Manius Manilius ( fl. 155149 BC) was a

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 ...

an orator and distinguished jurist who also had a long military career. It is unclear if he was related to the Manius Manilius who was degraded by

Cato the Censor Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write histo ...

for embracing his wife in broad daylight in Cato's censorship from 184 BC to 182 BC. Manilius was

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

Hispania Ulterior Hispania Ulterior (English: "Further Hispania", or occasionally "Thither Hispania") was a region of Hispania during the Roman Republic, roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania (m ...

in 155 BC when the

Lusitani The Lusitanians ( la, Lusitani) were an Indo-European speaking people living in the west of the Iberian Peninsula prior to its conquest by the Roman Republic and the subsequent incorporation of the territory into the Roman province of Lusitania. ...

, under the leadership of

Punicus Punicus (known as ''Púnico'' in Portuguese and Spanish; died 153 BC) was a chieftain of the Lusitanians, a proto-Celtic tribe from western Hispania. He became their first military leader during the Lusitanian War, and also led their first major ...

, raided that province, beginning the

Lusitanian War The Lusitanian War, called ''Pyrinos Polemos'' ("the Fiery War") in Greek, was a war of resistance fought by the Lusitanian tribes of Hispania Ulterior against the advancing legions of the Roman Republic from 155 to 139 BC. The Lusitanians revo ...

; he led an army against them but was defeated. He became

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

in 149 BC with Lucius Marcius Censorinus. He unsuccessfully besieged

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

at the beginning of the

Third Punic War The Third Punic War (149–146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between Carthage and Rome. The war was fought entirely within Carthaginian territory, in modern northern Tunisia. When the Second Punic War ended in 201 ...

, and was replaced by Calpurnius Piso in 149 after suffering a heavy defeat at Nepheris, a Carthaginian stronghold south of the city. In Cicero's ''

De oratore ''De Oratore'' (''On the Orator''; not to be confused with ''Orator'') is a dialogue written by Cicero in 55 BC. It is set in 91 BC, when Lucius Licinius Crassus dies, just before the Social War and the civil war between Marius and Sulla, du ...

'', Manilius was depicted as a member of the

Scipionic Circle The Scipionic Circle, or the Circle of Scipio, was a group of philosophers, poets, and politicians patronized by their namesake, Scipio Aemilianus. Together they would discuss Greek culture, literature, and humanism. Alongside their philhellenic ...

. In the work, Cicero describes Manilius as a "representative of the broad education required of the orator, and of old-fashioned generosity in helping others with his legal knowledge".''Cicero and the Development of Prudential Practice at Rome'', by Robert W. Cape Jr. from ''Prudence''. Ed. Robert Hariman. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2003. - Page 54. Manilius is also a leading character in Cicero's ''

De Re Publica ''De re publica'' (''On the Commonwealth''; see below) is a dialogue on Roman politics by Cicero, written in six books between 54 and 51 BC. The work does not survive in a complete state, and large parts are missing. The surviving sections derive ...

'', though it appears large portions of his dialogue occurred in parts of that work which are now lost.

Manilius as a jurist

It was apparently the same ex-consul Manius Manilius (or possibly the elder man living some thirty years earlier), who was the author of a collection of formulae for contracts of sale. His works were still read in the classical period, and he was cited by such authors as

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

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 ...

, and

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

Notes

Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Ancient Roman jurists Manius Third Punic War {{AncientRome-law-bio-stub