Quintus Fulvius Nobilior was a

Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

who obtained the consulship in 153 BC. His father

Marcus Fulvius Nobilior Marcus Fulvius Nobilior was a Roman general. He started his political career as curule aedile in 195 BC. When he was praetor (193 BC) he served with distinction in Spain, and as consul in 189 BC he completely broke the power of the Aetolian Leag ...

and his brother

Marcus Fulvius Nobilior (consul 159 BC) Marcus Fulvius Nobilior was a Roman politician. He is not to be confused with his father, who was also called Marcus Fulvius Nobilior and who also served as consul. He was tribune of the plebs 171 BC,Livy, "Ab Urbe Condita", book xlii. 32 curu ...

were also consuls. Nobilior and his father were

patrons Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the writer

Quintus Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria, ...

Career

In 153 BC, Quintus Fulvius Nobilior was in charge of a 30.000 strong army to campaign in Spain, which was largely unsuccessful. The Roman army was initially deployed against the ''

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretch ...

'' of

Segeda Segeda is an ancient settlement, between today's Belmonte de Gracián and Mara in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. Originally it was a Celtiberian town, whose inhabitants, the Belli, gave it the name ''Sekeida'' or ''Sekeiza''. Accor ...

, whose Celtiberian inhabitants, the

Belli The Belli, also designated Beli or Belaiscos were an ancient pre-Roman Celtic Celtiberian people who lived in the modern Spanish province of Zaragoza from the 3rd Century BC. Origins Roman authors for unknown reasons wrote that the Belli we ...

, had been expanding its walls and attacking other nearby tribes. Segeda was destroyed, but the Belli assembled an army under chieftain Carus, which ambushed the Roman army in a move compared to the

Battle of Lake Trasimene The Battle of Lake Trasimene was fought when a Carthaginian force under Hannibal ambushed a Roman army commanded by Gaius Flaminius on 21 June 217 BC, during the Second Punic War. It took place on the north shore of Lake Trasimene, to the ...

, inflicting heavy losses. Moving west to the meseta, Nobilior laid siege to

Numantia Numantia ( es, Numancia) is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray (Soria), Spain. Numantia is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars. In ...

, an

whose inhabitants were to give Rome trouble for years and had sheltered the Belli when they fled their city. The Roman army faced difficult conditions in the winter and had to withdraw. Nobilior was replaced as consul in 152 BC by

Marcus Claudius Marcellus Marcus Claudius Marcellus (; 270 – 208 BC), five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War. Marcellus gained the most prestigious award a Roma ...

. He was censor with Appius Claudius Pulcher, probably in 136 BC. The Roman camp at Renieblas in Spain may have been Q. Fulvius Nobilior's winter quarters.Lawrence Keppie, ''The Making of the Roman Army: From Republic to Empire'', p. 46.

Cultural impact

Nobilior was designated consul in 154 BC, however his appointment could not come into effect until the

Ides of March The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BC, it beca ...

, the day for settling debts that marked the end of the calendar year. To overcome this obstacle, and recognizing the need for immediate action, the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the Rome, city of Rome (traditionally found ...

decreed January 1 as the new beginning to the civil year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulvius Nobilior, Quintus 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Nobilior, Quintus Roman censors