Gaius Vitrasius Pollio (prefect AD 41)

Last updated

Gaius Vitrasius Pollio was a Roman eques who flourished during the reign of the emperor Claudius. He was appointed to the important office of praefectus or governor of Roman Egypt from AD 38 to 41. [1]

The Vitrasii came from Cales. [2] Pollio is considered the son of Vitrasius Pollio, who was praefectus of Roman Egypt around the year 32.

Upon arriving in Alexandria, Vitrasius Pollio had to deal with the aftermath of the Alexandrian riots of 38, which had been suppressed by his predecessor, Aulus Avilius Flaccus. Both sides in the riots, the Greeks and the Jews living in Alexandria, petitioned Pollio with their grievances; Pollio referred the matter to Claudius. A copy of the emperor's reply has survived in a papyrus found in the Fayyum. [3]

Pollio and the commander of the cohors Ituraeorum, Lucius Eienus Saturninus, erected a dedication to the emperor Caligula 28 April 39 at Syene. [4] When he returned to Rome, Vitrasius Pollio brought several pieces of porphyry stone he had quarried in Egypt, hoping to introduce an interest in that material. According to Pliny the Elder, it failed to attract sufficient interest. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucius Mussius Aemilianus</span> Usurper of throne of Roman Empire (died 261/262)

Lucius Mussius AemilianussignoAegippius was a Roman who held a number of military and civilian positions during the middle of the third century. He is best known as a Roman usurper during the reign of Gallienus.

Tiberius Claudius Balbillus Modestus, more commonly known as Tiberius Claudius Balbilus, was a distinguished Ancient Roman scholar, politician and a court astrologer to the Roman emperors Claudius, Nero, and Vespasian.

Marcus Statius Priscus Licinius Italicus was a Roman senator and general active during the reigns of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. Contemporary sources refer to him as Marcus Statius Priscus or simply Statius Priscus. He was consul for the year 159 as the colleague of Plautius Quintillus; Priscus was one of only two homines novi to attain the ordinary consul in the reigns of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonia gens</span> Ancient Roman family

The gens Antonia was a Roman family of great antiquity, with both patrician and plebeian branches. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Titus Antonius Merenda, one of the second group of Decemviri called, in 450 BC, to help draft what became the Law of the Twelve Tables. The most prominent member of the gens was Marcus Antonius.

The gens Caecinia was a plebeian family of Etruscan origin at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the time of Cicero, and they remained prominent through the first century of the Empire, before fading into obscurity in the time of the Flavian emperors. A family of this name rose to prominence once more at the beginning of the fifth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titus Pomponius Proculus Vitrasius Pollio</span> 2nd century Roman senator, consul and governor

Titus Pomponius Proculus Vitrasius Pollio was a Roman senator, who held several imperial appointments during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. He was suffect consul in an undetermined nundinium around 151; he was a consul ordinarius in the year 176 with Marcus Flavius Aper as his colleague.

The gens Septimia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. The gens first appears in history towards the close of the Republic, and they did not achieve much importance until the latter half of the second century, when Lucius Septimius Severus obtained the imperial dignity.

Marcus Sempronius Liberalis was a Roman eques who held a number of appointments during the reign of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He is known from military diplomas and non-literary papyrus.

Servius Sulpicius Similis was an eques of ancient Rome who held several imperial positions, both civil and military, under Trajan and Hadrian, culminating with praefectus or governor of Egypt from 107 to 112.

Vitrasius Pollio was a member of the equestrian class who was prefect or governor of the imperial province of Egypt. He died in office, and was replaced by an imperial freedman Hiberus until another eques, Aulus Avilius Flaccus, could arrive from Rome.

Gaius Pompeius Planta was a Roman eques who was a close associate of the emperor Trajan. He is best known for being praefectus or governor of Roman Egypt, which he held from 98 to 100 AD.

Gaius Turranius was a Roman eques who flourished during the reign of the emperors Augustus, and Tiberius. He was appointed to a series of imperial offices, most notably praefectus or governor of Roman Egypt and later praefectus annonae.

Gnaeus Vergilius Capito was a Roman eques who flourished during the reign of the emperor Claudius. He was appointed to the important office of praefectus or governor of Roman Egypt from AD 48 to 52. His inscription erected at the Temple of Hibis at the Kharga Oasis is considered one of the best known in Egypt.

Marcus Aurelius Papirius Dionysius was a Roman eques and jurist who held a number of military and civilian positions during the reign of the Emperors Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus, including praefectus annonae, or overseer of the grain rations for Rome.

Titus Longaeus Rufus was a Roman eques who is known to have held imperial appointments during the reign of the Emperor Commodus. He is known from inscriptions and surviving documents written on papyrus.

Gaius Valerius Eudaemon was a Roman eques who held a number of military and civilian positions during the reigns of the Emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, which includes praefectus of Roman Egypt. He is known as a close friend of the emperor Hadrian.

Tiberius Julius Lupus was a member of the equestrian class who was praefectus or governor of Roman Egypt from 71 to 73. He was the older brother of Lucius Julius Ursus; their father was Julius Lupus, the brother-in-law of the praetorian prefect Marcus Arrecinus Clemens and uncle of Arrecina Tertulla, the wife of the emperor Titus. It was this connection that likely enabled Lupus to be appointed to the governorship.

Claudius Julianus was a Roman eques and jurist who held a number of military and civilian positions during the reign of the Emperor Septimius Severus, most importantly praefectus or governor of Roman Egypt. His relationship to other Claudii Juliani is unknown.

Lucius Valerius Datus was a Roman eques who flourished during the reign of the emperor Septimius Severus and his sons. He held a series of imperial offices, most notably praefectus or governor of Roman Egypt from 216 to 217.

References

  1. Guido Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30a al 299p", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik , 17 (1975), p. 271
  2. Ronald Syme, "Missing Persons III", Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte , 11 (1962), p. 151
  3. Papyrus Londinensis 1912; English translation in Robert K. Sherk, The Roman Empire: Augustus to Hadrian (Cambridge: University Press, 1988), pp. 83-88
  4. CIL III, 14147 = ILS 8899
  5. Pliny, Naturalis Historia , xxxvi.57
Political offices
Preceded by Prefectus of Aegyptus
3841
Succeeded by