Publius Servilius Priscus Structus 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 lett ...

statesman who served as

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 ...

and

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 ...

Consulship and military campaigns

Servilius was

Roman 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 495 BC, along with

Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis or Inregillensis (fl. 505 – 480 BC) was the legendary founder of the Roman gens Claudia, and consul in 495 BC. He was the leading figure of the aristocratic party in the early Roman Republic. Background and ...

, and was the first consul of gens Servilia. During his consulship, Servilius successfully led Roman forces to

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

against the invading

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

, defeating them in battle a short distance from Rome, and then capturing and plundering the town of

Suessa Pometia Suessa Pometia ( el, ; also Pometia) was an ancient city of Latium, which had ceased to exist in historical times. Although the modern city of Pomezia is named after it, the exact location of the ancient city is unknown. It bordered on the Pomp ...

. Later in 495 BC, Servilius led the Roman infantry to

against an invading

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

army, and subsequently he also defeated an army of the

Aurunci The Aurunci were an Italic tribe that lived in southern Italy from around the 1st millennium BC. They were eventually defeated by Rome and subsumed into the Roman Republic during the second half of the 4th century BC. Identity Aurunci is the n ...

near

Ariccia Ariccia (Latin: ''Aricia'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, central Italy, southeast of Rome. It is in the Alban Hills of the Lazio (Latium) region and could be considered an extension of Rome's southeastern suburbs. One ...

Roman domestic affairs

Immediately before and after the Volscian invasion, Servilius was involved in seeking to address complaints by the

plebs In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins ...

who were angry at levels of debt being suffered by them.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

says that, of the two consuls, Appius was of a more harsh disposition and Servilius more mild, such that Appius looked upon the plebeian situation with distaste and Servilius with sympathy. In the debates in the senate, Servilius argued for relief from debt to be granted to the people. When the threat of the Volscian invasion became more immediate, the senate chose him because of his more mild disposition to take measures to ensure the enrolment of the army levies. Servilius proceeded to the assembly, and advised the people that the senate had been giving consideration to measures to alleviate the public concerns, but had been interrupted by news of the invasion. He exhorted the people to put aside their complaints momentarily to allow Rome united to face the common enemy. Further, he announced an

edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu Proc ...

that no Roman citizen should be detained, either in chains or in prison, from enrolling to fight, and that no soldier should, whilst serving in the army, have his goods seized or sold, nor his children or grandchildren arrested. Immediately the debtors who had been under arrest were released, and enrolled their names and, following them, crowds of the Roman people congregated in the forum to take the military oath. Immediately afterwards, Servilius led out the army to face the Volsci. Upon the army's return to Rome, the class tensions were reignited when Servilius' colleague Appius issued decrees for even more serious penalties regarding debts. The senate sided with Appius and the people were angered at Servilius since his promises of debt relief prior to the war went unfulfilled. Servilius was thereby in effect politically isolated and disliked by all, and remained so for the balance of his consulate. During these events, the consuls were unable to decide upon which of them should dedicate a new temple to Mercury. The senate referred the decision to the popular assembly, and also decreed that whichever consul was chosen should also exercise additional duties, including presiding over the markets, establish a merchants' guild, and exercise the functions of the pontifex maximus. The people, in order to spite the senate and the consuls, instead awarded the honour to the senior military officer of one of the legions named Marcus Laetorius. In the following year Servilius was among the ten envoys sent by the senate to treat with the Plebs in which both parts came to an agreement which led to the ending of the

first secessio plebis The first was a significant event in ancient Roman political and social history that occurred between 495 and 493 BC. It involved a dispute between the patrician ruling class and the plebeian underclass, and was one of a number of secessions by ...

Family

Servilius was the son of Publius Servilius Priscus Structus is himself considered the father of the future consul Servilius Spurius Priscus in 476 BC and the grandfather of future consul Publius Servilius Priscus in 463 BC. He might also have had a brother named Quintus Servilius Priscus Structus who was

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nom ...

in 494 BC under the dictator

Manius Valerius Maximus Manius Valerius Maximus was Roman dictator in 494 BC during the first secession of the plebs. His brothers were Publius Valerius Publicola and Marcus Valerius Volusus. They were said to be the sons of Volesus Valerius.Livy, ''Ab urbe condita ...

.Broughton, vol i, pp.14. Dionysius of Halicarnassus 6.40.1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Servilius Priscus Structus, Publius 5th-century BC Roman consuls Priscus Structus, Publius

Consulship and military campaigns

Roman domestic affairs

Family

See also

References