Gaius Memmius (c. 140s BC – December 100 BC) was a Roman politician. He was murdered by
Gaius Servilius Glaucia during the disturbances that rocked Rome during the violent uprising and suppression of
Lucius Appuleius Saturninus.
Career
Gaius Memmius was elected
tribune of the plebs
Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...
in 111 BC, and was instrumental in relaunching the
Jugurthine War
The Jugurthine War ( la, Bellum Iugurthinum; 112–106 BC) was an armed conflict between the Roman Republic and king Jugurtha of Numidia, a kingdom on the north African coast approximating to modern Algeria. Jugurtha was the nephew and adopte ...
after
Jugurtha
Jugurtha or Jugurthen ( Libyco-Berber ''Yugurten'' or '' Yugarten'', c. 160 – 104 BC) was a king of Numidia. When the Numidian king Micipsa, who had adopted Jugurtha, died in 118 BC, Jugurtha and his two adoptive brothers, Hiempsal and A ...
’s surrender in 111 BC. During his tribunate, he accused the
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 ...
Lucius Calpurnius Bestia, the senator
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and other aristocrats of accepting bribes from King Jugurtha. He summoned Jugurtha to appear in Rome, and promised him safe conduct in order that he may be questioned, but when Jugurtha arrived, Memmius was prevented from questioning the king by his colleague Gaius Baebius, whom Jugurtha bribed to impose his veto.
Memmius served as
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 ...
sometime between in 107 and 102 BC, and this was followed by the
proconsul
A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority.
In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...
ar
governorship
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
Macedonia. Then, Marcus Aemilius Scaurus prosecuted Memmius with the charge of extortion. Memmius was found not guilty of all charges.
In 100 BC, Memmius was a candidate for 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 politic ...
of the following year (99 BC), but was slain in a riot on the election day, stirred up by his rival 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 ...
Gaius Servilius Glaucia. It has been speculated that, primarily due to
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 ...
describing him as ''consul designatus'', Memmius was actually elected Consul in the disrupted elections of 99 BC, and was killed after his successful candidature was announced in the
Roman Forum.
Character
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 ...
refers to Memmius as "a man fiercely hostile to the power of the nobles" and states that he gave speeches whipping up the ''
plebs'', urging them not to accept the behaviour of the nobles. Sallust describes him as an orator, but
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 ...
had a poor opinion of him.
[''De oratore'', ii. 59, 70.]
References
Sources
*
Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol I (1952)
*
Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol III (1986)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Memmius, Gaius
140s BC births
100 BC deaths
2nd-century BC Roman praetors
Assassinated Roman politicians
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 consuls designate
Roman governors of Macedonia
Tribunes of the plebs
Year of birth unknown