Name Lucius Messalla | ||
Lucius Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus (c. 156 – c. 212) was a Roman senator, who was appointed consul in AD 196 as the colleague of Gaius Domitius Dexter.
Biography
Thrasea Priscus was a member of the second century gens Valeria. It is possible he was the son of Lucius Vipstanus Poplicola Messalla, who may have been a praetor designatus but died before he acceded to the consulate. If so, Thrasea Priscus altered his gentilicum to reflect his descent through the Vipstani from the republican Valerii. In AD 196, Thrasea Priscus was consul posterior alongside Gaius Domitius Dexter. It is believed that around AD 198, Thrasea Priscus was the curator aquarum (or supervisor of aqueducts) in Rome.
Thrasea Priscus may have been a partisan of Publius Septimius Geta, the brother and rival of the emperor Caracalla. He became one of the victims of the earliest purges of Caracalla, being struck down in the emperor's presence after the murder of Geta.
Christian Settipani has speculated that Thrasea Priscus married Coelia Balbina, possibly the daughter of Marcus Aquilius Coelius Apollinaris, and a very close relative of the future Emperor Balbinus. It is believed that Thrasea Priscus had a son, Lucius Valerius Messalla Apollinaris, who was Roman consul in AD 214.