Aulus Terentius Varro Murena (died 24 BC) was a Roman general and politician of the 1st century BC.

Biography

Murena was the natural born son of Aulus Terentius Varro, and adopted brother to

Lucius Licinius Varro Murena Lucius Licinius Varro Murena (died 22 BC) was a Roman politician who was accused of conspiring against the emperor Augustus, and executed without a trial. Biography Hailing from Lanuvium, Murena was the natural born son of Lucius Licinius Murena ...

. He was well connected to the Augustan regime, with his sister, Terentia, married to Gaius Maecenas, the prominent adviser and friend of Augustus and patron of the arts, while his half-brother,

Gaius Proculeius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius Po ...

, was an intimate friend of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

during his rise to power. Augustus dispatched Murena to lead an expedition against the Salassi tribe of the

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

region in the northwestern

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

in 25 BC. The Salassi had proved troublesome to Roman armies using the Great St Bernard pass, which, as the shortest route from Italy to the Upper

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

river, had become strategically vital to the Romans since the completion of

Julius 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, an ...

's conquest of Gaul in 51 BC. The Salassi were utterly defeated and, according to

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

, Murena deported and sold into slavery 44,000 tribespeople. According to

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, he sold only males of military age and only for an indenture-term of 20 years. In 24 BC, Murena established a Roman colony of 3,000 settlers in the heart of Salassi country - ''Augusta Praetoria Salassorum'' (

Aosta Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest o ...

, Italy). Murena was nominated to be

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 ...

, with Augustus, for the year 23 BC, but died shortly before his term in office began. His replacement was Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso. Shortly after Murena's death, his brother by adoption, Lucius Lucinius Varro Murena, was accused of conspiring with Fannius Caepio against Augustus. Clifford Ando, ''Imperial ideology and provincial loyalty in the Roman Empire'', pg. 14
140
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Sources

Ancient

Dio Cassius Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

''Roman History'' (c. 130 AD) *

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen of the Roman ...

'' (c. 10 AD)

Modern

* Ando, Clifford, ''Imperial ideology and provincial loyalty in the Roman Empire'', University of California Press, 2000 * Davies, Mark; Swain, Hilary; Davies, Mark Everson, ''Aspects of Roman history, 82 BC-AD 14: a source-based approach'', Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010 * Raaflaub, Kurt A.; Toher, Mark, ''Between republic and empire: interpretations of Augustus and his principate'', University of California Press, 1993 * Smith's Dictionary of Roman Biography and Mythology (1873) * Swan, Michael, ''The Consular Fasti of 23 B.C. and the Conspiracy of Varro Murena'', Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Volume 71, pgs. 235 – 247, Harvard University Press, 1967 * Syme, Ronald, ''The Roman Revolution'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939 * Wells, Colin Michael, ''The Roman Empire'', Harvard University Press, 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terentius Varro Murena, Aulus 24 BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman augurs 1st-century BC Roman generals Licinii Varro Murena, Aulus Year of birth unknown