Gaius Calpurnius Piso Crassus Frugi Licinianus (died 118) 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 lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries. He served as suffect consul for the ''

nundinium Nundinium was a Latin word derived from the word '' nundinum'', which referred to the cycle of days observed by the Romans. During the Roman Empire, ''nundinium'' came to mean the duration of a single consulship among several in a calendar year. S ...

'' January to April 87, replacing the emperor

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

. Crassus is best known for being suspected of plotting against the emperor

Nerva Nerva (; originally Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dy ...

, as a result of which he spent much of the rest of his life exiled from Rome to various locations. Crassus Frugi came from an old consular Republican family. He could also trace his ancestry to the ''

triumvir A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

Marcus Licinius Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...

, and through an adoption of one of the triumvir's descendants was also a member of the ''gens'' Calpurnii; his ancestors included a number of men who had been consuls. Also

Libo Rupilius Frugi Libo Rupilius Frugi (died 101) was a Roman senator and an ancestor of the emperor Marcus Aurelius. He served as suffect consul in 88. Life His full name may have been Lucius Scribonius Libo Rupilius Frugi. He was one of the sons and among the chi ...

, consul ''suffectus'' in 88, was his brother.Vasily Rudich, ''Political Dissidence Under Nero: The Price of Dissimulation'', RoutledgeBrian W. Jones, ''The Emperor Domitian'', pp. 165-6. Routledge For this reason, John D. Grainger attributes to Crassus Frugi a strong antipathy towards the emperor Nerva, whose ancestry was not as illustrious as his, and the reason he plotted to overthrow Nerva. Grainger also describes Crassus as not intelligent, and Crassus' attempts to suborn some or all of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

was soon detected. As

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

tells the tale, Nerva invited him and his co-conspirators to sit beside him at a spectacle (Grainger suggests the

Plebeian Games The Plebeian Games (Latin ''Ludi Plebeii'') were an ancient Roman religious festival held November 4–17. The games ''(ludi)'' included both theatrical performances ''(ludi scaenici)'' and athletic competitions for the purpose of entertaining the ...

of November 96),Grainger, ''Nerva'', p. 70 and in full view of the crowd handed them swords, "ostensibly to inspect and see if they were sharp (as was often done), but really in order to show that he did not care even if he died then and there." In effect, Nerva dared them to assassinate him, then and there. Crassus, realizing the futility of that action, backed down. Despite protests for a more severe punishment from the Senate, Nerva then exiled Crassus and his wife to

Tarentum Tarentum may refer to: * Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras) **See also History of Taranto * Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...

. After Nerva's death and Trajan's ascension to the throne, Crassus and his wife were recalled from exile, but he still proved himself treacherous, and Trajan exiled him again, this time to an island off the coast of Italy. Here Crassus still was when Trajan died in 118, and here he was murdered in the first months of

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

's reign. The ''

Historia Augusta The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...

'' reports that Crassus was murdered by the emperor's

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

as he left the island, against the wishes of Hadrian.''Vita Hadrianus''
5.6
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calpurnius Piso Crassus Frugi Licinianus, Gaius 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome 1st-century births Year of birth unknown 118 deaths Calpurnii Pisones Frugi Licinianus Ancient Roman exiles Ancient Roman murder victims