Marcus Atilius Regulus () 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 ...

statesman and general who 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 267 BC and 256 BC. Much of his career was spent fighting the Carthaginians during the

first Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

. In 256 BC, he and

Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus was a Roman general and statesman, who became consul in 256 and 250 BC. He has been remembered as another militarily successful Roman consul; his military achievements significantly contributed to the victory of the Ro ...

defeated the Carthaginians at the massive naval battle off Cape Ecnomus; afterwards he led the Roman expedition to Africa but was defeated at the Bagradas River in spring of 255 BC. He was captured and then probably died of natural causes.

Life

Regulus was first consul in 267 BC. He campaigned with his co-consul (

Lucius Julius Libo Lucius Julius Libo ( 267–266 BC) was a Roman senator and military commander. He was Roman consul, consul in 267 BC, together with Marcus Atilius Regulus (consul 267 BC), Marcus Atilius Regulus. During their term of office, the two men carried on ...

) against the

Sallentini The Messapians ( grc, Μεσσάπιοι, Messápioi; la, Messapii) were a Iapygians, Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia ...

, captured

Brundisium Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

, and thence celebrated a double triumph. During the

, he then was elected suffect consul in 256 BC, in place of Quintus Caedicius, who had died in office. With his colleague,

, he fought and defeated a large Carthaginian fleet off the coast of Sicily – the

Battle of Cape Ecnomus The Battle of Cape Ecnomus or Eknomos ( grc, Ἔκνομος) was a naval battle, fought off southern Sicily, in 256 BC, between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic, during the First Punic War (264–241 BC). It was the largest bat ...

– and the two then invaded North Africa, landing at

Aspis An aspis ( grc, ἀσπίς, plural ''aspides'', ), or porpax shield, sometimes mistakenly referred to as a hoplon ( el, ὅπλον) (a term actually referring to the whole equipment of a hoplite), was the heavy wooden shield used by the infa ...

on the eastern side of the Cape Bon peninsula. After a

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

, the consuls ravaged the countryside and seized some twenty thousand war captives. Manlius was recalled to Rome and celebrated a naval triumph, while Regulus captured Tunis and entered negotiations with Carthage. While crossing the river Bagradas, his forces supposedly fought an enormous serpent. During the siege of Adys, some 24 kilometres south of Carthage, the Carthaginians attacked over unfavourable hilly ground, triggering the

Battle of Adys The battle of Adys (or Adis) took place in late 255 BC during the First Punic War between a Carthaginian army jointly commanded by Bostar, Hamilcar and Hasdrubal and a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus. Earlier in the year, the new ...

, which the Romans won. Wintering in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, Regulus engaged in negotiations with the Carthaginians but offered very harsh terms that were rejected; Scullard, in the ''Cambridge Ancient History'', rejects the claims given in Dio that Regulus' terms were so harsh as to "amount to a complete surrender" as "scarcely reliable". Scullard believes that it is more likely that the Romans would have required Carthage to vacate Sicily; the Carthaginians, unwilling to leave the western half of the island, would have refused such a demand. His command was

prorogued A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections ...

into 255 BC. That spring, the Carthaginians, buttressed by the arrival of Spartan mercenaries under

Xanthippus Xanthippus (; el, Ξάνθιππος, ; c. 525-475 BC) was a wealthy Athenian politician and general during the early part of the 5th century BC. His name means "Yellow Horse." He was the son of Ariphron and father of Pericles. A marriage to ...

and bristling against Regulus' proposals of harsh terms, fought Regulus at the Battle of the Bagradas River that year. On a plain, which gave the Carthaginians space to utilise their war elephants and cavalry, Regulus was defeated and captured; only some two thousand Romans escaped the battle and were picked up by the Roman navy before being wrecked by a storm. Regulus died of neglect or starvation in captivity, though his fate "was soon embellished by legend".

Legends of death

The legend that the Carthaginians returned him to Rome to negotiate for a prisoner exchange or peace terms, successfully opposed any such exchange or terms, and consequently returned to Carthage to be tortured to death, is "almost certainly invented, perhaps to palliate his son's torturing of two Punic arthaginianprisoners in revenge for his death". No evidence of his story appears in the best source on the period,

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

. The first evidence of the tale emerges with fragments of Sempronius Tuditanus's history in 129 BC; in this story, after he purposefully sabotages the negotiations, the Carthaginians have him starved to death. According to

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

in '' City of God'' (5th century AD), using similar wording as Cicero ''in Pisonem'', the Carthaginians "shut egulusup in a narrow box, in which he was compelled to stand, and in which finely sharpened nails were fixed all round about him, so that he could not lean upon any part of it without intense pain". The myth of Regulus' capture and patriotic defiance later became a favourite tale for Roman children and patriotic story-tellers, developed and polished through the years by Roman historiographers and orators.

Family

The Atilii Reguli were a plebeian family. This Regulus was the brother of the Gaius Atilius Regulus who was consul in 257 and 250 BC. With a wife named Marcia, he had at least one son, also named Marcus, who later became consul in 227 and 217 BC before also being elected censor in 214 BC. Klaus Zmeskal, in ''Adfinitas'', includes no linkage between this Regulus and the homonymous consul of 294 BC.

Notes

References

* * * Cited by . * * * *

External links