Gaius Antistius Vetus was a Roman politician and general who was

consul suffectus A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

in 30 BC as the colleague of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, succeeding Marcus Licinius Crassus.

Biography

Vetus was a descendant of the Plebeian Roman house of the Antistii Veteres. He was probably the son of Gaius Antistius Vetus, praetor in 70, and governor in 69 BC in

Hispania Ulterior Hispania Ulterior (English: "Further Hispania", or occasionally "Thither Hispania") was a region of Hispania during the Roman Republic, roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania ( ...

, under whom

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, ...

served as quaestor. Initially a supporter of Caesar, Vetus was appointed '' Quaestor pro praetore'' of Syria by Caesar, a position which he held in 45 BC. He was forced to fight against Quintus Caecilius Bassus, the former governor and an opponent of Caesar, who refused to relinquish his post. Vetus besieged him until the Parthians came to relieve Bassus; during this time Vetus was hailed as '' imperator''. On his way back to

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 44 BC, he was intercepted by

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 ...

, one of Caesar's leading assassins, who persuaded him not only to hand over the province's revenues which he was taking to Rome, but also to join the cause of the

Liberatores Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator, was assassinated by a group of senators on the Ides of March (15 March) of 44 BC during a meeting of the Senate at the Curia of Pompey of the Theatre of Pompey in Rome where the senators stabbed Caesar 23 ti ...

.Syme, pg. 330 In June 43 BC he was back in

but soon returned to Brutus where he served as one of his

legates A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the office ...

. Fleeing after the defeat of Brutus at Philippi, Vetus eventually became reconciled with Marcus Antonius and

Octavianus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

. In 35 BC, Vetus was given command of the ongoing war against the

Salassi The Salassi or Salasses were a Gallic or Ligurian tribe dwelling in the upper valley of the Dora Baltea river, near present-day Aosta (Val d'Aosta), during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''dià Salassō̃n'' (δ� ...

, perhaps as the governor of

Transalpine Gaul Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

, which he prosecuted with vigour, but without success. Then in 30 BC, he was awarded the position of

, serving alongside Octavianus for a portion of the year. Vetus was then made

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, ...

of Hispania Citerior in 26 BC, one of the few men of consular standing to be given a military province during the reign of Augustus. He took over from Augustus after the

Princeps ''Princeps'' (plural: ''principes'') is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person". As a title, ''princeps'' originated in the Roman Republic w ...

fell ill whilst on campaign in Spain, leading a

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

together with P. Carusius against the

Astures The Astures or Asturs, also named Astyrs, were the Hispano-Celtic inhabitants of the northwest area of Hispania that now comprises almost the entire modern autonomous community of Principality of Asturias, the modern province of León, and the ...

which they successfully concluded in 25 BC.Syme, pg. 332 His son, Gaius Antistius Vetus, served as consul in 6 BC. Two of his grandsons also went on to become consuls.

Sources

* T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II'' (1952). * Syme, Ronald, ''The Roman Revolution'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939. * Anthon, Charles & Smith, William, ''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography'' (1860).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antistius Vetus, Gaius (consul 724 AC) 1st-century BC Roman governors of Syria 1st-century BC Romans Vetus, Gaius (consul 724 AC) Imperial Roman consuls

Biography

See also

Sources

Notes