Publius Valerius Poplicola | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Died | 503 BC |
| Nationality | Roman |
| Office | Consul (509, 508, 507, 504 BC) |
| Children | Publius Valerius Poplicola (consul 475 BC) |
Publius Valerius Poplicola or Publicola (died 503 BC) was one of four Roman aristocrats who led the overthrow of the monarchy, and became a Roman consul, the colleague of Lucius Junius Brutus in 509 BC, traditionally considered the first year of the Roman Republic.
According to Livy and Plutarch, the Valerii were of Sabine origin, but settled in Rome during the reign of Titus Tatius, a contemporary of Romulus, and worked for the peaceful unification of both peoples. [1]
Valerius came from a wealthy family. His father was Volesus Valerius, and his brothers were Marcus Valerius Volusus and Manius Valerius Volusus Maximus. He had a daughter, Valeria, and possibly a son or grandson who was also named Publius Valerius Poplicola who served as consul in 475 BC and 460 BC. Before holding public office, Valerius had spoken in defense of the plebs, the common people of Rome. [1] [2]
In 509 BC, Valerius was one of the leaders of the Roman revolution, together with Lucius Junius Brutus, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, and Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus. Winning over public opinion while the king was campaigning away from the city, they deposed and banished Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome. In place of the monarchy, they established a republic, together with the office of consul. Brutus and Collatinus were elected the first consuls. [3]
From exile, the Tarquins plotted the assassination of the consuls, together with some disaffected members of the Aquillii and Vitellii, who had benefited from the deposed regime. Valerius was informed of the plot by a slave, Vindicius. He personally investigated the conspiracy, sneaking into the Aquillius estate and finding incriminating evidence, based on which the consuls held a public trial. The conspirators, including two of Brutus' sons, were found guilty and executed. Valerius played a leading role in the trial. [1]
After the trial, Brutus demanded that his colleague, Collatinus, resign the consulship and go into exile, as a member of the hated royal family, whom the people could not trust. Collatinus was stunned by this betrayal, as he had been one of the leaders of the rebellion following his wife Lucretia's suicide because of her being raped by the king's son, Sextus Tarquinius. Nevertheless, he resigned, and Valerius was elected to replace him. [1] [4]
Meanwhile, Tarquin, whose family was of Etruscan origin, obtained the support of the Etruscan cities of Tarquinii and Veii. At the head of an Etruscan army, Tarquin fought the consuls Brutus and Valerius at the Battle of Silva Arsia. Valerius commanded the Roman infantry, while Brutus led the cavalry. Arruns Tarquinius, the king's son, died in combat with Brutus, who was also mortally wounded, but the Romans were ultimately victorious.
| "They annex strange incidents to this battle, --that in the silence of the next night a loud voice was emitted from the Arsian wood; that it was believed to be the voice of Silvanus: these words were spoken, "that more of the Etrurians by one had fallen in the battle; that the Roman was victorious in the war." Certainly the Romans departed thence as victors, the Etrurians as vanquished." |
| The History of Rome. Book 2. Chapter 7, by Titus Livius. [2] |
Valerius collected the spoils of battle and returned to Rome, where he celebrated a triumph on March 1, 509 BC. His four-horse chariot subsequently became the traditional vehicle for a victorious Roman general. Then, Valerius held a magnificent funeral for Brutus, and gave a memorable speech. [1] [5] [6]
Livy wrote that Valerius fought the Veientes again in the same year, although the reason is not stated. [7]
After the death of Brutus, Valerius was the sole surviving consul. Spurius Lucretius was chosen in place of Brutus, but he died after a few days, and was followed by Marcus Horatius Pulvillus. When Valerius began construction of a new house on top of the Velian Hill, which would be conspicuously visible from the Senate house, a rumour began to circulate that he intended to re-establish the monarchy, with himself as king. At once, Valerius stopped building, and demolished the structure in a single night. [3] Addressing an assembly of the people, he caused his lictors to lower their fasces as a mark of humility, and to remove the axes from them within the city. "I have just liberated Rome, bravely, but now I am slandered, like being either an Aquillius or a Vitellian. I am the bitterest enemy of the former kings, so I shouldn't be accused of wanting to be king." [1] [2] In order to allay suspicions, he caused his house to be built at the foot of the hill, rather than its peak. In later times, the Temple of Victory stood in the same place. [8]
For his actions and deference to the people of Rome, Valerius received the surname Poplicola, meaning "one who courts the people". Before the impending elections, Valerius filled up the ranks of the Senate, which had been severely reduced as a result of the revolution and the subsequent war. The consul also promulgated new laws, including the right of appeal (provocatio) from the decisions of a magistrate, and demanding the forfeiture of all the rights of anyone convicted of plotting to restore the monarchy. [1]
Poplicola was elected consul three more times, in 508, 507, and 504 BC. Horatius was his colleague again in 507, while his colleague in 508 and 504 was Titus Lucretius Tricipitinus. [1] [9] [10] He was the first consul ever to be re-elected.
In 508 BC, Lars Porsena, the king of Clusium, attacked Rome at the behest of Tarquin. According to Plutarch, both Poplicola and his colleague, Lucretius, were severely wounded during the battle. [1] During the siege, Poplicola executed a successful sally, defeating a Clusian raiding party. [11] According to Plutarch, Poplicola negotiated a treaty with Porsena, ending the war. He gave the king hostages, including his daughter Valeria, whom Porsena protected from the Tarquins. [1]
In 506, when his brother Marcus was consul, the Sabines attacked Rome. Poplicola participated in two Roman victories, repelling the invasion. The people rewarded Poplicola with a house on the Palatine Hill. [1]
In 505, the Latin League and the Sabines threatened Rome with a large army. Although diplomatic negotiations were halted, Poplicola meddled with the politics of the Sabines, assisting Attius Clausus, who moved to Rome with five hundred followers. Clausus became a Roman citizen under the name of Appius Claudius; he was the founder of the Claudii. When the Sabines attempted to besiege Rome, Poplicola successfully commanded the army, anticipating their movements and thwarting their plans. He was elected consul for the fourth time in 504 BC, and once again defeated the Sabines. He celebrated a triumph in May of that year. [1] [2]
Publius Valerius Poplicola died in 503 BC, shortly after passing the consular office to his successors, Agrippa Menenius Lanatus and Publius Postumius Tubertus. Livy records that at the time of his death, he was considered "by universal consent to be the ablest man in Rome, in the arts both of peace and war". He had little money, and so was buried at the public charge, and was mourned by the Roman matrons as had been done for Brutus before him. [12]
By decree, each citizen contributed a quadrans for the funeral. The remains of Poplicola were buried within the city of Rome, on the Velian Hill. His death was mourned for an entire year. After Poplicola, many noted members of the Valerian gens were buried near the same spot. [13]
In 1977 an inscription was discovered in the ruins of the ancient town of Satricum. The Lapis Satricanus dates from the late 6th to early 5th centuries BC [14] and bears the name Poplios Valesios, which would be rendered in Classical Latin as Publius Valerius. This does not prove the historicity of the narrative given by later Roman historians, but it does demonstrate that at least one prominent individual did indeed bear the name at the close of the 6th century.
In The Federalist Papers , a collection of 85 essays promoting the adoption of the United States Constitution, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in 1787–1788, the three statesmen used the allonym "Publius" in honor of Poplicola's role in establishing the Roman Republic.
Following the Spanish–American War, a piece titled "The Duty of the American People as to the Philippines" was published under the pseudonym "Publicola". [15] The author recommended the development of the Philippines to improve the lives of the Filipino people, as well as to further American trading interests in the Orient.
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is commonly known as Tarquin the Proud, from his cognomen Superbus.
According to Roman tradition, Lucretia, anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) and subsequent suicide precipitated a rebellion that overthrew the Roman monarchy and led to the transition of Roman government from a kingdom to a republic. The incident kindled the flames of dissatisfaction over the tyrannical methods of Tarquin's father, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome. As a result, the prominent families instituted a republic, drove the extensive royal family of Tarquin from Rome, and successfully defended the republic against attempted Etruscan and Latin intervention.
The Roman Kingdom, also referred to as the Roman monarchy or the regal period of ancient Rome, was the earliest period of Roman history when the city and its territory were ruled by kings. According to tradition, the Roman Kingdom began with the city's founding c. 753 BC, with settlements around the Palatine Hill along the river Tiber in central Italy, and ended with the overthrow of the kings and the establishment of the Republic c. 509 BC.
The year 509 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Republic it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Brutus and Collatinus. The denomination 509 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Lucius Junius Brutus was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after the suicide of Lucretia, which led to the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. He was involved in the abdication of fellow consul Tarquinius Collatinus, and executed two of his sons for plotting the restoration of the Tarquins.
The gens Tarquinia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, usually associated with Lucius Tarquinius Priscus and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the fifth and seventh Kings of Rome. Most of the Tarquinii who appear in history are connected in some way with this dynasty, but a few appear during the later Republic, and others from inscriptions, some dating as late as the fourth century AD.
Lucius Tarquinius Ar. f. Ar. n. Collatinus was one of the first two consuls of the Roman Republic in 509 BC, together with Lucius Junius Brutus. The two men had led the revolution which overthrew the Roman monarchy. He was forced to resign his office and go into exile as a result of the hatred he had helped engender in the people against the former ruling house.
The Battle of Silva Arsia was a battle in 509 BC between the republican forces of ancient Rome and Etruscan forces of Tarquinii and Veii led by the deposed Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. The battle took place near the Silva Arsia in Roman territory, and resulted in victory to Rome but the death of one of her consuls, Lucius Junius Brutus.
Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus is a semi-legendary figure in early Roman history. He was the first Suffect Consul of Rome and was also the father of Lucretia, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius, followed by her suicide, resulted in the dethronement of King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, therefore directly precipitating the founding of the Roman Republic. It is believed that Lucretius and his accomplishments are at least partly mythical and most ancient references to him were penned by Livy and Plutarch.
Marcus Valerius Volusus was a Roman consul with Publius Postumius Tubertus in 505 BC.
The Roman–Etruscan Wars, also known as the Etruscan Wars or the Etruscan–Roman Wars, were a series of wars fought between ancient Rome and the Etruscans. Information about many of the wars is limited, particularly those in the early parts of Rome's history, and in large part is known from ancient texts alone. The conquest of Etruria was completed in 265–264 BC.
Spurius Larcius was one of the leading men of the early Roman Republic, of which he was twice consul. However, his greatest fame was won as one of the defenders of the Sublician bridge against the army of Lars Porsena, the King of Clusium.
Titus Herminius, surnamed Aquilinus, was one of the heroes of the Roman Republic. He participated in two of the most famous conflicts that attended the birth of the Republic, and was elected consul in 506 BC. However, his greatest fame was won as one of the defenders of the Sublician bridge against the army of Lars Porsena, the King of Clusium.
Marcus Horatius Pulvillus was an aristocrat before and during the early Roman Republic at the time of the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. He was a suffect consul in 509 BC and elected again in 507 BC, according to the Varronian chronology.
Titus Lucretius Tricipitinus was a politician and military leader in the early days of the Roman Republic. Twice, in the years 508 and 504 BC, he was elected Roman Consul, alongside Publius Valerius Poplicola. Also a military leader, he was victorious against Lars Porsena during his first consulate. According to Livy, he led the Roman army together with Valerius against the Sabines in 504 BC and both consuls were awarded the honour of a triumph, however the Fasti Triumphales only mention the triumph of Valerius, in May 504 BC.
The gens Lucretia was a prominent family of the Roman Republic. Originally patrician, the gens later included a number of plebeian families. The Lucretii were one of the most ancient gentes, and the second wife of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome, was named Lucretia. The first of the Lucretii to obtain the consulship was Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus in 509 BC, the first year of the Republic.
The Tarquinian conspiracy was a conspiracy amongst a number of senators and leading men of ancient Rome in 509 BC to reinstate the monarchy, and to put Lucius Tarquinius Superbus back on the throne. The conspirators were discovered and executed. The story is part of Rome's early semi-legendary history.
The Roman–Sabine wars were a series of wars during the early expansion of ancient Rome in central Italy against their northern neighbours, the Sabines. It is commonly accepted that the events pre-dating the Roman Republic in 509 BC are semi-legendary in nature.
The overthrow of the Roman monarchy was an event in ancient Rome that took place between the 6th and 5th centuries BC where a political revolution replaced the then-existing Roman monarchy under Lucius Tarquinius Superbus with a republic. The details of the event were largely forgotten by the Romans a few centuries later; later Roman historians invented a narrative of the events, traditionally dated to c. 509 BC, but this narrative is largely believed to be fictitious by modern scholars.
Titus Veturius Geminus Cicurinus was a Roman politician of the 5th century BC, consul in 462 BC and maybe decemvir in 451 BC.
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