Roman Empire
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Pliny the Younger
Novum Comum (Como), Roman Empire
Archival Overview
Roman lawyer, senator, and magistrate under Trajan whose preserved Epistulae provide an invaluable record of the eruption of Vesuvius and early Christian communities.
Biographical Record
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (61–c. 113 CE), known as Pliny the Younger, was a Roman lawyer, author, and senior administrator. Raised and adopted by his maternal uncle Pliny the Elder (who died in the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius), he was educated in rhetoric by Quintilian in Rome, embarking upon a stellar career as an advocate in the Centumviral Court and rising to the consulship in 100 CE under Emperor Trajan.
Appointed imperial governor of Bithynia-Pontus in 110 CE, Pliny was celebrated for his honesty and meticulous civic management. His published correspondence (Epistulae in ten books) offers an unrivaled window into imperial Roman administration, everyday social life, his eyewitness account of the 79 CE destruction of Pompeii, and his famous Book X legal correspondence with Emperor Trajan regarding the official procedure for prosecuting early Christians.
Key Life Milestones
Consulship and Panegyricus
Delivered the Panegyricus Traiani before the Roman Senate upon becoming consul, articulating the ideals of enlightened constitutional monarchy.
Letters on Early Christianity
Authored the famous Letter to Emperor Trajan concerning Christians, yielding Trajan's rescript prohibiting anonymous denunciations.
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialPrusa (Bursa), Turkey