Marcus Geganius Macerinus 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 ...

statesman who served as

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 447, 443, and 437 BC, and as Censor in 435 BC.

Family

Geganius came from the rather small

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

Gegania gens The gens Gegania was an old patrician family at ancient Rome, which was prominent from the earliest period of the Republic to the middle of the fourth century BC. The first of this gens to obtain the consulship was Titus Geganius Macerinus in 4 ...

, which had only once before risen to the consulship, this when Titus Geganius Macerinus held it in 492 BC. Geganius shares his praenomen with that of his father, an otherwise unattested Marcus Geganius who should probably be seen as a descendant of the consul of 492 or his brother, Lucius Geganius Macerinus. He had a (younger) brother, Proculus Geganius Macerinus, who became consul in 440 BC. His grandsons (or grandnephews), Lucius Geganius Macerinus and Marcus Geganius Macerinus, would become

consular tribunes A consular tribune was putatively a type of magistrate in the early Roman Republic. According to Roman tradition, colleges of consular tribunes held office throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BC during the so-called " Conflict of the O ...

in 378 and 367 BC respectively.

Career

Geganius was elected as consul in 447 BC together with Gaius Julius Iulus. According to

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 ...

, he and his colleague concerned themselves with easing the tensions between the classes. They also carried out a war against the

Volscians The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

. Geganius held the consulship for a second time in 443 BC, this time together with another repeated consular,

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 ...

. Geganius relieved Ardea from

Volscian Volscian was a Sabellic Italic language, which was spoken by the Volsci and closely related to Oscan and Umbrian. Overview Volscian is attested in an inscription found in Velitrae (Velletri), dating probably from early in the 3rd century BC; it ...

attacks and made Cloelius, the Volscian commander, his prisoner. For this he was awarded and celebrated a

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

. A new magistrate was created during this year, that of the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

, to free the consuls from the holding of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

and to focus on military affairs. Geganius held a third and final consulship in 437 BC with first time consul

Lucius Sergius Fidenas Lucius Sergius Fidenas was a Roman politician during the 5th century BC, and was elected consul in 437 and 429 BC. In 433, 424, and 418 BC he was military tribune with consular power. Family He was a member of the ''Sergii Fidenates'', branch of t ...

. Geganius fought the Veientes south of the

Anio The Aniene (; la, Aniō), formerly known as the Teverone, is a river in Lazio, Italy. It originates in the Apennines at Trevi nel Lazio and flows westward past Subiaco, Vicovaro, and Tivoli to join the Tiber in northern Rome. It formed the pr ...

, and although he defeated his foe the victory came at heavy loss for the Romans. His co-consular Sergius gained his cognomen Fidenas for his victories against the

Fidenae Fidenae ( grc, Φιδῆναι) was an ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the '' Via Salaria'', which ran between Rome and the Tiber. Its inhabitants were known as Fidenates. As the Tiber was the border between Etr ...

. Possibly because of the heavy losses against the Veientes or for reasons otherwise unknown, Geganius abdicated his consulship and was replaced by

Marcus Valerius Lactuca Maximus Marcus Valerius Maximus Lactuca was a Roman politician of the fifth century BC. Consul in 456 BC. Family He was a member of the Valerii Maximi, a branch of the powerful Valeria family. He was the grandchildren of Volusus Valerius and the ...

. The year would see further changes within the Roman leadership as a dictator,

Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus was a political figure in the Roman Republic, serving as consular tribune in 438 BC and dictator three times in 437, 434, and 426 BC. Prior to gaining the imperium Aemilius was, in 446 BC, elected Quaestor together wit ...

, was appointed. Aemilius successfully fought the

Veii Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...

Falerii Falerii (now Fabrica di Roma) was a city in southern Etruria, 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Rome, 34 km (21 mi) from Veii (a major Etruscan city-state near the River Tiber) and about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) west of the ancient Via Flaminia. It was the main c ...

and Fidenae. Geganius' last known major magistracy is that of censor in 435 BC together with Gaius Furius Pacilus Fusus. They approved the construction of the Villa Publica in the

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...

and when finished they completed the census there. A new law was approved during their censorship which limited the term to one and a half year, down from the previous term of five years. The classicist scholar Mommsen argues that with the erection and approval of the Villa Publica that Geganius and Furius should be considered the first historically authentic censors. Geganius would later serve under the dictator

Aulus Postumius Tubertus Aulus Postumius Tubertus was a Roman military leader in the wars with the Aequi and Volsci during the fifth century BC. He served as ''Magister Equitum'' under the dictator Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus in 434 BC, and was dictator himself in 431.' ...

, fighting against the Aequi and Volsci at

Mount Algidus The Algidus Mons, known in English as Mount Algidus, is the eastern rim of the dormant Alban Volcano in the Alban Hills, about southeast of Rome, Italy. The ridge is traversed by a narrow crevasse called ''la Cava d'Aglio''. It was the site of the ...

in 431 BC; he might have served as 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 ...

, but his exact title and role in the fighting is not known.Broughton, vol i, pp.63-64

References

5th-century BC Roman consuls Macerinus, Marcus {{AncientRome-politician-stub

Family

Career

See also

References