Lucius Antonius Saturninus | |
|---|---|
| Died | 89 AD |
| Allegiance | Roman Empire |
| Years of service | 76 AD–89 AD |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | Legio XXI Rapax Legio XIV Gemina |
| Other work | Roman Consul in 82 AD |
Lucius Antonius Saturninus was aRoman senator and general during the reign ofVespasian and his sons. Whilegovernor of theprovince calledGermania Superior, motivated by a personal grudge againstEmperorDomitian, he led a rebellion known as theRevolt of Saturninus, involving the legionsLegio XIV Gemina andLegio XXI Rapax, camped inMoguntiacum (Mainz).
Saturninus was subjected to adamnatio memoriae following his defeat and death, and his systematic obliteration from public records makes it difficult to reconstruct his life before his revolt.Ronald Syme has offered a possiblecursus honorum for Saturninus, based on inscriptions with erasures of the relevant dates.[1] The earliest is aproconsular governorship inMacedonia, dated to about 76, then a possible governorship inJudea from possibly 78 to 81; the governorship of Judea was paired with command ofLegio X Fretensis. First proposed byBartolomeo Borghesi, but later accepted by Syme and others, was anundinium assuffect consul in either 82 or 83.[2] In 87 he was governor of Germania Superior.[3]
In January 89, Saturninus led a revolt. He expected his Germanic allies to cross theRhine to support him, but this was thwarted by a sudden thaw of the river ice, and the revolt was quickly put down by Domitian's generalsLucius Appius Maximus Norbanus and the future emperorTrajan. Afterwards, Norbanus burned Saturninus' letters in an attempt to avoid implicating others. However, Domitian had numerous others executed with Saturninus, displaying their heads on therostra at Rome. The Legio XXI was sent toPannonia, and Domitian passed a law prohibiting two legions from sharing the same camp.[4][5][6]
