Gaius Julius Cornutus Bryonianus was a Roman that lived in the 1st century in the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

. Bryonianus originally came from Perga

Perga

Perga was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia and the capital of Pamphylia, now in Antalya province on the southwestern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Today it is a large site of ancient ruins east of Antalya on the coastal plain. Located there is an acropolis dating back to the Bronze Age...

, the capital of the Roman province

Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...

 of Pamphylia

Pamphylia

In ancient geography, Pamphylia was the region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus . It was bounded on the north by Pisidia and was therefore a country of small extent, having a coast-line of only about 75 miles with a breadth of...

. Bryonianus could have been related to a certain Bryonianus Lollianus, a local man of Equestrian Rank from Side

Side

Side was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia, in the region of Pamphylia, in what is now Antalya province, on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey...

, Pamphylia

Pamphylia

In ancient geography, Pamphylia was the region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus . It was bounded on the north by Pisidia and was therefore a country of small extent, having a coast-line of only about 75 miles with a breadth of...

.

Bryonianus served as an Agonothetes

Agonothetes

In ancient Greece, an agonothetes was the president or superintendent of the sacred games. At first the person who instituted the games and defrayed the expenses was the Agonothetes; but in the great public games, such as the Olympic Games and Pythian Games, these presidents were the...

 (magistrate of games) during the Varian Games in Perga. He had built a large, prestigious palace where he lived. The palace was built near the baths in Perga and its remains are still there.

Bryonianus in the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius

Claudius

Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

 (41-54), had built Perga’s Palaestra

Palaestra

The palaestra was the ancient Greek wrestling school. The events that did not require a lot of space, such as boxing and wrestling, were practised there...

. The monument measures 76 x 76 meters and Bryonianus dedicated this building and its inscription to Claudius. The Palaestra’s structure has been preserved well. In the reign of Roman Emperor Nero (54-68) Bryonianus did a bilingual (see Multilingualism

Multilingualism

Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...

) dedication to Nero

Nero

Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....

.

Bryonianus could have married a Roman woman called Tertulla. From this marriage, he had a son called Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus

Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus

There were two Romans of Senatorial rank with the name Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries in the Roman Empire...

 a future proconsul, suffect consul and a friend to historian Pliny the Younger

Pliny the Younger

Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...

.

Sources

• http://www.jstor.org/pss/297430
• http://www.hotelle.com/Perge.asp
• http://www.adiyamanli.org/aspendos.html
• http://www.planetware.com/map/perge-map-tr-perg.htm
• http://www.planetware.com/antalya/perge-ruins-tr-ant-atprr.htm