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 In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

Cornelia''. He was grandson of

Servius Cornelius Maluginensis Servius Cornelius Maluginensis was a Roman senator who was elected consul in 485 BC. Family Maluginensis was from the patrician ''Cornelii Maluginenses'', one of the oldest attested branches of the '' gens Cornelia''. It is possible that he ca ...

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 throu ...

in 485 BC. According to

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 in ...

, and

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary styl ...

, he was the brother of Lucius Cornelius Maluginensis Uritus Cossus (consul in 459 BC) but his name would be the same as his father if we refer to the

filiation Filiation is the legal term for the recognized legal status of the relationship between family members, or more specifically the legal relationship between parent and child. As described by the Government of Quebec: Filiation is the relationship ...

given by the ''Fasti Capitolini''.

Biography

Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis was one of the ten members of the Second Decemvirate, presided over by

Appius Claudius Crassus Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis (or Crassinus Regillensis) Sabinus ( 471–451 BC) was a Roman senator during the early Republic, most notable as the leading member of the ten-man board (the Decemvirate) which drew up the Twelve Tables o ...

and elected for the purpose of drafting the

Law of the Twelve Tables The Laws of the Twelve Tables was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornblow ...

, first written law of the Roman Republic. At the instigation of Appius Claudius, the decemvirs illegally held onto power the following year, refusing to proceed with the election of consuls. That year, a war escalated with the

Sabines The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

who were based in

Eretum Eretum ( Greek: ), was an ancient town of the Sabines, situated on the Via Salaria, at its junction with the Via Nomentana, a short distance from the Tiber, and about from Rome. History Eretum lay near the frontier between Roman and Sabine ter ...

and the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early hist ...

camped under Mount Algidus. The Roman troops were divided into two armies so that they could fight on two fronts. Marcus Cornelius received the command of the army that fought the Aequi, with three other decemvirs; Lucius Minucius, Titus Antonius, and Lucius Sergius. Meanwhile, Appius Claudius and

Spurius Oppius Cornicen Spurius Oppius Cornicen was a Roman politician and member of the Second ''Decemvirate'' in 450 and 449 BC. Biography According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Spurius Oppius Cornicen was plebeian. He was one of the ten members of the Second ''De ...

remained in Rome to ensure the defence of the city, and the four other decemvirs fought against the Sabines. The two Roman armies were kept in check on each front. The army commanded by Marcus Cornelius had withdrawn to

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

then moved in response to the call from

Lucius Verginius Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from L ...

, whose daughter had been enslaved by Appius Claudius. As a result of Appius Claudius' conduct during the ensuing trial, Lucius Verginius had decided to kill his own daughter. His story provoked a mutiny of the soldiers who elected twelve military tribunes. Under their command, they returned to Rome and set up camp on the Aventine and were then joined by the other Roman army that was led by Appius Claudius and

. Appius Claudius and

were imprisoned in Rome, but committed suicide during their prosecution. The eight other decemvirs, including Marcus Cornelius Maluginensis, were exiled.

, ''Roman Antiquities'', XI. 24-43

References

Bibliography

Ancient bibliography

, ''

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

'' *

, ''Roman Antiquities''

Modern bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Maluginensis, Marcus 5th-century BC Romans Ancient Roman decemvirs Maluginensis, Marcus Roman patricians