Gaius Junius Faustinus Postumianus facts for kids

Gaius Junius Faustinus Postumianus was an important Roman senator who lived in the 200s AD. We know about him from a stone carving, called an inscription, found near a place called Thugga. This inscription was put up by his son, Placidus, and his daughter, Paulina.

Postumianus held many important jobs in the Roman Empire. His most important roles were as a praeses, which means a governor, in two different Roman provinces: Hispania Tarraconensis (modern-day Spain) and Roman Britain. We are not exactly sure when he was governor of Britain. It could have been when Britain was one large province, or after it was divided into two parts, like Britannia Superior.

Another Clue: A Second Inscription

Historians have found another inscription that talks about a man with the exact same name. Many experts believe this second inscription also describes Gaius Junius Faustinus Postumianus. This inscription lists the different jobs he held during his career, which was called a cursus honorum.

This second inscription says he was promoted to comes of two Emperors. A comes was a high-ranking companion or advisor to the emperor. This likely happened when two emperors ruled together. This could have been during the time of Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla, or later, with Valerian and Gallienus.

If he served under Septimius Severus and Caracalla, he would have been born around the 160s AD. He would have become a senator during the rule of Emperor Commodus. He held roles like plebeian tribune and praetor, which were important government positions. He also served as a legatus, an assistant, to the governor of Asia. Later, he was a commander of a Roman army unit called Legio I Adiutrix. He then became governor of several provinces, including Lusitania, Gallia Belgica, and Moesia Inferior. He might have become a suffect consul (a high-ranking official) around 204 AD. After this, as a comes, he may have joined the Roman military campaign in Britain between 208 and 211 AD.

However, if his career happened later, under Valerian and Gallienus, then he would have held these positions in the 240s and 250s AD.

When Was He Governor of Britain?

The title praeses for a governor became common in the 200s AD. This helps us know roughly when Postumianus was active.

If both inscriptions are about the same person, and if he governed Britain before it was divided into two provinces (which happened by 217 AD), then he would have been governor during the rule of Emperor Caracalla alone.

However, some historians, like Géza Alföldy, suggest a different order. They think he might have been governor of Britain between 207 and 211 AD. Then, he would have governed Hispania Tarraconensis around 211 to 214 AD.

Another idea is that he was governor after Britain was divided. In that case, he might have been the first governor of Britannia Superior. Lastly, if his career was later, under Valerian and Gallienus, he could have been governor of a British province in the mid-to-late 250s AD.

See also

• Junia (gens)