Gnaeus Julius Verus facts for kids

Gnaeus Julius Verus was an important Roman senator and general. He lived in the middle of the 2nd century AD. He held a special position called suffect consul, and he was in charge of several big Roman provinces. These included Germania Inferior, Britain, and Syria.

His Early Life and Career

Verus came from a town called Aequum in a region known as Dalmatia. Some experts think he was the son of Sextus Julius Severus, who was a consul in 127 AD. Other experts believe Julius Severus was his uncle.

Verus started his career as a young officer, serving as a tribune in the legio X Fretensis. This was when Julius Severus was the governor of Judaea, from 132 to 135 AD. Verus also held other important early roles, like being a tresvir monetalis (a junior official who helped with minting coins) and a quaestor Augusti (a financial officer). He was also chosen to be an augur, a religious official. These early positions showed that he was expected to have a very successful career.

After becoming a praetor (a high-ranking judge), Verus became the commander, or legatus legionis, of the Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix. This legion was stationed at Xanten, which was part of Germania Inferior in the 140s.

He later returned to Rome to work as the prefect of the aerarium Saturni, which was the main treasury of the Roman state. He held this position from January 147 to the end of 149 AD. Verus then became a suffect consul sometime between 149 and 151 AD. A suffect consul was a replacement consul who served for part of a year.

Governing Important Roman Provinces

Verus's first major role after becoming a consul was serving as the governor of Germania Inferior. He likely arrived there in 154 AD. It was a bit unusual for him to govern a province where he had commanded a legion just ten years earlier.

Governor of Roman Britain

An inscription found at Birrens, near the western end of Hadrian's Wall, shows that Verus was the governor in Britain in 158 AD. He probably arrived in the province even before that year. He was sent to Britain, bringing troops from Germany, likely to help stop a revolt. This revolt was led by the Brigantes tribe. It caused the Romans to abandon the Antonine Wall and may have led to a massacre at the fort of Newstead.

Governor of Syria

It is not clear when Verus left Britain. We know that he went with Lucius Verus to the east for a military campaign against the Parthians in 162 AD. A mile marker in Syria, dated to 163 AD, shows that he became governor there after Marcus Annius Libo died. In Syria, Verus ordered improvements to roads along the Barada River gorge. This work is recorded in inscriptions from Abila Lysaniou.

Later Life and Legacy

We do not know what official roles Verus held after he left Syria. He was an experienced man who had a good relationship with the emperors. Some historians think he might have been the proconsular governor of Africa about 20 years after his consulship. This was because a terrible plague in 166 AD had killed many qualified men. Verus was nominated for a second consulship in 180 AD, but he passed away in 179 AD.