Tiberius Claudius Subatianus Aquila

Tiberius Claudius Subatianus Aquila was a Roman eques who flourished during the reign of the emperor Septimius Severus and his sons. He was appointed to a series of imperial offices, including praefectus or governor of Roman Mesopotamia and Roman Egypt.

Aquila was born in the North African town of Cuicul.[1] He is known to have been the brother of Tiberius Claudius Subatianus Proculus, suffect consul in either 210 or 211;[2] their father may have been the epistrategos Sabatianus Aquila mentioned in P. Oxy. 2708[3]

Little is known about his career beyond the two prefectures he held for the emperor. It can be assumed that during the latest civil war Aquila sided with Septimius Severus: as Kennedy writes, "After a protracted civil war the first tasks of the victor must always have been to reward his partisans."[4] He was appointed prefect of Mesopotamia; Kennedy argues he was the first prefect of that province and dates this appointment to c. 195.[5] Anthony Birley notes that both Aquila and Proculus were two of a number of men from North Africa that Septimus Severus promoted to powerful positions during his reign.[6]

His next imperial appointment was prefect of Roman Egypt: his tenure has been dated to have started after November 204 and extended as late as January/February 211.[7] Eusebius mentions that Aquila, while governor of Roman Egypt, persecuted Christians, executing several of them. These included students of the theologian Origen.[8]

References

  1. ^ Anthony R. Birley, Septimius Severus, the African Emperor, (London: Routledge, 1999), p. 132 ISBN 0-415-16591-1
  2. ^ D.L. Kennedy, "Ti. Claudius Subatianus Aquila, 'First Prefect of Mesopotamia'", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 36 (1979), p. 259
  3. ^ Kennedy, pp. 257-260
  4. ^ Kennedy, p. 258
  5. ^ Kennedy, p. 262
  6. ^ Birley, Septimus Severus, pp. 177, 195
  7. ^ Guido Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30a al 299p", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 17 (1975), pp. 350f
  8. ^ Historia Ecclesiastica vi.3, 4
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