Marcus Junius Pera (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

230216 BC) was a Roman politician before and during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

Career

Pera served as one of the

consuls A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

for the year 230 BC; during his consulship, he – along with his colleague

Marcus Aemilius Barbula Marcus Aemilius Barbula was a Roman politician from the ''gens Aemilia''. He was a consul in 230 BC alongside Marcus Junius Pera, succeeding Marcus Pomponius Matho and Gaius Papirius Maso and preceding Lucius Postumius Albinus (consul 234 BC) and ...

– campaigned against local tribes in

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

. He also was elected censor for 225 BC with Gaius Claudius Centho as his colleague. They conducted a census of the Roman population: Livy reports the number of citizens as 270,213.

Dictatorship

During

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

's invasion of Italy during the

, the Carthaginian general all but wiped out an 85,000-strong Roman army at the

Battle of Cannae The Battle of Cannae () was a key engagement of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage, fought on 2 August 216 BC near the ancient village of Cannae in Apulia, southeast Italy. The Carthaginians and their allies, led by ...

in 216 BC. In doing so, one consul, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, was killed. The other consul,

Gaius Terentius Varro Gaius Terentius Varro ( 218–200 BC) was a Roman politician and general active during the Second Punic War. A plebeian son of a butcher, he was a populist politician who was elected consul for the year 216 BC. While holding that office, he was d ...

, escaped to Venusia and collected his shattered army to Canusium. After news of the disaster, Pera was appointed as dictator with Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus as his ''

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nom ...

''. He immediately instituted a levy to replace the men killed at Cannae. A levy was ordered, conscripting underage boys to fill up four legions and even buying and arming 8,000 slave volunteers with public funds. By doing so, he had created a citizen army of four legions, reinforced by the slave-force and contributions from remaining allies. He also cancelled the debts of all men who enlisted in the armies or had been convicted of a capital offence. He fought no pitched battle against Hannibal during his time in command; he relieved Casilinum and left his ''magister equitum'' there while he returned to Rome to repeat the auspices. Zonaras reports Pera as being wrong-footed by Hannibal as he was shadowing his camp. After ordering his men to copy the schedules of the Carthaginians – and thus not be taken by surprise – Pera was attacked by a detachment of Hannibal's army. When his troops had repulsed the offensive and retired, assuming the Carthaginians would now rest, he was surprised by a second attack from the bulk of the Carthaginian force that Hannibal had kept in reserve.Zonaras, 9.3. His dictatorship is also notable for the concurrent appointment of Marcus Fabius Buteo. It marked the only occasion in Roman history where two dictators were in office at the same time. With Pera away on campaign, Buteo was selected to appoint new men to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

after its ranks had been diminished greatly at Cannae. According to Livy, Buteo was uncomfortable with the unprecedented dual-dictatorship and resigned promptly on completing his task.

References

Sources * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Junius Pera, Marcus Ancient Roman dictators 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Roman censors Pera, Marcus

Career

Dictatorship

See also

References