Gaius Sentius Saturninus (consul 19 BC)
Gaius Sentius Saturninus | |
|---|---|
Consul of the Roman Republic | |
| In office January – Autumn 19 BC Serving with Quintus Lucretius Vespillo | |
| Preceded by | Marcus Appuleius with Publius Silius Nerva |
| Succeeded by | Marcus Vinicius |
| Personal details | |
| Children | Great Illyrian Revolt |
Gaius Sentius Saturninus (fl. late 1st century BC – 1st century AD) was a
Biography
Gaius Sentius Saturninus was a
He served as a senior military officer, but details of his career are not known.[3] In 19 BC he was elected consul, the highest honour of the Roman state.[4] By this period it was in the effective gift of Emperor Augustus and candidates were chosen carefully by him.[5] Apparently Augustus intended to be the other consul, but he never took office and at some point through his term Saturninus was joined by Quintus Lucretius Vespillo. Saturninus' period as a consul ended at some point between 1 August and 12 October and Marcus Vinicius served out the rest of the year. During his period in office Saturninus intervened to prevent the candidature of the demagogue Marcus Egnatius Rufus, whom he imprisoned and then executed.[6]
As a member of the
In 14 or 13 BC, Saturninus was appointed the proconsular governor of Africa. This roughly corresponded with modern Tunisia and was an important post as the province was a major source of imported food for the city of Rome.[8]
Syria
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From 9 BC – 7 BC Saturninus served as
Tertullian (c. 160 – 225 AD), the Christian law expert from Carthage in North Africa, wrote that Jesus was born while Gaius Sentius Saturninus was legate of Syria. In combination with other sources this suggests Jesus was born in 8 or 7 BC.[10] There was no Roman governor in Judaea at this time. Direct Roman rule came into force with the banishment of Herod's son, Herod Archelaus in 6 AD. Most authorities, such as Syme, disagree with this date and favour a later date of 4 BC for the birth of Christ. This is considered unlikely by most experts, considering the date of King Herod's death (probably 4 BC) and the events which preceded it.[11]
Germania
In AD 4 Saturninus replaced
Personal life
Saturninus was a described as energetic and valorous by
Footnotes
- ^ Syme, p. 44
- ^ Broughton III, p. 191
- ^ Syme, p. 393
- ^ Attilio Degrassi, I fasti consolari dell'Impero Romano dal 30 avanti Cristo al 613 dopo Cristo (Rome, 1952), p. 4
- ^ Mennen, p. 129
- ^ Syme, p. 42
- ^ CIL VI, 32323 = ILS 5050 English translation in Robert K. Sherk, The Roman Empire: Augustus to Hadrian (Cambridge: University Press, 1988), pp. 20–24
- ^ Syme, p. 45
- ^ Syme, p. 322
- ^ Graham, pp. 20–25
- ^ Syme, p. 340
- ^ Syme, p. 325
- ^ Syme, p. 426
References
- Graham, Daryn. "Luke's Census and Dating the Birth of Christ" in Archaeological Diggings Volume 20, #6-2013, Issue 119, December 2013–January 2014.
- Mennen, Inge, Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193–284 (2011) Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004203594
- Tertullian, Against Marcion, 4, 19
- Broughton, T. Robert S., The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol III (1986)
- Syme, Ronald, The Augustan Aristocracy (1986). Clarendon Press[ISBN missing]