Sextus Cornelius Repentinus 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 ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

eques Eques, ''horseman'' or ''rider'' in Latin, may refer to: * Equites, a member of the Roman Equestrian order * the Latin word for a knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or ...

who held a number of senior positions during the reigns of Emperors

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatori ...

and

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

. The course of his career can be followed in an inscription reconstructed by Giuseppe Camodeca and conserved at

Museo Nazionale Romano The National Roman Museum (Italian: ''Museo Nazionale Romano'') is a museum, with several branches in separate buildings throughout the city of Rome, Italy. It shows exhibits from the pre- and early history of Rome, with a focus on archaeological ...

in Rome. The earliest position Repentinus is known to have held is the office of ''advocatus fisci'', or tax collector. He was next promoted to '' ab commentariis'', then to '' ab epistulis'', offices in the imperial secretariat. Then in the year 160, when Gaius Tattius Maximus the

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) 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 be ...

died, Repentinus 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 ...

were promoted to succeed him. According to the ''

Historia Augusta The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the si ...

'', Repentinus received this appointment through the intervention of Galeria Lysistrate, the freedwoman of

Annia Faustina Annia Aurelia Faustina (fl. 201 – c. 222) was an Anatolian Roman noblewoman. She was briefly married to the Roman emperor Elagabalus in 221 and thus a Roman empress. She was Elagabalus' third wife. Ancestry and family Faustina was of noble ...

, the wife of Antoninus Pius. A tombstone from Rome mentioning Repentinus attests that he was still Praetorian prefect 28 February 167. A surviving letter of the orator

Marcus Cornelius Fronto Marcus Cornelius Fronto (c. 100late 160s AD), best known as Fronto, was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician, and advocate. Of Berbers, Berber origin, he was born at Cirta (modern-day Constantine, Algeria, Constantine, Algeria) in Numidia. He was Roman ...

is addressed to Repentinus; that Fronto addresses him with a nickname -- "brother Contuccius" -- makes it very likely the two were friends. It is believed that Cornelius Repentinus, the son-in-law of emperor

Didius Julianus Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 or 137 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor for nine weeks from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including Da ...

, was his son.Anthony Birley, ''Septimus Severus: the African Emperor'', revised edition (New Haven: Yale University, 1989), p. 95

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Repentinus, Sextus 2nd-century Romans Praetorian prefects Repentinus, Sextus Cornelius