ABSTRACT
Dio's conception of Seneca and Burrus as inspirers of legislation in a reforming regime is hard to credit, as we have seen. What can be put in its place?
Tacitus remarks that Seneca and Burrus were an unusual example of harmony in power. The two men were similar in age and background, but different in character and experience. Sextus Afranius Burrus was a native of Gallia Narbonensis, the oldest and most Romanized of the Gallic provinces, whose nucleus corresponded to the modem Provence. His family had probably been enfranchised during the civil wars: they adopted the name of one of Pompey's officers, Afranius, who had presumably secured the grant of citizenship for them. Burrus' career shows that they were prosperous enough to qualify as equites, for he did his military service as an officer, holding the post of military tribune. Then, from the reign of Tiberius until the last years of Claudius, he served as a procurator managing the estates of various members of the imperial family. It is reasonable to assume a date ofbirth somewhere in the decade 10-1 BC. The inscription which reveals his career was found at Vaison (the ancient Vasio) and is a dedication to him as the patron of the town. 1 This suggests that it was his birthplace and that he continued to keep a residence there and to maintain his local connections. Profoundly respectable as this background was, it gave no promise of the elevation that political circumstances were to bring to Burrus.
