Gaius Avidius Nigrinus was a
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
that lived between the 1st and 2nd centuries.
Nigrinus’ paternal and maternal ancestors were Romans of the highest political rank. He was the son of an elder Gaius Avidius Nigrinus by an unnamed mother, his brother was the consul
Titus Avidius QuietusTitus Avidius Quietus was a Roman politician who lived in the 1st century even possibly in the 2nd century.Quietus’ paternal and maternal ancestors were Romans of the highest political rank...
and his paternal uncle was the proconsul
Tiberius Avidius QuietusTiberius Avidius Quietus was a Roman politician the lived between the 1st century and the 2nd century.Quietus came from a wealthy, distinguished and well connected political family in Faventia...
. Nigrinus’ family were wealthy, distinguished and well connected politically from Faventia (modern
FaenzaFaenza is an Italian city and comune, in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated 50 km southeast of Bologna.Faenza is noted for its manufacture of majolica ware glazed earthenware pottery, known from the name of the town as "faience"....
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) and he was born and raised in Faventia. Nigrinus and his family may have been related to the consul Gaius Petronius Pontius Nigrinus, who had served his consulship at the time that the
Roman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
TiberiusTiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
had died in 37.
His family had strong links to
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. The father of Nigrinus, had served at an unknown date during the reign of
Roman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
DomitianDomitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
(81-96) as
ProconsulA proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...
of
AchaeaAchaea, or Achaia, was a province of the Roman Empire, consisting of the Peloponnese, eastern Central Greece and parts of Thessaly. It bordered on the north by the provinces of Epirus vetus and Macedonia...
, as well as his paternal uncle. His family was friends of Greek Historian
PlutarchPlutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
and Roman Senator
Pliny the YoungerGaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
. Plutarch dedicated a writing piece to the elder Nigrinus and Quietus entitled ‘On Brotherly Love’.
Nigrinus was a long outstanding friend of the Roman Emperor
TrajanTrajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
and his family. He served as
TribuneTribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
in 105. Nigrinus served as
LegatusA legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
of Achaea and probably participated in Trajan’s attempt to recognize and stabilize the administration of the financially troubled province. Nigrinus later became the Roman Governor of Greece.
In 110, Nigrinus served as suffect consul. During the year of his consulship, Trajan sent Nigrinus as a special official to
DelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
, Greece as a member of an advisory council to assist the politician, later Greek historian
ArrianLucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
in settling boundary disputes. This event is known in Delphi, as there are honorific inscriptions dedicated to Nigrinus in Greek and Latin in Delphi recording his tour of duty in Greece.
Nigrinus was a trusted lieutenant to Trajan. Trajan appointed him as a Roman Governor of the
DaciaIn ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land inhabited by the Dacians or Getae as they were known by the Greeks—the branch of the Thracians north of the Haemus range...
. Nigrinus commanded considerable political respect, was a leading military general and could have been seen as a probable heir of Trajan.
In 117, Trajan had died and was succeeded by his paternal second cousin
HadrianHadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
. In the summer of 118 Nigrinus, was one of four senators to be executed from orders from the
Roman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
because he was involved in a plot to overthrow Hadrian. Nigrinus was dismissed at Faventia. He was probably involved in the plot because of his differing position on Hadrian’s imperial policy and due to his long friendship, high standing with Trajan, Hadrian could have viewed Nigrinus as a potential threat as a heir as ruling emperor.
Nigrinus in his life married an unattested Roman noble woman called Ignota Plautia. He had at least one known child a daughter called
Avidia PlautiaAvidia Plautia Nigrini or most commonly known as Avidia Plautia , was a well-connected noble Roman woman. She is among the lesser known members of the ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire....
. Plautia would marry Hadrian’s first adopted heir
Lucius AeliusLucius Aelius Caesar became the adopted son and intended successor, of Roman Emperor Hadrian , but never attained the throne....
Verus Caesar. Nigrinus would become the maternal grandfather of the Roman Emperor
Lucius VerusLucius Verus , was Roman co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, from 161 until his death.-Early life and career:Lucius Verus was the first born son to Avidia Plautia and Lucius Aelius Verus Caesar, the first adopted son and heir of Roman Emperor Hadrian . He was born and raised in Rome...
, prince Gaius Avidius Ceionius Commodus, princesses
Ceionia FabiaCeionia Fabia was a noble Roman woman and a member of the ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire.Fabia was the first born daughter to the Roman Senator Lucius Aelius Verus Caesar and Avidia Plautia. Her father from 136-138, was the first adopted heir and successor of the Roman Emperor...
and
Ceionia PlautiaCeionia Plautia was a Roman noblewoman and is among the lesser known members of the ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire....
.
Sources
- A dictionary of the Roman Empire By Matthew Bunson – 1995
- Plutarch's Sertorius: A Historical Commentary. C. Konrad Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994
- The Cambridge ancient history, Volume 11 By Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey, Dominic Rathbone Limited preview - Edition: 2 - Item notes: v. 11 – 2000
- Marcus Aurelius, by Anthony Richard Birley, Routledge, 2000
- The Roman Government of Britain, Anthony Richard Birley 2005
- http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2310.html
- http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/zpe/downloads/1997/116pdf/116209.pdf
- http://romansonline.com/Persns.asp?IntID=1713&Ename=Gaius+Avidius+Nigrinus
- 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