Marcus Fulvius Flaccus (d. 121 BC) was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
senator
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 ...
and an ally of the
Gracchi
The Gracchi brothers were two Roman brothers, sons of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus who was consul in 177 BC. Tiberius, the elder brother, was tribune of the plebs in 133 BC and Gaius, the younger brother, was tribune a decade later in ...
. He served as
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 throu ...
in 125 BC and as
plebeian tribune
Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...
in 122 BC.
Biography
Flaccus had become one of the three men for the assignment of agricultural lands that was established by
Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus ( 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the Roma ...
' ''lex agraria'' by 130 BC; he retained the post until his death. In this role, he attacked
Scipio Aemilianus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...
' attempts – at the instigation of the allies themselves – to transfer the jurisdiction over boundary disputes from the commission to the consuls. He served as
praetor
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 vari ...
some time before 128 BC.
As a solution to the problem of land division among the allied cities, Flaccus proposed to give
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
to individual Italian allies in order to obtain lands, thereby introducing a question that vexed Roman politics for many years. Elected
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 throu ...
in 125 BC on this programme, he proposed bills to grant the Italians citizenship and right of appeal.
Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...
, writing in the first century, indicts Flaccus with outrageous and haughty behaviour when he apparently refused to answer summons of the senate or attend senate meetings "to show his contempt for the prestige of that entire distinguished order". 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 ...
, however, dispatched him to
Transalpine Gaul
Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...
to assist
Massalia
Massalia ( Greek: Μασσαλία; Latin: Massilia; modern Marseille) was an ancient Greek colony founded ca. 600 BC on the Mediterranean coast of present-day France, east of the river Rhône, by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Wester ...
(modern
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
) against
Salluvian attacks, partially to stall his domestic legislative programme.
He was prorogued as
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 ' ...
in Transalpine Gaul through to 123 BC. Beyond the internal political conflict, the Roman objective in southern Gaul was to ensure the safety of the trading route between the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
and Italy, which was threatened by the Ligurian tribes around Massalia. Livy's account suggests that Flaccus may have travelled across the Alps (presumably by
Mont Genèvre and the
Durance
The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .[Vocontii
The Vocontii (Gaulish: *''Uocontioi''; Greek: Οὐοκόντιοι, Οὐοκοντίων) were a Gallic people dwelling on the western foothills of the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Vocontii settled in the region in the 3 ...]
east of the
Rhône Valley before reaching the territory of the Salluvii. At any rate, Flaccus' victory was not decisive, and another consul,
Gaius Sextius Calvinus, was sent the following year to subdue the local tribes. Flaccus became the first to defeat the transalpine
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 ...
ns in war, and returned in 123 BC to Rome and celebrated a
triumph
The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...
.
In 122 BC, he became a
plebeian tribune
Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...
to assist
Gaius Gracchus
Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician in the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, including laws to establish ...
– Gaius had been tribune since the previous year, having been elected for 123, – in implementing a lightly-modified version of his policy of citizenship for
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
. This version would have granted those with
Latin rights
Latin rights (also Latin citizenship, Latin: ''ius Latii'' or ''ius latinum'') were a set of legal rights that were originally granted to the Latins (Latin: "Latini", the People of Latium, the land of the Latins) under Roman law in their origin ...
– the most important rights were intermarriage and access to Roman courts – full voting citizenship. Appian reports that he left the city during his tribunate to support African colonisation plans; Plutarch, however, places him in Rome throughout to oppose
Marcus Livius Drusus (a political opponent and then-fellow tribune). The Italian citizenship bill, however, was defeated: the ancient sources name two leading opponents:
Gaius Fannius and Drusus. Fannius, in a fragment of "his famous speech on the subject", said,
Early in 121 BC, Flaccus joined Gaius Gracchus in protesting repeal of a law – to establish a colony at Carthage – by an ally in their tribunate the previous year. When the protests became violent, he and Gaius were summoned to the senate but refused to attend.
Lucius Opimius was then empowered by the senate, in the first ''
senatus consultum ultimum
The ''senatus consultum ultimum'' ("final decree of the Senate", often abbreviated to SCU) is the modern term given to resolutions of the Roman Senate lending its moral support for magistrates to use the full extent of their powers and ignore th ...
'', to suppress the protests by force. In response, Flaccus and Gaius armed their followers and seized portions of the
Aventine Hill
The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth '' rione'', or ward, of Rome.
Location and boundaries
The Aventine Hill is the so ...
. Refusing to negotiate, Opimius' forces demanded that the leaders surrender themselves to the senate's judgement, and thence attacked; in the ensuing fight, Flaccus and his sons were killed.
Legacy
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 esta ...
in his dialogue with Brutus, describes Flaccus as "scholarly"; Badian notes in the ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (2012) that his helps to correct "the hostile picture in Plutarch" that describes him as "violent drunkard initiating Gracchus' rebellion".
[. Citing Cic. ''Brut.'' 108.]
Flaccus had at least two sons: the elder son – possibly of the same name – and a younger son – possibly named Quintus – were both killed during
Lucius Opimius' suppression of the Gracchan uprising.
Notes
Citations
Modern sources
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Ancient sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulvius Flaccus, Marcus
121 BC deaths
Ancient Roman generals
Executed ancient Roman people
2nd-century BC Roman consuls
Marcus
Populares
Year of birth unknown