Origins
Volusianus was the son of a Roman citizen also with the praenomen 'Lucius' of the Petronii clan. His Roman voting Tribe was the Sabatinae. Sabatina was a district in Etruria; thus it is likely that the family was of Etruscan origin. Volusianus’s patronage of Arezzo in later life does not necessarily mean that he was born there, but it does indicate some strong regional connection..
It is possible that, as an Etruscan of equestrian rank - see below - Volusianus had social connections with powerful senatorial families of Etruscan provenance two of which achieved Imperial status in the mid-Third Century AD. This would go some way to explain the extraordinarily momentum of his career from the early 250s AD onward. The Treboniani (the family of the Emperor Trebonianus Gallus) and the Licinii (the family of the Emperors Valerian and Gallienus) have both been suggested in this connection. It seems agreed that a connection between these families and the Petronii Volusiani based on a common regional origin is not impossible, but that a blood-relationship is unlikely.
According to the Arretium Inscription Volusianus's career began he was already of equestrian rank, but we do not know if he was born into that level of society or achieved it as a result of his career. He probably became a senator in 261 - see below.
Read more about this topic: Volusianus (L. Petronius Taurus Volusianus)
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