Gaius Furius Pacilus Fusus 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 lette ...

statesman of the early Republic.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 80 ("Pacilus", Nos. 1, 2). He was a descendant of the ancient

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

house of the

Furii The gens Furia, originally written Fusia, and sometimes found as Fouria on coins, was one of the most ancient and noble patrician houses at Rome. Its members held the highest offices of the state throughout the period of the Roman Republic. The ...

, which filled the highest offices of the Roman state from the early decades of the Republic to the first century AD. He was probably closely related to Quintus Furius Pacilus Fusus, whom

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 ...

mentions as Pontifex Maximus in 449 BC, and was likely the father of Gaius Furius Pacilus,

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 412 BC. Furius is first mentioned in 441 BC, when he was consul with Manius Papirius Crassus; their year of office was uneventful. In 435, Furius was censor alongside Marcus Geganius Macerinus, who had been consul in 447, 443, and 437. The two colleagues approved the construction of the Villa Publica in the

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...

, using the new building to conduct the census; based on a passage in Livy apparently indicating that the "first" census was held in the year of its construction, Mommsen regards the censorship of Furius and Geganius to be the first "authentic" example of that

magistracy A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...

, although multiple sources, including Livy, name Lucius Papirius Mugillanus and Lucius Sempronius Atratinus as the first censors, appointed in 443 BC. Furius was one of four consular tribunes elected in place of consuls in 426. His colleagues were

Titus Quinctius Poenus Cincinnatus Titus Quinctius Poenus (Pennus) Cincinnatus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 431 and 428 BC and a consular tribune in 426 BC. He might have been consular tribune again in 420 BC. Quinctius belonged to the powerful Quinctia gens and was the ...

Marcus Postumius Albinus Regillensis Marcus Postumius Albinus Regillensis was an ancient Roman politician belonging to the patrician Postumia gens. His father and grandfather were both named Aulus, possibly identifying his father or grandfather as Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis, co ...

, and

Aulus Cornelius Cossus __NOTOC__ Aulus Cornelius Cossus was a Roman general from the early Republic. He is most famous for being the second Roman, after Romulus, to be awarded the ''spolia opima,'' Rome's highest military honor, for killing the commander of an enemy arm ...

. Furius was defeated in a battle against

Veii Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...

, leading to the appointment of

Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus was a political figure in the Roman Republic, serving as consular tribune in 438 BC and dictator three times in 437, 434, and 426 BC. Prior to gaining the imperium Aemilius was, in 446 BC, elected Quaestor together wit ...

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 tim ...

to conduct the war. Furius' colleagues Quinctius and Postumius served under the dictator, while Cossus was named magister equitum. The dictator defeated Veii and captured

Fidenae Fidenae ( grc, Φιδῆναι) was an ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the '' Via Salaria'', which ran between Rome and the Tiber. Its inhabitants were known as Fidenates. As the Tiber was the border between Etr ...

, for which he was awarded a

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

.''Chronicon Paschale''.

References

Bibliography

* Diodorus Siculus, '' Bibliotheca Historica'' (''Library of History''). * Titus Livius (

), ''

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 ...

''. * Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus, ''Chronica''. * ''Fasti Hydatiani''. * ''

Chronicon Paschale ''Chronicon Paschale'' (the ''Paschal'' or ''Easter Chronicle''), also called ''Chronicum Alexandrinum'', ''Constantinopolitanum'' or ''Fasti Siculi'', is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world. Its name com ...

'' (''Fasti Siculi''). * ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). *

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th centu ...

, ''Römisches Staatsrecht'' (Roman Constitutional Law), S. Hirzel, Leipzig (1871–1876). * August Pauly,

Georg Wissowa Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau. Education and career Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresla ...

, ''et al.'', '' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'' (''Scientific Encyclopedia of the Knowledge of Classical Antiquities'', abbreviated ''PW''), J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart (1894–1980). *

Attilio Degrassi Attilio Degrassi (Trieste, 21 June 1887 – Rome, 1 June 1969) was an archeologist and pioneering Italian scholar of Latin epigraphy. Degrassi taught at the University of Padova where he trained, among others, the epigraphist Silvio Panciera, c ...

, "Fasti Consulares et Triumphales" ("Consular and Triumphal Fasti"), in ''Inscriptiones Italiae'', vol. XIII, pp. 1 ''ff.'', Rome (1947). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952–1986). 5th-century BC Roman consuls Pacilus Fusus, Gaius {{AncientRome-politician-stub Roman censors