Lucius Valerius Potitus was a Roman politician and general in the beginning 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 ...

. He was the son of

Marcus Valerius Volusus Marcus Valerius Volusus (or Volesus, sometimes referred to as M. Valerius Volusus Maximus) was a Roman consul with Publius Postumius Tubertus in 505 BC. He was the son of Volesus Valerius and brother to Publius Valerius Publicola (consul in 509 ...

, who 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 ...

in 505 BC. He held the office of quaestor parricidii in 485 BC in connection with the trial and execution of

Spurius Cassius Vecellinus Spurius Cassius Vecellinus or Vicellinus (died 485 BC) was one of the most distinguished men of the early Roman Republic. He was three times consul, and celebrated two triumphs. He was the first ''magister equitum'', and the author of the first a ...

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 ...

, ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

'', 2.41 His role in the trial of Cassius made Valerius unpopular with the

plebs In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizenship, Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both ...

, and yet the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

succeeded in having Valerius elected consul in 483 BC and again in 470 BC. According to

, during Valerius' first consulship in 483 BC the tribunes continued their attempts to increase their powers, but were at that time successfully resisted by the Roman Senate. In his second consulship in 470 BC Valerius led Roman troops against 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 ...

. He unsuccessfully attempted to lead an assault on the Aequian army camp, and instead ravaged the Aequian territory. In 464 BC there were hostilities with the Aequi again and as both consuls were absent from Rome conducting the war, a

justitium ''Justitium'' (derived from the Latin term ''Juris statio'') is a concept of Roman law, equivalent to the declaration of the state of emergency. Some scholars also refer to it as a state of exception, stemming from a state of necessity. It invo ...

was declared. Valerius was appointed

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

and was left in charge of defending the city. Broughton, vol i, pp.34

References

5th-century BC Roman consuls Potitus, Lucius Roman quaestors {{AncientRome-bio-stub

See also

References