Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio (182/181–132 BC) was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

best remembered today for leading a mob that assassinated the tribune

Tiberius Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus ( 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the Roma ...

, and hunted and killed Tiberius' supporters afterwards. A member of the great patrician ''

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

'' Cornelia, he was the son of Scipio Nasica Corculum, the pontifex maximus and

princeps senatus The ''princeps senatus'' ( ''principes senatus'') was the first member by precedence on the membership rolls of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the ''cursus honorum'' and possessing no '' imperium'', this office conferred prestige on ...

. As with many other Cornelii Scipiones, Serapio obtained several prominent offices; he notably succeeded his father as pontifex maximus in 141 BC, and 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 throu ...

in 138 BC. A firm conservative, like his father and his cousin

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...

, he led the opposition to the

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 state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

Tiberius Gracchus, whom he finally murdered in 133 BC. However, he was sent to

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 ...

by the senate to avoid his prosecution by Gracchus' supporters, and died in

Pergamum Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

soon after.

Family background

Not much is known about the early life of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio. He was a member of the '' gens Cornelia'' and the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum and his wife Cornelia, daughter of

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military co ...

. Scipio Nasica was born in 182 or 181 BC. Scipio Nasica Serapio was the third member of his family to bear the agnomen ''Nasica'' (pointed nose). He succeeded his father as '' Pontifex Maximus'' in 141 BC, possibly because of his illustrious family name and his father's great reputation. It is likely that his branch of the Cornelii Scipiones had drifted away from the majority of the family, on account of politically opposing views towards the

Third Punic War The Third Punic War (149–146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between Carthage and Rome. The war was fought entirely within Carthaginian territory, in modern northern Tunisia. When the Second Punic War ended in 201 ...

. Corculum was opposed to the invasion of Carthage, whereas Scipio Aemilianus actually led the siege of Carthage.

Political career

One important reference to Scipio Nasica's participation in politics is as a mysterious “Cornelius” by the historian

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...

. This “Cornelius” is credited with a great Roman defeat at the hands of the widely feared “Pannonians.” After some deduction, one can identify the leader of the Roman forces to be Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, who in 141 BC was the ''praetor'' of Macedonia. Some debate would classify a more likely candidate for the terrible “Pannonians” to be actually from the region of

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

, just south of

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now west ...

proper. In the same year, Scipio Nasica would be awarded the title of ''Pontifex Maximus,'' inheriting it from his father who had just died. In 138 BC, Nasica would be elected to the office of ''consul,'' part of a series of “strong men” to rectify the recent bouts of unrest and defeats abroad. During his consulship, Scipio Nasica would attempt to avenge his own defeat as ''praetor''; in doing so, he attempted to raise harsh levies on the Romans. Discontent with his demands, opposition would rise against him under the leadership of probably Nasica's greatest political rival, the tribune

Curiatius The ''gens Curiatia'' was a distinguished family at Rome, with both patrician and plebeian branches. Members of this gens are mentioned in connection with the reign of Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome, during the seventh century BC. The f ...

. Curiatius had Nasica arrested on the grounds of withholding the legal privileges of the tribunes against the levy. While in custody, Nasica was given the name “Serapio” as an insult, after a swine-dealer's slave he was said to resemble. Scipio Nasica's next major political involvement would be that in the murder of

. Gracchus rose to office at a time when the Roman Republic was bloated with the effects of extensive expansion abroad; a huge influx of slave labor and foreign wealth, a change in the function of agriculture and devaluation in the crop market were causing a massive domestic crisis, challenging the fundamental values of Roman culture (there is a debate over whether it was a grain crisis or a manpower crisis).Scullard, H.H.: 62-63. Gracchus had taken the office of ''tribune'' and was passing laws of reform to help rectify this domestic crisis, though his legislation was empowering the ''plebs'' of Roman society. The majority of the Senate, who favored the patricians, felt threatened and aligned with Scipio Nasica and his cousin

, who would lead the opposition against Gracchus. Nasica eventually became responsible for the assassination of Gracchus during elections in 133 BC. Scipio Nasica had gathered the senators to Gracchus’ bloody death claiming that the ''

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

'' desired to become king of Rome. To commit the assassination Scipio Nasica covered his head with the hood of his ''pontifex maximus'' robe, which possibly denoted the killing as a ritualized sacrifice for the good of Rome. After his assassination, Scipio led a witch hunt to eradicate any surviving supporters of Gracchus. Those who escaped the purge afterwards demanded that Scipio be held responsible for murder.

Death

Eventually the prolonged conflict between political parties caught up with Nasica, and the Senate sent him away to

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

on a mission. This was unusual, as a '' Pontifex Maximus'' would never normally be sent away from Rome. He later died there, allegedly at the hands of some of Gracchus’ supporters. Scipio Nasica Serapio was succeeded by his son of the same name, who became consul in 111 BC.

Notes

*See

, ''Punica'', 80 n.c., i.16;

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

ix.14;

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, ''Tiberius Gracchus'', 21.

References

*Briscoe, John. "Supporters and Opponents of Tiberius Gracchus", '' The Journal of Roman Studies'', 64 (1974): 125–135. *Morgan, M. Gwyn. “Cornelius and the Pannonians”, '' Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', 23 (1974): 183–216. *Scullard, H.H. "Scipio Aemilianus and Roman Politics", ''Journal of Roman Studies'', 50 (1960): 59–74. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, Publius 180s BC births 132 BC deaths Year of birth uncertain 2nd-century BC clergy 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Nasica Serapio, Publius Optimates Pontifices maximi of the Roman Republic Roman patricians

Family background

Political career

Death

See also

Notes

References