Gaius Furnius was

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

of the plebs in 50 BC, and a friend and correspondent of

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 ...

. Cicero relied on the efforts of Furnius, while tribune, to obtain for him his recall at the end of his first year as proconsul of

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

, and, after his return, a ''

supplicatio In ancient Roman religion, a ''supplicatio'' is a day of public prayer when the men, women, and children of Rome traveled in procession to religious sites around the city praying for divine aid in times of crisis. A ''supplicatio'' can also be a ...

'' ("thanksgiving"). A clause, however, which Furnius inserted in his plebiscite, making the recall dependent on the

Parthians Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

remaining quiet until the month of August, 50 BC, was unsatisfactory to Cicero, since July was the usual season of their greatest activity. Furnius, as tribune, was opposed to the demands of the oligarchical party, that

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, ...

should immediately and unconditionally resign his proconsulship of

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 ...

. After the civil war broke out, he was sent by Caesar with letters to Cicero during March 49 BC. Cicero recommended Furnius to

Lucius 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 ...

, proconsul in

Transalpine Gaul Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

for 43 BC, and he was legate to Plancus during the first war between Antony and Octavian, and until after 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 ...

, in 42 BC. During the Post-Caesarean Civil War of 44-42 BC, Furnius informed Cicero of the movements and sentiments of the Roman legions and commanders in Gaul and Spain, but his letters have not been preserved. In the

Perusine War The Perusine War (also Perusian or Perusinian War, or the War of Perusia) was a civil war of the Roman Republic, which lasted from 41 to 40 BC. It was fought by Lucius Antonius and Fulvia to support Mark Antony against his political enemy Octav ...

, 41-40 BC, Furnius took part with Lucius Antonius. He defended

Sentinum Sentinum was an ancient town located in the Marche region of Italy. It was situated at low elevation about a kilometre south of the present-day town of Sassoferrato. The ruins of Sentinum were partially excavated in 1890 and the results of the arc ...

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

against Augustus, and shared the sufferings of the ''Perusina Fames'' ("Perusine famine"). Furnius was one of three officers commissioned by Lucius Antonius to negotiate the surrender of

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 his reception by Augustus was such as to awaken in the Antonian party suspicions of his fidelity. In 35 BC he was prefect of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, under Mark Antony, where he took prisoner

Sextus Pompeius Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the las ...

, who had fled there after his defeat by

Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Agri ...

Naulochus Naulochus, Naulochos, Naulochoi, or Naulocha ( it, Nauloco; Greek: in Silius Italicus, in Suetonius, in Appian, meaning ''safe ship-sheltering'Inductive scrutinies: Focus on Joyce'' by Fritz Senn and Christine O'Neill, p. 115, ), was an a ...

(36 BC). After the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ...

, 31 BC, Furnius, through the mediation of his son

Gaius Furnius Gaius Furnius was a Roman senator during the reign of Augustus, and consul in 17 BC with Gaius Junius Silanus as his colleague. He was the son of Gaius Furnius, who had been a staunch adherent of Marcus Antonius until 31 BC. The younger Furn ...

, was reconciled to Augustus and received from him the rank of a consular senator, and was afterwards appointed one of the suffect consuls in 29 BC. This is the first time the name of Furnius appears on the

consular Fasti In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simi ...

. He was prefect of Hispania Tarraconensis in 21 BC.Dio Cassius, liv.5; Flor. iv. 12 Furnius is probably mentioned by

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, ''De Oratoribus'' 21, among the speakers whose meagre and obsolete diction rendered their works impossible to read without an inclination to sleep or smile.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Furnius, Gaius 1st-century BC Romans

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 Asinius P ...

Roman governors of Asia Roman governors of Hispania Tarraconensis Senators of the Roman Republic Tribunes of the plebs