Gaius Rabirius Postumus was a
Roman banker. He is notable for having been defended by
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
(54 BC) in the extant speech ''Pro Rabirio Postumo'', when charged with extortion in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and complicity with
Aulus Gabinius
Aulus Gabinius (by 101 BC – 48 or 47 BC) was a Roman statesman and general. He was an avid supporter of Pompey who likewise supported Gabinius. He was a prominent figure in the latter days of the Roman Republic.
Career
In 67 BC, when tribune ...
. Rabirius was a member of the
equites
The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian o ...
order who lent a very large sum of money to
Ptolemy XII Auletes
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus Philopator Philadelphus ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Νέος Διόνυσος Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλάδελφος, Ptolemaios Neos Dionysos Philopatōr Philadelphos; – 51 BC) was a pharaoh of the Ptolemaic ...
, king of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. Afterwards, Auletes, in lieu of repaying the money, appointed Rabirius as his finance minister (
dioiketes ''Dioikētēs'' ( gr, διοικητής), often Latinized as ''dioecetes'', is a term applied to a variety of administrative officials.
Origin and history during Antiquity
The term derives from διοίκησις (''dioikēsis''), literally "hous ...
) and gave him license to recoup his debts by collecting taxes from the Egyptian subjects. After one year, the Alexandrian people, exasperated by Rabirius' exactions, rioted, and Auletes had Rabirius imprisoned. The latter escaped to Rome, where he was accused by the
Senate of Rome
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
. He was defended by
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
and acquitted on a technicality.
See also
*
Gaius Rabirius (senator) Gaius Rabirius was a Roman senator who was involved in the death of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus in 100 BC. Titus Labienus, a Tribune of the Plebs whose uncle had lost his life among the followers of Saturninus on that occasion, was urged by fellow S ...
*
Rabiria gens
The gens Rabiria was a minor plebeian family at Ancient Rome. Although of senatorial rank, few members of this gens appear in history, and the only one known to have held any of the higher offices of the Roman state was Gaius Rabirius Postumus, wh ...
References
*Marcus Tullius Cicero ''Cicero's Speech Pro Rabirio Postumo.'' Oxford University Press, 2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabirius Postumus, Gaius
Ancient Roman equites
1st-century BC Romans
Rabirii