Lucius Papirius Crassus 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 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 436 BC and possibly a censor in 430 BC. He belonged to the ancient

Papiria gens The gens Papiria was a patrician family at ancient Rome. According to tradition, the Papirii had already achieved prominence in the time of the kings, and the first Rex Sacrorum and Pontifex Maximus of the Republic were members of this gens. L ...

, and more specifically to a relatively new branch of the Papiria known as the Crassi. The branch had first reached the consulship in 441 BC under the presumed brother of Lucius, a

Manius Papirius Crassus Manius Papirius Crassus was consul of the Roman Republic in 441 BC. Papirius belonged to the patrician Papiria gens. He was probably a brother or close relative to Lucius Papirius Crassus, consul in 436 BC, and Gaius Papirius Crassus, consul in ...

. Another brother or relative would reach the consulship in 430 BC,

Gaius Papirius Crassus Gaius Papirius Crassus ( 430 BC) was a Roman senator who held the executive state office of Roman consul, consul in 430 BC, as the colleague of Lucius Julius Iullus (consul), Lucius Julius. During their year in office, an eight year long truce may ...

Career

Papirius was elected consul in 436 BC together with

Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis was a Roman politician and member of the Second Decemvirate in 450 and 449 BC. Family He was part of the ''Cornelii Maluginenses'', patrician branch of the ''gens Cornelia''. He was grandson of Servius Cornelius Malu ...

. They led raids against the

Veii Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...

and the

Falisci Falisci ( grc, Φαλίσκοι, ''Phaliskoi'') is the ancient Roman exonym for an Italic tribe who lived in what is now northern Lazio, on the Etruscan side of the Tiber River. They spoke an Italic language, Faliscan, closely akin to Latin. O ...

. During their consulship 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 Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

, Spurius Maelius, proposed a bill targeting two senators,

Gaius Servilius Ahala Gaius Servilius Ahala ( 439 BC) was a 5th-century BC politician of ancient Rome, considered by many later writers to have been a hero. His fame rested on the contention that he saved Rome from Spurius Maelius in 439 BC by killing him with a dagge ...

and

Lucius Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus Lucius Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 458 BC, and decemvir in 450 BC. Family Brother of Quintus Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus, consul in 457 BC, he was a member of the ''Minucii Augurini'' br ...

. The goal was to confiscate the property of Ahala, mark him as a ''caedes civis indemnati'' (loosely translated: unlawful murderer) and to condemn Minucius for false accusation. Maelius, who was a son or close relative of

Spurius Maelius Spurius Maelius (died 439 BC) was a wealthy Roman plebeian who was slain because he was suspected of intending to make himself king. Biography During a severe famine, Spurius Maelius bought up a large amount of wheat and sold it at a low price to ...

who had been accused of attempting a uprising in 439 BC had been murdered by Ahala, and prior to this accused of the uprising by Minucius. The attempted bill by the tribune failed, and the two

patricians The patricians (from la, Wikt:patricius, patricius, Greek language, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Roman Rep ...

were acquitted. Papirius was elected as censor in 430 BC together with a Publius Pinarius (possibly

Lucius Pinarius Mamercus Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from L ...

). The censors enacted several fines which were so severe that the consuls passed a law allowing fines to be paid in

coins A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...

instead of livestock.

Conflicting identity

The different ancient sources covering the year 430 BC are in disagreement in regards to the identity of both the consuls and the censors of this year. The two consuls are traditionally identified as

and Lucius Julius Iulus, the praenomens varies between sources.

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 ...

names them Publius Papirius and Gaius Julius;

Diodorus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

names them Gaius Papirius and Lucius Junius; and

Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' w ...

names them Lucius Papirius and Lucius Julius. The majority of our other sources do not specify a praenomen and only give the cognomen of Crassus and Iulus. If one follows Cassiodorus then this consul of 430 BC should probably be identified as the same person as our Lucius Papirius Crassus, the consul of 436 BC. If this is the case, then another conflict arises, as he can not both be one of the consuls and one of the censors in 430 BC. The censors of 430 BC are named as Lucius Papirius and Publius Pinarius by both Cicero and

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

. As the other known Lucii Papirii (

Lucius Papirius Mugillanus The gens Papiria was a patrician family at ancient Rome. According to tradition, the Papirii had already achieved prominence in the time of the kings, and the first Rex Sacrorum and Pontifex Maximus of the Republic were members of this gens. L ...

and

) active in this period either held the censorship previously (443 BC) or would go on to hold it (418 BC) and the first and only known repeated censor is

Gaius Marcius Rutilus Censorinus Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus (disambiguation), Cajus, Caius (disambiguation), Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hy ...

(censor in 294 and 265 BC); thus making Lucius Papirius Crassus the consul of 436 BC the most likely choice of censor. Broughton, vol i, pp.53-54, 64, 72

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papirius Crassus, Lucius (consul 318 AUC) 5th-century BC Roman consuls Crassus, Lucius (consul 318 AUC) Roman censors

Career

Conflicting identity

See also

References