Publius Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus (fl. 1st century BC – 1st century AD) 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 letter ...

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 ...

who was elected

Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

in 18 BC, with Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus as his colleague. During his consulship, 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 ...

and the Roman assembly again conferred upon the Roman emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

his extraordinary promagisterial authority and his Tribunician power.

Biography

Much about the ancestry and career of Publius Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus is uncertain and is based on a great deal of supposition; what is certain is the ''

praenomen The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bi ...

'' of his father, Publius, which is attested in his filiation. It is postulated that our Marcellinus may have been the son of Publius Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, who may have been a ''

Triumvir monetalis The ''triumvir monetalis'' ( ''tresviri'' or ''triumviri monetales'', also called the , abbreviated IIIVIR A. A. A. F. F.) was a moneyer during the Roman Republic and the Empire, who oversaw the minting of coins. In that role, he would be respons ...

'' in 50 BC, but it is certain he was elected

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

in 48 BC; Marcellinus the quaestor commanded a portion of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

's defences at Dyrrachium which was attacked by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, and in the process Marcellinus sustained heavy losses. There is also a Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, consul in 56 BC, who is considered the father of the quaestor, who could be the grandfather of our Marcellinus. There is a fragmentary list of the

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 vario ...

s of 29 BC, which includes a "Cornelius Lentulus Marc .., which has led some experts to identify this person with the consul of 18 BC.

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

notes a number of implications if this identification is correct. One is a long interval elapsed between Marcellinus' praetorship and consulship, which is unusual, especially for a member of the patrician class, which, as Syme observes, "is not inconceivable in the first decade of the new order. On the other hand, perhaps a different Marcellinus."Syme, p. 287 Even more important is Syme's observation, "In any event a praetor of 29 cannot be the son of a quaestor in 48." It is possible that Marcellinus may be the Cornelius Lentulus appointed ''

Legatus Augusti pro praetore A ''legatus Augusti pro praetore'' (literally: "envoy of the emperor – acting for the praetor") was the official title of the governor or general of some Imperial provincess of the Roman Empire during the Principate era, normally the larger ones ...

'' in

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

in the first years of the 1st century AD. However, Syme argues that Cornelius Lentulus the general is more likely identified as

Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Augur Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus "Augur" (c. 54 BC – 25 AD) was a politician and general of the early Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus, who became consul in 14 BC as the colleague of Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi. Enormously wealthy, he reputed ...

, consul in AD 14.Syme, pp. 288-292

References

Sources

* Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol II (1952) *Syme, Ronald, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'' (1986).

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, Publius 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans Senators of the Roman Empire Imperial Roman consuls Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Roman governors of Pannonia Cornelii Lentuli

Biography

See also

References

Sources