Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus (properly Asiagenes; 3rd century BC – after 183 BC) was a general and statesman of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

. He was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio and the younger brother of

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest milit ...

. He 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 thro ...

in 190 BC, and later that year led (with his brother) the Roman forces to victory at the

Battle of Magnesia The Battle of Magnesia took place in either December 190 or January 189 BC. It was fought as part of the Roman–Seleucid War, pitting forces of the Roman Republic led by the Roman consul, consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and the allied ...

. Although his career may be eclipsed by the shadow of his elder brother, Lucius' life is noteworthy in several respects.

Family background

Lucius belonged to the patrician ''

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

'' Cornelia, one of the most important gentes of the Republic, which counted more consulships than any other. He was the son of Publius, the consul of 218 who died against the

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

at the

Battle of the Upper Baetis The Battle of the Upper Baetis was a double battle, comprising the battles of Castulo and Ilorca, fought in 211 BC during the Second Punic War between a Carthaginian force led by Hasdrubal Barca (Hannibal's brother) and a Roman force led by Pub ...

in 211, and Pomponia, the daughter of Manius Pomponius Matho, consul in 233. Lucius also had an elder brother, Publius, better known as

, who was the leading man of his generation and the vanquisher of

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

at the

Battle of Zama The Battle of Zama was fought in 202 BC in what is now Tunisia between a Roman Republic, Roman army commanded by Scipio Africanus and a Ancient Carthage, Carthaginian army commanded by Hannibal. The battle was part of the Second Punic War an ...

in 202. Lucius was very close to his brother throughout his career, but had a conflicting relationship with his cousin Scipio Nasica since both of them were born circa 228, and therefore fought for the same magistracies at each stage of their ''

cursus honorum The , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices'; ) was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The comprised a mixture of ...

''. Lucius' wife is not known.

Early career

Lucius served under his brother in Spain during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

, defeating the Carthaginian commander

Larus ''Larus'' is a large genus of gulls with worldwide distribution (by far the greatest species diversity is in the Northern Hemisphere). Many of its species are abundant and well-known birds in their ranges. Until about 2005–2007, most gulls ...

in a famous duel, and in 208 BC took a town on his own. In 206 BC, he was sent to the Senate with news of the victory in Spain. He was

curule aedile Aedile ( , , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public orde ...

in 195 BC, and

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 disch ...

assigned to Sicily in 193 BC, helped by the influence of his brother. He was a candidate for consul in 191 BC, but lost to his first cousin Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica.

Consul

He was finally elected consul in 190 BC with his co-consul being his brother's old second-in-command Gaius Laelius. According to Smith, the senate had not much confidence in his abilities (Cic. Phil. xi. 17), and it was only through the offer of his brother Africanus to accompany him as a legate that he obtained the province of Greece and the conduct of the war against Antiochus. He asserted himself against his brother by refusing the peace negotiated with the Aetolians by the latter. However, Publius insisted that as supreme commander at Magnesia Lucius should receive full credit for the victory over Antiochus. Upon his return to Rome, he celebrated a triumph (189 BC) and requested the title "Asiaticus" to signify his conquest of Western

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. According to some biblical commentators, Asiaticus is the "commander" referred to in Daniel 11:18, where it says that "a commander will put an end to his insolence" ( NIV).

Political fall

Towards the end of his brother's life, Lucius was accused of misappropriating some of the funds collected from Antiochus as an indemnity. Africanus, then

Princeps Senatus The ''princeps senatus'' ( ''principes senatus''), in English the leader of the senate, was the first member by precedence on the membership rolls of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the ''cursus honorum'' and possessing no ''imperium ...

, was outraged, going so far as to destroy the campaign's financial records while speaking in the Senate, as an act of defiance. After his brother's death (c. 183 BC), Lucius was imprisoned for this alleged theft. He was eventually pardoned by the tribune

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 ...

, although he was forced to sell his property and pay the state a lump sum. Roman historians report that he refused to accept any gifts or loans from his friends to pay the penalty. During his brother's lifetime in 185 BC, Lucius celebrated with great splendour the games which he had vowed in his war with Antiochus. Valerius of Antium related that he obtained the necessary money during an embassy on which he was sent after his condemnation, to settle the disputes between the kings Antiochus and Eumenes. He was a candidate for the censorship in 184 BC, but was defeated by an old enemy of his family, M. Porcius Cato, who deprived Lucius of his Public Horse at the review of the ''equites''.Liv. xxxix. 22, 40, 44.

Descendants

Lucius had descendants, the ''Cornelii Scipiones Asiatici'', the last of whom was the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus who had an adoptive son. This son passed into obscurity after 82 BC.

References

Sources

Bibliography

Ancient sources

* ''

Fasti Capitolini The ''Fasti Capitolini'', or Capitoline Fasti, are a list of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, extending from the early fifth century BC down to the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Together with similar lists found at Rom ...

''. * Titus Livius (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

), '' History of Rome.'' *

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''

Parallel lives * Culture of ancient Greece Culture of ancient Rome Ancient Greek biographical works Ethics literature History books about ancient Rome Cultural depictions of Gaius Marius Cultural depictions of Mark Antony Cultural depictions of Cicero ...

''. *

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

, '' Historiae'' (The Histories).

Modern sources

* Alan E. Astin, ''Cato the Censor'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1978. * * ——, ''A Commentary on Livy, Books 38–40'', Oxford University Press, 2007. * ——, ''A Commentary on Livy, Books 41–45'', Oxford University Press, 2012. * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association, 1952–1960. * Paul J. Burton, ''Friendship and Empire, Roman Diplomacy and Imperialism in the Middle Republic (353–146 BC)'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 2011. * ''Filippo Coarelli'', "I ritratti di ‘Mario’ e ‘Silla’ a Monaco e il sepolcro degli Scipioni", ''Eutopia nuova serie'', II/ 1, 2002, pp. 47–75. * J. A. Crook, F. W. Walbank, M. W. Frederiksen, R. M. Ogilvie (editors), ''

The Cambridge Ancient History ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' is a multi-volume work of ancient history from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. The first series, consisting of 12 volumes, was planned in 1919 by Irish historian J. B. Bur ...

, vol. VIII, Rome and the Mediterranean to 133 B.C.'', Cambridge University Press, 1989. *Henri Etcheto,
Les Scipions. Famille et pouvoir à Rome à l’époque républicaine
', Bordeaux, Ausonius Éditions, 2012. *

Friedrich Münzer Friedrich Münzer (22 April 1868 – 20 October 1942) was a German classical scholar noted for the development of prosopography, particularly for his demonstrations of how family relationships in ancient Rome connected to political struggles. He d ...

, ''Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families'', translated by Thérèse Ridley,

Johns Hopkins University Press Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

, 1999 (originally published in 1920). *

August Pauly August Friedrich von Pauly (; ; 9 May 1796, in Benningen am Neckar – 2 May 1845, in Stuttgart) was a German educator and classical philologist. From 1813 to 1818 he studied at the University of Tübingen, then furthered his education at Heide ...

Georg Wissowa Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau. Education and career Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresl ...

, ''et alii'', ''

Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedias on Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman classical studies, topics and scholarship. The first of these, or (1839–1852), was begun by compiler A ...

'' (abbreviated ''PW''), J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart, 1894–1980. * Francis X. Ryan, ''Rank and Participation in the Republican Senate'', Stuttgart, Franz Steiner Verlag, 1998. * Howard Hayes Scullard, ''Roman Politics 220–150 B. C.'', Oxford University Press, 1951. *

Lily Ross Taylor Lily Ross Taylor (August 12, 1886 – November 18, 1969) was an American academic and author, who in 1917 became the first female Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. Biography Born in Auburn, Alabama, Lily Ross Taylor developed an interest ...

and T. Robert S. Broughton, "The Order of the Two Consuls' Names in the Yearly Lists", ''Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome'', 19 (1949), pp. 3–14. * Frank William Walbank, ''A Commentary on Polybius'', Oxford University Press, 1979. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, Lucius 3rd-century BC births 2nd-century BC deaths 3rd-century BC Romans 2nd-century BC Roman consuls 2nd-century BC Roman praetors 2nd-century BC Roman generals Curule aediles Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid Asiaticus, Lucius Ancient Roman patricians Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Ancient Roman triumphators