Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus

Vir Eminentissimus Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus
Born	190
Died	243 Provincia Mesopotamiae
Cause of death	Obscure (possibly murdered by poison)
Nationality	Roman
Citizenship	Roman
Occupation	Imperial Official and soldier
Years active	AD 210(?)-243
Employer	Roman Emperors Caracalla and Elagabalus, Alexander Severus, Maximinus Thrax and Gordian III
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)

Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus (AD 190-243) was an officer of the Roman Imperial government in the first half of Third Century. Most likely of Oriental-Greek origins, he was a Roman citizen, probably of equestrian rank.

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 brilliant career reflected his mastery of contemporary cultural norms and his reputation for administrative competence, but also his ability to access patronage at the highest level. 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. Nevertheless, as Praetorian Prefect, he also seems to have proved himself more than competent in his military role. Although he was on several occasions appointed to positions that contemporary Administrative Law reserved for officials of senatorial rank, he remained an equestrian until the end: it is possible that he deliberately avoided adlection to the Roman Senate preferring to exercise real power in offices from which senators were excluded. Unlike his successor in the Praetorian Prefecture, Philip the Arab, he did not take advantage of the youth and inexperience of his Imperial master (and son-in-law), Gordian III, to seize the Empire for himself.

He died in obscure circumstances, possibly murdered, in the course of a successful campaign to drive the forces of the Persian "King of Kings", Shapur I, from Rome's oriental territories. On his death the war against the Persians that he had directed so masterfully fell almost immediately into disarray to the long-term detriment of the Empire.

"Timesitheus" is a cognomen which suggests that the bearer was ethnically a Greek. However, Timesitheus's nomen and praenomen (i.e. "Furius Sabinius" and "Gaius" respectively) indicate long-established Roman citizenship and a family that was well-integrated into the élite classes of the Empire although it is otherwise unknown. Such enthusiasm to be associated with the Imperial power was not unknown in the case of ambitious Greek families. His origins could have been anywhere in the eastern provinces where Greek, rather than Latin, was the dominant culture. Somewhere in Asia (i.e. the region that roughly coincides with modern Turkey) is a possibility. However, as will be seen, his early career supports the notion that he may have had some connection to the Severan Dynasty, in particular the "Syrian Princesses". This could indicate that his origins were in the Oriens - i.e. the modern Levant /Arabia.

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