Professor
Edward Champlin includes Adventus as a member of "a
Cirtan community at Rome" he infers existed there, whose members included:
Quintus Lollius Urbicus, consul in either 135 or 136;
Gaius Arrius Antoninus, consul c. 170; and the orator
Fronto. Champlin notes that Lollius Urbicus and Pactumeius Clemens themselves "could provide powerful support for Cirtan interests, and such support is attested by strong circumstantial evidence." An inscription recovered from
Thibilis in
Numidia, combined with a second from another Numidian town
Cirta, allows us to reconstruct his career from its beginning. Adventus began his career with membership in the , which was the board that oversaw maintenance of the streets and public places in Rome; it was one of the four magistracies that comprised the
vigintiviri, and membership in one of these boards was a preliminary and required first step toward a gaining entry into the Roman Senate. Next he was commissioned as the
tribunus laticlavius in
Legio I Minervia. Upon returning to Rome, he was elected
quaestor, and in this office he went to
Macedonia to manage its finances. Upon completing this office, Adventus was enrolled into the Senate. Next followed the office of
sevir equitum Romanorum or presiding at the annual review of the
equites at Rome, then the traditional Republican magistracy of
plebeian tribune. Adventus was picked to serve as
legatus or assistant to the
proconsular governor of
Africa, where he was for a year, until returning to Rome once again to hold a third traditional Republican magistracy,
praetor.
Géza Alföldy dates his praetorship to around 158. Following his praetorship, Adventus was commissioned commander of
Legio VI Ferrata; while holding this commission the
Parthian War broke out. He was then transferred to the command of the
II Adiutrix, probably in 162. From the
dona militaria, or military honors, he was awarded fighting against Parthia, it is clear Antistius Adventus saw active service. He was appointed c. 164 governor of Arabia; an inscription from
Bostra describes Antistius Adventus as consul designate, and
Anthony Birley presumes he held that office while in
Arabia. His next appointment was again in Rome as Curator of public buildings and works. Another inscription from
Lanchester near
Hadrian's Wall (
RIB 1083) attests that Antistius Adventus was governor of
Roman Britain. Birley believes his tenure there should be "very tentatively" dated to c. 173–6. This was the period that 5,500
Sarmatian cavalry troops arrived in Britain, so one of his tasks in Britain was providing lands for these troops to settle on. == Marriage and children ==