Gaius Fabius Hadrianus

[4] An alternative view is that Metellus did not hold a legitimate governorship, but was attempting to seize power in Africa in 84 when Hadrianus held a duly appointed office.

Hadrianus allied with Hiarbas, a rival for the Numidian kingship, and succeeded in temporarily ousting Hiempsal, who hid out with Metellus and his men in Mauretania under the protection of Bocchus I.

[13]Cicero uses the word domus, “house,” which directs attention away from Hadrianus's status as a promagistrate; Livy calls it properly the praetorium,[14] the official residence of the governor.

As both Cicero and Valerius Maximus note, the Sullan regime established that same year took no action in the matter, even though the legitimate governor of a major province had been killed.

At first glance, Orosius seems to contradict both Cicero and Valerius, claiming that Hadrianus was burned alive with his entire household because he had fomented rebellion among the slaves of Africa, whose masters apparently reacted with firewood and homicidal arson.

[17] The populares were often accused by the conservative elite, factually or not, of resorting to slaves to apply violence,[18] and the killing might best be viewed in the context of the Sullan proscriptions of 82.