Marcus Furius Fusus 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 403 BC. Furius belonged to the

Furia gens The gens Furia, originally written Fusia, and sometimes found as Fouria on coins, was one of the most ancient and noble patrician houses at Rome. Its members held the highest offices of the state throughout the period of the Roman Republic. The ...

, an old and powerful

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

gentes of the Republic which had risen to become the most influential and powerful gens during the late 4th century BC with members such as

Marcus Furius Camillus Marcus Furius Camillus (; c. 446 – 365 BC) was a Roman soldier and statesman of the patrician class. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of ''Second Founder ...

and

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 for ...

. Furius seems to have been the son of

Agrippa Furius Fusus Agrippa Furius Fusus was a Roman statesman who served as Consul in 446 BC. Consulship After the fall of the despotic Decemvirs, internal sedition broke out again. The Aequi and Volsci, taking advantage once more of the instability of the Roman po ...

, consul 446 BC or

Gaius Furius Pacilus Fusus Gaius Furius Pacilus Fusus was a Roman statesman of the early Republic.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 80 ("Pacilus", Nos. 1, 2). He was a descendant of the ancient patrician house of the Furii, which fille ...

, consul 441 BC, and is not known to have had any prominent descendants himself.

Career

Furius held the ''

imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from ''auctoritas'' and ''potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic an ...

'' in 403 BC as one of six consular tribunes. He shared the office with

Manius Aemilius Mamercinus Manius Aemilius Mamercinus was a three-time consular tribune, in 405, 403 and 401 and also consul in 410 BC, of the Roman Republic. Aemilius belonged to the Aemilia gens, one of the oldest and most prominent patrician gens of the early Republic. A ...

Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis (died 349 BC) was a Roman politician and general. According to the historian Livy, he delivered a speech to the senate in 368 BC unsuccessfully opposing the proposal to open the executive office of Roman cons ...

, Lucius Valerius Potitus. Lucius Julius Iulus and Marcus Quinctilius Varus. The college, with the exception of Aemilius and Valerius, were all first time consulars.

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 ...

, when writing of this college, incorrectly includes the two censors Marus Furius Camillus and Marus Postumius Albinus Regillensis into the consular college. Livy also incorrectly has Marcus Postumius instead of Furius as one of the consular tribunes of this year. As other sources agree on Furius as the consular tribune for this year, this is generally seen to be a mistake made by the ancient historian or later transcribers. The year saw the continuation of the war started in 406 against the Veii with all consulars (including Furius) leading armies against the Veii, The only exception being Claudius who remained in Rome. The long years of war and new payments towards the soldiers seems to have strained the economy of Rome and the two censors, Camillus and Postumius imposed new taxes targeting bachelors and orphans. According to Diodorus Siculus, Furius may have served as Censor alongside Lucius Papirius Mugillanus in 389 BC, however this censorship is not mentioned in Livy and the Fasti for this year is missing. For these reasons, the classicist Broughton considers this censorship as, "very doubtful".Broughton, vol i, pp.97

References

{{s-end 5th-century BC Romans Roman Republic Roman consular tribunes Furii 403 BC

Career

See also

References