Lucius Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC,

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 throu ...

in 458 BC, and

decemvir The decemviri or decemvirs (Latin for "ten men") were some of the several 10-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two Decemvirates, formally the " decemvirate with consular power for writing ...

in 450 BC.

Family

Brother of

Quintus Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus Quintus Minucius Esquilinus ( 457 BC) was, according to tradition, a Roman politician and general from the early Republic, who served as consul in 457 BC as the colleague of Gaius Horatius Pulvillus. During his term of office, a military threat fr ...

, consul in 457 BC, he was a member of the ''Minucii Augurini'' branch of the '' gens

Minucia ''Minucia'' is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromot ...

''. Lucius was the son of a Publius Minucius and grandson of a Marcus Minucius. His complete name is ''Lucius Minucius P.f. M.n. Esquilinus Augurinus''.

Career

Consulship

In 458 BC, he was consul with

Gaius Nautius Rutilus Gaius Nautius Rutilus was consul of the Roman Republic in 475 BC and 458 BC. In his first consulship he was the senior consul, and his colleague was Publius Valerius Poplicola. Nautius was given command of Roman forces against the Volsci who had ...

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a 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 traditional founding in ...

, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and Diodorus Siculus called him consul ''ordinarius'', but according to the ''

Fasti Capitolini The ''Fasti Capitolini'', or Capitoline Fasti, are a list of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, extending from the early fifth century BC down to the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Together with similar lists found at Rom ...

'', he was the consul suffect, replacing a certain Carvetus who died at the beginning of his term. This year, Rome had faced an assault by the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early hist ...

whose treaty had expired the year before and Roman territory was pillaged by the Sabines, reaching as far as the city walls. The consuls levied two armies, Augurinus alongside 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 tim ...

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, named by consul Rutilus, who relinquished command of the army once the mission was accomplished, and returned power to the Senate. Once back in Rome, Augurinus abdicated and command of his army was given to the ''praefectus Urbi'', Quintus Fabius Vibulanus.

''Decemvirate''

In 450 BC, Lucius was elected as member of the Second ''Decemvirate'' against more qualified candidates thanks to the supportive actions of

Appius Claudius Crassus Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis (or Crassinus Regillensis) Sabinus ( 471–451 BC) was a Roman senator during the early Republic, most notable as the leading member of the ten-man board (the Decemvirate) which drew up the Twelve Tables of ...

, who had been decemvir the year before. This commission achieved the writing of the

Law of the Twelve Tables The Laws of the Twelve Tables was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornblowe ...

, but under the influence of Crassus, they despotically maintained power after the end of their mission. In 449 BC, the decemvirs, led by Crassus, illegally kept their power, against the will of the Senate and the people. The invasion of the Sabines and the

had consequently dispersed the decemvirs. Quintus Fabius Vibulanus, Manius Rabuleius, and Quintus Poetelius Libo met the Sabines in battle while Lucius Minucius accompanied

Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis was a Roman politician and member of the Second Decemvirate in 450 and 449 BC. Family He was part of the ''Cornelii Maluginenses'', patrician branch of the ''gens Cornelia''. He was grandson of Servius Cornelius Malu ...

, Lucius Sergius Esquilinus, and

Titus Antonius Merenda Titus Antonius Merenda was a Roman politician, and decemvir from 450 to 449 BC. Family He was part of the ''gens Antonia''. It is possible that he was a plebeian, since the ''nomen'' ''Antonius'' is found among the plebeians more often than the pa ...

in their fight with the

. However, the army had revolted against the decemvirs, and the

plebeians 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 ...

had left the city ''en masse'' for Aventine Hill. Lucius Minucius and his colleagues acquiesced and gave up their power - some left in exile. Their goods were confiscated.

Prefect of the corn-market

In 440 BC, a great famine had reached Rome. Given the urgency of the situation, the consuls had quickly elected a ''praefectus annonae'' ("Prefect of the Corn-market"), some sort of prefect of the Republic's corn supply, whose purpose it was to secure the grain supply. It was probably this year that the aedile of the plebs, Manius Marcius, organized a distribution of grain for the plebs, where each individual was given one-third of a Roman bushel (''modius''). The example of Manius Marcius was soon followed by

Spurius Maelius Spurius Maelius (died 439 BC) was a wealthy Roman plebeian who was slain because he was suspected of intending to make himself king. Biography During a severe famine, Spurius Maelius bought up a large amount of wheat and sold it at a low price to ...

, a rich member of the

Equestrian order 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 ...

, who had acquired great quantities of fresh wheat in Etruria, and then distributed it to the people for free. His popularity became such that the

Patricians The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

were convinced that he was only trying to gain support in order to become king. He had already taken measures for a coup. In the meantime, Lucius Minucius had informed

Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus (513 BCafter 423 BC) was a Roman statesman and general who served as consul six times. Titus Quinctius was a member of the gens Quinctia, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome. He was the son of Luc ...

, and

Agrippa Menenius Lanatus Agrippa Menenius Lanatus (died 493 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 503 BC, with Publius Postumius Tubertus. He was victorious over the Sabines and was awarded a triumph which he celebrated on 4 April, 503 BC. According to Livy, he als ...

, who were elected consuls for the year 439 BC, and named Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus dictator at the start of their term. Cincinnatus had Spurius Maelius assassinated by his '' magister equitum'',

Gaius Servilius Ahala Gaius Servilius Ahala ( 439 BC) was a 5th-century BC politician of ancient Rome, considered by many later writers to have been a hero. His fame rested on the contention that he saved Rome from Spurius Maelius in 439 BC by killing him with a dagge ...

. According to ancient authors, Lucius Minucius was rewarded with the erection of a statue for having alerted the patricians to the danger that Spurius Maelius posed. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities'', XII. 1-2

References

Bibliography

* *

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian. Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' a ...

, ''Roman Republican Coinage'', Cambridge University Press, 1974. {{DEFAULTSORT:Minucius Esquilinus Augurinus, Lucius 5th-century BC Roman consuls Augurinus Esquilinus, Lucius Ancient Roman decemvirs