Gaius Norbanus | |
---|---|
Consul of Rome | |
In office 1 January –29 December 83 BC Servingwith Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus | |
Preceded by | Lucius Cornelius Cinna &Gnaeus Papirius Carbo |
Succeeded by | Gaius Marius the Younger &Gnaeus Papirius Carbo |
Personal details | |
Died | 82 BC Rhodes |
Cause of death | Suicide |
Nationality | Roman |
Political party | Populares |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Roman Republic |
Branch/service | Roman army |
Rank | General |
Gaius Norbanus,nicknamed Balbus (died 82 BC) was a Roman politician who was elected consul in 83 BC alongside Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus. He committed suicide in exile at Rhodes after being proscribed by Lucius Cornelius Sulla shortly after the latter's victory in the civil war. [1]
A novus homo,Gaius Norbanus first came to prominence when he was elected one of the plebeian tribunes for 103 BC. He achieved notoriety for his prosecution of Quintus Servilius Caepio,where he accused Servilius Caepio of incompetence and dereliction of duty at the catastrophic defeat of the Roman armies by the Cimbri at the Battle of Arausio in 105 BC. [2] [lower-alpha 1] At the concilium plebis where Servilius Caepio was tried,two tribunes attempted to veto proceedings,but were driven off by force. [3] Although the Senate vigorously tried to obtain his acquittal and he was defended by Lucius Licinius Crassus,Norbanus managed to secure Caepio's conviction. Caepio was forced into exile to Smyrna,while his fortune was confiscated.
In 101 BC,Norbanus served as quaestor under Marcus Antonius,grandfather of the triumvir Mark Antony,in his campaign against the pirates in Cilicia. [4] In 94 BC,Norbanus was accused of minuta maiestas (treason) under the Lex Appuleia by Publius Sulpicius Rufus on account of the disturbances that had taken place at the trial of Caepio,but the eloquence of Marcus Antonius secured his acquittal. [5] [6]
This was followed by his election as Praetor in 89 BC,and his appointment as governor of Sicily. He kept the peace in his province,defending it against the Italian socii during the Social War. [7] He managed to capture Rhegium from the Samnites in 88 BC. [8] [9]
During the civil war between Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla he sided with Marius. [10] He was elected consul for 83 BC; [11] at Mount Tifata,near Capua,he intercepted Sulla,who had returned to Italy from Greece. Sulla sent over some emissaries to discuss coming to terms with Norbanus,but they were thrown out when it became apparent that they were trying to suborn Norbanus’men,who were mostly raw recruits. [12] Although Norbanus was helped by Quintus Sertorius,they were defeated by Sulla at the Battle of Mount Tifata, [13] losing around 6,000 men in the process. [14] He managed to regroup his shattered army at Capua, [13] whereupon he eventually retreated to Cisalpine Gaul. [15] He and Gnaeus Papirius Carbo were defeated by Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius at Faventia. [16] Norbanus was betrayed by one of his legates,Publius Albinovanus,who murdered many of Norbanus’principal officers after inviting them to dinner [17] before surrendering Ariminium to Metellus Pius. [18]
Norbanus himself did not attend Albinovanus' invitation,and he managed to evade capture,fleeing to Rhodes. [17] After proscription by Sulla,he committed suicide in the middle of a market-place,while the leading citizens of Rhodes were debating whether to hand him over to Sulla's men. [19] [1]
80s BC is the time period from 89 BC – 80 BC.
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times.
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus was a Roman statesman who served as consul in 115 BC. He was also a long-standing princeps senatus, occupying the post from 115 until his death in late 89 or early 88 BC, and as such was widely considered one of the most prestigious and influential politicians of the late Republic.
Gnaeus Papirius Carbo was thrice consul of the Roman Republic in 85, 84, and 82 BC. He was the head of the Marianists after the death of Cinna in 84 and led the resistance to Sulla during the civil war. He was proscribed by Sulla and beheaded by Pompey in Sicily in late 82.
The Battle of Arausio took place on 6 October 105 BC, at a site between the town of Arausio, now Orange, Vaucluse, and the Rhône river. Two Roman armies, commanded by proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus, clashed with the migratory tribes of the Cimbri under Boiorix and the Teutons under Teutobod.
Quintus Servilius Caepio was a Roman statesman and general, consul in 106 BC, and proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul in 105 BC. He was the father of Quintus Servilius Caepio and the grandfather of Servilia.
Gnaeus Octavius was a Roman senator who was elected consul of the Roman Republic in 87 BC alongside Lucius Cornelius Cinna. He died during the chaos that accompanied the capture of Rome by Cinna and Gaius Marius.
Lucius Licinius Crassus was a Roman orator and statesman who was a Roman consul and censor and who is also one of the main speakers in Cicero's dramatic dialogue on the art of oratory De Oratore, set just before Crassus' death in 91 BC. He was considered the greatest orator of his day by his pupil Cicero.
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. Like the other members of the influential Caecilii Metelli family, he was a leader of the conservative faction, the Optimates, who opposed the popular faction, the Populares, during the last century of the Roman Republic.
The Battle of Mount Tifata was fought in 83 BC as part of Sulla's Second Civil War.
Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, was a politician and general of the Roman Republic and a member of the plebeian branch of the gens Servilii. He was elected consul for 79 BC with Appius Claudius Pulcher as his consular collegae. From 78 to 74 BC, as proconsul of Cilicia, he fought against the Cilician Pirates and Isaurian hill tribes in Asia Minor. He was granted the agnomen Isauricus for his victories over the Isaurians. Upon returning to Rome he celebrated a triumph for his victories.
Quintus Servilius Caepio was a Roman patrician, statesman and soldier. He was the son of Quintus Servilius Caepio who was consul in 106 BCE and who lost his army during the Battle of Arausio. He was elected praetor some time in the last 90s BC and fought for Rome during the Social War. He was killed in the second year of the war while fighting the Marsi by Quintus Poppaedius Silo.
Titus Didius was a politician and general of the Roman Republic. In 98 BC he became the first member of his family to be consul. He is credited with the restoration of the Villa Publica, and for his command in Hispania Citerior. He held two Triumphs, one for his victories over the Scordisci, another for his victories in Spain.
Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus Livianus was a Roman politician and military commander who was consul in 77 BC.
The gens Caecilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned in history as early as the fifth century BC, but the first of the Caecilii who obtained the consulship was Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter, in 284 BC. The Caecilii Metelli were one of the most powerful families of the late Republic, from the decades before the First Punic War down to the time of Augustus.
The gens Servilia was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was celebrated during the early ages of the Republic, and the names of few gentes appear more frequently at this period in the consular Fasti. It continued to produce men of influence in the state down to the latest times of the Republic, and even in the imperial period. The first member of the gens who obtained the consulship was Publius Servilius Priscus Structus in 495 BC, and the last of the name who appears in the consular Fasti is Quintus Servilius Silanus, in AD 189, thus occupying a prominent position in the Roman state for nearly seven hundred years.
The Battle of Burdigala was a battle of the Cimbrian War that occurred in the year 107 BC. The battle was fought between a combined Germanic-Celtic army including the Helvetian Tigurini under the command of Divico, and the forces of the Roman Republic under the command of Lucius Cassius Longinus, Lucius Caesoninus, and Gaius Popillius Laenas. Longinus and Caesoninus were killed in the action and the battle resulted in a victory for the combined tribes.
The gens Mallia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Due to its relative obscurity, the nomen Mallius is frequently, but erroneously amended to the more common Manlius. The only member of this gens to obtain any of the higher curule magistracies under the Republic was Gnaeus Mallius Maximus, consul in 105 BC.