Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus
Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus (died 217) was a Syrian nobleman who had an impressive Roman military and political career. Background and career Although Alexianus was a Roman citizen who was born and raised in Emesa (modern Homs, Syria), little is known on his origins. It has been assumed that Alexianus was born in c. 155. What is known about him is from surviving inscriptional and Roman historical evidence. Through marriage he was a relation to the Royal family of Emesa and the ruling Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire. He was an Equestrian officer serving as a praefectus and tribune in the Roman military, and then as a procurator of the food supply in Rome, being stationed in Ostia. Later he was promoted to the Senate by the Emperor Septimius Severus, his brother-in-law. Having entered the Senate with the rank of Praetor in 194, Alexianus was made Legatus in the Legio IV Flavia Felix and later served as governor of Raetia, which may be dated to 196/197. During his proconsulship of Raetia, he dedicated an altar to the Emesene God Elagabalus. The altar and its inscription, still intact, mentions him as a priest of the deified Emperor Titus. Alexianus served