Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus
Encyclopedia
Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus (113
-after 176
) 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
. He was born and raised in Pompeiopolis
, a city in the Roman province
of Galatia
.
When Severus had come to Rome
during the reign of Roman Emperor
Hadrian
(117-138), he had become a philosophical mentor and a teacher to Roman noble students. Among his students was the future Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, with whom he had become friends. Severus was the philosophical mentor of Marcus Aurelius.
In Rome, Severus assumed a reputation as a man of spirit and as a great philosophical mentor. He was a follower of Peripatetic philosophy and later served as an ordinary consul in 146 in the reign of the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius
(138-161).
He married an unnamed woman, by whom he had a son called Gnaeus Claudius Severus
. Severus was evidently a politician with a deep interest in political philosophy and this is revealed, on Marcus Aurelius’ opinion of Severus in Meditations (1.14n):
113
Year 113 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Celsus and Crispinus...
-after 176
176
Year 176 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Proculus and Aper...
) was a 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 that 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....
.
Severus was the son of the 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...
, 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....
by an unnamed mother. Severus was of Pontian Greek descent
Pontic Greeks
The Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea...
. 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...
.
When Severus had come to 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...
during the reign 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...
(117-138), he had become a philosophical mentor and a teacher to Roman noble students. Among his students was the future Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, with whom he had become friends. Severus was the philosophical mentor of Marcus Aurelius.
In Rome, Severus assumed a reputation as a man of spirit and as a great philosophical mentor. He was a follower of Peripatetic philosophy and later served as an ordinary consul in 146 in the reign 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...
(138-161).
He married an unnamed woman, by whom he had a son called 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...
. Severus was evidently a politician with a deep interest in political philosophy and this is revealed, on Marcus Aurelius’ opinion of Severus in Meditations (1.14n):
- From Severus: love of family, love of truth, love of justice; to have come by his help to understand Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dio Brutus; to have conceived the idea of a balanced constitution, a commonwealth based on equality and freedom of speech, and of a monarchy which values above all the liberty of the subject; from him, too, a constant and vigorous respect for philosophy; beneficence, unstinting generosity, optimism; his confidence in the affection of his friends, his frankness with those who met with his censure, and open likes and dislikes, so that his friends did not need to guess at his wishes.
Sources
- From Tiberius to the Antonines: a history of the Roman Empire AD 14-192, by Albino Garzetti, 1974
- Marcus Aurelius, by Anthony Richard Birley, Routledge, 2000
- 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
- Articles - Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus & Gnaeus Claudius Severus articles from German Wikipedia
- Marcus Aurelius - MeditationsMeditationsMeditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161–180 CE, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy....