Manius Pomponius Matho ( 236 – 211 BC) was a Roman general who was elected consul for the year 233 BC with

Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, surnamed Cunctator ( 280 – 203 BC), was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed dictator in 221 and 217 BC. He was ...

. He was also the maternal grandfather of the general and statesman

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...

Career

During his consulship, Matho carried on the war against the Sardinians and was granted a triumph for his victory over them. However, this victory was incomplete, because the war was continued by his brother Marcus, consul in 231 BC. In 217 BC, he was apparently chosen

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 nomi ...

(Eng. "master of the horse") to the

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

Lucius Veturius Philo Lucius Veturius Philo (d. 210 BC) was a Roman Republic, Roman Politician, statesman who served as Roman Consul, consul in 220 BC, Roman dictator, dictator in 217 BC (during the Second Punic War), and Roman censor, censor (magistrate in charge of th ...

, and was elected praetor for the following year, 216 BC. There seems no reason for believing that the Matho, praetor of this year, was a different person from the consul of 233 BC, as the Romans were now at war with Hannibal, and were therefore anxious to appoint to the great offices of the state generals who had had experience in war. The lot, however, did not give any military command to Matho, but the ''jurisdictio inter cives Romanos et peregrines''. After news had been received of the fatal battle of

Cannae Cannae (now Canne della Battaglia, ) is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a ''frazione'' (civil parish) of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Barletta. Cannae was formerly a bishopric, and is presently (2022) a Lati ...

, Matho and his colleague, the

praetor urbanus Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

, summoned the senate to the

curia Hostilia The Curia Hostilia was one of the original senate houses or "curiae" of the Roman Republic. It was believed to have begun as a temple where the warring tribes laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus (r. c. 771–717 BC). During the early ...

to deliberate on what steps were to be taken. At the expiration of his office, Matho received as

propraetor In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...

the province of

Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...

, in 215 BC, for

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 ...

says (xxiv. 10), in the next year, 214 BC, that the province of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

was continued to him. Livy, however, not only makes no mention of Matho's appointment in 215 BC, but expressly states (xxiii. 25) that in that year no army was sent into Gaul on account of the want of soldiers. We can only reconcile these statements by supposing that Matho was appointed to the province but did not obtain any troops that year. He died in 211 BC, at which time he was one of the

pontifices A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was late ...

(Liv. xxvi. 23). He was succeeded in that office by

Gaius Livius Salinator Gaius Livius Salinator, son of Marcus Livius Salinator, Marcus, was a Roman consul of the ''gens'' Livia gens, Livia, said to have founded the city of ''Forum Livii'' (Forlì), in Italy, during his consulship in the year 188 BC. He also served as a ...

Family

Matho was the brother of

Marcus Pomponius Matho Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...

, consul in 231 BC who died in 204 BC. Either man, but probably the latter, was the father of

plebeian aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

in 206 BC, who was ordered to investigate the complaints of the

Locrians The Locrians ( el, Λοκροί, ''Locri'') were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Locris in Central Greece, around Parnassus. They spoke the Locrian dialect, a Doric-Northwest dialect, and were closely related to their neighbour ...

against his kinsman Scipio Africanus. Matho is best known as the grandfather of the great Roman general Scipio Africanus. His daughter

Pomponia Pomponia is the female name for the Pomponia gens of Ancient Rome. This family was one of the oldest families in Rome. Various women bearing this name lived during the Middle and Late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. The oldest known Pomponi ...

was the wife of Publius Cornelius Scipio, a consul in 218 BC (killed in 211 BC). According to William Smith, relying on

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

, the name Matho was pronounced without the "h" and was sometimes written as Mato.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomponius Matho, Manius 211 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Roman consuls 3rd-century BC Roman praetors Magistri equitum (Roman Republic) Matho, Manius Pontifices Year of birth uncertain