The gens Cassia was a

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 ...

family of great antiquity. The earliest members of this

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

appearing in history may have been patrician, but all those appearing in later times were

plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins o ...

. The first of the Cassii to obtain the

consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politi ...

was

Spurius Cassius Vecellinus Spurius Cassius Vecellinus or Vicellinus (died 485 BC) was one of the most distinguished men of the early Roman Republic. He was three times consul, and celebrated two triumphs. He was the first ''magister equitum'', and the author of the first ...

, in 502 BC. He proposed the first

agrarian law Agrarian laws (from the Latin ''ager'', meaning "land") were laws among the Romans regulating the division of the public lands, or ''ager publicus''. In its broader definition, it can also refer to the agricultural laws relating to peasants and h ...

, for which he was charged with aspiring to make himself king, and put to death by the patrician nobility. The Cassii were amongst the most prominent families of the later

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

, and they frequently held high office, lasting well into imperial times. Among their namesakes are the

Via Cassia The ''Via Cassia'' ("way of Cassius") was an important Roman road striking out of the ''Via Flaminia'' near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii, traversed Etruria. The ''Via Cassia'' passed throug ...

, the road to

Arretium Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and '' comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea lev ...

, and the village of Cassianum Hirpinum, originally an estate belonging to one of this family in the country of the

Hirpini The Hirpini (Latin: ') were an ancient Samnite tribe of Southern Italy. While generally regarded as having been Samnites, sometimes they are treated as a distinct and independent nation. They inhabited the southern portion of Samnium, in the more ...

.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, pp. 621, 622 ("Cassia Gens"). Their most famous member is Gaius Cassius Longinus, an assassin of

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, an ...

alongside

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

Origin

A possible clue to the origin of the Cassii is the ''

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

Viscellinus'' or ''Vecellinus'', borne by the first of this gens to appear in history. It appears to be derived from the town of Viscellium or Vescellium, a settlement of the

, which is mentioned by

Titus Livius Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

in connection with the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

. The town was one of three captured by the

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 vari ...

Marcus Valerius Laevinus after they had revolted in 215 BC. Its inhabitants, the Viscellani, are also mentioned by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ...

. This suggests the possibility that the ancestors of the Cassii were from Hirpinum, or had some other connection with Viscellium. The existence of a substantial estate of the Cassii in Hirpinum at a later time further supports such a connection. Spurius Cassius Vecellinus, thrice consul at the beginning of the Republic, has traditionally been regarded as a patrician, in part because all of the consuls before 366 BC were supposed to have been patricians. The previous year saw the passage of the ''

lex Licinia Sextia The Licino-Sextian rogations were a series of laws proposed by tribunes of the plebs, Gaius Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus, enacted around 367 BC. Livy calls them ''rogatio'' – though he does refer to them at times as ''lex'' ...

'', formally permitting the plebeians to stand for the consulship. However, scholars have long suspected that a number of consuls bearing traditionally plebeian names during the nearly century and a half before this law were in fact plebeians, and that the original intent of the ''lex Licinia Sextia'' was not to open the consulship to the plebeians, but to require the election of a plebeian consul each year, although this was not permanently achieved for a number of years after its passage. Viscellinus may thus have been a plebeian, who made enemies of the patricians through his efforts at agrarian reform, and his proposed treaty with Rome's allies during his last consulship.Cornell, ''The Beginnings of Rome'', pp. 252–256. However, this point cannot be definitely settled. Many patrician families had plebeian branches, and it was common for families to vanish into obscurity for decades or even centuries, before returning to prominence in the Roman state. Patricians could also be expelled from their order, or voluntarily go over to the plebeians; but few examples are known. It may be that the sons of Viscellinus were expelled from the patriciate in lieu of being executed, or that they chose to pass over to the plebeians following their father's betrayal and murder. From the imagery on their coins, it appears that the Cassii had a special devotion to the Aventine Triad of Ceres, Liber, and Libera, for whom Spurius Cassius Vecellinus built a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

on the

Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the sou ...

in 494.

Libertas Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the Late Republic, featured on coins supporting the populares faction, and later those of the assassins of Ju ...

, a goddess associated with Liber and Libera, also features regularly on their coins. She was later the emblem of the ''

Liberatores Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator, was assassinated by a group of senators on the Ides of March (15 March) of 44 BC during a meeting of the Senate at the Curia of Pompey of the Theatre of Pompey in Rome where the senators stabbed Caesar 23 ...

'' during 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 policie ...

led by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Brutus against

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

and

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

Praenomina

The principal names of the Cassii during the Republic were '' Lucius'', ''

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist * Gaius Acilius * Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida * Gaius Asinius Gallus * Gaius Asiniu ...

'', and '' Quintus''. The

praenomen The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bir ...

'' Spurius'' is known only from Spurius Cassius Vecellinus, at the very beginning of the Republic, while '' Marcus'' appears in the first century BC.

Branches and cognomina

The chief family of the Cassii in the time of the Republic bears the name of ''Longinus''. The other ''cognomina'' during this time are ''Parmensis'', ''Sabaco'', ''Varus'', and ''Viscellinus''. One of the earliest Roman historians was

Lucius Cassius Hemina Lucius Cassius Hemina (2nd centuryBC) was a Roman historian. Life Little is known of his life. He apparently composed his annals in the period between the death of Terence and the revolution of the Gracchi. Work L. Cassius Hemina is principall ...

, whose cognomen—unique in Roman history—comes from a unit of measure of about half a pint, or a quarter litre, perhaps an allusion to his short stature. A number of other surnames are found from the final century of the Republic onwards. The famous censor Lucius Cassius Longinus also used the

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between simila ...

''Ravilla''. A single ''Caecianus'' is known; his cognomen shows that he or an ancestor was adopted from the gens Caecia. He might have been related to the Longini as he pictured Ceres on the coins he minted.

Members

Early Cassii

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

in 502, 493, and 486 BC, and the first

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be no ...

in 501; put to death by the patricians after proposing the first

during his third consulship. * Cassii Viscellini, three sons of the consul Viscellinus, whose ''praenomina'' are unknown, were spared by the

senate 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 e ...

after the murder of their father. They or their descendants may have been expelled by the patricians from their order, or have voluntarily passed over to the plebeians.

Cassii Longini

* Quintus Cassius (Longinus?),

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone t ...

in 252 BC, during the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

. He was deprived of his command following a severe defeat, after engaging the enemy against the orders of the consul, Gaius Aurelius Cotta. * Lucius Cassius Q. f. Longinus, father of Quintus, consul in 164 BC, and possibly son of Quintus, the military tribune. * Gaius Cassius Longinus, grandfather of Gaius Cassius Longinus, the consul of 171 BC. * Gaius Cassius C. f. Longinus, the father of Gaius Cassius Longinus. * Gaius Cassius C. f. C. n. Longinus, consul in 171 and censor in 154 BC. * Quintus Cassius L. f. Q. n. Longinus, praetor in 167 BC, and consul in 164, died during his consulship. * Lucius Cassius C. f. C. n. Longinus Ravilla, the elder son of the consul of 171, as tribune of the plebs in 137, he passed the third '' Lex Tabellaria''. He was then consul in 127, and censor in 125 BC. In 113 he was elected special prosecutor to investigate an incest scandal among the

Vestal Virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...

s; he sentenced to death two of them that had been acquitted the previous year. * Gaius Cassius C. f. C. n. Longinus, consul in 124 BC; the younger son of the consul of 171. * Lucius Cassius Q. f. L. n. Longinus, son of the consul of 164 BC.

* Gaius Cassius C. f. C. n. Longinus, son of the consul of 124 BC, in 126. * Lucius Cassius L. f. C. n. Longinus, praetor in 111 BC, consul in 107, slain by the Tigurini at the Battle of Burdigala. He was probably the first son of Ravilla. * Gaius Cassius L. f. (C. n.) Longinus, praetor in 99 BC, consul in 96. He was probably the second son of Ravilla. * Lucius Cassius L. f. L. n. Longinus, tribune of the plebs in 104 BC. * Quintus Cassius L. f. L. n. Longinus, younger brother of the tribune of 104 BC. * Lucius Cassius (L. f. L. n. Longinus), as tribune of the plebs in 89 BC, roused a mob of creditors to lynch the praetor

Aulus Sempronius Asellio Aulus (abbreviated A.) is one of the small group of common forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome. The name was traditionally connected with Latin ''aula'', ''olla'', "palace", but this is most likely a false etymology. ''Aulus'' in fact p ...

. Sumner makes him one of the Longini, and the first son of Lucius, the consul of 107. * Gaius Cassius L. f. L. n. Longinus, in 84 BC, consul in 73. He was the second son of the consul of 107. * Quintus Cassius L. f. L. n. Longinus, third son of the consul of 107. * Lucius Cassius Q. f. (L. n.) Longinus, in 78 BC, military tribune in 69, and praetor in 66. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the consulship in 63, and afterward one of

Catiline Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the ...

's conspirators. * Gaius Cassius C. f. L. n. Longinus, the tyrannicide, quaestor in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

under

Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome."Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...

, he survived the disaster of Carrhae. He was then tribune of the plebs in 49, and praetor ''peregrinus'' in 44. He was the elder son of the consul of 73. * Lucius Cassius C. f. L. n. Longinus, ''triumvir monetalis'' in 63 BC, proconsul in 48, ''tribunus plebis'' in 44. He was brother of the tyrannicide. * Quintus Cassius Q. f. L. n. Longinus, ''triumvir monetalis'' in 55 BC, quaestor in 52, tribune of the plebs in 49, and propraetor of

Hispania Ulterior Hispania Ulterior (English: "Further Hispania", or occasionally "Thither Hispania") was a region of Hispania during the Roman Republic, roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania (m ...

in 48 during the

. * Gaius Cassius C. f. C. n. Longinus, son of the tyrannicide, received the ''toga virilis'' just before the murder of

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, an ...

. * Lucius Cassius L. f. C. n. Longinus, left by his uncle, Gaius, as governor of

in 43 BC, fell at the

Battle of Philippi The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian (of the Second Triumvirate) and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, at Ph ...

. * Quintus Cassius (Longinus?), legate of Quintus Cassius Longinus in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: His ...

in 48 BC. He was praetor in 44, and

Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the auto ...

sent him to Hispania again at the end of 44. * Lucius Cassius L. f. L. n. Longinus, consul in AD 11, was probably the father of Lucius and Gaius Cassius Longinus, consuls in AD 30. * Lucius Cassius (L. f. L. n.) Longinus, consul in AD 30, married Drusilla, the sister of Caligula.'' Fasti Ostienses'', . * Gaius Cassius (L. f. L. n.) Longinus, a jurist, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 30; banished by

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...

, but afterward recalled by

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...

Others

, a historian of the second century BC. * Gaius Cassius, military tribune in 168 BC, entrusted by the praetor

Lucius Anicius Gallus Lucius Anicius Gallus (fl. 2nd century BC) was a Roman senator and military commander. He led the conquest of Illyria during the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC). Biography Lucius Anicius Gallus was elected praetor in 168 BC, replacing the p ...

with the custody of the Illyrian king

Gentius Gentius ( grc, Γένθιος, "Génthios"; 181168 BC) was an Illyrian king who belonged to the Labeatan dynasty. He ruled in 181–168 BC, being the last attested Illyrian king. He was the son of Pleuratus III, a king who kept positive relat ...

. * Lucius Cassius Caecianus, in 102 BC. * Gaius Cassius, praetor about 90 BC. * Lucius Cassius, proconsul in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

in 90 BC, captured the following year by Mithradates. * Marcus Cassius M. f., a senator in 73 BC and possibly a praetor in an uncertain year before. * Marcus Cassius Scaeva, a

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

's army at the Battle of Dyrrhachium, and later one of Caesar's partisans. * Cassius Dionysius, a native of Utica, and an agricultural writer, who translated the work of the Carthaginian Mago. * Cassius Barba, a friend of Caesar, who gave

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 esta ...

guards for his villa, when Caesar paid him a visit in 44 BC. * Cassius Etruscus, an author ridiculed by

Quintus Horatius Flaccus Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

, sometimes confused with Cassius Parmensis. * Cassius Parmensis, ''tribunus militum'' in the army of

and Cassius, put to death by Octavianus. * Cassius Betillinus, apparently an error for Betilienus Bassus. * Cassius Severus, a celebrated orator and satirical writer, in the time of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

and

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

. * Gaius Cassius Chaerea, tribune of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort for ...

under Caligula, against whom he conspired and whom he helped to assassinate, with the intent of restoring the Republic. * Quintus Cassius Gratus, governor of

Crete and Cyrenaica Crete and Cyrenaica ( la, Provincia Creta et Cyrenaica, Ancient Greek ) was a senatorial province of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, established in 67 BC. It comprised the island of Crete and the region of Cyrenaica in present-day ...

during the reign of

. * Cassius Asclepiodotus, a wealthy man of Bithynia, exiled by

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

, but subsequently restored by Galba. * Cassius Felix, also called Cassius Iatrosophista, author of a medical treatise, ''Quaestiones Medicae et Problemata Naturalia''. * Publius Cassius Dexter, ''quaestor'' in 138. *

Avidius Cassius Gaius Avidius Cassius ( 130 – July 175 AD) was a Syrian Roman general and usurper. He was born in Cyrrhus, and was the son of Gaius Avidius Heliodorus, who served as '' praefectus'' or governor of Roman Egypt, and Julia Cassia Alexandra, w ...

, a successful general under

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

, against whom he subsequently rebelled. * Cassius Apronianus, governor of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stret ...

and

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian language, Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from th ...

, father of the historian Cassius Dio.

* Cassius Clemens, brought to trial ''circa'' AD 195, for having espoused the side of Pescennius Niger, defended himself with such dignity that

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succ ...

granted him his life and allowed him to retain half his property. * Lucius Cassius Dio, or ''Dion Cassius'', a senator, was consul ''circa'' AD 205, and again in 229, as the colleague of the emperor Severus Alexander. He was the author of a monumental history of Rome.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, pp. 1028–1032 ("Dion Cassius Cocceianus"). *

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, consul in AD 291, perhaps the grandson of the historian.''PLRE'', vol. I, p. 253.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

Marcus Tullius 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 esta ...

, ''

Epistulae ad Atticum ''Epistulae ad Atticum'' (Latin for "Letters to Atticus") is a collection of letters from Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero to his close friend Titus Pomponius Atticus. The letters in this collection, together with Cicero's oth ...

'', ''

In Catilinam The Catilinarian Orations (; also simply the ''Catilinarians'') are a set of speeches to the Roman Senate given in 63 BC by Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of the year's consuls, accusing a senator, Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline), of leading a ...

'', ''

Philippicae The ''Philippics'' ( la, Philippicae, singular Philippica) are a series of 14 speeches composed by Cicero in 44 and 43 BC, condemning Mark Antony. Cicero likened these speeches to those of Demosthenes against Philip II of Macedon; both Demo ...

'', ''Pro Plancio'', ''Pro Sulla''. * Gaius Sallustius Crispus (

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...

), ''Bellum Catilinae'' (The Conspiracy of Catiline). *

Aulus Hirtius Aulus Hirtius (; – 43 BC) was consul of the Roman Republic in 43 BC and a writer on military subjects. He was killed during his consulship in battle against Mark Antony at the Battle of Mutina. Biography He was a legate of Julius Caesar's st ...

, ''

De Bello Alexandrino ''De Bello Alexandrino'' (also ''Bellum Alexandrinum''; ''On the Alexandrine War'') is a Latin work continuing Julius Caesar's commentaries, ''De Bello Gallico'' and ''De Bello Civili''. It details Caesar's campaigns in Alexandria and Asia. Au ...

'' (On the Alexandrine War). *

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary styl ...

, ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities). * Titus Livius (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

), ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

''. *

Marcus Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the pe ...

, ''Compendium of Roman History''. * Quintus Asconius Pedianus, ''Commentarius in Oratio Ciceronis In Toga Candida'' (Commentary on Cicero's Oration ''In Toga Candida''). * Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for h ...

), '' Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans''. * Appianus Alexandrinus (Appian), ''Bellum Civile'' (The Civil War). * Cassius Dio, ''Roman History''. * Cassiodorus, Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator, ''Chronica''. * Joannes Zonaras, ''Epitome Historiarum'' (Epitome of History). * * * * . Collection of Greek Inscriptions, abbreviated ''SIG''. * * . Abbreviated ''PLRE''. * . * * * * {{Refend Cassii, Roman gentes