Titus Didius
Encyclopedia
Titus Didius was a general and politician of the Roman Republic
. He is credited with the restoration of the Villa Publica
, and is notorious for his proconsul
ship in Hispania Citerior
(modern-day Spain).
Titus Didius first held office in 103 BC as a Tribune of the Plebs. He is noted for attempting to veto Gaius Norbanus’s
(a fellow Tribune) prosecution of Q. Servilius Caepio
in the aftermath of the Battle of Arausio
(which resulted in him being driven off from the proceedings by force). Two years later
he was elected a Praetor
. During this time he fought in Macedon
, defeating the Scordisci
and earning his first triumph
upon his return in 100 BC. In 98 BC Didius was elected Consul alongside Q. Caecilius Metellus Nepos
. Along with restoring the Villa Publica
, he enacted a law which disallowed combining two unrelated proposals in one bill.
After his term as consul
, Didius was assigned to govern the province of Hispania Citerior
, where he served from 97 BC to 93 BC. Nearly his entire proconsul
ar term in Spain was spent at war with the Celtiberi. In the four years Didius governed Spain he achieved multiple victories and is said to have slain 20,000 Arevaci
, quelled the rebellious city of Termes
(today Tiermes in the province of Soria
), and besieged Colenda for nine months, after which time the city fell and the women and children were sold into slavery. Didius earned another triumph
after slaughtering of a colony of "robbers," in actuality poor people who had banded together to subsist through banditry after losing their property. Didius lured them in with promises of land to live on, and when the families assembled within the Roman castra
in good faith, he had them slaughtered. The historian Appian
indicates that Didius's exceptional cruelty and treachery caused an even greater uprising which his experienced successor, G. Valerius Flaccus
, had to put down.
After concluding his service in Spain, Didius served as a legate
in the Social War, under Lucius Julius Caesar
in 90 BC, then Lucius Porcius Cato
and Sulla
in 89 BC. Shortly following a successful capture of Herculaneum
, he died in battle June 11, 89 BC.
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...
. He is credited with the restoration of the Villa Publica
Villa Publica
The Villa Publica was a public building in ancient Rome, which served as the censors’ base of operation. It was erected on the Campus Martius in 435 BC. According to Livy, the first census was compiled there the year it was built. In 194 BC, the building, or buildings, was restored and enlarged...
, and is notorious for his 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...
ship in Hispania Citerior
Hispania Citerior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Citerior was a region of Hispania roughly occupying the northeastern coast and the Ebro Valley of what is now Spain. Hispania Ulterior was located west of Hispania Citerior—that is, farther away from Rome.-External links:*...
(modern-day Spain).
Titus Didius first held office in 103 BC as a Tribune of the Plebs. He is noted for attempting to veto Gaius Norbanus’s
Gaius Norbanus
Gaius Norbanus surnamed Bulbus was a Roman politician.In 103 BC, when tribune of the people, he accused Quintus Servilius Caepio the Elder of having brought about the defeat of his army by the Cimbri through rashness, and also of having plundered the temple of Tolosa...
(a fellow Tribune) prosecution of Q. Servilius Caepio
Quintus Servilius Caepio
Quintus Servilius Caepio the Elder was a Roman statesman and general, consul in 106 BC, and proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul in 105 BC. He was the father of Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger and the grandfather of Servilia Caepionis....
in the aftermath of the Battle of Arausio
Battle of Arausio
The Battle of Arausio took place on October 6, 105 BC, at a site between the town of Arausio and the Rhône River. Ranged against the migratory tribes of the Cimbri under Boiorix and the Teutoni were two Roman armies, commanded by the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and consul Gnaeus Mallius...
(which resulted in him being driven off from the proceedings by force). Two years later
101 BC
Year 101 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Aquillius...
he was elected a 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...
. During this time he fought in Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
, defeating the Scordisci
Scordisci
The Scordisci were an Iron Age tribe centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus , Dravus and Danube rivers. They were historically notable from the beginning of the third century BC until the turn of the common era...
and earning his first 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...
upon his return in 100 BC. In 98 BC Didius was elected Consul alongside Q. Caecilius Metellus Nepos
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos was a son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Balearicus. He was a Consul in 98 BC, having fought at the Iberian Peninsula against the Celtiberians and the Vaccaei, suffering before these ones a memorable defeat.He married Licinia Prima, who after widowed married the...
. Along with restoring the Villa Publica
Villa Publica
The Villa Publica was a public building in ancient Rome, which served as the censors’ base of operation. It was erected on the Campus Martius in 435 BC. According to Livy, the first census was compiled there the year it was built. In 194 BC, the building, or buildings, was restored and enlarged...
, he enacted a law which disallowed combining two unrelated proposals in one bill.
After his term 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...
, Didius was assigned to govern the province of Hispania Citerior
Hispania Citerior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Citerior was a region of Hispania roughly occupying the northeastern coast and the Ebro Valley of what is now Spain. Hispania Ulterior was located west of Hispania Citerior—that is, farther away from Rome.-External links:*...
, where he served from 97 BC to 93 BC. Nearly his entire 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...
ar term in Spain was spent at war with the Celtiberi. In the four years Didius governed Spain he achieved multiple victories and is said to have slain 20,000 Arevaci
Arevaci
The Arevaci or ‘Aravaci’ , were a pre-Roman Celtic people who settled in the Meseta Central of northern Hispania and which dominated most of Celtiberia from the 4th to late 2nd centuries BC...
, quelled the rebellious city of Termes
Termes
Termes may refer to:* Termes, Olive Oil, an olive oil producer company in İzmir, Turkey* Dick Termes, an American artist* Rafael Termes A Spanish banker-Spain:...
(today Tiermes in the province of Soria
Soria (province)
Soria is a province of central Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. Most of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico areaIt is bordered by the provinces of La Rioja, Zaragoza, Guadalajara, Segovia, and Burgos....
), and besieged Colenda for nine months, after which time the city fell and the women and children were sold into slavery. Didius earned another 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...
after slaughtering of a colony of "robbers," in actuality poor people who had banded together to subsist through banditry after losing their property. Didius lured them in with promises of land to live on, and when the families assembled within the Roman castra
Castra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
in good faith, he had them slaughtered. The 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...
indicates that Didius's exceptional cruelty and treachery caused an even greater uprising which his experienced successor, G. Valerius Flaccus
Gaius Valerius Flaccus (consul 93 BCE)
Gaius Valerius Flaccus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 93 BC and a provincial governor in the late-90s and throughout the 80s...
, had to put down.
After concluding his service in Spain, Didius served as a legate
Legatus
A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
in the Social War, under Lucius Julius Caesar
Lucius Julius Caesar
In Ancient Rome, several men of the Julii Caesares family were named Lucius Julius Caesar. Distinct by their praenomen, "Lucius", none of these members of the Julii Caesares family can be confused with their distant relative and much more famous Gaius Julius Caesar, the Roman who conquered Gaul,...
in 90 BC, then Lucius Porcius Cato
Lucius Porcius Cato
Lucius Porcius Cato, son of Marcus Porcius Cato Salonianus, was a consul of the Roman Republic in 89 BC.As consul, Porcius Cato led the Roman army at the Battle of Fucine Lake in 89 BC against a rebel force during the Social War, but was defeated and killed while fighting a Marsic camp in winter.-...
and Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
in 89 BC. Shortly following a successful capture of Herculaneum
Herculaneum
Herculaneum was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in AD 79, located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano, in the Italian region of Campania in the shadow of Mt...
, he died in battle June 11, 89 BC.