Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus (consul 108)
Encyclopedia
Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus was a distinguished Roman
general and politician that lived in the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century in the Roman Empire
.
Trebonius Gallus was born into the gens Annia
and was a member of the venerable family of the Annii Regilli. Regilli means ‘Little Queen’. He was related to the Roman Senator
Marcus Annius Verus
, who was a brother-in-law of Roman Emperor
Hadrian
and father of the Roman Empress Faustina the Elder
, wife of the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius
. Faustina the Elder
was the mother of Roman Empress Faustina the Younger
and aunt of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His father, may have been Appius Annius Gallus, one of the Suffect Consuls in the year 67 and his mother may have been a noblewoman with the cognomen
Trebonia.
In the year 69 Trebonius Gallus, became an ally to Otho
and helped him to assassinate the then Roman Emperor Galba
. Then as a serving Legatus
, Trebonius Gallus was a general under the command of the Roman Emperor Otho
with Vestricius Spurinna in his expedition against the troops of Vitellius
in Northern Italy
.
He was sent out by Otho to occupy the banks of the Po river (with several contingents) and took up a defensive position around Mantua
. Trebonius Gallus was to aid Spurinna and when Vitellius’ general Aulus Caecina Alienus
, tried to storm Placentia
. Little was needed for the defense of the city was fierce. When Caecina laid siege to Placentia, Trebonius Gallus hastened with a detachment of his army to the relief of the place. When Otho assembled his council, to decide upon the mode of acting, Eallus advised him to defer engaging in any battle.
By April the armies of Otho and Vitellius were maneuvering for strategic advantage, and Trebonius Gallus prepared his men to march to the main camp of Bedriacum. He had a fall from his horse which impaired him however, was he unable to attend the final council of war personally. He sent a messenger with the advice to delay the battle, as Otho’s army was outnumbered. Trebonius Gallus had missed the Battle of Bedriacum
, but rode afterwards to try to organize what was left of Otho’s legions and he couldn’t prevent Otho taking his life.
During the brief reign of Vitellius, Trebonius Gallus had withdrawn from public life. After the death of Vitellius in 69, Vespasian
had become Roman Emperor. He was summoned by Marcus Licinius Crassus Mucianus
, a representative of the victor of Vespasian. Mucianus had asked him for his assistance to end the revolt of Gaius Julius Civilis
, in Germania Superior
. Trebonius Gallus was sent with Quintus Petillius Cerialis
to end the rebellion. Although this was a tough military assignment, within months the rebellion had ended and the tribes were subdued. After the rebellion was over, Trebellius Gallus possessed the goodwill of the Flavian dynasty
.
Trebonius Gallus served as an ordinary consul in the year 108. On a stone at Olympia, Greece
, there is an honorific inscription dedicated to Trebonius Gallus, who was a consular colleague to Marcus Appius Bradua
in 108.
He married an unnamed noblewoman, through whom he had a son called Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus
, who served as one of the consuls in the year 139.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
general and politician that lived in the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century 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....
.
Trebonius Gallus was born into the gens Annia
Annia (gens)
The gens Annia was a plebeian family of considerable antiquity at Rome. The first person of this name whom Titus Livius mentions is the Latin praetor Lucius Annius of Setia, a Roman colony in 340 BC. By the time of the Second Punic War, the Annii were obtaining minor magistracies at Rome, and in...
and was a member of the venerable family of the Annii Regilli. Regilli means ‘Little Queen’. He was related to 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...
Marcus Annius Verus
Marcus Annius Verus
Marcus Annius Verus was a Roman man who lived in the 1st and 2nd century. He was the son of an elder Marcus Annius Verus, who gained the rank of senator and praetor. His family originated from Uccibi near Corduba in Spain...
, who was a brother-in-law of Roman 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...
Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , 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...
and father of the Roman Empress Faustina the Elder
Faustina the Elder
Annia Galeria Faustina, more familiarly referred to as Faustina I , was a Roman Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.-Early life:...
, wife of the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
. Faustina the Elder
Faustina the Elder
Annia Galeria Faustina, more familiarly referred to as Faustina I , was a Roman Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.-Early life:...
was the mother of Roman Empress Faustina the Younger
Faustina the Younger
Annia 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...
and aunt of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. His father, may have been Appius Annius Gallus, one of the Suffect Consuls in the year 67 and his mother may have been a noblewoman with the cognomen
Cognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
Trebonia.
In the year 69 Trebonius Gallus, became an ally to Otho
Otho
Otho , was Roman Emperor for three months, from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the four emperors.- Birth and lineage :...
and helped him to assassinate the then Roman Emperor Galba
Galba
Galba , was Roman Emperor for seven months from 68 to 69. Galba was the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, and made a bid for the throne during the rebellion of Julius Vindex...
. Then as a serving Legatus
Legatus
A 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...
, Trebonius Gallus was a general under the command of the Roman Emperor Otho
Otho
Otho , was Roman Emperor for three months, from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the four emperors.- Birth and lineage :...
with Vestricius Spurinna in his expedition against the troops of Vitellius
Vitellius
Vitellius , was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed Emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
in Northern Italy
Italy
Italy , 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...
.
He was sent out by Otho to occupy the banks of the Po river (with several contingents) and took up a defensive position around Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
. Trebonius Gallus was to aid Spurinna and when Vitellius’ general Aulus Caecina Alienus
Aulus Caecina Alienus
Aulus Caecina Alienus, Roman general, was born in Vicetia .He was quaestor of Hispania Baetica in AD 68. On the death of Nero, he attached himself to Galba, who appointed him to the command of Legio IV Macedonica at Mogontiacum in Germania Superior...
, tried to storm Placentia
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
. Little was needed for the defense of the city was fierce. When Caecina laid siege to Placentia, Trebonius Gallus hastened with a detachment of his army to the relief of the place. When Otho assembled his council, to decide upon the mode of acting, Eallus advised him to defer engaging in any battle.
By April the armies of Otho and Vitellius were maneuvering for strategic advantage, and Trebonius Gallus prepared his men to march to the main camp of Bedriacum. He had a fall from his horse which impaired him however, was he unable to attend the final council of war personally. He sent a messenger with the advice to delay the battle, as Otho’s army was outnumbered. Trebonius Gallus had missed the Battle of Bedriacum
Battle of Bedriacum
The Battle of Bedriacum refers to two battles fought during the Year of the Four Emperors near the village of Bedriacum , about from the town of Cremona in northern Italy...
, but rode afterwards to try to organize what was left of Otho’s legions and he couldn’t prevent Otho taking his life.
During the brief reign of Vitellius, Trebonius Gallus had withdrawn from public life. After the death of Vitellius in 69, Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
had become Roman Emperor. He was summoned by Marcus Licinius Crassus Mucianus
Mucianus
Gaius Licinius Mucianus was a general, statesman and writer of ancient Rome.His name shows that he had passed by adoption from the gens Mucia to the gens Licinia. He was sent by Claudius to Armenia with Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Under Nero he is recorded as suffect consul ca...
, a representative of the victor of Vespasian. Mucianus had asked him for his assistance to end the revolt of Gaius Julius Civilis
Gaius Julius Civilis
Gaius Julius Civilis was the leader of the Batavian rebellion against the Romans in 69. By his nomen, it can be told that he was made a Roman citizen by either Augustus or Caligula....
, in Germania Superior
Germania Superior
Germania Superior , so called for the reason that it lay upstream of Germania Inferior, was a province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany...
. Trebonius Gallus was sent with Quintus Petillius Cerialis
Quintus Petillius Cerialis
Quintus Petilius Cerialis Caesius Rufus was a Roman general and administrator who served in Britain during Boudica's rebellion and who went on to participate in the civil wars after the death of Nero. He later defeated the rebellion of Julius Civilis and returned to Britain as its governor.His...
to end the rebellion. Although this was a tough military assignment, within months the rebellion had ended and the tribes were subdued. After the rebellion was over, Trebellius Gallus possessed the goodwill of the Flavian dynasty
Flavian dynasty
The Flavian dynasty was a Roman Imperial Dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96 AD, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian , and his two sons Titus and Domitian . The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
.
Trebonius Gallus served as an ordinary consul in the year 108. On a stone at Olympia, Greece
Olympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
, there is an honorific inscription dedicated to Trebonius Gallus, who was a consular colleague to Marcus Appius Bradua
Marcus Appius Bradua
Marcus Appius Bradua, also known by his full name Marcus Atilius Metilius Bradua was a distinguished Roman Politician who lived in the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century in the Roman Empire.-Biography:Bradua was a member of the Atilia...
in 108.
He married an unnamed noblewoman, through whom he had a son called Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus
Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus (consul 139)
Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus, sometimes known as Appius Annius Gallus was a Roman senator.Annius Gallus was the son of the Roman politician and general Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus and an unnamed Roman noble woman. His paternal grandfather could have been Appius Annius Gallus, one of the...
, who served as one of the consuls in the year 139.
Sources
- http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1331.html
- M. Dunson, A dictionary of the Roman Empire, Oxford University Press, 1995
- A. R. Birley, The Roman Government of Britain, Oxford University Press, 2005
- S. B. Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity, Harvard University Press, 2007