Although of Italian stock, Velleius (b. ca 20 BC) was a high-ranking Roman (2.76.1, 2.104.3), boasting senators on both sides of his family (2. 16.2-3, 69.5). He entered military service (ca 2 BC) in Thrace and Macedonia as a lowly officer, a tribune (tribunus militum), and served in other eastern provinces (2.101.2-3). Velleius witnessed the meeting between Augustus’ son Gaius and the Parthian king on the Euphrates ca AD 1 (2.101.1-3), but he was perhaps in Rome in 4 when Augustus adopted Tiberius (2.103.3-4). As a ranking officer (praefectus equitum), Velleius went to Germany under the command of Tiberius in 4, where he replaced his own father as prefect, and he campaigned with Tiberius for nine consecutive years in …
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Citation: Bellemore, Jane. "Marcus Velleius Paterculus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 March 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12631, accessed 09 November 2024.]