Gaius Avidius Nigrinus

Last updated November 02, 2022

Gaius Avidius Nigrinus (died 118 AD) was a Roman senator who lived between the 1st and 2nd centuries. Nigrinus served as suffect consul for the nundinium of April to June 110 with Tiberius Julius Aquila Polemaeanus as his colleague.

Ancestry

Nigrinus’ ancestors were Romans of the highest political rank: he was the son of an elder Gaius Avidius Nigrinus, and his uncle was the consul Titus Avidius Quietus. Nigrinus’ family was wealthy, distinguished and well-connected politically in Faventia (modern Faenza, Italy), where he was born and raised. Nigrinus and his family may have been related to Gaius Petronius Pontius Nigrinus, who was consul in the year 37.

His family had strong links to Greece. The father of Nigrinus had served as Proconsul of Achaea during the reign of Emperor Domitian (81-96), as had his paternal uncle. His family was friendly with Pliny the Younger and Plutarch, the latter of whom dedicated ‘On Brotherly Love’ to the elder Nigrinus and Quietus.

Career

The earliest known office Nigrinus held was as plebeian tribune in 105; Ronald Syme raises the possibility that he is the Nigrinus Pliny the Younger praises for his speech indicting Varenus Rufus for corruption during his administration of Bithynia and Pontus.^[1] Nigrinus later became proconsular governor of Achaea, although it is unclear during what years this was;^[2] this was probably part of Trajan’s attempt to recognize and stabilize the administration of the financially troubled province.

Nigrinus was a trusted lieutenant of the Emperor Trajan. During the year of his consulship, Trajan sent Nigrinus to Delphi, Greece as a member of an advisory council to assist the future historian Arrian in settling boundary disputes. This event is recorded in Delphi, where there are honorific inscriptions dedicated to Nigrinus in Greek and Latin.

Following his consulate, Nigrinus was appointed governor of Dacia; he held this office from 113 until his death.^[3]

In 117, Trajan died and he was succeeded by his paternal second cousin Hadrian. In the summer of 118, Nigrinus was executed at Faventia on orders of the Senate. According to the Historia Augusta Nigrinus was one of four senators who plotted to kill Hadrian while he was sacrificing, while adding that Hadrian had intended to make Nigrinus his heir apparent; the other three senators were Aulus Cornelius Palma, Lucius Publilius Celsus, and Lusius Quietus.^[4] It is possible that Hadrian could have viewed Nigrinus as a potential threat, given his previous high standing and close relationship with Trajan.^[5] Anthony Birley mentions the suggestion that Hadrian may have later felt remorse for this act, thus explaining why Hadrian adopted Nigrinus' son-in-law, Ceionius Commodus (who later, following his adoption of Marcus Aurelius, took the name Lucius Aelius). However, Birley also suggests Hadrian adopted Commodus out of "sheer perversity -- Hadrian's desire to infuriate other aspirants."^[6]

Family

Nigrinus is known to have had two wives. The name of his first wife is not known, but their daughter Avidia married Ceionius Commodus; together they had a son, the future Lucius Verus, co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius. His second wife Plautia, had previously been married to Lucius Ceionius Commodus (ordinary consul 106), and after Nigrinus' death married Sextus Vettulenus Civica. Plautia and Nigrinus had a daughter, Avidia Plautia, who had two children, Lucius Titius Plautius Aquilinus (ordinary consul 162) and Plautius Quintillus (ordinary consul 159).^[7]

Nerva–Antonine family tree

Q. Marcius Barea Soranus

Q. Marcius Barea Sura

Antonia Furnilla

M. Cocceius Nerva

Sergia Plautilla

P. Aelius Hadrianus

Titus
(r. 79–81)

Marcia Furnilla

Marcia

Trajanus Pater

Nerva
(r. 96–98)

Ulpia ^{[lower-roman 1]}

Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus

Flavia^{[lower-roman 2]}

Marciana ^{[lower-roman 3]}

C. Salonius Matidius ^{[lower-roman 4]}

Trajan
(r. 98–117)

Plotina

P. Acilius Attianus

P. Aelius Afer ^{[lower-roman 5]}

Paulina Major ^{[lower-roman 6]}

Lucius Mindius
(2)

Libo Rupilius Frugi
(3)

Salonia Matidia ^{[lower-roman 7]}

L. Vibius Sabinus
(1)^{[lower-roman 8]}

Paulina Minor ^{[lower-roman 6]}

L. Julius Ursus Servianus ^{[lower-roman 9]}

Matidia Minor ^{[lower-roman 7]}

Suetonius?^{[lower-roman 10]}

Sabina ^{[lower-roman 3]}

Hadrian ^{[lower-roman 5]}^{[lower-roman 11]}^{[lower-roman 6]} (r. 117–138)

Antinous ^{[lower-roman 12]}

Julia Balbilla?^{[lower-roman 13]}

C. Fuscus Salinator I

Julia Serviana Paulina

M. Annius Verus ^{[lower-roman 14]}

Rupilia Faustina^{[lower-roman 15]}^{[lower-roman 16]}

Boionia Procilla

Cn. Arrius Antoninus

L. Ceionius Commodus

Appia Severa

C. Fuscus Salinator II

L. Caesennius Paetus

Arria Antonina

Arria Fadilla^{[lower-roman 17]}

T. Aurelius Fulvus

L. Caesennius Antoninus

L. Commodus

Plautia

ignota^{[lower-roman 18]}

C. Avidius Nigrinus

M. Annius Verus ^{[lower-roman 15]}

Domitia Calvilla ^{[lower-roman 19]}

Fundania^{[lower-roman 20]}

M. Annius Libo ^{[lower-roman 15]}

FAUSTINA ^{[lower-roman 17]}

Antoninus Pius
(r. 138–161)^{[lower-roman 17]}

L. Aelius Caesar ^{[lower-roman 18]}

Avidia ^{[lower-roman 18]}

Cornificia ^{[lower-roman 15]}

MARCUS AURELIUS
(r. 161–180)^{[lower-roman 21]}

FAUSTINA Minor ^{[lower-roman 21]}

C. Avidius Cassius ^{[lower-roman 22]}

Aurelia Fadilla^{[lower-roman 17]}

LUCIUS VERUS
(r. 161–169)^{[lower-roman 18]}
(1)

Ceionia Fabia ^{[lower-roman 18]}

Plautius Quintillus ^{[lower-roman 23]}

Q. Servilius Pudens

Ceionia Plautia ^{[lower-roman 18]}

Cornificia Minor ^{[lower-roman 24]}

M. Petronius Sura

COMMODUS
(r. 177–192)^{[lower-roman 21]}

Fadilla ^{[lower-roman 24]}

M. Annius Verus Caesar ^{[lower-roman 21]}

Ti. Claudius Pompeianus
(2)

Lucilla ^{[lower-roman 21]}

M. Plautius Quintillus ^{[lower-roman 18]}

Junius Licinius Balbus

Servilia Ceionia

Petronius Antoninus

L. Aurelius Agaclytus
(2)

Aurelia Sabina ^{[lower-roman 24]}

L. Antistius Burrus
(1)

Plautius Quintillus

Plautia Servilla

C. Furius Sabinus Timesitheus

Antonia Gordiana

Junius Licinius Balbus?

Furia Sabina Tranquillina

GORDIAN III
(r. 238–244)

(1) = 1st spouse
(2) = 2nd spouse
(3) = 3rd spouse
  Reddish-purple indicates emperor of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty

  lighter purple indicates designated imperial heir of said dynasty who never reigned

  grey indicates unsuccessful imperial aspirants

  bluish-purple indicates emperors of other dynasties
dashed lines indicate adoption; dotted lines indicate love affairs/unmarried relationships
small caps = posthumously deified ( Augusti, Augustae, or other)

Notes:

Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree.

↑ Sister of Trajan's father: Giacosa (1977), p. 7.
↑ Giacosa (1977), p. 8.
1 2 Levick (2014), p. 161.
↑ Husband of Ulpia Marciana: Levick (2014), p. 161.
1 2 Giacosa (1977), p. 7.
1 2 3 DIR contributor (Herbert W. Benario, 2000), "Hadrian".
1 2 Giacosa (1977), p. 9.
↑ Husband of Salonia Matidia: Levick (2014), p. 161.
↑ Smith (1870), "Julius Servianus".
↑ Suetonius a possible lover of Sabina: One interpretation of HA Hadrianus 11:3
↑ Smith (1870), "Hadrian", pp. 319–322.
↑ Lover of Hadrian: Lambert (1984), p. 99 and passim; deification: Lamber (1984), pp. 2–5, etc.
↑ Julia Balbilla a possible lover of Sabina: A. R. Birley (1997), Hadrian, the Restless Emperor, p. 251, cited in Levick (2014), p. 30, who is sceptical of this suggestion.
↑ Husband of Rupilia Faustina: Levick (2014), p. 163.
1 2 3 4 Levick (2014), p. 163.
↑ It is uncertain whether Rupilia Faustina was Frugi's daughter by Salonia Matidia or another woman.
1 2 3 4 Levick (2014), p. 162.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Levick (2014), p. 164.
↑ Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10.
↑ Wife of M. Annius Libo: Levick (2014), p. 163.
1 2 3 4 5 Giacosa (1977), p. 10.
↑ The epitomator of Cassius Dio (72.22) gives the story that Faustina the Elder promised to marry Avidius Cassius. This is also echoed in HA "Marcus Aurelius" 24.
↑ Husband of Ceionia Fabia: Levick (2014), p. 164.
1 2 3 Levick (2014), p. 117.

References:

DIR contributors (2000). "De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families" . Retrieved 2015-04-14.
Giacosa, Giorgio (1977). Women of the Caesars: Their Lives and Portraits on Coins. Translated by R. Ross Holloway. Milan: Edizioni Arte e Moneta. ISBN 0-8390-0193-2.
Lambert, Royston (1984). Beloved and God: The Story of Hadrian and Antinous. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-15708-2.
Levick, Barbara (2014). Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537941-9.
Smith, William, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology .

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References

↑ Syme, Tactius (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958) p. 669. Pliny, Epistulae , V.20.6; Pliny mentions Nigrinus twice more: V.13.6f, and VII.6
↑ Werner Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", Chiron , 13 (1983), p. 186 and n. 479
↑ Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", Chiron, 12 (1982), pp. 355-361
↑ Historia Augusta, Hadrian, 7.1; translated by Antony Birley, The Lives of the Later Caesars (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976), p. 64
↑ As suggested by John D. Grainger, Nerva and the Roman Succession Crisis of AD 96-99 (London: Routledge, 2004), pp. 127f
↑ Birley, Marcus Aurelius, (London: Routledge, 1987), p. 42. Syme had previously raised the possibility of Hadrian's remorse motivating him here in Tactius, p. 600.
↑ Birley, Marcus Aurelius, pp. 238, 246

Sources

Matthew Bunson, A dictionary of the Roman Empire 1995
C. Konrad, Plutarch's Sertorius: A Historical Commentary Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994
Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey, Dominic Rathbone, The Cambridge ancient history, Volume 11, 2nd Edition 2000
Anthony Richard Birley, The Roman Government of Britain Oxford, 2005
Anthony R. Birley, "Hadrian and Greek Senators", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik , 116 (1997), pp. 209–245
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Aelius*.html#2.8
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Lucius_Verus*.html

Political offices
Preceded by Marcus Peducaeus Priscinus, and Servius Cornelius Scipio Salvidienus Orfitus as Ordinary consul	Suffect consul of the Roman Empire 110 with Tiberius Julius Aquila Polemaeanus	Succeeded by Lucius Catilius Severus Julianus Claudius Reginus, and Gaius Erucianus Silo as Suffect consul

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[8] Sister of Trajan's father: Giacosa (1977), p. 7.

[giac8-9] Giacosa (1977), p. 8.

[lev161-10] 1 2 Levick (2014), p. 161.

[11] Husband of Ulpia Marciana: Levick (2014), p. 161.

[giac7-12] 1 2 Giacosa (1977), p. 7.

[DIR_hadrian-13] 1 2 3 DIR contributor (Herbert W. Benario, 2000), "Hadrian".

[giac9-14] 1 2 Giacosa (1977), p. 9.

[15] Husband of Salonia Matidia: Levick (2014), p. 161.

[Smith_Servianus-16] Smith (1870), "Julius Servianus".

[17] Suetonius a possible lover of Sabina: One interpretation of HA Hadrianus 11:3

[Smith_1870a_p._319-18] Smith (1870), "Hadrian", pp. 319–322.

[19] Lover of Hadrian: Lambert (1984), p. 99 and passim; deification: Lamber (1984), pp. 2–5, etc.

[20] Julia Balbilla a possible lover of Sabina: A. R. Birley (1997), Hadrian, the Restless Emperor, p. 251, cited in Levick (2014), p. 30, who is sceptical of this suggestion.

[21] Husband of Rupilia Faustina: Levick (2014), p. 163.

[lev163-22] 1 2 3 4 Levick (2014), p. 163.

[23] It is uncertain whether Rupilia Faustina was Frugi's daughter by Salonia Matidia or another woman.

[lev162-24] 1 2 3 4 Levick (2014), p. 162.

[lev164-25] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Levick (2014), p. 164.

[26] Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10.

[27] Wife of M. Annius Libo: Levick (2014), p. 163.

[giac10-28] 1 2 3 4 5 Giacosa (1977), p. 10.

[29] The epitomator of Cassius Dio (72.22) gives the story that Faustina the Elder promised to marry Avidius Cassius. This is also echoed in HA "Marcus Aurelius" 24.

[30] Husband of Ceionia Fabia: Levick (2014), p. 164.

[lev117-31] 1 2 3 Levick (2014), p. 117.

[1] Syme, Tactius (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958) p. 669. Pliny, Epistulae , V.20.6; Pliny mentions Nigrinus twice more: V.13.6f, and VII.6

[2] Werner Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", Chiron , 13 (1983), p. 186 and n. 479

[3] Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", Chiron, 12 (1982), pp. 355-361

[4] Historia Augusta, Hadrian, 7.1; translated by Antony Birley, The Lives of the Later Caesars (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976), p. 64

[5] As suggested by John D. Grainger, Nerva and the Roman Succession Crisis of AD 96-99 (London: Routledge, 2004), pp. 127f

[6] Birley, Marcus Aurelius, (London: Routledge, 1987), p. 42. Syme had previously raised the possibility of Hadrian's remorse motivating him here in Tactius, p. 600.

[7] Birley, Marcus Aurelius, pp. 238, 246

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