Lucius Cornelius P.f. P.n. Scipio (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

174 BC), Roman praetor in 174 BC, was the younger son of

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...

, the great Roman general and statesman by his wife Aemilia. He was the son and grandson of Roman consuls, but his own personal life and political career was vitiated by his dissolute habits and possibly by his continued ill-health.

Early life

Nothing is known about Lucius's early life, except that he was born during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

. If his parents married circa 212 BC (possibly earlier or later), and if he had an elder brother, he was probably born around 210 BC or 209 BC when his father was already in Spain. In that case, he would have spent his entire childhood seeing little of his father who was winning Rome territories in Spain and then defeating Hannibal at Zama. Lucius is most notable for probably being the unnamed son who was captured by pirates circa 192 BC. This son was released without ransom by Antiochus III of Syria before the Battle of Magnesia (190 BC). The fact that Scipio paid no ransom for his son's release would cause him political problems with the Senate two years later. It is possible that Lucius learned in Syria the dissolute habits and lifestyle which marked the rest of his life.

Later life

In 174 BC, he was elected praetor with the help of his father's former scribe,

Gaius Cicereius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius Pol ...

, now a considerably wealthy freedman. However, in the same year, he was expelled by the Senate, in a low point for the Scipiones.Livy 41.27 His date of death is unknown, but he probably died between 174 BC and 170 BC. It is possible that his death, which left his brother with no male heirs, forced the brother Publius to adopt his own first cousin as his heir. This adoptive son would be Scipio Aemilianus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scipio, Lucius Cornelius 3rd-century BC births 170s BC deaths Lucius Cornelius P.f. P.n. Scipio Cornelius, Lucius Cornelius P.f. P.n. Scipio 3rd-century BC Romans 2nd-century BC Romans