Gaius Julius Iullus was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

statesman and member of the ancient patrician

gens Julia The gens Julia was one of the most prominent patrician families of ancient Rome. From the early decades of the Republic, members of this gens served in the highest offices of the Roman state, beginning with Gaius Julius Iulus, consul in 489 ...

. He was

consular tribune A consular tribune was putatively a type of magistrate in the early Roman Republic. According to Roman tradition, colleges of consular tribunes held office throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BC during the so-called "Conflict of the Or ...

in 408 and 405 BC, and censor in 393.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, pp. 656–657.

Family

Gaius Julius Iullus was the son of Spurius Julius Iullus, and grandson of Vopiscus Julius Iulus,

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

in BC 473. His uncle, Lucius Julius Iullus, was consular tribune in 438,

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be n ...

in 431, and consul in 430. Gaius' brother,

Lucius Lucius is a masculine given name derived from Lucius (Latin ; ), abbreviated L., one of the small group of common Latin forenames () found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius probably derives from Latin word ( gen. ), meaning "light" (<

, was consular tribune in 403 BC. It is not clear how they were related to the Lucius Julius who was consular tribune in 388 and 379 BC, or the

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (biblical figure) (1st century AD) *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist * Gaius Acilius * Gaius Antonius * Gaius Antonius Hybrida * Gaius Asinius Gal ...

who was nominated

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

in 352.

Career

In 408 BC, Julius was one of three military tribunes with consular power. His colleagues were

Gaius Servilius Ahala Gaius Servilius Ahala ( 439 BC) was a 5th-century BC politician of ancient Rome, considered by many later writers to have been a hero. His fame rested on the contention that he saved Rome from Spurius Maelius in 439 BC by killing him with a dagg ...

and

Publius Cornelius Cossus Publius may refer to: Roman name * Publius (praenomen) * Ancient Romans with the name: ** Publius Valerius Publicola (died 503 BC), Roman consul, co-founder of the Republic **Publius Clodius Pulcher (c. 93 BC – 52 BC), Republican politician * ...

. They took office in the midst of continuing strife over the desire of the

plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the Capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Et ...

to attain the highest offices of the state. The previous year, the

tribunes of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune () was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of the Roman Senate ...

had succeeded in winning the election of the first plebeian

quaestor A quaestor ( , ; ; "investigator") was a public official in ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officia ...

s, and while the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

steadfastly refused to open the consulship to the plebeians, the tribunes hoped to elect some of their number military tribunes with consular power, a position that had been expressly created with the intention of permitting members of either order to be elected. But in more than three decades, no plebeian had yet obtained that office, and despite the efforts of the tribunes of the plebs, the three elected were once again patricians.Livy, iv. 56, 57.Diodorus Siculus, xiii. 104.Broughton, vol. I, pp. 78, 79. Meanwhile, the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early history of ancient Rome. After a long stru ...

and

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

, whose territory had been invaded by a consular army the previous year, established a new fortification at

Antium Antium was an Ancient history, ancient coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture (11th century BC or the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people unti ...

, intending to revenge themselves upon the Romans. Alarmed by this development, the senate ordered the consular tribunes to nominate a dictator. The tribunes Julius and Cornelius resented this directive, as they had been entrusted by the Roman people with the military command, and ought to be entitled to deal with the situation themselves. But as neither the senate nor the consular tribunes would back down, the third tribune, Ahala, nominated Publius Cornelius Rutilus, a cousin of his colleague, as dictator; in turn, Ahala was promptly appointed

master of the horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse () in the Roman Rep ...

. The Roman army quickly destroyed the enemy camp, and laid waste to Volscian territory. In retaliation for the senate's peremptory treatment, the slighted tribunes announced that the chief magistrates of the following year would also be consular tribunes, thereby leaving open the possibility that plebeians might be elected. But the aristocratic party again secured all of the positions for patrician candidates: the previous year they had presented only those plebeians whose election seemed preposterous; this time they nominated those patrician candidates who were so respected that they easily won election. Julius was consular tribune for the second time in 405, a year in which six men were elected to that office. His colleagues were Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, Quintus Quinctius Cincinnatus, Aulus Manlius Vulso,

Lucius Furius Medullinus Lucius Furius Medullinus (c. 445 BC – c. 375 BC), of the patrician '' gens Furia'', was a politician and general of the Roman Republic who was consul twice and Consular Tribune seven times. First two consulships Medullinus was elected consul f ...

, and Manius Aemilius Mamercinus. The tribunes laid siege to

Veii Veii (also Veius; ) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the city-st ...

, alarming the other Etruscan cities, which debated uniting to come to Veii's defense. In 393 BC, Gaius was elected to the censorship with Lucius Papirius Cursor. He died before the expiration of his term, and

Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis was a Roman politician and member of the Second Decemvirate in 450 and 449 BC. Family He was part of the ''Cornelii Maluginenses'', patrician branch of the ''gens Cornelia''. He was grandson of Servius Cornelius Ma ...

was appointed in his place. As Rome was sacked by the

Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...

during the same

lustrum A lūstrum (, plural lūstra) was a term for a five-year period in Ancient Rome. It is distinct from the homograph ''lustrum'' ( ): a haunt of wild beasts (and figuratively, a den of vice), plural ''lustra'' ( ).Oxford Latin Desk Dictionary (2 ...

, a kind of superstitious dread attached itself to the censorship, so that never again was a substitute appointed in the place of a censor who had died; if his work remained unfinished, his colleague was compelled to resign, and entirely new censors were elected.Plutarch, "Life of Camillus", 14.Broughton, vol. I, p. 91.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Titus Livius (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

), ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

'' (History of Rome). *

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

, ''

Bibliotheca Historica ''Bibliotheca historica'' (, ) is a work of Universal history (genre), universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, and describe the h ...

'' (Library of History). *

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

us, ''

Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a ''life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * ''Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous m ...

''.
"C. Julius L. f. Vop. n. Iulus" (no. 7)
in the ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'',

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952). {{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Iullus, Gaius censor 5th-century BC Romans 4th-century BC Romans Gaius censor Ancient Roman censors Roman consular tribunes Ancient Roman patricians

Family

Career

See also

Footnotes

References

Bibliography