Gaius Norbanus Flaccus was a Roman

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...

 politician and general during the first century BC.

Of Etruscan

Etruscan

-Etruscan civilization:*Etruscan alphabet*Etruscan architecture*Etruscan art*Etruscan cities*Etruscan civilization*Etruscan coins*Etruscan language*Etruscan mythology*Etruscan numerals*Etruscan society*Etruscan terracotta warriors*Etruscan warfare...

 descent, Flaccus was the grandson of Gaius Norbanus

Gaius Norbanus

Gaius Norbanus surnamed Bulbus was a Roman politician.In 103 BC, when tribune of the people, he accused Quintus Servilius Caepio the Elder of having brought about the defeat of his army by the Cimbri through rashness, and also of having plundered the temple of Tolosa...

. His family had suffered under the proscription

Proscription

Proscription is a term used for the public identification and official condemnation of enemies of the state. It is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a "decree of condemnation to death or banishment" and is a heavily politically charged word, frequently used to refer to state-approved...

s of Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...

, but had found favour under the regime of 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....

. With Caesar's death, his allegiance passed to Octavianus

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

, Caesar's adopted son.

Norbanus was first elected as 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...

 in 43 BC

43 BC

Year 43 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday or a leap year starting on Sunday or Monday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...

. With the establishment of the Second Triumvirate

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 the launching of the civil war against the Liberatores, in 42 BC

42 BC

Year 42 BC was either a common year starting on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...

 Norbanus and another general, Decidius Saxa

Decidius Saxa

Lucius Decidius Saxa , sometimes mistaken as Decidus, was a Roman general in the 1st century BC.He was born in Spain, but perhaps of Italian origin. In 49 BC he fought as follower of Julius Caesar in Spain against an army of Pompey. In 44 BC he was tribune of the people and after the assassination...

, were sent by 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...

 and Octavianus with eight legions

Roman legion

A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...

 into Macedonia

Macedonia (Roman province)

The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus defeated Andriscus of Macedon, the last Ancient King of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved...

 against the assassins of Julius Caesar. Ordered to march quickly to Thrace

Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

 and hold the mountain passes, thus cutting off the Via Egnatia

Via Egnatia

The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed the Roman provinces of Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thrace, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey.Starting at Dyrrachium on the...

, Norbanus and Saxa met the combined advancing troops of Gaius 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 Marcus Junius Brutus

Marcus Junius Brutus

Marcus Junius Brutus , often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name...

 in the neighborhood of Philippi

Philippi

Philippi was a city in eastern Macedonia, established by Philip II in 356 BC and abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest...

. As they were outnumbered, Norbanus and Saxa occupied a position near Philippi which prevented the republicans advancing any further. Determined to find a way through, Brutus and Cassius managed to make Norbanus to leave this position, but Norbanus discovered the trap in time to recover the dominating position. When Brutus and Cassius managed to outflank them, Norbanus and Saxa retreated towards Amphipolis

Amphipolis

Amphipolis was an ancient Greek city in the region once inhabited by the Edoni people in the present-day region of Central Macedonia. It was built on a raised plateau overlooking the east bank of the river Strymon where it emerged from Lake Cercinitis, about 3 m. from the Aegean Sea. Founded in...

. When Marcus Antonius and the bulk of the triumvirs troops arrived, they found Amphipolis well guarded and Norbanus was left in command of the town. 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...

, Octavianus placed Norbanus in charge of his camp.

With the victory at Philippi, Norbanus enjoyed the prestige that came with being part of the successful campaign. In reward for his service, in 38 BC

38 BC

Year 38 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Saturday, Sunday or Monday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...

 Octavianus nominated Norbanus as consul

Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...

 with Appius Claudius Pulcher

Appius Claudius Pulcher (consul 38 BC)

Appius Claudius Pulcher was a Roman politician. An early supporter of Augustus, he was elected consul in 38 BC.-Biography:A member of the patrician branch of the Claudii family, Pulcher originally bore the name Gaius Claudius Pulcher, and was the natural born son of Gaius Claudius Pulcher, a...

. They were the first consuls to have two Quaestors each. He then held the post of proconsul

Proconsul

A proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...

 in Spain from 36 - 34 BC, for which he celebrated a triumph

Roman triumph

The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...

 on October 12, 34 BC

34 BC

Year 34 BC was either a common year starting on Friday, Saturday or Sunday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Friday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...

. This was then followed by an appointment as proconsul of Asia shortly 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...

 in 31 BC

31 BC

Year 31 BC was either a common year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Tuesday or Wednesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...

.

Norbanus was married to a daughter of Lucius Cornelius Balbus the Younger and had at least one son, also named Gaius Norbanus Flaccus.

Sources

• T. Robert S. Broughton
  Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton
  Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton was a Canadian classical scholar and leading Latin prosopographer of the twentieth century. He is especially noted for his definitive three-volume work, Magistrates of the Roman Republic ....
  
  , The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II (1952).
• Syme, Ronald, The Roman Revolution, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939
• Holland, Richard, Augustus: Godfather of Europe, Sutton Publishing, 2005