Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus (born 115 BC) was a Roman politician and general who was one of two

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 ...

s of the

Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

in 72 BC along with

Lucius Gellius Lucius Gellius (c. 136 BC''Oxford Classical Dictionary'',Gellius, Lucius – c. 54 BC) was a Roman politician and general who was one of two Consuls of the Republic in 72 BC along with Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus. A supporter of Pompey, ...

. Closely linked to the family of

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, he is noted for being one of the consular generals who led

Roman legion The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period o ...

s against the slave armies of

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

in the

Third Servile War The Third Servile War, also called the Gladiator War and the War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last in a series of slave rebellions against the Roman Republic known as the Servile Wars. This third rebellion was the only one that directly ...

Biography

Although born into the

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins ...

Claudii Marcelli The gens Claudia (), sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain the consulship was Appius ...

family, Clodianus was adopted into the

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

Cornelii Lentuli The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any oth ...

, possibly as the adoptive son of Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus. A partisan of

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, he possibly served under Pompey during Pompey's special commission in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...

. Elected

Praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

around 75 BC, his connections with Pompey ensured that he was elected consul in 72 BC . Clodianus soon was involved in protecting Pompey's interests, pushing a bill to validate grants of citizenship by Pompey in Hispania. He and his colleague also ensured that no Roman citizen in the provinces could be tried in absentia on a capital charge – an attempt to restrict the ravages of

Gaius Verres Gaius Verres (c. 120–43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence adv ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Finally, Clodianus proposed a bill for recovering payment, which

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

had remitted, from those who had bought the confiscated property of those who suffered under the Sullan proscriptions. However, the major event of his consulship was the revolt of

and the eruption of the

. Having won a number of victories against ill-prepared Roman forces, the Senate now recognised Spartacus as a serious threat and sent both the consuls to confront the slave armies at the head of four legions. Clodianus moved to block Spartacus's march northward, while his colleague Publicola moved in behind, hoping to catch the rebels between the two armies. However, Spartacus's slave army destroyed Clodianus' legions in the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

(near modern

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a ty ...

) in the valley named Lentula, and then turned and defeated the oncoming legions of Publicola. Gathering their shattered forces, both consuls gave chase but were once again defeated at a battle near

Picenum Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name is an exonym assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum was ''Regio V'' in the Augustan territorial organization of Roman Italy. Picenum was also ...

. Humiliated by these defeats, shortly afterward, in early autumn, Clodianus and Publicola were withdrawn as commanders by 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 city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

, and command of the war given to

Marcus Licinius Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...

. This setback to Clodianus's career was only temporary; with the support of Pompey, both Clodianus and Publicola were appointed censor in 70 BC. They began a systematic purge of the senate, removing some sixty-four senators, among them a number of individuals connected to the trial of Oppianicus, as well as some important individuals such as Gaius Antonius Hybrida and

Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura (114 BC – 5 December 63 BC) was one of the chief figures in the Catilinarian conspiracy. He was also the step-father of the future triumvir Mark Antony. Biography When accused by Sulla (to whom he had been quae ...

. However, the majority of those expelled were acquitted by the courts and restored to their former position. They also identified 910,000 citizens and possibly named Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus Livianus as

Princeps Senatus The ''princeps senatus'' ( ''principes senatus'') was the first member by precedence on the membership rolls of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the ''cursus honorum'' and possessing no '' imperium'', this office conferred prestige on ...

. In 70 BC, Clodianus helped contribute to Cicero's famous prosecution of the corrupt governor

Verres Gaius Verres (c. 120–43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence adv ...

by submitting evidence in support of Cicero's case. By 67 BC, Clodianus was serving as a legate with praetorian

imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

under Pompey, who had received an extraordinary command to rid the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

of pirates. Clodianus was given command of the east coast of Italy, with his fleet patrolling the coast of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...

.Broughton, pg. 147 By 66 BC he was back in Rome, where he gave his support to the Lex Manilia, which gave Pompey command of the war against King

Mithridates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

.Anthon & Smith, pg. 430 Although Clodianus was a noted orator, it was said that he hid his lack of talent through showmanship and the possession of a good voice.

References

Sources

* T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II'' (1952). * Holmes, T. Rice, ''The Roman Republic and the Founder of the Empire'', Vol. I (1923) * * Syme, Ronald, ''The Roman Revolution'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939. * Anthon, Charles & Smith, William, ''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography'' (1860). {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus, Gnaeus 1st-century BC Roman consuls 115 BC births Year of death unknown Ancient Roman adoptees Ancient Roman generals Roman Republican praetors Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus, Gnaeus Clodianus, Gnaeus

Biography

See also

References

Sources