Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus (before 97 BC48 BC) was
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 throug ...
of the
Roman Republic in 49 BC, an opponent of
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
and supporter of
Pompeius in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
during 49 to 48 BC.
Family and political career
Born sometime before 97 BC, son of a Publius Lentulus, his origins are otherwise unknown, though he was most likely a member of the
patrician Cornelii Lentuli branch of the
gens Cornelia.
Details of Crus' younger years are not known. In 72 BC, Caesar's man Balbus acquired his
Roman citizenship for service under Pompeius against
Quintus Sertorius in Spain. On the basis of the Roman names he took – Lucius Cornelius Balbus – and on the basis of later letters to Cicero, it is possible that both Balbus ''major'' and ''minor'' obtained citizenship with the sponsorship of L. Cornelius Lentulus Crus, who may then have been serving with Pompeius as a
legate
Legate may refer to:
* Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class
:*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period
*A member of a legation
*A representative, ...
(Pompeius was there 76 BC to 71 BC; had Crus been born c. 98 BC, he would have been between the ages of 22 and 27 at the time).
In 61 BC he was the chief prosecutor of
Publius Clodius Pulcher
Publius Clodius Pulcher (93–52 BC) was a populist Roman politician and street agitator during the time of the First Triumvirate. One of the most colourful personalities of his era, Clodius was descended from the aristocratic Claudia gens, one ...
at a ''quaestio extraordinaria'' over the latter's violation of the mysteries of the
Bona Dea
Bona Dea (; 'Good Goddess') was a goddess in ancient Roman religion. She was associated with chastity and fertility in Roman women, healing, and the protection of the state and people of Rome. According to Roman literary sources, she was brought ...
, along with two other Cornelii Lentuli, in which he failed to secure a conviction due in large part to the bribes which Clodius spread amongst the jurors.
Lentulus' rise through the ''
cursus honorum
The ''cursus honorum'' (; , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices') was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The '' ...
'' of political office is not now known prior to his election, during the consulship of Caesar and
Bibulus
Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus (c. 102 – 48 BC) was a politician of the Roman Republic. He was a plodding conservative and upholder of the established social order who served in several magisterial positions alongside Julius Caesar and conceived a ...
, as
Praetor for 58 BC. During his term of office Clodius, now a
tribune of the people, moved against his enemy
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
on the basis that the latter, as consul of 63 BC, had put Roman citizens to death without trial. Cicero hoped for Lentulus' aid against Clodius; although the praetor did, with other senior figures, attempt to persuade Pompeius to act to protect Cicero, this failed, as Pompeius refused to act against an elected tribune on his own authority.
In 51 BC he stood for election to the prestigious priestly board of fifteen men in charge of the
Sibylline Books (''
Quindecimviri sacris faciundis''), but was defeated by
Publius Cornelius Dolabella (to the amusement of Cicero's correspondent,
Marcus Caelius Rufus
Marcus Caelius Rufus (28 May 82 BC – after 48 BC) was an orator and politician in the late Roman Republic. He was born into a wealthy equestrian family from Interamnia Praetuttiorum (Teramo), on the central east coast of Italy. He is best kn ...
).
In 50 BC he was elected consul for the following year alongside
G. Claudius Marcellus, as opponents to Caesar, and was an active and vocal participant in the increasingly hysterical scenes in the senate in late 50 and January 49 as Caesar sought to secure a safe consulship whilst a reactionary group of senators sought to have him stripped of command. Finally, on 7 January 49 BC, the senate under Lentulus and Marcellus passed the “final decree” (
senatus consultum ultimum); the tribunes
Mark Antony and
Quintus Cassius fled with Caesar's envoy, the younger
Curio
Curio may refer to:
Objects
*Bric-à-brac, lesser objets d'art for display
* Cabinet of curiosities, a room-sized collection or exhibit of curios or curiosities
*Collectables
*Curio cabinet, a cabinet constructed for the display of curios
People
...
, from Rome to meet Caesar at
Ravenna. On the 10th, Caesar famously crossed the
Rubicon
The Rubicon ( la, Rubico; it, Rubicone ; rgn, Rubicôn ) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, just north of Rimini.
It was known as Fiumicino until 1933, when it was identified with the ancient river Rubicon, famously crossed by Julius C ...
, starting the Civil War.
Civil War
Initially Lentulus remained in Rome but left, with many senators, ahead of Caesar's advancing forces. He recruited troops for Pompeius in
Capua (even
gladiators at one stage, before thinking better of this). Caesar sent his agent, the younger
Balbus
Balbus is Latin for "stammerer", and may refer to:
* Quintus Lucilius Balbus (fl. 100 BC), Stoic philosopher mentioned in the works of Cicero
* Marcus Atius Balbus, grandfather of the Roman emperor Augustus
* Lucius Cornelius Balbus (consul 40 B ...
, on a mission to win over Lentulus – possibly Crus was
''patronus'' to the Cornelii Balbi, uncle and nephew, if he had been their sponsor when they were granted Roman citizenship under Pompeius in 72, and Caesar hoped that Balbus would have some influence with the consul. However, by 3 March Cicero reported to
Atticus that the Consuls had crossed over from
Brundisium
Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Histo ...
to the shore of Greece.
While
proconsul of the Roman province of
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, Lentulus recruited two legions for Pompeius - a decree of his in July 49 BC exempted the Jews of
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
from military service. He fought alongside Pompeius at the
Battle of Pharsalus on 9 August 48 BC, where he commanded the Pompeian left wing. On his flight from the battlefield Lentulus was denied refuge in Antioch and instead followed Pompeius to Egypt. He was taken prisoner on 4 September on the order of King
Ptolemy XIII
Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Θεός Φιλοπάτωρ, ''Ptolemaĩos''; c. 62 BC – 13 January 47 BC) was Pharaoh of Egypt from 51 to 47 BC, and one of the last members of the Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BC) ...
and executed whilst in prison.
Caesar himself placed a great deal of blame on Lentulus for the events of late 50/early 49 which brought about the civil war, commenting on the magnitude of Lentulus' debts and his hopes for control of an army and rich provinces, and going so far as to claim that the Consul was aiming to make himself master of Rome, a second
Sulla. He was also seen as duplicitous, warning the senate in the debates of January 49 that if they did not declare against Caesar then he, Lentulus, had his own means of regaining Caesar's favour. Cicero, in a characteristically cutting remark, described Lentulus as being averse to the trouble of thinking. Writing of the private interests and personal ambitions of Pompeius' followers, he seems to give support to Caesar's claims, and his later acerbic comments that Lentulus promised himself
Hortensius' town house, Caesar's suburban villa, and an estate at
Baiae
Baiae ( it, Baia; nap, Baia) was an ancient Roman town situated on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples and now in the ''comune'' of Bacoli. It was a fashionable resort for centuries in antiquity, particularly towards the end of the Roman ...
as spoils of the civil war do bear out Lentulus' reputation for avarice.
[Cicero]
''ad Att.'' xi.6
/ref>
Notes
References
Modern works
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Ancient authors
* Caesar:
' (B.C.) "Commentaries on the Civil War" ( Wikipedia)
* Caesar:
Commentarii de Bello Gallico
' (B.G.) "Commentaries on the Gallic War"( Wikipedia)
* Cicero
Brutus, a History of Famous Orators
* Cicero:
Epistulae ad Atticum
' (Letters to Atticus)
* Cicero:
Epistulae ad Familiares
' (Letters to his Friends)
* Cicero:
Epistulae ad Quintum fratrem
' (Letters to his brother, Quintus)
* Cicero:
in Pisonem
'
*Cicero:
pro Balbo
'
* Josephus
* Plutarch
* Plutarch
* Valerius Maximus: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium
''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia'') by Valerius Maximus (c. 20 BC – c. AD 50) was written arou ...
'' (see links) "Memorable Deeds and Sayings"
* Velleius Paterculus:
Historia Romana
' (Roman History)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus Crus, Lucius
48 BC deaths
1st-century BC executions
1st-century BC Roman consuls
Crus, Lucius
Executed ancient Roman people
Optimates
People executed by ancient Egypt
Roman Republican praetors
Senators of the Roman Republic
Year of birth unknown
Roman patricians