Cispius is the ''
nomen'' of the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
''
gens Cispia''.
Cispius Laevus
The ''
Mons Cispius
Mons (; German language, German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon language, Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut ...
'', or Cispian Hill, is one of several summits of the
Esquiline Hill in Rome. The grammarian
Festus
Festus may refer to:
People Ancient world
*Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD
*Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian
*Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli
*Festus (h ...
says that it was named for a Cispius Laevus of
Anagnia
Anagni () is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical and artistic center of the Latin Valley.
Geography Overview
Anagni still maintains the appear ...
, of the ''Publilia'' voting tribe (''tribus''). This Cispius may be legendary.
M. Cispius
Marcus Cispius was a
tribune of the ''plebs'' in 57 BC, and was among those tribunes who actively supported
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
in his efforts to overturn the legislation that brought about his exile. Earlier, however, Cicero had brought a civil suit in which he spoke against Cispius, his brother, and their father. Sometime after Cispius's tribunate, most likely in early 56, he was defended by Cicero on a charge of electoral corruption (''
ambitus
In ancient Roman law, ''ambitus'' was a crime of political corruption, mainly a candidate's attempt to influence the outcome (or direction) of an election through bribery or other forms of soft power. The Latin word ''ambitus'' is the origin ...
'') and convicted. Cicero calls him "a man of character and principle." The two men maintained their friendship in the 50s; in 55, Cicero wrote a
letter of recommendation
A letter of recommendation or recommendation letter, also known as a letter of reference, reference letter or simply reference, is a document in which the writer assesses the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the person being recommen ...
to the proconsul of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Q. Valerius Orca, on behalf of men associated with Cispius. Cispius may have been a
praetor
Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...
sometime after 54.
L. Cispius (Laevus)
Lucius Cispius, probably with the ''
cognomen'' Laevus, was a commander of the fleet (''
praefectus classis
The naval forces of the ancient Roman state ( la, Classis, lit=fleet) were instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans remained a pri ...
'') in 46 BC, serving under
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
. He took part in the
blockade of Thapsus. Cispius was not of
senatorial
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the eld ...
rank, and has been tentatively linked to a
pottery manufacturing family in
Arretium. It is possible that he was the son of Marcus Cispius (above), though this filiation would place them on opposite sides in the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. In 43, a Cispius Laevus was a
legate
Legate may refer to:
*Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class
:*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period
*A member of a legation
*A representative, ...
of
Munatius Plancus
Lucius Munatius Plancus ( – ) was a Roman senator, consul in 42 BC, and censor in 22 BC with Paullus Aemilius Lepidus. Along with Talleyrand eighteen centuries later, he is one of the classic historical examples of men who have m ...
, carrying dispatches to Rome for him; this man was most likely Caesar's naval commander.
[Cicero, ''Ad familiares'' 10.18.1–2 and 21.3; ''MRR''2 pp. 351, 544, and ''MRR''3 p. 53; Ronald Syme, review of Broughton, ''Classical Philology'' 50 (1955), p. 135, and "Senators, Tribes and Towns," p. 115.]
See also
*
Cispia (gens)
The gens Cispia was a plebs, plebeian family at Ancient Rome, Rome. Although the gens was supposedly of great antiquity, the Cispii only achieved prominence toward the end of the Roman Republic, Republic.
Origin
The Cispii were probably of Hernic ...
References
Unless otherwise noted, dates, offices and citations of ancient sources are from
T.R.S. Broughton
Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton, FBA (; 17 February 1900 – 17 September 1993) was a Canadian classical scholar and leading Latin prosopographer of the twentieth century. He is especially noted for his definitive three-volume work, '' Magistr ...
, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'' (American Philological Association, 1951, 1986), vol. 1; vol. 2 (1952); vol. 3 (1986); abbreviated ''MRR''.
Ancient Roman prosopographical lists
Ancient Roman families
Cispii
sv:Cispius
{{Set index article, ancient Rome