Publius Petronius

Publius Petronius was a Roman senator, who was active during the reigns of Caligula and Claudius. He was suffect consul in the second half of the year AD 19, replacing Lucius Norbanus Balbus. The sortition also awarded him the proconsulate of Asia; however, Petronius is best known as having appointed legatus or governor of Syria in AD 39, probably arriving in the country late in the year. A.A. Barrett lists him as an example of the "excellent appointments" made by an emperor often dismissed as mentally unbalanced.