Gaius Valerius Flaccus (consul 93 BCE)
Encyclopedia
Gaius Valerius Flaccus (fl.
early 1st century BC) was a consul
of the Roman Republic
in 93 BC and a provincial
governor
in the late-90s and throughout the 80s. He is notable for his balanced stance during the Sullan civil wars, the longevity of his term as governor, and his efforts to extend citizenship
to non-Romans.
sometime before 95 BC, most probably in 96. An inscription
from Claros
indicates that following his praetorship and before 95 he held a promagisterial
command in the Roman province of Asia. Both he and his brother Lucius
, who was a governor of Asia in the late 90s and again for 85, are honored as patrons
of the city of Colophon in Lydia
. The two are the first Roman governors known to be addressed as patrons of a free city, a practice that became common in the 60s BC.
Flaccus may have been a candidate for the consulship of 94, losing to the novus homo
C. Coelius Caldus
, who is said to have run against two highly distinguished nobiles
and beaten one of them. It was not unusual for a defeated candidate to run again the following year, often with success. The colleague of Flaccus in the consulship of 93 was M. Herennius
.
, in his account of the Gallic Wars
, identifies the Helvian
Celt Caburus
as another recipient of citizenship from Flaccus, during his time as governor of Gallia Transalpina. Caburus followed custom in assuming his patron's gentilic
name Gaius Valerius. This interest in expanding citizenship may be viewed in the context of the family's moderate popularism
and their relations with social inferiors; E. Badian has pointed out that the Valerii Flacci "were given to taking up new men
and families: inscriptions (Inschr. V. Magn. 144f.) reveal a policy of low-class connections."
as proconsul
of Hispania Citerior
in 92, and assumed his post before the conclusion of his consulship in order to deal with an uprising among the Celtiberi
. The historian Appian
says the revolt was motivated by the exceptional cruelty and treachery of Didius, who had dealt with unrest and crime among the poor by promising them land to live on and then luring them into a trap. When the families had assembled within the enclosure of the Roman castra
for the required registration, Didius slaughtered them all. While implying that the revolt against Didius was justified, Appian's account of the subsequent actions of Flaccus is not overtly critical. In an attempt to restore order, Flaccus engaged in armed conflicts that left 20,000 Celtiberi dead. At Belgida
, however, the local senate refused to issue an official declaration of war against Rome, or were perhaps still deliberating. The rebels set fire to the structure and burned their own senators alive. The local reaction to the mass murder of their governing class was no doubt mixed. Flaccus appears to have succeeded at halting large-scale violence, perhaps because he capitalized on any outrage or ambivalence within the community at the deaths of their senators and executed those responsible.
Flaccus remained in Spain
longer than any other Roman governor had up to that time, and he seems to have been in charge of Hispania Ulterior
as well as Citerior. His extended command probably resulted from the disruptions of the Social War and its aftermath, and the civil wars of the 80s. After stabilizing the region, Flaccus appears to have governed prudently and with respect to legal authority.
pertaining to boundaries and water-rights
arbitration. The document is written in Latin
based on Roman legal formulae
, but the judges are the local senate of Contrebia Balaisca (near present-day Botorrita
). Flaccus understood the legal issue as a distinction between ager publicus
or ager privatus, publicly held
or private land. He used a legal fiction
to show how the principles of the two communities involved in the dispute could be applied mutually, and provided a Roman legal framework within which the Contrebians could cite precedent from Celtiberian law.
were overlapping or sequential, as a continuous line of succession can rarely be traced for any province
. A dual governorship of both provinces has been disparaged as "unprecedented," but no other promagistrate is documented for Spain in this period, and since the senate only began assigning Transalpine Gaul as a regular provincia in the mid-90s, administrative arrangements were still evolving. By 85, Flaccus is "firmly installed" in Transalpina, though Cicero, as Badian notes, refrains from calling him the lawful governor there. He was acclaimed imperator
and retained his province until he celebrated a triumph
over Celtiberia and Gaul in 81. The two Gallic provinces were often governed jointly, and no other promagistrate is recorded for Cisalpina, the ethnically Celtic north of Italy, for the period 87–82. It is possible to argue that by the mid-80s, Flaccus was responsible for both Gallia Transalpina and Cisalpina, as well as Hispania Ulterior and Citerior.
The longevity of Flaccus's command has been cited as evidence that the prolongment of Julius Caesar
's term in Gaul in the 50s, and the five-year proconsular commands granted to Pompeius Magnus
and Marcus Crassus
after their joint consulship in 55, were less exceptional than has sometimes been thought.
. Quinctius had inherited land in Transalpina from his brother, Lucius Quinctius, along with attached debts. Naevius, who had been the brother's business partner, tried to foreclose on the property, and ejected Quinctius by force. Flaccus ruled that Naevius had seized the property improperly and ordered restitution. Two years later, the case, still dragging on, helped launch the career of Cicero
, who in 81 was a young advocate
in his mid-twenties arguing on behalf of Quinctius.
and Cinnan faction, which held the consulship from 87 to 82 BC. He appears to have been attempting to preserve legitimate authority while remaining neutral in the factional conflict, though the Valerii Flacci were generally popularist
in their politics and had strong ties to Gaius Marius
.
The death of Flaccus's brother, Lucius, marks a turning point. Lucius Flaccus was the suffect consul who completed Marius's term in 86 BC. He was sent as governor to the Roman province of Asia, where he was murdered in 85 by the mutinous
Fimbria
. Fimbria then took command of the troops assigned to Lucius. The Cinnan government failed to take action against Fimbria, who had been a particularly ferocious supporter of the Marian faction. Lucius's son, also named Lucius, fled Asia and sought refuge with his uncle in Massalia (present-day Marseille
), then still an independent Greek
city-state
; this nephew was the Lucius Valerius Flaccus defended by Cicero in his speech Pro Flacco two decades later.
No replacement for Flaccus was sent from Rome, but doubts about his allegiance were perhaps raised. Cinna was assassinated in 84; Sulla returned to Italy in 83. The Marian-Cinnan faction, now led by the son of Gaius Marius
, set about securing Spain, which Flaccus, given the vastness of his command, could only have been administering through legates
such as the disreputable Marcus Fonteius. That the armed forces of Spain might ally with the Sullan forces now in Italy was a dangerous possibility for the besieged government. When the young Marcus Crassus
, the future triumvir
, had raised Spanish troops for Sulla in 84, Flaccus did nothing to stop him. Quintus Sertorius
, impeccably loyal to the anti-Sullan cause, was sent overland to the Iberian peninsula
with a relatively small force in late 83 or early 82. Flaccus allowed Sertorius to march through Transalpina, and Sertorius likewise took no action against the imperium
of Flaccus. The Marians may have wished to secure their interests in the west without requiring Flaccus to take sides in a direct confrontation: "The government could ill afford to alienate the man even further when he had shown no actual sign of disaffection." Sertorius was a logical successor to govern Spain because he had served there earlier, and to relieve Flaccus after such a prolonged term was reasonable rather than provocative.
No sources identify Flaccus as a Sullan, but the governor could have signalled his displeasure by withholding tax revenues. Flaccus tilts observably only after Sulla gained control of Cisalpine Gaul. Flaccus's cousin, the princeps senatus
named Lucius Valerius Flaccus
(also the name of his brother), may have been an influence in Gaius's shift toward Sulla; he sponsored the Lex Valeria, the legislation that made Sulla dictator
at the end of 82 or the beginning of 81. Flaccus had his triumph under the dictatorship, an honor Sulla would hardly have permitted had Flaccus not supported his regime.
depicting a winged bust of Victory
and a caduceus
on the obverse. The reverse shows a legionary aquila
flanked by military standards. The one on the left is marked with an H (for Hastati
, spearmen), the one on the right P (Principes
, also a term for spearmen). Below is the abbreviation ex s(enatus) c(onsulto), "by decree of the senate". On the left appears an abbreviated form of the name C(aius) Val(erius) Fla(ccus), with imperat(or) on the right. Flaccus's coin is modeled after a Sullan type, and the symbolism of coins minted in Spain and Gaul during the period frequently advertised "legitimacy and military success". The output has been estimated at 540,000 denarii.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
early 1st century BC) was a consul
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
of the Roman Republic
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...
in 93 BC and a provincial
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
governor
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...
in the late-90s and throughout the 80s. He is notable for his balanced stance during the Sullan civil wars, the longevity of his term as governor, and his efforts to extend citizenship
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to certain free-born individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance....
to non-Romans.
Life and career
Valerius Flaccus was praetorPraetor
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...
sometime before 95 BC, most probably in 96. An inscription
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
from Claros
Claros
Claros is a prophecy center of Colophon, one of the twelve Ionic cities. Claros is built between two cities; it is 13 kilometers south of Colophon and two kilometers north of Notion. The Temple of Apollo here was a very important center of prophecy as in Delphi and Didyma. The oldest information...
indicates that following his praetorship and before 95 he held a promagisterial
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...
command in the Roman province of Asia. Both he and his brother Lucius
Lucius Valerius Flaccus (suffect consul 86 BC)
Lucius Valerius Flaccus was the suffect consul who completed the term of Gaius Marius in 86 BC. He was sent as governor in that year to the Roman province of Asia, but was murdered in a mutiny by Fimbria during the turmoil of the Sullan civil wars and the Mithridatic Wars.Flaccus is also known for...
, who was a governor of Asia in the late 90s and again for 85, are honored as patrons
Patronage in ancient Rome
Patronage was the distinctive relationship in ancient Roman society between the patronus and his client . The relationship was hierarchical, but obligations were mutual. The patronus was the protector, sponsor, and benefactor of the client...
of the city of Colophon in Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
. The two are the first Roman governors known to be addressed as patrons of a free city, a practice that became common in the 60s BC.
Flaccus may have been a candidate for the consulship of 94, losing to the novus homo
Novus homo
Homo novus was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul...
C. Coelius Caldus
Gaius Coelius Caldus
Gaius Coelius Caldus or Gaius Caelius Caldus was a politician of ancient Rome of the late 2nd and early 1st century BC.In 107 BC, he was a tribune and passed a lex tabellaria, which ordained that in the courts of justice the votes should be given by means of tables in cases of high treason.In 94...
, who is said to have run against two highly distinguished 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...
and beaten one of them. It was not unusual for a defeated candidate to run again the following year, often with success. The colleague of Flaccus in the consulship of 93 was M. Herennius
Marcus Herennius (consul 93 BC)
Marcus Herennius was consul of the Roman Republic in 93 BC. He became consul in 93 BC, after defeating Lucius Marcius Philippus in the consular election for 93 BC.-References:...
.
Proponent of citizenship
In 96, while praetor urbanus, Valerius Flaccus sponsored legislation to grant citizenship to Calliphana of Velia, a priestess of Ceres. Julius CaesarJulius 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....
, in his account of the Gallic Wars
Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. They lasted from 58 BC to 51 BC. The Gallic Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the...
, identifies the Helvian
Helvii
The Helvii were a relatively small Celtic polity west of the Rhône river on the northern border of Gallia Narbonensis. Their territory was roughly equivalent to the Vivarais, in the modern French department Ardèche...
Celt Caburus
Gaius Valerius Caburus
Gaius Valerius Caburus was a leader of the Helvii, a relatively small Celtic polity whose territory was more or less equivalent to the Vivarais , on the northern border of Gallia Transalpina. Caburus was granted Roman citizenship in 83 BC by Gaius Valerius Flaccus during his governorship of Gaul...
as another recipient of citizenship from Flaccus, during his time as governor of Gallia Transalpina. Caburus followed custom in assuming his patron's gentilic
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
name Gaius Valerius. This interest in expanding citizenship may be viewed in the context of the family's moderate popularism
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...
and their relations with social inferiors; E. Badian has pointed out that the Valerii Flacci "were given to taking up new men
Novus homo
Homo novus was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul...
and families: inscriptions (Inschr. V. Magn. 144f.) reveal a policy of low-class connections."
Spain
Flaccus succeeded Titus DidiusTitus Didius
Titus Didius was a general and politician of the Roman Republic. He is credited with the restoration of the Villa Publica, and is notorious for his proconsulship in Hispania Citerior ....
as 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...
of Hispania Citerior
Hispania Citerior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Citerior was a region of Hispania roughly occupying the northeastern coast and the Ebro Valley of what is now Spain. Hispania Ulterior was located west of Hispania Citerior—that is, farther away from Rome.-External links:*...
in 92, and assumed his post before the conclusion of his consulship in order to deal with an uprising among the Celtiberi
Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...
. The historian 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...
says the revolt was motivated by the exceptional cruelty and treachery of Didius, who had dealt with unrest and crime among the poor by promising them land to live on and then luring them into a trap. When the families had assembled within the enclosure of the Roman castra
Castra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
for the required registration, Didius slaughtered them all. While implying that the revolt against Didius was justified, Appian's account of the subsequent actions of Flaccus is not overtly critical. In an attempt to restore order, Flaccus engaged in armed conflicts that left 20,000 Celtiberi dead. At Belgida
Bèlgida
Bèlgida is a municipality in the comarca of Vall d'Albaida in the Valencian Community, Spain....
, however, the local senate refused to issue an official declaration of war against Rome, or were perhaps still deliberating. The rebels set fire to the structure and burned their own senators alive. The local reaction to the mass murder of their governing class was no doubt mixed. Flaccus appears to have succeeded at halting large-scale violence, perhaps because he capitalized on any outrage or ambivalence within the community at the deaths of their senators and executed those responsible.
Flaccus remained in Spain
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
longer than any other Roman governor had up to that time, and he seems to have been in charge of Hispania Ulterior
Hispania Ulterior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior was a region of Hispania roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania and Gallaecia...
as well as Citerior. His extended command probably resulted from the disruptions of the Social War and its aftermath, and the civil wars of the 80s. After stabilizing the region, Flaccus appears to have governed prudently and with respect to legal authority.
Contrebian water rights
Flaccus remained in Spain as governor at least until 87, as evidenced by the Tabula Contrebiensis, a bronze tablet on which is inscribed his iudiciumIus privatum
Ius privatum is Latin for private law. Contrasted with ius publicum , ius privatum regulated the relations between individuals. In Roman law this included personal, property and civil law. Judicial proceeding was a private process...
pertaining to boundaries and water-rights
Water right
Water right in water law refers to the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentious...
arbitration. The document is written in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
based on Roman legal formulae
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
, but the judges are the local senate of Contrebia Balaisca (near present-day Botorrita
Botorrita
Botorrita is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain.Botorrita is known for the archeological artefacts found there, such as the Botorrita plaques....
). Flaccus understood the legal issue as a distinction between ager publicus
Ager publicus
The ager publicus is the Latin name for the public land of Ancient Rome. It was usually acquired by expropriation from Rome's enemies.In the earliest periods of Roman expansion in central Italy, the ager publicus was used for Roman and Latin colonies...
or ager privatus, publicly held
Public land
In all modern states, some land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land. The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries...
or private land. He used a legal fiction
Legal fiction
A legal fiction is a fact assumed or created by courts which is then used in order to apply a legal rule which was not necessarily designed to be used in that way...
to show how the principles of the two communities involved in the dispute could be applied mutually, and provided a Roman legal framework within which the Contrebians could cite precedent from Celtiberian law.
Gaul
Scholars have been unable to determine the extent to which Flaccus's terms as governor in Spain and GaulGaul
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...
were overlapping or sequential, as a continuous line of succession can rarely be traced for any province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
. A dual governorship of both provinces has been disparaged as "unprecedented," but no other promagistrate is documented for Spain in this period, and since the senate only began assigning Transalpine Gaul as a regular provincia in the mid-90s, administrative arrangements were still evolving. By 85, Flaccus is "firmly installed" in Transalpina, though Cicero, as Badian notes, refrains from calling him the lawful governor there. He was acclaimed imperator
Imperator
The Latin word Imperator was originally a title roughly equivalent to commander under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as part of their cognomen. The English word emperor derives from imperator via Old French Empreur...
and retained his province until 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...
over Celtiberia and Gaul in 81. The two Gallic provinces were often governed jointly, and no other promagistrate is recorded for Cisalpina, the ethnically Celtic north of Italy, for the period 87–82. It is possible to argue that by the mid-80s, Flaccus was responsible for both Gallia Transalpina and Cisalpina, as well as Hispania Ulterior and Citerior.
The longevity of Flaccus's command has been cited as evidence that the prolongment 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....
's term in Gaul in the 50s, and the five-year proconsular commands granted to Pompeius Magnus
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
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...
after their joint consulship in 55, were less exceptional than has sometimes been thought.
The case of Quinctius
In 83 BC, Flaccus was brought into a property dispute between Publius Quinctius and a NaeviusNaevius
-People:* Gnaeus Naevius, poet and dramatist 3rd century BC* Naevius Sutorius Macro, praetorian prefect under Tiberius and Caligula...
. Quinctius had inherited land in Transalpina from his brother, Lucius Quinctius, along with attached debts. Naevius, who had been the brother's business partner, tried to foreclose on the property, and ejected Quinctius by force. Flaccus ruled that Naevius had seized the property improperly and ordered restitution. Two years later, the case, still dragging on, helped launch the career 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...
, who in 81 was a young advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
in his mid-twenties arguing on behalf of Quinctius.
Role in civil war
If Flaccus governed both Spains and both Gauls, or any combination of the four provinces, the armed forces at his disposal were unmatched in the western empire. "The loyalty of these armies," it has been noted, "was crucial to the State." Until 85 BCE or later, Flaccus either supported or acted in no way contrary to the interests of the MarianGaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
and Cinnan faction, which held the consulship from 87 to 82 BC. He appears to have been attempting to preserve legitimate authority while remaining neutral in the factional conflict, though the Valerii Flacci were generally 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...
in their politics and had strong ties to Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
.
The death of Flaccus's brother, Lucius, marks a turning point. Lucius Flaccus was the suffect consul who completed Marius's term in 86 BC. He was sent as governor to the Roman province of Asia, where he was murdered in 85 by the mutinous
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
Fimbria
Gaius Flavius Fimbria
Gaius Flavius Fimbria was a Roman politician and a violent partisan of Gaius Marius. He fought in the First Mithridatic War.-Partisan of Marius:...
. Fimbria then took command of the troops assigned to Lucius. The Cinnan government failed to take action against Fimbria, who had been a particularly ferocious supporter of the Marian faction. Lucius's son, also named Lucius, fled Asia and sought refuge with his uncle in Massalia (present-day Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
), then still an independent Greek
Phocaea
Phocaea, or Phokaia, was an ancient Ionian Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Greek colonists from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia in 600 BC, Emporion in 575 BC and Elea in 540 BC.-Geography:Phocaea was the northernmost...
city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
; this nephew was the Lucius Valerius Flaccus defended by Cicero in his speech Pro Flacco two decades later.
No replacement for Flaccus was sent from Rome, but doubts about his allegiance were perhaps raised. Cinna was assassinated in 84; Sulla returned to Italy in 83. The Marian-Cinnan faction, now led by the son of Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius the Younger
Gaius Marius Minor, also known in English as Marius the Younger or informally "the younger Marius" , was the adopted son of Gaius Marius, who was seven times consul, and a famous military commander. Appian first describes him as the son of the great Marius, but in a subsequent passage, he is...
, set about securing Spain, which Flaccus, given the vastness of his command, could only have been administering through legates
Legatus
A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
such as the disreputable Marcus Fonteius. That the armed forces of Spain might ally with the Sullan forces now in Italy was a dangerous possibility for the besieged government. When the young 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...
, the future 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...
, had raised Spanish troops for Sulla in 84, Flaccus did nothing to stop him. Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius
Quintus Sertorius was a Roman statesman and general, born in Nursia, in Sabine territory. His brilliance as a military commander was shown most clearly in his battles against Rome for control of Hispania...
, impeccably loyal to the anti-Sullan cause, was sent overland to the Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
with a relatively small force in late 83 or early 82. Flaccus allowed Sertorius to march through Transalpina, and Sertorius likewise took no action against the imperium
Imperium
Imperium is a Latin word which, in a broad sense, translates roughly as 'power to command'. In ancient Rome, different kinds of power or authority were distinguished by different terms. Imperium, referred to the sovereignty of the state over the individual...
of Flaccus. The Marians may have wished to secure their interests in the west without requiring Flaccus to take sides in a direct confrontation: "The government could ill afford to alienate the man even further when he had shown no actual sign of disaffection." Sertorius was a logical successor to govern Spain because he had served there earlier, and to relieve Flaccus after such a prolonged term was reasonable rather than provocative.
No sources identify Flaccus as a Sullan, but the governor could have signalled his displeasure by withholding tax revenues. Flaccus tilts observably only after Sulla gained control of Cisalpine Gaul. Flaccus's cousin, the princeps senatus
Princeps senatus
The princeps senatus was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and owning no imperium, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it.-Overview:...
named Lucius Valerius Flaccus
Lucius Valerius Flaccus (princeps senatus 86 BC)
Lucius Valerius Flaccus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 100 BC and princeps senatus during the civil wars of the 80s...
(also the name of his brother), may have been an influence in Gaius's shift toward Sulla; he sponsored the Lex Valeria, the legislation that made Sulla 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...
at the end of 82 or the beginning of 81. Flaccus had his triumph under the dictatorship, an honor Sulla would hardly have permitted had Flaccus not supported his regime.
Coinage
After Sulla emerged victorious, the senate authorized Flaccus to strike coinage to cover expenses for his final months in command. Many examples of this military issue have survived. In 82, to commemorate his victories, the mint in Massalia issued a denariusDenarius
In the Roman currency system, the denarius was a small silver coin first minted in 211 BC. It was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased until its replacement by the antoninianus...
depicting a winged bust of Victory
Victoria (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion, Victoria was the personified goddess of victory. She is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Nike, and was associated with Bellona. She was adapted from the Sabine agricultural goddess Vacuna and had a temple on the Palatine Hill...
and a caduceus
Caduceus
The caduceus is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology. The same staff was also borne by heralds in general, for example by Iris, the messenger of Hera. It is a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings...
on the obverse. The reverse shows a legionary aquila
Aquila (Roman)
The Aquila was the eagle standard of a Roman legion, carried by a special grade legionary known as an Aquilifer. One eagle standard was carried by each legion.-History:...
flanked by military standards. The one on the left is marked with an H (for Hastati
Hastati
Hastatii were a class of infantry in the armies of the early Roman Republic who originally fought as spearmen, and later as swordsmen. They were originally some of the poorest men in the legion, and could afford only modest equipment — light armour and a large shield, in their service as the...
, spearmen), the one on the right P (Principes
Principes
Principes were spearmen, and later swordsmen, in the armies of the early Roman Republic. They were men in the prime of their lives who were fairly wealthy, and could afford decent equipment. They were the heavier infantry of the legion who carried large shields and wore good quality armour. Their...
, also a term for spearmen). Below is the abbreviation ex s(enatus) c(onsulto), "by decree of the senate". On the left appears an abbreviated form of the name C(aius) Val(erius) Fla(ccus), with imperat(or) on the right. Flaccus's coin is modeled after a Sullan type, and the symbolism of coins minted in Spain and Gaul during the period frequently advertised "legitimacy and military success". The output has been estimated at 540,000 denarii.
End of life
Flaccus was in his mid-50s or older when he held his triumph. The date and circumstances of his death are not known; after closing his career with one of Rome's greatest honors, he may have chosen to live quietly and distance himself from factional politics.Selected primary sources
- CiceroCiceroMarcus 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...
Pro Balbo 24 - Schol. Bob. ad Cic. p. Flacc. p. 233, ed. Orelli
- AppianAppianAppian 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...
, The Spanish Wars 100
Selected bibliography
- Badian, E. "Notes on Provincial Governors" and "Waiting for Sulla." As reprinted in Studies in Greek and Roman History. New York 1964.
- Brennan, T. CoreyT. Corey BrennanTerry Corey Brennan is an associate professor of Classics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, , and was a guitarist and songwriter involved with several bands, most notably the alternative rock band The Lemonheads....
. The Praetorship in the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press, 2000. Limited preview online. - Frier, Bruce W. "Sulla's Propaganda: The Collapse of the Cinnan Republic." American Journal of Philology 92 (1971) 585–604.
- Konrad, Christoph F. Plutarch's Sertorius: A Historical Commentary. University of North Carolina Press, 1994. Limited preview online.
- Lovano, Michael. The Age of Cinna: Crucible of Late Republican Rome. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2002. Limited preview online.