Titus Pomponius Bassus 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 held a number of imperial appointments. He was

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 ...

in the ''

nundinium Nundinium was a Latin word derived from the word '' nundinum'', which referred to the cycle of days observed by the Romans. During the Roman Empire, ''nundinium'' came to mean the duration of a single consulship among several in a calendar year. ...

'' of September–December 94 as the colleague of Lucius Silius Decianus. He enters history as the ''

legatus 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 ...

'' or assistant of the

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

ar governor of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Marcus Ulpius Traianus Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldie ...

in 79/80.Bernard Rémy,
Les carrières sénatoriales dans les provinces romaines d'Anatolie au Haut-Empire (31 av. J.-C. - 284 ap. J.-C.)
' (Istanbul: Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes-Georges Dumézil, 1989), p. 197 Although being a proconsular legate was a posting which could result in a number of influential contacts, fifteen years passed until Bassus acceded to the consulate. As attested by a

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 ...

, Bassus was governor of Judaea in 90; he probably took up office in 89.Paul Holder: ''Roman Military Diplomas V'' (= Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies Supplement 88), Institute of Classical Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London 2006, pp. 724–725, Nr. 332, note 4. Around the year 94, either after he stepped down from the consulate, or while holding that magistracy ''in absentia'', Bassus began his term as governor of

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

Galatia Galatia (; , ''Galatía'') 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 (cf. Tylis), who settled here ...

; where most terms as governor are about three years, his was prolonged for six years, standing down in the year 100. Upon returning to Rome, he was appointed

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of the ''alimenta'', a program that provided public funds to raise children in need, in Central Italy, and was elected by the council of Ferentinum to be

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of that city. His last mention in history is as an addressee of

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...

. Pliny wrote Bassus a letter congratulating his retirement from the Senate, looking forward to a life of leisure and self-education after a career holding "highly distinguished magistracies" and having "commanded armies".Pliny, '' Epistulae'', IV.23 This letter probably dates from the year 104 or 105. It is likely that

Lucius Pomponius Bassus 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 ...

, suffect consul in 118, is his son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomponius Bassus, Titus 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Cappadocia Roman governors of Judaea Bassus, Titus Pomponius