Junius Licinius Balbus

Who is Junius Licinius Balbus?

Junius Licinius Balbus was a Roman Senator who served as a Suffect Consul. He was the son of Junius Licinius Balbus, a man of consular rank and his wife, Servilia the daughter of the Roman nobles Ceionia Plautia, sister of Lucius Verus, and Quintus Servilius Pudens. His name is given by Historia Augusta, however modern historians dismiss his name as false.

According to the Augustan history, he married Antonia Gordiana, daughter of Gordian I and sister of Gordian II, whose son became the Roman emperor Gordian III. Although Antonia Gordiana married an unnamed Roman Senator, modern historians dismiss Balbus as the husband of Antonia Gordiana and father of Gordian III. Rather they suspect the Gordian family's alleged connection to the Antonine dynasty to be a genealogical fabrication.