Titus Petronius Secundus | |
---|---|
Born | Unknown |
Died | 97 Rome |
Allegiance | Roman Empire |
Years of service | 94–96 |
Rank | Praetorian prefect |
Commands held | Praetorian Guard |
Titus Petronius Secundus (died 97 AD) was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, under emperor Domitian, from 94 until 96. Prior to becoming Praetorian prefect, Petronius had served as governor of Roman Egypt from 92 until 93. [1]
While governor of Egypt, Petronius is attested as hearing the Colossi of Memnon sing, one of many ancient Romans known to have witnessed this phenomenon. [2]
The role of Petronius in the conspiracy which led to the assassination of Domitian on September 18, 96 is unclear. Brian Jones notes that although "the support of the praetorian prefects would obviously be one of the primary concerns of any would-be imperial assassin, ancient sources are nowhere near as unanimous as their modern counterparts in claiming" that Petronius was among a number of government officials involved. [3] Suetonius fails to implicate either Petronius or his colleague Titus Flavius Norbanus in his account of Domitian's death. Cassius Dio simply writes that "it was said that" Domitian's wife and both prefects were aware of the plot. [4] It is the much later author Eutropius who accuses Petronius of assisting Parthenius in killing Domitian. [5]
Upon the accession of emperor Nerva, Petronius was dismissed as prefect. "They had been disloyal to one emperor," writes John Grainger, "and so their loyalty to the new one could not be assumed." [6] Support for Domitian however remained strong in the army; they agitated that the dead emperor be deified. [7] Dissatisfaction with the state of affairs ultimately led to a rebellion in which the Praetorian Guard, led by Casperius Aelianus, laid siege to the Imperial Palace and forced Nerva to submit to hand over those responsible for Domitian's death. The revolt was successful and Petronius was murdered by the Praetorians. [8]
Domitian was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a ruthless but efficient autocrat", his authoritarian style of ruling put him at sharp odds with the Senate, whose powers he drastically curtailed.
Vespasian was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolidation of the empire generated political stability and a vast Roman building program.
The 90s ran from 90 AD to 99 AD.
Titus Caesar Vespasianus was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death.
The gens Petronia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. This gens claimed an ancient lineage, as a Petronius Sabinus is mentioned in the time of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last of the Roman kings, but few Petronii are mentioned in the time of the Republic. They are frequently encountered under the Empire, holding numerous consulships, and eventually obtaining the Empire itself during the brief reign of Petronius Maximus in AD 455.
The Praetorian Guard was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort for high-rank political officials and were bodyguards for the senior officers of the Roman legions. In the year 27 BC, after Rome's transition from republic to empire, the first Emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus, designated the Praetorians as his personal security escort. For three centuries, the guards of the Roman emperor were also known for their palace intrigues, by which influence upon imperial politics the Praetorians could overthrow an emperor, and then proclaim his successor as the new Caesar of Rome. In AD 312, Constantine the Great disbanded the cohortes praetoriae and destroyed their barracks at the Castra Praetoria.
Domitia Longina was a Roman empress and wife to the Roman emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus in order to marry Domitian in AD 71. The marriage produced only one son, whose early death is believed to have been the cause of a temporary rift between Domitia and her husband in 83. She became the empress upon Domitian's accession in 81, and remained so until his assassination in 96. She is believed to have died sometime between AD 126 and 130.
The Flavian dynasty ruled the Roman Empire between AD 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian (69–79), and his two sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96). The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known as the Year of the Four Emperors. After Galba and Otho died in quick succession, Vitellius became emperor in mid 69. His claim to the throne was quickly challenged by legions stationed in the Eastern provinces, who declared their commander Vespasian emperor in his place. The Second Battle of Bedriacum tilted the balance decisively in favour of the Flavian forces, who entered Rome on 20 December. The following day, the Roman Senate officially declared Vespasian emperor of the Roman Empire, thus commencing the Flavian dynasty. Although the dynasty proved to be short-lived, several significant historic, economic and military events took place during their reign.
The gens Flavia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members are first mentioned during the last three centuries of the Republic. The first of the Flavii to achieve prominence was Marcus Flavius, tribune of the plebs in 327 and 323 BC; however, no Flavius attained the consulship until Gaius Flavius Fimbria in 104 BC. The gens became illustrious during the first century AD, when the family of the Flavii Sabini claimed the imperial dignity.
Titus Flavius T. f. T. n. Clemens was a Roman politician and cousin of the emperor Domitian, with whom he served as consul from January to April in AD 95. Shortly after leaving the consulship, Clemens was executed, allegedly for atheism, although the exact circumstances remain unclear. Over time, he came to be regarded as an early Christian martyr.
Casperius Aelianus who served as Praetorian Prefect under the emperors Domitian and Nerva, was a Praetorian Prefect loyal to the Roman Emperor Domitian, the last of the Flavian dynasty. After Domitian's murder and the ascension of the Emperor Nerva, Aelianus laid siege to the Imperial Capital in order to force the capture of the men responsible for Domitian's death, who had not been punished by Nerva. Aelianus succeeded in his demands, greatly weakening the authority of the Emperor, so much so that Nerva realized that his position was no longer tenable without the support of an heir who had the approval of the Roman army. Within two or three months Nerva announced the adoption of the highly respected general Trajan as his successor.
Cornelius Fuscus was a Roman general who fought campaigns under the Emperors of the Flavian dynasty. During the reign of Domitian, he served as prefect of the imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, from 81 until his death in 86 AD. Prior to this appointment, Fuscus had distinguished himself as one of Vespasian's most ardent supporters during the civil war of 69 AD, known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
Sextus Attius Suburanus Aemilianus, commonly abbreviated as Suburanus, was a Roman eques who helped Trajan consolidate his position as emperor. Originally procurator of Gallia Belgica, Suburanus was appointed prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, in the year 98 and brought this important military unit under Trajan's control. For his achievement, at the end of his command of the Guard, Suburanus was adlected into the Roman senate inter praetores, then held the suffect consulship as the colleague of the consul posterior Quintus Articuleius Paetus in AD 101.
Nerva was Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Under Nero, he was a member of the imperial entourage and played a vital part in exposing the Pisonian conspiracy of 65. Later, as a loyalist to the Flavians, he attained consulships in 71 and 90 during the reigns of Vespasian and Domitian, respectively. On 18 September 96, Domitian was assassinated in a palace conspiracy involving members of the Praetorian Guard and several of his freedmen. On the same day, Nerva was declared emperor by the Roman Senate. As the new ruler of the Roman Empire, he vowed to restore liberties which had been curtailed during the autocratic government of Domitian.
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Lucius Julius Ursus was a relative of the Flavian dynasty, who was originally one of the equites who held several imperial appointments, but afterwards was promoted to the Roman senate. He was suffect consul three times: once under Domitian and twice under Trajan.
Gaius Calpurnius Piso Crassus Frugi Licinianus was a Roman senator who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries. He served as suffect consul for the nundinium January to April 87, replacing the emperor Domitian. Crassus is best known for being suspected of plotting against the emperor Nerva, as a result of which he spent much of the rest of his life exiled from Rome to various locations.
Publius Julius Lupus was a Roman senator, best known as the step-father of the emperor Antoninus Pius. He was suffect consul in the nundinium of November-December 98 as the colleague of Quintus Fulvius Gillo Bittius Proculus.
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