Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus
Encyclopedia
Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus (138 CE - 182 CE) 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. Quadratus had descended from one of the leading families in Rome. He was born and raised in Rome
. Through his mother, he was a member and a relative to the ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire
. His sister was Ummidia Cornificia Faustina
.
The mother of Quadratus had died in 152-158. When his mother had died, Quadratus and Cornificia Faustina divided their mother’s property that they inherited. Through the inheritances of their parents, Quadratus and Cornificia Faustina had become very wealthy heirs.
After his mother’s death, Quadratus assumed a mistress and lover, a Greek Freedwoman called Marcia. Marcia later became a mistress to the Roman Emperor Commodus
(180-192). Marcia was the wife of Quadratus’ servant Eclectus.
In 167, during the reign of the co-Roman Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
, Quadratus served as an ordinary consul. After his consulship, Quadratus adopted the first son of the Ponian Greek
Roman Senator
and Philosopher Gnaeus Claudius Severus
, as his son and heir. His adopted son assumed the name Marcus Claudius Ummidius Quadratus. The reason why Quadratus adopted Gnaeus Claudius Severus’ first son is unknown.
When Marcus Aurelius had died in 180, his maternal cousin Commodus succeeded his father. Commodus’ sister Lucilla
was not happy living as a quiet, private citizen in Rome and became jealous of her brother and her sister-in-law because of all the attention that they received. Also she became very concerned due to the unstable behavior of her brother.
In 182, Lucilla, her daughter Plautia, her nephew-in-marriage and with the help of Quadratus, his adopted son and Cornificia Faustina had planned to assassinate Commodus and replace him with Lucilla and her second husband, the consul Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus
Quintianus, as the new rulers of Rome. Quadratus, his adopted son and his sister were involved in Lucilla’s plot because they may had a dynastic dispute with Commodus. Another reason that Quadratus was involved in this plot is because Quadratus and Lucilla may have been lovers.
Lucilla’s nephew-in-marriage, Quintianus, burst from his place of hiding with a dagger, trying to stab Commodus. He said to him "Here is the dagger the senate sends to you", giving away his intentions before he had the chance to act. The guards were faster than he was. He was overpowered and disarmed without doing the emperor any harm.
The plot to kill Commodus failed. When the conspiracy was revealed, the emperor ordered the deaths of Quadratus, his adopted son and Quintianus. Commodus may have confiscated Quadratus’ property and fortune. Lucilla, her daughter and Cornificia Faustina were banished to the Italian island of Capri
. The Emperor then sent a centurion to Capri to execute the three women later that year.
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...
Marcus Aurelius.
Quadratus was the son of Marcus Aurelius’ sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina
Annia Cornificia Faustina
Annia Cornificia Faustina was the youngest child and only daughter to Praetor Marcus Annius Verus and Domitia Lucilla. The parents of Cornificia came from wealthy senatorial families who were of consular rank. She was born and raised in Rome. The brother of Cornificia was the future Roman Emperor...
and the Roman Senator
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...
who served as a suffect consul in 146, Gaius Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus. Quadratus had descended from one of the leading families in Rome. He was born and raised 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...
. Through his mother, he was a member and a relative to the ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of 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....
. His sister was Ummidia Cornificia Faustina
Ummidia Cornificia Faustina
Ummidia Cornificia Faustina was a wealthy Roman noblewoman, an heiress and the niece of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.Cornificia Faustina was the daughter of Marcus Aurelius’ sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina and the Roman Senator who served as a suffect consul in 146, Gaius Ummidius Quadratus...
.
The mother of Quadratus had died in 152-158. When his mother had died, Quadratus and Cornificia Faustina divided their mother’s property that they inherited. Through the inheritances of their parents, Quadratus and Cornificia Faustina had become very wealthy heirs.
After his mother’s death, Quadratus assumed a mistress and lover, a Greek Freedwoman called Marcia. Marcia later became a mistress to the Roman Emperor Commodus
Commodus
Commodus , 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). Marcia was the wife of Quadratus’ servant Eclectus.
In 167, during the reign of the co-Roman Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
Lucius Verus
Lucius 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...
, Quadratus served as an ordinary consul. After his consulship, Quadratus adopted the first son of the Ponian Greek
Pontic Greeks
The Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea...
Roman Senator
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 Gnaeus Claudius Severus
Gnaeus Claudius Severus
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...
, as his son and heir. His adopted son assumed the name Marcus Claudius Ummidius Quadratus. The reason why Quadratus adopted Gnaeus Claudius Severus’ first son is unknown.
When Marcus Aurelius had died in 180, his maternal cousin Commodus succeeded his father. Commodus’ sister Lucilla
Lucilla
Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla was the second daughter and third child of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger and an elder sister to future Roman Emperor Commodus....
was not happy living as a quiet, private citizen in Rome and became jealous of her brother and her sister-in-law because of all the attention that they received. Also she became very concerned due to the unstable behavior of her brother.
In 182, Lucilla, her daughter Plautia, her nephew-in-marriage and with the help of Quadratus, his adopted son and Cornificia Faustina had planned to assassinate Commodus and replace him with Lucilla and her second husband, the consul Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus
Claudius Pompeianus
Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus was a Roman general of emperor Marcus Aurelius. He married Aurelius' daughter Lucilla and rose to the rank of senior senator in Rome before twice refusing emperorship for himself....
Quintianus, as the new rulers of Rome. Quadratus, his adopted son and his sister were involved in Lucilla’s plot because they may had a dynastic dispute with Commodus. Another reason that Quadratus was involved in this plot is because Quadratus and Lucilla may have been lovers.
Lucilla’s nephew-in-marriage, Quintianus, burst from his place of hiding with a dagger, trying to stab Commodus. He said to him "Here is the dagger the senate sends to you", giving away his intentions before he had the chance to act. The guards were faster than he was. He was overpowered and disarmed without doing the emperor any harm.
The plot to kill Commodus failed. When the conspiracy was revealed, the emperor ordered the deaths of Quadratus, his adopted son and Quintianus. Commodus may have confiscated Quadratus’ property and fortune. Lucilla, her daughter and Cornificia Faustina were banished to the Italian island of Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
. The Emperor then sent a centurion to Capri to execute the three women later that year.
Sources
- Krawczuk, Aleksander. Poczet cesarzowych Rzymu. Warszawa: Iskry. ISBN 83-244-0021-4.
- Septimius Severus: the African emperor, by Anthony Richard Birley Edition: 2 – 1999
- Marcus Aurelius, by Anthony Richard Birley, Routledge, 2000
- From Tiberius to the Antonines: a history of the Roman Empire AD 14-192, by Albino Garzetti, 1974
- 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
- Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Article from German Wikipedia
- Roman Emperors