Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus was a Roman

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

senator 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 e ...

and

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 th ...

(both in 53 BC and 40 BC) who was a loyal partisan of

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, an ...

and Octavianus.

Biography

Domitius Calvinus came from a noble family and was elected consul for 53 BC, despite a notorious electoral

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

. He was on Caesar's side during the

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 polic ...

with

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

. During the campaign in Greece, Caesar sent Domitius with two legions to intercept Metellus Scipio who was bringing the Syrian legions to Pompey. At the decisive

Battle of Pharsalus The Battle of Pharsalus was the decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War fought on 9 August 48 BC near Pharsalus in central Greece. Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the Roman Republic under the command of Pompey ...

he commanded the centre of Caesar's

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. After the battle he became

governor 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 ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

. He tried to oppose the invasion of

Pharnaces Pharnaces ( el, Φαρνάκης, link=no) may refer to: * Pharnaces ( fl. 550 BCE – 497 BCE), founder of the Pharnacid dynasty of satraps of Hellespontine Phrygia * Pharnaces II of Phrygia (fl. 430 BCE – 413 BCE), satrap of Hellespontine Phryg ...

, the king of

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

, who had taken the occasion of the Roman civil war to invade the province of Pontus; however, he suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Nicopolis in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

(December of 48 BC). Direct intervention by Caesar brought a quick end to the conflict, and Pharnaces' army was annihilated at Zela in 47 BC. Despite this failure, he remained a trusted friend of Caesar. Domitius Calvinus's activities immediately after the death of Caesar are unknown, but in 43 BC he was a strong supporter of Octavianus and participated in the civil war against

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Ser ...

and Cassius. During the

Philippi Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian col ...

campaign in 42 BC, he had to bring reinforcements from

Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

for

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the ...

and Octavianus' army, however, his fleet was destroyed by the enemy in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...

with the loss of two legions. Despite this defeat, he was awarded the honour of a second consulship in 40 BC and was sent by Octavianus as governor to

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: His ...

, where he remained for three years (39 BC-36 BC). His military activities in Spain were successful since he was saluted as ''

imperator The Latin word ''imperator'' derives from the stem of the verb la, imperare, label=none, meaning 'to order, to command'. It was originally employed as a title roughly equivalent to ''commander'' under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part o ...

'' by his troops and on his return, he was awarded a triumph. He also rebuilt the ''

Regia The Regia ("Royal house") was a two-part structure in Ancient Rome lying along the Via Sacra at the edge of the Roman Forum that originally served as the residence or one of the main headquarters of kings of Rome and later as the office of t ...

'' in the Roman Forum. Although we do not have many facts concerning his further

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...

activities, an inscription shows that in 20 BC he was still alive and a member of the important ''

Arval Brethren In ancient Roman religion, the Arval Brethren ( la, Fratres Arvales, "Brothers of the Fields") or Arval Brothers were a body of priests who offered annual sacrifices to the Lares and gods to guarantee good harvests. Inscriptions provide ev ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

hood, reserved only for members of the nascent Imperial family and to the emperor's most distinguished supporters. Although Domitius Calvinus' career does not show any particular ability, either in politics (he obtained his first consulship only after scandalous

bribery Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Co ...

) or in war (he suffered two major defeats), he maintained an important political role. This was most probably because he was one of the very few Roman nobles to support the Caesar/Octavianus party from the very beginning.

Family

Calvinus had a daughter named Domitia Calvina who married Lucius Calpurnius Bibulus.

References

Citations

Sources

* Matthias Gelzer. ''Caesar: Politician and Statesman.'' Harvard University Press, 1997. *

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Rom ...

. '' The Roman Revolution.'' Oxford University Press, 1939. {{DEFAULTSORT:Domitius Calvinus, Gnaeus 1st-century BC Roman consuls Calvinus, Gnaeus Ancient Roman generals Roman governors of Asia Populares

Biography

Family

See also

References

Citations

Sources