Publius Cornelius Dolabella
Encyclopedia
Publius Cornelius Dolabella (70 BC
– 43 BC
) was a Roman
general, by far the most important of the Dolabella
e. He arranged for himself to be adopted by a plebeian so that he could become a Tribune
.. He married Cicero
's daughter Tullia Ciceronis
. Throughout his life he was an extreme profligate, something that Plutarch
wrote reflected ill upon his patron Julius Caesar
.
(49-45 BC) Dolabella at first took the side of Pompey
, but afterwards went over to Julius Caesar
, and was present when Caesar prevailed at the Battle of Pharsalus
(48 BC).
As a Tribune
for 47 BC, Dolabella had tried to bring about constitutional changes, one of which (to escape the urgent demands of his creditors) was a bill proposing that all debts should be canceled. He tried to enlist the support of Mark Antony
, but his fellow tribunes Gaius Asinius Pollio
and Lucius Trebellius Fides advised Antony not to support the measure. Antony, who also suspected he had been cuckolded by Dolabella, took up arms against him when Dolabella occupied the Forum
in an attempt to use force to pass the bill. The Senate
voted to support this, and a clash ensued in which both sides took losses. Caesar, on his return from Alexandria
, seeing the expediency of removing Dolabella from Rome
, pardoned him and took him as one of his generals in the expedition to Africa
and Spain
.
After Caesar had returned to Rome and been elected consul
for the fifth time, he proposed to the Senate that his consulship be transferred to Dolabella. Antony protested, causing a huge disruption that made Caesar withdraw the motion out of shame. Later, Caesar exercised his role as dictator and directly proclaimed Dolabella consul. This time Antony called out that the omens were unfavorable and Caesar again backed down and abandoned Dolabella.
On Caesar's death (44 BC), Dolabella seized the insignia of the consulship
(which had already been conditionally promised him), and, by making friends with Marcus Junius Brutus
and the other assassins, was confirmed in his office. When, however, Mark Antony
offered him the command of the expedition against the Parthia
ns and the province of Syria
, he changed sides at once. His journey to the province was marked by plundering, extortion, and the murder of Gaius Trebonius, proconsul
of Asia, who refused to allow him to enter Smyrna
.
Dolabella was thereupon declared a public enemy and superseded by Cassius
(the murderer of Caesar), who attacked him in Laodicea
. When Cassius's troops captured the place (43 BC), Dolabella ordered one of his soldiers to kill him.
70 BC
Year 70 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magnus and Dives...
– 43 BC
43 BC
Year 43 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday or a leap year starting on Sunday or Monday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
) 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, by far the most important of the Dolabella
Dolabella
Dolabella was a plebian family within the patrician Cornelia gens in ancient Rome. Notable individuals include:*Publius Cornelius Dolabella , consul in 283 BC*Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella, consul in 159 BC...
e. He arranged for himself to be adopted by a plebeian so that he could become a 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...
.. He married Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
's daughter Tullia Ciceronis
Tullia Ciceronis
Tullia Ciceronis, also Tulliola was the only daughter and first child to Roman orator and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero from his first marriage to Terentia...
. Throughout his life he was an extreme profligate, something that Plutarch
Plutarch
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...
wrote reflected ill upon his patron Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
.
Biography
In the Civil WarsCaesar's civil war
The Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...
(49-45 BC) Dolabella at first took the side of Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
, but afterwards went over to Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, and was present when Caesar prevailed at the Battle of Pharsalus
Battle of Pharsalus
The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War. On 9 August 48 BC at Pharsalus in central Greece, Gaius Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the republic under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus...
(48 BC).
As a 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...
for 47 BC, Dolabella had tried to bring about constitutional changes, one of which (to escape the urgent demands of his creditors) was a bill proposing that all debts should be canceled. He tried to enlist the support 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...
, but his fellow tribunes Gaius Asinius Pollio
Gaius Asinius Pollio (consul 40 BC)
Gaius Asinius Pollio was a Roman soldier, politician, orator, poet, playwright, literary critic and historian, whose lost contemporary history, provided much of the material for the historians Appian and Plutarch...
and Lucius Trebellius Fides advised Antony not to support the measure. Antony, who also suspected he had been cuckolded by Dolabella, took up arms against him when Dolabella occupied the Forum
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
in an attempt to use force to pass the bill. The Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
voted to support this, and a clash ensued in which both sides took losses. Caesar, on his return from 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...
, seeing the expediency of removing Dolabella from 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...
, pardoned him and took him as one of his generals in the expedition to Africa
North Africa during the Classical Period
The history of North Africa during the period of Classical Antiquity can be divided roughly into the History of Egypt in the east and the history of Ancient Libya in the west. The Roman Republic established the province of Africa in 146 BC after the defeat of Carthage...
and Spain
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....
.
After Caesar had returned to Rome and been elected consul
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...
for the fifth time, he proposed to the Senate that his consulship be transferred to Dolabella. Antony protested, causing a huge disruption that made Caesar withdraw the motion out of shame. Later, Caesar exercised his role as dictator and directly proclaimed Dolabella consul. This time Antony called out that the omens were unfavorable and Caesar again backed down and abandoned Dolabella.
On Caesar's death (44 BC), Dolabella seized the insignia of the consulship
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...
(which had already been conditionally promised him), and, by making friends with Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus , often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name...
and the other assassins, was confirmed in his office. When, however, 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...
offered him the command of the expedition against the 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....
ns and the province of Syria
History of Syria
The history of Syria:*Prehistory and Ancient Near East: see Pre-history of the Southern Levant, Fertile Crescent, Ebla, Mitanni*Antiquity: see Syro-Hittite states, Greater Syria, Roman Syria...
, he changed sides at once. His journey to the province was marked by plundering, extortion, and the murder of Gaius Trebonius, 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...
of Asia, who refused to allow him to enter Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
.
Dolabella was thereupon declared a public enemy and superseded by Cassius
Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...
(the murderer of Caesar), who attacked him in Laodicea
Latakia
Latakia, or Latakiyah , is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...
. When Cassius's troops captured the place (43 BC), Dolabella ordered one of his soldiers to kill him.