Tiberius Claudius Severus Proculus (about 163-by 218) was a

Roman Senator The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

. Via his mother he was a grandson of Emperor

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 ...

, but he played only a limited role in dynastic politics.

Descent and family

Severus Proculus was of noble descent, born in a wealthy and prominent family in

Pompeiopolis Pompeiopolis ( el, Πομπηιούπολις, city of Pompeius) was a Roman city in ancient Paphlagonia, identified in the early 19th century with the ruins of Zımbıllı Tepe, located near Taşköprü, Kastamonu Province in the Black Sea Region ...

, a city in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (c ...

. He was the son of the

Pontian Greek Pontic Greek ( pnt, Ποντιακόν λαλίαν, or ; el, Ποντιακή διάλεκτος, ; tr, Rumca) is a variety of Modern Greek indigenous to the Pontus region on the southern shores of the Black Sea, northeastern Anatolia, ...

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 Peripatetic philosopher, Gnaeus Claudius Severus, and his second wife, the princess

Annia Galeria Aurelia Faustina Annia Galeria Aurelia Faustina (c. 151/153Birley, Anthony. ''Marcus Aurelius'', revised edition (London: Routledge, 1993), p. 108. - after 165) was a daughter of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife, Faustina the Younger. Her sister was emp ...

, daughter of

. He had a paternal half-brother called Marcus Claudius Ummidius Quadratus, from his father's first marriage, who was adopted by Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus,

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...

in 167, a nephew of

. His paternal grandfather, Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus, was also a Senator and Peripatetic philosopher, and one of the teachers of Marcus Aurelius, whom he later befriended. His maternal grandparents were Marcus Aurelius and

Faustina the Younger Annia Galeria Faustina the Younger (born probably 21 September AD, – 175/176 AD) was Roman empress from 161 to her death as the wife of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, her maternal cousin. Faustina was the youngest child of Emperor Antoninus Pius a ...

. Through his mother, Severus Proculus was a relative to the ruling

Nerva–Antonine dynasty The Nerva–Antonine dynasty comprised 7 Roman emperors who ruled from 96 to 192 AD: Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), Marcus Aurelius (161–180), Lucius Verus (161–169), and Commodus (18 ...

of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...

and among his maternal aunts and uncles were the Empress

Lucilla Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla (7 March 148 or 150 – 182) was the second daughter of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger. She was the wife of her father's co-ruler and adoptive brother Lucius Veru ...

and Emperor Commodus.

Life

Severus Proculus was born and raised in Pompeiopolis. It is unknown whether he ever followed the philosophy of his father and grandfather. It appears that Severus Proculus wasn't involved in any of the several plots to kill or overthrow Commodus. By the time his maternal uncle was assassinated in December 192, Severus was one of Commodus' few remaining living male relatives, but he was completely ignored as a potential successor. In 193, after the deaths of Pertinax and

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 ...

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 ...

finally acceded to the throne, founding 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 ...

. During his reign (193-211), Severus Proculus served as a Senator and in 200 served as an ordinary consul. After that, he married his wealthy maternal second cousin

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 ...

, granddaughter of Marcus Aurelius' sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina. They settled on his wife's large estate in

Pisidia Pisidia (; grc-gre, Πισιδία, ; tr, Pisidya) was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Pamphylia, northeast of Lycia, west of Isauria and Cilicia, and south of Phrygia, corresponding roughly to the modern-day province of A ...

, where an honorific inscription, dated to 207, was found attesting to their ownership. Around 201, the couple had a daughter,

Annia Aurelia 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 ...

, curiously not named after Severus. It appears that he named her in honor of his mother's family, the ''gentes'' Aurelia and Annia, probably to honor their links to the

. It seems that they did not have any more children. About 216, Severus Proculus may have made a political alliance with a Senator who was a member of the

Pomponia gens The gens Pomponia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members appear throughout the history of the Roman Republic, and into imperial times. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC ...

and married his daughter to Pomponius Bassus. Later, in 221, Annia would briefly become the third wife of Emperor

Elagabalus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...

(r. 218–222).

Sources

*Anthony Richard Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', revised edition. Routledge, 2000. *Anthony Richard Birley, ''Septimius Severus: the African emperor''. Routledge, 1999. *Albino Garzetti, ''From Tiberius to the Antonines: a history of the Roman Empire AD 14-192'', 1974 *William M. Ramsay, ''The Cities and Bishoprics of Phyrgia: Being an Essay of the Local History of Phrygia from the Earliest Times to the Turkish Conquest Volume One, Part One'', 2004 *Marcus Aurelius, ''

Meditations ''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' in Koin ...

External links

Livius.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claudius Severus Proculus, Tiberius 163 births 3rd-century deaths 2nd-century Romans Imperial Roman consuls Claudii Senators of the Roman Empire Crisis of the Third Century