Marcus Minucius Thermus was an ancient Roman soldier and statesman. He was

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 ...

in 81 BC and governor of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

the following year, succeeding Murena. The capture of Mytilene occurred during his governorship; Mytilene had been in revolt against Rome and was suspected of actively or tacitly aiding so-called pirates in the region. Suetonius credits Thermus with the victory, but the siege may have been conducted by or in coordination with Lucius Licinius Lucullus. Little else is known of his life or career.Ronald T. Ridley, "The Dictator's Mistake: Caesar's Escape from Sulla," ''Historia'' 49 (2000) 227–228.

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, ...

began his military service under Thermus after his pardon by Sulla during the proscriptions of 82 BC.Matthias Gelzer, ''Caesar: Politician and Statesman'', trans. Peter Needham (Oxford: Blackwell, 1968), It was Thermus who sent the young Caesar as an envoy to the court of

Nicomedes IV of Bithynia Nicomedes IV Philopator ( grc-gre, Νικομήδης Φιλοπάτωρ) was the king of Bithynia from c. 94 BC to 74 BC. (''numbered as III. not IV.'') He was the first son and successor of Nicomedes III of Bithynia. Life Memnon of Heraclea wro ...

to request aid in the form of a

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

. Although Thermus was a Sullan partisan, in 86 BC his younger brother Quintus had been a

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, ...

in Asia under appointment by the rival Marians. Quintus had replaced Fimbria after his mutiny.

External links

*Further discussion by

T. Corey Brennan Terry Corey Brennan (born November 24, 1959) is a Professor of Classics at Rutgers University-New Brunswick ( USA). Under the stage name Corey "Loog" Brennan he was a guitarist and songwriter involved with several bands, including Boston-based b ...

, ''The Praetorship in the Roman Republic'' (Oxford University Press, 2000), vol. 2, p. 55
online.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minucius Thermus, Marcus 1st-century BC Romans Thermus, Marcus Roman governors of Asia Roman Republican praetors