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Gnaeus Octavius (died 87 BC) was a
Roman senator The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
who was elected
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 ...
of the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
in 87 BC alongside
Lucius Cornelius Cinna Lucius Cornelius Cinna (died 84 BC) was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelia gens. Cinna's influence in Rome exacerb ...
. He died during the chaos that accompanied the capture of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
by Cinna and
Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...
.


Early career

Gnaeus Octavius was a member of the
Plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...
gens Octavia. His father, also called Gnaeus Octavius, was Consul in 128 BC, while his uncle,
Marcus Octavius Marcus Octavius (Latin: , lived during the 2nd century BC) was a Roman tribune in 133 BC and a major rival of Tiberius Gracchus. He was a son of Gnaeus Octavius, the consul in 165 BC, and a brother to another Gnaeus Octavius, the consul in 128 ...
, was a key figure in opposition to the reforms of
Tiberius Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus ( 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the Roma ...
in 133 BC. He was a third cousin to Gaius Octavius, father of the future
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
. Although he had failed to be elected
aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...
, in around 90 BC, Octavius was elected
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 ...
, and in the following year (89 BC) was given a
propraetor In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...
ial command in one of the eastern
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
. In 88 BC he was back in Rome where he was elected to be consul for the upcoming year (87 BC). While consul designate, he was made to swear an oath alongside his colleague, the popularist senator
Lucius Cornelius Cinna Lucius Cornelius Cinna (died 84 BC) was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelia gens. Cinna's influence in Rome exacerb ...
, that he would uphold the changes instituted by the current consul,
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 ...
, and not strip Sulla of his lawful command of the
First Mithridatic War The First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC) was a war challenging the Roman Republic's expanding empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Roman rule were led by Mithridates ...
. A scrupulously religious man, Octavius kept his oath. Octavius was not a natural supporter of Sulla; he disliked both Sulla's march on
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, as well as Sulla's personal vendetta against
Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...
which resulted in Marius’ exile. However, he was a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
member of the Senate, and was distrustful of Cinna's popularist programme. These political differences saw the two consuls almost immediately begin quarrelling in 87 BC over policy, in which Cinna wanted to enrol the new citizens (Italian allies) across all of the
Roman tribes A ''tribus'', or tribe, was a division of the Roman people, constituting the voting units of a legislative assembly of the Roman Republic.''Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities'', "Tribus."''Oxford Classical Dictionary'', "T ...
. He also proposed the recall of Marius and all his supporters. These proposals were strenuously opposed by Octavius, eloquently and energetically speaking against them in the Senate.


Conflict with Cinna

Things came to a head when the
Plebeian tribunes 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 of ...
who supported Octavius vetoed the law in the
Tribal Assembly The Tribal Assembly (''comitia populi tributa'') was an assembly consisting of all Roman citizens convened by tribes (''tribus''). In the Roman Republic, citizens did not elect legislative representatives. Instead, they voted themselves on legisl ...
. Cinna and his supporters began using violence to intimidate the tribunes to withdraw their veto, leading to a full-scale riot in the
Roman Forum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
. Octavius quickly gathered an armed group of supporters and attacked Cinna, who was forced to flee the city. During the fight, Octavius’ men openly murdered a large number of newly enfranchised citizens, with Octavius using his authority as consul to justify the murders. Octavius then illegally stripped Cinna of his consulship and his citizenship, and had elected in his stead Lucius Cornelius Merula. Hearing that Cinna had gained the support of the army of Appius Claudius at
Nola Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian wor ...
, Octavius and the Senate began preparing Rome to withstand a siege, whilst sending out appeals to the various
promagistrate In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex- praetor whose '' imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. T ...
s to come to the assistance of the Senate.
Pompeius Strabo Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo (c. 135 – 87 BC) was a Roman general and politician, who served as consul in 89 BC. He is often referred to in English as Pompey Strabo, to distinguish him from his son, the famous Pompey the Great, or from Strabo the g ...
was initially unwilling to cooperate with Octavius, but eventually moved his troops to the vicinity of Rome, just outside the Colline Gate. When Cinna and Marius began their siege of Rome. Strabo, who was playing a double game with both Octavius and Cinna, attempted to convince Octavius to enter into negotiations with Cinna. An attack by the Marian forces took the
Janiculum The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among t ...
, but they were repulsed by Octavius and Strabo, with Octavius suffering serious losses. These losses and the sudden death of Strabo soon after saw Octavius' army become increasingly demoralized. He lost 6,000 troops in the battle, while Strabo had lost some 11,000, both through the fighting and a plague that was running through his army. Due to the fear of famine in Rome, Octavius joined his men to Strabo's units, positioned outside the gates, after which he fled from Rome. Meeting up with
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (c. 128 – 63 BC) was a Roman politician and general. Like the other members of the influential Caecilii Metelli family, he was a leader of the Optimates, the conservative faction opposed to the Populares during ...
and Publius Licinius Crassus (who had eventually obeyed Octavius' plea to return to Rome) at the
Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcano, volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, bu ...
, he was frustrated when they began to negotiate with Cinna, even going so far as recognizing Cinna as consul. Fearful of this turn of events, and of news that the Senate was also contemplating coming to terms with Cinna, he fell out with Metellus Pius, who had initially refused his soldiers' demands that he take command from Octavius. The army's apparent disloyalty finally convinced Octavius to return to Rome.


Death and reputation

Although he tried to continue the resistance against Cinna, Octavius was unable to prevent the Senate from coming to terms with Cinna who entered Rome as consul. Although Cinna gave a vague promise that no harm would come to Octavius, Octavius was persuaded by a group of colleagues to abandon the forum and set himself up on the Janiculum as consul in protest against the recognition of Cinna, accompanied by a small number of nobles and a tiny remnant of his military forces. He refused to escape when Gaius Marcius Censorinus and a small cavalry force stormed the Janiculum, capturing him. Octavius was then beheaded by Censorinus who took his head to Cinna, before nailing it to 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 ...
. Octavius was said to have held to strict principles in his politics and was known for his honesty.
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, who discusses him in his lives of Marius and
Lucius Cornelius 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 ha ...
, describes Gnaeus Octavius' character as "reputable". Unfortunately, he was also slow in action, which contributed to his ultimate failure against Cinna.Smith, pg. 8 He had at least one son,
Lucius Octavius Lucius Octavius (c. 11674 BC) was a Roman politician who was elected consul in 75 BC. Biography A member of the plebeian gens Octavia, and the son of Gnaeus Octavius (consul 87 BC), Lucius Octavius was elected praetor by 78 BC at the latest. He ...
, who became consul in 75 BC.


See also

*
Octavia gens The gens Octavia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which was raised to patrician status by Caesar during the first century BC. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Gnaeus Octavius Rufus, quaestor ''circa'' 230 BC. Over the ...


Footnotes


References

* Lovano, Michael, ''The Age of Cinna: Crucible of Late Republican Rome'' (2002) * Keaveney, Arthur, ''Sulla: The Last Republican'' (1982) * Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol II (1951) * Smith, William, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Vol III (1867). {{DEFAULTSORT:Octavius, Gnaeus (consul 667 AUC) 2nd-century BC births 87 BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Gnaeus (consul 667 AUC) Roman consuls who died in office Year of birth uncertain Optimates