Lucius Valerius Messalla (consul 214)

Lucius Valerius Messalla (fl. 3rd century) was a Roman senator who was appointed consul in AD 214.

Biography

Messalla, a member of the third century gens Valeria, was possibly the son of Lucius Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus. He apparently did not suffer any repercussions following the purge that saw his father put to death on the orders of the emperor Caracalla in AD 212, and in fact he was appointed consul prior in AD 214, alongside Gaius Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus.^[1]

It is believed this Messalla was the Valerius Messalla who was the Proconsul of Asia sometime between 236 and 238. If so, there must have been some political circumstance that resulted in such a lengthy gap between his consulship and the proconsular governorship.^[2]

It is speculated that Messalla was married to Claudia Acilia Priscilliana, the daughter of Tiberius Claudius Cleobulus, and they may have been the parents of Lucius Valerius Claudius Acilius Priscillianus Maximus, who was twice consul.^[3]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Messalla

16. L. Vipstanus Messalla[anc 1]               8. L. Vipstanus Messalla                       4. L. Vipstanus Claudius Poplicola Messalla                             2. L. Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus                                   10. Publius Helvidius Priscus                       5. Helvidia Priscilla                             11. Plautia Quinctilia                       1. L. Valerius Messalla

1. Lucius Vipstanus Messalla was the son of Gaius Vipstanus Messalla Gallus, grandson of Valeria Messalla, great-grandson of Claudia Marcella Minor and great-great-grandson of Octavia the Younger.

References

1. Mennen, pg. 125
2. Mennen, pgs. 123-124
3. Christian Settipani, Continuité gentilice et continuité sénatoriale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale, (2000), pgs. 227-228

Sources

• Mennen, Inge, Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193-284 (2011)