Gaius Calpurnius Piso was a politician and general from 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 Kin ...

. He became

praetor urbanus 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 72/71 BC. After being elected

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 67 BC, Piso opposed Pompeius' friends, the tribunes

Gaius Cornelius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius P ...

and

Aulus Gabinius Aulus Gabinius (by 101 BC – 48 or 47 BC) was a Roman statesman and general. He was an avid supporter of Pompey who likewise supported Gabinius. He was a prominent figure in the latter days of the Roman Republic. Career In 67 BC, when tribune ...

. Assigned both

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

and

Gallia Cisalpina Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...

, he remained as proconsul until 65, or perhaps later in Cisalpina. Piso defeated an Allobrogian rebellion and repressed troubles in Transpadana, for which he was unsuccessfully prosecuted by

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

. He supported Cicero during the Catiline conspiracy.

Biography

In 72 or 71 BC, Piso became

after his acquittal on ''

ambitus In ancient Roman law, ''ambitus'' was a crime of political corruption, mainly a candidate's attempt to influence the outcome (or direction) of an election through bribery or other forms of soft power. The Latin word ''ambitus'' is the origin ...

'' charges. He was consul in 67 BC with Manius Acilius Glabrio. He belonged to the optimates, and, as consul, led the opposition to the proposed law of 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 the ...

, by which

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

was to be entrusted with extraordinary powers for the purpose of conducting the war against the pirates. The law, however, was carried, notwithstanding all the opposition of Piso and his party. Shortly afterwards, when the orders that Pompeius had issued were not carried into execution in

, in consequence, as it was supposed, of the intrigues of Piso, Gabinius proposed to deprive the latter of his consulship, an extreme measure which Pompey's prudence would not allow to be brought forward. Piso did not have an easy life during his consulship. In the same year the tribune,

, proposed several laws, which were directed against the shameless abuses of the aristocracy. All these Piso resisted with the utmost vehemence, and none more strongly than a stringent enactment to put down bribery at elections. But as the senate could not with any decency refuse to lend their aid in suppressing this corrupt practice, they pretended that the law of Cornelius was so severe that no accusers would come forward, and no judges would condemn a criminal. They therefore made the consuls bring forward a less stringent law ('' Lex Atilia Calpurnia''), imposing a fine on the offender, with exclusion from the senate and all public offices. It was with no desire to diminish corruption at elections that Piso joined his colleague in proposing the law, for an accusation had been brought against him in the preceding year of obtaining by bribery his own election to the consulship. In 66 and 65 BC, Piso administered the province of

as proconsul, and while there, he suppressed an insurrection of the

Allobroges The Allobroges (Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; grc, Ἀλλοβρίγων, Ἀλλόβριγες) were a Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. ...

and repressed troubles in Transpadana. Like the other Roman nobles, he plundered his province, and was defended by

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 estab ...

in 63 BC when accused of robbing the Allobroges, and of executing unjustly a

Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...

. The latter charge was brought against him at the instigation of

, who had an interest in the area. Piso, in revenge, implored Cicero, without success, to accuse Caesar as one of the conspirators of Lucius Sergius Catilina. In 61 BC, Piso was called on to speak first in the senate by Marcus Pupius Piso, one of his kinsmen, much to Cicero's chagrin. Piso must have died before the outbreak of the civil war, but in what year is uncertain. He is not heard of after 59 BC. Cicero ascribes to him considerable

oratorical Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

abilities. Brut. 68; Plut, Pomp. 25, 27; Dion Cass. xxxvi. 7, 20—22 ; Ascon. in Cic. Cornel, pp. 68, 75, ed. Orelli ; Cic. ad Att. i. 1,13, pro Place. 39; Sail. Cat. 49.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Calpurnius Piso, Gaius 1st-century BC Roman consuls 1st-century BC Roman generals

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius Pol ...

Optimates Roman governors of Gallia Narbonensis