Gaius Calpurnius Piso (praetor 211 BC)
Encyclopedia
Gaius Calpurnius Piso was a Roman
praetor
and promagistrate.
and, with two others, was sent to Rome
to negotiate the release of his fellow prisoners. However, the Senate refused to entertain the proposition. In 211 BC, he was made urban praetor and at the expiration of his year of office he made promagistrate
of Etruria
. In 209 BC, he was commanded by dictator
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
to the command of an army at Capua. The following year he was once again entrusted as promagistrate of Etruria. While promagistrate he proposed to the Senate that the Apollinarian games be repeated on an annual basis.
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
and promagistrate.
Biography
He was taken prisoner at Battle of CannaeBattle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
and, with two others, was sent to Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
to negotiate the release of his fellow prisoners. However, the Senate refused to entertain the proposition. In 211 BC, he was made urban praetor and at the expiration of his year of office he made promagistrate
Promagistrate
A promagistrate is a person who acts in and with the authority and capacity of a magistrate, but without holding a magisterial office. A legal innovation of the Roman Republic, the promagistracy was invented in order to provide Rome with governors of overseas territories instead of having to elect...
of Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...
. In 209 BC, he was commanded by dictator
Roman dictator
In the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, son of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus , Quintus was consul in 237 BC, fighting the Gauls in northern Italy. He was censor in 231 BC, again consul in 224 BC, when he subdued the Boii...
to the command of an army at Capua. The following year he was once again entrusted as promagistrate of Etruria. While promagistrate he proposed to the Senate that the Apollinarian games be repeated on an annual basis.