Titus Vettius Scato (also Cato) was an Italian rebel commander, a general of the Marsi during the Social War. At the Battle of the Tolenus River (11 June 90 BC), Scato and the Marsi ambushed the Roman

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 ...

Publius Rutilius Lupus Publius Rutilius Lupus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 90 BC. The Social Wars broke out the year before his consulship. His colleague, Lucius Julius Caesar, was sent out to face the Samnites, while Lupus was to fight the Marsi. He chose Ga ...

after the Romans crossed the River Tolenus. Unfortunately for Scato, Rutilius's senior

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

, and his division were operating separately from Rutilis and crossed the river downstream of the battle, captured the Marsi camp, and then attacked the Marsi while they were still fighting Rutilius's army, routing them with heavy losses (8,000 Marsi killed). He defeated Lucius Julius Caesar in

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

before marching on and capturing

Aesernia Isernia () or, in Pliny and later writers, ''Eserninus'', or in the Antonine Itinerary, ''Serni''. is a town and ''comune'' in the southern Italian region of Molise, and the capital of province of Isernia. Geography Situated on a rocky crest r ...

. When he encountered an army under

Pompey Strabo Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo (c. 135 – 87 BC) was a Roman general and politician, who served as consul in 89 BC. He is often referred to in English as Pompey Strabo, to distinguish him from his son, the famous Pompey the Great, or from Strabo the ge ...

, instead of fighting, the two met, their armies treating each other without hatred. According to

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

, he was captured by the Romans but was stabbed to death by his slave rather than face the ignominy of defeat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scato, Titus Vettius 1st-century BC deaths 1st-century BC Romans