The Roman Republic and Roman Empire have a host of very interesting people who had interesting careers, yet perhaps never achieved the rank they deserve. A lot of them are inherently interesting because of their links to more famous and influential Roman figures. Be it potential consuls, interesting alternate emperors, or scholars who could've been more known, this thread would be a good place to gather them and speculate on alternate fates for them--Republic or Empire, but let's have a cutoff date of the Battle of Yarmouk or so if we're going to discuss Eastern Roman/Byzantine figures. I'll start:
Ptolemy of Mauretania - This guy has an epic lineage. He's a descendent of Mark Antony, Cleopatra (and thus the rest of the Ptolemaic dynasty), the kings of Numidia and Mauretania (his father, Juba II, was a pretty interesting figure himself), a distant relative of Julius Caesar and through marriage cousin to Germanicus and Claudius. His wife was possibly related to the royal family of Emesa, and his daughter (some sources say sister) was married to Marcus Antonius Felix, procurator of Judea who appears in the Bible in Acts 24 where he puts Paul on trial. He was murdered by his second cousin and emperor, Caligula.
What exactly can we do with this man? Obviously he can't become Roman Emperor or seek high offices in the Empire, but perhaps a descendent (grandson, great-grandson) adopted by a leading Roman family could rise to the throne in the 2nd century? Perhaps his sister or daughter could marry well (you can do better than Felix)--I like the idea of marrying a son of
Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi, who by adoption is the great-great grandson of Crassus himself. A descendent of these two being emperor would be very cool.
Marcus Licinius Crassus Scribonianus - He was a son of Crassus Frugi, and through his mother, is a descendent of Pompey (and also Lucius Cornelius Cinna, perhaps best known as a minor character in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar). He was offered the throne in during the Year of the Four Emperors, which if you gave him some more ambition (or perhaps a persuasive wife/friends) would mean this man could easily have been an emperor. Find a way to get Vespasian's support and he could establish a solid dynasty and hopefully have a productive rule.
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus - Scribonianus's brother, who has the same illustrious ancestry. He was the heir of Galba, and his being chosen as heir is the reason why Otho rebelled and murdered both men (the story would be a great movie, a shame Shakespeare never did a play on the Year of the Four Emperors). Licinianus is described positively by historians, and he's fairly young, so he likely would've been a great emperor with a long reign (possibly 30-40 years assuming he can avoid illness, assassination, etc.) with the potential of being remembered as among the greatest Roman emperors.
Calpurnius Piso Galerianus - He was the son of
Gaius Calpurnius Piso, who was nearly successful in assassinating Nero in the Pisonian conspiracy (involving many important contemporary figures like the poet Lucan). He was married to a daughter of Licinia, sister of the two men above. Galerianus can possibly become emperor after Calpurnius Piso dies. A son of Galerianus could easily become emperor, and thus share in that illustrious lineage.
Gaius Calpurnius Piso Crassus Frugi Licinianus - His exact lineage is unclear, but he's obviously related to the figures above in some way. He attempted to overthrow Emperor Nerva in a poorly conceived plot which was discovered quickly. Nerva humiliated him by inviting him to be a guest at a public event and sit right next to him, with obvious implications. Afterwards, Nerva exiled him, and though he returned, was exiled again by Trajan, and later murdered during Hadrian's reign. Although he probably wasn't a brilliant man given that Nerva treated his plot as a joke instead of a serious threat, he might've been emperor (by adoption, perhaps), assuming one of the men above becomes emperor, or perhaps if he were born more intelligent, he might've succeeded.
I might post more later, but these are some figures who have personally interested me. I'd be interested in reading about other figures posted in this thread.