Titus Sextius ( BC) was a Roman soldier as well as a governor in

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 ...

. Sextius' origins are obscure. He belonged to ''

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

'' Sextia and may have been an Ostian. Some of his descendants achieved

consular A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

rank and took the

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became her ...

Africanus in honour of his service in Africa.C. B. R. Pelling, "Sextius, Titus", in Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, eds., ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 3rd rev. ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005). Sextius held a command under Julius Caesar during the

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...

in 53–50 BC. He may also have served him during the Roman civil war of 49–45. In 44, he replaced

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...

as governor of the new province of

Africa Nova Numidia was a Roman province on the North African coast, comprising roughly the territory of north-east Algeria. History The people of the area were first identified as Numidians by Polybius around the 2nd century BC, although they were often ...

, carved out of the defeated kingdom of

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tuni ...

. He supported

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the ...

during the Mutine War of 43, and was consequently ordered by the

Senate 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 ...

to send two of his legions to Italy and a further one to

Quintus Cornificius Quintus Cornificius (died 42 BC) was an ancient Roman of senatorial rank from the ''gens'' Cornificia. He was a general, orator and poet, a friend of Catullus and a correspondent of Cicero. He was also an augur. He wrote a now lost epyllion ti ...

in the province of

Africa Vetus Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Alg ...

. After the creation of the

Second Triumvirate The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created for Mark Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November 43 BC with ...

, of which Antony was a member, in November 43, he was tasked with removing Cornificius. He invaded Africa Vetus and defeated Cornificius, killing him in battle near Utica in 42. After Utica, Sextius governed both African provinces until, at the request of Lucius Antonius, he surrendered them to

Gaius Fuficius Fango Gaius Fuficius Fango or Phango (died 40 BCE) was an Ancient Roman military leader and politician. Originally a common soldier, probably of African origin, he was raised to the rank of senator by Julius Caesar. When, in 40 BCE, Octavianus annexed ...

in 41. When the

Perusine War The Perusine War (also Perusian or Perusinian War, or the War of Perusia) was a civil war of the Roman Republic, which lasted from 41 to 40 BC. It was fought by Lucius Antonius and Fulvia to support Mark Antony against his political enemy Octavi ...

broke out later that year, he sided with Antony again and recovered both Africas. At the conclusion of the war, he surrendered the provinces to the triumvir

Lepidus Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (; c. 89 BC – late 13 or early 12 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who formed the Second Triumvirate alongside Octavian and Mark Antony during the final years of the Roman Republic. Lepidus had previously bee ...

References

{{reflist 1st-century BC Romans Sextii