Lucius Valerius Flaccus (princeps senatus 86 BC)
Encyclopedia
Lucius Valerius Flaccus (d. circa 73–69 BC) was a consul
of the Roman Republic
in 100 BC and princeps senatus
(leader of the senate
) during the civil wars of the 80s. He is noted for his peace initiatives, which failed, and for sponsoring the Lex Valeria that created the dictatorship
of Sulla
.
("moneyer"), a common preliminary to the political career track
for young men of senatorial rank. In 108 or 107 BC, Flaccus issued coinage depicting Victory
and Mars
. Flaccus was elected praetor
sometime before 103 BC. In 100, he was the colleague of Gaius Marius
for his sixth consulship. He was so little at variance with Marius that his contemporary Rutilius Rufus
, in his non-extant history, disparaged him as "more a servant than a colleague."
In 97, Flaccus was censor with the Marcus Antonius
who was consul in 99 BC. The duties of the censors included revising the census, which not only registered citizens, but determined social rank (ordo). Although no figures have survived from this census, Italians were registered as citizens in great numbers, presumably to strengthen the political power of those likely to support the Marian
faction. Flaccus and Antonius expelled Duronius
from the senate because as tribune
he had abrogated the Lex Licinia, a sumptuary law
passed by P. Licinius Crassus
. They also reappointed M. Aemilius Scaurus
as princeps senatus. Flaccus himself was recognized as princeps perhaps as early as 92–91 BC, but certainly in the census of 86. Theodor Mommsen
erroneously thought that Sulla had abolished the position and that Flaccus was the last princeps.
Flaccus served as interrex
in 82, presiding over the centuriate assembly
for the election of Sulla as dictator. At this time, Flaccus was also made magister equitum ("Master of the Horse"), and remained so until 79 BC.
when he died, sometime after the cooptation
of Julius Caesar
to the pontifical college
in 73 and before that of the P. Sulpicius Galba
who was praetor around 66. The year Flaccus acquired the priesthood is undetermined. The iconography of coinage he issued as monetalis in 108 or 107 BC includes a flamen
's distinctive cap. His father also had served as the high priest of Mars, and the image may refer to this heritage; since sons often succeeded fathers in religious office, it's possible that the coin also marks the beginning of his own priesthood.
lists Lucius Flaccus among those who preferred dealing with Cinna
to destroying their country through civil strife. Neither Cinna nor Sulla could lay claim to complete constitutional legitimacy, but during the period 86–83 BC, no former consuls supported Sulla. As princeps senatus and the oldest living consularis
, Flaccus took the lead in attempting negotiations with Sulla, anticipating his return to Italy with troops after his peace settlement with Mithridates VI of Pontus
in the fall of 85 BC. By this time, Lucius's cousin (also named Lucius Valerius Flaccus
), the suffect consul who had filled Marius's term in 86, had taken up his proconsul
ar province of Asia; in early 85, he was killed in a mutiny led by the pro-Marian officer Fimbria
. The murder is assumed to have influenced the feelings of the Valerii Flacci regarding the Cinnan-Marian faction.
In an address to the senate, Flaccus urged concordia ("harmonious order") and took the initiative by sending envoys to Sulla in Greece
. In the meantime, Cinna and Carbo
arranged to prolong their consulship for a second term in 84 by spinning Sulla's imminent return as a state of emergency, against which they also began to assemble troops. Flaccus and the "peace party" at Rome appear not to have mounted any opposition to this action. The Cinnans' fears were confirmed when Sulla made it clear to the senatorial envoys that he would not dismiss his army when he reached Italy. After the mutinous
murder of Cinna, Carbo rejected peace negotiations. So did Sulla.
Flaccus was chosen in 82 BC by the senate — at the instigation of Sulla — as interrex
, the official required for holding elections if for some reason the previous year's consuls were unable to do so. In this case, both consuls were dead: Carbo had by now been defeated in battle and executed by the young Pompeius Magnus. Sulla sent a letter to Flaccus and the senate in which he urged, given the chaotic state in which Rome found itself, that the appointment of a dictator would do more to restore order than the messy business of elections. Although the office of dictator had constitutional precedent, with frequent dictatores holding short-term military commands in the Early Republic, there had been no Roman dictator for 120 years, since the Hannibalic War
. Sulla furthermore pressed to remove the term limit of six months from the office. As interrex, Flaccus took Sulla's hint; instead of nominating consules suffecti to fill the vacancies left by the deaths of Cinna and Carbo, he introduced a bill to the comitia
appointing Sulla as dictator. The legislation was therefore known as the Lex Valeria by the gentilic
name of its sponsor. At this time, Flaccus was also made magister equitum.
Flaccus is thought to have influenced his cousin Gaius Valerius Flaccus
to support, or at least to accept the necessity of, Sulla's regime. Gaius was the brother of the Lucius Flaccus who was murdered in Asia in 85; he was governor
of Gallia Transalpina and most likely Cisalpina in the mid-80s, and was also a recent and possibly still current governor of one or both of the Spanish provinces
. He thus would have commanded the largest number of troops in the western empire at the time. The concession of the Valerii Flacci was a significant factor in the establishment of the Sullan regime.
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 100 BC and 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:...
(leader of the senate
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...
) during the civil wars of the 80s. He is noted for his peace initiatives, which failed, and for sponsoring the Lex Valeria that created the dictatorship
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...
of 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...
.
Life and career
The earliest official capacity recorded for Lucius Flaccus is monetalisMoneyer
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:...
("moneyer"), a common preliminary to the political career track
Cursus honorum
The cursus honorum was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in both the Roman Republic and the early Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The cursus honorum comprised a mixture of military and political administration posts. Each office had a minimum...
for young men of senatorial rank. In 108 or 107 BC, Flaccus issued coinage depicting 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 Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
. Flaccus was elected 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...
sometime before 103 BC. In 100, he was the colleague of 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...
for his sixth consulship. He was so little at variance with Marius that his contemporary Rutilius Rufus
Publius Rutilius Rufus
Publius Rutilius Rufus was a Roman statesman, orator and historian of the Rutilius family, as well as great-uncle of Gaius Julius Caesar....
, in his non-extant history, disparaged him as "more a servant than a colleague."
In 97, Flaccus was censor with the Marcus Antonius
Marcus Antonius Orator
Marcus Antonius Orator was a Roman politician of the Antonius family and one of the most distinguished Roman orators of his time. He was also the grandfather of the famous general and triumvir, Mark Antony.-Career:...
who was consul in 99 BC. The duties of the censors included revising the census, which not only registered citizens, but determined social rank (ordo). Although no figures have survived from this census, Italians were registered as citizens in great numbers, presumably to strengthen the political power of those likely to support the Marian
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...
faction. Flaccus and Antonius expelled Duronius
Duronius
Duronius was a nomen of ancient Rome.Marcus Duronius was a tribune about 97 BC. He abrogated a sumptuary law, the Lex Licinia, and was expelled from the Roman Senate by the censors. ....
from the senate because as tribune
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...
he had abrogated the Lex Licinia, a sumptuary law
Sumptuary law
Sumptuary laws are laws that attempt to regulate habits of consumption. Black's Law Dictionary defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures in the matter of apparel, food, furniture, etc." Traditionally, they were...
passed by P. Licinius Crassus
Publius Licinius Crassus Dives
Publius Licinius Crassus Dives was a member of the respected and prominent Crassi branch of the plebeian gens Licinia as well as the father of the famed Marcus Licinius Crassus...
. They also reappointed M. Aemilius Scaurus
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus was a Roman consul in 115 BC and considered one of the most talented and influential politicians of the Republic....
as princeps senatus. Flaccus himself was recognized as princeps perhaps as early as 92–91 BC, but certainly in the census of 86. Theodor Mommsen
Theodor Mommsen
Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician, archaeologist, and writer generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. His work regarding Roman history is still of fundamental importance for contemporary research...
erroneously thought that Sulla had abolished the position and that Flaccus was the last princeps.
Flaccus served as interrex
Interrex
The Interrex was literally a ruler "between kings" during the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic. He was in effect a short-term regent....
in 82, presiding over the centuriate assembly
Century Assembly
The Century Assembly of the Roman Republic was the democratic assembly of Roman soldiers. During the years of the Roman Republic, citizens were organized on the basis of Centuries for military purposes. The Centuries gathered into the Century Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial...
for the election of Sulla as dictator. At this time, Flaccus was also made magister equitum ("Master of the Horse"), and remained so until 79 BC.
Religious office
Lucius Flaccus was flamen MartialisFlamen Martialis
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Martialis was the high priest of the official state cult of Mars, the god of war. He was one of the flamines maiores, the three high priests who were the most important of the fifteen...
when he died, sometime after the cooptation
Co-option
A co-opting or less frequently co-optation most commonly refers to action performed in a number of fields whereby an opponent is nullified or neutralized by absorption but there are other distinct senses as well....
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....
to the pontifical college
College of Pontiffs
The College of Pontiffs or Collegium Pontificum was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the polytheistic state religion. The college consisted of the Pontifex Maximus, the Vestal Virgins, the Rex Sacrorum, and the flamines...
in 73 and before that of the P. Sulpicius Galba
Galba
Galba , was Roman Emperor for seven months from 68 to 69. Galba was the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, and made a bid for the throne during the rebellion of Julius Vindex...
who was praetor around 66. The year Flaccus acquired the priesthood is undetermined. The iconography of coinage he issued as monetalis in 108 or 107 BC includes a flamen
Flamen
In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores , who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores...
's distinctive cap. His father also had served as the high priest of Mars, and the image may refer to this heritage; since sons often succeeded fathers in religious office, it's possible that the coin also marks the beginning of his own priesthood.
Role in civil war
CiceroCicero
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...
lists Lucius Flaccus among those who preferred dealing with 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....
to destroying their country through civil strife. Neither Cinna nor Sulla could lay claim to complete constitutional legitimacy, but during the period 86–83 BC, no former consuls supported Sulla. As princeps senatus and the oldest living consularis
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...
, Flaccus took the lead in attempting negotiations with Sulla, anticipating his return to Italy with troops after his peace settlement with Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI or Mithradates VI Mithradates , from Old Persian Mithradatha, "gift of Mithra"; 134 BC – 63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia from about 120 BC to 63 BC...
in the fall of 85 BC. By this time, Lucius's cousin (also named Lucius Valerius Flaccus
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...
), the suffect consul who had filled Marius's term in 86, had taken up his 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...
ar province of Asia; in early 85, he was killed in a mutiny led by the pro-Marian officer 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:...
. The murder is assumed to have influenced the feelings of the Valerii Flacci regarding the Cinnan-Marian faction.
In an address to the senate, Flaccus urged concordia ("harmonious order") and took the initiative by sending envoys to Sulla in Greece
Roman Greece
Roman Greece is the period of Greek history following the Roman victory over the Corinthians at the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC until the reestablishment of the city of Byzantium and the naming of the city by the Emperor Constantine as the capital of the Roman Empire...
. In the meantime, Cinna and Carbo
Gnaeus Papirius Carbo
Gnaeus Papirius Carbo was a three-time consul of ancient Rome.A member of the Carbones of the plebeian gens Papiria, and nephew of Gaius Papirius Carbo , he was a strong supporter of the Marian party, and took part in the blockade of Rome...
arranged to prolong their consulship for a second term in 84 by spinning Sulla's imminent return as a state of emergency, against which they also began to assemble troops. Flaccus and the "peace party" at Rome appear not to have mounted any opposition to this action. The Cinnans' fears were confirmed when Sulla made it clear to the senatorial envoys that he would not dismiss his army when he reached Italy. After 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...
murder of Cinna, Carbo rejected peace negotiations. So did Sulla.
Flaccus was chosen in 82 BC by the senate — at the instigation of Sulla — as interrex
Interrex
The Interrex was literally a ruler "between kings" during the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic. He was in effect a short-term regent....
, the official required for holding elections if for some reason the previous year's consuls were unable to do so. In this case, both consuls were dead: Carbo had by now been defeated in battle and executed by the young Pompeius Magnus. Sulla sent a letter to Flaccus and the senate in which he urged, given the chaotic state in which Rome found itself, that the appointment of a dictator would do more to restore order than the messy business of elections. Although the office of dictator had constitutional precedent, with frequent dictatores holding short-term military commands in the Early Republic, there had been no Roman dictator for 120 years, since the Hannibalic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
. Sulla furthermore pressed to remove the term limit of six months from the office. As interrex, Flaccus took Sulla's hint; instead of nominating consules suffecti to fill the vacancies left by the deaths of Cinna and Carbo, he introduced a bill to the comitia
Century Assembly
The Century Assembly of the Roman Republic was the democratic assembly of Roman soldiers. During the years of the Roman Republic, citizens were organized on the basis of Centuries for military purposes. The Centuries gathered into the Century Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial...
appointing Sulla as dictator. The legislation was therefore known as the Lex Valeria by the 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 of its sponsor. At this time, Flaccus was also made magister equitum.
Flaccus is thought to have influenced his cousin Gaius Valerius Flaccus
Gaius Valerius Flaccus (consul 93 BCE)
Gaius Valerius Flaccus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 93 BC and a provincial governor in the late-90s and throughout the 80s...
to support, or at least to accept the necessity of, Sulla's regime. Gaius was the brother of the Lucius Flaccus who was murdered in Asia in 85; he was 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...
of Gallia Transalpina and most likely Cisalpina in the mid-80s, and was also a recent and possibly still current governor of one or both of the Spanish provinces
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....
. He thus would have commanded the largest number of troops in the western empire at the time. The concession of the Valerii Flacci was a significant factor in the establishment of the Sullan regime.
Selected bibliography
- Lovano, Michael. The Age of Cinna: Crucible of Late Republican Rome. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2002. Limited preview online.
- Ryan, Francis X. Rank and Participation in the Roman Senate. Franz Steiner Verlag, 1998.