Ummidius Caius Quadratus
Encyclopedia
Gaius Ummidius Durmius Quadratus (c. 12 BCE-c. 60 CE) was the Roman governor of Syria
from c. 50 until his death.
, were nobles from the Italian
town of Casinum
, Latium
. His second family name, "Durmius", may indicate that he was adopted into the Ummidii; if so, his natural father could have been one Marcus Durmius, known to have been a mint
official c. 19 BCE.
Neither family had previously produced any members of the Roman Senate
, and Quadratus began his career by holding a minor judicial post in Rome
. However, in 14 CE he achieved the quaestor
ship, a junior magistracy bringing membership of the Senate, and was one of two quaestors assigned as assistants to Augustus
, the first Emperor
. Augustus died on August 19, and Quadratus was able to witness at close hand Rome's first imperial succession, as the power passed to Augustus' adoptive son Tiberius
.
– the sequence of positions held by Roman senators – becoming curule aedile in 16 or 17 and praetor
in 18. He could have expected to hold the consulship
in due course, but his only known office until 37, the year of Tiberius' death, was that of proconsul
of Cyprus
. Ronald Syme
speculates that he had somehow fallen from the Emperor's favour.
of Iudaea
, Ventidius Cumanus
, was accused of partiality to the Samaritans
, who were at variance with the Galileans
, and both parties appealed to Quadratus. The governor went to Samaria in 52 and suppressed the disturbance. The Samaritan and Galilean insurgents were crucified; five (eighteen according to Josephus, "B. J." ii.12, §6) Galileans whom the Samaritans pointed out as instigators of the movement were executed in Lydda
; the high priest Ananias and Anan, the governor of the Temple, were sent in chains to Rome
; and the leaders of the Samaritans, the procurator Cumanus, and the military tribune Celer were also sent to plead their cause before the emperor. In fear of further disturbances, Quadratus hurried to Jerusalem; finding the city peacefully celebrating the Feast of Passover
, he returned to Antioch
(Josephus, "Ant." xx.6, §§1-2; "B. J." ii.12, §§3-6; Zonaras, vi.15). Cumanus was deposed and was succeeded by Felix, appointed at the request of the high priest, Jonathan, whom also Quadratus had sent to Rome.
The version of Tacitus ("Annals," xii.45, 54) can not be reconciled with that of Josephus, since, according to the former, Felix and Cumanus were procurators at the same time, the one in Samaria and the other in Galilee. According to Tacitus, also, Quadratus himself sat in judgment upon Cumanus, and he expressly states that Quadratus was superior to the procurator in authority. Quadratus died during his tenure of office (Tacitus, "Annals," xiv.26). Several coins struck by him have been found.
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
from c. 50 until his death.
Early life
Gaius Ummidius Durmius Quadratus was born c. 12 BCE. His family, the UmmidiiUmmidia (gens)
The gens Ummidia was a Roman family which flourished during the 1st and 2nd centuries. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Ummidius Durmius Quadratus, governor of Syria during the reigns of Claudius and Nero...
, were nobles from the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
town of Casinum
Casinum
Casinum was an ancient town of Italy, probably of Volscian origin. Varro states that the name was Sabine, and meant forum vetus, and also that the town itself was Samnite, but he is probably wrong. When it came under Roman supremacy is not known, but it probably received the citizenship in 188 BC...
, Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
. His second family name, "Durmius", may indicate that he was adopted into the Ummidii; if so, his natural father could have been one Marcus Durmius, known to have been a mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
official c. 19 BCE.
Neither family had previously produced any members of the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
, and Quadratus began his career by holding a minor judicial post in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. However, in 14 CE he achieved the quaestor
Quaestor
A Quaestor was a type of public official in the "Cursus honorum" system who supervised financial affairs. In the Roman Republic a quaestor was an elected official whereas, with the autocratic government of the Roman Empire, quaestors were simply appointed....
ship, a junior magistracy bringing membership of the Senate, and was one of two quaestors assigned as assistants to Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, the first Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
. Augustus died on August 19, and Quadratus was able to witness at close hand Rome's first imperial succession, as the power passed to Augustus' adoptive son Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
.
Career under Tiberius
Thereafter Quadratus advanced rapidly through the cursus honorumCursus honorum
The cursus honorum was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in both the Roman Republic and the early Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The cursus honorum comprised a mixture of military and political administration posts. Each office had a minimum...
– the sequence of positions held by Roman senators – becoming curule aedile in 16 or 17 and praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
in 18. He could have expected to hold the consulship
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
in due course, but his only known office until 37, the year of Tiberius' death, was that of proconsul
Proconsul
A proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...
of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. Ronald Syme
Ronald Syme
Sir Ronald Syme, OM, FBA was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. Long associated with Oxford University, he is widely regarded as the 20th century's greatest historian of ancient Rome...
speculates that he had somehow fallen from the Emperor's favour.
Governorship of Syria
The procuratorProcurator (Roman)
A procurator was the title of various officials of the Roman Empire, posts mostly filled by equites . A procurator Augusti was the governor of the smaller imperial provinces...
of Iudaea
Iudaea Province
Judaea or Iudaea are terms used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
, Ventidius Cumanus
Ventidius Cumanus
Ventidius Cumanus was the Roman procurator of Iudaea Province from AD 48 to c. AD 52. A disagreement between the surviving sources, the Jewish historian Josephus and the Roman Tacitus, makes it unclear whether his authority was over some or all of the province...
, was accused of partiality to the Samaritans
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
, who were at variance with the Galileans
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
, and both parties appealed to Quadratus. The governor went to Samaria in 52 and suppressed the disturbance. The Samaritan and Galilean insurgents were crucified; five (eighteen according to Josephus, "B. J." ii.12, §6) Galileans whom the Samaritans pointed out as instigators of the movement were executed in Lydda
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
; the high priest Ananias and Anan, the governor of the Temple, were sent in chains to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
; and the leaders of the Samaritans, the procurator Cumanus, and the military tribune Celer were also sent to plead their cause before the emperor. In fear of further disturbances, Quadratus hurried to Jerusalem; finding the city peacefully celebrating the Feast of Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, he returned to Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
(Josephus, "Ant." xx.6, §§1-2; "B. J." ii.12, §§3-6; Zonaras, vi.15). Cumanus was deposed and was succeeded by Felix, appointed at the request of the high priest, Jonathan, whom also Quadratus had sent to Rome.
The version of Tacitus ("Annals," xii.45, 54) can not be reconciled with that of Josephus, since, according to the former, Felix and Cumanus were procurators at the same time, the one in Samaria and the other in Galilee. According to Tacitus, also, Quadratus himself sat in judgment upon Cumanus, and he expressly states that Quadratus was superior to the procurator in authority. Quadratus died during his tenure of office (Tacitus, "Annals," xiv.26). Several coins struck by him have been found.