Lucius Volcatius Tullus 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 letter ...

politician who became

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 throug ...

in 66 BC alongside Manius Aemilius Lepidus.

Biography

Although he failed to be elected

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 ...

, Tullus was elected to the office of

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 vario ...

by 69 BC, and possibly Curator Viarum in 68 BC, before being elected

in 66 BC. During his consulate, it was brought to his attention that

Catiline Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the R ...

was intending to seek the consulship for 65 BC. As

Publius Clodius Pulcher Publius Clodius Pulcher (93–52 BC) was a populist Roman politician and street agitator during the time of the First Triumvirate. One of the most colourful personalities of his era, Clodius was descended from the aristocratic Claudia gens, one ...

had declared he was intending to prosecute Catiline on charges of corruption while Catiline was governor of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, Tullus, after consultation with leading senators, and with the support of

Marcus Licinius Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...

and

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, and ...

, refused to accept Catiline's nomination for the consulate with such charges hanging over his head. With the unravelling of the second Catilinian conspiracy, he approved of

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 ...

’s measures against Catiline's accomplices, and spoke up in support of Cicero in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. In 56 BC, Tullus gave his support to the group who were pushing to grant

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

a special commission to bring about the restoration of

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 ...

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 ...

. In 54 BC, he was one of the consulars who supported Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, who was standing trial for extortion. Largely abandoning politics after his consulate, he tried to stand aloof when the conflict between Pompey and

reached a crisis point in late 50 BC. In January 49 BC, he proposed sending peace envoys to Caesar to try to defuse the situation. He, like many other senators, obeyed Pompey's instructions and fled

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 ...

, but returned when Caesar summoned all members of the Senate to return.Holmes III, pg. 41 Beyond this, he took no part in the struggle, but remained quietly in Italy. Cicero, however, noted that he was an enemy of Gaius Claudius Marcellus, whom Caesar pardoned in 45 BC. Tullus was the father of Lucius Volcatius Tullus, consul in 33 BC.

Notes

Sources

* T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II'' (1952). * Holmes, T. Rice, ''The Roman Republic and the Founder of the Empire'', Vol. I (1923) * Holmes, T. Rice, ''The Roman Republic and the Founder of the Empire'', Vol. III (1923) * Smith, William, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography & Mythology, Vol. III'' (1849). {{DEFAULTSORT:Volcatius Tullus, Lucius (consul 688 AUC) 1st-century BC Roman consuls Tullus, Lucius (consul 688 AUC)