Tullus Cloelius

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Tullus Cloelius or Cluilius, called Cloelius Tullus in some sources, [1] was a Roman envoy to Fidenae. He and his fellow envoys Gaius Fulcinius, Spurius Antius, and Lucius Roscius were dispatched in the year 438 B.C., tasked with investigating the reasons for Fidenae's alliance with Veii. All four were murdered on the orders of the Veientine king, Lars Tolumnius. Statues of the slain ambassadors were then erected at the public expense outside the Rostra in Rome, and the following year, Rome declared war against Veii in response to the incident. [2] [3] [4]

Roman Republic Period of ancient Roman civilization (509–27 BC)

The Roman Republic was the era of classical Roman civilization beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom, traditionally dated to 509 BC, and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire. It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world.

Fidenae human settlement

Fidenae was an ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the Via Salaria, which ran between Rome and the Tiber. Its inhabitants were known as Fidenates. As the Tiber was the border between Etruria and Latium, the left-bank settlement of Fidenae represented an extension of Etruscan presence into Latium. The site of the arx of the ancient town was probably on the hill on which lies the contemporary Villa Spada, though no traces of early buildings or defences are to be seen; pre-Roman tombs are in the cliffs to the north. The later village lay at the foot of the hill on the eastern edge of the high-road, and its curia, with a dedicatory inscription to Marcus Aurelius by the Senatus Fidenatium, was excavated in 1889. Remains of other buildings may also be seen.

Gaius Fulcinius was a Roman emissary dispatched to the colony of Fidenae. His murder led to the resumption of war against Veii, and the eventual capture of Fidenae.

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References

  1. Cluilius is the ancient form of the nomen Cloelius, while Tullus is an ancient praenomen , which had fallen into disuse by the later Republic, but was commonly used as a cognomen , or surname. For this reason, his name is frequently found as Cloelius Tullus, without a praenomen, which is unusual during this period of Roman history. In his Philippics , Cicero gives his name as Tullus Cluilius, apparently preserving the name in its original form.
  2. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita , iv. 17.
  3. Marcus Tullius Cicero, Philippicae , ix. 2.
  4. Gaius Plinius Secundus, Historia Naturalis , xxxiv. 6. s. 11.