Marcus Valerius Messalla (born c. 80 BC) 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 ...

senator 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 ...

who was appointed

suffect consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

in 32 BC.

Biography

Valerius Messalla, a member of the patrician '' gens Valeria'', was the son of

Marcus Valerius Messalla Rufus Marcus Valerius Messalla Rufus (c. 104/3 – 26 BC), was a Roman senator who was elected consul for 53 BC. Family Messalla was the son of Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger and Hortensia (sister of the consul of 69 BC). He had a sister, Valeria Mess ...

, who 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 throug ...

in 53 BC. In that year, he was appointed a ''

triumvir monetalis The ''triumvir monetalis'' ( ''tresviri'' or ''triumviri monetales'', also called the , abbreviated IIIVIR A. A. A. F. F.) was a moneyer during the Roman Republic and the Empire, who oversaw the minting of coins. In that role, he would be respons ...

''. Taking no part in the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and the political upheavals of the

Second Triumvirate The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created for Mark Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November 43 BC with a ...

, in 32 BC he was appointed

after both consuls left Rome to join

Marc Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

, following Caesar Octavian's attack on

Gaius Sosius Gaius Sosius ( 39–17 BC) was a Roman general and politician who featured in the wars of the late Republic as a staunch supporter of Mark Antony. Under the latter's patronage he held important state offices and military commands, serving a ...

and Marcus Antonius. Nothing further is known of his career after leaving the consulship. Valerius Messalla apparently had no sons of his own. He therefore probably adopted Marcus Valerius Messalla Appianus, who was probably the son of Appius Claudius Pulcher, the consul of 38 BC. He may have been the Marcus Valerius who was the patron of the town of

Mallus Mallus may refer to: *Mallus (Cilicia), an ancient city in Cilicia, Anatolia * Mallus (Pisidia), an ancient city in Pisidia, Anatolia * Mallus (''Legends of Tomorrow''), a mysterious entity in the American superhero television series * Marco Mallu ...

.Syme, pg. 211

References

Sources

* Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol II (1952) *Syme, Ronald, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'' (1986).

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius Messalla, Marcus 722 AUC 1st-century BC Roman consuls Moneyers of ancient Rome Roman patricians Marcus 722 AUC Year of death unknown