Lusius Quietus, the Roman general of African descent who inspired the gladiator movie

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LUsius Quietus was a Kamit Roman general, governor of Judea in 117. The Kitos War was so named in reference to Quietus. Romanized Moorish prince who became one of Emperor Trajan's best generals at the beginning of the second century of the Christian era. He was originally from the Roman province of Mauretania Tingitane (current Morocco) where his father led a vast tribe of nomads. The latter had fought for the Romans during the Moorish revolt led by Aedemon after Caligula had Ptolemy of Mauretania, the son of King Juba II, assassinated. As a reward for his services, he had been rewarded with the granting of Roman citizenship.

Young Lusius received a Roman education and enlisted in the imperial army when he was old enough to do so. He constituted for her a new regiment (vexilatio) of cavalry composed only of Moors from her tribe of origin. These men who were entirely devoted to him had the particularity of riding their horses bareback and having a great experience of combat in a steep environment, which allowed their leader to rise quickly in rank as his feats of arms pointed out. by the Roman generals.
Neither his foreign origin nor Lucius' attraction to fame and wealth presented him with difficulty at first. But the one he manifested for the fairer sex ends up bringing him some mishaps. After being promoted to the rank of Roman knight by Domitian for his military exploits, he was even disgraced for a time for a matter of morals.

It was on the occasion of the outbreak of the war that he decided to wage against the Dacians (in present-day Romania) that the Emperor Trajan not only recalled Lucius to Rome (101) but even made him one of his most close collaborators, he had been so deeply impressed by his valor and his skill in combat. This was a wise choice, as it was a daring cavalry raid led by the Moor that allowed the Romans to take the Dacian capital, Sarmizegutesa and thus bring the enemy king to deal. Lucius also covered himself with glory during the second campaign of Dacia (104-106) which finally ended with the total triumph of the Romans and the annexation of the conquered country.