Decimus Junius Brutus (fl. 1st century BC) was a Roman politician who 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 throug ...

in 77 BC.

Career

A member of the

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

gens Junia The gens Junia was one of the most celebrated families of ancient Rome. The gens may originally have been patrician (ancient Rome), patrician, and was already prominent in the last days of the Roman Kingdom, Roman monarchy. Lucius Junius Brutu ...

, his father was

Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus (or Gallaecus or Callaecus; c. 180113 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic for the year 138 BC together with Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio. He was an optimate politician and a military commander in His ...

and his mother was a

Clodia Clodius is an alternate form of the Roman '' nomen'' Claudius, a patrician '' gens'' that was traditionally regarded as Sabine in origin. The alternation of ''o'' and ''au'' is characteristic of the Sabine dialect. The feminine form is Clodia. R ...

, either from the Pulchri or Marcelli. He was one of the young nobles who fought against

Lucius Appuleius Saturninus Lucius Appuleius Saturninus (died late 100 BC) was a Roman populist and tribune. He is most notable for introducing a series of legislative reforms, alongside his associate Gaius Servilius Glaucia and with the consent of Gaius Marius, during the l ...

and killed him and his followers in the

Curia Hostilia The Curia Hostilia was one of the original senate houses or "curiae" of the Roman Republic. It was believed to have begun as a temple where the warring tribes laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus (r. c. 771–717 BC). During the early ...

. A supporter of the

Dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had t ...

, he was elected

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 discharge vario ...

, probably in 80 BC. He was criticised for his support of Sulla after Sulla's death by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In 77 BC, he was elected

alongside

Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus Livianus Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus Livianus (died c. 62 BC) was a Roman politician and military commander who was consul in 77 BC. Biography Livianus was a well connected and influential figure in Late Republican politics. A member of the aristocratic par ...

. Neither Junius Brutus nor his consular colleague accepted a

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

ar command in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

to help

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (c. 128 – 63 BC) was a Roman politician and general. Like the other members of the influential Caecilii Metelli family, he was a leader of the Optimates, the conservative faction opposed to the Populares during ...

in the

Sertorian War The Sertorian War was a civil war fought from 80 to 72 BC between a faction of Roman rebels ( Sertorians) and the government in Rome ( Sullans). The war was fought on the Iberian Peninsula (called ''Hispania'' by the Romans) and was one of the ...

. In 74 BC, Junius Brutus put up his lands for security on behalf of a relative who was brought up on charges before

Verres Gaius Verres (c. 120–43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence adv ...

, the ''praetor urbanus''. Brutus was still alive in 63 BC, when his wife Sempronia was caught up in the conspiracy of

Catiline Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the R ...

. It was during one of his absences from

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 ...

that the conspirators met at his house. Junius Brutus’ short political career is accounted for by the fact that he was more involved in the civil and legal spheres of public life rather than the political, and he was noted as a man well versed in Greek and Latin learning.

Personal life

Brutus was married to a woman named Sempronia. His son was

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus (27 April 81 BC – September 43 BC) was a Roman general and politician of the late republican period and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination. He had previously been an important support ...

, one of the

assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviida ...

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

(not to be confused with his distant cousin and fellow assassin

Marcus Junius Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

). Historian

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

proposed that Brutus may have been married to another woman before Sempronia, a Postumia who could have been a sister of the wife of Servius Sulpicius Rufus, he states that it is possible that this Postumia could have been Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus mother instead of Sempronia.Syme, Ronald; "

No Son for Caesar? No (and variant writings) may refer to one of these articles: English language * ''Yes'' and ''no'' (responses) * A determiner in noun phrases Alphanumeric symbols * No (kana), a letter/syllable in Japanese script * No symbol, displayed � ...

" - page: 8

References

Sources

* Brennan, T. Corey, ''The Praetorship in the Roman Republic, Volume 2'' (2000) * Gruen, Erich S., ''The Last Generation of the Roman Republic'' (1995) * Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol. II (1951) * Smith, William, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Vol III (1867). {{DEFAULTSORT:Junius Brutus, Decimus 1st-century BC Roman consuls Decimus Roman Republican praetors Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown