Gaius Furnius (Tribune)
Encyclopedia
Gaius Furnius was tribune
of the plebs
in 50 BCE
(Cic.
ad Att. v. 2, 18), and a friend and correspondent of Cicero
. (Ad Fam. x. 25, 26.)
Cicero trusted to the exertions of Furnius, while tribune, to obtain for him his recall at the end of his first year as proconsul of Cilicia
, and, after his return, a supplicatio or thanksgiving. (Ad Fam. viii. 10, ix. 24, xv. 14.) A clause, however, which Furnius inserted in his plebiscite, making the recall dependent on the Parthians remaining quiet until the month of August, 50 BCE, was unsatisfactory to Cicero, since July was the usual season of their inroads. (Cic. ad Att. vi. 1.) Furnius, as tribune, was opposed to the unreasonable demands of the oligarchical party at Rome
, that Julius Caesar
should immediately and unconditionally resign his proconsulship of Gaul
. (Cic. ad Fam. viii. 10.) After the breaking out of the civil war
, he was sent by Caesar with letters to Cicero in March, 49 BC, (Cic. ad Att. ix. 6, 11, vii. 19.) Cicero recommended Furnius to Lucius Munatius Plancus
, at that time, 43 BC, proconsul in Transalpine Gaul (Ad Fam. x. 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12), and he was legatus to Plancus during the first war between Antony and Augustus, and until after the Battle of Philippi
, 42 BC. During the war between Antony and the senate, Furnius apprised Cicero of the movements and sentiments of the Roman legions and commanders in Gaul and Spain, but his letters have not been preserved. (Ad Fam. x.) In the Perusine War, 41-40 BC, Furnius took part with Lucius Antonius
. He defended Sentinum
in Umbria
against Augustus, and shared the sufferings of the "Perusina Fames" (that is "Perusine famine"). Furnius was one of three officers commissioned by L. Antonius to negotiate the surrender of Perusia
, and his reception by Augustus was such as to awaken in the Antonian party suspicions of his fidelity. (Appian
, B. C. v. 30, 40, 41; Dion Cass.
xlviii. 13, 14.) In 35 BCE
he was prefect of Asia Minor
, under M. Antony, where he took prisoner Sextus Pompeius
, who had fled thither after his defeat by Agrippa, 36 BCE
. (Appian, B. C. v. 137-42.) After the Battle of Actium
, 31 BC, Furnius, through the mediation of his son Gaius Furnius
, was reconciled to Augustus (Senec.
De Benef. ii. 25), and received from him the rank of a consular senator (Dion Cass. lii. 42), and was afterwards appointed one of the supplementary consuls, 29 BC, which is the first time the name of Furnius appears on the consular Fasti. He was prefect of Hither Spain in 21 BC. (Dion Cass. liv.5; Flor. iv. 12.) Furnius is probably mentioned by Tacitus, De Oratoribus 21 among the speakers whose meagre and obsolete diction rendered their works impossible to read without an inclination to sleep or smile.
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...
of the plebs
Plebs
The plebs was the general body of free land-owning Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian...
in 50 BCE
50 BC
Year 50 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paullus and Marcellus...
(Cic.
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...
ad Att. v. 2, 18), and a friend and correspondent of 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...
. (Ad Fam. x. 25, 26.)
Cicero trusted to the exertions of Furnius, while tribune, to obtain for him his recall at the end of his first year as proconsul of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, and, after his return, a supplicatio or thanksgiving. (Ad Fam. viii. 10, ix. 24, xv. 14.) A clause, however, which Furnius inserted in his plebiscite, making the recall dependent on the Parthians remaining quiet until the month of August, 50 BCE, was unsatisfactory to Cicero, since July was the usual season of their inroads. (Cic. ad Att. vi. 1.) Furnius, as tribune, was opposed to the unreasonable demands of the oligarchical party at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, that Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
should immediately and unconditionally resign his proconsulship of Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
. (Cic. ad Fam. viii. 10.) After the breaking out of the civil war
Caesar's civil war
The Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...
, he was sent by Caesar with letters to Cicero in March, 49 BC, (Cic. ad Att. ix. 6, 11, vii. 19.) Cicero recommended Furnius to Lucius Munatius Plancus
Lucius Munatius Plancus
Lucius Munatius Plancus was a Roman senator, consul in 42 BC, and censor in 22 BC with Aemilius Lepidus Paullus...
, at that time, 43 BC, proconsul in Transalpine Gaul (Ad Fam. x. 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12), and he was legatus to Plancus during the first war between Antony and Augustus, and until after the Battle of Philippi
Battle of Philippi
The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian and the forces of Julius Caesar's assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus in 42 BC, at Philippi in Macedonia...
, 42 BC. During the war between Antony and the senate, Furnius apprised Cicero of the movements and sentiments of the Roman legions and commanders in Gaul and Spain, but his letters have not been preserved. (Ad Fam. x.) In the Perusine War, 41-40 BC, Furnius took part with Lucius Antonius
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...
. He defended Sentinum
Sentinum
Sentinum was an ancient town of currently located in the Marche region in Italy, lying a kilometre in the low ground at the east of the existing town of Sassoferrato. Its ruins were identified in 1890 and published by T...
in Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
against Augustus, and shared the sufferings of the "Perusina Fames" (that is "Perusine famine"). Furnius was one of three officers commissioned by L. Antonius to negotiate the surrender of Perusia
Perusia
The ancient Perusia, now Perugia, first appears in history as one of the 12 confederate cities of Etruria. It is first mentioned in the account of the war of 310 or 309 BC between the Etruscans and the Romans...
, and his reception by Augustus was such as to awaken in the Antonian party suspicions of his fidelity. (Appian
Appian
Appian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek ethnicity who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.He was born ca. 95 in Alexandria. He tells us that, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Egypt, he went to Rome ca. 120, where he practised as...
, B. C. v. 30, 40, 41; Dion Cass.
Dio Cassius
Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus , known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was a Roman consul and a noted historian writing in Greek...
xlviii. 13, 14.) In 35 BCE
35 BC
Year 35 BC was either a common year starting on Thursday or Friday or a leap year starting on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Thursday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
he was prefect of Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, under M. Antony, where he took prisoner Sextus Pompeius
Sextus Pompeius
Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey , was a Roman general from the late Republic . He was the last focus of opposition to the Second Triumvirate...
, who had fled thither after his defeat by Agrippa, 36 BCE
36 BC
Year 36 BC was either a common year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
. (Appian, B. C. v. 137-42.) After the Battle of Actium
Battle of Actium
The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic. It was fought between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, at the Roman...
, 31 BC, Furnius, through the mediation of his son Gaius Furnius
Gaius Furnius
Gaius Furnius, son of Gaius Furnius, was first consul of the Roman Empire from 17 BCE-16 BCE.He reconciled Augustus to his father who had been up to 31 BCE a staunch adherent of Marcus Antonius. Although there is some suggestion that he is the Furnius put to death by the senate in the reign of...
, was reconciled to Augustus (Senec.
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
De Benef. ii. 25), and received from him the rank of a consular senator (Dion Cass. lii. 42), and was afterwards appointed one of the supplementary consuls, 29 BC, which is the first time the name of Furnius appears on the consular Fasti. He was prefect of Hither Spain in 21 BC. (Dion Cass. liv.5; Flor. iv. 12.) Furnius is probably mentioned by Tacitus, De Oratoribus 21 among the speakers whose meagre and obsolete diction rendered their works impossible to read without an inclination to sleep or smile.