Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus (or Rullus), son of Marcus Fabius Ambustus, of the patrician Fabii of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

, was five times

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 throug ...

and a hero of the

Samnite Wars The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...

. He was brother to

Marcus Fabius Ambustus (magister equitum 322 BC) Marcus Fabius Ambustus was Magister Equitum of the Roman Republic in 322 BC. The identification of him as the son of the consul M. Fabius Ambustus depends on a reference in Livy to the active military service of a cavalry officer serving under the ...

. His first appearance in surviving records is as

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 nomi ...

in 325 BC, when he won a daring victory against the

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they for ...

at Imbrinium. However, he had acted without the authority of the

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

Lucius Papirius Cursor Lucius Papirius Cursor (c.365–after 310 BC) was a celebrated politician and general of the early Roman Republic, who was five times consul, three times magister equitum, and twice dictator. He was the most important Roman commander during the S ...

, who was angry and demanded that 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 el ...

punish Fabius for disobeying orders.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, 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 traditiona ...

(8.31-36) describes a tense scene where Papirius stood nearly alone against the Senate and people, who supported Fabius because of his victory, but who also did not wish to undercut the absolute authority they had given Papirius; finally Fabius threw himself at the feet of the dictator and asked forgiveness, which was granted. Fabius became consul for the first time in 322 BC, although little is said of his time in office. He appears next as a dictator himself in 315 BC, successfully besieging

Saticula Saticula was a Caudini city near the frontier of Campania in southern Italy. In 343 BC, during the First Samnite War, the Roman consul Cornelius attacked it during the campaign against the Samnites in the Battle of Saticula. Its archaeological ...

and then, less successfully, fighting at Lautulae ( Diodorus mentions another dictatorship in 313 BC, but this is probably mistaken). As consul in 310 BC, Fabius fought the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...

at Sutrium, then followed them when they fled into the Ciminian Forest and defeated them again. Consul again in 308 BC, he defeated

Perusia The ancient Perusia, now Perugia, first appears in history as one of the 12 confederate cities of Etruria. It is first mentioned in the account of the war of 310 or 309 BC between the Etruscans and the Romans. It took, however, an important par ...

and

Nuceria Alfaterna Nocera Superiore ( nap, Nucèrë or ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It was the core of the ancient city of ', later known as ', ' and then ' ( it, Nocera dei Pagani), which al ...

. He then served as censor beginning in 304 BC. Fabius was consul for the fourth time in 297 BC, defeating the Samnites at

Tifernum The Battle of Tifernum (297 BC) was an important battle of the Third Samnite War, fought in 297 BC near Città di Castello (next to Perugia, in what is now central Italy), in which the Roman Republic, Romans overcame a determined Samnite army. T ...

by sending part of his line around the hills behind the enemy, and in 295 BC he was elected unanimously for a fifth term, where he won lasting fame for defeating a coalition of Etruscans, Samnites, and

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

s in the epic battle of Sentinum. Rullianus' son was Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges, and his grandson or great-grandson the Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, surnamed "Cunctator", of 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 ...

. Although Rullianus' fame is undoubted, the main source of his life is Livy, who in turn worked from annals by

Fabius Pictor Quintus Fabius Pictor (born BC, BC) was the earliest known Roman historian. His history, written in Greek and now mostly lost besides some surviving fragments, was highly influential on ancient writers and certainly participated in introducing Gree ...

and others, and many of the details are suspiciously similar to stories of the Cunctator. The agnomen (actually more likely an extra cognomen) "Rullus" appears to mean "uncultivated, boorish" or "beggar".http://www.unrv.com/culture/surnames-of-the-servilii.php

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabius Maximus Rullianus, Quintus 4th-century BC Roman consuls 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman dictators Ancient Roman generals Roman censors Magistri equitum (Roman Republic)

Quintus Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...

4th-century BC births 3rd-century BC deaths

See also

References