Sextus Julius Iulus was a

consular tribune A consular tribune was putatively a type of magistrate in the early Roman Republic. According to Roman tradition, colleges of consular tribunes held office throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BC during the so-called "Conflict of the Or ...

of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

in 424 BC. Julius belonged to the

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

Julia gens The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician (ancient Rome), patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Roman Republic, Republic ...

and the branch known as the Julii Iuli, one of the early republics most influential families having produced five consuls prior to Sextus Julius. He is the first known Sextus among the Julii, a

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 ...

otherwise associated with a younger branch, the

Julii Caesares The Julii Caesares were the most illustrious family of the patrician ''gens Julia''. The family first appears in history during the Second Punic War, when Sextus Julius Caesar was praetor in Sicily. His son, Sextus Julius Caesar, obtained th ...

, who appeared by the end of the 3rd century BC. As no filiations have survived it remains unclear of Julius connection to the other known Julii Iuli of the period, but there remains a possibility that Lucius Julius Iulus, consular tribune in 388 and 379 BC, was his son.

Consular tribune

In 424 BC Julius was elected as consular tribune together with

Appius Claudius Crassus Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis (or Crassinus Regillensis) Sabinus ( 471–451 BC) was a Roman senator during the early Republic, most notable as the leading member of the ten-man board (the Decemvirate) which drew up the Twelve Tables of ...

Lucius Sergius Fidenas Lucius Sergius Fidenas was a Roman politician during the 5th century BC, and was elected consul in 437 and 429 BC. In 433, 424, and 418 BC he was military tribune with consular power. Family He was a member of the ''Sergii Fidenates'', branch of t ...

and Spurius Nautius Rutilus. Julius seems to have spent most of his consular time outside of Rome, probably leading armies in the field, as

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, 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 traditiona ...

mentions that only his colleague Claudius remained in Rome for the

comitia The legislative assemblies of the Roman Republic were political institutions in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the contemporary historian Polybius, it was the people (and thus the assemblies) who had the final say regarding the election ...

and the election of the consular college of 423 BC.

Chronograph of 354 The ''Chronograph of 354'' (or "Chronography"), also known as the ''Calendar of 354'', is a compilation of chronological and calendrical texts produced in 354 AD for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus by the calligrapher and illustrato ...

(Crasso et Fidenas) Livy in reporting the consular college of 424 BC has Julius with the

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

of Tullus, a cognomen that is otherwise associated with the Volscatia, a contemporary gens to Livy who rose to prominence in the 1st century BC. This, in combination with that the other sources are in agreement of Iullus/Iulus, makes it likely that the ancient historian should be considered to have made a mistake here.Broughton, vol i, pp.68, note. 1

References

{{s-end 5th-century BC Romans Roman consular tribunes Roman Republic Julii Iuli Julii

Consular tribune

See also

References