Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus

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Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus
Consul of the Roman Republic
In office229 BC
Colleague Lucius Postumius Albinus
Preceded by Marcus Aemilius Barbula and Marcus Junius Pera
Succeeded by Sp. Carvilius Maximus Ruga and Q. Fabius Maximus Verrucosus

Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus was consul of the Roman Republic in 229 BC, with Lucius Postumius Albinus as his consular colleague. He led part of the Roman forces in the First Illyrian War against Queen Teuta.

Contents

Biography

Centumalus was a member of the gens Fulvia, one of the most illustrious of the plebeian families in Rome at the time. Little is known of his life before or after his consulship, though according to the Fasti Capitolini he shared his name with his grandfather, Gnaeus Fulvius Maximus Centumalus, who had been consul in 298 BC and dictator in 263 BC.

First Illyrian War

Attacks on Italian traders by Illyrian pirates had prompted a Roman embassy to be sent to the court of Queen Teuta of the Ardiaei in 229 BC. After the assassination of one of the ambassadors on Teuta's orders, Rome enrolled legions and prepared a fleet to retaliate. As consul, Fulvius was entrusted with the command of the naval forces and set sail with 200 ships under his command. [1] The fleet travelled to Corcyra where he secured the surrender of the Illyrian garrison and the defection of Demetrius of Pharos. [2]

He then took the fleet to Apollonia, combining his forces with those of Postumius, who had brought 22,000 troops across from Brundisium. [3] After forcing the surrender of cities up the Illyrian coast, the Roman advance forced Teuta to flee to the fortified city of Rhizon. Fulvius and Postumius withdrew to Epidamnus. While Postumius wintered there with 40 ships, Fulvius took the bulk of the army and the rest of the fleet back to Italy. [4] According to the Fasti Triumphales he was awarded a naval Triumph for his victory.

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The Illyrian Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ardiaei kingdom. In the First Illyrian War, which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC, Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adriatic Sea increased after the First Punic War at a time when Ardiaei power increased under queen Teuta. Attacks on trading vessels of Rome's Italic allies by Illyrian pirates and the death of a Roman envoy named Coruncanius on Teuta's orders, prompted the Roman senate to dispatch a Roman army under the command of the consuls Lucius Postumius Albinus and Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus. Rome expelled Illyrian garrisons from a number of Greek cities including Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra, Pharos and established a protectorate over these Greek towns. The Romans also set up Demetrius of Pharos as a power in Illyria to counterbalance the power of Teuta.

Demetrius of Pharos was a ruler of Pharos involved in the First Illyrian War, after which he ruled a portion of the Illyrian Adriatic coast on behalf of the Romans, as a client king.

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The Battle of Paxos was a naval battle between a coalition of Illyrian federation with their Acarnanian allies, against the allies of Corcyra, the Achaean League and Aetolian League. The battle took place in the spring of 229 BC and was a direct consequence to the siege of Corcyra by the forces of queen Teuta.

Teuta was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC.

References

Preceded by
Roman consul
229 BC
with Lucius Postumius Albinus
Succeeded by