Lucius Cornelius Balbus ( 1st century BC) was born in
Gades early in the first century BC. Lucius Cornelius Balbus was a wealthy Roman politician and businessman of Punic origin and a native of
Gades in Hispania, who played a significant role in the emergence of the
Principate
The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate.
...
at Rome. He was a prominent supporter of
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 ...
and a close advisor to the
emperor 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 Pr ...
.
He served in
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: Hispania ...
under
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 ...
and
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 t ...
against
Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 – 73 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian peninsula. He had been a prominent member of the populist faction of Cinna and Marius. During the l ...
. For his services against Sertorius,
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
was conferred upon him and his family by Pompey. He accompanied Pompey on his return to
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 ...
in 71 BC, and was for a long time one of his most intimate friends. He also gained the friendship of
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 ...
, who placed great confidence in him. Balbus' personal friendships with Pompey and Caesar were instrumental in the formation of the
First Triumvirate
The First Triumvirate was an informal political alliance among three prominent politicians in the late Roman Republic: Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The constitution of the Roman republic had many v ...
. He was a chief financier in Rome. Balbus served under Caesar as chief engineer (''praefectus fabrum'') when Caesar was
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 ...
to Hispania in 61 BC, and proconsul 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 ...
in 58 BC.
His position as a naturalized foreigner, his influence, and his wealth naturally made Balbus many enemies, who in 56 BC put up a native of Gades to prosecute him for illegally assuming the rights of a Roman citizen, a charge directed against the triumvirs equally with himself.
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 ...
(whose speech has been preserved), Pompey and
Crassus all spoke on his behalf, and he was acquitted. During the civil war, Balbus did not take any open part against Pompey, though it was reported that Balbus dined with Caesar,
Sallust
Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan o ...
,
Hirtius
Aulus Hirtius (; – 43 BC) was consul of the Roman Republic in 43 BC and a writer on military subjects. He was killed during his consulship in battle against Mark Antony at the Battle of Mutina.
Biography
He was a legate of Julius Caesar's st ...
,
Oppius
The Oppian Hill (Latin, ''Oppius Mons''; it, Colle Oppio) is the southern spur of the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven hills of Rome, Italy. It is separated from the Cispius on the north by the valley of the Suburra, and from the Caelian Hill ...
, and
Sulpicus Rufus on the night after his famous crossing over the Rubicon river into Italy, which took place on January 10, 49 BC. He endeavored to get Cicero to mediate between
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, 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 Caes ...
and Pompey, with the object of preventing him from definitely siding with the latter, and Cicero admits that he was dissuaded from doing so, against his better judgement.
Balbus attached himself to Caesar, and, in conjunction with
Oppius
The Oppian Hill (Latin, ''Oppius Mons''; it, Colle Oppio) is the southern spur of the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven hills of Rome, Italy. It is separated from the Cispius on the north by the valley of the Suburra, and from the Caelian Hill ...
, managed the entirety of Caesar's affairs in Rome. Subsequently, Balbus became Caesar's private secretary, and Cicero was obliged to ask for his good offices with Caesar. After Caesar's murder in 44 BC, Balbus was equally successful in gaining the favour of
Octavian
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 ...
; in 43 BC or 42 BC he was
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 40 BC he became the first naturalized Roman citizen to attain the
consulship
A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
.
[ Cicero, Marcus Tullius. (1872). ] The year of his death is not known. Balbus kept a diary of the chief events in his own and Caesar's life (''Ephemeris''), which has been lost (
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire.
His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...
, ''Caesar'', 81). He took care that Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War should be continued; and accordingly the 8th book of the
Commentarii 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 ...
(which was probably written by his friend
Hirtius
Aulus Hirtius (; – 43 BC) was consul of the Roman Republic in 43 BC and a writer on military subjects. He was killed during his consulship in battle against Mark Antony at the Battle of Mutina.
Biography
He was a legate of Julius Caesar's st ...
at his instigation) is dedicated to him.
Notes
References
* Cicero, ''Letters'' (ed. Tyrrell and Purser, iv. introd. p. 62) and ''Pro Balbo''.
* Heatley, Henry Richard and Herbert Napier Kingdon. (1882)
''Gradatim, an Easy Latin Translation Book,''Oxford: Oxford University Press
OCLC 77762862* E. Jullien, ''De L. Cornelio Balbo Maiore'', 1886.
* Pauly-Wissowa, ''Realencyclopädie'', iv. pt. i. 1900.
* Schork, R. J. (1997
''Latin and Roman culture in Joyce.''Gainesville: University of FLorida Press.
OCLC 243862657*
Smith, William. (1850)
''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography''.New York: Harper & Brothers
OCLC 5078784*Rogerson, In Search of Ancient North Africa: A History in Six Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Balbus, Lucius
1st-century BC Roman consuls
1st-century BC Punic people
Balbus, Lucius
People from Cádiz
Roman Republican praetors
Romans from Hispania