Messalla, a member of the third century
gens Valeria, was possibly the son of
Lucius Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus and speculatively his wife Coelia Balbina, since the
cognomen Balbinus appears in their great-grandson's name. He apparently did not suffer any repercussions following the purge that saw his father put to death on the orders of the
emperor Caracalla in 212, and in fact he was appointed
consul prior in 214, alongside
Gaius Octavius Appius Suetrius Sabinus. It is believed this Messalla was the Valerius Messalla who was the
proconsul of
Asia sometime between 236 and 238. If so, there must have been some political circumstance that resulted in such a lengthy gap between his consulship and the proconsular governorship.
Christian Settipani has speculated, due to the combination of both's
nomina and
cognomina, that Messalla married Claudia Acilia Priscilliana, daughter of
Tiberius Claudius Cleobulus and wife and first cousin Acilia Frestana, and that they may have been the parents of
Lucius Valerius Claudius Acilius Priscillianus Maximus, who was twice consul. ==Ancestry==