Quintus Fulvius Flaccus (consul 179 BCE)
Encyclopedia
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus (died 172 BC) was a plebeian consul
of the Roman Republic
in 179 BC. Because of his successes in Spain and Liguria
, he celebrated two triumphs. Although his political career
was a success, he was plagued by controversy and suffered a mental breakdown that culminated in suicide.
ship vacated by C. Decimius Flaccus, who died early in his term. The holding of two magistracies
in a single year was prohibited, and Fulvius further violated decorum by campaigning sine toga candida ("without a white toga"); as a magistrate, he was required to wear the toga praetexta and not the pure white garment of a candidate. The senate
was so opposed to Fulvius' holding another curule office that it refused to hold elections.
As praetor
in Hispania Ulterior
in 182, he waged war successfully against the Celtiberians
, capturing Urbicna. His imperium
was extended for two years as proconsul
. In 180, he requested but was denied permission to bring his army home. He won another victory against the Celtiberi and earned a triumph
.
, his brother by birth. They were assigned the province
of Liguria
. During this period, many Ligures
were being forcibly moved from their land and relocated to central Italy; Fulvius effected the resettlement of a number of Ligurians from the mountains. He also helped block immigrants from Transalpine Gaul from settling in northern Italy
. For these activities he was awarded a triumph
. He fulfilled a vow for his victories in Spain by building a temple and holding games
. His building of the temple was to prove fateful.
Fulvius was censor in 174 BC with A. Postumius Albinus Luscus
. They expelled nine members from the senate, including Fulvius's own brother, and downgraded the rank of a number of knights. They named M. Aemilius Lepidus princeps senatus
.
The censors also carried out an extensive building program in Rome. Fulvius undertook additional projects in Pisaurum, Fundi
, Potentia, and Sinuessa
. The Augustan
historian Livy
says that when Fulvius built his temple to Fortuna
Equestris ("Equestrian Luck"), he stripped the marble
tiles for it from a temple of Juno
Lacinia. The Temple of Fortuna Equestris was dedicated in 173.
, a lifetime appointment. Livy notes his priesthood in reporting the vile manner of his death (foeda morte).
In 172 BC, Fulvius had two sons serving in Illyricum
; he received word that one had died and the other was suffering from a life-threatening illness. The next morning, the household slaves found him hanging by a noose in his bedroom. Although Romans regarded suicide as honorable in some circumstances, Fulvius's was seen as evidence of his mental instability: Livy says that "grief and fear overwhelmed his mind" (obruit animum luctus metusque); rumor had it that the wrath of Juno Lacinia had driven him mad.
The senate, according to Valerius Maximus
, then had the marble tiles returned to the original temple to undo the deed of an impius ("consciously irreligious") man.
The Via Fulvia is attributed to him, but doubtfully. This Q. Fulvius Flaccus should not be identified with the man of the same name who was suffect consul in 180 BC.
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...
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...
in 179 BC. Because of his successes in Spain and Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, he celebrated two triumphs. Although his political career
Cursus honorum
The cursus honorum was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in both the Roman Republic and the early Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The cursus honorum comprised a mixture of military and political administration posts. Each office had a minimum...
was a success, he was plagued by controversy and suffered a mental breakdown that culminated in suicide.
Early career
As curule aedile in 184 BC, Fulvius Flaccus created a furor by actively campaigning for the praetorPraetor
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...
ship vacated by C. Decimius Flaccus, who died early in his term. The holding of two magistracies
Roman Magistrates
The Roman Magistrates were elected officials in Ancient Rome. During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate. His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest, lawgiver, judge, and the sole commander of the army...
in a single year was prohibited, and Fulvius further violated decorum by campaigning sine toga candida ("without a white toga"); as a magistrate, he was required to wear the toga praetexta and not the pure white garment of a candidate. 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...
was so opposed to Fulvius' holding another curule office that it refused to hold elections.
As 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 Hispania Ulterior
Hispania Ulterior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior was a region of Hispania roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania and Gallaecia...
in 182, he waged war successfully against the Celtiberians
Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...
, capturing Urbicna. His imperium
Imperium
Imperium is a Latin word which, in a broad sense, translates roughly as 'power to command'. In ancient Rome, different kinds of power or authority were distinguished by different terms. Imperium, referred to the sovereignty of the state over the individual...
was extended for two years 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 180, he requested but was denied permission to bring his army home. He won another victory against the Celtiberi and earned a triumph
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
.
Consul and censor
Fulvius was consul in 179; his colleague was L. Manlius Acidinus FulvianusLucius Manlius Acidinus Fulvianus
Lucius Manlius Acidinus Fulvianus was an ancient Roman noble, originally belonging to the Fulvia gens, but was adopted into the Manlia gens, probably by Lucius Manlius Acidinus. He was praetor in 188 BC, and had the province of Hispania Citerior allotted to him, where he remained until 186 BC...
, his brother by birth. They were assigned the province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
. During this period, many Ligures
Ligures
The Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, a region of north-western Italy.-Classical sources:...
were being forcibly moved from their land and relocated to central Italy; Fulvius effected the resettlement of a number of Ligurians from the mountains. He also helped block immigrants from Transalpine Gaul from settling in northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
. For these activities he was awarded a triumph
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
. He fulfilled a vow for his victories in Spain by building a temple and holding games
Ludi
Ludi were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people . Ludi were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also presented as part of the cult of state.The earliest ludi were horse races in the circus...
. His building of the temple was to prove fateful.
Fulvius was censor in 174 BC with A. Postumius Albinus Luscus
Aulus Postumius Albinus Luscus
Aulus Postumius Albinus Luscus was a politician of Ancient Rome, of patrician rank, of the 2nd century BC. He was curule aedile in 187 BC, when he exhibited the Great Games, praetor in 185 BC, and consul in 180 BC. In his consulship he conducted the war against the Ligurians.He was censor in 174...
. They expelled nine members from the senate, including Fulvius's own brother, and downgraded the rank of a number of knights. They named M. Aemilius Lepidus princeps senatus
Princeps senatus
The princeps senatus was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and owning no imperium, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it.-Overview:...
.
The censors also carried out an extensive building program in Rome. Fulvius undertook additional projects in Pisaurum, Fundi
Fondi
Fondi is a city and comune in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy, halfway between Rome and Naples. Before the construction of the highway between the latter cities in the late 1950s, Fondi had been an important settlement on the Roman Via Appia, which was the main connection from Rome to...
, Potentia, and Sinuessa
Sinuessa
Sinuessa was a city of Latium, in the more extended sense of the name, situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 10 km north of the mouth of the Volturno River . It was on the line of the Via Appia, and was the last place where that great highroad touched on the sea-coast...
. The Augustan
Augustan literature (ancient Rome)
Augustan literature is the period of Latin literature written during the reign of Augustus , the first Roman emperor. In literary histories of the first part of the 20th century and earlier, Augustan literature was regarded along with that of the Late Republic as constituting the Golden Age of...
historian Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
says that when Fulvius built his temple to Fortuna
Fortuna
Fortuna can mean:*Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck -Geographical:*19 Fortuna, asteroid*Fortuna, California, town located on the north coast of California*Fortuna, United States Virgin Islands...
Equestris ("Equestrian Luck"), he stripped the marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
tiles for it from a temple of Juno
Juno (mythology)
Juno is an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. Juno also looked after the women of Rome. Her Greek equivalent is Hera...
Lacinia. The Temple of Fortuna Equestris was dedicated in 173.
A 'vile death'
In 180, Fulvius had been admitted to the College of PontiffsCollege of Pontiffs
The College of Pontiffs or Collegium Pontificum was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the polytheistic state religion. The college consisted of the Pontifex Maximus, the Vestal Virgins, the Rex Sacrorum, and the flamines...
, a lifetime appointment. Livy notes his priesthood in reporting the vile manner of his death (foeda morte).
In 172 BC, Fulvius had two sons serving in Illyricum
Illyricum (Roman province)
The Roman province of Illyricum or Illyris Romana or Illyris Barbara or Illyria Barbara replaced most of the region of Illyria. It stretched from the Drilon river in modern north Albania to Istria in the west and to the Sava river in the north. Salona functioned as its capital...
; he received word that one had died and the other was suffering from a life-threatening illness. The next morning, the household slaves found him hanging by a noose in his bedroom. Although Romans regarded suicide as honorable in some circumstances, Fulvius's was seen as evidence of his mental instability: Livy says that "grief and fear overwhelmed his mind" (obruit animum luctus metusque); rumor had it that the wrath of Juno Lacinia had driven him mad.
The senate, according to Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus was a Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes. He worked during the reign of Tiberius .-Biography:...
, then had the marble tiles returned to the original temple to undo the deed of an impius ("consciously irreligious") man.
The Via Fulvia is attributed to him, but doubtfully. This Q. Fulvius Flaccus should not be identified with the man of the same name who was suffect consul in 180 BC.