ootnotes as well as the text. If used in conjunction with the list of consuls and the seven genealogical tables it will sometim

ot explicitly mentioned in the text. In some way or other most of the consuls and governors of military provinces gain admittan

he assembly of the People was able to frustrate its exercise. The two consuls remained at the head of the government, but polic

o win power in Rome and direct the policy of the imperial Republic as consul or as one of the principes. Cicero lacked the ful

e leader of a faction. Cicero fell short of that eminence both when a consul and when a consular, or senior statesman, through

d. Sulla decimated the knights, muzzled the tribunate, and curbed the consuls . But even Sulla could not abolish his own example

s. Its rule was threatened at the outset by a turbulent and ambitious consul , M. Aemilius Lepidus, claiming to restore the rig

of the Roman Republic these great houses each contributed forty-five consuls , exceeded only by the patrician Cornelii with the

he Gauls, had vanished utterly by now, or at least could show no more consuls . The Sulpicii and Manlii had lost prominence. The

s of the NotesPage=>018 1 Münzer, RA, 53 ff. 2 No Fabius was consul between 116 and 45 B.C. 3 Q. Fabius Maximus Aem

anus (cos. 147, cos. II 134). The Fabii also adopted a Servilius (the consul of 142). PageBook=>019 Aemilii, ambitious,

extinct; and the Claudii Marcelli, in abrupt decadence, had lacked a consul for two generations. 3 But there was a prominent

152 B.C. 4 For example the Aurelii Cottae and the Octavii (with two consuls each in the years 76-74 B.C.), the Calpurnii, the

f.) and Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus (P-W V, 1327 f.), the brother of the consul of 54. Ahenobarbus had married a daughter of Cinn

telli prevailed by their mass and by their numbers. Their sons became consuls by prerogative or inevitable destiny; and their d

h Sulla. Q. Metellus Pius led an army to victory for Sulla and became consul with him in 80 B.C. The Dictator himself had take

C. The Dictator himself had taken a Metella to wife. The next pair of consuls (P. Servilius Vatia and Appius Claudius Pulcher)

ar is that enigmatic faction soon to be led by a man who never became consul . Its origins lie at the very heart of Roman dynas

ted their integrity: it broke their spirit. Certain of the earliest consuls after Sulla were old men already, and some died s

sulars to guide public policy: only a few venerable relics, or recent consuls with birth but no weight. NotesPage=>022 1

ullus, M.’ Lepidus’ (Asconius 53 = p. 60 Clark). 4 Only four of the consuls of 79–75 B.C. are heard of after 74. PageBook=&

ason but sought to avert the penalty of death. It was the excellent consul who carried out the sentence of the NotesPage=&

rfidious, Strabo was believed to have procured the assassination of a consul . 2 When he died of a natural but providential dea

y commander, Crassus, and carried out a peaceful coup d’état. Elected consuls , Pompeius and Crassus abolished the Sullan consti

us even though the one of them turned against the People when elected consul and the other lent his services to Crassus. But a

ance, the government had proved stronger than he expected. A civilian consul , suppressing the revolution of Catilina, robbed t

dispraise or contempt, even among the plebeian aristocracy: its first consul (in 141 B.C.) had been promoted through patronage

ted his tribunate with alarming proposals: Pompeius should be elected consul in absence or recalled to Italy to establish publ

ecalled to Italy to establish public order. 6 Nepos also silenced the consul Cicero and forbade by veto a great speech from th

n in the hand of Crassus, who disliked them both. 4 Nor was Pompeius’ consul effective, though a witty man and an orator as we

an insult to the honour of his family. 6 Everything went wrong. The consul Celer turned against Pompeius, and Afranius was a

, 6). There was rioting, and Pompeius’ tribune Flavius imprisoned the consul Metellus Celer (Ad Att. 2, 1, 8). PageBook=>

tic pressure, against P. Clodius; 2 and he had prevented the Pompeian consul Pupius Piso from getting the province of Syria. 3

greater delusion. The leader of the Optimates had fought against the consuls and tribunes of Pompeius Magnus, mocked the flaun

waited, patient in rancour. To maintain power, the government needed consuls . The men were not easy to find. Cato gathered a

ibulus, his daughter’s husband. 6 He should have made certain of both consuls . Caesar, returning from his command in Spain, a

to sacrifice the consulate. Caesar made a rapid decision he would be consul , and to some purpose. The Roman noble, constraine

tisfy the ambitions of all three, and turned the year named after the consuls Metellus and Afranius into a date heavy with hist

Transalpine Gaul was soon added. Further, the three rulers designated consuls for the next year, L. Calpurnius Piso, a cultivat

ν ἡγoυµ νƞ δυσχ ραινϵ. 2 Attested for Lentulus Spinther, one of the consuls of 57 (Caesar, BC 1, 22, 4), and plausibly to be

Republican government and hastening its end. Ahenobarbus had become consul at last, with Ap. Claudius Pulcher for colleague

and Ap. Pulcher may already have been angling for an alliance. 1 The consuls achieved their own disgrace by bargaining to proc

der, with suspension of public business. The next year opened without consuls . Similar but worse was the beginning of 52 B.C.,

ed out of the city to the villa of Pompeius, clamouring for him to be consul or dictator. 3 The Senate was compelled to act.

orm. Caesar’s enemies were precipitate and impatient. Early in 51 the consul M. Marcellus opened the attack. He was rebuffed b

was no unmixed advantage. The Marcelli were rash but unstable, other consuls timid or NotesPage=>040 1 On his ancestry,

is acts of arrogance towards other principes and by his support, when consul and proconsul, of the domination of Pompeius, who

again, revealing an overpowering majority against both dynasts. 2 The consul C. Marcellus denounced the apathy of senators as

, Pompeius broke the alliance when he returned from the East; and the consul Metellus Celer banded with the Catonian faction t

y: the Metelli were too politic for that. Three years later Nepos was consul , perhaps with help from Pompeius. Signs of an acc

Metelli soon found that their power was passing. Death took off their consuls one by one. 2 Marriage or adoption might retrieve

Spain, belonged only to the past. They had been able to show only one consul in the preceding generation. 3 More spectacular t

re for a century, they emerge again into sudden prominence with three consuls in the last three years of the Free State. 4 The

Marcellus (49) and their cousin C. Claudius C. f. Marcellus (50). No consul since their great-grandfather (cos. III, 152).

umiliation of authority set at nought and fruitless contests with the consul and the tribunes of Pompeius. It was later clai

In Verrem 11, 1, 118. PageBook=>045 consular rank. 1 With the consuls of the last year of the Republic conveniently add

y or an ancestor who had liberated Rome from the Tarquinii, the first consul of the Republic and founder of Libertas. Dubious

ut kinship might be invoked in excuse. Hence one of the Marcelli, the consul who had placed a sword in the hand of Pompeius, m

d them. The gold of Gaul poured in steady streams to Rome, purchasing consuls and tribunes, paying the debts of needy senators

essalla Rufus (53). Gabinius perished in Illyricum in 47 B.C. 2 The consuls of 54, the Optimates Ahenobarbus and Ap. Pulcher,

1 Lucan, Pharsalia 7, 307 2 C. Norbanus Flaccus, grandson of the consul of 83 B.C., L. Cornelius Cinna (pr. 44), to whose

grateful: yet of the whole number, at least eight subsequently became consuls . Only two of the legates present or past joined t

time of Sulla the Fabii have declined so far that they cannot show a consul . A Fabius Maximus followed Caesar and brought bac

ometimes disregarded before it emerges into imperial history with two consuls in the reign of Caligula. 5 There were immigrant

utus 242), C. Billienus, ‘homo per se magnus’, who was nearly elected consul c. 105–100 (ib. 175), L. Turius likewise in 65 (i

came praetor, CIL I2, 819.1278. PageBook=>082 relegated by the consul Gabinius, and the great Rabirius, who inherited t

mself of Tarquin blood, who expelled the tyrants and became the first consul of the Republic. 4 Pride kept the legends of the

ably Etruscan. 7 NotesPage=>085 1 Pliny, NH 7, 136 (a Tusculan consul who deserted and became consul at Rome in the sam

t;085 1 Pliny, NH 7, 136 (a Tusculan consul who deserted and became consul at Rome in the same year). On the Plautii, Münzer

neste, is said to have been their ancestor (Festus, p. 38 L). 4 The consul L. Junius Brutus can hardly be accepted as histor

Picene Herennius, presumably his grandson, turns up as a senator and consul in the revolutionary period. 2 Most famous of all

subject to the influence of its ancient civilization. 2 The earliest consuls bearing these names all belong, as is appropriate

, cf. P. Willems, LeSénat 1, 181; W. Schulze, LE, 104 ff The earliest consuls are P. Alfenus Varus (suff. 39) and L. Passienus

us perished when cos. des. (in 40). C. Billienus had been a potential consul c. 105–100 B.C., cf. Cicero, Brutus 175. 5 Viz.

f.; 440 ff.; in (1903), 235 ff. (with statistics and maps). The first consul is presumably T. Didius, or Deidius (98), then a

k=>094 obscure men. 1 That might be expected: it is the earliest consuls that convey the visible evidence of social and po

in the space of thirty years he was the first knight’s son to become consul . He was correct but other novi homines, socially

us’ men, Afranius and Gabinius. 3 After that, no more novi homines as consuls on the Fasti of the Free State, but an effulgence

me principle holds as for his legates in the Gallic campaigns. 5 Nine consuls took office in the years 48–44 B.C., all men with

istinguished family of praetorian rank (Pro Murena 41), was the first consul from Lanuvium (ib. 86). 4 In each of the years

Lanuvium (ib. 86). 4 In each of the years 54–49 B.C. One of the two consuls was of patrician extraction: and three of the ple

and Caesar probably intended that M. Brutus and C. Cassius should be consuls in 41 B.C.3 But before these dispositions could a

sans without regard for law or precedent, appointing numerous suffect consuls as well. For all their admitted talents, it is by

er. Sulpicius Galba alleged personal resentment: he had not been made consul . 5 To the Picene landowner L. Minucius Basilus, a

n. 6 But L. Tillius Cimber, C. Trebonius (the son of a Roman knight), consul in 45, and D. Junius Brutus, designated for 42, o

rule. But Antonius was both a leading man in the Caesarian party and consul , head of the government. The Ides of March could

ero and the young P. Cornelius Dolabella arrayed in the insignia of a consul ; for Caesar had intended that Dolabella should ha

vacant place when he resigned and departed to the Balkans. The other consul , the redoubtable M. Antonius, took cover. Repulsi

s Balbus, the Dictator’s secretary and confidant, Hirtius, designated consul for the next year, and Lepidus the Master of the

terwards urged. 3 But that was treason. They should not have left the consul Antonius alive. But there was no pretext or des

ex-consuls and the acquiescence of the Senate were requisite. Of the consuls , Antonius was not to be had, Dolabella an uncerta

nsuls, Antonius was not to be had, Dolabella an uncertain factor. The consuls designate for the next year, NotesPage=>099

l and flattered by the presence of Roman nobiles, whom even Caesarian consuls acclaimed as ‘clarissimi viri’. 4 Whether these i

e Dictator’s acta were ratified on March 17th, it was feared that the consul would not allow them to take over their provinces

ictatorship might even be prolonged. It all turned upon the Caesarian consul . Marcus Antonius was one of the most able of Ca

oof of any serious estrangement. 1 Lepidus, it is true, was appointed consul in 46 and Master of the Horse: no evidence, howev

But Lepidus was to take over a province in 44, and Antonius, elected consul for that year, would be left in charge of the gov

m concord in the governing class and a firm control of affairs by the consuls . To this end Antonius the consul tolerated for

a firm control of affairs by the consuls. To this end Antonius the consul tolerated for a time the popular cult in the Foru

pared to concede at a later date and for abusive comparisons. 1 The consul was firm but conciliatory, taking counsel with se

proof or disproof was out of the question: in these early months the consul had embezzled a treasure of seven hundred million

ntonius went beyond the measure of the Roman party-politician. He was consul and chief man in the Caesarian faction: power and

t he might have to fight to retain it. More than that, Antonius was consul , head of the government, and so unassailable by l

gal weapons. In the next year, with A. Hirtius and C. Vibius Pansa as consuls , Antonius would have his province of Macedonia. B

Rome and sought to pay back old scores. In 42 B.C. D. Brutus would be consul along with the diplomatic and unreliable L. Munat

young Dolabella, still less the respectable nonentities designated as consuls for the next year. Cato too was dead. Averse from

the glorious Ides of March could not justly complain if the Caesarian consul solicited the favour or enlisted the services of

the adoption and persuaded a tribune, L. Antonius, the brother of the consul , to allow him to address the People. By the middl

, to allow him to address the People. By the middle of the month, the consul himself was back in Rome. An unfriendly interview

ance, not a factor of much influence upon the policy of Antonius. The consul had already decided to take for himself a special

y thwarted by a Republican or NotesPage=>116 1 Namely, the two consuls , the tribune L. Antonius, the dramatic writer Nuc

r. It was known before the event that there would be criticism of the consul at the meeting of the Senate announced for August

nation. A fair prospect of concord or a subtle intrigue against the consul had been brought to nought. Antonius, for his p

er trusted the other. To counter that danger and outbid his rival the consul went farther with his Caesarian and popular polic

artisans. 4 At Brundisium angry and seditious troops confronted the consul : the leaflets and the bribes of Octavianus were d

idate his secret accomplices. Might and right were on the side of the consul . But the advantage passed in a moment. The meetin

serable in comparison with the lavish generosity of Octavianus. The consul returned to Rome. On November 28th the Senate met

uaestor L. Egnatuleius, had embraced the revolutionary cause. Had the consul attempted to outlaw Octavianus, a tribune would s

the Senate and many private persons swore an oath of allegiance,2 the consul set out for the north to join the remaining legio

ce again the ghost of Caesar prevailed over the living. The baffled consul took refuge in invective. 1 His edicts exposed an

e is known (ILS 8963); he was the father of Sex. and of M. Appuleius, consuls in 29 B.C. and 20 B.C. respectively. PageBook=&

PageBook=>131 Invective asserts, and history repeats, that the consul Antonius embezzled the sum of seven hundred milli

three tribunes and a legionary commander whom he had seduced from the consul . 3 These were the earliest of his senatorial as

by preventing the actions of others. Even a nonentity is a power when consul at Rome. A policy they had, and they might achiev

st acts caused discomfort to Antonius he criticized the policy of the consul on September 2nd. When Octavianus marched on Rome

De rhet. 4. PageBook=>137 levying of a private army against a consul of the Roman People. Servilius, however, was no

he year, to return under happier auspices when Hirtius and Pansa were consuls . The legislation of June 1st deepened his dismay.

ro appeared on September 2nd and protested against the actions of the consul . His observations were negative and provocative:

a political factor by Cicero and P. Servilius when they attacked the consul . However that may be, by the beginning of Octob

sly based on Etruria, Brutus in the Cisalpina, contumacious against a consul . As they were both acting on private initiative f

in allegiance, for Antonius, for Octavianus, or for peace. The new consuls had a policy of their own, if only they were stro

ortentum inusitatum conflatum est recens: nam mulas qui fricabat, consul factus est. 10 Suetonius, Divus Iulius 51: ur

44 B.C. Caesar’s heir set forth to free Rome from the tyranny of the consul Antonius. 5 His ultimate triumph found its consec

nvestment of a patrimony for the public good; 4 when the legions of a consul deserted, it was taken to prove that the consul w

when the legions of a consul deserted, it was taken to prove that the consul was not a consul. 5 The author of this audacious

of a consul deserted, it was taken to prove that the consul was not a consul . 5 The author of this audacious proposal represen

t of taking precautions in advance for the personal safety of the new consuls on the first day of the year, when momentous tran

salpine Gaul. Though nothing could be done while Antonius was still consul , Cicero seized the chance to develop a programme

if his troops were mutinous and seditious, Antonius could be no true consul of the Roman People. On the other hand, the adver

ion of Caesar’s heir? Senators could recall how twenty years before a consul had secured the execution of Roman citizens witho

icero uses this argument to demonstrate that Antonius is not really a consul at all should excite suspicion. The conception of

, along with Sulla and Cinna, the leading member was now the youthful consul P. Cornelius Dolabella; and of all the patricians

us Rufus. Nor had the years of Caesar’s Dictatorship furnished enough consuls of ability and authority to fill the gaps. 3 This

plaint of Cicero through the months when he clamoured for war. 4 ‘The consuls are excellent, the consulars a scandal. ’5 ‘The S

io in austere independence. L. Munatius Plancus held Gallia Comata, consul designate for 42 B.C., the most polished and grac

. Antonius (cos. 63), C. Caninius Rebilus (cos. suff. 45) and the two consuls of 53, M. Valerius Messalla Rufus, who lived on o

dlected Octavianus into its ranks and assigned to him, along with the consuls , the direction of military operations against Ant

stitution when it ‘established the Republic upon a firm basis’. While consul , Antonius was clearly unassailable; when proconsu

the five years following, until Brutus and Cassius should have become consuls and have vacated their consular provinces, that i

urate. They rejected the proposals and passed the ultimate decree the consuls were to take steps for the security of the State.

he consuls were to take steps for the security of the State. With the consuls was associated Octavianus. The most extreme of sa

ted with the sword. Through the month of February the forces of the consul Hirtius and the pro-praetor Octavianus were encam

for D. Brutus went to consult Pansa at Bononia, only to find that the consul had succumbed to his wounds; Antonius soon increa

ng siege. That was not the worst. The conduct of the war by the two consuls had overshadowed for a time the person of Octavia

however, a triumph, the charge of the war and the legions of the dead consuls . 2 Orations NotesPage=>162 1 Ad fam. 11, 1

did not require to be demonstrated by the advice which the Caesarian consul Pansa on his death-bed may or may not have given

In Rome a steady disintegration sapped the public counsels. No new consuls were elected. There was no leadership, no policy.

ntary to Plancus, he described Servilius as ‘homo furiosus’. 6 If a consul was required, what more deserving candidate than

t;169 that Cicero would usurp the vacant place. 1 Later, after both consuls had fallen, Brutus in Macedonia heard a report th

not lightly to be discarded. 3 Cicero and Octavianus were to be joint consuls . It might fairly be represented that the mature w

ed, Augustus admitted that he had played upon Cicero’s ambition to be consul . 4 Ad M. Brutum 1, 4a, 4 (May 15th). 5 Ib. 1,

the evening came a rumour that the two legions which had deserted the consul for Octavianus in the November preceding, the Fou

rmed men a ‘free election’ was to be secured. The people chose him as consul along with Q. Pedius, an obscure relative of unim

chable repute, who did not survive the honour by many months. The new consul now entered Rome to pay sacrifice to the immortal

m senior statesmen and from the party of the constitution. Now he was consul , his only danger the rival army commanders. For

assassins of Caesar, a special court was established by a law of the consul Pedius; along with these state criminals a conven

he praetors, Q. Gallius, was accused of an attempt to assassinate the consul Octavianus. His indignant colleagues deposed the

as much again. With a devoted army, augmented to eleven legions, the consul left Rome for the reckoning with Antonius, whom h

n given. As Octavianus moved up the Flaminia, he instructed the other consul to revoke the decrees of outlawry against Antoniu

force of arms, Lepidus and Antonius could have overwhelmed the young consul . His name and fortune shielded him once again. In

entrated diplomacy decided the fate of the Roman world. Antonius when consul had abolished the Dictatorship for all time. The

rest of the year was given to P. Ventidius and C. Carrinas, a pair of consuls personifying the memory of the Bellum Italicum an

uch expedients. For Antonius there was some palliation, at least when consul he had been harried by faction and treason, when

Triumvirs soon introduced the practice of nominating several pairs of consuls for a single year and designating them a long tim

le accessions Hirtius, Pansa and Dolabella had fallen in war, and the consul Q. Pedius succumbed early in his tenure of office

, p. 171. 8 Ad M. Brutum 1, 12, 1, cf. 15, 1. He was the son of the consul of 61 B.C. His half- brother, L. Gellius Poplicol

nas lead the pack and inaugurate an epoch, as clearly manifest in its consuls as had been the last and transient supremacy of t

by Sex. Pompeius. A. Allienus disappears completely after 43 B.C. 5 Consul in 39 B.C. and admiral for Octavianus in the Bell

admiral for Octavianus in the Bellum Siculum. Calvisius is the first consul with a gentilicium ending in ‘-isius’: non-Latin,

hese were among the earliest to find mention. Then other marshals and consuls turn up L. Cornificius, whose unknown antecedents

admiral, and T. Statilius Taurus, a formidable character. 6 Other new consuls remain enigmatic L. Caninius Gallus, T. Peducaeus

. 39), M. Cocceius Nerva (cos. suff. 36) and L. Cocceius Nerva (never consul ): the new Fasti have shown which Cocceius was con

ius Nerva (never consul): the new Fasti have shown which Cocceius was consul in 39. See also below, p. 267. 5 From Narnia, c

rmination of the Liberators had not been Antonius’ policy when he was consul . But with Caesar’s heir there could be no pact or

their spirit. From Lepidus, his triumviral colleague, and from the consul P. Servilius, Octavianus got no help. He was acti

vilius, Octavianus got no help. He was actively hindered by the other consul , L. Antonius, who, aided by the faithful and impe

ed his unwelcome and untouched bride, the daughter of Fulvia. But the consul and Fulvia, so far from giving way, alleged instr

the air. Both sides mustered troops and seized temple- treasures. The consul L. Antonius retired to the strong place of Praene

m M. Antonius sanctioning war, if in defence of his dignitas. 2 The consul marched on Rome, easily routing Lepidus. He was w

rnius, Tisienus and a number of Antonian or Republican partisans, the consul threw himself into the strong city of Perusia and

PageBook=>211 Still no sign came from the East. In Perusia the consul professed that he was fighting in the cause of hi

consulars, the soldier Ventidius and the diplomatic Plancus, and one consul for the illustrious year of Pollio had begun. Y

ed a son of his to rule the world, no indication in the poem that the consul there invoked was shortly to become a father. The

red consequences of the wedding of Antonius and Octavia. 7 Pollio the consul was Antonius’ man, and Pollio had had a large sha

of his consulate, it was not to wear them for long, for a new pair of consuls was installed before the end of the year, Balbus

s had hardly left time for that. But Octavianus had designated him as consul for the following year. The next NotesPage=>

accepisse et proximus a Cn. Pompeio ipsoque Caesare equestris ordinis consul creatus esse, nisi in id ascendisset, e quo infra

version’ of Salvidienus’ treason. PageBook=>221 two eponymous consuls , C. Calvisius Sabinus and L. Marcius Censorinus

honour of the pietas of C. Calvisius Sabinus: clearly, therefore, the consul of 39 B.C., and not his son, as commonly held (e.

nse with the dictatorial and invidious powers of the Triumvirate. The consuls for 32, designated long in advance, were adherent

oned a Claudian of the other branch, Ap. Claudius Pulcher, one of the consuls of the year. 5 One of the suffect consuls was L

udius Pulcher, one of the consuls of the year. 5 One of the suffect consuls was L. Marcius Philippus, who had probably follow

issue of a marriage contracted as late as 38 B.C. A P. Scipio became consul suffect in 35 B.C.: perhaps he had been previousl

esar, commanded armies for the Dictator, and was the first triumviral consul . 3 The noble Calvinus is a solitary and mysteriou

Sea for the campaign of Philippi. Then silence again until he becomes consul for the second time in 40 B.C., with no record of

re Brundisium, unless Norbanus, the grandson of the proscribed Marian consul , be accorded this rank: Norbanus was the general

after Perusia; 4 and T. Peducaeus, otherwise unknown, became suffect consul in 35 B.C.5 For the rest, his earliest marshals

6 Appian, BC 5, 54, 229, cf. Groag, PIR2, C 1331. If or when he was consul is uncertain, for Velleius describes him as ‘ex p

le, the party grew steadily in strength. In 33 B.C. Octavianus became consul for the second time, and his influence, not total

emilii and the Scipiones. In this year the admiral Q. Laronius became consul ; the other six were commended by no known militar

he advertised and extended his power. L. Vinicius was one of the new consuls : he had not been heard of for nearly twenty years

iance of M. Herennius, from the region of Picenum, and of C. Memmius, consuls in the previous year. 3 To distribute consulate

2 L. Volcacius Tullus (pr. 46 B.C.) and M. Acilius were the sons of consuls of the previous generation, L. Autronius Paetus p

de. Excluding the Triumvirs, and iterations, there were thirty- eight consuls . Of these, three are difficult to classify (C. No

ants of consular families. There remain twenty-five men, the earliest consuls of their respective families (not all, of course,

nly one; 2 no Valerii yet, but the Valerii were soon to provide three consuls in four years. 3 No less conspicuous were the gap

ot extinct, but many years would have to pass before the Fasti of the consuls and the front ranks of the Senate regained even t

d perhaps L. Cornelius, cos. suff. 38. 3 Not only Messalla himself, consul with Octavianus for the year 31, but two Valerii,

elf, consul with Octavianus for the year 31, but two Valerii, suffect consuls in 32 and 29 respectively. For uncertainties abou

and identity, PIR1, V 94 and 96: the new Fasti show Potitus Valerius consul in 29. M. Valerius, cos. suff. 32, clearly belong

icions of political negotiators in secret conclave. Few indeed of the consuls under the Triumvirate even professed or pretended

honour on that account from a military despotism. Among the earliest consuls , Plancus and Pollio made their way as commanders

ewal of the Triumvirate at Tarentum when that office lapsed, Antonian consuls would be in power at Rome. Antonius had already l

y. Yet it could be guessed that the Cocceii, a new family showing two consuls in four years, were highly circumspect. M. Coccei

l salutation (IG II2, 4110: Athens). L. Cocceius Nerva did not become consul . 3 He had charge of the correspondence and seal

ed to Antonius. 1 His father-in-law L. Scribonius Libo at once became consul (34 B.C.), but seems to have lapsed from politics

history, cf. P-W III, 1743. 4 On Poplicola, the son of the Pompeian consul of 72 B.C., cf. Münzer, P-W VII, 103 ff.: he is t

vius, admiral at Actium (Plutarch, Antonius 65), perhaps a son of the consul of 76 B.C.: note M. Octavius as a Pompeian admira

g its own children vigour and talent, not ancestral imagines and dead consuls . Hence no little doubt whether the motley party o

ive theme. They had no reason to spare Antonius. PageBook=>271 consuls and the constitution on his side. 1 It was theref

TALIA PageBook=>276 THE year 33 B.C. opened with Octavianus as consul for the second time: with its close, the triumvir

n to a document which he dispatched before the end of the year to the consuls designate, Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus and C. Sosius

of the Triumvirate. Since the time when the entry into office of new consuls last portended a change in politics a whole age s

to stoop to trivial and pointless deception. The sudden prominence of consuls and of a tribune at the beginning of 32 B.C. may

an constitution declined. Octavianus retired from the city. The new consuls summoned the Senate and took office on January 1s

rb of peace, with concealed weapons. Taking his place between the two consuls , he spoke in defence of his own policy, accusing

ay, when he would supply documentary evidence against Antonius. The consuls in protest fled to Antonius, bearing with them th

he suffered them to depart freely and openly. 1 To prevent and coerce consuls was inexpedient, the retirement of his enemies no

Even now, the Senate and People were not utterly to be despised: the consuls could be held guilty of a grave misdemeanour in l

nelius Cinna, grandson of Sulla’s enemy. In the next year he would be consul with Corvinus, instead of Antonius: one of the su

onal purists could recall the situation in 49 B.C., when the Pompeian consuls departed from Rome without securing a lex curiata

names M. Valerius, L. Cornelius and Cn. Pompeius on the Fasti. These consuls might have been designated for office at an earli

.C.) was the husband of Pompeia, daughter of Pompeius Magnus: but the consul of 32 may be his son by an earlier marriage (PIR2

rnelia, the daughter of Sulla. 4 Dio 50, 7, I. PageBook=>280 consuls were on his side. Antonius stood on the defensive

nt and ready for the struggle but might not open it yet. Here the two consuls met him in the spring, bringing with them the sem

er what name and plea was the contest to be fought? For Rome, for the consuls and the Republic against the domination of Octavi

he war was over. 2 In the constitutional crisis of the year 32, the consuls and a show of legality were on the side of Antoni

oquently justified a Catilinarian venture and armed treason against a consul , was able to invoke the plea of a ‘higher legalit

ator in the last month of his life, or the oath taken at Tibur to the consul Antonius in a public emergency. 2 The oath was

ocratic partisan, Valerius Messalla; and he was to wage Rome’s war as consul himself, for the third time. Antonius was not out

d. Agrippa, the victor of Naulochus, was in command, supported by the consul Messalla, by L. Arruntius, M. Lurius and L. Tariu

; and public sacrifices for his safety had been celebrated by a Roman consul . 3 The avenging of Caesar, and with it his own di

nterpreted. Hopeful signs were not wanting in 28 B.C Octavianus was consul for the sixth time with Agrippa as his colleague.

n been of concern to men at the time. From 31 B.C onwards he had been consul every year. But that was not all. The young despo

rely been preserved, let alone understood in full significance. Being consul (and perhaps able to invoke tribunician power)1 O

en corslet with the name of Cossus inscribed, giving him the title of consul . This frail and venerable relic, intact after the

rchy out of which his domination had arisen. But Augustus was to be consul as well as proconsul, year after year without a b

At the same time he acquired a quasi-dictatorial position in Rome as consul for the third time (52 B.C.), at first without a

otesPage=>317 1 Tacitus, Ann. 3, 28: ‘turn Cn. Pompeius, tertium consul corrigendis moribus delectus et gravior remediis

tus. The contrast of real and personal power with the prerogatives of consul or proconsul as legally defined appears portentou

l too often been ignored or evaded. Augustus proposed himself to be consul without intermission. During the next four years

.). Nor is his nomenclature constant. Yet it is pretty clear that the consul of 23 B.C. ‘A. T[erentius … ] V[ar]ro Murena’ (CI

It was Sex. Appuleius, a kinsman of the Princeps. 1 Nor are the other consuls of the age of the Revolution and the years betwee

ing in justice at Mediolanium (Suetonius, De rhet. 6): presumably the consul of 15 B.C. The precise definition of the command

names are recorded in this period. 3 Certain novi homines, subsequent consuls , probably earned ennoblement by service as legate

as legates or as proconsuls when praetorian in rank. 4 Augustus was consul every year down to 23 B.C.; he therefore possesse

when the Republic was restored. Such were the powers of Augustus as consul and proconsul, open, public and admitted. In the

upon oath secured condemnation of the offender. 4 Varro Murena the consul had been among the defenders of the proconsul of

consular list, the Fasti Capitolini, reveals the fact that Murena was consul ordinarius in 23 B.C. All the others head the yea

tate. The incident was disquieting. Not merely did the execution of a consul cast a glaring light on the character of the new

BJ 1, 398; AJ 15, 345. PageBook=>335 The Republic had to have consuls . To take the place of Murena in the supreme magis

his last intentions he merely handed over certain state papers to the consul Piso, to Agrippa his signet-ring. 2 Under their d

adherents, the principal of his marshals M. Vipsanius Agrippa, thrice consul . This was the settlement of the year 23 B.C. Au

the consulate was merely an ornament or an encumbrance; and an absent consul was an impropriety. Moreover, his continued tenur

en might recall another associate of Brutus, C. Antistius Vetus, made consul with Cicero’s bibulous son in the year after Acti

ast dispositions, yielding powers of discretion to Agrippa and to the consul , there was no word of Marcellus. When Augustus re

led coup d’état. It was bad enough that the young man should become consul at the age of twenty-three: his adoption would be

Vipsanius Agrippa was a better Republican than all the descendants of consuls his ideal of public utility was logical and intim

us, Q. Nasidius and M. Octavius. But, for that matter, few Triumviral consuls even are at all prominent under the Principate.

knew what little power resided in the decorative office and title of consul . That was novel and revolutionary. Not indeed tha

ther was sister to Maecenas’ Terentia and to an ambitious ill-starred consul best forgotten. Another member of this influentia

m, of a family of municipal magistrates, ILS 947, cf. 5346: the first consul with a name terminating in ‘-isius’ is C. Calvisi

nus (39 B.C.). As for P. Viriasius Naso (ILS 158; 5940), the earliest consul with a name of this type is Sex. Vitulasius Nepos

inum, a small town of criminal notoriety, now furnished Rome with two consuls . 7 NotesPage=>362 1 Tacitus, Ann. 3, 48. L

), cos. suff. 1 B.C. (L’ann. ép., 1937, 62). Passienus is the first consul with a name of that type, nearly anticipated, how

pe, nearly anticipated, however, by Salvidienus. Nor had there been a consul with a name ending in ‘-a’ since the Etruscan M.

inius and Valgius) there are in all the years 15 B.C. A.D. 3 very few consuls who are not of consular families. The mere six no

about the origin of Q. Haterius, C. Caelius and Q. Fabricius, suffect consuls in 5, 4 and 2 B.C. Caelius may have come from Tus

Mutilus (cos. suff. A.D. 9), of an ancient dynastic house. Two other consuls in this period, though not locally identified, ar

Elder and Salvidienus Rufus. Rome came to witness younger and younger consuls Pollio at thirty-six, Agrippa at twenty-six. The

t years masked or palliated some of its maladies at least no juvenile consuls are attested for some time. None the less, in the

Marcellus. 2 Distances were preserved. The young nobilis often became consul at the prescribed term, but the son of a Roman kn

red. The year 19 B.C. opened with Augustus still absent, and only one consul in office, C. Sentius Saturninus. There was need

nouncing that, even if elected by the people, Rufus should not become consul . The abandoned scoundrel ‘per omnia gladiatori qu

During the absence of the ruler (22-19 B.C.) each year one of the two consuls had been a partisan of Augustus and a military ma

heard of again. The domination of the Triumvirs had created numerous consuls , in 33 B.C. no fewer than eight, with masses of n

me back, monopolized at first by Augustus, Agrippa and Taurus. Of the consuls of the period 25-19 B.C., eight come of new famil

aesar. He persevered for a long time, hardly ever admitting a suffect consul . After 19 B.C., down to and including 6 B.C., a p

death. 3 Augustus was baffled by circumstances. More and more sons of consuls grew to maturity, claiming honours as of right. A

in the last years of the Princeps’ life. Not until 5 B.C. do suffect consuls become frequent and regular upon the Fasti. The d

3 In 12 B.C. M. Valerius Messalla Barbatus and C. Caninius Rebilus, consul and consul suffect, died in office. 4 Namely Sy

.C. M. Valerius Messalla Barbatus and C. Caninius Rebilus, consul and consul suffect, died in office. 4 Namely Syria, Gaul,

protection as the low-born Afranius had from Pompeius; and Pompeius’ consul Gabinius was a politician as well as a soldier. I

e less, though modified, the old categories subsisted. 5 Descent from consuls secured the consulate even to the most unworthy w

copies, OGIS 458. 3 L. Vinicius (cos. suff. 5 B.C.), the son of the consul of 33 B.C. Augustus disapproved of his assiduitie

rthright. So Iullus Antonius, the younger son of the Triumvir, became consul . But the consulate did not matter so much. Enemie

nfluence, or lack of deference to the new rulers of Rome, cannot show consuls now or miss a generation, emerging later. In the

os. suff. of A.D. 10, ib., C 1393; Cornelius Dolabella, father of the consul of A.D. 10, ib., C 1345; at least two men of the

tus’ half-sister: her sons were Sex. Appuleius and M. Appuleius, both consuls , no doubt at an early age. The schemes devised

nnocenter partae et modeste habitae. ’ This Lentulus was probably the consul of 14 B.C., cf. E. Groag in PIR2, C 1379. Some di

a knight’s son, but a power at the court of Caligula and three times consul , colleague in the censorship with his friend the

rvants of the State. Augustus controlled the consulars as well as the consuls , diverting their energies and their leisure from

arty- dynasts without title or official powers. In 26 B.C. Taurus was consul , it is true; but the authority of Agrippa, Maecen

e Princeps encouraged youth as well as rewarded experience. The young consul of thirty-three did not have to wait too long for

44), cf. now E. Groag, PIK2, C 1379, who demonstrates that he is the consul of 14 B.C., not, as hitherto believed, of 18 B.C.

of the river Tiber and the prevention of floods was entrusted to the consuls of the year 8 B.C.; the first standing commission

ater called. 4 Frontinus, De aq. 99 and 102. 5 On the work of the consuls of 8 B.C., ILS 5923 a–d; the first commission, Ta

lly develops into a high court of justice under the presidency of the consuls . 6 Augustus had frequent resort to the People for

t with him and prepare public business. The committee, comprising the consuls , one member from every other board of magistrates

as a studiis and a libellis under Claudius. 9 It was handed to the consul in 23 B.C., Dio 53, 30, 2. PageBook=>411 I

nd Tacitus know nothing of this ‘conspiracy’. The fact that Cinna was consul in A.D. 5 may have had something to do with the o

deceived. In 6 B.C. there was an agitation that Gaius should be made consul . 2 Augustus expressed public disapproval and bide

cial dispensations and early distinction, it is true. Tiberius became consul at the age of twenty-nine but that was after serv

ague. From that year the practice of appointing more than one pair of consuls becomes regular. On the Fasti now prevail the d

his mother with Livia brought promotion and a career. Silvanus became consul along with Augustus in 2 B.C. A political allianc

e close to the end, and the Metelli, soon to fade away, cannot show a consul at this time. 4 Other families dominant in the ol

ied T. Statilius Taurus, cos. A.D. 11 (P-W 111 A, 2204). 2 The last consul was in 16 B.C. The consul of A.D. 2 is probably a

os. A.D. 11 (P-W 111 A, 2204). 2 The last consul was in 16 B.C. The consul of A.D. 2 is probably a Lentulus. 3 Namely two

n 16 B.C. The consul of A.D. 2 is probably a Lentulus. 3 Namely two consuls in 18 B.C., one in 14 B.C. Then an interval, and

o had been a partisan of Caesar the Dictator. As for the Metelli, the consul of A.D. 7 is a Junius Silanus by birth. 5 See T

ved as heirlooms or curiosities (Suetonius, Tib. 6, 3). 6 Cn. Piso, consul with Tiberius in 7 B.C. Tacitus describes him as

see Table V at end. L. Scribonius Libo and M. Scribonius Libo Drusus, consul and praetor in A.D. 16, were grandsons of Sex. Po

an Ap. Claudius Pulcher, who may have been the son or grandson of the consul of 38 B.C., and a Cornelius Scipio were all releg

tribunicia potestas lapsed. Augustus did not renew it. Gaius Caesar, consul designate and invested with proconsular imperium,

the five nobiles her allies; and in A.D.I, when his son and heir was consul , he came safely through the climacteric year of a

alented family, newly ennobled through his father, admiral at Actium, consul in 22 B.C., and the author of a history of the Pu

us, P. Cornelius Dolabella and M. Furius Camillus, or heirs of recent consuls like the two Nonii L. Arruntius and A. Licinius N

The laudatory labels of Velleius tell their own story. The names of consuls and legates, a blend of the old and the new, prov

lively old man who enjoyed high social distinction although the first consul in his family. 6 After Lamia came Cossus Corneliu

peasants and soldiers. Tradition remembered, or romance depicted, the consuls of the early Republic as identical in life, habit

tee landlord. It was observed with malicious glee that neither of the consuls who gave their names to the Lex Papia Poppaea had

tue and integrity. The Principate of Augustus did not merely idealize consul and citizen of the ancient peasant Republic, thus

ot religious: he also applied it to the legions that had deserted the consul Antonius, ‘heavenly legions’. But the orator woul

nus by birth. Likewise to the Principate of Augustus belongs the last consul of the ancient patrician house of the Scipiones.

rcellus, the nephew of Augustus, but the name supplied one collateral consul then, M. Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus, consul in

upplied one collateral consul then, M. Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus, consul in 22 B.C., a not very distinguished partisan of

ppi and the Porcii lapsed into obscurity if not extinction. 1 No more consuls came of the Luculli, the Lutatii, the Hortensii,

houses, her ancestors and her kin. 2 Yet Cassius’ stock, with eminent consuls , among them a great jurist, endured down to Nero.

endured down to Nero. 3 Certain noble families, showing their last consuls in the age of Pompeius, became extinct in the Civ

iage alliances and lasted into the reign of Augustus produced no more consuls after that time. That was not all. To Roman and

tain that the delator Porcius Cato (Tacitus, Ann. 4, 68 ff.), suffect consul in A.D. 36, belonged to this family. 2 Tacitus,

eo ipso quod effigies eorum non visebantur. ’ 3 L. and C. Cassius, consul and suffect consul in A.D. 30 (sons of L. Cassius

ies eorum non visebantur. ’ 3 L. and C. Cassius, consul and suffect consul in A.D. 30 (sons of L. Cassius Longinus, cos. suf

ge to Aemilia Lepida, Ann. 3, 23. PageBook=>493 His son became consul under Tiberius, a great orator and a man of infam

-Claudian dynasty, was also the last of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, eight consuls before him in eight generations. 1 But Nero was

he Principate. M. Junius Silanus, grandson of the renegade who became consul in 25 B.C., married Aemilia Lepida, the daughter

s ran the blood of Claudii, Domitii and Marcelli, and an impoverished consul in the reign of Nero. 5 Such was the end of ancie

B.C.), seems to have left male issue. The last consular Marcellus was consul in 22 B.C. 2 ILS 935. 3 Tacitus, Ann. 4, 66.

us, Ann. 4, 66. 4 Paullus Fabius Persicus, cos. A.D. 34, son of the consul of 11 B.C. Persicus was the last consul: On á pos

cus, cos. A.D. 34, son of the consul of 11 B.C. Persicus was the last consul : On á possible son, Cf. E. Groag, P-W VI, 1835, d

erms with Tiberius, acquiring a new lease of life. They display seven consuls on the Fasti of Augustus’ Principate. Both the Co

d for alleged conspiracy against Caligula, and the family can show no consuls in any branch after Nero. 5 The Calpurnii, howeve

PIR2, C 259. 9 C. Calpurnius Piso, cos. A.D. III (PIR2, C 285) and consuls sixty years later (PIR2, C 295 and 317). PageBo

s and Pansa left no consular descendants, any more than had Pompeius’ consuls Afranius and Gabinius. Cicero had been the great

rim parent. 4 PageNotes. 498 1 On the descendants of Taurus, with consuls under Claudius, P-W III a, 2198. Calvisius’ line,

cos. suff. 35 B.C.) or of L. Autronius Paetus and L. Flavius (suffect consuls in 33 B.C.). P. Alfenus Varus (cos. suff. 39 B.C.

the Samnite and the two Vibii from Larinum are the first and the last consuls of their families. Papius and his colleague in th

he new nobility, however, were prudent and tenacious enough to ensure consuls for several generations, Calvisius and Norbanus t

, cos. 11 45, cf. Tacitus, Ann. 6, 15; Dio 60, 27, 4. 6 Down to the consul of A.D. 96, in direct succession. PageBook=>

s Nerva had three sons, all consulars. 2 But his three grandsons, two consuls and a consul-designate, did not outlive the Julio

om three at least attained to consular rank:4 a direct descendant was consul under Trajan. 5 In the Flavian period two consuls

irect descendant was consul under Trajan. 5 In the Flavian period two consuls recalled the merits of L. Volusius Saturninus (co

stock of the time of Augustus, the Aelii Lamiae. 7 The last Lamia was consul in 116, by which time that name stood for the blu

Piso in the person of L. Nonius Calpurnius Torquatus Asprenas, twice consul , under Domitian and under Hadrian. 9 For pruden

an have been in existence few direct descendants even of a Triumviral consul . 10 PageNotes. 500 1 His wife had given birth

26 ff. 4 PIR2, A 1229. 5 M. Asinius Marcellus, cos. 104. 6 The consuls of 87 and 92. For the stemma, PIR1, V 666. 7 Ti

S 986) is probably an Aelius Lamia by birth, of which house after the consul of A.D. 3 no direct descendants are known. 8 Ju

ce in the early Principate, survive the longest, PIR2, A 62 ff., with consuls in the direct line in A.D. 210, and in A.D. 256.

ne family. Passienus could not compete with L. Vitellius, three times consul . Vitellius was the son of a knight, procurator

and Dictatorship into the rule of the Triumvirs. The man from Gades, consul in 40 B.C., is a portent, it is true but a porten

and Narbonensians. By the time of Caligula, Narbonensis provides two consuls , a Valerius from Vienna and a Domitius from Nemau

men of consular standing. PageNotes. 502 1 D. Valerius Asiaticus, consul under Caligula, cos. 11 46, and Cn. Domitius Afer

obiles and some seven or eight men sprung from Triumviral or Augustan consuls : only one man of this class commands an army, and

Samnite or Picene, Spain and Narbonensis open the roll of provincial consuls . They herald the Empire’s invasion of the Roman g

he state papers which the Princeps, near to death, handed over to the consul Piso in 23 B.C. But earlier versions may more eas

hey derive; and W. Liebenam printed a convenient list of the imperial consuls , from 30 B.C. onwards (Fasti Consulares Imperii R

edition of a part of the Fasti. It is merely an up-to-date list of consuls , designed for the convenience of the historical s

igned for the convenience of the historical student. The filiation of consuls , where known, is given, for it is often a valuabl

.C.), 5, 20, 23, 43; as praetor, 32; as governor of Cisalpina, 74; as consul , 33 ff.; his letter to Cicero, 45. Caecilius Me

, 370 ff.; age for, 369; qualifications, 374 ff.; elections, 370 f. Consuls , after Sulla, 22; in the last years of the Republ

; in A.D. 5–10,434 f.; suffecti, 197, 373, 420; alien nomenclature of consuls , 93, 199 f., 244,362. Coponii, of Tibur, 193.

nius, C. (cos. 17 B.C.), saves his father, 299; legate in Spain, 333; consul , 373. Gabinius, A. (cos. 58 B.C.), as tribune,

inius, A. (cos. 58 B.C.), as tribune, 29; legate of Pompeius, 31, 32; consul , 36, 82, 94, 374; governor of Syria, 66 f., 103,

2 f., 72 f.; confiscations, 76; increase of Senate, 77 ff.; choice of consuls , 94 f.; the unification of Italy, 82, 89 ff., 92

, 229; proconsul of Spain, 239; repairs temple of Hercules, 241; last consul of his line, 496. Marcius Rex, Q. (cos. 68 B.C.

s, C. (cos. 19 B.C.), 227, 228, 269, 282, 330, 382, 397; behaviour as consul , 371; legate of Syria, 398, 425; on the Rhine, 40

Rufus, P., Caesarian, 65. Sulpicius Rufus, Ser. (cos. 51 B.C.), as consul , 41; a neutral in the Civil War, 45, 64; attitude

us, P. (cos. 47 B.C.), as tribune, 66; attacked by poets, 63, 252; as consul , 94; proconsul of Illyricum, 110, 164, 171; his t

name and origin, 71, 90; attitude in 44 B.C., 100, 114, 133, 134; as consul , 162, 167, 172; in the War of Mutina, 173 f., 176

t important persons and relationships are indicated, and the names of consuls are printed in black type. On Tables I and II the

be the son of L. Piso, adopted by the last of the Licinii Crassi, the consul of 14 B.C. The descendants of Sulla are taken fro