Pomponius Bassus (consul 259 & 271)
Encyclopedia
Pomponius Bassus was a Roman Senator
of Anatolian descent
who lived in the Roman Empire
.
Bassus was of Italian Roman, Pontian Greek
ancestry, who came from a distinguished senatorial family. Bassus was the son of an elder Pomponius Bassus
, the Roman Senator who served as consul in 211 and the noble heiress Annia Aurelia Faustina
, who was the great, granddaughter of Roman Emperor
Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger
. His sister was Pomponia Ummidia
and through his mother, Bassus was a descendant of the former ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire
.
Bassus was born and raised in his mother’s large estate in Pisidia
. When Bassus’ father died in 221, his mother was briefly married to the Roman Emperor Elagabalus
, which the marriage ended by the end of that year.
Bassus was one of the most senior and well respected Roman Senators of his day. He held first consulship in 259 under the reign of the Roman Emperors Valerian
and Gallienus
. There is a possibility that Bassus rose to prominence after his first consulship.
Bassus being a senior consular, held various senior positions, including that of proconsul
. Under the Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus, Bassus was appointed as corrector totius Italiae. In January 271, Bassus shared his second consulship with the Roman Emperor Aurelian
, which was the Emperor’s first imperial consulship. After his second consulship, Bassus was appointed to the Praefectus urbi
.
Bassus married the noblewoman Pomponia Gratidia, by whom he had a daughter Pomponia Bassa (born ca. 250). Pomponia Bassa married Lucius Septimius Severus (b. ca 245), son of Lucius Septimius ... (b. ca 210) and paternal grandson of Gaius Septimius Severus Aper
. Their son was Septimius Bassus
.
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...
of Anatolian descent
History of Anatolia
The history of Anatolia encompasses the region known as Anatolia , known by the Latin name of Asia Minor, considered to be the westernmost extent of Western Asia...
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....
.
Bassus was of Italian Roman, Pontian Greek
Pontic Greeks
The Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea...
ancestry, who came from a distinguished senatorial family. Bassus was the son of an elder Pomponius Bassus
Pomponius Bassus (consul 211)
Pomponius Bassus was a Roman Senator that lived in the Roman Empire.The father of Pomponius Bassus was probably Gaius Pomponius Bassus Terentianus , who served as a suffect consul around 193 and the name of his mother is unknown....
, the Roman Senator who served as consul in 211 and the noble heiress Annia Aurelia Faustina
Annia Faustina
Annia Aurelia Faustina was an Anatolian Roman noblewoman. She was an Empress of Rome and third wife of Roman Emperor Elagabalus briefly in 221.-Ancestry & Family:...
, who was the great, granddaughter 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...
Marcus Aurelius and 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...
. His sister was Pomponia Ummidia
Pomponia Ummidia
Pomponia Ummidia was Anatolian Roman noblewoman and was a prominent figure in Rome during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus and Aurelian. She lived in the period the Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire.Pomponia Ummidia came from a distinguished...
and through his mother, Bassus was a descendant of the former 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....
.
Bassus was born and raised in his mother’s large estate in Pisidia
Pisidia
Pisidia was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Lycia, and bordering Caria, Lydia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. It corresponds roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey...
. When Bassus’ father died in 221, his mother was briefly married to the Roman Emperor Elagabalus
Elagabalus
Elagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus, was Roman Emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was Syrian on his mother's side, the son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. Early in his youth he served as a priest of the god El-Gabal at his hometown, Emesa...
, which the marriage ended by the end of that year.
Bassus was one of the most senior and well respected Roman Senators of his day. He held first consulship in 259 under the reign of the Roman Emperors Valerian
Valerian (emperor)
Valerian , also known as Valerian the Elder, was Roman Emperor from 253 to 260. He was taken captive by Persian king Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the only Roman Emperor who was captured as a prisoner of war, resulting in wide-ranging instability across the Empire.-Origins and rise...
and Gallienus
Gallienus
Gallienus was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis...
. There is a possibility that Bassus rose to prominence after his first consulship.
Bassus being a senior consular, held various senior positions, including that of 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...
. Under the Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus, Bassus was appointed as corrector totius Italiae. In January 271, Bassus shared his second consulship with the Roman Emperor Aurelian
Aurelian
Aurelian , was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following...
, which was the Emperor’s first imperial consulship. After his second consulship, Bassus was appointed to the Praefectus urbi
Praefectus urbi
The praefectus urbanus or praefectus urbi, in English the urban prefect, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and held high importance in late Antiquity...
.
Bassus married the noblewoman Pomponia Gratidia, by whom he had a daughter Pomponia Bassa (born ca. 250). Pomponia Bassa married Lucius Septimius Severus (b. ca 245), son of Lucius Septimius ... (b. ca 210) and paternal grandson of Gaius Septimius Severus Aper
Gaius Septimius Severus Aper
Gaius Septimius Severus Aper , Consul Ordinarius in 207.Aper came from Leptis Magna and was probably a grandson of the Consul Suffectus of July 153, Publius Septimius Aper. Aper was in the year 207, together with the otherwise unknown Lucius Annius Maximus, Consul Ordinarius...
. Their son was Septimius Bassus
Septimius Bassus
Septimius Bassus was a Roman politician.Bassus was born in a senatorial family, the son of Lucius Septimius Severus and wife Pomponia Bassa . His paternal grandfather was Lucius Septimius ... , of the Gens Septimia, while his maternal grandparents were the Roman Senator Pomponius Bassus and the...
.
Sources
- Aurelian the third century, by Alaric Watson 1999, Routledge
- 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
- http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=bernd-jansen&id=I44008