Lucius Arruntius was a Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

. He saw action during the War with Sextus Pompeius

Sextus Pompeius

Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey , was a Roman general from the late Republic . He was the last focus of opposition to the Second Triumvirate...

, and the war 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...

 and Augustus

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

. He is most notable for his participation during the Battle of Actium

Battle of Actium

The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic. It was fought between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, at the Roman...

, where he was in command of victorious Augustus' central division. He was also instrumental in convincing Octavian to pardon Gaius Sosius

Gaius Sosius

Gaius Sosius was a Roman general and politician.Gaius Sosius was elected quaestor in 66 BC and praetor in 49 BC. Upon the start of the civil war, he joined the party of the Senate sometimes called optimates by modern scholars...

, one of Mark Antony's generals, after his capture.

Arruntius was consul in 22 BC. He was one of the great military men in the regime whose loyal sword at Augustus' bidding helped deter would-be challengers. His son of the same name L. Arruntius "the Younger" was consul in AD 6. According to Tacitus Ann. 1.13, Augustus praised Arruntius as "capax imperii" – capable of (ruling the) Empire. It is not clear which Arruntius Augustus so praised, as there is reason to select either Arruntius. The younger Arruntius played a prominent role in the Senate in the days after Augustus died, but the father was better known for his military skill.

Martha Hoffman Lewis included Arruntius among those elevated to patrician status in 29. He attended the Ludi Saeculares in 17 according to an inscription CIL 6.32323 = ILS 5050 as a quindecimvir. According to Gaius Stern, he appears on the Ara Pacis within the college

Collegium

A collegium may be:*collegium , a term applied to any association with a legal personality in ancient Rome....

 of the quindecimviri sacris faciundis.

A Lucius Arruntius is also mentioned in Seneca

Seneca the Younger

Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...

's Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

Epistulae morales ad Lucilium

The Epistulae morales ad Lucilium is a bundle of 124 letters which were written by Seneca the Younger at the end of his life. These letters all start with the phrase "Seneca Lucilio suo salutem" and end with the word "Vale" . In these letters, Seneca gives Lucilius tips on how to become a more...

(Ep. Mor. 114.17) as an imitator of Sallustius

Sallustius

Sallustius or Sallust was a 4th-century Latin writer, a friend of the Roman Emperor Julian. He wrote the treatise On the Gods and the Cosmos, a kind of catechism of 4th-century Hellenic paganism. Sallustius' work owes much to that of Iamblichus of Chalcis, who synthesized Platonism with...

' literary style and as the author of a historical work on the Punic War. This could either be the Arruntius mentioned above or his son, the consul of AD 6.

An adopted grandson, L. Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus (cos. AD 32), rebelled against Claudius in a brief civil war, but committed suicide when the rebellion failed in AD 42.

Sources

• Martha Hoffman Lewis, _The Official Priests of Rome under the Julio-Claudians. A Study of the Nobility from 44 B.C. to 68 A.D._, Rome 1955.
• Gaius Stern, "Women Children and Senators on the Ara Pacis Augustae", University of California Berkeley dissertation 2006.