Paullus Fabius Maximus (died AD 14) was a Roman senator, active toward the end of the first century BC. He was consul in 11 BC as the colleague of Quintus Aelius Tubero, [1] and a confidant of emperor Augustus.
Paullus Fabius Maximus (died AD 14) was a Roman senator, active toward the end of the first century BC. He was consul in 11 BC as the colleague of Quintus Aelius Tubero, [1] and a confidant of emperor Augustus.
The patrician Fabii were one of the most ancient and illustrious families of Rome, but by the Late Republic their status had begun to wane. Ronald Syme notes that the Fabii had "missed a generation in the consulate." [2]
Fabius was the elder son of Quintus Fabius Maximus, one of Caesar's legates during the Civil War, whom Caesar appointed consul suffectus on October 1, 45 BC. [3] He was named after his ancestor, Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus. [4] The elder Fabius died on the last day of his consulship, December 31, leaving Paullus, his younger brother, Africanus Fabius Maximus, and a sister, Fabia Paullina. [3]
Fabius' first known post was that of quaestor, in which capacity he served under Augustus during the emperor's travels through the eastern provinces from 22 to 19 BC. [5] After his consulship, Fabius served as proconsul of Asia; the exact period of his administration is uncertain, with some sources favouring 10 to 8 BC, [6] [7] and others as 6 to 5. [8] During this time, he minted a number of coins bearing his image. [9] In 3 BC, Fabius was legatus Augusti pro praetore or governor of Hispania Tarraconensis. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] While there, Paullus captured a Celtic city and named it Lucus Augusti, the modern city of Lugo. [15] [16]
During Fabius' administration of Asia, the provincial council decreed a competition to find a unique honour for the emperor. The winner was to receive a crown from the province. The proconsul himself submitted the winning proposal: a new calendar for the province, wherein the new year would start on September 23, Augustus' birthday. [17]
He was honored with a monument built by some grateful colonists in his memory on the top of the sacred hill of Monte Giove, in the territory of Hatria Picena, where there was a sanctuary. [18]
At some time between 20 and 10 BC, Fabius married Marcia, daughter of Lucius Marcius Philippus, consul suffectus in 38 BC. Her mother, Atia, was an aunt of Augustus, making Marcia the emperor's cousin. [19] [20] They had at least one son, Paullus Fabius Persicus, who was probably born in 2 or 1 BC. The younger Fabius was consul in AD 34, with Lucius Vitellius, father of the emperor Aulus Vitellius. [21] The elder Fabius and Marcia may also have been the parents of Fabia Numantina, although she may have been the daughter of Paullus' brother, Africanus. [22]
Fabius was a member of the Arval Brethren, an ancient college of priests that had dwindled into obscurity before Augustus chose to revive its importance as a means of demonstrating his piety and devotion to Roman traditions. [23] Fabius was later succeeded in this priestly office by his son. [24] [21]
The poet Juvenal described Fabius as a generous patron of poetry. [25] He was named in one of Horace's poems, written in 13 BC, and one of Horace's odes hints at him. [26] Fabius was also the recipient of a wedding song composed by Ovid. [27] While in exile Ovid wrote to Paullus, soliciting his help in allowing Ovid to return. [28]
Writing many years later, the historian Tacitus reported that Fabius had accompanied the emperor on a secret visit to the emperor's last surviving grandson, Agrippa Postumus, in AD 13. Postumus had been exiled in AD 9, perhaps at the instigation of his stepmother, the empress Livia Drusilla. According to Tacitus, Augustus and his grandson were reconciled, although the latter was not recalled from exile before the emperor's death in AD 14. Supposedly, Fabius discussed the visit with his wife, who informed the empress. Tacitus reported that Fabius' death in the summer of AD 14 was said to be either directly or indirectly the result of Augustus' anger at this betrayal of trust. [29] Ovid, too, suspected that his death might have been the result of Augustus' anger. [30] However, both the truth and accuracy of this story have been questioned by modern historians. [31]
AD 14 (XIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Appuleius. The denomination AD 14 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
The 10s decade ran from January 1, AD 10, to December 31, AD 19.
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus was a Roman general, author, and patron of literature and art.
The gens Fabia was one of the most ancient patrician families at ancient Rome. The gens played a prominent part in history soon after the establishment of the Republic, and three brothers were invested with seven successive consulships, from 485 to 479 BC, thereby cementing the high repute of the family. Overall, the Fabii received 45 consulships during the Republic. The house derived its greatest lustre from the patriotic courage and tragic fate of the 306 Fabii in the Battle of the Cremera, 477 BC. But the Fabii were not distinguished as warriors alone; several members of the gens were also important in the history of Roman literature and the arts.
Paullus Aemilius Lepidus was a Roman senator.
Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus was a Roman senator who was elected consul for 3 BC.
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was a patrician Roman senator, politician and general, praised by the historian Tacitus.
Epistulae ex Ponto is a work of Ovid, in four books. It is a collection of letters describing Ovid's exile in Tomis written in elegiac couplets and addressed to his wife and friends. The first three books were composed between 12 and 13 AD, according to the general academic consensus: "none of these elegies contains references to events falling outside that time span". The fourth book is believed to have been published posthumously.
Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respectively the son, grandson and great-grandson of Sextus Appuleius (I) and Octavia Major.
The gens Marcia, occasionally written Martia, was one of the oldest and noblest houses at ancient Rome. They claimed descent from the second and fourth Roman Kings, and the first of the Marcii appearing in the history of the Republic would seem to have been patrician; but all of the families of the Marcii known in the later Republic were plebeian. The first to obtain the consulship was Gaius Marcius Rutilus in 357 BC, only a few years after the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia opened this office to the plebeians.
Marcus Plautius Silvanus was a Roman politician and general active during the Principate. He was consul in 2 BC as the colleague of the emperor Augustus.
Quintus Aelius Tubero was a Roman senator. He was one of the priestly quindecimviri sacris faciundis who oversaw the celebration of the Saecular Games in 17 BC. He held the office of consul in 11 BC with Paullus Fabius Maximus. Rüpke and Glock date his appointment to the College of Priests about 21 BC.
Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus was a Roman Senator who was a friend of the first two Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius.
Fabia Numantina was a member of the patrician Fabia gens. Precisely how she fits into this family is not certain; while she is generally believed to be the daughter of Paullus Fabius Maximus and Marcia, a maternal first cousin of Augustus, it is possible that she was the daughter of Paullus' brother, Africanus Fabius Maximus.
Paullus Fabius Persicus was the only son of Paullus Fabius Maximus and Marcia, a maternal cousin of Augustus and great-niece of Julius Caesar. As such, Persicus was a first-cousin-once-removed of Augustus and a great-great-nephew of Julius Caesar.
Lucius Marcius Philippus was a Roman politician who was elected suffect consul in 38 BC. He was step-brother to the future emperor Augustus, as well as his uncle
Publius Suillius Rufus was a Roman senator who was active during the Principate. He was notorious for his prosecutions during the reign of Claudius; and he was the husband of the step-daughter of Ovid. Rufus was suffect consul in the nundinium of November-December 41 as the colleague of Quintus Ostorius Scapula.
Africanus Fabius Maximus was a Roman senator. His elder brother was Paullus Fabius Maximus and his sister was Fabia Paullina, who married Marcus Titius.
Sextus Pompeius was a Roman senator who lived during the 1st century BC and into the 1st century AD. He appeared to have a witty character and to be very intelligent. Sextus was a patron of literature and the Roman poet Ovid addressed to him four poems when he was living in exile. These poems were collected in the fourth book of Epistulae ex Ponto.
Marcus Suillius Nerullinus was a Roman senator, who was active during the Principate. He was consul ordinarius in the year 50 with Gaius Antistius Vetus as his colleague.