Marcus Claudius Marcellus (consul 51 BC)
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Marcus Claudius Marcellus, was a member of the plebeian gens
Claudia of the branch cognomitated Marcellus and a Roman politician.
Marcellus was elected curule aedile
in 56 BC
. In 52 BC
he was elected consul
, together with Servius Sulpicius Rufus
, for the following year. During his consulship Marcellus proved himself to be a zealous partisan of Pompey
and the optimates, and urged the senate to extreme measures against Julius Caesar
. Marcellus caused a citizen of Comum
to be scourged, as a means to show his contempt for the citizenship privileges bestowed by Caesar upon that colony. On the 30th of September, Marcellus managed to procure a resolution of the senate, that the whole subject of abrogating Caesar's Gallic command should be brought under discussion on the 1st of March in the following year.
Upon the start of the civil war, Marcellus fled Rome with the optimates and joined the Republican Grand Army in Epirus. After the battle of Pharsalus
Marcellus abandoned opposition to Caesar, and withdrew in an honorable exile to Mytilene, where he was left unmolested by Caesar. His cousin Gaius Claudius Marcellus petioned the dictator for clemency vis-à-vis Marcellus, and upon it being granted he started out for Rome but en route he was assassinated by one of his own attendants, P. Magius Chilo.
Marcellus was the brother of Gaius Claudius Marcellus Maior
, consul in 49 BC and the cousin of Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor
, consul in 50 BC.
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...
Claudia of the branch cognomitated Marcellus and a Roman politician.
Marcellus was elected curule aedile
Aedile
Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
in 56 BC
56 BC
Year 56 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Philippus...
. In 52 BC
52 BC
Year 52 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Scipio...
he was elected 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...
, together with Servius Sulpicius Rufus
Servius Sulpicius Rufus
Servius Sulpicius Rufus , surnamed Lemonia from the tribe to which he belonged, was a Roman orator and jurist.He studied rhetoric with Cicero, and accompanied him to Rhodes in 78 BC. Finding that he would never be able to rival his teacher he gave up rhetoric for law...
, for the following year. During his consulship Marcellus proved himself to be a zealous partisan of Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
and the optimates, and urged the senate to extreme measures against 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....
. Marcellus caused a citizen of Comum
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
to be scourged, as a means to show his contempt for the citizenship privileges bestowed by Caesar upon that colony. On the 30th of September, Marcellus managed to procure a resolution of the senate, that the whole subject of abrogating Caesar's Gallic command should be brought under discussion on the 1st of March in the following year.
Upon the start of the civil war, Marcellus fled Rome with the optimates and joined the Republican Grand Army in Epirus. After the battle of Pharsalus
Battle of Pharsalus
The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War. On 9 August 48 BC at Pharsalus in central Greece, Gaius Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the republic under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus...
Marcellus abandoned opposition to Caesar, and withdrew in an honorable exile to Mytilene, where he was left unmolested by Caesar. His cousin Gaius Claudius Marcellus petioned the dictator for clemency vis-à-vis Marcellus, and upon it being granted he started out for Rome but en route he was assassinated by one of his own attendants, P. Magius Chilo.
Marcellus was the brother of Gaius Claudius Marcellus Maior
Gaius Claudius Marcellus Maior
Gaius Claudius Marcellus Maior was a Roman consul in 49 BC.He is frequently confused with his cousin of the same name, Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor, a consul a year before in 50 BC. Gaius was also the brother of the Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the consul of 51 BC.Little is known of him before his...
, consul in 49 BC and the cousin of Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor
Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor
:See Gaius Claudius Marcellus for other men of this name, or Gaius Claudius Marcellus Maior for his cousin, consul of 49 BC.Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor was a Roman senator and consul. He was a member of the distinguished Claudius family...
, consul in 50 BC.