Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis was an ancient Roman who, according to

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 ...

, was

Roman dictator A Roman dictator was an extraordinary Roman magistrate, magistrate in the Roman Republic endowed with full authority to resolve some specific problem to which he had been assigned. He received the full powers of the state, subordinating the other ...

in 498 or 496 BC, when he conquered the

Latins The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic. Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Latin ...

in the great Battle of Lake Regillus and subsequently celebrated a triumph. Many of the coins of the

Postumii The gens Postumia was a noble patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, the Postumii frequently occupied the chief magistracies of the Roman state, beginning with Publius Postumius Tubertus, consul in 505 BC, the ...

Albi commemorate this victory of their ancestor, as in the one pictured. Roman folklore related that Castor and Pollux were seen fighting in this battle on the side of the Romans, whence the dictator afterwards promised a temple to Castor and Pollux in the

Roman Forum 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 ancient ...

. He was

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 ...

in 496 BC, in which year some of the annals, according to Livy, placed the battle of Lake

Regillus Regillus was an ancient lake of Latium, Italy, famous in the legendary history of Rome as the lake in the neighborhood of which occurred (in 496 B.C.) the Battle of Lake Regillus between the Romans and the Latins which finally decided the hegemon ...

; and it is to this year that

Dionysius The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...

assigns it. The name "Regillensis" is usually supposed to have been derived from this battle; but Niebuhr thinks that it was taken from a place of residence, just as the

Claudii The gens Claudia (), sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain the consulship was Appius C ...

bore the same name, and that the later annalists only spoke of Postumius as commander in consequence of the name. Livy states expressly that

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...

was the first Roman who obtained a surname from his conquests. In 495 BC, Postumius was chosen at short notice by the Romans to lead the cavalry to

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

against a Sabine invading force. In 493 BC Postumius was one of the ten envoys sent by the senate to treat with the plebeian leaders during the first secessio plebis. Postumius' career prior to his consulship and dictatorship is not known, but he might have been the military tribune who is mentioned in 504 BC serving under the consul Publius Valerius Poplicola.

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

, '' Poplicola, 22.2'' He was, according to some genealogies, the father of

Spurius Postumius Albus Regillensis Spurius Postumius Albus Regillensis (died 439 BC) was a patrician politician of Ancient Rome. His filiation as reported in the ''Fasti Capitolini'' suggests he was the son of Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis, consul 496 BC, and brother of Aulus ...

and

Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis was an ancient Roman who, according to Livy, was Roman dictator in 498 or 496 BC, when he conquered the Latins in the great Battle of Lake Regillus and subsequently celebrated a triumph. Many of the coins of the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Postumius Albus Regillensis, Aulus 5th-century BC Roman consuls 5th-century BC deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Postumius Regillensis, Aulus Ancient Roman dictators

See also

References