Marcus Peducaeus Plautius Quintillus

Marcus Peducaeus Plautius Quintillus (died 205) was a Roman noble closely related by birth, adoption, and marriage to the Nerva-Antonine emperors. Through his marriage to Fadilla, the daughter of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Empress Faustina the Younger, he became the brother-in-law to the future emperor, Commodus.^[1] Despite his position, he never became emperor himself. After Commodus was assassinated in 192, he fell out of favor with Septimus Severus during the Year of the Five Emperors. In 205, he committed suicide after Septimus issued an order for his execution.

Early life

Plautius was the son of Ceionia Fabia, the daughter of Lucius Aelius, the first adoptive heir of Hadrian who had died before ascending to the throne; his birth father is believed to be Plautius Quintillus, consul in 159. At some point, he was adopted as the heir of Marcus Peducaeus Stloga Priscinus, consul in 141.^[2] Through his adopted father, as well as his natural father and mother, he could claim descent from families of the highest nobility.

Antonine era

When Plautius married Fadilla, he became son-in-law to Marcus Aurelius and brother-in-law to Commodus. They had two children: a son, (Plautius) Quintillus, and a daughter, Plautia Servilla. In 177, Plautius served as consul as the colleague of Commodus, and then again with Commodus at an unknown date in his reign (180-192). He was also an Augur. When Marcus Aurelius died in 180, Commodus succeeded him, and Plautius was one of his main advisers.

Year of the Five Emperors

After the assassination of Commodus, in December 192, the civil war that ensued saw five different men assume the throne; Plautius was not one of them. When Septimus Severus, the victor of the civil war, advanced on Rome, Didius Julianus proposed that the Senate and the Vestal Virgins meet Severus' advancing army as supplicants, a proposal Plautius intervened forcefully against.^[3]

Plautius afterwards retired to his country villa. In 205, he was the target of a delator or informer, and Septimus ordered his execution. When he heard of the order, Plautius called for his funeral shroud. "What is this?" Plautius asked, observing how tattered it had become with age, "we are late!" Then preparing to take his own life, he burned incense before uttering his last words: "I make the same prayer that Servianus made for Hadrian" — that is, that Severus would one day wish to die, but would be unable to.^[3] It is unknown whether Fadilla was still alive then.

Nerva–Antonine family tree

References

↑ Anthony Richard Birley, Marcus Aurelius, revised edition (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1999), p. 182
↑ Olli Salomies, Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1992), p. 101
1 2 Anthony Richard Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, second edition (London: Routledge, 1999), p. 165

Sources

Anthony Richard Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, second edition (London: Routledge, 1999)
Albino Garzetti, From Tiberius to the Antonines: a history of the Roman Empire AD 14-192 (1974)
Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey, Dominic Rathbone, The Cambridge ancient history, Volume 11, second edition (2000)
Anthony Richard Birley, Marcus Aurelius (London: Routledge, 2000)
http://www.livius.org/di-dn/divi_fratres/fadilla.html
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/6756/gensadoptengbf2.swf

Political offices
Preceded by Titus Pomponius Proculus Vitrasius Pollio II Marcus Flavius Aper II	Consul of the Roman Empire 177 with Commodus	Succeeded by Servius Cornelius Scipio Salvidienus Orfitus Decimus Velius Rufus

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[4] Sister of Trajan's father: Giacosa (1977), p. 7.

[giac8-5] Giacosa (1977), p. 8.

[lev161-6] 1 2 Levick (2014), p. 161.

[7] Husband of Ulpia Marciana: Levick (2014), p. 161.

[giac7-8] 1 2 Giacosa (1977), p. 7.

[DIR_hadrian-9] 1 2 3 DIR contributor (Herbert W. Benario, 2000), "Hadrian".

[giac9-10] 1 2 Giacosa (1977), p. 9.

[11] Husband of Salonia Matidia: Levick (2014), p. 161.

[Smith_Servianus-12] Smith (1870), "Julius Servianus".

[13] Suetonius a possible lover of Sabina: One interpretation of HA Hadrianus 11:3

[Smith_1870a_p._319-14] Smith (1870), "Hadrian", pp. 319–322.

[15] Lover of Hadrian: Lambert (1984), p. 99 and passim; deification: Lamber (1984), pp. 2–5, etc.

[16] Julia Balbilla a possible lover of Sabina: A. R. Birley (1997), Hadrian, the Restless Emperor, p. 251, cited in Levick (2014), p. 30, who is sceptical of this suggestion.

[17] Husband of Rupilia Faustina: Levick (2014), p. 163.

[lev163-18] 1 2 3 4 Levick (2014), p. 163.

[lev162-19] 1 2 3 4 Levick (2014), p. 162.

[lev164-20] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Levick (2014), p. 164.

[21] Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10.

[22] Wife of M. Annius Libo: Levick (2014), p. 163.

[giac10-23] 1 2 3 4 5 Giacosa (1977), p. 10.

[24] The epitomator of Cassius Dio (72.22) gives the story that Faustina the Elder promised to marry Avidius Cassius. This is also echoed in HA "Marcus Aurelius" 24.

[25] Husband of Ceionia Fabia: Levick (2014), p. 164.

[lev117-26] 1 2 3 Levick (2014), p. 117.

[1] Anthony Richard Birley, Marcus Aurelius, revised edition (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1999), p. 182

[2] Olli Salomies, Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1992), p. 101

[Birley-165-3] 1 2 Anthony Richard Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, second edition (London: Routledge, 1999), p. 165