Manius Aquillius (died 88 BC) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

politician and general during the late Roman Republic. He was a member of the ancient Roman '' gens Aquillia'', probably a son of Manius Aquillius, consul in 129 BC. Aquillius served as

Consul of Rome 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 ...

with

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

in 101 BC. Before his consulship, during the

Cimbrian War The Cimbrian or Cimbric War (113–101 BC) was fought between the Roman Republic and the Germanic and Celtic tribes of the Cimbri and the Teutons, Ambrones and Tigurini, who migrated from the Jutland peninsula into Roman controlled territory, ...

, he had served as a

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

under Marius in

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 ...

. He played a pivotal role during the

Battle of Aquae Sextiae The Battle of Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence) took place in 102 BC. After a string of Roman defeats (see: the Battle of Noreia, the Battle of Burdigala, and the Battle of Arausio), the Romans under Gaius Marius finally defeated the Teutones and A ...

where he surprised the

Teutones The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with th ...

by attacking them from behind. As consul he crushed a

slave revolt A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freed ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. At the start of the

First Mithridatic War The First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC) was a war challenging the Roman Republic's expanding empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Roman rule were led by Mithridates ...

he was defeated and captured by

Mithridates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

who had him executed by pouring molten gold down his throat.

Working for Marius

Aquillius was a loyal follower of

. He served Marius as a legate (104-102 BC) during Marius's campaign against the Cimbri and Teutones in Gaul. In 103 BC, while Marius was in Rome for his election campaign (running for his fourth consulship), Aquillius was left in command of the army in case the migrating Cimbri and Teutones invaded before Marius could return to command the army himself.

Aquae Sextiae

Manius Aquillius fought with the Roman army of Gaius Marius defeating the Teutones and Ambrones at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae. As one of Marius's legates, Aquillius shared in the glory and prestige earned through their victory. He would capitalize on his military success when he ran for consul.

Consulship and Sicily

As a reward for his loyal services, Gaius Marius ran with Aquillius under a joint ticket for 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 ...

of 101 BC. In gratitude for their victory against the Teutones they were both elected with Aquillius as Junior Consul and Marius as Senior Consul. During his consulship, with Rome struggling with a famine caused by the slave revolt in Sicily, Aquillius was sent to Sicily to put down the revolt. Aquillius completely subdued the insurgents and was rewarded an

ovation The ovation ( la, ovatio from ''ovare'': to rejoice) was a form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of nations or states; when an enemy was considered basely inferior (e.g., slaves, p ...

in Rome in 100 BC. In 98 BC, Aquillius was accused by Lucius Fufius of maladministration in Sicily. In the subsequent trial, he was defended by

Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...

the orator, the consul of 99. Gaius Marius also showed his support. Even if there was sufficient evidence of his guilt, he was acquitted because of his bravery in the war.

Mithridates and death

In 90 BC, Aquillius was sent as ambassador to

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

to restore

Nicomedes IV of Bithynia Nicomedes IV Philopator ( grc-gre, Νικομήδης Φιλοπάτωρ) was the king of Bithynia from c. 94 BC to 74 BC. (''numbered as III. not IV.'') He was the first son and successor of Nicomedes III of Bithynia. Life Memnon of Heraclea wro ...

, who had recently been expelled from his kingdom by

. However, after achieving this, Aquillius then encouraged Nicomedes to raid Pontic territory. This prompted a furious backlash from Mithridates in 89 BC, whose counter-attack began the

. Aquillius marched with one "legion" of

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, u ...

(4,000-6,000 men), the only troops available in the Asia province, against Mithridates from the west while Quintus Oppius, the governor of

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

, invaded with two legions from the south.Lynda Telford, ''Sulla: A Dictator Reconsidered'', p. 116. Aquillius soon found out he was seriously outnumbered; at Lake Tatta he saw 100,000 Pontic infantry waiting for him. Mithridates' forces eventually tracked and defeated Aquillius near Protostachium. Aquillius fled and attempted to make his way back to Italy. He managed to make it to Lesbos, where he was delivered to Mithridates by the inhabitants of

Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of ...

. After being taken to the mainland, he was then placed on a donkey and paraded back to

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...

. During the trip, he was forced to confess his supposed crimes against the peoples of Anatolia. Aquillius's father, the elder Manius Aquillius, was a former Roman governor of Pergamon and was hated for the egregious taxes that he imposed. It was generally thought that Manius Aquillius the younger would follow in the footsteps of his father as a tax profiteer and was hated by some of the local peoples. Aquillius was eventually executed by Mithridates by having molten gold poured down his throat. The method of execution became famous and, according to some unreliable accounts, was repeated by Parthian contemporaries to kill

Marcus Licinius Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...

who was at the time the richest man in Rome and a member 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 ...

Notes

References

Life of Marius by Plutarch
* Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

''
"Aquillius (2)"

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, (1867) *Mayor, Adrienne (2010). ''The Poison King The Life and Legend of Mithradates'', p. 166-171. Princeton University Press, New Jersey. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Aquillius, Manius 653 2nd-century BC births 88 BC deaths 2nd-century BC Roman consuls 1st-century BC executions 1st-century BC Romans Ancient Roman generals Manius 653 Executed ancient Roman people People executed by torture Year of birth uncertain