Gaius Papirius Carbo Arvina (c. 124 – 82 BC) was a Roman orator and politician. He was an opponent of the reforms championed by the tribune Marcus Livius Drusus and the orator

Lucius Licinius Crassus Lucius Licinius Crassus (140–91 BC) was a Roman orator and statesman. He was considered the greatest orator of his day, most notably by his pupil Cicero. Crassus is also famous as one of the main characters in Cicero's work '' De Oratore'', a d ...

, and held the plebeian tribunate the year following Drusus's murder. He held senior state positions in the interlude between the civil wars of 87 and 83 BC, when his cousin, Gnaeus Carbo, dominated the government. Nevertheless, during the war in 82 his loyalty was seen as suspect, causing Arvina to be murdered by government agents during a meeting of 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 ...

Life

Gaius Papirius Carbo Arvina belonged to a large generation of Roman orators whose members were all born around 124 BC and flourished during the youth 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 estab ...

. He came from a family (the Papirii Carbones) which was prominent in Roman politics and the

during the late 2nd century and early 1st century BC. His father, Gaius Papirius Carbo,

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 ...

in 120 BC, had been an ally of the

Gracchi brothers The Gracchi brothers were two Roman brothers, sons of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus who was consul in 177 BC. Tiberius, the elder brother, was tribune of the plebs in 133 BC and Gaius, the younger brother, was tribune a decade later i ...

, deserting their cause after their deaths, only to commit suicide in 119 BC after being prosecuted by the young and rising orator

. Arvina grew up with bitter resentment for Crassus and was said to have conceived a lifelong enmity towards him. In 94 BC, Arvina followed Crassus to

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 ...

, of which the latter had been appointed governor, with the secret intention of gathering evidence with which he might prosecute Crassus for maladministration. Not only did Carbo find nothing incriminating within the governor's impeccable administration, but Crassus found out about Carbo's intentions and decided, to the surprise of later commentators, to incorporate him into his close circle of advisors. As a result, "the keen and bitter Carbo got nothing from his trip to Gaul, except the realization that his father had been guilty and had been sent into exile by a man of complete integrity". In 91 BC, Carbo Arvina was an opponent of the abortive political reforms promoted Crassus and his pupil, the tribune Marcus Livius Drusus. The following year he was a

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 Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

, and was very frequently seen giving speeches in the

Rostra The rostra ( it, Rostri, links=no) was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the comitium towards the senate house and deli ...

(denouncing Drusus, who had been murdered the previous year, in one of them). He is known for the law () carried by him and Marcus Plautius Silvanus while tribunes of the people in 90 (or 89), whereby the Roman franchise was offered to every Italian ally domiciled in Italy at the time when the law was enacted, provided he made application personally within sixty days to 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 vario ...

at Rome. The object of the law was to conciliate the states at war with Rome and to secure the loyalty of the federate states. During the interlude between the civil wars of 87 and 82 BC, Arvina made some rare appearances in the courts as an advocate; Cicero describes him as one of the few orators of note still active at the time. He cooperated carefully with the government at the time, which was dominated by Cornelius Cinna and Arvina's cousin, Gnaeus Carbo, and held the office of

in one of those years. In 82 BC, during the government's

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 policies ...

against the renegade general

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

, the faction in power became suspicious of Arvina's loyalty, notwithstanding his relation to the consul Gnaeus Carbo, and arranged for him and other unreliable senators to be murdered during a senate meeting in the

Curia Hostilia The Curia Hostilia was one of the original senate houses or "curiae" of the Roman Republic. It was believed to have begun as a temple where the warring tribes laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus (r. c. 771–717 BC). During the early ...

. According to

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...

, he was slain while still seated. His head was torn off, affixed to a cross, and set up on public display, whereas his corpse was thrown into the

Tiber river The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

, who heard the tribunes of 90 BC speak in the popular assemblies, identified Arvina as a second class orator, and described his style of rhetoric as follows: "his language was tolerably nervous, he spoke with ease, and there was an air of authority in his address that was perfectly natural". Cicero also considered him the only member of the Papirius Carbo family who was a good citizen. Arvina may be the father of Gaius Papirius Carbo, a senator condemned for extortion while as governor of

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Papirius Carbo, Gaius, Arvina 120s BC births 82 BC deaths 1st-century BC Romans Assassinated Roman politicians Carbo, Gaius, Arvina Roman Republican praetors Tribunes of the plebs Year of birth unknown