Publius Rupilius,

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,

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 132 BC. During the inquiry that followed the death of

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 ...

, conducted by himself and his colleague Popillius Laenas, he proceeded with the utmost severity against the supporters of Gracchus. In the same year he was despatched to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, where he suppressed the revolt of the slaves under

Eunus Eunus (died 132 BC) was a Roman slave from Apamea in Syria who became the leader of the slave uprising in the First Servile War (135 BC–132 BC) in the Roman province of Sicily. Eunus rose to prominence in the movement through his reputation a ...

. During 131 BC he remained as

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

of the island, and, with the assistance of ten commissioners appointed by the Senate, drew up regulations for the organization of Sicily as a province. These regulations were known by the title of ''leges Rupiliae'', though they were not laws in the strict sense. Rupilius was subsequently brought to trial (123 BC) and condemned for his treatment of the friends of Gracchus. The disgrace of his condemnation, added to disappointment at the failure of his brother to obtain the consulship in spite of the efforts of Scipio, caused his death shortly afterwards.

References

*Ancient sources:

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, ''De Am.'' 19 (69), ''

Tusculan Disputations The ''Tusculanae Disputationes'' (also ''Tusculanae Quaestiones''; English: ''Tusculan Disputations'') is a series of five books written by Cicero, around 45 BC, attempting to popularise Greek philosophy in Ancient Rome, including Stoicism. It is s ...

'' iv.17, ''In Verr.'' ii.13, 15; Diodorus Siculus xxxiv.I, 20;

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...

ii.7. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rupilius, Publius Year of birth unknown 120s BC deaths 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Publius Year of death uncertain