Publius Cornelius Rufinus was a Roman politician and general of the third century BC. He is often thought to be a son of Publius Cornelius Rufinus, dictator in 334 BC, but this is impossible because the Fasti Capitolini say that his father was a certain Gnaeus Cornelius Rufinus and his grandfather was a certain Publius Cornelius Rufinus, probably the dictator (note the 44-year gap in between Publius the Elder's dictatorship and Publius the Younger's first consulship). Rufinus was consul twice and dictator once, the latter in an unknown year. He brought the Samnite War to an end in his first consulship, in 290 BC, with his colleague Manius Curius Denatus. In the elections of 277 BC, Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, consul the previous year, was an opponent of Rufinus but voted for him anyway, seeing that Rufinus was the only candidate with military genius. When Rufinus thanked him for the support, or when the people inquired why he voted for his opponent, Fabricius replied, ‘I would rather be robbed by a fellow countryman than sold by the enemy [as a slave].’ Rufinus took up arms again because of the vulnerability of the enemy, in his second consulship in 277 BC, in which he captured the town of Croton and Locri, but his reputation suffered severely because of his avarice and cruelty. Two years later, Rufinus was expelled from the senate by Fabricius, who was censor at the time, when he was found to have possessed over ten librae (or pounds) of silver plate. He was also the great-great-great grandfather of the infamous dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla, and a father of Publius Cornelius Sulla, Flamen Dialis c. 250 BC. [1]
Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome."
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history, and became the first man of the republic to seize power through force.
Manius Curius Dentatus, son of Manius, was a three-time consul and a plebeian hero of the Roman Republic, noted for ending the Samnite War. According to Pliny, he was born with teeth, thus earning the cognomen Dentatus, "Toothed."
Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo was a Roman general and politician, who served as consul in 89 BC. He is often referred to in English as Pompey Strabo, to distinguish him from his son, the famous Pompey the Great, or from Strabo the geographer.
The Populares were a political faction in the late Roman Republic who favoured the cause of the plebeians.
Gnaeus Papirius Carbo was thrice consul of the Roman Republic.
The gens Licinia was a celebrated plebeian family at ancient Rome, which appears from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times, and which eventually obtained the imperial dignity. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo, who, as tribune of the plebs from 376 to 367 BC, prevented the election of any of the annual magistrates, until the patricians acquiesced to the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia, or Licinian Rogations. This law, named for Licinius and his colleague, Lucius Sextius, opened the consulship for the first time to the plebeians. Licinius himself was subsequently elected consul in 364 and 361 BC, and from this time, the Licinii became one of the most illustrious gentes in the Republic.
Publius Cornelius Sulla was a politician of the late Roman Republic and the nephew of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. He was also a brother-in-law of Pompey, having married his sister Pompeia.
Lucius Aurelius Cotta was a Roman politician from an old noble family who held the offices of praetor, consul and censor. Both his father and grandfather of the same name had been consuls, and his two brothers, Gaius Aurelius Cotta and Marcus Aurelius Cotta, preceded him as consul in 75 and 74 BC respectively. His sister, Aurelia, was married to Gaius Julius Caesar, brother-in-law to Gaius Marius and possibly Lucius Cornelius Sulla, and they were the parents of the famous general and eventual dictator, Gaius Julius Caesar.
The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any other gens. At least seventy-five consuls under the Republic were members of this family, beginning with Servius Cornelius Maluginensis in 485 BC. Together with the Aemilii, Claudii, Fabii, Manlii, and Valerii, the Cornelii were almost certainly numbered among the gentes maiores, the most important and powerful families of Rome, who for centuries dominated the Republican magistracies. All of the major branches of the Cornelian gens were patrician, but there were also plebeian Cornelii, at least some of whom were descended from freedmen.
Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, was a Roman politician and general of the First Century BC. He was elected one of the two consuls for 79 BC. 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 Isaurian hill tribes. Upon returning to Rome he celebrated a triumph for his victories.
Aurelia was the mother of the Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar.
Lucius Julius Caesar was a Roman statesman and general of the late second and early first century BC. He was involved in the downfall of the plebeian tribune Lucius Appuleius Saturninus in 100 BC. He was consul of the Roman Republic in 90 BC during the Social War. During the war he commanded several Roman legions against the Italian Allies. He was awarded a Triumph for his victories on the Samnites at Acerrae.
Publius Cornelius Rufinus was a dictator during the Roman Republic.
Publius Decius Mus, of the plebeian gens Decia, was a Roman consul in the years 312 BC, 308 BC, 297 BC and 295 BC. He was a member of a family that was renowned for sacrificing themselves on the battlefield for Rome.
Quintus Pompeius was the name of various Romans from the gens Pompeia, who were of plebeian status. They lived during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.
Lucius Valerius Flaccus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 100 BC and princeps senatus during the civil wars of the 80s. He is noted for his peace initiatives, which failed, and for sponsoring the Lex Valeria that created the dictatorship of Sulla.
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.
In the history of the Roman Republic, the first Catilinarian conspiracy was a plot to murder the consuls of 65 BC, Lucius Manlius Torquatus and Lucius Aurelius Cotta. Supposedly, Catiline intended to seize power following an electoral dispute, in which the original set of candidates elected to the office were deemed ineligible. Historians consider it unlikely that Catiline would have been involved in the first Catilinarian conspiracy or, indeed, that the conspiracy existed at all. Two years later, Catiline would lead the Second Catilinarian conspiracy, better known as the Catiline Conspiracy, to overthrow Cicero and his co-consul Gaius Antonius Hybrida.
Publius Cornelius Sulla was a Roman commander and politician during the Roman Republic. He was the great-grandfather of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who would become the dictator of Rome. His father was Flamen Dialis between c. 270 and c. 250 BC, and his grandfather was Publius Cornelius Rufinus, who served twice as consul during the Samnite Wars.