Titus Flavius Claudius Sulpicianus

Titus Flavius Claudius Sulpicianus
Consul suffectus of the Roman Empire
Reign	ca. 170 AD

Titus Flavius Claudius Sulpicianus (ca. 137 AD – 197 AD) was a Roman statesman who served as Senator and Consul suffectus. He attempted to become Roman Emperor after the death of his son-in-law Emperor Pertinax in 193.

Sulpicianus was probably born in the Cretan town of Hierapytna around the year 137. A senator, he was probably the son of Flavius Titianus, who was the equestrian Prefect of Egypt under the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

Sulpicianus’ early career is unknown, but in around 170 he was appointed suffect consul. Sometime during the 170s he was made a member of the Arval Brethren, and he was appointed the Proconsular governor of Asia in 186. He may have had some involvement in the plot to murder the emperor Commodus at the end of 192, and by early 193 he was appointed Praefectus urbi of Rome as a result of his marital ties to the incoming emperor Pertinax, who was married to his daughter, Flavia Titiana, as part of the emperor’s attempt to shore up his support among the senatorial aristocracy.

The murder of Pertinax, 19th Emperor of the Roman Empire and his son-in-law, saw Sulpicianus trying to quell a disturbance among the Praetorian Guard. Hearing of Pertinax’s death, he was offered the imperial title and he turned to the Praetorians in Rome to gain their approval. He proceeded to offer them each soldier 20,000 sesterces, or eight years worth of wages, the same amount offered by Marcus Aurelius in 161. Unfortunately, a fellow senator, Didius Julianus appeared and began to bid for their support as well, and he made them a higher offer, which they accepted. Julianus was saluted as imperator by the Praetorians, and the new emperor proceeded to pardon his rival, retaining Sulpicianus as the urban prefect.

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