Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was a

consular tribune A consular tribune was putatively a type of magistrate in the early Roman Republic. According to Roman tradition, colleges of consular tribunes held office throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BC during the so-called "Conflict of the Or ...

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 438, 425, 420 BC and possibly

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 ...

in 428 BC. Quinctius belonged to the powerful

Quinctia gens The gens Quinctia, sometimes written Quintia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, its members often held the highest offices of the state, and it produced some men of importance even during the imperia ...

and was the son of one of the early republics most famous figures, the twice appointed

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus ( – ) was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a legendary figure of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic. Cincinnatus was ...

. He was probably the elder brother of

Titus Quinctius Poenus Cincinnatus Titus Quinctius Poenus (Pennus) Cincinnatus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 431 and 428 BC and a consular tribune in 426 BC. He might have been consular tribune again in 420 BC. Quinctius belonged to the powerful Quinctia gens and was the ...

, consul in 431 BC. Filiations indicate that he is the father of

Quintus Quinctius Cincinnatus Quintus Quinctius Cincinnatus was a consular tribune in 415 and 405 BC of the Roman Republic. Quinctius belonged to the Quinctia gens, one of the oldest and possibly the most influential and powerful patrician gens of the early Republic. Quinct ...

, consular tribune in 415 BC, and possibly a Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus who was father to Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, consular tribune in 386, 385 and 377 BC.

Career

Quinctius was elected consular tribune in 438 BC together with

Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus was a political figure in the Roman Republic, serving as consular tribune in 438 BC and dictator three times in 437, 434, and 426 BC. Prior to gaining the imperium Aemilius was, in 446 BC, elected Quaestor together wit ...

and Lucius Julius Iullus. They continued hostilities against the

Fidenates Fidenae ( grc, Φιδῆναι) was an ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the ''Via Salaria'', which ran between Rome and the Tiber. Its inhabitants were known as Fidenates. As the Tiber was the border between Etru ...

and their leader

Lars Tolumnius Lars Tolumnius ( Etruscan: Larth Tulumnes, d. 437 BC) was the most famous king of the wealthy Etruscan city-state of Veii, roughly ten miles northwest of Rome, best remembered for instigating a war with Rome that ended in a decisive Roman victory. ...

, which would result in the death of four Roman

legates A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the office ...

sent as ambassadors. The four legates, Gaius Fulcinius, Cloelius Tullus,

Spurius Antius Spurius Antius was one of four Roman envoys sent to Fidenae after it revolted against Roman rule and allied itself with the Etruscan city state of Veii. He, and the other Roman emissaries, were murdered on the orders of the King of Veii, Lars Tolum ...

and Lucius Roscius, would later be honored with statues on the

Rostra The rostra ( it, Rostri, links=no) was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the comitium towards the senate house and deli ...

. The following year the war with the Fidenates was escalated and a dictator was appointed to handle the crisis. The dictator was the former consular colleague of Quinctius, Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus. Aemilius selected Quinctius to be his second-in-command as ''

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nomi ...

''. They fought and defeated 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 ...

Falerii Falerii (now Fabrica di Roma) was a city in southern Etruria, 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Rome, 34 km (21 mi) from Veii (a major Etruscan city-state near the River Tiber) and about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) west of the ancient Via Flaminia. It was the main c ...

and Fidenae, and Aemilius was granted a

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

. In 428 or 427 BC he held the consulship together with Aulus Sempronius Atratinus. This consulship is dubious as it is only mentioned by

Diodorus Siculus 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 ...

and is placed in-between the consuls of 428,

Aulus Cornelius Cossus __NOTOC__ Aulus Cornelius Cossus was a Roman general from the early Republic. He is most famous for being the second Roman, after Romulus, to be awarded the ''spolia opima,'' Rome's highest military honor, for killing the commander of an enemy arm ...

and

, and the consuls of 427 BC,

Gaius Servilius Structus Ahala Gaius Servilius Structus Ahala (died 478 BC) was a Roman senator from the early Republic, who held the office of consul in 478 BC. During his term of office he commanded two legions in a war against the Volsci. His lack of success and the heavy ...

and

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 ...

.It is possible that they were suffect consuls replacing the college of 428 BC or that all four consuls mentioned in 428 were consular tribunes. All events described by other ancient authors are ascribed to the ordinary consuls of 428 BC. Quinctius would be re-elected as consular tribune in 425 BC together with (possibly his former consular colleague) Aulus Sempronius Atratinus,

Lucius Furius Medullinus Lucius Furius Medullinus (c. 445 BC – c. 375 BC), of the patrician '' gens Furia'', was a politician and general of the Roman Republic who was consul twice and Consular Tribune seven times. First two consulships Medullinus was elected consul fo ...

and

Lucius Horatius Barbatus Marcus Horatius Turrinus Barbatus ( 450–449 BC) was a Roman senator from the early Republic, who served as consul in 449 BC alongside Lucius Valerius Poplicola Potitus. According to Roman historical tradition, he and Valerius played an importan ...

. They oversaw the signing of a twenty year long truce with

and a three year long truce with the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early his ...

. Quinctius, or his brother Titus, was elected as consular tribune in 420 BC.

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 ...

and the ''

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 ...

'' has Lucius Quinctius, while the ''

Fasti Capitolini The ''Fasti Capitolini'', or Capitoline Fasti, are a list of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, extending from the early fifth century BC down to the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Together with similar lists found at Rom ...

'' points towards Titus. Scholars generally favor Lucius Quinctius as the consular tribune of 420 BC and that the ''Fasti'' has confused the two brothers. The college, including Quinctius, consisted of two of his former colleagues from 425, Furius and Sempronius, and a consular newcomer, Marcus Manlius Vulso. Little is known of the events during the year other than that Sempronius presided over the election of the

Quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

s.Broughton, vol i, pp.70-71, note 1.

References

{{s-end Roman consular tribunes 5th-century BC Romans

Career

See also

References