Quintus Servilius Priscus Fidenas

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Quintus Servilius Priscus Fidenas [1] (prior to 463 BC –390 BC) was a political figure and military leader in the Roman Republic who served as dictator in 435 BC and in 418 BC. [2]

Contents

Family

Servilius belonged to the large and influential Servilia gens. Through his filiation he was the son of Publius Servilius Priscus, consul in 463 BC, and possibly grandson of Spurius Servilius Structus, consul in 476 BC. He is most likely the father of Quintus Servilius Fidenas who was elected six times as consular tribune. [3]

Career

Augur/Pontifex

Servilius was appointed to replace Spurius Postumius Albus Regillensis in his religious functions, when the later died in 439 BC. As the only two sources mentioning this event are in disagreement if the office was that of an Augur or that of a Pontifex maximus it remains unclear which religious office Servilius held. [4] [5] [6]

First Dictatorship

Although he had never held the consulship Servilius was appointed as dictator in 435 BC. The year had seen the escalation of the war with the Fidenates and a dictator was deemed necessary to finish the war. He selected the former consul Postumus Aebutius Helva Cornicen as his magister equitum, or vice-dictator, and successfully defeated and captured Fidenae. [7] [8]

Commission of 428 BC

Servilius career would remain closely attached to Fidenae and when the Fidenates were suspected of having supported the Veientane in raids against Rome in 428 BC, Servilius were appointed by the senate to be part of a special commission sent to investigate the matter. He was joined in this commission by former consul Lucius Sergius Fidenas and another former dictator, Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus. [9] [10]

Second Dictatorship

In 418 BC Servilius was appointed to his second dictatorship. The appointment came after his former commission colleague, Lucius Sergius Fidenas, had been defeated by the combined forced of the Aequi and Labicani. Servilius appointed a relative and consular tribune of this year, Gaius Servilius Axilla, as his magister equitum. This dictatorship, like his first, was a great success, and Servilius went on to defeat the Aequi and capture Labici. [11] [12] [13]

Death

He is listed as having died in 390 BC and that he was succeeded by Marcus Furius Fusus in his religious office as augur or pontifex. [14] [15] [16] Considering that 390 BC was in the close aftermath of the semi-legendary Battle of Allia, it is possible that Servilius was killed in the conflict or the following sack/siege of Rome, or that he simply died of unrelated causes in the same year as the events.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucius Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus</span> Roman senator

Lucius Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 458 BC, and decemvir in 450 BC.

The Capture of Fidenae was a battle fought in 435 BC between the Fidenates and the Roman Republic under dictator Quintus Servilius Priscus Structus Fidenas.

Spurius Postumius Albus Regillensis was a patrician politician of Ancient Rome. His filiation as reported in the Fasti Capitolini suggests he was the son of Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis, consul 496 BC, and brother of Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis, consul 464 BC, although it must be observed that no great dependence can be placed upon genealogies from such early times.

Postumus Aebutius Helva Cornicen was consul at Rome in 442 BC, and magister equitum in 435.

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.

Gaius Servilius Ahala was a three time consular tribune, in 408, 407 and 402 and one-time magister equitum, in 408 BC, of the Roman Republic.

Gaius Julius Iullus was consul in 447 BC, and again in 435.

Lucius Julius Iullus was a member of the ancient patrician gens Julia. He was one of the consular tribunes of 438 BC, magister equitum in 431, and consul in 430 BC.

Gaius Julius Iullus was a Roman statesman and member of the ancient patrician gens Julia. He was consular tribune in 408 and 405 BC, and censor in 393.

Lucius Sergius Fidenas was a Roman politician during the 5th century BC, and was elected consul in 437 and 429 BC. In 433, 424, and 418 BC he was military tribune with consular power.

Publius Servilius Priscus was a Roman senator active in the fifth century BC and consul in 463 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Fidenae (437 BC)</span>

The Battle of Fidenae was fought in 437 BC between the Roman Republic, led by the dictator Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus, and the combined forces of Fidenae and Veii, led by Lars Tolumnius.

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was a consular tribune of the Roman republic in 438, 425, 420 BC and possibly consul in 428 BC.

Proculus Verginius Tricostus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 435 BC. He was possibly re-elected as consul in 434 BC.

Titus Quinctius PoenusCincinnatus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 431 and 428 BC and a consular tribune in 426 BC. He might have been consular tribune again in 420 BC.

Gaius Servilius Axilla was a Roman aristocrat and statesman during the early Republic. He held the senior executive offices of consul in 427 BC and consular tribune in 419, 418 and 417 BC. He also served as master of the horse, or deputy, to the dictator Quintus Servilius Priscus Fidenas in 418 BC, when the latter had been appointed to wage war against the Aequi.

Spurius Nautius Rutilus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 411 and a consular tribune in 419, 416 and 404 BC.

Marcus Papirius Mugillanus was a consular tribune in 418 and 416 BC, and perhaps consul of the Roman Republic in 411.

Lucius Valerius Potitus was a five time consular tribune, in 414, 406, 403, 401 and 398 BC, and two times consul, in 393 and 392 BC, of the Roman Republic.

Quintus Servilius Fidenas was a prominent early Roman politician who achieved the position of Consular tribune six times throughout a sixteen-year period. Quintus Servilius was a member of the illustrious gens Servilia, a patrician family which had achieved great prominence since the foundation of the republic. In particular, Servilius was the son of Quintus Servilius Priscus Fidenas, a well respected statesman and general who served as dictator twice, in 435 and 418 BC, as well as holding the religious title of either augur or pontifex, which he held until his death in 390 BC. Servilius the younger himself had at least one son, also named Quintus Servilius Fidenas, who served as consular tribune in 382, 378, and 369 BC.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ For the name, see Fasti Capitolini ; Broughton I, pp. 60, 61 (note 2); Pauly-Wissowa , vol. II A (2), col. 1803 (Servilius 75)
  2. ↑ Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, vol. I, pp. 60, 72
  3. ↑ Broughton, vol i, pp.57, 60-61, 72
  4. ↑ H. Dessau, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae (1892–1916), 9338
  5. ↑ Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (1863– ), 6.37161
  6. ↑ Broughton, vol i, pp.57 & note. 3.
  7. ↑ Livy, iv. 21.9-22.6
  8. ↑ Broughton, vol i, pp.60-61 (note 2)
  9. ↑ Livy, iv. 30.5-30.6
  10. ↑ Broughton, vol i, pp. 65
  11. ↑ Livy iv, 46.10
  12. ↑ Fasti Capitolini
  13. ↑ Broughton, vol i, pp.72
  14. ↑ ILS, 9338
  15. ↑ CIL, 6.37161
  16. ↑ Broughton, vol i, pp.96

Sources

Livy, "Ab Urbe Condita", Book IV

Dessau, Hermann, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae , 9338

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum , 6.37161

Fasti Capitolini

Broughton, Thomas (1951). The Magistrates of the Roman Republic. Scholars' Press.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.