Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus

Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus was the name of two Roman senators, father and son.

* The elder Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus was one of three sons of Gaius Sentius Saturninus the elder, who was imperial legate to Syria in 9-6 BC. He was suffect consul when his older brother, Gaius Sentius Saturninus the younger, was "consul ordinarius" in 4 AD. In 19 AD he replaced Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso as governor of Syria and compelled him to return to Rome to stand trial for the death of Germanicus Caesar.

* The younger Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus was consul in 41 alongside the emperor Caligula. When Caligula was murdered that same year he made a speech in the Senate welcoming the return of liberty and urging his fellow senators to preserve it. His ring, which bore Caligula's image, was removed and broken by a fellow senator, Trebellius Maximus. Claudius had already been named as the new emperor, but Sentius and another senator, Pomponius Secundus, were prepared to oppose him, by force if necessary, to restore senatorial rule. The army, for their part, supported Claudius and were prepared to use force against the Senate, but Claudius met the rebellious senators and won them over. Eutropius named Sentius as one of the commanders involved in the Roman conquest of Britain two years later.

References

*Tacitus, "Annals"
*Dio Cassius, "Roman History"
*Velleius Paterculus, "The Roman History"
*Flavius Josephus, "The Wars of the Jews" and "Antiquities of the Jews"

External links

* [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/saturninus_3 Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus] entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
* [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/3058.html Saturninus] entry in "Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology"