praenomina) was a first name chosen by the parents of a Ancient Rome, Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the ...

was Publius, and his

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

was Pupinia.

Life

The three earliest appointments Blassianus received, which comprise the steps of the ''

tres militiae The ''tres militiae'' ("three military posts") was a career progression of the Roman Imperial army for men of the equestrian order. It developed as an alternative to the ''cursus honorum'' of the senatorial order for enabling the social mobility ...

'' that ''equites'' followed in their military career, are recorded in several inscriptions from Trieste. First was prefect of the

Cohors A cohort (from the Latin ''cohors'', : ''cohortes''; see wikt:cohors for full inflection table) was a standard tactical military unit of a Roman legion. Although the standard size changed with time and situation, it was generally composed of 4 ...

II Asturum equitata, then stationed in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

; followed by

military tribune A military tribune () was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribunes as a stepping stone to the Senate. The should not be confused with the ...

in Legio VII, either Claudia or

Gemina ''Gemina'' is a genus of green alga The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Char ...

; and lastly prefect of the '' ala'' II Gallorum stationed in

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

Anthony Birley Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020) was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was one of the leaders of excavations at of the Roman fortress at Vindolanda and also published several books on Roman ...

notes that "it would fit the chronology of his career if he obtained a commission from A. Platorius Nepos, governor of Britain 122-4, who was patron of

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

, a city close to Blassianus' home".Birley, ''The Fasti of Roman Britain'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), p. 307 The remainder of his career in the imperial service is documented in a fragmentary inscription recovered from

Ostia Antica Ostia Antica () is an ancient Roman city and the port of Rome located at the mouth of the Tiber. It is near modern Ostia, southwest of Rome. Due to silting and the invasion of sand, the site now lies from the sea. The name ''Ostia'' (the pl ...

honoring him as prefect by the ''collegium fabrum tignariorum''. Blassianus received three civil appointments. The first was

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

of one of the

gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

training schools, the ''ludus matutinus''. The second was procurator ''ad census accipiendos'' in Cappadocia. Third was procurator of the provinces of

Gallia Lugdunensis () was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyon), possibly Roman Europe's major city west of ...

and

Aquitania Gallia Aquitania (, ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France and the comarca of Val d'Aran in northeast Spain, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquit ...

. Blassianus then received a military commission as ''praefectus'' of the

, which Birley dates to c. 140. This was followed by two governorships: the first was as procurator of

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 ...

, which J.E.H. Spaul dates to 146–150; next was procurator of

Raetia Raetia or Rhaetia ( , ) was a province of the Roman Empire named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with Transalpine ...

. After these came the signal appointment as ''praefectus'' of the

Classis Ravennas The ''Classis Ravennas'' ("Fleet of Ravenna"), later awarded the honorifics ''praetoria'' and ''Pia Vindex'', was the second most senior fleet of the imperial Roman Navy after the ''Classis Misenensis''. History Ravenna had been used for ship c ...

, the second major fleet of the Roman military. Blassianus returned to Rome to hold the next two appointments. First was ''

praefectus vigilum The ''praefectus vigilum'' (, pl.: ''praefecti vigilum'') was, starting with the reign of the Emperor Augustus, the commander of the city guards in Rome (''cohortes vigilum'' or ''vigiles''), whom were responsible for maintaining peace and order ...

'', commander of the ''

vigiles ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the Rome, City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' ("Cohort (military unit), cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. History The ''triumviri, triumviri ...

'' or nightwatch of Rome; he may have preceded Gaius Tettius Maximus in this post. Next was an appointment as ''

praefectus annonae The ("prefect of the provisions"), also called the ("prefect of the grain supply"), was a Roman official charged with the supervision of the grain supply to the city of Rome. Under the Republic, the job was usually done by an aedile. However, ...

''; which may have fallen between the tenures of

Lucius Volusius Maecianus Lucius Volusius Maecianus (c. 110 – 175) was a Roman jurist, who advised the Emperor Antoninus Pius on legal matters, as well educating his son the future Marcus Aurelius in the subject. Originally of the equestrian class, Maecianus held a ...

and

Titus Furius Victorinus Titus Furius Victorinus (died 168 AD) was a Roman '' eques'' who held a number of appointments during the reigns of the Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. The most prominent of these offices were ''praefectus vigilum'', ''praefectus'' or ...

. His last appointment was as governor of Egypt, one of the most prestigious offices an ''eques'' could hold; his tenure in Egypt is dated as extending from 167 to the following year.

Guido Bastianini Guido Bastianini (born September 10, 1945 in Florence) is an Italian papyrologist and palaeographer. Bastianini completed his papyrological studies in Florence 1970. He took part in various archaeological missions in Egypt organized by the Istit ...

a al 299^p"">"Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30^a al 299^p"
''

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 ...

'', 17 (1975), p. 297 The last known event in his life is his prefecture of the ''collegium'' honored in the inscription mentioned above. This office has been dated to have fallen between the year 164 and 169. His life after this is not yet known.

Life

References

Further reading