Gaius Suetonius Paulinus

[Septimus Flavius Galarius]

Now when Paulinus took over the as the governor for britain after the death of Quintus Veranius Nepos britain was a very volatile province. Now i am assuming it was an imperial province, and at the time of the Boudica revolt i believe it had 3 legions stationed in it, the II Augusta, IX Hispana, XIV Gemina. Now Paulinus before he became governor served as Praetor, and legion legate. Now all the governors before him i believe served as Consul. Now how did a propraetor become proconsul of britain when most propraetors become governors of senatorial provinces or of provinces with just one legion? He proved himself highly capable for he was able to defeat Boudica with a far inferior numerical force than what Boudica had. But how did he get there, did he have many political connections, and if so it seems odd that none of those connections would help him from getting relieved by Nero shortly after he defeated Boudica even if he was punishing the britons as revenge for the revolt? He later became Consul and was involved in the civil wars after Nero's death, but is there any detailed biography of his life?

[Primus Pilus]

Now when Paulinus took over the as the governor for britain after the death of Quintus Veranius Nepos britain was a very volatile province. Now i am assuming it was an imperial province, and at the time of the Boudica revolt i believe it had 3 legions stationed in it, the II Augusta, IX Hispana, XIV Gemina. Now Paulinus before he became governor served as Praetor, and legion legate. Now all the governors before him i believe served as Consul. Now how did a propraetor become proconsul of britain when most propraetors become governors of senatorial provinces or of provinces with just one legion? He proved himself highly capable for he was able to defeat Boudica with a far inferior numerical force than what Boudica had. But how did he get there, did he have many political connections, and if so it seems odd that none of those connections would help him from getting relieved by Nero shortly after he defeated Boudica even if he was punishing the britons as revenge for the revolt? He later became Consul and was involved in the civil wars after Nero's death, but is there any detailed biography of his life?

 

Paulinus was either an earlier Consul Suffectus or he was simply the product of an era where war (Britain, Armenia/Parthia) and politics predicated extraordinary measures. This article (Some comments on the Fasti during the reign of Nero) suggests that a Suetonius Paulinus was a suffect consul after AD 41. Several fasti reproductions list AD 66 as Paulinus' second consulship. Considering that he was a legatus legionis in Mauretania in AD 42, it does make chronological sense.

 

As for extraordinary circumstances in the reign of Nero... a couple of short examples:

 

Tacitus says this in Annals 14.28:

As at the elections for praetors, now generally under the Senate's control there was the excitement of a particularly keen competition, the emperor quieted matters by promoting the three supernumerary candidates to legionary commands.

 

This refers to roughly around the year AD 60. It doesn't mention Paulinus of course, but does give the impression that Nero was not opposed to alternative methods of appointment.

 

Suetonius says also in Life of Nero 15

For a long time he would not admit the sons of freedmen to the senate and he refused office to those who had been admitted by his predecessors. Candidates who were in excess of the number of vacancies received the command of a legion as compensation for the postponement and delay. He commonly appointed consuls for a period of six months. When one of them died just before the Kalends of January, he appointed no one in his place, expressing his disapproval of the old-time case of Caninius Rebilus, the twenty-four hour consul. He conferred the triumphal regalia even on men of the rank of quaestor, as well as on some of the knights, and sometimes for other than military services. As regards the speeches which he sent to the senate on various matters, he passed over the quaestors, whose duty it was to read them, and usually had them presented by one of the consuls.

 

Unfortunately, there is no biography of Suetonius Paulinus, nor is there much information other than the accounts of the Boudiccan affair by the usual suspects. Interestingly though, while researching I realized that Nero's advisor Seneca was married to a Pompeia Paulina. She was the daughter of Pompeius Paulinus, a governor of Germania during Nero's reign. I have no idea if there was any family relation between Suetonius Paulinus and Pompeius Paulinus, but if there was I'm sure it was distant.