Gaius Matienus

Last updated

Gaius Matienus was a plebeian general of ancient Rome, of the Matiena gens, who lived in the 2nd century BCE.

Together with Gaius Lucretius Gallus he was appointed duumvir navalis by the Roman senate in 181 BCE, during the Third Macedonian War. His mandate seems separate from the war effort, and was to police the coast of the Ligurian Sea, from the Gulf of Naples as far as Massalia, largely in a historical effort to deter Ligurian pirates and counter any incursions of Ligurian ships launched from the shore, but also in response to direct complaints from Massalia, Tarentum, and Brundisium about the insecurity of their trade routes. [1] [2]

In this same year he took thirty-two of the Ligurian ships, and threw scores of sailors into prison. This quashed the Ligurian pirates -- and contemporary writers characterize the offensive as such -- but also effectively eliminated Liguria as a maritime power forever. [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silk Road</span> Historical network of Eurasian trade routes

The Silk Road was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 km (4,000 mi), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds. The name "Silk Road" was coined in the late 19th century, but some 20th- and 21st-century historians instead prefer the term Silk Routes, on the grounds that it more accurately describes the intricate web of land and sea routes connecting Central, East, South, Southeast, and West Asia as well as East Africa and Southern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cisalpine Gaul</span> Roman province

Cisalpine Gaul was the name given, especially during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, to a region of land inhabited by Celts (Gauls), corresponding to what is now most of northern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ligures</span> Ancient ethnic group in Northern Italy

The Ligures or Ligurians were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named. Because of the strong Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in antiquity as Celto-Ligurians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallia Narbonensis</span> Roman Empire province from 121 BC to the 5th century AD

Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra, because it was the first Roman province north of the Alps, and as Gallia Transalpina, distinguishing it from Cisalpine Gaul in Northern Italy. It became a Roman province in the late 2nd century BC. Gallia Narbonensis was bordered by the Pyrenees Mountains on the west, the Cévennes to the north, the Alps on the east, and the Gulf of Lion on the south; the province included the majority of the Rhone catchment. The western region of Gallia Narbonensis was known as Septimania. The province was a valuable part of the Roman Empire, owing to the Greek colony and later Roman Civitas of Massalia, its location between the Spanish provinces and Rome, and its financial output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans-Saharan trade</span> Trade between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa

Trans-Saharan trade is trade between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa that requires travel across the Sahara. Though this trade began in prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century CE. The Sahara once had a different climate and environment. In Libya and Algeria, from at least 7000 BCE, pastoralism, large settlements and pottery were present. Cattle were introduced to the Central Sahara (Ahaggar) between 4000 and 3500 BCE. Remarkable rock paintings in arid regions portray flora and fauna that are not present in the modern desert.

The naval forces of the ancient Roman state were instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans remained a primarily land-based people and relied partially on their more nautically inclined subjects, such as the Greeks and the Egyptians, to build their ships. Because of that, the navy was never completely embraced by the Roman state, and deemed somewhat "un-Roman".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hispania Balearica</span>

Hispania Balearica was a Roman province encompassing the Balearic Islands off the east coast of modern Spain. Formerly a part of Hispania Tarraconensis, Balearica gained its autonomy due to its geographic separation and economic independence from the mainland. The province included three major islands: Balearis Major (Majorca), Balearis Minor (Minorca), and Ebusus (Ibiza), and the small island of Colubraria or Ophiusa (Formentera). The islands were grouped as the Gymnesiae—Majorca and Minorca, and the Pityusae—Ibiza and Formentera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maritime history of Europe</span>

The Maritime history of Europe represents the era of recorded human interaction with the sea in the northwestern region of Eurasia in areas that include shipping and shipbuilding, shipwrecks, naval battles, and military installations and lighthouses constructed to protect or aid navigation and the development of Europe. Europe is situated between several navigable seas and intersected by navigable rivers running into them in a way which greatly facilitated the influence of maritime traffic and commerce. Great battles have been fought in the seas off of Europe that changed the course of history forever, including the Battle of Salamis in the Mediterranean, the Battle of Gravelines at the eastern end of the English Channel in the summer of 1588, in which the “Invincible” Spanish Armada was defeated, the Battle of Jutland in World War I, and World War II’s U-boat war.

The Salyes or Salluvii were an ancient Celto-Ligurian people dwelling between the Durance river and the Greek colony of Massalia during the Iron Age. Although earlier writers called them 'Ligurian', Strabo used the denomination 'Celto-ligurian' in the early 1st century AD. A Celtic influence is noticeable in their religion, which centred on the cult of the tête coupée, as well as in the names of their towns and leaders. During the 2nd century BC, the Salyes were most likely at the head of a political and military confederation that united both Gallic and Ligurian tribes.

Marcus Fulvius Flaccus was a Roman senator and an ally of the Gracchi. He served as consul in 125 BC and as plebeian tribune in 122 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cilician pirates</span> Generic term used for all pirates of the Mediterranean Sea in the 2nd and 1st century BC

Cilician pirates dominated the Mediterranean Sea from the 2nd century BC until their suppression by Pompey in 67–66 BC. Because there were notorious pirate strongholds in Cilicia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor, the term "Cilician" was long used to generically refer to any pirates in the Mediterranean.

Maritime history dates back thousands of years. In ancient maritime history, evidence of maritime trade between civilizations dates back at least two millennia. The first prehistoric boats are presumed to have been dugout canoes which were developed independently by various Stone Age populations. In ancient history, various vessels were used for coastal fishing and travel. A mesolithic boatyard has been found from the Isle of Wight in Britain

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul</span> Ethnic group

The Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul have a significant history of settlement, trade, cultural influence, and armed conflict in the Celtic territory of Gaul, starting from the 6th century BC during the Greek Archaic period. Following the founding of the major trading post of Massalia in 600 BC by the Phocaeans at present day Marseille, Massalians had a complex history of interaction with peoples of the region. Large Greek colonies also existed west of the Rhône, particularly at Agde and Béziers, the latter of which both predates, and was larger than, the Marseille colony.

The Segobrigii or Segobriges were a Celto-Ligurian people dwelling in the hinterland of the Greek colony of Massalia during the Iron Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Mediterranean piracy</span> Piracy in the ancient Mediterranean

Piracy in the ancient Mediterranean dates back at least as far as the Bronze Age. The roots of the word "piracy" come from the ancient Greek πειράομαι, or peiráomai, meaning "attempt". This morphed into πειρατής, or peiratēs, meaning "brigand," and from that to the Latin pirata, where the modern English word pirate originated. According to the classical historian Janice Gabbert, "The eastern Mediterranean has been plagued by piracy since the first dawn of history." The Bronze Age marked the earliest documented wave of piracy, as it is difficult to differentiate piracy from trade during earlier periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Marseille</span>

Marseille, France was originally founded circa 600 BC as the Greek colony of Massalia and populated by Greeks from Phocaea. It became the preeminent Greek polis in the Hellenized region of southern Gaul. The city-state allied with the Roman Republic against Carthage during the Second Punic War, retaining its independence and commercial empire throughout the western Mediterranean even as Rome expanded into Western Europe and North Africa. However, the city lost its independence following the Roman Siege of Massilia in 49 BC, during Caesar's Civil War, in which Massalia sided with the exiled faction at war with Julius Caesar.

The gens Matiena was a plebeian family at Rome. Members of this gens first appear in history in the time of the Second Punic War.

The Ingauni were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling on the Mediterranean coast, around the modern city of Albenga (Liguria), during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-Mediterranean</span> Indian Ocean-Mediterranean region

The Indo-Mediterranean is the region comprising the Mediterranean world, the Indian Ocean world, and their connecting regions in the vicinity of the Suez Canal.

Gaius Lucretius Gallus was general of ancient Rome who served in the Third Macedonian War during the 2nd century BCE.

References

  1. Cabezas-Guzmán, Gerard; Ventós, Gerard R. (2022). "Rome and the North-Western Mediterranean: Ports-of-Call and Sea Routes". In Principal, Jordi; Dobson, Mike; del Hoyo, Toni Ñaco (eds.). Rome and the North-western Mediterranean: Integration and Connectivity C. 150–70 BC. Oxbow Books. p. 240. ISBN   9781789257182 . Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  2. Sage, Michael (2012). Roman Conquests: Gaul. Pen & Sword Books. ISBN   9781848849860 . Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  3. Livy, Ab Urbe Condita Libri 40.26, 28
  4. de Souza, Philip (2013). "Who are you calling pirates?". In Hoff, Michael C.; Townsend, Rhys F. (eds.). Rough Cilicia: New Historical and Archaeological Approaches. Oxbow Books. ISBN   9781782970606 . Retrieved 2025-01-05.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Smith, William (1870). "Matienus (2)". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . Vol. 2.