Marcus Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus is a name used by several men of the ''

gens Claudia The gens Claudia (), sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain the consulship was Appius ...

'', including: *Marcus Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus is mentioned by Cicero as a young man at the trial of Verres (70 BC), on which occasion he appeared as a witness, where, however, several editions give his name as C. Marcellus. *Marcus Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus was

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 ...

in Hispania in 48 BC, under Quintus Cassius Longinus. Some scholars suppose him to be a son of the preceding, while others, such as Johann Caspar von Orelli, regard him as identical. Cassius sent him with a body of troops to hold possession of Corduba, on occasion of the

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

and revolt excited in Hispania by his own exactions. But Marcellus quickly joined the mutineers, though whether voluntarily or by compulsion is not certain, and put himself at the head of all the troops assembled at Corduba, whom he retained in their fidelity to

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

, at the same time that he prepared to resist Cassius by force of arms. But though the two leaders, with their armies, were for some time opposed to one another, Marcellus avoided coming to a general engagement, and on the arrival soon after of the proconsul, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, he hastened to submit to his authority and place the legions under his command at his disposal. Due to the questionable part he had acted on this occasion, Marcellus at first incurred the resentment of Caesar but was afterwards restored to favor. *Marcus Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus was consul in 22 BC. Perhaps the same person as the preceding. He married Asinia, the daughter of Gaius Asinius Pollio, who was consul in 40 BC. *Marcus Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus, son of the preceding. When a boy he broke his leg while performing in the equestrian Troy Game before Augustus, causing his grandfather,

Asinius Pollio Gaius Asinius Pollio (75 BC – AD 4) was a Roman soldier, politician, orator, poet, playwright, literary critic, and historian, whose lost contemporary history provided much of the material used by the historians Appian and Plutarch. Poll ...

, to complain so loudly that Augustus never held the game again. He was trained with much care by his grandfather in all kinds of

oratorical Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

exercises, and gave much promise as an orator. In 20 AD he was one of those whom

Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso may refer to: * Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (consul 23 BC) * Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (consul 7 BC) Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (c. 44/43 BCAD 20), was a Roman statesman during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He served as consul ...

requested to undertake his defense on the charge of having poisoned

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the Patric ...

, but he declined the office. It is probable that the Asinius Marcellus mentioned by Tacitus as a great-grandson of Pollio was a son of this Aeserninus. Tacitus, '' Annales'', xiv. 40

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus, Marcus Ancient Roman prosopographical lists Aeserninus, Marcus Claudius

See also

References