Gaius Licinius Mucianus

Gaius Licinius Mucianus was a Roman general and politician in the 1st century AD.

Life

Mucianus appeared for the first time as a suffect consul , probably in the year 64. He was later appointed governor of the province of Syria . There he fought the Jewish uprising , but without success, which is why Vespasian was sent to Judaea to put down the uprising. Initially there was tension between Mucianus and Vespasian because Mucianus felt himself to be neglected as governor towards the general Vespasian.

After the death of Emperor Nero and the outbreak of civil war (" Year of the Four Emperors "), both Vespasian and Mucianus swore the oath of allegiance to the pretenders Otho and Vitellius , but secretly planned to raise their own candidate for the imperial office . However, both the childless Mucianus and the allied prefect of Egypt Tiberius Iulius Alexander , who was not a native Roman and did not come from the senatorial rank, were eliminated . Vespasian was proclaimed emperor and Mucianus was sent west with the majority of the Roman troops in the eastern part of the empire, around 20,000 men, to overthrow Vitellius. Before Mucianus crossed the Hellespont , however, the Danube regions had already risen against Vitellius and had moved to Italy.

Mucianus reached Rome shortly after the death of Vitellius and met Marcus Antonius Primus there , who had taken over the business of government for a short time. He accused Primus of having acted arbitrarily and committed atrocities, whereupon he left for Vespasian in the east. Mucianus took over the affairs of government himself together with Vespasian's son Domitian , had Vespasian recognized by the Senate as the rightful emperor and appointed consuls , governors and prefects at his own discretion . He also had Vitellius 's son of the same name and the notorious freedman Asiaticus executed. He put down the revolt of Julius Civilis on the Rhine border. When Vespasian arrived in Rome, he handed over the business of government to him.

In the years 70 and 72 he is attested as a suffect consul, after which nothing more is known about him.

literature

• Rudolf Hanslik : Licinius II, 9a. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 5, Stuttgart 1975, Sp. 1263.
• Gerda de Kleijn-Eijkelestam: C. Licinius Mucianus, Vespasian's Co-ruler in Rome. In: Mnemosyne , Volume 66 (3), 2013, pp. 433-459.
• Gerda de Kleijn-Eijkelestam: C. Licinius Mucianus, Leader in time of Crisis. In: Historia , Volume 58 (3), 2009, pp. 311-324.
• Gerda de Kleijn-Eijkelestam: The Water Supply of Ancient Rome: City Area, Water, and Population. Gieben, Amsterdam 2001.