Lucius Aurelius Cotta 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 ...

magistrate,

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 Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

in 154 BC, 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 ...

in 144 BC.

Biography

A member of the

plebeian 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 of ...

gens Aurelia, Cotta was elected

in 154 BC. During his term as Plebeian tribune, Cotta refused to pay his debts during his term as magistrate, citing the 'sanctity' of his position. His colleagues declared that they would not support him unless he agreed to pay his creditors. Around 147 BC, Cotta was elected

praetor 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 144 BC, Cotta was made the consul of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

together with

Servius Sulpicius Galba Servius Sulpicius Galba may refer to: * Servius Sulpicius Galba (consul 144 BC) * Servius Sulpicius Galba (consul 108 BC) * Servius Sulpicius Galba (praetor 54 BC), assassin of Julius Caesar * Galba, born Servius Sulpicius Galba, Roman emperor fro ...

where the two entered into a dispute before the

Roman senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

about which would be the leader of the contemporary war against

Viriathus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or w ...

on the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. Finally,

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 ...

proposed a decree stating that neither would lead the campaign, which would instead pass to one of the proconsuls of

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus was a Roman statesman and consul (145 BC). Fabius was by adoption a member of the patrician gens Fabia, but by birth he was the eldest son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus and Papiria Masonis and the el ...

(himself one of the consuls of 145 BC). Afterwards, Cotta was accused by Scipio Aemelianus of acts of injustice. Although it appears that Cotta may have indeed been guilty, he was absolved of any wrongdoing as the judges wanted to avoid the semblance of his condemnation due to Scipio's great influence. He was defended by

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (c. 188 BC – 116 BC/115 BC) was a statesman and general of the Roman Republic during the second century BC. He was praetor in 148 BC, consul in 143 BC, the Proconsul of Hispania Citerior in 142 BC an ...

(consul in 143 BC).

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 ...

stated that Cotta was considered a ''veterator'', saying that he was a capable man in both his business and personal life.

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'' ...

vi 4 § 2, 5 § 4, viii 1 § 11;

pro Muren. 28, pro Font. 13, Brut 21, Divin in Caecil. 21;

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

Ann. iii. 66

Descendants

He had at least one son of the same name, who was also a consul in 119 BC. Through his son's daughter

Aurelia Cotta Aurelia ( – July 31, 54 BC) was the mother of the Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar. Family Aurelia was a daughter of Rutilia and Lucius Aurelius Cotta or his brother, Marcus Aurelius Cotta.'Aurelia' in William Smith, ed., ''Dictionar ...

, he was the great-grandfather of the famous dictator

Gaius Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a 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 a civil war, and ...

and great-great-grandfather of the first Roman Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

References

Sources

* Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol I (1951) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aurelius Cotta, Lucius consul 610 AUC 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Lucius consul 610 AUC