Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus
Encyclopedia
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus (38
-January 15, 69) was a Roman
nobleman who lived in the 1st century. Licinianus was one among the sons of consul of 27 Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi
and Scribonia
.
Licinianus was a nobleman of the highest ancient birth. His birth name is unknown, however his birth name could have been Lucius Licinius Crassus Frugi Libo. By birth and adoption through his father, Licinianus was of the gens
Licinia. From his name, it appears he was adopted into the gens Calpurnia, but by whom is uncertain.
Licinianus’ maternal grandparents were both direct descendants of Pompeia, the daughter of triumvir Pompey
from third marriage to Mucia Tertia
. His paternal grandfather was consul and governor Marcus Licinius Crassus
. Crassus was the son of the Marcus Licinius Crassus who was consul in 30 BC and thus the grandson of Marcus Licinius Crassus
the so-called triumvir
, whose last known direct descendant Licianus was. Little is known of Licinianus’ life prior to his adoption by the Roman Emperor
Galba
. He most probably was born and raised in Rome
.
Licinianus was Galba
's official heir from January 10 to January 15, 69. He was appointed to strengthen Galba's position when two legions in Germania Superior
rebelled against him in support of their commander Aulus Vitellius
.
When the elderly Galba was choosing an heir his consul
, Titus Vinius
, proposed Otho
, but Galba disapproved of Otho's lax morals, believing he would be little better than his predecessor, Nero
. Instead he chose Licinianus, on the advice of his Praetorian prefect
, Cornelius Laco
. Suetonius describes him as a ‘handsome, well-bred young man’. Licinianus had enjoyed an excellent reputation for his integrity, uprightness and morality. Galba had called Licinianus ‘my son‘ and he had singled out Licinianus from the crowd at one of his morning receptions. Galba appointed Licinianus as heir to his name, the Roman throne and his property. Galba then led Licinianus to the camp of the Praetorian Guard
, where Licinianus was formally and publicly adopted.
Otho had expected to be chosen. He was shocked and disappointed to hear about Galba‘s choice, Otho then decided to assassinate both men to become emperor. On January 15, Galba was hacked to death in the street by scores of soldiers. Vinius was also killed, despite shouting out that Otho had not ordered his death. Out of all the imperial bodyguards, only one centurion, Sempronius Densus
, dared to stand against the assassins. Armed only with a dagger, he single-handedly confronted a large body of fully armed men and, by denouncing their mutiny and fighting them to the death, he bought Licinianus time to escape. Licinianus fled and hid in the temple of the Vestal Virgin
s.
There he should have been safe, but the assassins were in no mood to respect the sanctuary
of the temple. He was discovered by two soldiers, Statius Murcus of the Praetorian Guard
and Sulpicius Florus
, a British auxiliary who had just been granted Roman citizenship by Galba. They dragged him outside and killed him. He was thirty-one years old.
Tacitus
states that Otho "studied the victim's severed head with peculiar malevolence, as if his eyes could never drink their fill". Licinianus’ death was not enough; Otho also had Laco killed.
One hundred and twenty people tried to claim the credit for killing Galba and Licinianus, expecting to be rewarded, and to this end a list was made of their names. However, when Otho was deposed by Vitellius
the new emperor found the list and ordered them all executed.
Licinianus had married Verania Gemina, who came from a family of consular rank. Otho had afterwards surrendered Licinianus’ head to Verania, who had given Otho a large sum of money for it. Verania had buried Licinianus’ head together with his body. Licinianus was placed in a tomb located on the Via Salaria
. It appears that Verania and Licinianus had no children.
38
Year 38 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iulianus and Asprenas...
-January 15, 69) was a Roman
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....
nobleman who lived in the 1st century. Licinianus was one among the sons of consul of 27 Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi
Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi
This article is about Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi, the consul that served under the Roman Emperor Tiberius of the 1st century. To see other Romans with this name, see Licinia ....
and Scribonia
Scribonia (daughter of Lucius Scribonius Libo consul 16)
Scribonia Magna , in the modern historical sources she is known as Scribonia Crassi was a Roman noblewoman that lived in the Roman Empire...
.
Licinianus was a nobleman of the highest ancient birth. His birth name is unknown, however his birth name could have been Lucius Licinius Crassus Frugi Libo. By birth and adoption through his father, Licinianus was of the gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
Licinia. From his name, it appears he was adopted into the gens Calpurnia, but by whom is uncertain.
Licinianus’ maternal grandparents were both direct descendants of Pompeia, the daughter of triumvir Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
from third marriage to Mucia Tertia
Mucia Tertia
Mucia Tertia was a Roman matrona who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the daughter of Quintus Mucius Scaevola, the pontifex maximus, consul in 95 BC. Her mother was a Licinia that divorced her father to marry Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos, in a scandal mentioned by several sources...
. His paternal grandfather was consul and governor Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus Dives (consul 14 BC)
Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi , also known as Marcus Licinius Crassus Dives was the adoptive son of consul Marcus Licinius Crassus, the grandson of triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus...
. Crassus was the son of the Marcus Licinius Crassus who was consul in 30 BC and thus the grandson of Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and politician who commanded the right wing of Sulla's army at the Battle of the Colline Gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus, provided political and financial support to Julius Caesar and entered into the political alliance known as the...
the so-called triumvir
First Triumvirate
The First Triumvirate was the political alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Unlike the Second Triumvirate, the First Triumvirate had no official status whatsoever; its overwhelming power in the Roman Republic was strictly unofficial influence, and...
, whose last known direct descendant Licianus was. Little is known of Licinianus’ life prior to his adoption by the 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...
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...
. He most probably 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...
.
Licinianus was 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...
's official heir from January 10 to January 15, 69. He was appointed to strengthen Galba's position when two legions 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...
rebelled against him in support of their commander Aulus 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...
.
When the elderly Galba was choosing an heir his 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...
, Titus Vinius
Titus Vinius
Titus Vinius was a Roman general who was one of the most powerful men in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Galba.-Stories:Plutarch has a number of stories of Vinius' early life, all to his discredit...
, proposed 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 :...
, but Galba disapproved of Otho's lax morals, believing he would be little better than his predecessor, Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
. Instead he chose Licinianus, on the advice of his Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...
, Cornelius Laco
Cornelius Laco
Cornelius Laco, was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, under Emperor Galba from 68 until his death in 69. Laco acceded to this office upon the suicide of the previous emperor Nero, replacing Gaius Ophonius Tigellinus as head of the Guard.Galba's rule proved...
. Suetonius describes him as a ‘handsome, well-bred young man’. Licinianus had enjoyed an excellent reputation for his integrity, uprightness and morality. Galba had called Licinianus ‘my son‘ and he had singled out Licinianus from the crowd at one of his morning receptions. Galba appointed Licinianus as heir to his name, the Roman throne and his property. Galba then led Licinianus to the camp of the Praetorian Guard
Praetorian Guard
The Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...
, where Licinianus was formally and publicly adopted.
Otho had expected to be chosen. He was shocked and disappointed to hear about Galba‘s choice, Otho then decided to assassinate both men to become emperor. On January 15, Galba was hacked to death in the street by scores of soldiers. Vinius was also killed, despite shouting out that Otho had not ordered his death. Out of all the imperial bodyguards, only one centurion, Sempronius Densus
Sempronius Densus
Sempronius Densus was a centurion in the Praetorian Guard in the 1st century. He was bodyguard to the deputy emperor, and is remembered by history for his courage and loyalty in singlehandedly defending his charge from scores of armed assassins, while all his comrades deserted or switched sides.On...
, dared to stand against the assassins. Armed only with a dagger, he single-handedly confronted a large body of fully armed men and, by denouncing their mutiny and fighting them to the death, he bought Licinianus time to escape. Licinianus fled and hid in the temple of the Vestal Virgin
Vestal Virgin
In ancient Roman religion, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins , were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome, as embodied by their cultivation of the sacred fire that could not be...
s.
There he should have been safe, but the assassins were in no mood to respect the sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
of the temple. He was discovered by two soldiers, Statius Murcus of the Praetorian Guard
Praetorian Guard
The Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...
and Sulpicius Florus
Sulpicius Florus
Sulpicius Florus was a 1st century Briton who served as an auxiliary infantryman in the Roman Army. He was given Roman citizenship by the emperor Galba and adopted his benefactor's gentile name, Sulpicius. However, he took part in Otho's coup against Galba in 69, and was one of the murderers of...
, a British auxiliary who had just been granted Roman citizenship by Galba. They dragged him outside and killed him. He was thirty-one years old.
Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
states that Otho "studied the victim's severed head with peculiar malevolence, as if his eyes could never drink their fill". Licinianus’ death was not enough; Otho also had Laco killed.
One hundred and twenty people tried to claim the credit for killing Galba and Licinianus, expecting to be rewarded, and to this end a list was made of their names. However, when Otho was deposed by 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...
the new emperor found the list and ordered them all executed.
Licinianus had married Verania Gemina, who came from a family of consular rank. Otho had afterwards surrendered Licinianus’ head to Verania, who had given Otho a large sum of money for it. Verania had buried Licinianus’ head together with his body. Licinianus was placed in a tomb located on the Via Salaria
Via Salaria
The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy.It eventually ran from Rome to Castrum Truentinum on the Adriatic coast - a distance of 242 km. The road also passed through Reate and Asculum...
. It appears that Verania and Licinianus had no children.
Lucius in Popular Culture
A main character in Kate Quinn's novel 'Daughters of Rome'. Married to a fictional character there, called Cornelia PrimaSources
- http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2710.html
- http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/3091.html
- http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/3573.html
- SuetoniusSuetoniusGaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
, On the Life of the Caesars, GalbaGalbaGalba , 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...
& OthoOthoOtho , 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 :... - http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/Lanciani/LANPAC/6*.html