Lucius Caesennius Lento ( 1st century BC) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

playwright and politician who was a supporter of

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

Biography

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

descent, and a member of the '' gens Caesennia'', Caesennius Lento was, according to

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 esta ...

, an actor who specialised in writing and performing tragedies. Choosing to side with

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, ...

during the civil wars of the late Republic, Caesennius Lento was appointed a ''

Legatus 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 officer ...

'' under Caesar during Caesar's campaigns 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: Hisp ...

in 45 BC. It was Lento who was the officer who killed Gnaeus Pompeius during the Battle of Lauro, some weeks after the

Battle of Munda The Battle of Munda (17 March 45 BC), in southern Hispania Ulterior, was the final battle of Caesar's civil war against the leaders of the Optimates. With the military victory at Munda and the deaths of Titus Labienus and Gnaeus Pompeius (elde ...

. In June 44 BC, Caesennius Lento was one of the seven agrarian commissioners established under the

Lex Antonia The ''Leges Antoniae'' (Latin for '' Antonine's laws'') were an ensemble of Roman laws passed by Mark Antony in the aftermath of the assassination of Julius Caesar, on 15 March 44 BC. History After the assassination of Julius Caesar, the consu ...

and appointed by

to divide the available

Ager publicus The ''ager publicus'' (; "public land") is the Latin name for the public land of Ancient Rome. It was usually acquired via the means of expropriation from enemies of Rome. History In the earliest periods of Roman expansion in central Italy, th ...

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

and

Lentini Lentini ( scn, Lintini, historically Liuntini; la, Leontīnī; grc, Λεοντῖνοι) is a town and in the Province of Syracuse, South East of Sicily (Southern Italy). History The city was founded by colonists from Naxos as Leontini in 72 ...

among veteran soldiers and needy citizens.Broughton, pg. 332; Syme, pg. 116 As a supporter of Mark Antony, he was criticized by Cicero in his ''

Philippicae The ''Philippics'' ( la, Philippicae, singular Philippica) are a series of 14 speeches composed by Cicero in 44 and 43 BC, condemning Mark Antony. Cicero likened these speeches to those of Demosthenes against Philip II of Macedon; both Demo ...

'' in 43 BC. Lento was probably the great-grandfather of

Lucius Caesennius Paetus Lucius Junius Caesennius Paetus (c. 20 - 72?) was a Roman senator, and member of the ''gens'' Caesennia and Junia, who held several offices in the emperor's service. He was '' consul ordinarius'' for the year 61 as the colleague of Publius Petron ...

, who was

Roman consul 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 AD 61.

Sources

* Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol II (1951) * Syme, Ronald, ''The Roman Revolution'' (1939)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caesennius Lento, Lucius 1st-century BC Romans Ancient Roman tragic dramatists Lento, Lucius Roman legates