Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
Encyclopedia
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, son of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus (consul 264 BC)
, Quintus was consul
in 237 BC
, fighting the Gauls
in northern Italy
. He was censor
in 231 BC
, again consul in 224 BC
, when he subdued the Boii
. He was a praetor
in 215 BC
and in the following year Master of Horse.
Consul again 212 BC
, fighting the Second Punic War
, he won a victory over Hanno the Elder
, capturing his camp at Beneventum, then he was defeated by Hannibal at the first Battle of Capua, then captured Capua
in 211 BC
while serving as proconsul
. In his fourth term as consul, (209 BC
) he retook Lucania
and Bruttium. He opposed the Africa
n expedition of Scipio Africanus Major in 205 BC
, and died sometime not long thereafter.
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus was one of the three candidates for the position of Pontifex Maximus circa 212 BC, when he and another senior candidate Titus Manlius Torquatus
, both former censors, were pipped at the post by a younger man, Publius Licinius Crassus
who was not yet a curule aedile and thus probably aged in his middle thirties. Nevertheless, Flaccus made the new Pontifex his own Master of the Horse some years later.
Flaccus was known for his severity towards the disloyal citizens of Capua, of whom he had the senior men executed and the rest of the citizenry condemned to slavery for their disloyalty to Rome. According to Livy, the Capuans complained of his behavior to the Roman Senate which however ruled that Flaccus was within his rights.
Flaccus was the grandfather of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus
, consul in 125 BC, who was an ardent supporter of the Brothers Gracchi. He attempted to warn Tiberius Gracchus
of the plots against his life on the day that he was killed; in 121 BC, having supported Gaius Gracchus
in his reform program and tried to lead an armed resistance against the Senate, he and his elder son were tracked down and executed (beheaded) without trial on the orders of the consul Lucius Opimius
; a youngest son, too young to have participated in any plotting or armed revolt, died in prison, again without trial. (Another son was apparently the father of Fulvia
, third wife of Mark Antony
). The grandfather, a stern conservative, could probably never have imagined the fates of his descendants.
Marcus Fulvius Flaccus (consul 264 BC)
Marcus Fulvius Flaccus was a consul in 264 BC. In the tradition of Livy his praenomen is "Quintus".In his consulship Fulvius Flaccus brought the reduction of Volsinii to an end and celebrated a triumph. He also conquered Velzna, an Etruscan city in central Italy, in 264 BC...
, Quintus was 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...
in 237 BC
237 BC
Year 237 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caudinus and Flaccus...
, fighting the Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
in northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He was censor
Censor (ancient Rome)
The censor was an officer in ancient Rome who was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the government's finances....
in 231 BC
231 BC
Year 231 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Matho and Maso...
, again consul in 224 BC
224 BC
Year 224 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Torquatus and Flaccus...
, when he subdued the Boii
Boii
The Boii were one of the most prominent ancient Celtic tribes of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul , Pannonia , in and around Bohemia, and Transalpine Gaul...
. He was a 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 215 BC
215 BC
Year 215 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus/Marcellus/Verrucosus and Gracchus...
and in the following year Master of Horse.
Consul again 212 BC
212 BC
Year 212 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Flaccus and Pulcher...
, fighting the Second Punic 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...
, he won a victory over Hanno the Elder
Hanno the Elder
Hanno the Elder was a Carthaginian general who served under Hannibal during the Second Punic War. According to the historian Livy, his track record was terrible: in 215 BC he was defeated by Tiberius Sempronius Longus at Grumentum, in 214 BC he was defeated by Gracchus at Beneventum, two years...
, capturing his camp at Beneventum, then he was defeated by Hannibal at the first Battle of Capua, then captured Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
in 211 BC
211 BC
Year 211 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Maximus...
while serving 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...
. In his fourth term as consul, (209 BC
209 BC
Year 209 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verrucosus and Flaccus...
) he retook Lucania
Lucania
Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium...
and Bruttium. He opposed the Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n expedition of Scipio Africanus Major in 205 BC
205 BC
Year 205 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Africanus and Dives...
, and died sometime not long thereafter.
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus was one of the three candidates for the position of Pontifex Maximus circa 212 BC, when he and another senior candidate Titus Manlius Torquatus
Titus Manlius Torquatus (235 BC)
Titus Manlius Torquatus, son of Titus , was Roman Republican consul 235 BC and 224 BC, censor 231 BC, and dictator 208 BC.-Family background:...
, both former censors, were pipped at the post by a younger man, Publius Licinius Crassus
Publius Licinius Crassus Dives (consul 205 BC)
Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Pontifex Maximus was consul in 205 BC with Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus ; he was also Pontifex Maximus since 213 or 212 BC , and held several other important positions. Licinius Crassus is mentioned several times in Livy's Histories...
who was not yet a curule aedile and thus probably aged in his middle thirties. Nevertheless, Flaccus made the new Pontifex his own Master of the Horse some years later.
Flaccus was known for his severity towards the disloyal citizens of Capua, of whom he had the senior men executed and the rest of the citizenry condemned to slavery for their disloyalty to Rome. According to Livy, the Capuans complained of his behavior to the Roman Senate which however ruled that Flaccus was within his rights.
Flaccus was the grandfather of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus
Marcus Fulvius Flaccus (consul 125 BC)
Marcus Fulvius Flaccus was a Roman senator and an ally of the Gracchi. He became an administrator of the agrarian reform in 130 BC, and as a solution to the problem of land division among the allied cities, proposed Roman citizenship for the allies' citizens, thus introducing a question that vexed...
, consul in 125 BC, who was an ardent supporter of the Brothers Gracchi. He attempted to warn 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...
of the plots against his life on the day that he was killed; in 121 BC, having supported 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...
in his reform program and tried to lead an armed resistance against the Senate, he and his elder son were tracked down and executed (beheaded) without trial on the orders of the consul Lucius Opimius
Lucius Opimius
Lucius Opimius was Roman consul in 121 BC, known for ordering the execution of 3,000 supporters of popular leader Gaius Gracchus without trial, using as pretext the state of emergency declared after Gracchus's recent and turbulent death....
; a youngest son, too young to have participated in any plotting or armed revolt, died in prison, again without trial. (Another son was apparently the father of Fulvia
Fulvia
Fulvia Flacca Bambula , commonly referred to as simply Fulvia, was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the Late Roman Republic. Through her marriage to three of the most promising Roman men of her generation, Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Scribonius Curio and Mark Antony, she gained...
, third wife of Mark Antony
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...
). The grandfather, a stern conservative, could probably never have imagined the fates of his descendants.