Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer

Last updated
P. A. Hadrianus Afer from Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer.jpg
P. A. Hadrianus Afer from Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum

Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer was a distinguished and wealthy Roman senator and soldier who lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century. Hadrianus Afer was originally from Hispania and was of Roman descent. He was born and raised in the city of Italica (near modern Seville, Spain) in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica. He came from a well-established, wealthy and aristocratic family of Praetorian rank. He was the son of the noble Roman woman Ulpia and his father was the Roman senator, Publius Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus. Hadrianus Afer's maternal uncle was the Roman general and senator Marcus Ulpius Traianus, the father of Ulpia Marciana and her younger brother Emperor Trajan. Ulpia Marciana and Trajan were his maternal cousins.

Throughout his life, Hadrianus Afer spent some of his time in Rome. His surname Afer is Latin for African. He received the surname Afer as a nickname, due to his outstanding service in Mauretania. Hadrianus Afer married Domitia Paulina, a Hispanic Roman woman from a distinguished senatorial family who came from Gades (modern Cádiz, Spain). Their children were a daughter, Aelia Domitia Paulina (75–130) and a son, Emperor Publius Aelius Hadrianus (76–138). After reaching the praetorship, Afer and his wife died in 86. His son and daughter were placed in the guardianship of his cousin Trajan and the Roman officer Publius Acilius Attianus.

Nerva–Antonine family tree

Sources

Related Research Articles

Aemilia Lepida is the name of several ancient Roman women belonging to the gens Aemilia. The name was given to daughters of men belonging to the Lepidus branch of the Aemilius family. The first Aemilia Lepida to be mentioned by Roman historians was the former fiancée of the younger Cato. Subsequent Aemiliae are known because of their marriages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salonia Matidia</span> Niece of Roman emperor Trajan (68-119)

Salonia Matidia was the daughter and only child of Ulpia Marciana and wealthy praetor Gaius Salonius Matidius Patruinus. Her maternal uncle was the Roman emperor Trajan. Trajan had no children and treated her like his daughter. Her father died in 78 and Matidia went with her mother to live with Trajan and his wife, Pompeia Plotina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulpia Marciana</span> Elder sister of the Roman Emperor Trajan (48-112)

Ulpia Marciana was the beloved elder sister of Roman Emperor Trajan and grandmother of empress Vibia Sabina the wife of Hadrian. Upon her death her brother had her deified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pompeia Plotina</span> Roman Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Trajan

Pompeia Plotina was Roman empress from 98 to 117 as the wife of Trajan. She was renowned for her interest in philosophy, and her virtue, dignity and simplicity. She was particularly devoted to the Epicurean philosophical school in Athens, Greece. She is often viewed as having provided Romans with fairer taxation, improved education, assisted the poor, and created tolerance in Roman society.

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

The gens Calpurnia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which first appears in history during the third century BC. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Calpurnius Piso in 180 BC, but from this time their consulships were very frequent, and the family of the Pisones became one of the most illustrious in the Roman state. Two important pieces of Republican legislation, the lex Calpurnia of 149 BC and lex Acilia Calpurnia of 67 BC were passed by members of the gens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domitia Lucilla (mother of Marcus Aurelius)</span> Mother of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius

Calvisia Domitia Lucilla, was a noble Roman woman who lived in the 2nd century. She is best known as the mother of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paulina</span> Prosopographical list of female relatives of Roman Emperor Hadrian

Paulina or Paullina was a name shared by three relatives of the Roman Emperor Hadrian: his mother, his elder sister and his niece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Ulpius Traianus (father of Trajan)</span> 1st century Roman senator, general and governor

Marcus Ulpius Traianus was a Roman senator who lived in the first century. He was father to the Roman Emperor Trajan.

Publius Acilius Attianus was a powerful Roman official who played a significant, though obscured, role in the transfer of power from Trajan to Hadrian.

Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus was an Iberian Roman politician. He was a prominent public figure in the reigns of Roman emperors Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian. He was the last private citizen to receive a third consulship; such honors came to be reserved for members of the emperor's family.

The gens Aelia, occasionally written Ailia, was a plebeian family in Rome, which flourished from the fifth century BC until at least the third century AD, a period of nearly eight hundred years. The archaic spelling Ailia is found on coins, but must not be confused with Allia, which is a distinct gens. The first member of the family to obtain the consulship was Publius Aelius Paetus in 337 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcia Furnilla</span> Wife of emperor Titus

Marcia Furnilla was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 1st century. Furnilla was the second and last wife of the future Roman Emperor Titus as well as the aunt of the future emperor Trajan.

Marcia was an ancient Roman noblewoman and the mother of the emperor Trajan.

Gaius Salonius Matidius Patruinus was a Roman Senator who lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century during the reign of Vespasian.

Ulpia was a noble Spanish Roman woman from the gens Ulpia during the 1st century CE. She was the paternal aunt of Roman emperor Trajan and paternal grandmother of emperor Hadrian.

Publius Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus, also known as Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus or Aelius Marullinus was a Roman Senator of Praetorian rank from Hispania who lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avidia (mother of Lucius Verus)</span> 2nd century Roman noblewoman

Avidia was a well-connected noble Roman woman. She is among the lesser known members of the ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire.

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

The gens Ulpia was a Roman family that rose to prominence during the first century AD. The gens is best known from the emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, who reigned from AD 98 to 117. The Thirtieth Legion took its name, Ulpia, in his honor. The city of Serdica, modern day Sofia, was renamed as Ulpia Serdica.

The gens Domitia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus, consul in 332 BC. His son, Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus Maximus, was consul in 283, and the first plebeian censor. The family produced several distinguished generals, and towards the end of the Republic, the Domitii were looked upon as one of the most illustrious gentes.