Sextus Vettulenus Cerialis 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 ...

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 ...

and military commander, the 1st

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

Judaea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous south ...

. He was an early supporter of

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Em ...

, who appointed Cerialis

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 either 72 or 73.

Origins

Cerialis was of

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divide ...

origin. He was born in

Reate Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina ...

.Edward Dabrowa, ''Legio X Fretensis: A Prosopographical Study of its Officers (I-III c. A.D.)'' (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1993), p. 27

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 Rom ...

speculates that the Sex. Vettulenus Cerialis memorialized with his wife Lusia Galla in an inscription recovered at

Venafro Venafro (Latin: ''Venafrum''; Greek: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Isernia, region of Molise, Italy. It has a population of 11,079, having expanded quickly in the post-war period. Geography Situated at the foot of Mount Santa Croce, elevat ...

was Cerialis' father and mother; if that is the case, his father served as a soldier, and his career was capped as ''

primus pilus The ''primus pilus'' or ''primipilus'' was the senior centurion of the first cohort in a Roman legion, a formation of five double-strength centuries of 160 men, was called the ''primus pilus''; he was a career soldier and advisor to the ...

'' of

Legio XI Legio XI Claudia ("Claudius' Eleventh Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The legion was levied by Julius Caesar for his campaign against the Nervii. XI ''Claudia'' dates back to the two legions (the other was the XIIth) recruited ...

. At least one brother is attested for him:

Gaius Vettulenus Civica Cerealis Gaius Vettulenus Civica Cerealis (died 88) was a Roman senator who held at least one office in the service of the emperor. He was appointed suffect consul some time between 73 and 76. Civica Cerealis was of Sabine origin. Ronald Syme speculates t ...

, suffect consul in either 72 or 73 according to Syme, or between 73 and 76, according to Gallivan.

Career

Edward Dabrowa lists Cerialis "amongst the Sabine people who, due to Vespasian, gained high ranks and were admitted to the Roman political elite." Based on the most commonly accepted interpretation of an acephalous inscription from

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the clas ...

, Nero conferred many honors on him. However, his first attested office was as

or commander of

Legio V Macedonica ''Legio V Macedonica'' (the Fifth Macedonian Legion) was a Roman legion. It was probably originally levied in 43 BC by consul Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and Augustus, Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus (later known as the Roman Emperor, Emper ...

around the year 67. He held this commission through the

First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...

to the end of the siege of Jerusalem in 70. Cerialis impressed

with his courage and his success in numerous military actions. After the fall of Jerusalem, Cerialis was appointed governor of

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous south ...

and legate of

Legio X Fretensis Legio X ''Fretensis'' ("Tenth legion of the Strait") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by the young Gaius Octavius (later to become Augustus Caesar) in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the dis ...

. He held both offices until at least AD 71, when he was replaced by

Sextus Lucilius Bassus Sextus Lucilius Bassus was the 2nd Roman legate appointed by Emperor Vespasian to Iudaea Province in 71. Biography Assigned to finish off the last remnants after the First Jewish–Roman War in the province, he led the legion Legio X Fretensis ...

. Following his consulship, Cerialis was appointed governor of

Moesia 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 ...

, where he is attested by one

military diploma A Roman military diploma was a document inscribed in bronze certifying that the holder was honourably discharged from the Roman armed forces and/or had received the grant of Roman citizenship from the emperor as reward for service. The diploma ...

dated 28 April 75, and a second dated 7 February 78. An acephalic inscription found in

has been attributed to him, which would attest he was proconsul of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

for the term 83/84.Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten", p. 307.

Family

Although the name of his wife is not known, Cerialis is considered the father of

Sextus Vettulenus Civica Cerialis Sextus Vettulenus Civica Cerialis was a Roman senator of the early second century. He was ordinary consul in AD 106 as the colleague of Lucius Ceionius Commodus. No further details of his career are attested. Cerialis is considered the son of S ...

, ordinary consul in 106.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vettulenus Cerialis, Sextus 1st-century Romans 1st-century Roman governors of Judaea Roman legates Roman governors of Judaea Roman governors of Moesia Roman governors of Africa Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Cerialis