Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus
Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus (Greek: Τιμησίθεος) (AD 190-243) was an officer of the Roman Imperial government in the first half of the 3rd century. Most likely of Oriental-Greek origins, he was a Roman citizen, probably of equestrian rank.
Vir Eminentissimus Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus | |
|---|---|
| Born | 190 |
| Died | 243 Provincia Mesopotamiae |
| Nationality | Roman |
| Occupation(s) | Imperial Official and soldier |
| Years active | AD 210(?)-243 |
| Organization | Imperial Administration |
| Known for | Fiscal expertise and generalship |
| Title | Praefectus Praetorio (under Gordian III) |
| Term | 240-3 AD |
| Predecessor | Domitius |
| Successor | M. Julius Philippus (later Emperor 'Philip the Arab' |
| Children | Furia Sabinia Tranquillina |
| Relatives | The Emperor Gordian III (son-in-law) |
He began his career in the Imperial Service as the commander of a cohort of auxiliary infantry and rose to become Praetorian Prefect, the highest office in the Imperial hierarchy, with both civilian and military functions. His official life was spent mainly in fiscal postings and he typified the powerful procuratorial functionaries who came to dominate the Imperial government in the second quarter of the Third Century. Although he was on several occasions appointed to positions that contemporary Administrative Law reserved for officials of senatorial rank, he remained an equestrian until his death; it is possible that he deliberately avoided adlection to the Roman Senate, preferring to exercise power in offices from which senators were excluded.
He either died of illness or was murdered in the course of a successful campaign against the Sasanians under king Shapur I in Mesopotamia.