Marcus Titius
Encyclopedia
Marcus Titius was a Roman politician (suffect consul
in 31 BC) and commander at the end of the Roman Republic
.
. The offices which Lucius Titius held are not known but he was proscribed at the end of 43 BC and escaped to Sextus Pompey. Now his son Marcus Titius built a fleet and plundered the coast of Etruria
. In 40 BC he was captured in Gallia Narbonensis
by Menodoros
, a general of Sextus Pompey, but pardoned for his father’s sake. When the triumvirs Mark Antony
and Octavian
wanted to settle their conflict with Sextus Pompey in the Pact of Misenum
in the summer of 39 BC many exiles where allowed to come back to Rome
, so Marcus Titius and his father.
in the campaign of Antony against Parthia
. After the Romans tried in vain to capture Phraaspa, the capital of Media Atropatene, they withdrew to Armenia
, but on their way they were often attacked by the Parthian army. At one of these attacks Titius tried in vain to stop the Tribune
Flavius Gallus pursuing the enemy. The army of Gallus was soon surrounded and only saved by Antony when he arrived with the main forces.
In the meantime Sextus Pompey had escaped to Lesbos Island
after his final defeat by Octavian (at the end of 36 BC). On the Greek isle he raised a new army and fleet. After the return from the Parthian war Antony learnt of the arrival of Pompey and received his envoys to negotiate about an alliance. But the triumvir was mistrustful and instructed Titius to advance with an army and a fleet against Pompey and if necessary to fight against him. But if Pompey would be willing to submit he should be escorted by Titius to Alexandria
. But in the meantime Pompey had landed in northwestern Asia Minor
at the beginning of 35 BC without resistance by Gaius Furnius
, the governor of the Roman province Asia, because Furnius did not have enough forces and did not know the orders of Antony. So Pompey could capture Lampsacus
, Nicaea and Nicomedia
but then Titius arrived from Syria with an army and 120 ships. The fleet of Titius was reinforced by 70 ships that arrived from Sicily where they had supported the fleet of Octavian in his battle against Pompey in the previous years. The headquarters of the ships of Titius now was Proconnesus
.
Because Titius declined negotiations and had much more ships Sextus Pompey burnt his fleet, integrated its crew within his land forces and wanted to march through Bithynia
to Armenia. He was pursued by the armies of Titius, Furnius and Amyntas
, the king of Galatia
. Pompey was able to inflict losses on his enemies by an assault but soon his situation became quite desperate. He asked the friend of his father, Furnius, for negotiations and offered his surrender if Furnius would accompany him to Antony. But Furnius referred him to Titius, apparently because he was not entitled to conclude an agreement; so it seems that Titius was the supreme commander of the army and therefore since the beginning of 35 BC the new governor of Asia. Pompey declined to surrender to Titius because he had once pardoned him as prisoner and therefore considered him ungrateful. At night Pompey tried to reach the coast with lightly armed troops and to burn the ships of Titius. But his stepbrother Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
betrayed the plan so that Amyntas and his 1500 horsemen were able to catch him up near Midaeion in Phrygia
and capture him. Pompey was taken to Milet and there executed in the summer of 35 BC at the order of Titius.
If Titius decided this execution on his own or by the order of Antony or Munatius Plancus is uncertain and was already disputed in ancient times. The Roman historian Cassius Dio asserts that Antony ordered the death sentence in a first letter addressed to Titius but canceled this order in a second letter. Nevertheless Pompey was executed either because Titius complied with the letter with the death sentence intentionally or because he mistook it for the second letter. The second possibility is improbable in view of the conditions of the ancient postal system. According to the military historian Appian
Titius executed Pompey either because he was angry about a former insult or at the instructions of Antony. In the latter case it was possibly not the triumvir himself but Munatius Plancus who gave the order. The reason was that Antony did not want to appear as the person mainly responsible because his lover, the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, was well-disposed towards Pompey and because of his reputation. In spite of the contradictory sources it seems quite certain that the death sentence was imposed with the knowledge and the agreement of Antony.
Probably Titius held the office of a Pontiff
since 34 BC.
In 33 BC the imminent clash of the triumvirs over the sole rule in the whole Roman Empire became apparent. At the beginning of the war preparations Antony assembled his troops in Ephesus
(winter 33/32 BC). There Titius together with his uncle Munatius Plancus, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus
and other leading followers of Antony tried in vain to persuade the triumvir to send Cleopatra back to Egypt. Soon Antony moved the headquarters to Samos Island
. Apparently Titius accompanied his commander-in-chief to this island because there was found an inscription dedicated to him.
the two men changed their party because they were treated insulting by Cleopatra due to their refusal of her participation in the war. The true reason for their defection may be found in their opportunism. In the past they were friends of Cleopatra who named the city Titiopolis in Cilicia
after Titius. But during the course of the propagandistic and military preparations of the war the uncle and his nephew might have increasingly doubted that Antony would win the war so that they changed sides. Perhaps their decision was also influenced by quarrels with other leading followers of Antony, Plancus’ relations with Antony which had cooled off and other reasons which were covered up by the propaganda of Octavian.
The two deserters informed Octavian about the content of Antony’s testament and the place where it was kept. They knew this information because they had earlier signed the testament as witnesses. The later Emperor illegally seized the document that was kept at the Vestal Virgin
s and found in its (perhaps forged) regulations – especially Antony’s confirmation of the territorial gifts to Cleopatra’s children and his desire to be buried in Egypt – further reasons to obtain full support of the senate and people for his war against Antony.
. In this function he participated in the last fights before the decisive Battle of Actium
. Together with Titus Statilius Taurus
he defeated the cavalry of Antony. At this opportunity Deiotarus Philadelphus, the king of Paphlagonia
, deserted to Octavian.
In about 13/12 BC Titius became governor of Syria as successor of the close friend and admiral of Octavian, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
. The Jewish king Herod the Great
was able to settle the quarrel between Titius and king Archelaus of Cappadocia
, when he accompanied Archelaus to Antioch
and there met Titius. Titius also received four children, four grandchildren and two daughters-in-law of the Parthian king Phraates IV as hostages. It is unknown when Titius died.
, the suffect consul of 45 BC. They had no clearly traceable descendants.
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
in 31 BC) and commander at the end of the Roman Republic
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...
.
Descent and Proscription
Marcus Titius was the son of a Lucius Titius and nephew of Lucius Munatius PlancusLucius Munatius Plancus
Lucius Munatius Plancus was a Roman senator, consul in 42 BC, and censor in 22 BC with Aemilius Lepidus Paullus...
. The offices which Lucius Titius held are not known but he was proscribed at the end of 43 BC and escaped to Sextus Pompey. Now his son Marcus Titius built a fleet and plundered the coast of Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...
. In 40 BC he was captured in Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. It was also known as Gallia Transalpina , which was originally a designation for that part of Gaul lying across the Alps from Italia and it contained a western region known as Septimania...
by Menodoros
Menas (admiral)
Menas, also known as Menodorus, was an admiral who served under Sextus Pompey during the 1st Century BC Roman Civil Wars.Menas was a freedman of Pompey the Great and when Pompey's son, Sextus, set himself up as ruler of Sicily in the late 40's BC Menas became one of his leading admirals...
, a general of Sextus Pompey, but pardoned for his father’s sake. When the triumvirs 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 Octavian
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...
wanted to settle their conflict with Sextus Pompey in the Pact of Misenum
Pact of Misenum
The Pact of Misenum was a treaty which ended the naval blockade of the Italian Peninsula during the Sicilian revolt. The pact was signed in 39 BC between Sextus Pompeius and the members of the Second Triumvirate. The triumvirs allowed Sextus Pompeius to retain his control of Sicily and Sardinia and...
in the summer of 39 BC many exiles where allowed to come back to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, so Marcus Titius and his father.
Career under Mark Antony
Probably under the influence of Munatius Plancus his nephew Titius soon became a follower of Mark Antony. In 36 BC Titius took part as QuaestorQuaestor
A Quaestor was a type of public official in the "Cursus honorum" system who supervised financial affairs. In the Roman Republic a quaestor was an elected official whereas, with the autocratic government of the Roman Empire, quaestors were simply appointed....
in the campaign of Antony against Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
. After the Romans tried in vain to capture Phraaspa, the capital of Media Atropatene, they withdrew to Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, but on their way they were often attacked by the Parthian army. At one of these attacks Titius tried in vain to stop the Tribune
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
Flavius Gallus pursuing the enemy. The army of Gallus was soon surrounded and only saved by Antony when he arrived with the main forces.
In the meantime Sextus Pompey had escaped to Lesbos Island
Lesbos Island
Lesbos is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with 320 kilometres of coastline, making it the third largest Greek island. It is separated from Turkey by the narrow Mytilini Strait....
after his final defeat by Octavian (at the end of 36 BC). On the Greek isle he raised a new army and fleet. After the return from the Parthian war Antony learnt of the arrival of Pompey and received his envoys to negotiate about an alliance. But the triumvir was mistrustful and instructed Titius to advance with an army and a fleet against Pompey and if necessary to fight against him. But if Pompey would be willing to submit he should be escorted by Titius to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. But in the meantime Pompey had landed in northwestern Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
at the beginning of 35 BC without resistance by Gaius Furnius
Gaius Furnius
Gaius Furnius, son of Gaius Furnius, was first consul of the Roman Empire from 17 BCE-16 BCE.He reconciled Augustus to his father who had been up to 31 BCE a staunch adherent of Marcus Antonius. Although there is some suggestion that he is the Furnius put to death by the senate in the reign of...
, the governor of the Roman province Asia, because Furnius did not have enough forces and did not know the orders of Antony. So Pompey could capture Lampsacus
Lampsacus
Lampsacus was an ancient Greek city strategically located on the eastern side of the Hellespont in the northern Troad. An inhabitant of Lampsacus was called a Lampsacene. The name has been transmitted in the nearby modern town of Lapseki.-Ancient history:...
, Nicaea and Nicomedia
Nicomedia
Nicomedia was an ancient city in what is now Turkey, founded in 712/11 BC as a Megarian colony and was originally known as Astacus . After being destroyed by Lysimachus, it was rebuilt by Nicomedes I of Bithynia in 264 BC under the name of Nicomedia, and has ever since been one of the most...
but then Titius arrived from Syria with an army and 120 ships. The fleet of Titius was reinforced by 70 ships that arrived from Sicily where they had supported the fleet of Octavian in his battle against Pompey in the previous years. The headquarters of the ships of Titius now was Proconnesus
Marmara Island
Marmara is a Turkish island in the Sea of Marmara. It is the largest island in the Sea of Marmara that is the center of Marmara district in Balıkesir Province...
.
Because Titius declined negotiations and had much more ships Sextus Pompey burnt his fleet, integrated its crew within his land forces and wanted to march through Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
to Armenia. He was pursued by the armies of Titius, Furnius and Amyntas
Amyntas of Galatia
Amyntas , Tetrarch of the Trocmi was a King of Galatia and several of the adjacent countries between 36 BC and 25 BC, mentioned by Strabo as contemporary with himself. He was the son of Brogitarix, King of Galatia and his wife, a Princess of Galatia. He seems to have first possessed Lycaonia, where...
, the king of Galatia
Galatia
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...
. Pompey was able to inflict losses on his enemies by an assault but soon his situation became quite desperate. He asked the friend of his father, Furnius, for negotiations and offered his surrender if Furnius would accompany him to Antony. But Furnius referred him to Titius, apparently because he was not entitled to conclude an agreement; so it seems that Titius was the supreme commander of the army and therefore since the beginning of 35 BC the new governor of Asia. Pompey declined to surrender to Titius because he had once pardoned him as prisoner and therefore considered him ungrateful. At night Pompey tried to reach the coast with lightly armed troops and to burn the ships of Titius. But his stepbrother Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus was a Roman consul in 115 BC and considered one of the most talented and influential politicians of the Republic....
betrayed the plan so that Amyntas and his 1500 horsemen were able to catch him up near Midaeion in Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
and capture him. Pompey was taken to Milet and there executed in the summer of 35 BC at the order of Titius.
If Titius decided this execution on his own or by the order of Antony or Munatius Plancus is uncertain and was already disputed in ancient times. The Roman historian Cassius Dio asserts that Antony ordered the death sentence in a first letter addressed to Titius but canceled this order in a second letter. Nevertheless Pompey was executed either because Titius complied with the letter with the death sentence intentionally or because he mistook it for the second letter. The second possibility is improbable in view of the conditions of the ancient postal system. According to the military historian Appian
Appian
Appian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek ethnicity who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.He was born ca. 95 in Alexandria. He tells us that, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Egypt, he went to Rome ca. 120, where he practised as...
Titius executed Pompey either because he was angry about a former insult or at the instructions of Antony. In the latter case it was possibly not the triumvir himself but Munatius Plancus who gave the order. The reason was that Antony did not want to appear as the person mainly responsible because his lover, the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, was well-disposed towards Pompey and because of his reputation. In spite of the contradictory sources it seems quite certain that the death sentence was imposed with the knowledge and the agreement of Antony.
Probably Titius held the office of a Pontiff
Pontiff
A pontiff was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the principal college of priests . The term "pontiff" was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in ecclesiastical usage, to a bishop and more particularly to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope or "Roman Pontiff".-Etymology:The English term derives...
since 34 BC.
In 33 BC the imminent clash of the triumvirs over the sole rule in the whole Roman Empire became apparent. At the beginning of the war preparations Antony assembled his troops in Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
(winter 33/32 BC). There Titius together with his uncle Munatius Plancus, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 32 BC)
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus was a general and politician of ancient Rome in the 1st century BC.-Life:Ahenobarbus was captured with his father, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, at Corfinium in 49 BC, and was present at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, but did not take any further part in the war...
and other leading followers of Antony tried in vain to persuade the triumvir to send Cleopatra back to Egypt. Soon Antony moved the headquarters to Samos Island
Samos Island
Samos is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional...
. Apparently Titius accompanied his commander-in-chief to this island because there was found an inscription dedicated to him.
Defection to Octavian
In June or July 32 BC Munatius Plancus and his nephew Titius defected to Octavian. According to the ancient biographer PlutarchPlutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
the two men changed their party because they were treated insulting by Cleopatra due to their refusal of her participation in the war. The true reason for their defection may be found in their opportunism. In the past they were friends of Cleopatra who named the city Titiopolis in Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
after Titius. But during the course of the propagandistic and military preparations of the war the uncle and his nephew might have increasingly doubted that Antony would win the war so that they changed sides. Perhaps their decision was also influenced by quarrels with other leading followers of Antony, Plancus’ relations with Antony which had cooled off and other reasons which were covered up by the propaganda of Octavian.
The two deserters informed Octavian about the content of Antony’s testament and the place where it was kept. They knew this information because they had earlier signed the testament as witnesses. The later Emperor illegally seized the document that was kept at the Vestal Virgin
Vestal Virgin
In ancient Roman religion, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins , were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome, as embodied by their cultivation of the sacred fire that could not be...
s and found in its (perhaps forged) regulations – especially Antony’s confirmation of the territorial gifts to Cleopatra’s children and his desire to be buried in Egypt – further reasons to obtain full support of the senate and people for his war against Antony.
Career under Octavian-Augustus
In Rome Titius promoted games in the theatre of Sextus Pompey. But the dead man still enjoyed great popularity. Therefore his murderer was booed off the stage and had quickly to leave the theatre because he was afraid of the excited crowd. From May to October 31 BC Titius was suffect consulRoman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
. In this function he participated in the last fights before the decisive 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...
. Together with Titus Statilius Taurus
Titus Statilius Taurus
Titus Statilius Taurus was the name of a line of Roman senators. The first known and most important of these was a Roman general and two-time consul prominent during the Triumviral and Augustan periods...
he defeated the cavalry of Antony. At this opportunity Deiotarus Philadelphus, the king of Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...
, deserted to Octavian.
In about 13/12 BC Titius became governor of Syria as successor of the close friend and admiral of Octavian, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a Roman statesman and general. He was a close friend, son-in-law, lieutenant and defense minister to Octavian, the future Emperor Caesar Augustus...
. The Jewish king Herod the Great
Herod the Great
Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...
was able to settle the quarrel between Titius and king Archelaus of Cappadocia
Archelaus of Cappadocia
-Family & Early Life:Archelaus was a Cappadocian Greek nobleman, possibly of Macedonian descent. His full name was Archelaus Sisines. He was the first born son, namesake of the Roman Client and High Priest Ruler Archelaus, of the temple state of Comana, Cappadocia and Glaphyra. Archelaus’ father...
, when he accompanied Archelaus to Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
and there met Titius. Titius also received four children, four grandchildren and two daughters-in-law of the Parthian king Phraates IV as hostages. It is unknown when Titius died.
Marriage
Titius was married to Fabia Paullina, the daughter of Quintus Fabius MaximusQuintus Fabius Maximus (consul 45 BC)
Quintus Fabius Maximus was a general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. He was a member of the patrician gens Fabia...
, the suffect consul of 45 BC. They had no clearly traceable descendants.