Lucius Valerius Flaccus (died 85 BC) was the suffect

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 ...

who completed the term of

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

in 86BC. In the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

, Marius had fought a series of civil wars against Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (better known as

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had t ...

), both leaders of their respective factions. Flaccus was considered a staunch supporter of Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna (Marius' main ally), the latter of whom shared his consulate and succeeded Marius as faction leader. Flaccus was made

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 the

Roman province of Asia The Asia ( grc, Ἀσία) was a Roman province covering most of western Anatolia, which was created following the Roman Republic's annexation of the Attalid Kingdom in 133 BC. After the establishment of the Roman Empire by Augustus, it was ...

in 85BC, and headed there with two legions. He was murdered at Nicomedia during a

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among memb ...

fomented by one of his senior subordinates, Flavius Fimbria. Flaccus is also known for the ''Lex Valeria de aere alieno'', his legislation on debt reform during the Roman economic crisis of the 80sBC. This legislation resolved the pressing economic crisis to the benefit of debtors by cancelling three-quarters of all outstanding debts, to the great disadvantage of their creditors.

Family

Lucius Valerius Flaccus was the younger brother of

Gaius Valerius Flaccus Gaius Valerius Flaccus (; died ) was a 1st-century Roman poet who flourished during the " Silver Age" under the Flavian dynasty, and wrote a Latin ''Argonautica'' that owes a great deal to Apollonius of Rhodes' more famous epic.Flaccus's son, also named Lucius Valerius Flaccus, was praetor in 63 BC and was defended by Cicero in the speech ''Pro Flacco''. He was a cousin of the older Lucius Valerius Flaccus, who was consul in 100 BC and ''

princeps senatus The ''princeps senatus'' ( ''principes senatus'') was the first member by precedence on the membership rolls of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the ''cursus honorum'' and possessing no '' imperium'', this office conferred prestige on ...

'' in 86 BC. Inscriptional evidence has been found at Magnesia, but it could pertain either to Flaccus or his son, who was also a governor of Asia. The inscription describes a marriage to a daughter of Lucius Saufeius and a daughter named Valeria Paullina. His mother, a Baebia, is also commemorated. Flaccus is called ἀνθύπατος (''anthupatos''), a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

term for

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

Life and career

Flaccus was a

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone ...

, a senior military position, sometime before 100 BC. In 99 BC, he was

curule aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

, a junior political position. On completion of his term he was unsuccessfully prosecuted by Decianus. The charges were vague, and could be one of several politically motivated prosecutions in the 90s BC. The prosecutions continued the political unrest of the preceding decade, moving away from violence and to the law courts. The trial did little to slow Flaccus's career. By 92 BC he was elected

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

(commander) of a Roman field army. He was a praetor or propraetor in Asia around 92–91 BC, only a few years after his brother Gaius held the same post.

Governor of Asia

Before the

First Mithridatic War The First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC) was a war challenging the Roman Republic's expanding empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Roman rule were led by Mithridat ...

, during Flaccus's governorship of Asia, collections were made for games and a festival and games in his honour. The money was deposited at Tralles, but seems not to have been spent as planned. Cicero claims the town lent out the funds at interest for its own profit. Three decades later, Flaccus's son Lucius was governor of the same province. Cicero defended him against multiple charges of financial impropriety during his administrationwhen the Trallians accused him of embezzlement, Cicero claimed that Flaccus was merely "recuperating" the funds. Flaccus and his brother Gaius, who held a promagisterial command in Asia around 96 BC, were recognised as

patrons Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the city of Colophon in

Lydia Lydia ( Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish pro ...

. The two men are the first Roman governors known to be patrons of a free city, a practice that became common in the 60s BC.

Pro-Marian and suffect consul

In 87 BC, during the civil war, a cavalry garrison commander named Valerius handed Ostia to Marius ("treacherously," according to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

); this Valerius may be Flaccus. During the 90s BC and into the mid-80s the Valerii Flacci seemed to be securely aligned with the Marian- Cinnan faction. When the elder cousin Lucius Flaccus held the consulship jointly with Marius in 100 BC, he was accused of being "more a servant than a colleague".

Ernst Badian Ernst Badian (8 August 1925 – 1 February 2011) was an Austrian-born classical scholar who served as a professor at Harvard University from 1971 to 1998. Early life and education Badian was born in Vienna in 1925 and in 1938 fled the Nazis w ...

considers the Valerii Flacci "one of the foremost pro-Marian families". In 86 BC, Lucius Flaccus replaced

, following the latter's unexpected death in mid-January at the beginning of his seventh term. Flaccus's colleague in the consulship was Cornelius Cinna. That Flaccus replaced the faction leader, and most eminent Roman of the day, and served alongside the new faction leader, is a sign of both the esteem in which he was held and how firmly aligned to the Marian faction he was considered to be.

Credit crisis of the 80s BC

Flaccus's most controversial act as consul was the ''Lex Valeria de aere alieno'', a radical restructuring of

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

. Immediately upon entering office, Flaccus needed to confront Rome's credit crisis, which had been exacerbated by several factors. The credit system in Rome was based on the amount of money in circulation, stable land prices, and ''fides'', which meant "general faith in the eventual repayment of loans and in the strength of the economy". This concept is similar to the perceived economic power of "

consumer confidence Consumer confidence is an economic indicator that measures the degree of optimism that consumers feel about the overall state of the economy and their personal financial situation. If the consumer has confidence in the immediate and near futur ...

" in the 21st century. Land was the most common

security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...

for loans, but the large amount of land seized in the Social War (91–88 BC) had greatly lowered its value as collateral. With the loss of income from farms and estates, property values dropped, and creditors began to call in their loans. At the same time, general social turmoil resulted in coin hoarding. As the amount of money in circulation decreased, debtors found it increasingly difficult to pay off their loans or renegotiate the terms.Charles T. Barlow, "The Roman Government and the Roman Economy, 92–80 B.C.," ''American Journal of Philology'' 101 (1980), pp. 212–213. The Roman economy also suffered due to the

, which devastated Italian businesses in the east, greatly reduced trade and reduced tax revenues from the province of Asia. Flaccus took drastic measures. With the silver

sestertius The ''sestertius'' (plural ''sestertii''), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin. The ...

valued at four copper '' asses'', debtors were allowed to pay off their loans at a rate of one ''as'' on the ''sestertius''. This three-quarters reduction in the debt burden allowed the bankers to recoup at least some of their losses instead of dealing with mass defaults. The plan included government and publicani debts, easing the

budget deficit Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit; the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budget ...

and the liabilities of some of the bankers. The historian

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisa ...

, born in the year of Flaccus's consulship, says that the conservative senatorial elites generally supported the plan. Writing a hundred years after the fact, during the era of Augustan prosperity, the historian

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...

characterised Flaccus's plan as ''turpissima'', meaning "utterly disgraceful".

Mutiny and murder

At the end of his term, Flaccus was made governor of the province of Asia as a countermeasure to Sulla's military operations and his diplomatic efforts toward

Mithridates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

, Rome's chief foreign adversary of the period. Although Sulla acted illegally and had even been declared a

public enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

(), Cinna apparently recognised that the threat of Mithridates required Roman co-operation. Because the Cinnan government had a depleted treasury, it could fund only five legions. Two of them (sometimes called the Valerian legions) landed in Greece with Flaccus. Flaccus was outnumbered by Sulla's force of five legions, and lost a number of his troops in transit. An advance guard had been separated from the fleet, stranded by storms, and their ships burnt by Mithridates' Pontic navy. These men eventually make their way to

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

, where they promptly deserted to Sulla. The consular army marched across

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

, Macedonia, and

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

. They arrived in

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium' ...

with growing tensions within the ranks and officer corps. Flaccus's strongest

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, ...

, sometimes identified as his

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

(treasurer), was Flavius Fimbria, a devoted Marian who seized on the discontent to make himself a rival for command. Fimbria's true motives are difficult to discern, and are sometimes considered irrational vehemence. However, he may have felt that Flaccus was too conciliatory toward Sulla. Flaccus may have played an early role in the attempts of his cousin, the leader of the Senate (''

''), to come to a peaceful settlement with Sulla. At any rate, Sulla made no hostile advance toward Flaccus. According to

Diodorus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, Fimbria led advance troops in the winter of 86–85 during the march through Thrace. He tried to win their allegiance by allowing them to plunder "the territory of allies as if it were enemy country, enslaving anyone they encountered". When the people complained of abuse, Flaccus rebuked Fimbria. This account is structured within a moral pattern that Diodorus favoured when interpreting events. Liv Mariah Yarrow notes: "The abuse of the allies by Fimbria in a ploy to gain power within the military structure actually leads to the disintegration of that military structure."Liv Mariah Yarrow, ''Historiography at the End of the Republic: Provincial Perspectives on Roman Rule'' (Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 24
online.
/ref> At the

Hellespont The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

Flaccus dismissed Fimbria with orders to return to Rome. Fimbria was replaced by Q. Minucius Thermus, whom Flaccus left in charge of Byzantium. However, Fimbria continued to stir up the troops. They eventually defected to him, and he took over Thermus's command. Flaccus, who had advanced to

Chalcedon Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the cit ...

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwe ...

, returned to deal with the situation. According to the most sensational account, Fimbria seized the ''

fasces Fasces ( ; ; a '' plurale tantum'', from the Latin word '' fascis'', meaning "bundle"; it, fascio littorio) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, sometimes including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian sym ...

'', the symbol of Flaccus's authority as ''consul'', after which Flaccus fled to Chalcedon and then to

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; el, Νικομήδεια, ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocle ...

. Fimbria pursued him, found him hiding in a well, had him beheaded, and assumed the consular command. Flaccus had been accompanied to Asia by his son Lucius, who was probably under age 20 at the time and on his first tour of military duty. After the death of his father, he escaped and joined his uncle Gaius in Gaul. In 84 BC Sulla crossed over from Greece into Asia and made peace with Mithridates. Sulla then turned his army against Fimbria, who, seeing that there was no chance of escape, committed suicide.

Assessment

The 1st-century B.C. historian

Memnon In Greek mythology, Memnon (; Ancient Greek: Μέμνων means 'resolute') was a king of Aethiopia and son of Tithonus and Eos. As a warrior he was considered to be almost Achilles' equal in skill. During the Trojan War, he brought an army ...

is highly critical of Flaccus, blaming his own arrogance and cruelty for the mutiny of his men.

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...

finds both Flaccus and Fimbria reprehensible.

vilifies Fimbria, mentioning Flaccus only once and in a positive light. In assessing the character of Flaccus and his predicament in Asia, Michael Lovano attempts to filter through the biases of the sources:

Effect on civil war

:''See also Gaius Valerius Flaccus (consul): Role in civil war and Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 100 BC): Role in civil war.'' At the time of his murder, Lucius's brother Gaius was governor of

Gallia Transalpina 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 wa ...

and most likely of Cisalpina. He was also a recent, and possibly still current, governor of one or both of the Spanish provinces. He would thus have commanded the largest number of troops in the western half of the Republic. Gaius had either remained neutral or supported the Cinnan government until that point. It is probable that he started turning away from the Marian-Cinnan faction after a Marian killed his brother. He accepted Sulla's new regime once Sulla's troops were in

Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts ( Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was ...

. His nephew, who had joined him in Gaul after the assassination, served as his military tribune in 82 or 81 BC. Gaius may have also been influenced by his cousin Lucius, the ''princeps senatus'' when the murder occurred. The elder Lucius had served with Marius as the consul for 100 BC, but after he failed to make peace with Sulla, he sponsored the legislation which established the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

, a significant factor in the triumph of Sulla's faction.

H.H. Scullard Howard Hayes Scullard (9 February 1903 – 31 March 1983) was a British historian specialising in ancient history, notable for editing the ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' and for his many published works. Scullard's father was Herbert Hayes S ...

, ''From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome from 133 B.C. to A.D. 68'' (Routledge, 1988), p. 7
online.
/ref>

Sources

* Appian, History of Rome 12.9.60 * Brennan, T. Corey. ''The Praetorship in the Roman Republic''. Oxford University Press, 2000. * Broughton, T.R.S. ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', vol. 2, 99 B.C.–31 B.C. New York: American Philological Association, 1952. * ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' (Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition 1994), vol. 9. * * Lovano, Michael. ''The Age of Cinna: Crucible of Late Republican Rome''. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2002. *

, ''From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome from 133 B.C. to A.D. 68'' Routledge, 1988.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius Flaccus, Lucius consul 668 AUC 2nd-century BC births 85 BC deaths 2nd-century BC Romans 1st-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Ancient Roman murder victims Curule aediles Roman governors of Asia Roman patricians Roman Republican praetors Flaccus, Lucius consul 668 AUC Year of birth uncertain