Marcus Popillius Laenas 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 ...

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 vario ...

in 176 BC. He did not go to his province of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

because he did not want to upset the success that the

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 ...

, Titus Aebutius, was enjoying. A new leader would need time to get acquainted with the situation and thus precious time would be lost. He was

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 ...

for the year 173 BC, together with Lucius Postumius Albinus. Popillius went to his province and started fighting a tribe of

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

ns in

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

, the Statellati. He fought a bloody battle at the town of Carystum, which came to a conclusion when Popillius sent in the cavalry that broke through the Ligurian lines. The cavalry then slew many of the men trying to flee to the city. The Romans killed 10,000 Ligurians and took 700 prisoner while losing 3,000 themselves. The remaining Ligurians, thinking that Popillius would be lenient, surrendered themselves. Popillius, however, destroyed their town and sold them and their property. 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 ...

was outraged when it heard of the treatment shown to a people who had not taken up arms against Rome and were attacked without provocation. The Senate demanded that Popillius restore the Ligurians to their homes and property. Popillius was himself outraged and refused to obey the Senate's commands. He returned to Rome and attacked the Senate for their actions. He claimed that it should have given him a thanksgiving instead of ordering him to return his spoils to his victims. Many senators again attacked him and his actions so Popillius returned to his province having failed to gain the support of the Senate. The following year, Popillius continued his aggressions against the Statellati killing 6,000 more in battle. His actions caused the rest of the Ligurians to rise up in arms. In response the Senate passed a decree that anyone hindering the return of the Statellati to their freedom would face trial. Popillius refused to return to Rome until a

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

promised to bring him to trial ''in absentia''. Popillius was tried, but the trial came to nothing due to the influence of his brother, the consul for the year, and other Popillii. Despite his actions against the Ligurians, Popillius was later elected censor with

Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum (c. 206 BC – c. 141 BC) was a politician of the Roman Republic. Born into the illustrious family of the Cornelii Scipiones, he was one of the most important Roman statesmen of the second cent ...

in 159 BC. Aulus Gellius, ''Noctes Atticae''
iv.20.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popillius Laenas, Marcus Ancient Roman generals Roman Republican praetors 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Roman censors Laenas, Marcus