Lucius Tarius Rufus () 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 ...

senator and military officer who was elected suffect consul in 16 BC to replace Publius Cornelius Scipio.

Biography

A ''

novus homo ''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' (Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul. Whe ...

'' of obscure birth, and possibly hailing from Dalmatia, Tarius Rufus was by profession a sailor. He first came to notice as one of the admirals who fought under

Octavian 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 ...

at the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ...

in 31 BC. He engaged a squadron of ships led by Gaius Sosius prior to the actual battle, but was driven back by Sosius until Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa arrived with reinforcements. Tarius Rufus was later appointed

Propraetor In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...

ial

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Macedonia from around 18 BC to 16 BC. During this time he fought off a raid by the

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...

, and he may have also conquered the

Scordisci The Scordisci ( el, Σκορδίσκοι) were a Celtic Iron Age cultural group centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morava) and Danube rivers. They were historically n ...

during his time as governor. As a reward for his military service, Augustus appointed Tarius Rufus suffect consul when Augustus was forced to leave

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 ...

to travel to

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

. During his term as consul, he altered the imagery and text of the Roman coins to greatly amplify the prestige and paramount importance of 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 ...

in the form of Augustus. As an elderly senator, Tarius Rufus was appointed ''

curator aquarum The ''Curator Aquarum'' was a Roman official responsible for managing Rome's water supply and distributing free grain. Curators were appointed by the emperor. The first curator was Agrippa. Another notable ''Curator Aquarum'' was Frontinus, a R ...

'' (or officer in charge of the

aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

) from AD 23 to 24. An ''amicus'' of both

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 ...

and

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, the emperor Augustus bestowed on him a great deal of wealth, which he used to purchase large parcels of land in Picenum. Although noted for his stinginess, he spent 100 million sesterces to buy up the land in an attempt to enhance his social standing, only to have his heir refuse to accept the estate after Tarius Rufus’ death. Tarius Rufus also brought charges of attempted

parricide Parricide refers to the deliberate killing of one’s own father and mother, spouse (husband or wife), children, and/or close relative. However, the term is sometimes used more generally to refer to the intentional killing of a near relative. It ...

against one of his sons who was after his father's money. He held a ''consilium'', and invited the emperor Augustus to attend. He found his son guilty and exiled him to

Massilia Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία; Latin: Massilia; modern Marseille) was an ancient Greek colony founded ca. 600 BC on the Mediterranean coast of present-day France, east of the river Rhône, by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Western An ...

; Augustus declared that he would not accept any inheritance or bequest from Tarius Rufus.Frier, Bruce W.; McGinn, Thomas A. J., ''A Casebook on Roman Family Law'' (2004), pp. 196-199

References

Sources

* Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol II (1951) * Syme, Ronald; Birley, Anthony, ''Provincial At Rome: and Rome and the Balkans 80BC-AD14'' (1999) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarius Rufus, Lucius 1st-century BC births Year of birth unknown 1st-century deaths Year of death unknown 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans Ancient Roman generals Senators of the Roman Empire Roman governors of Macedonia Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome People from Roman Dalmatia Ancient Roman admirals

Biography

See also

References

Sources