Titus Flavius Postumius Varus (fl. 3rd century) 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

suffect consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

around AD 250.

Biography

While Postumius Varus was a third-century member of the ''gens

Postumii The gens Postumia was a noble patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, the Postumii frequently occupied the chief magistracies of the Roman state, beginning with Publius Postumius Tubertus, consul in 505 BC, the ...

'', he was not descended from the Republican family of the same name. According to

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 ...

, he was the great-grandson of the orator Marcus Postumius Festus, a friend of the orator Fronto as a well as a fellow African; however Postumius Festus' descendants appear to have made Italy their home. Birley notes Postumius Varus had a brother or cousin,

Titus Flavius Postumius Titianus Titus Flavius Postumius Titianus (fl. late 3rd and 4th century AD) was a Roman politician who served as senator and consul suffectus. Biography Postumius Titianus was a member of the third century gens Postumia, which was not descended from the ...

(consul ''ordinarius'' 301), whose name implies a link with the family of the emperor

Pertinax Publius Helvius Pertinax ( ; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus to become the first emperor during the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. Born to the son of a freed sl ...

's wife, Flavia Titiana, although Birley admits "these names were common." Postumius Varus' first recorded posting was during the 240s as ''

Legatus legionis 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 ...

'' of the

Legio II Augusta Legio II Augusta ( Second Legion "Augustus'") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that was founded during the late Roman Republic. Its emblems were the Capricornus, Pegasus, and Mars. It may have taken the name "''Augusta''" from a victory ...

, which was stationed in

Britannia Inferior Britannia Inferior (Latin for "Lower Britain") was a new province carved out of Roman Britain probably around AD 197 during the reforms of Septimius Severus although the division may have occurred later, between 211 and 220, under Caracall ...

. During his time there, he restored a temple of

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...

Isca Augusta Isca, variously specified as Isca Augusta or Isca Silurum, was the site of a Roman legionary fortress and settlement or ''vicus'', the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day suburban town of Caerleon in the north of the city of ...

. This was followed by his appointment as

around AD 250. In 271 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 ...

appointed Postumius Varus to the post of ''

Praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...

'' of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He was put under pressure when riots erupted in the city, and had to rally the urban cohorts to defend Aurelian's rule while the emperor was campaigning against the

Iuthungi The Juthungi (, ) were a Germanic tribe in the region north of the rivers Danube and Altmühl in what is now the modern German state of Bavaria. The tribe was mentioned by a few Roman historians, including Publius Herennius Dexippus and Ammian ...

. His handling of the riots may have led to his dismissal from the post. During his career, Postumius Varus held two priesthoods, the

Augur An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined s ...

ship and membership in the ''

Quindecimviri sacris faciundis In ancient Rome, the were the fifteen () members of a college (''collegium'') with priestly duties. They guarded the Sibylline Books, scriptures which they consulted and interpreted at the request of the Senate. This ''collegium'' also oversaw ...

''. He was also noted as an orator.Martindale & Jones, p. 947

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 Varus, Titus Flavius 3rd-century Roman consuls Flavii Flavius Postumius Urban prefects of Rome Augurs of the Roman Empire Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown