C. Fabius Hadrianus

Caius Fabius Hadrianus [The "nomen" is given as Fulvius in some editions of Orosius ("Historiae" 5.20), but is generally corrected to Fabius, as in the 1889 edition of C. Zangemeister [http://www.attalus.org/latin/orosius5.html#20 here] .] was praetor in 84 BC and propraetor 83–82 in the Roman province of Africa. [Orosius, 5.20.3; Pseudo-Asconius 241 in the edition of Thomas Stangl, "Pseudoasconiana" (1909, reprinted 1967), cited in T.R.S. Broughton, "The Magistrates of the Roman Republic", vol. 2 (New York 1952), pp. 60, 64, 69, 562.] He is known primarily for the sensational circumstances of his death: during an uprising at the beginning of Sulla's second civil war, the governor’s residence was set on fire and Hadrianus was burned alive.

A controversial career

Next to nothing is known of the early career of Hadrianus. He has been identified with the C. Fabius Hadrianus who was a moneyer ("monetalis") in 102 BC; several examples of his coins are known. [Michael H. Crawford, "Roman Republican Coinage", vol. 1 (Cambridge University Press, 1987), [http://books.google.com/books?id=NuBION2KtM4C&pg=PA326&dq=Hadrianus+inauthor:Crawford&lr=&num=50&as_brr=0&sig=ACfU3U1aaKNHwd1hi4JLg10XtWMXOJY3UA p. 326.] ]

During his praetorship in 84, Hadrianus forced out Metellus Pius, his predecessor as governor of Africa and a partisan of Sulla. [T.R.S. Broughton, "The Magistrates of the Roman Republic", vol. 2 (New York 1952), p. 60, citing Livy, [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/livy/liv.per84.shtml "Periocha" 84,] Pseudo-Asconius 241, and Appian, "Bellum civile" 1.80.] An alternative view is that Metellus did not hold a legitimate governship, but was attempting to seize power in Africa in 84 when Hadrianus held a duly appointed office. [Christopher S. Mackay, "Sulla and the Monuments: Studies in His Public Persona," "Historia" 49 (2000), p. 188, note 87.] Since Hadrianus began his term during the last consulship of Cornelius Cinna, he is sometimes considered in league with the "populares". [Charles T. Barlow, "The "Sanctus Aerarium" and the "argento publico" Coinage," "American Journal of Philology" 98 (1977), p. 297, note 39.] His governship would have redirected tribute from Africa to the cause of Cinna and the Marians. [Charles T. Barlow, "The Roman Government and the Roman Economy, 92–80 B.C.," "American Journal of Philology" 101 (1980), p. 209.]

During an uprising in Utica (in modern-day Tunisia), Hadrianus died when the official residence was burned. [Smith, "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology", vol. 2 (1849), [http://books.google.com/books?id=wJ4YAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA323&lpg=PA323&dq=%22so+oppressive+to+the+Roman+colonists+and+merchants+at+Utica%22&source=web&ots=xB7S_6vVOd&sig=DbUH5BAzEsHjmb3QlHUNiiglxZQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result p. 323] and T.R.S. Broughton, "The Magistrates of the Roman Republic", vol. 2 (New York 1952), p. 69, citing Cicero, "In Verrem" 2.1.70 and 5.94; Diodorus, "Bibliotheca historica" 38.4; Livy, "Periocha" 86; Valerius Maximus 9.10.2.] His tenure was remembered for his greed and harshness, ["Avaritia" and "crudelitas" (Livy, Periocha 86).] and the sources uniformly emphasize that he was burned alive. [Cicero, "In Verrem" 2.1.70; Livy, Periocha 86; Orosius (5.20.3) extends this death to the entire household: "cum omni familia vivus incensus est."] A.N. Sherwin-White called him "beastly." [A.N. Sherwin-White, review of "Emigration from Italy in the Republican Age of Rome" by A.J.N. Wilson (Manchester University Press, 1966), "Journal of Roman Studies" 57 (1967), p. 257.]

A chronological examination of the sources indicates that Cicero’s characterization of Hadrianus likely colored the view of historians who came later. In the course of his prosecution of Verres, Cicero makes a threatening comparison to Hadrianus and the manner of his death, saying that the defendant was even worse:

Cicero uses the word "domus", “house,” which directs attention away from Hadrianus’s status as a promagistrate; Livy calls it properly the "praetorium", [Livy, Periocha 86: "in praetorio suo vivus exustus est".] the official residence of the governor. The 1st-century AD historian Valerius Maximus echoes Cicero’s account closely: “After Hadrianus antagonized the Roman citizens settled at Utica with his sleazy governance and consequently was burned alive by them, no inquest was held at Rome to investigate the matter, nor did anyone bother to file a complaint.” [Valerius Maximus 9.10.2: "cum enim Adrianus civis Romanos, qui Uticae consistebant, sordido imperio vexasset idcircoque ab his vivus esset exustus, nec quaestio ulla in urbe hac de re habita nec querella versata est."]

Although Hadrianus is sometimes said to have been “fluctuating between the parties of Cinna and Sulla,” [Smith, "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology", vol. 2 (1849), p. 323.] it is unclear what facts indicate support of Sulla. As both Cicero and Valerius Maximus note, the Sullan regime established that same year took no action in the matter, even though the legitimate governor of a major province had been killed. Both sources state that the violence in Utica was instigated not by Africans rebelling against Rome, but by Roman citizens ("cives"). At first glance, Orosius seems to contradict both Cicero and Valerius, claiming that Hadrianus was burned alive with his entire household because he had fomented rebellion among the slaves of Africa, whose masters apparently reacted with firewood and homicidal arson. [Orosius, 5.20.3: "Fabius vero Hadrianus, cui imperium pro praetore erat, regnum Africae servorum manu adfectans, a dominis eorum apud Uticam congestis sarmentis cum omni familia vivus incensus est". David Rohrbacher, "Orosius," in "The Historians of Late Antiquity" (Routledge, 2002), p. 138, cautions that despite Orosius’s originality and strengths as an interpreter of his source material, “his recounting of the facts is often unimpressive.” In this case, however, the possibility cannot be discounted that Orosius, who visited and studied with Augustine in Africa (see article “Orosius”), had access to sources now lost.] The Marians were often accused by the aristocratic party, factually or not, of resorting to slaves to apply violence, [For instance, Plutarch, "Marius" 35.5, 41.2, 42.2, 43.3; "Sertorius" 5.5.] and the killing might best be viewed in the context of the Sullan proscriptions of 82.

Even if Hadrianus was not among those proscribed, his death as a Cinnan holdover was timely. He was succeeded as governor of Africa by the most famous of Sulla’s henchmen and supporters, Pompeius Magnus; [T.R.S. Broughton, "The Magistrates of the Roman Republic", vol. 2 (New York 1952), p. 74, note 7, and p. 77. At the time, Pompey had not yet added the "cognomen" Magnus, "the Great."] at the age of only 24, Pompey had not held the offices prerequisite to a governship, but having declared the primacy of sword over law, [See article on Pompey, "Sicily and Africa".] he defeated the Marians, a contingent of whom were still occupying Africa, along with their Numidian allies. Pompey remained in Africa till 79, when he claimed his controversial first triumph for his victories there. [For the legal status of Pompey’s command in Africa, see Ronald T. Ridley, “The Extraordinary Commands of the Late Republic: A Matter of Definition,” "Historia" 30 (1981) 280–297, especially p. 281.]

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