Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, 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 ...

statesman and general who was 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 121 BC. During his consulship he fought against the

Arverni The Arverni (Gaulish: *''Aruernoi'') were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Auvergne region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient Gaul, contesting primacy over the region with the n ...

and the Allobroges whom he defeated in 120 BC. He was awarded a triumph and the

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the '' cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between sim ...

Allobrogicus for his victory over the Gauls.

Career

Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus was the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, the

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 ...

of 145 BC, and a member of the patrician ''

gens Fabia In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

''.Allobrogicus was a member of the ''gens Fabia'' through the adoption of his father; his paternal grandfather was Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus. His first appearance was during the elections for

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 134 BC; he was recommended to the voters as a candidate by his biological uncle Scipio Aemilianus, and after Allobrogicus was elected, Scipio took him as his quaestor to

Hispania Citerior Hispania Citerior (English: "Hither Iberia", or "Nearer Iberia") was a Roman province in Hispania during the Roman Republic. It was on the eastern coast of Iberia down to the town of Cartago Nova, today's Cartagena in the autonomous community of ...

where they fought in the Second Numantine War. While there, Allobrogicus was placed in charge of 4,000 volunteers. By 124 BC, he had been elected to the office of

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 ...

, since in 123 BC, he was appointed propraetor (governor) of one of the

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...

s (Citerior or Ulterior). Whilst there, he was censured by 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 ...

, following a motion by Gaius Gracchus, for extorting gifts of grain from a Spanish town. Then in 121 BC, he was elected consul alongside Lucius Opimius. During his consulship, he campaigned in

Gallia Transalpina 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 wa ...

(in the modern day

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

and

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône ...

regions) with Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus against the Gallic tribes of the Allobroges and

. After his consulship expired, he replaced Domitius Ahenobarbus 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 Gaul (120 BC), during which time he completed the defeat of the Allobroges and Arverni. For this he was awarded the honour of a triumph and given the

''Allobrogicus''. The triumph he held was famous for its spectacle, including the captive Arvernian king

Bituitus Bituitus ('' fl.'' 2nd century BCE) was a king of the Arverni, a Gaulish tribe living in what is now the Auvergne region of France. The Arverni were a powerful opponent of the Roman Republic during the 3rd and 2nd centuries under the leadership ...

in his silver battle armor. From the plunder of the Auvergne, Fabius erected the '' Fornix Fabianus'' (121 BC) crossing the '' Via Sacra'' at the ''

Forum Romanum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum ( plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancie ...

'', placing a statue of himself on top of the arch. In 113 BC, he may have been the Quintus Fabius who was the leader of an embassy sent to

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

to help end some internal disputes between various cities on the island. Then in 108 BC, either he or

Quintus Fabius Maximus Eburnus Quintus Fabius Maximus Eburnus (fl. 2nd century BC) was a Roman statesman of the patrician ''gens'' Fabia. He was consul in 116 BC. Family Eburnus was the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Servilianus, consul in 142 BC, himself adopted from the gens ...

was appointed to the office of Censor. He was a known

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

and a man of letters. Upon the death of his blood uncle Scipio Aemilianus in 129 BC, Fabius presented a banquet to the citizenry of Rome and pronounced the funeral oration of the deceased general. He had at least one son, also named Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, who was notorious for his vices. His grandson was Quintus Fabius Maximus.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, Quintus 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Senators of the Roman Republic Roman governors of Hispania Quintus Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown