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65-560: The law was proposed by Lucius Villius Annalis , a Tribune of the Plebs , after previous debate within the senate pertaining to the age requirements for magistracies. These debates had arisen due to an increase in competition from a rise in new families attempting to gain success and social change within Roman society, which placed pressure on the political sphere. Where previous laws had failed to be passed or were too ambiguous to result in change,

130-490: A further regulation and codification of the cursus honorum . For example, there was a law passed in 184 BC which ruled that 'a politician might not hold two curule offices simultaneously' (Livy 39.39.4). Richard Evans asserts that the lex Villia annalis was related to the preceding lex Baebia and lex de ambitu ; these laws were respectively passed in 181 by consular colleagues P. Cornelius Cethegus and M. Baebius Tamphilus to combat electoral corruption. The lex Baebia

195-459: A group of 15 to 27 philosophers, poets, and politicians. Besides Roman satirists and comedy writers such as Lucilius and Terence , there were Greek intellectuals, such as the scholar and historian Polybius and the Stoic philosopher Panaetius . Hence, Scipio had a philhellenic disposition (love and admiration for Greek culture) . Such disposition was criticised by Roman traditionalists who disliked

260-571: A nature adapted for leadership in war and public service. Well, then, when it was already late and he was almost despaired of, he came in from the pursuit with two or three comrades, covered with the blood of the enemies he had slain ..." Scipio Aemilianus was seventeen at the time. In 152 BC, the consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus urged the Senate to conclude a peace with the Celtiberians . The Senate rejected this proposal, and instead sent one of

325-440: A part of several legislative changes that sought to ease the intensity of political competition (there was a high level of bribery and corruption resulting from the growing number of candidates for the curule seat) and the irregularity by which individuals could achieve the senior magisterial positions. A number of laws proposed and carried out at the beginning of the second century suggest a greater legislative movement concerned with

390-452: A prosperous city, to the empires of Assyria , Media , and Persia , the greatest of their time, and to Macedonia itself, the brilliance of which was so recent, either deliberately or the verses escaping him, he said: And when Polybius speaking with freedom to him, for he was his teacher, asked him what he meant by the words, they say that without any attempt at concealment he named his own country, for which he feared when he reflected on

455-505: A public address to the people". Gaius Gracchus also came under suspicion. However, "this great outrage, committed too upon the person of the greatest and most considerable man in Rome, was never either punished or inquired into thoroughly, for the populace opposed and hindered any judicial investigation, for fear that Gaius should be implicated in the charge if proceedings were carried on". Gaius Papirius Carbo also came under accusation. During

520-476: A river which was difficult to cross, he was forced to make a detour along a longer route where there was no water. He marched at night when it was cooler and dug wells which had bitter water. He saved his men, but some horses and pack animals died of thirst. Then he passed through the territory of the Caucaei who had broken the treaty with Rome and declared that they could return safely to their homes. He returned to

585-440: A trial Lucius Licinius Crassus accused Carbo of being a party to the murder of Scipio. Velleius Paterculus wrote that Scipio was "a cultivated patron and admirer of liberal studies and of every form of learning, and kept constantly with him, at home and in the field, two men of eminent genius, Polybius and Panaetius. No one ever relieved the duties of an active life by a more refined use of his intervals of leisure than Scipio, or

650-586: A verse about the episode: "Thus base Asellus did great Scipio taunt: Unlucky was his censorship and bad." Polybius relates a well-known anecdote of Scipio's reflections on the mutability of human affairs following the sack of Carthage: Scipio, when he looked upon the city as it was utterly perishing and in the last throes of its complete destruction, is said to have shed tears and wept openly for his enemies. After being wrapped in thought for long, and realizing that all cities, nations, and authorities must, like men, meet their doom; that this happened to Ilium , once

715-420: Is said to have reduced the praetorian college from six to four members in alternate years (Livy 40.44.2), while the lex de ambitu further dealt with 'political malpractice'. There is also good reason to suppose that a similar piece of legislation to the lex Villia annalis (referred to by Cicero as the lex annalis ), which sought to enact age requirements for public magistracies, was also proposed in 181 and

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780-707: The Cimbri and the Teutones were gradually becoming a threat to Italy. The Roman people thought it necessary to have the same competent leader to deal with the fresh threats, even if it meant violating the lex Villia Annalis , a law which their ancestors had passed. Consequently, the Cimbrian War commenced between the Roman Republic and the Germanic tribes. Just as the lex Villia Annalis stated that there

845-488: The Lex Villia Annalis has been described as having created a standard for a career in the cursus honorum . Significant debate has arisen over the context and content of the law, given the minimal number of references provided within antiquity. It is questionable as to the level of detail within the law and whether or not it arose out of a formalisation of past customs. The Lex Villia Annalis appears to form

910-480: The Second Punic War against Hannibal . This made Scipio Africanus the adoptive grandfather of Scipio Aemilianus. On adoption, he became Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, assuming the name of his adoptive father, but keeping Aemilianus as a fourth name to indicate his original nomen . His elder brother was adopted by a son or grandson of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus , another prominent commander in

975-464: The lex Villia Annalis really was, or Roman legislation in general. The Roman peoples' judgement were, however, correct: Scipio Aemilianus successfully took Carthage in 146, thus ending the Third Punic War. In 105 BC, Gaius Marius was for the second time elected as consul, this time for 104. This occurred after his victory in the war with Jugurtha , only to find that the Germanic tribes of

1040-538: The Gracchian cause. Scipio made himself unpopular again. Appian related that Fulvius Flaccus, Papirius Carbo and Tiberius’ younger brother, Gaius Sempronius Gracchus , chaired a commission to implement the Gracchian law. There never had been a land survey and land owners often did not have land deeds. The land was resurveyed. Some owners had to give up their orchards and farm buildings and go to empty land or move from cultivated to uncultivated land or swamps. As anyone

1105-478: The Numantine War as a quaestor (treasurer) under the consul Gaius Hostilius Mancinus . The consul was pinned down by the enemy and, unable to escape, made a peace treaty. Tiberius negotiated the peace terms. The treaty was rejected by the senate as a disgrace. Plutarch wrote that "the relatives and friends of the soldiers, who formed a large part of the people" blamed this on Mancinus and insisted "that it

1170-528: The Numantine territory and was joined by Jugurtha , the son of the king of Numidia , with archers, slingers, and twelve elephants. Eventually, Scipio prepared to besiege Numantia. He asked the allied tribes in Hispania for specified numbers of troops. He built a circuit of fortifications which was nine kilometers long. The wall was three meters high and two and a half meters wide. He built an embankment of

1235-463: The Roman people while still under the minimum age for the consulship. The voters bypassed this law since they believed that the exceptional circumstances surrounding the Third Punic War required them to do so and more importantly, that it was their prerogative to do so. Appian summarises this prerogative like so: ‘by the laws handed down from Tullius and Romulus the people were the judges of

1300-499: The Roman transport ships, it was Aemilianus who led out his men and drove off the assault party using a clever stratagem. During a Roman attack on Hasdrubal's forces near Nepheris he again prevented disaster by checking the Carthaginian counter-attack which hit the Roman army when it was in a disadvantaged position. In 147 BC he was elected consul , while still under the minimum age required by law to hold this office. Without

1365-596: The Second Punic War, and his name became Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus . Lucius Aemilius Paullus took his two older sons with him on his campaign in Greece. Plutarch wrote that Scipio was his favorite son because he "saw that he was by nature more prone to excellence than any of his brothers". He related that during mopping-up operations after the Battle of Pydna , Aemilius was worried because his younger son

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1430-519: The Third Punic War. It was formerly believed that he also salted the city , but modern scholars have found no evidence for that. On his return to Rome he received a Triumph , having also established a personal claim to his adoptive agnomen of Africanus. According to Pliny the Elder he was also awarded the grass crown in Africa during the war. In 134 BC Scipio was elected consul again because

1495-698: The Younger , was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the Numantine War in Spain. He oversaw the final defeat and destruction of the city of Carthage . He was a prominent patron of writers and philosophers, the most famous of whom was the Greek historian Polybius . In politics, he opposed the populist reform program of his murdered brother-in-law, Tiberius Gracchus . Scipio Aemilianus

1560-409: The anti-Carthaginian faction in Rome, was incessantly encroaching on Carthaginian territory. After winning the Second Punic War, Rome had mandated that Carthage could not defend itself militarily without seeking Rome's permission first. Rome construed Carthage's defense of itself against Numidians as a violation of this agreement. In 149 BC Rome declared war and a force was sent to besiege Carthage. In

1625-719: The citizens thought that he was the only man capable of defeating the Numantines in the Numantine War . The Celtiberians of the City of Numantia , which had strong defensive geographical features, held off the Romans for nine years. The army in Hispania was demoralized and ill-disciplined. Scipio concentrated on restoring discipline by forbidding luxuries the troops had become accustomed to, through regular tough exercises (all-day marches, building camps and fortifications and then demolishing them, digging ditches and then filling them up, and

1690-497: The commission which did not have the confidence of the litigants. This was accepted and the consul Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus was appointed to give judgment. However, seeing that the job was difficult he found a pretext to fight a war in Illyria. The people were angry at Scipio "because they saw a man, in whose favour they had often opposed the aristocracy and incurred their enmity, electing him consul twice contrary to law, now taking

1755-443: The consul unarmed and in bonds to the Numantines, but spared all the other officers for the sake of Tiberius." Scipio used his influence to help to save the men "but none the less he was blamed for not saving Mancinus, and for not insisting that the treaty with the Numantines, which had been made through the agency of his kinsman and friend Tiberius, should be kept inviolate." The Encyclopædia Britannica suggests that Scipio Aemilianus

1820-476: The consuls of 151 BC, Lucius Licinius Lucullus , to Hispania to continue the war. However, there was a crisis of recruitment due to rumors of incessant battles and heavy Roman losses. Additionally, Marcellus appeared to be afraid of continuing the war; this led to panic. Young men avoided enrollment as soldiers through unverifiable excuses. Men eligible to be legates (legion commanders) or military tribunes (senior officers) did not volunteer. Scipio Aemilianus

1885-509: The cursus honorum (he had held the consulship seven times), Sulla tightened the regulations of the cursus honorum in 81 BC to prevent ambitious young men from ascending to the top of the political chain too quickly. Although the regulations required a minimum age of 39 for the praetorship, Pompey was granted pro-praetorian imperium to lead an army against the Marians in Africa and Sicily when he

1950-528: The customary procedure of drawing lots, he was assigned to the African theater of war. After a year of desperate fighting and stubborn heroism on the part of the defenders, he took the city of Carthage, taking prisoner about 50,000 survivors (about one-tenth of the city's population). Complying with the mandate of the Senate , he ordered the city evacuated, burnt it, razed it to the ground and plowed it over, ending

2015-465: The early stages of the war, the Romans suffered repeated defeats. Scipio Aemilianus was a military tribune (senior officer) and distinguished himself repeatedly: After a failed Roman attack into Carthage itself, it was Aemilianus who prevented a disaster by covering the army's retreat from the city. When the Carthaginians launched a surprise night-time attack on the camp of consul Censorinus , it

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2080-471: The elections, and that, of the laws pertaining thereto, they could set aside or confirm whichever they pleased’ (App. Pun. 112). After the Roman people had made him consul, Scipio Aemilianus was immediately assigned to campaign in Africa without the need to draw lots to decide his campaign location. This procedure was normally undertaken by new consuls, and so the Roman peoples’ ability to skirt their own long-standing traditions calls into question how concrete

2145-464: The extent to which the law would actually have played a part in imposing limitations. As counter-examples, he cites the principle of biennium (the requirement for magistrates not to serve in consecutive years), the already required 10 years military service prior to holding office, and the rigidity of the cursus honorum . However, simply because the law was 'otiose' did not mean that it was not passed, as Astin shows. While perhaps not fundamentally changing

2210-446: The growing Hellenisation of Rome—which, they thought, was corrupting Roman culture and life through alien influences—and advocated adherence to old Roman traditions and ancestral virtues and mores. Yet, Scipio was also a supporter of such traditions and mores. Gellius wrote that when he was censor, Scipio made a speech "urging the people to follow the customs of their forefathers". He criticised several things which "were done contrary to

2275-488: The law served to impose limits on who could actually apply for individual magistrates, there is much conjecture on how necessary the law actually was and the extent to which it served an important function. While later challenges to the law became increasingly prevalent following Gaius Marius , from its passing until the latter second and first century BC it served as a powerful check for young men seeking office by limiting how early they could run for political offices in all but

2340-428: The lesser magistracies. Following the observance of patterns, Astin sought to calculate quantifiable limits, and the data which he finds seems to confirm the trends. Even in situations where an exceptional candidate such as Scipio Aemilianus attained the consulship early at the age of 36, special legislation was required to be passed before he was able to take the office. Some scholars such as Theodor Mommsen disputed

2405-454: The like) and by enforcing regulations strictly. When he thought that the army was ready he encamped near Numantia. He did not proceed along the shorter route to avoid the guerrilla tactics the Numantines were good at. Instead, he made a detour though the land of the Vaccaei, who were selling food to the Numantines. He was ambushed several times but defeated the enemy. In one of these ambushes by

2470-521: The minimum age at which a Roman politician could ascend to a particular magistracy on the cursus honorum . It formalised a set of requirements to ascend to a magistracy which previously were likely informal but widely subscribed to. This included a minimum age for each of the senior magistracies above and including the aedileship, as well as a requirement for 10 years of military service at the equestrian level or 16 years of military service as an infantryman. The age limits, as laid out by Evans, were: While

2535-523: The most exceptional circumstances. There are two primary methods by which these limits have been ascertained. The first is by allusion to them in ancient sources: for example, Cicero in his fifth Philippic oration refers to the death of Alexander the Great at the age of 32 and says, 'Did not the Macedonian Alexander, having begun to perform mighty deeds from his earliest youth, die when he

2600-467: The most honorable of all war trophies." Although the power of Carthage had been broken with her defeat in the Second Punic War, there was still lingering resentment in Rome. Cato the Elder ended every speech with, " Carthage must be destroyed. " In 150 BC an appeal was made to Scipio Aemilianus by the Carthaginians to act as a mediator between them and the Numidian prince Massinissa who, supported by

2665-546: The ordinary, [but] never strained their lungs or shouted …" It seems that he had a good sense of humour and Cicero cited a number of anecdotes about his puns. He is also a central character in Book VI of Cicero's De re publica , a passage known as the Somnium Scipionis or "Dream of Scipio". Culturally, Scipio Aemilianus was both philhellenic and conservative. He was the patron of the so-called Scipionic circle ,

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2730-821: The people were angry with him still and rejoiced at his death." Plutarch wrote that "although Scipio Africanus died at home after dinner, there is no convincing proof of the manner of his end, but some say that he died naturally, being of a sickly habit, some that he died of poison administered by his own hand, and some that his enemies broke into his house at night and smothered him. And yet Scipio's dead body lay exposed for all to see, and all who beheld it formed therefrom some suspicion and conjecture of what had happened to it." In another book Plutarch wrote "no cause of such an unexpected death could be assigned, only some marks of blows upon his body seemed to intimate that he had suffered violence." The heaviest suspicions fell on Fulvius Flaccus who "that very day had reflected upon Scipio in

2795-418: The people what he thought about the death of Tiberius, he made a reply which showed his dislike of the measures advocated by him," this made him unpopular, "the people began to interrupt him as he was speaking, a thing which they had never done before, and Scipio himself was thereby led on to abuse the people." Gaius Papirius Carbo was a plebeian tribune and Marcus Fulvius Flaccus was a senator sympathetic to

2860-532: The political activity of Gracchus, the latter would not have been murdered - he was fighting the war in Hispania. Still, he disliked the actions of Gracchus. Plutarch wrote "[while] at Numantia, when he learned of the death of Tiberius, he recited in a loud voice the verse of Homer: [from the Odyssey I.47] "So perish also all others who on such wickedness venture." Plutarch also wrote that (after his return to Rome) "when Gaius and Fulvius asked him in an assembly of

2925-585: The rest into slavery, destroyed the city and kept fifty men for his triumph. For his success Scipio Aemilianus received the additional agnomen of "Numantinus". In 142 BC Scipio Aemilianus was a censor. During his censorship , he endeavoured to check the growing luxury and immorality of the period. In 139 BC, he was unsuccessfully accused of high treason by Tiberius Claudius Asellus , whom he had degraded when censor . The speeches he gave on that occasion (now lost) were considered brilliant. Scipio helped his relative Tiberius Gracchus who in 137 BC had served in

2990-617: The rising than the setting sun' (Plut. Pomp. 14.3). Lucius Villius Annalis Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 195568358 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:38:20 GMT Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185 BC – 129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus

3055-476: The same dimensions as the wall around the adjoining marsh. He built two towers by the River Durius ( Douro ) to which he moored large timbers with ropes which were full of knives and spear heads and were constantly kept in motion by the current. This prevented the enemy from slipping through covertly. He managed to force Numantia into starvation. The Numantines surrendered. Some killed themselves. Scipio sold

3120-663: The side of the Italian allies against themselves" His enemies claimed that he was determined to abolish the Gracchian law and was about to start "armed strife and bloodshed". When the people heard these allegations they were in a state of alarm until Scipio died at home in his bed; according to Appian, without a wound. Modern historians believe "there is no strong evidence or credible argument to support any alternative hypothesis [from death by natural causes]". The ancient sources, however, record various different rumours of foul play. Appian wrote that it could not be known whether Scipio

3185-432: The usage of our forefathers," and found fault with adoptive sons being of profit to their adoptive father in gaining the rewards of paternity, and said: "A father votes in one tribe, the son in another, an adopted son is of as much advantage as if one had a son of his own; orders are given to take the census of absentees, and hence it is not necessary for anyone to appear in person at the census." Gellius wrote that after he

3250-478: The way Roman political magistracies could be obtained, the Lex Villia Annalis formalised rules and regulations surrounding its passing. Throughout the second and the first century of the Roman Republic , the Roman people challenged or ignored the lex Villia Annalis on multiple occasions. This was often the case when the Romans were faced with war. In 148 BC, Scipio Aemilianus was made consul for 147 by

3315-407: Was Aemilianus who rallied part of the cavalry, led them out of a rear gate and attacked the Carthaginians in the flank, driving them back to the city and restoring the situation. While collecting supplies from the countryside, Aemilius was one of the few who managed to prevent his foraging party from being ambushed. When the Carthaginians mounted another surprise night-time attack on a fort protecting

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3380-459: Was allowed to work undistributed land, many tilled land next to their own, blurring the demarcation between public and private land. Rome's Italian allies complained about lawsuits brought against them and chose Scipio Aemilianus to defend them. As the allies had fought in his wars, he accepted. In the senate Scipio did not criticise the Law, but argued that the cases should be heard by a court rather than

3445-491: Was awarded a mural crown , which was a military decoration awarded to the soldier who first climbed the wall of a besieged city or fortress and successfully placed the military standard on it. Florus wrote that "having been challenged by [the Celtiberian] king to a single combat, carried off the spolia opima , the armor and arms stripped from the body of an opposing commander slain in single combat. These were regarded as

3510-443: Was censor, Scipio was accused before the people by Tiberius Claudius Asellus, a plebeian tribune, whom he had stripped of his knighthood during his censorship. He does not mention what the accusation was. Although under accusation, Scipio did not stop to shave and to wear white clothing and did not appear in the garb of those under accusation. He added that in those days noblemen started shaving in middle age. The satirist Lucilius wrote

3575-467: Was due to Tiberius that the lives of so many citizens had been saved". Those who disagreed with the violation of the treaty "cast forth those who had taken hand and share in the treaty, as for instance the quaestors and military tribunes, turning upon their heads the guilt of perjury and violation of the pact. In the present affair, indeed, more than at any other time, the people showed their good will and affection towards Tiberius. For they voted to deliver up

3640-495: Was missing. Plutarch also wrote that "The whole army learned of the distress and anguish of their general, and springing up from their suppers, ran about with torches, many to the tent of Aemilius, and many in front of the ramparts, searching among the numerous dead bodies. Dejection reigned in the camp, and the plain was filled with the cries of men calling out the name of Scipio. For from the very outset he had been admired by everybody, since, beyond any other one of his family, he had

3705-432: Was more constant in his devotion to the arts either of war or peace. Ever engaged in the pursuit of arms or his studies, he was either training his body by exposing it to dangers or his mind by learning." Polybius mentioned going to Africa with Scipio to explore the continent. Gellius wrote that Scipio "used the purest diction of all men of his time". Cicero cited him among the orators who were "a little more emphatic than

3770-627: Was most likely drafted by a certain Marcus Pinarius Rusca (Cic. De or. II.65). There is no surviving information about the contents of this law, and it appears to have failed. In 180 BC, the tribune of the plebs Lucius Villius Annalis made a successful proposal for a law that regulated 'the ages at which each magistracy might be sought and held' (Livy 40. 44). Evans noted that the law likely introduced an 'obligatory biennium between curule offices, or at least between praetorship and consulship'. The Lex Villia Annalis formalise limits on

3835-544: Was murdered by Cornelia (the mother of the Gracchi brothers) and her daughter Sempronia (who was married to Scipio), who were worried that the Gracchian law might be repealed, or whether he committed suicide because he saw that he could not deliver on his promises. He added that "[s]ome say that slaves under torture testified that unknown persons were introduced through the rear of the house by night who suffocated him, and that those who knew about it hesitated to tell because

3900-426: Was not in sympathy with the optimates , the political faction which supported the aristocracy. Whatever the case, he was in disagreement with the militant actions of the movement led by Gracchus when he was a plebeian tribune , which pressed for a law to redistribute land to the poor. Plutarch wrote that "this disagreement certainly resulted in no mischief past remedy" and thought that if Scipio had been in Rome during

3965-430: Was only 24 years of age (App. Mith. 14.91-96). Completing the task in 40 days, Pompey returned and demanded a Roman triumph to recognise his achievement. Sulla initially refused the triumph as such a request was against his own restatement of the lex Villia annalis ( lex Cornelia de magistratibus ), but capitulated when Pompey refused to disband his army, reportedly muttering the famous words that 'more people worship

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4030-408: Was only in his thirty-third year? And that age is ten years less than that fixed by our laws for a man to be eligible for the consulship' (Cic. Phil. 5.48). This quotation from Cicero directly evidences the minimum consular age of 42. The other method which is used by Alan Astin is to look at the various ages at which certain individuals became consul, and to a lesser extent, at what ages they attained

4095-471: Was the second son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus , the commander of the Romans' victorious campaign in the Third Macedonian War , and his first wife, Papiria Masonis. Scipio was adopted by his first cousin, Publius Cornelius Scipio , the eldest son of his aunt Aemilia Tertia and her husband Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , the acclaimed commander who won the decisive battle of

4160-586: Was thought to have advised for the prosecution of the war. He asked the Senate to be sent to Hispania either as a military tribune or a legate, due to the urgency of the situation, even though it would have been safer to go to Macedon , where he had been invited to settle domestic disputes. The Senate was at first surprised. Ultimately, Scipio's decision made him popular, and many of those who had been avoiding their duty, ashamed by Scipio's example, began to volunteer as legates or to enroll as soldiers. Scipio served under Lucullus. Velleius Paterculus wrote that Scipio

4225-528: Was to be a biennium between magistracies, it seems that it was also illegal to hold subsequent consulships within a short time frame, since Plutarch recorded that ‘the law forbade that a man in his absence and before the lapse of a specified time should be elected again’ (Plutarch Mar. 12). Marius fulfilled both criteria: firstly, he was elected consul for the second time while away in Africa and secondly, he held his second consulship only three years after his first consulship. In response to Marius' disregard for

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