A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

ALBINUS.

ALBINUS. 93

is represented stretching out his hand to an eagle,
a military standard, and behind him are the fasces
with the axe. On it are the letters A. POST. A. F.
N. s. ABIN (so on the coin, instead of ALBIN.). On
the coins of the Postumia gens the praenomen
Spurius is alway written s. and not sP.
23. A. PosTUMIus ALBINUS, a person of praetorian rank, commanded the fleet, B. c. 89, in the
Marsic war, and was killed by his own soldiers
under the plea that he meditated treachery, but in
reality on account of his cruelty. Sulla, who was
then a legate of the consul Porcius Cato, incorporated his troops with his own, but did not punish
the offenders. (Liv. Epit. 75; Plut. Salla, 6.)
24. A. PosTUMIus ALBINUS was placed by
Caesar over Sicily, B. c. 48. (Appian, B. C. ii. 48.)
25. D. JUNIUS BaUTus ALBINUS, adopted by
No. 22, and commemorated in the annexed coin,
where Brutus is called ALBINV(s) BRVTI. F.
[BRUTUS.]
ALBI'NUS, procurator of Judaea, in the reign
of Nero, about A. D. 63 and 64, succeeded Festus,
and was guilty of almost every kind of crime in
his government. He pardoned the vilest criminals
for money, and shamelessly plundered the provincials. He was succeeded by Florus. (Joseph.
Ant. Jud. xx. 8. ~ 1; Bell. Jud. ii. 14. ~ 1.) The
LUCElUS ALBINus mentioned below may possibly
have been the same person.
ALBI'NUS ('AXeivos), a Platonic philosopher,
who lived at Smyrna and was a contemporary of
Galen. (Galen, vol. iv. p. 372, ed. Basil.) A
short tract by him, entitled 'Etoraywcy? ' es Tov0s
hAadrvcvos AieAy6ovs, has come down to us, and is
published in the second volume (p. 44) of the first
edition of Fabricius; but omitted in the reprint
by Harles, because it is to be found prefixed to
Etwall's edition of three dialogues of Plato, Oxon.
1771; and to Fischer's four dialogues of Plato,
Lips. 1783. It contains hardly anything of importance. After explaining the nature of the
Dialogue, which he compares to a Drama, the
writer goes on to divide the Dialogues of Plato
into four classes, XoyIcovs, EXyicrcKOis, qvoeceKovs,,
jIKcovds, and mentions another division of them
into Tetralogies, according to their subjects. He
advises that the Alcibiades, Phaedo, Republic, and
Timaeus, should be read in a series.
The authorities respecting Albinus have been
collected by Fabricius. (Bibl. Graec. iii. p. 658.)
Hie is said to have written a work on the arrangement of the writings of Plato. Another Albinus
is mentioned by Boethius and Cassiodorus, who

wrote in Latin some works on music and geometry. [B. J.]
ALBI'NUS, CLO'DIUS, whose full name
was Decimus Clodius Ceionius Septimius Albinus, the son of Ceionius Postumius and
Aurelia Messalina, was born at Adrumetum in
Africa; but the year of his birth is not known.
According to his father's statement (Capitol.
Clod. Albin. 4), he received the name of Albinus on account of the extraordinary whiteness of
his body. Shewing great disposition for a military
life, he entered the army at an early age and
served with great distinction, especially during the
rebellion of Avidius Cassius against the emperor
Marcus Aurelius, in A. D. 175. His merits were
acknowledged by the emperor in two letters (ib.
10) in which he calls Albinus an African, who resemubled his countrymen but little, and who was
praiseworthy for his military experience, and the
gravity of his character. The emperor likewise
declared, that without Albinus the legions (in
Bithynia) would have gone over to Avidius Cassius, and that he intended to have him chosen
consul. The emperor Commodus gave Albinus a
command in Gaul and afterwards in Britain. A
false rumour having been spread that Commodus
had died, Albinus harangued the army in Britain
on the occasion, attacking Commodus as a tyrant,
and maintaining that it would be useful to the
Roman empire to restore to the senate its ancient
dignity and power. The senate was very pleased
with these sentiments, but not so the emperor,
who sent Junius Severus to supersede Albinus in
his command. At this time Albinus must have
been a very distinguished man, which we may
conclude from the fact, that some time before
Commodus had offered him the title of Caesar,
which he wisely declined. Notwithstanding the
appointment of Junius Severus as his successor,
Albinus kept his command till after the murder of
Commodus and that of his successor Pertinax in
A. D. 193. It is doubtful if Albinus was the
secret author of the murder of Pertinax, to which
Capitolinus makes an allusion. (Ib. 14.)
After the death of Pertinax, Didius Julianus
purchased the throne by bribing the praetorians;
but immediately afterwards, C. Pescennius Niger
was proclaimed emperor by the legions in Syria;
L. Septimius Severus by the troops in Illyricum
and Pannonia; and Albinus by the armies in Britain and Gaul. Julianus having been put to death
by order of the senate, who dreaded the power
of Septimius Severus, the latter turned his arms
against Pescennius Niger. With regard to Albinus, we must believe that Severus made a provisional arrangement with him, conferring upon
him the title of Caesar, and holding with him
the consulship in A. D. 194. But after the defeat
and death of Niger in A. D. 194, and the complete
discomfiture of his adherents, especially after the
fall of Byzantium in A. D. 196, Severus resolved
to make himself the absolute master of the Roman
empire. Albinus seeing the danger of his position,
which he had increased by his indolence, prepared
for resistance. He narrowly escaped being
assassinated by a messenger of Severus (ib. 7, 8),
whereupon he put himself at the head of his army,
which is said to have consisted of 150,000 men.
He met the equal forces of Severus at Lugdunum
(Lyons), in Gaul, and there f6ught with him on
the 19th of February, 197 (Spartian. Sever. 11), a