Quintus Pompeius Sosius Falco (flourished 190s) was a Roman senator, who was active during the reign of Commodus. He was consul ordinarius in 193 with Gaius Julius Erucius Clarus Vibianus as his colleague.[1]
Falco was the son of Quintus Pompeius Senecio Sosius Priscus, a patrician and consul in 149; Edward Champlin hypothesizes that his mother was Ceionia Fabia, further hypothesizing she was married to Priscus before marrying Plautius Quintillus.[2] Falco's paternal ancestors include Sextus Julius Frontinus (consul in 73, again in 98, and a third time in 100) and Quintus Sosius Senecio, consul in 99 and again in 107.
Life[edit]
The emperor Commodus had planned to murder both consuls and usurp their offices, intending a procession as sole consul and primus palus secutorum from the barracks of the gladiators. Knowledge of that plan, according to Dio Cassius, led to Commodus's assassination.[3] The Historia Augusta reports that at the first meeting of the Senate for that year, Falco accused the emperor of participating in the crimes of Commodus; Pertinax, who was over sixty, replied: "Consul, you are a young man, and do not know the necessity of obedience."[4] While the Historia Augusta often includes many fictitious details, William McDermott opines, "This clash has the sound of truth since pride in ancestry was strong within the young man's family."[5]
Immediately following Commodus' death, Sosius Falco was offered the imperial throne by the Praetorian Guard, which he declined. He is known to have attempted a coup against Pertinax; however, Pertinax spared his life.[6] His life after Pertinax's death is unknown; McDermott opines that "Sosius Falco probably retired discreetly to one of the many family estates."[7]
Family[edit]
The name of Falco's wife has come down to us: Sulpicia Agrippina, the sister of Sulpicius Justus and Pollio Sulpicius, a Senatorial family whose origins lay in Lycia and extensively documented in the inscription of Licinnia Flavilla.[8] Sulpicia and Falco are known to have one son, Quintus Pompeius Falco Sosius Priscus, attested as praetor designatus during the reigns of either Caracalla or Elagabalus.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ Paul M. M. Leunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander (Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, 1989), p. 133
- ^ Champlin, "Notes on the Heirs of Commodus", American Journal of Philology, 100 (1979), pp. 303f
- ^ Dio, 72.22.1-2
- ^ "Perinax", 5.2-3
- ^ McDermott, "Stemmata quid faciunt? The Descendants of Frontinus", Ancient Society, 7 (1976), pp. 231f
- ^ Shelagh Jameson, "Two Lycian Families", Anatolian Studies, 16 (1966), p. 128
- ^ McDermott, "Stemmata quid faciunt?", p. 232
- ^ Jameson, "Two Lycian Families", p. 127
- ^ McDermott, "Stemmata quid faciunt?", pp. 230f