Lucius Cassius Longinus (c. 151 – 107 BC) was

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 ...

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 107 BC. His colleague was

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 ...

, then serving the first of his seven consulships. He was probably the eldest son of

Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla was a Roman politician. He served as consul in 127 BC and censor at the following lustrum in 125 BC. His first recorded office was that of tribune of the plebs in 137 BC. As a tribune of the plebs, he ...

, consul in 127 BC, who had presided over the trial of several Vestal Virgins who had been charged with unchastity. 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 vario ...

in 111 BC, he was sent to

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

to bring

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 Adh ...

to Rome to testify in corruption trials, promising him safe passage.Sallust, ''Jug.'', 32 Jugurtha valued this pledge as much as the public pledge for his safety. In 108, he came first in the polls and was elected senior consul for 107, with Gaius Marius (who came in second) as his junior colleague. He was assigned to Gaul to oppose the migration of a confederation of Germanic tribes (mainly

Cimbri The Cimbri (Greek Κίμβροι, ''Kímbroi''; Latin ''Cimbri'') were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic people (or Gaulish), Germanic people, or even Cimmerian. Several ancient sources indicate that ...

and

Teutones The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with th ...

). He was killed in an ambush at the

Battle of Burdigala The Battle of Burdigala (the Roman name for Bordeaux, with stress on the 'i') was a battle of the Cimbrian War that occurred in the year 107 BC. The battle was fought between a combined Germanic-Celtic army including the Helvetian Tigurini unde ...

, in modern-day

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, along with 10,000 of his legionaries.Lynda Telford, ''Sulla A Dictator Reconsidered'', p.43 After his death, the remains of his army under Gaius Popillius Laenas passed under the yoke, gave up half of their belongings, and returned to Rome. The massacre of Longinus and his army was one of the reasons given by

Julius 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, and ...

in ''

De Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...

'' for why he denied the Helvetii the freedom to migrate through Roman territory in 58 BC.Caesar, ''De bello gallico'', 7

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassius Longinus, Lucius consul 647 AUC 150s BC births 107 BC deaths 2nd-century BC Roman consuls 2nd-century BC Roman generals 2nd-century BC Roman praetors Longinus, Lucius consul 647 AUC People of the Cimbrian War Roman consuls who died in office Roman generals killed in action Year of birth unknown