Gaius Sempronius Atratinus was a

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 Ki ...

in 423 BC. Sempronius belonged to the

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

Sempronia gens The gens Sempronia was one of the most ancient and noble houses of ancient Rome. Although the oldest branch of this gens was patrician, with Aulus Sempronius Atratinus obtaining the consulship in 497 BC, the thirteenth year of the Republic, but ...

and the branch known as the Sempronii Atratini, one of the republic's oldest consular families, having reached the consulship in

497 BC __NOTOC__ Year 497 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Atratinus and Augurinus (or, less frequently, year 257 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 497 BC for this year has ...

. He is the first known Gaius among the Sempronia, but the praenomen would become increasingly common within the gens during the 3rd and 2nd century BC. As no filiations have survived it remains unclear how Sempronius was connected with the other contemporary Sempronia during this period, but it is likely that Aulus Sempronius Atratinus, consular tribune in 444 BC was his father. This would make Aulus Sempronius Atratinus, consular tribune in 425 BC his cousin. Aulus Sempronius Atratinus, magister equitum in 380 BC, is most likely a son of either Sempronius or his cousin, the consular tribune of 425 BC.

Consulship and Trial

In 423 BC Sempronius was elected as consul together with Quintus Fabius Vibulanus. Sempronius fought against the Volscians during the consulship and failed in this endeavour to such an extent that he was placed on trial the following year for "endangering his army". The trial came after the

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 ...

, Gaius Junius, started the prosecution in 423 BC, before the case went to trial in 422 BC. The prosecution was handed over to Junius' successor in the tribuneship, Lucius Hortenius, while the defence was led by Sextus Tempanius, a former cavalry

decurio ''Decurio'' was an official title in Ancient Rome, used in various connections: * Decurion (administrative), a member of the senatorial order in the Italian towns under the administration of Rome, and later in provincial towns organized on the It ...

under Sempronius, who had been elected plebeian tribune for the sole reason of defending Sempronius. The defence seems to have been a partial success as no conviction was made during the year or the following. Eventually, in 420 BC, through the combined effort of three plebeian tribunes, Aulus Antistius, Sextus Pompilius and Marcus Canuleius, the former consul was convicted and forced to pay heavy fines. This late conviction was primarily as retaliation for the actions of Sempronius' cousin, Aulus Sempronius Atratinus, whose conduct as consular tribune during the election of the Quaestors that year had angered the plebeian tribunes.

Chronograph of 354 The ''Chronograph of 354'' (or "Chronography"), also known as the ''Calendar of 354'', is a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus by the calligrapher and illustrator ...

(Arretino et Vivullano)Broughton, vol i, pp.68-71 Sempronius trial and eventual conviction seems to have severely affected his career as he does not appear in sources after this, while both his cousin, Aulus Sempronius, and his former consular colleague, Quintus Fabius, went on to have lucrative careers that involved holding the ''

imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

'' on a number of occasions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sempronius Atratinus, Gaius 5th-century BC Roman consuls Atratinus, Gaius

Consulship and Trial

See also

References