Censorinus (d. 53 BC)
Encyclopedia
Censorinus was a friend and contemporary of Publius Crassus
, son of the triumvir
Marcus Crassus
. His gens name
was almost certainly Marcius, and he may have been the son of the Gaius Marcius Censorinus
who was monetalis
around 88 BC. If so, his father and uncle Lucius were staunch supporters of the popularist
faction of Cinna
.
Censorinus is one of the two named friends of Publius Crassus who died with him at the Battle of Carrhae
. Plutarch
calls him "a man of senatorial
dignity and a powerful speaker." During the battle, Censorinus is among those who ride with young Crassus on a last desperate cavalry
foray; after sustaining heavy casualties, the Romans and their Gallic auxiliaries
retreat to a sand dune, where hope is soon lost under the constant barrage of Parthia
n arrows. Wounded and with his sword-arm incapacitated, Crassus orders his shield-bearer to take his life. Censorinus does likewise, and dies at his side. Their friend Megabocchus
and most of the other officers commit suicide.
This Censorinus is possibly also the young man who had accompanied Quintus Cicero
to Asia, as mentioned in a letter written by Quintus's elder brother Marcus Cicero
between 25 October and 10 December, 59 BC. He is named in the company of four other young nobiles
who seemed willing to support Quintus if he were to be prosecuted as a result of his governorship
. The others are an Antonius who is either the famous Marcus Antonius
or one of his two brothers, Gaius
or Lucius
; Cassius Longinus
and his brother Lucius
; and Quintus Mucius Scaevola
(tribune of the plebs
in 54 BC). Other close members of the Censorinus family were supporters of Antonius as triumvir
, and one of them, the consul of 39 BC
, came into possession of Cicero's house on the Palatine
after his death.
Publius Licinius Crassus (son of triumvir)
Publius Licinius Crassus was one of two sons of the triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus and Tertulla. He belonged to the last generation of Roman nobiles who came of age and began a political career before the collapse of the Republic...
, son of the triumvir
First Triumvirate
The First Triumvirate was the political alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Unlike the Second Triumvirate, the First Triumvirate had no official status whatsoever; its overwhelming power in the Roman Republic was strictly unofficial influence, and...
Marcus Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and politician who commanded the right wing of Sulla's army at the Battle of the Colline Gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus, provided political and financial support to Julius Caesar and entered into the political alliance known as the...
. His gens name
Roman naming conventions
By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a name in ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts : praenomen , nomen and cognomen...
was almost certainly Marcius, and he may have been the son of the Gaius Marcius Censorinus
Marcius Censorinus
Marcius Censorinus was a name used by a branch of the plebeian gens Marcia of ancient Rome. The cognomen Censorinus was acquired through Gaius Marcius Rutilus, the first plebeian censor, whose son used it...
who was monetalis
Moneyer
A moneyer is someone who physically creates money. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They became most prominent in the Roman Republic, continuing into the empire.-Roman Republican moneyers:...
around 88 BC. If so, his father and uncle Lucius were staunch supporters of the popularist
Populares
Populares were aristocratic leaders in the late Roman Republic who relied on the people's assemblies and tribunate to acquire political power. They are regarded in modern scholarship as in opposition to the optimates, who are identified with the conservative interests of a senatorial elite...
faction of Cinna
Lucius Cornelius Cinna
Lucius Cornelius Cinna was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelii gens....
.
Censorinus is one of the two named friends of Publius Crassus who died with him at the Battle of Carrhae
Battle of Carrhae
The Battle of Carrhae, fought in 53 BC near the town of Carrhae, was a major battle between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic. The Parthian Spahbod Surena decisively defeated a Roman invasion force led by Marcus Licinius Crassus...
. Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
calls him "a man of senatorial
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
dignity and a powerful speaker." During the battle, Censorinus is among those who ride with young Crassus on a last desperate cavalry
Roman cavalry
Roman cavalry refers to the horse mounted forces of the Roman army through the many centuries of its existence.- Early cavalry Roman cavalry (Latin: equites Romani) refers to the horse mounted forces of the Roman army through the many centuries of its existence.- Early cavalry Roman cavalry...
foray; after sustaining heavy casualties, the Romans and their Gallic auxiliaries
Auxiliaries (Roman military)
Auxiliaries formed the standing non-citizen corps of the Roman army of the Principate , alongside the citizen legions...
retreat to a sand dune, where hope is soon lost under the constant barrage of Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n arrows. Wounded and with his sword-arm incapacitated, Crassus orders his shield-bearer to take his life. Censorinus does likewise, and dies at his side. Their friend Megabocchus
Megabocchus
Megabocchus was a friend and contemporary of Publius Crassus, son of the triumvir Marcus Crassus. He died at the Battle of Carrhae.Plutarch gives the name as Μεγάβαγχος. The Latin spelling varies. His father may have been the Gaius Megabocchus mentioned by Cicero as condemned for extortion in...
and most of the other officers commit suicide.
This Censorinus is possibly also the young man who had accompanied Quintus Cicero
Quintus Tullius Cicero
Quintus Tullius Cicero was the younger brother of the celebrated orator, philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, some 100 kilometres south-east of Rome.- Biography :Cicero's well-to-do father...
to Asia, as mentioned in a letter written by Quintus's elder brother Marcus Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
between 25 October and 10 December, 59 BC. He is named in the company of four other young nobiles
Nobiles
During the Roman Republic, nobilis was a descriptive term of social rank, usually indicating that a member of the family had achieved the consulship. Those who belonged to the hereditary patrician families were noble, but plebeians whose ancestors were consuls were also considered nobiles...
who seemed willing to support Quintus if he were to be prosecuted as a result of his governorship
Roman governor
A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many provinces constituting the Roman Empire...
. The others are an Antonius who is either the famous Marcus Antonius
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
or one of his two brothers, Gaius
Gaius Antonius
Gaius Antonius was the second son of Marcus Antonius Creticus and Julia Antonia, and thus, younger brother of Mark Antony, triumvir and enemy of Caesar Augustus.-Early life:...
or Lucius
Lucius Antonius (brother of Mark Antony)
Lucius Antonius was the younger brother and supporter of Mark Antony, a Roman politician.Lucius was son of Marcus Antonius Creticus, son of the rhetorician Marcus Antonius Orator executed by Gaius Marius' supporters in 86 BC, and Julia Antonia, a cousin of Julius Caesar...
; Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...
and his brother Lucius
Lucius Cassius Longinus
Lucius Cassius Longinus was the name of several ancient Romans of the gens Cassia.*Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla was a consul of the Roman Republic in 127 BC.* Lucius Cassius Longinus was consul in 107 BC....
; and Quintus Mucius Scaevola
Quintus Mucius Scaevola
Quintus Mucius Scaevola may refer to one of the following politicians of the Roman Republic:* Quintus Mucius Scaevola * Quintus Mucius Scaevola , governor of Sardinia* Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur, , consul 117 BC...
(tribune of the plebs
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
in 54 BC). Other close members of the Censorinus family were supporters of Antonius as triumvir
Second Triumvirate
The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Octavius , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic...
, and one of them, the consul of 39 BC
Lucius Marcius Censorinus (consul 39 BC)
Lucius Marcius Censorinus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 39 BC, during the Second Triumvirate. He and his colleague Gaius Calvisius Sabinus had been the only two senators who tried to defend Julius Caesar when he was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC, and their consulship under the...
, came into possession of Cicero's house on the Palatine
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...
after his death.
See also
- Marcius CensorinusMarcius CensorinusMarcius Censorinus was a name used by a branch of the plebeian gens Marcia of ancient Rome. The cognomen Censorinus was acquired through Gaius Marcius Rutilus, the first plebeian censor, whose son used it...
- Battle of CarrhaeBattle of CarrhaeThe Battle of Carrhae, fought in 53 BC near the town of Carrhae, was a major battle between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic. The Parthian Spahbod Surena decisively defeated a Roman invasion force led by Marcus Licinius Crassus...
- Publius Licinius Crassus (son of triumvir)Publius Licinius Crassus (son of triumvir)Publius Licinius Crassus was one of two sons of the triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus and Tertulla. He belonged to the last generation of Roman nobiles who came of age and began a political career before the collapse of the Republic...
- MegabocchusMegabocchusMegabocchus was a friend and contemporary of Publius Crassus, son of the triumvir Marcus Crassus. He died at the Battle of Carrhae.Plutarch gives the name as Μεγάβαγχος. The Latin spelling varies. His father may have been the Gaius Megabocchus mentioned by Cicero as condemned for extortion in...