Marcus Postumius, surnamed Pyrgensis, is described by

Livius ''Livius'' is a genus of South American tangled nest spiders containing the single species, ''Livius macrospinus''. It was first described by V. D. Roth in 1967, and has only been found in Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ...

as a "farmer of the taxes" 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 ...

, whose character for avarice and fraud were equaled only by Titus Pomponius Veientanus. During this period, when

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and her allies had many troops in the field, and it was necessary to transport goods to them by sea, the state assumed all risks on behalf of private suppliers, such as Postumius and Pomponius, insuring them against all losses to their ships caused by storms. Taking advantage of their position, they outfitted unseaworthy ships with small and mostly worthless cargoes, sent them to sea, then removed the crews and sank them, reporting the loss while exaggerating the value of the cargo. They also reported imaginary shipwrecks. This fraud was first reported in 213 B.C., but 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 el ...

had delayed action for fear of offending other suppliers, who depended on the assurances of the state against loss. Pomponius was captured by

Hanno Hanno may refer to: People * Hanno (given name) :* Hanunu (8th century BC), Philistine king previously rendered by scholars as "Hanno" *Hanno ( xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤀 , '; , ''Hannōn''), common Carthaginian name :* Hanno the Navigator, Carthagi ...

that same year. In 212, the

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...

Spurius Spurius is a small genus of passalid beetles from Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatema ...

and Lucius Carvilius proposed to fine Postumius 200,000 '' asses''. On the day of his trial, Postumius' supporters nearly came to blows with those who had assembled to vote. Another tribune, Gaius Servilius Casca, who was a relative of Postumius, failed to intervene on his behalf, and in order to avoid an insurrection, the proceedings were halted by the consul Quintus Fulvius Flaccus. The matter was then brought before the Senate by the consuls, who argued that Postumius and his allies had robbed the people of their right to vote. The Carvilii then brought a capital charge against Postumius and those who had supported him against the crowd. Postumius gave surety, but chose to go into exile rather than appear for trial before the first of May. Many of his supporters did likewise, while those who could not give surety were immediately imprisoned, together with some of those who could.Titus Livius, ''Ab Urbe Condita'', xxv. 4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Postumius Pyrgensis, Marcus 3rd-century BC Romans Italian fraudsters Pyrgensis, Marcus

See also

References