Spurius Carvilius was tribune of the people at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 212 BC. Together with Lucius Carvilius (perhaps his brother), he proposed that a fine of 200,000 '' asses'' be levied against

Marcus Postumius Pyrgensis Marcus Postumius, surnamed Pyrgensis, is described by Livius as a "farmer of the taxes" during the Second Punic War, whose character for avarice and fraud were equaled only by Titus Pomponius Veientanus. During this period, when Rome and her allie ...

, for defrauding the state. Postumius was one of the "farmers of the taxes", who made their living shipping goods to Roman forces overseas during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

. He made a habit of sabotaging his own shipments and claiming losses from these and other imaginary shipwrecks, for which he was re-imbursed by the state. After Postumius' trial nearly escalated into a riot between the people and his supporters, the Carvilii brought capital charges before 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 ...

. Postumius gave surety and chose to go into exile rather than appear in person, and many of his supporters likewise chose exile over imprisonment. In this way, Spurius and Lucius Carvilius were able to halt this pernicious drain on the treasury, during a critical point in the war.

Titus Livius 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 in ...

, ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

'', xxv. 3-4.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carvilius, Spurius Carvilii 3rd-century BC Romans

See also

Footnotes