Gaius Julius Plancius Varus Cornutus was a man of Roman Senatorial rank

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 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....

 in the 2nd century.

Cornutus was the son and only child of Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus

Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus

There were two Romans of Senatorial rank with the name Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries in the Roman Empire...

 and Plancia Magna

Plancia Magna

Plancia Magna was a prominent woman from Anatolia who lived between the 1st century and 2nd century in the Roman Empire.-Ancestry, family, and early life:...

. His paternal grandparents were the Proconsul

Proconsul

A 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...

 and Suffect Consul

Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...

 Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus

Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus

There were two Romans of Senatorial rank with the name Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries in the Roman Empire...

 and possibly Tertulla. While his maternal grandparents were the Roman Senator and Proconsul Marcus Plancius Varus

Marcus Plancius Varus

Marcus Plancius Varus was an Anatolian Roman noble who lived in the 1st century in the Roman Empire. His paternal ancestors were originally from Latium in Central Italy. They had immigrated to Anatolia in the time of the late Roman Republic. Varus came from a local, wealthy family who were...

 and Herodian Princess

Herodian Dynasty

The Herodian Dynasty was a Jewish dynasty of Idumean descent, client Kings of Roman Judaea Province between 37 BCE and 92 CE.- Origin :During the time of the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus 134-104 BCE, Israel conquered Edom and forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism.The Edomites were integrated...

 Julia

Julia (daughter of Tigranes VI of Armenia)

Julia was a Herodian Princess who lived in the 1st century and possibly in the 2nd century in the Roman Empire.She was of Jewish, Nabataean, Edomite, Greek, Armenian and Persian ancestry. She was the daughter of the Herodian Prince, later King Tigranes VI of Armenia and his wife Opgalli...

. His family were prominent citizens and patrons in Perga

Perga

Perga was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia and the capital of Pamphylia, now in Antalya province on the southwestern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Today it is a large site of ancient ruins east of Antalya on the coastal plain. Located there is an acropolis dating back to the Bronze Age...

.

Cornutus was of Roman, Jewish

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, Nabataean

Nabataeans

Thamudi3.jpgThe Nabataeans, also Nabateans , were ancient peoples of southern Canaan and the northern part of Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus , gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea...

, Edom

Edom

Edom or Idumea was a historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region...

ite, Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

, Armenian

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

 and Persian ancestry

Persian people

The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...

. Through his maternal grandmother, Cornutus’ ancestors were King Archelaus of Cappadocia

Archelaus of Cappadocia

-Family & Early Life:Archelaus was a Cappadocian Greek nobleman, possibly of Macedonian descent. His full name was Archelaus Sisines. He was the first born son, namesake of the Roman Client and High Priest Ruler Archelaus, of the temple state of Comana, Cappadocia and Glaphyra. Archelaus’ father...

, King of Judea Herod the Great

Herod the Great

Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...

 and his wife Mariamne

Mariamne (second wife of Herod)

Mariamne I, also called Mariamne the Hasmonean was the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus...

. Cornutus along with his mother; maternal uncle Gaius Plancius Varus

Gaius Plancius Varus

Gaius Plancius Varus was a Roman who lived between the 1st century and 2nd century in the Roman Empire. Varus was the son of Roman Senator, Proconsul Marcus Plancius Varus and the Herodian Princess Julia. His sister was Plancia Magna and was the maternal uncle to Gaius Julius Plancius Varus Cornutus...

 and his maternal relatives were among the last known descendants of the Herodian Dynasty

Herodian Dynasty

The Herodian Dynasty was a Jewish dynasty of Idumean descent, client Kings of Roman Judaea Province between 37 BCE and 92 CE.- Origin :During the time of the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus 134-104 BCE, Israel conquered Edom and forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism.The Edomites were integrated...

. He appeared to be an apostate

Apostasy

Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...

 to Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

. It is unlikely that Cornutus attempted to exert influence on Judean Politics. He was born and raised in Perga

Perga

Perga was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia and the capital of Pamphylia, now in Antalya province on the southwestern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Today it is a large site of ancient ruins east of Antalya on the coastal plain. Located there is an acropolis dating back to the Bronze Age...

, the capital of 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 Pamphylia

Pamphylia

In ancient geography, Pamphylia was the region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus . It was bounded on the north by Pisidia and was therefore a country of small extent, having a coast-line of only about 75 miles with a breadth of...

.

In the Agora

Agora

The Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states. Early in Greek history , free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the Agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the Agora also served as a marketplace where...

in Perga, the local government in Perga had dedicated and honored Cornutus with an inscription on a statue base. This inscription honors Cornutus and his family. Cornutus and his ancestors are highly praised as the benefactors of Perga and the inscription states how lawful, considerable and rewarding citizens they were. This inscriptions reveals how prominent he and his family were and shows the respect that the citizens of Perga had for Cornutus and his family.

Sources

• http://www.jstor.org/pss/297430