Publius Popilius Laenas
Encyclopedia
Publius Popillius Laenas was consul
in 132 BC
, and builder of the Via Popilia
.
When consul he incurred the hatred of the democrats by his harsh measures as head of a special commission appointed to take measures against the accomplices of Tiberius Gracchus
. In 123 BC
Gaius Gracchus
brought in a bill prohibiting all such commissions, and declared that, in accordance with the old laws of appeal, a magistrate who pronounced sentence of death against a Roman citizen, without the people's assent, should be guilty of high treason
. It is not known whether the bill contained a retrospective clause against Laenas, but he left Rome and sentence of banishment from Italy was pronounced against him. After the restoration of the aristocracy the enactments against him were cancelled, and he was recalled.
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...
in 132 BC
132 BC
Year 132 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laenas and Rupilius...
, and builder of the Via Popilia
Via Popilia
The Via Popilia is the name of two different ancient Roman roads begun in the consulship of Publius Popilius Laenas.The first road was an extension of the Via Flaminia from Ariminum around the north of the Adriatic through the region that later became Venice...
.
When consul he incurred the hatred of the democrats by his harsh measures as head of a special commission appointed to take measures against the accomplices of Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman Populares politician of the 2nd century BC and brother of Gaius Gracchus. As a plebeian tribune, his reforms of agrarian legislation caused political turmoil in the Republic. These reforms threatened the holdings of rich landowners in Italy...
. In 123 BC
123 BC
Year 123 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Balearicus and Flamininus...
Gaius Gracchus
Gaius Gracchus
Gaius Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman Populari politician in the 2nd century BC and brother of the ill-fated reformer Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus...
brought in a bill prohibiting all such commissions, and declared that, in accordance with the old laws of appeal, a magistrate who pronounced sentence of death against a Roman citizen, without the people's assent, should be guilty of high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
. It is not known whether the bill contained a retrospective clause against Laenas, but he left Rome and sentence of banishment from Italy was pronounced against him. After the restoration of the aristocracy the enactments against him were cancelled, and he was recalled.
Further reading
- Kelly, Gordon P. A History of Exile in the Roman Republic. Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 167–168 online.