Quintus Junius Rusticus (c. 100 – c. 170 AD), was a Roman teacher and politician. He was probably a grandson of Arulenus Rusticus, who was a prominent member of the Stoic Opposition. He was a Stoic philosopher and was one of the teachers of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, whom Aurelius treated with the utmost respect and honour.
Rusticus held the political positions of Suffect consul in 133 and Consul ordinarius in 162. He served as urban prefect of Rome between 162 and 168. In this role he is notable for presiding over the trial of the Christian theologian Justin Martyr, which ended with Justin's conviction and execution.
According to Themistius, a 4th-century Roman philosopher and orator, Hadrian, Antoninus, and Marcus Aurelius "pulled Arrian and Rusticus away from their books, refusing to let them be mere pen-and-ink philosophers" and escorted them from the study of Stoic philosophy "to the general’s tent as well as to the speaker’s platform."[1] Themistius lumps Arrian and Rusticus together in recounting their military achievements:
In their role as Roman generals, these men passed through the Caspian Gates, drove the Alani out of Armenia, and established boundaries for the Iberians and the Albani. For all these accomplishments, they reaped the fruits of the eponymous consulship, governed the great city [of Rome], and presided over the ancient senate.[1]