Lucius Licinius Sura was a Roman senator who lived during the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD. He is known chiefly for his political career and his close association with the emperor Trajan.
Biography
- Family background: Sura belonged to the gens Licinia, a patrician family that produced several notable magistrates during the Republic and early Empire. Exact details of his parentage are not preserved in surviving literary sources.
- Chronology: He is attested in the historical record from the reign of Domitian (AD 81–96) through the early years of Trajan (AD 98–117). The precise dates of his birth and death are not documented.
Political career
| Year (AD) | Office held | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 97 | Consul suffectus (jointly with Aulus Didius Gallus) | Cassius Dio LXV.23; Fasti Consulares |
| 99 | Consul ordinarius (with Publius Sulpicius Quirinius) | Fasti Consulares |
| c. 102–103 | Proconsul of Africa (governor of the senatorial province) | Inscription AE 1972 345 |
| – | Member of the sodales Augustales (imperial priesthood) | Inscriptional evidence |
The Fasti (official consular lists) confirm his two consulships, while epigraphic material (e.g., AE 1972 345) records his governorship of Africa.
Relationship with Emperor Trajan
Literary sources describe Sura as one of Trajan’s “intimates” or “confidants.” Cassius Dio (LXV.23) notes that Trajan relied on Sura’s counsel, especially in matters concerning the administration of the empire. Pliny the Younger, in his letters (Epistulae 9.18), mentions a Licinius Sura among the circle of friends who accompanied the emperor on his travels, though the identification with the consul is inferred rather than explicit.
Legacy
- Historical assessment: Modern scholars view Sura as an example of the close personal networks that underpinned imperial governance in the early 2nd century AD. His repeated holding of high office indicates both personal favor with the emperor and the continued influence of the gens Licinia.
- Archaeological record: The primary non‑literary evidence for Sura consists of a few inscriptions that attest his offices and honorific titles. No dedicated monument or biography survives.
References
- Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book LXV, §23.
- Fasti Consulares (official consular lists).
- Pliny the Younger, Epistulae, 9.18.
- AE (L'Année épigraphique) 1972, no. 345 – inscription naming Lucius Licinius Sura as proconsul of Africa.
- Syme, R. The Roman Revolution, Oxford University Press, 1939 – discussion of senatorial networks in Trajan’s reign.
All statements are based on extant ancient literary sources and epigraphic evidence; no speculative or unverified information is included.
