Servius Maluginensis

Who is Servius Maluginensis?

Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis was a Roman patrician who flourished in the reigns of the emperors Augustus and Tiberius. He served as consul suffectus in AD 10, alongside Q. Junius Blaesus.

After a long vacancy he became flamen dialis under Augustus' direction. According to Tacitus, Servius wanted to be governor of Asia in AD 22, but his religious obligations appeared to bar his leaving Rome. The emperor Tiberius finally decided that the flamen dialis must stay in Italy to perform his duties and obliged Servius to forfeit his prospective governorship.

The exact date when Servius became flamen dialis is disputed. Cassius Dio says it was in about 11 BC, and many modern scholars accept this date without question. But Tacitus indicates that the date was 72 years after the suicide of Cornelius Cinna. Some modern translators change Tacitus to match Dio instead of vice-versa, even though Tacitus is the more reliable historian. Gaius Stern asserts that Tacitus is probably correct, meaning that Maluginensis became flamen dialis while Lepidus was pontifex maximus, so that Lepidus had to supervise Maluginensis' inauguration at Augustus' direction, possibly unwillingly.