Publius Cornelius Scipio (born 48 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 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 ...

active during the

Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...

. He was

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 16 BC as the colleague of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. He was also

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 ' ...

ar governor of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, probably around the years 8/7 BC.

Ancestry

Little is known about Scipio's ancestry, beyond his father's

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 ...

'' Publius''. The latest securely documented members of the

Cornelii Scipiones The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any oth ...

was

Metellus Scipio Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio (c. 95 – 46 BC), often referred to as Metellus Scipio, was a Roman senator and military commander. During the civil war between Julius Caesar and the senatorial faction led by Pompey, he was a staunch supp ...

and his daughter Cornelia; there were still several Scipiones during the

, but how they are related is a subject of conjecture. The use of Publius, primarily used by the Scipiones Nasicae, could indicate that he was the grandson of Metellus Scipio, but he could have also been a son (or grandson) of Scipio Salvito. It was long believed the consul of 16 BC was the son of a hypothesized Publius Cornelius Scipio, the first husband of Scribonia, later the wife of Octavian.

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

only mentions children from Scribonia's second marriage.

Family

At least two people have been identified as his children by an unidentified woman: * Cornelius Scipio, who was accused of and punished for adultery with

Julia the Elder Julia the Elder (30 October 39 BC – AD 14), known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia (Classical Latin: IVLIA•CAESARIS•FILIA or IVLIA•AVGVSTI•FILIA), was the daughter and only biological child of August ...

in 2 BC. While

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 ...

believes this man is different from the consul, Henri Etcheto believes he could be the same as the consul of 16 BC. * Publius Cornelius Scipio,

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 ...

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...

''circa'' AD 2. Another suggestion by Syme; however Etcheto argues this man could have been adopted from the

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

Aurelii Orestides, because this Scipio was

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

, a magistracy only held by the plebeians and the Scipiones were

patricians The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

. Syme also suggests possible third child, the "''Cornelia Scipionum gentis''" wife of the long-lived Lucius Volusius Saturninus, consul in AD 3. However, in another part of his book Syme notes this Cornelia is mentioned in an inscription as "L.f." and suggests Scipio's possible daughter was the mother of Volusius' wife by Lucius Cornelius Lentulus consul of 3 BC. Etcheto rejects this connection with the Corneli Lentuli, and considers that she was a direct heir of the Scipiones, but does not attempt to identify her father.Etcheto, ''Les Scipions'', pp. 192, 193.

References

Bibliography

Alison E. Cooley Alison E. Cooley is a British classicist specialising in Latin epigraphy. She is a professor at the University of Warwick and former head of its Department of Classics and Ancient History. In 2004, she was awarded ''The Butterworth Memorial Tea ...

, ''The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy'', Cambridge: University Press, 2012. *Henri Etcheto,
Les Scipions. Famille et pouvoir à Rome à l’époque républicaine
', Bordeaux, Ausonius Éditions, 2012 *R.A. Billows, "The Last of the Scipios", ''American Journal of Ancient History'', 7 (1982), pp. 53–68. *

, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'', Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Scipio, Publius 48 BC births Year of death unknown 1st-century BC Romans Imperial Roman consuls Cornelius Scipio, Publius (consul 16 BC)

Ancestry

Family

See also

References

Bibliography