(Titus Flavius) Postumius Quietus (fl. 3rd century AD) 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 ...

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

who was appointed

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 thro ...

in AD 272.

Biography

Postumius Quietus was a member of the third century ''gens Postumii'', which was not descended from the Republican family of the same name. Possibly of Patrician status, he was one of the imperial candidates for the office of

Quaestor A quaestor ( , ; ; "investigator") was a public official in ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officia ...

, followed by his nomination for the office of '' Praetor tutelarius'', responsible for matters pertaining to guardianships. After this Postumius Quietus may have been the ''

Legatus pro praetore A legate (Latin: , ) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman army, equivalent to a high-ranking general officer of modern times. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer in comman ...

'' in the

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. This was followed by his posting as ''Curator rei publicae Aeclanensium item Ocriculanorum'' (or guardian of the towns of

Aeclanum Aeclanum (also spelled Aeculanum, , ) was an ancient town of Samnium, Southern Italy, about 25 km east-southeast of Benevento, Beneventum, on the Via Appia. It lies in Passo di Mirabella, near the modern Mirabella Eclano. It is now an archa ...

and Ocriculum). Next, he was appointed ''Curator viae ..et alimentorum'' (or official responsible for maintaining some important Roman roads and ensuring Rome's food supply). He was the last known official who was responsible for the ''

Alimenta The alimenta was a Roman welfare program that existed from around 98 AD to 272 AD. It was probably introduced by Nerva and was later expanded by Trajan. It was designed to subsidise orphans and poor children throughout Italy, but nowhere else, w ...

'', leading to speculation that the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

may have terminated the policy when he replaced the distribution of free grain to the citizens of the city with another form of dole. Then in AD 272, Postumius Quietus was appointed '' consul prior'' alongside Junius Veldumnianus. His post consular career remains unknown, and he may have been a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He was a near relative (perhaps the brother or cousin) of Titus Flavius Postumius Varus.Mennen, pgs. 121-122

Sources

* Martindale, J. R.; Jones, A. H. M, ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'', Vol. I AD 260–395, Cambridge University Press (1971) * Mennen, Inge, ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193-284'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Postumius Quietus, Titus Flavius 3rd-century Roman consuls Postumii Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown