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Third century Roman eques and governor of Egypt
Lucius Valerius Datus
was a Roman
eques
who flourished during the reign of the emperor
Septimius Severus
and his sons. He held a series of imperial offices, most notably
praefectus
or governor of
Roman Egypt
from 216 to 217.
[1]
Appointed to his prefecture in Egypt by
Caracalla
, Datus was slow in recognizing that emperor's replacement by
Macrinus
. Literary sources date his ascension to 11 April 217; surviving
papyri
from imperial offices in Egypt are dated to years of Caracalla's reign as late as 30 June of that year, and the earliest to Macrinus' reign is dated to 17 July.
[2]
A surviving papyrus document shows Datus was still in office 18 July 217.
[3]
According to
Cassius Dio
Macrinus had Valerius Datus executed, doubtlessly for this delay.
[4]
The date of his death falls somewhere between 18 July 217 and 6 April 218, the earliest known date of his successor,
Julius Basilianus
.
[5]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Guido Bastianini
,
"Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30
a
al 299
p
"
,
Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik
, 17 (1975), p. 307
- ^
D. W. Rathbone,
"The Dates of the Recognition in Egypt of the Emperors from Caracalla to Diocletianus"
,
Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik
, 62 (1986), pp. 105f
- ^
P. J. Sijpesteijn,
"The Prefect L. Valerius Datus in P. Princ. Inv. GD 7644"
,
Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik
, 65 (1986), pp. 169f
- ^
Romaike Historia
,
78.15.3
- ^
Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto", p. 308