Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus
Encyclopedia
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio
Calvus (died 211 BC) was a Roman
general and statesman.
His father was Lucius Cornelius Scipio
, son of the patrician censor of 280, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus
. His younger brother was Publius Cornelius Scipio
, father of the most famous Scipio – Scipio Africanus
. Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus served as consul
in 222 BC, his co-consul being Marcus Claudius Marcellus
, in the first of his five consulships. Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio was nicknamed Calvus (the bald) to distinguish him from his uncle, another Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio
nicknamed Asina (or donkey), who had been twice consul during the First Punic War.
Scipio Calvus fought in the Second Punic War
in Iberia
(Hispania
), starting with a victory in the Battle of Cissa
in 218 BC until he was killed in the Battle of the Upper Baetis
in 211 BC, fighting the Carthaginians that had Indibilis and Mandonius
and the Spanish tribemen as their allies, shortly after the similar death of his younger brother. Both Scipios were capable commanders, both were consuls, and both were killed in Hispania after their armies had separated.
(nicknamed Nasica for his pointed nose), who founded the Nasica branch of the Scipiades. Scipio Nasica's son, another Scipio Nasica (nicknamed Corculum, with his full name being Publius Cornelius P.f. G.n. Scipio Nasica Corculum
), married his second cousin Cornelia Africana Major, the eldest daughter of Scipio Africanus and thus united the two lines. Their descendants in the male line continued until at least 46 BC, in the person of Metellus Scipio (adopted into the Caecilii Metelli family).
Scipio (cognomen)
Scipio is a Roman cognomen representing the Cornelii Scipiones, a branch of the Cornelii family. Any individual male of the branch must be named Cornelius Scipio and a female Cornelia. The nomen, Cornelius, signifies that the person belongs to the Cornelia gens, a legally defined clan composed of...
Calvus (died 211 BC) was a Roman
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...
general and statesman.
His father was Lucius Cornelius Scipio
Lucius Cornelius Scipio (consul 259 BC)
Lucius Cornelius Scipio , consul in 259 BC during the First Punic War was a consul and censor of ancient Rome. He was the son of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus, himself consul and censor, and brother to Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina, himself twice consul...
, son of the patrician censor of 280, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus
Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus
Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus was one of the two elected Roman consuls in 298 BC. He led the Roman army to victory against the Etruscans near Volterra...
. His younger brother was Publius Cornelius Scipio
Publius Cornelius Scipio
Publius Cornelius Scipio was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic.A member of the Corneliagens, Scipio served as consul in 218 BC, the first year of the Second Punic War, and sailed with an army from Pisa to Massilia , with the intention of arresting Hannibal's advance on Italy...
, father of the most famous Scipio – Scipio Africanus
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , also known as Scipio Africanus and Scipio the Elder, was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic...
. Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus served as 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 222 BC, his co-consul being Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus , five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War...
, in the first of his five consulships. Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio was nicknamed Calvus (the bald) to distinguish him from his uncle, another Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina was a Roman politician involved in the First Punic War.Scipio Asina was a patrician member of the Scipiones branch of the famous Cornelii, a family with a history as old as the Roman Republic itself. He was son of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus and brother of Lucius...
nicknamed Asina (or donkey), who had been twice consul during the First Punic War.
Scipio Calvus fought in 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...
in Iberia
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...
(Hispania
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....
), starting with a victory in the Battle of Cissa
Battle of Cissa
The Battle of Cissa was part of the Second Punic War. It was fought in the fall of 218 BC south of the Greek town of Tarraco in north-eastern Iberia...
in 218 BC until he was killed in the Battle of the Upper Baetis
Battle of the Upper Baetis
The Battle of the Upper Baetis was fought in 211 BC between a Carthaginian force led by Hasdrubal Barca and a Roman force led by Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus. The immediate result was a Carthaginian victory in which both Roman brothers were killed...
in 211 BC, fighting the Carthaginians that had Indibilis and Mandonius
Indibilis and Mandonius
] Indibilis and Mandonius were chieftains of the Ilergetes , an ancient Iberian people of the Iberian Peninsula. Polybius speaks of the brothers as the most influential and powerful of the Spanish chieftains in that time period. Livy calls one of the chieftains of the Ilergetes "Indibilis",...
and the Spanish tribemen as their allies, shortly after the similar death of his younger brother. Both Scipios were capable commanders, both were consuls, and both were killed in Hispania after their armies had separated.
Descendants
His son was Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, consul in 191 BC, the first Scipio NasicaPublius Cornelius Scipio Nasica
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica was a consul of ancient Rome in 191 BC. He was a son of Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus...
(nicknamed Nasica for his pointed nose), who founded the Nasica branch of the Scipiades. Scipio Nasica's son, another Scipio Nasica (nicknamed Corculum, with his full name being Publius Cornelius P.f. G.n. Scipio Nasica Corculum
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum was a Roman statesman and member of the gens Cornelia.Corculum was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica , and was thus a first cousin once removed of the Roman general Scipio Africanus...
), married his second cousin Cornelia Africana Major, the eldest daughter of Scipio Africanus and thus united the two lines. Their descendants in the male line continued until at least 46 BC, in the person of Metellus Scipio (adopted into the Caecilii Metelli family).
See also
- Scipio-Paullus-Gracchus family treeScipio-Paullus-Gracchus family treeThe Scipio-Paullus-Gracchus family tree includes the Roman Scipio, Paullus and Gracchus families.See also: List of family trees...