Gnaeus Claudius Severus
Encyclopedia
Gnaeus Claudius Severus was a Roman senator
and philosopher who lived in the Roman Empire
during the 2nd century.
Severus was the son of the Roman senator and philosopher Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus
by an unnamed mother. Severus was of Pontian Greek
descent. He was born and raised in Pompeiopolis
, a city in the Roman province
of Galatia
. His paternal grandfather Gaius Claudius Severus
was a consul and the first Roman governor of Arabia Petraea
in the reign of the Emperor
Trajan
, 98-117.
Like his father, Severus was a follower of peripatetic philosophy. Although Severus held no major political influence, he was considered as an influential figure in the intellectual and philosopher circles in Rome
. Like his father, Severus was a friend and had a great influence on the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180). It was probably Severus that introduced Marcus Aurelius, to the rhetoric
ian Cornelianus
and by his personal physician recommendation, introduced Marcus Aurelius to the Greek physician Galen
. Severus with his father accompanied Marcus Aurelius on a philosophical visit to Athens
, Greece
in 176.
Severus served as an ordinary consul
in 167 and 173. In the year of his second consulship, Severus became a patron and was made an honorary citizen of Pompeiopolis. In 173, an honorific inscription was dedicated to Severus in his birth city. This honorific surviving inscription was found on a statue base in the city:
Roman Senate
The 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...
and philosopher who lived in the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The 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....
during the 2nd century.
Severus was the son of the Roman senator and philosopher Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus
Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus
Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus was a Roman Senator and philosopher that lived in the Roman Empire.Severus was the son of the consul and the first Roman Governor of Arabia Petraea, Gaius Claudius Severus by an unnamed mother. Severus was of Pontian Greek descent...
by an unnamed mother. Severus was of Pontian Greek
Pontic Greeks
The Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea...
descent. He was born and raised in Pompeiopolis
Pompeiopolis
Pompeiopolis was a Roman city-state in ancient Paphlagonia, situated today in the Taşköprü district, Kastamonu, Turkey. The exact location is 45 km north of Kastamonu, to the north of Taşköprü, in the valley of the Gökırmak...
, a city in the Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Galatia
Galatia
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...
. His paternal grandfather Gaius Claudius Severus
Gaius Claudius Severus
Gaius Claudius Severus was a Roman senator who lived in the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century in the Roman Empire....
was a consul and the first Roman governor of Arabia Petraea
Arabia Petraea
Arabia Petraea, also called Provincia Arabia or simply Arabia, was a frontier province of the Roman Empire beginning in the 2nd century; it consisted of the former Nabataean kingdom in modern Jordan, southern modern Syria, the Sinai Peninsula and northwestern Saudi Arabia. Its capital was Petra...
in the reign of the Emperor
Roman Emperor
The 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...
Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , 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...
, 98-117.
Like his father, Severus was a follower of peripatetic philosophy. Although Severus held no major political influence, he was considered as an influential figure in the intellectual and philosopher circles in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Like his father, Severus was a friend and had a great influence on the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180). It was probably Severus that introduced Marcus Aurelius, to the rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
ian Cornelianus
Cornelianus
Sulpicius Cornelianus was a Roman rhetorician. He lived in the reign of the Roman Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Verus. This puts him in the late 2nd century...
and by his personal physician recommendation, introduced Marcus Aurelius to the Greek physician Galen
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
. Severus with his father accompanied Marcus Aurelius on a philosophical visit to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
in 176.
Severus served as an ordinary consul
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
in 167 and 173. In the year of his second consulship, Severus became a patron and was made an honorary citizen of Pompeiopolis. In 173, an honorific inscription was dedicated to Severus in his birth city. This honorific surviving inscription was found on a statue base in the city:
- For the good fortune of Gnaeus Claudius Severus who was consul twice, pontifexPontifexPONTIFEX was a mid-1980s project that introduced a novel approach to complex aircraft fleet scheduling, partially funded by the European Commission’s Strategic Programme for R&D in Information Technology.Since the mathematical problems stemming from non trivial fleet scheduling easily become...
, son-in-law of the Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus, patron of the city, the metropolis Pompeiopolis of the province of Paphlagonia put this up in the 178th year of the province through the work of Publius Domitius Augureinus Clodius Kalbeinus the chief archonArchonArchon is a Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem ἀρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy.- Ancient Greece :In ancient Greece the...
.
Marriages and Issues
Severus married twice and his wives were:- First marriage, by an unnamed noble Roman woman, he had a son
- Marcus Claudius Ummidius Quadratus. His birth name is unknown and he is known by his adoption name. Claudius was adopted by the consul of 167, Marcus Ummidius Quadratus AnnianusMarcus Ummidius Quadratus AnnianusMarcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus was a wealthy Roman Politician and the nephew of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.Quadratus was the son of Marcus Aurelius’ sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina and the Roman Senator who served as a suffect consul in 146, Gaius Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus....
who was the nephew of Marcus Aurelius. In 182, Severus’ first son was involved in a failed plot to kill the Roman Emperor CommodusCommodusCommodus , was Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180. His name changed throughout his reign; see changes of name for earlier and later forms. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded...
(180-192). When the plot was revealed, Commodus ordered his death and he died.
- Marcus Claudius Ummidius Quadratus. His birth name is unknown and he is known by his adoption name. Claudius was adopted by the consul of 167, Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus
- Second marriage, after 159 he married the Roman Princess Annia Aurelia Galeria FaustinaAnnia Aurelia Galeria FaustinaAnnia Aurelia Galeria Faustina , was a Roman Princess. She was the first born daughter and child to Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger. Her younger sister was Roman Empress Lucilla and younger brother was Roman Emperor Commodus...
, the first daughter and child born to Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the YoungerFaustina the YoungerAnnia Galeria Faustina Minor , Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger was a daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and Roman Empress Faustina the Elder. She was a Roman Empress and wife to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius...
. She was the oldest sister to Commodus, by whom he had a son called:- Tiberius Claudius Severus ProculusTiberius Claudius Severus ProculusTiberius Claudius Severus Proculus was a Roman Senator that lived in the Roman Empire.-Descent and Family:Severus Proculus was born of noble descent. He was from a wealthy, prominent, distinguished family in Pompeiopolis, a city in the Roman province of Galatia...
, he served as an ordinary consul in 200 and married his maternal second cousin Annia FaustinaAnnia Faustina (daughter of Ummidia Cornificia Faustina)Annia Faustina was a noblewoman of Anatolian Roman descent and a wealthy heiress who lived in the Roman Empire.Annia Faustina was the daughter and only child of the wealthy Roman heiress Ummidia Cornificia Faustina by an unnamed Roman Senator. The full name of Annia Faustina is unknown...
.
- Tiberius Claudius Severus Proculus
Sources
- Marcus Aurelius, by Anthony Richard Birley, Routledge, 2000
- Septimius Severus: the African emperor, by Anthony Richard Birley Edition: 2 - 1999
- From Tiberius to the Antonines: a history of the Roman Empire AD 14-192, by Albino Garzetti, 1974
- The Cambridge ancient history: The High Empire, A.D. 70-192, By Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey, Dominic Rathbone Edition: 2 - Item notes: v. 11 - 2000
- The Cities and Bishoprics of Phyrgia: Being an Essay of the Local History of Phrygia from the Earliest Times to the Turkish Conquest Volume One, Part One - By William M. Ramsay 2004
- Articles – Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus & Gnaeus Claudius Severus from German Wikipedia
- http://www.livius.org/fa-fn/faustina/faustina_ii.html
- http://www.umich.edu/~classics/programs/class/cc/372/sibyl/tutorial/dating/
- http://thecorner.wordpress.com/2006/06/21/chapter-two-septimius-and-the-cursus-honorum/
- Marcus Aurelius - MeditationsMeditationsMeditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161–180 CE, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy....