Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator (consul 118)
Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator was a
Salinator was a member of the Pedanii, who had their roots as Roman colonists in the town of
Pliny addresses three letters to Salinator (whom he calls Pedanius Fuscus), and mentions him in three more. However, the three letters Pliny wrote him are on trivial matters: one contains advice to Salinator about how to study—although Pliny notes Salinator's "particular interest is pleading"; the other two are essays wherein Pliny describes his daily schedule.
As for Salinator's senatorial career, we know few details. Pliny's third letter mentioning him is a letter for recommendation for one Nymphidius Lupus, written to the emperor
After he completed his term as ordinary consul, Salinator vanishes from recorded history, which is surprising. "The consular Fasti in the early season of Hadrian's reign duly disclose several of his allies," Syme writes.[9] As Hadrian's colleague in his first consulate as emperor, Pedianus Fuscus Salinator would occupy a very prominent position in Hadrian's list of appointees. One would expect to hear more of Salinator, yet as Syme notes, he is "only a name in the Fasti".[10] While his disappearance could be attributed to falling out of favor with Hadrian—the emperor is known to have executed four men thought to have been a threat to him (Avidius Nigrinus, Cornelius Palma, Calpurnius Piso Licinianus and Lusius Quietus) -- Syme suggests that Salinator and his wife simply succumbed to "a malady or a pestilence soon after 118."[10]
Salinator is known to have had a son by Julia, the daughter of Servianus, named Lucius Pedanius Fuscus Salinator. This son, along with his grandfather Servianus, were accused of being involved in a plot against Hadrian; as a result both men were forced to commit suicide shortly before Hadrian's death.[11]
References
- ^ Werner Eck, Peter Weiß, "Hadrianische Konsuln. Neue Zeugnisse aus Militärdiplomen", Chiron, 32 (2002), p. 480
- ^ Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, 17 (1968), p. 85
- ^ Epistulae, VII.9; IX.36, 40
- ^ Epistulae, VI.11
- ^ Epistulae, VI.26
- ^ Epistulae, X.87
- ^ CIL III, 12467
- ^ Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", Chiron, 13 (1983), pp. 346-348
- ^ Syme, "The Ummidii", p. 86
- ^ a b Syme, "The Ummidii", p. 87
- ^ Anthony Birley, Marcus Aurelius: A Biography, revised edition (London: Routledge, 1987), pp. 41f, 232f