Varus, P Quintilius

Varus, P. Quintilius proconsul of Syria for several years (between B.C. 13 and A.D. 7), after Sentius Saturninus, an office which he administered with such rapacity that Velleius Paterculus says of him (2, 117), "As a poor man he entered the rich country, and as a rich man he left the country poor." Some of his governmental acts are rehearsed by Josephus (Life, 11; Ant. 17:5 sq.; War, 1, 21, 5; 2, 3, 1; 5, 2). He subsequently sustained a notable defeat in Germany. See Smith, Dict. of Class. Biog. s.v. SEE GOVERNOR.