Marcus Valerius Corvus (c. 370–270 BC) was a military commander and politician from the early-to-middle period of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

. During his career he was elected

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 ...

six times, first at the age of twenty-three. He was appointed

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...

twice and led the armies of the Republic in the

First Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...

. He occupied the

curule chair A curule seat is a design of a (usually) foldable and transportable chair noted for its uses in Ancient Rome and Europe through to the 20th century. Its status in early Rome as a symbol of political or military power carried over to other civilizat ...

twenty-one times throughout his career. According to legend, he lived to the age of one hundred.

Early career

A member of 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 ...

gens Valeria The gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of th ...

'', Valerius first came to prominence in 349 BC when he served as a

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone ...

under the consul

Lucius Furius Camillus 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 ...

, who was on campaign against the

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...

of northern Italy. According to tradition, prior to one battle a huge Gallic warrior challenged any Roman to single combat. Valerius, who asked for and gained the consul's permission, accepted. As the two approached each other, a raven settled on Valerius's helmet and distracted the enemy by flying at his face, allowing Valerius to kill his enemy. The two armies then fought, resulting in a rout of the Gallic forces and a victory for the Romans. As a reward for his courage, Valerius received a gift of ten oxen and a golden crown, as well as the

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between simil ...

''Corvus'' (the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word for "raven"). Regardless of the story's veracity, after this victory Corvus’ popularity soared. He was elected

''in absentia'' in 348 BC at the unusually young age of 22. During his tenure, a treaty was made between Rome and

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...

. In the subsequent year Corvus was likely elected to the office of

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 ...

, followed by his second consulship in 346 BC. On campaign he defeated the Antiates and the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

, sacking and destroying the town of

Satricum Satricum (modern Le Ferriere), an ancient town of Latium vetus, lay on the right bank of the Astura river some SE of Rome in a low-lying region south of the Alban Hills, at the NW border of the Pontine Marshes. It was directly accessible from Ro ...

apart from the temple of Mater Matuta. For these victories, the Senate awarded Corvus his first

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

First and Second Samnite Wars

Corvus served as

curule aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

in 345 BC before his military abilities saw his election to the consulship for the third time in 343 BC. This year saw the outbreak of the

, in which Corvus won victories at the Battle of Mount Gaurus and the Battle of Suessula. After the latter victory, Corvus had some 40,000 shields and 170 enemy standards piled up before him on the battlefield. Corvus then returned to Rome to celebrate his second triumph. After this he returned to the southern war front in wintertime to protect

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

from Samnite incursions. The year 342 BC was one of crisis for the Roman state, with the Roman legions stationed around

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...

, as well as the surrounding Campanian towns, rebelling and marching on Rome. In response, Corvus was appointed

to deal with the mutineers. Meeting them at the head of an army some eight miles outside of Rome, he decided to negotiate instead of fighting a battle. Using his past association with the army to gain their trust, he successfully reached an agreement. Corvus pushed through laws (the ''ne cui militum fraudi secessio fuit'') which granted the mutinous soldiers immunity from prosecution, prevented the removal of a soldier's name from the roll of service without his consent, and prohibited any military tribune being demoted down to the rank of centurion. He however refused to agree to the lowering of the rate of pay for the cavalrymen, and to the immediate execution of the

decemviri The decemviri or decemvirs (Latin for "ten men") were some of the several 10-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two Decemvirates, formally the " decemvirate with consular power for writing ...

. It was also alleged that, during the troubles that brought about the passage of the ''leges genuciae'', Corvus suggested that the Senate agree to the plebeian demands for the abolition of all debts; this was rejected out of hand. Historians such as Gary Forsythe and S. P. Oakley consider the alleged events of the mutiny to be later literary inventions, although the laws passed in this year are accurate. Corvus was elected consul for a fourth time in 335 BC, once again in response to an escalating military situation in Italy. The Sidicini had formed an alliance with the Ausones of Cales, and the Senate intended to send out someone with a proven military record. In a break with tradition, the consuls did not cast lots for their provinces; the Senate instead assigned the area around Cales directly to Corvus. He successfully besieged and stormed the town; after its capture, the Romans established a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

of 2,500 men. For this victory, Corvus was granted a third triumph, and the honor of carrying the

''Calenus''. In 332 BC, Corvus was appointed as

interrex The interrex (plural interreges) was literally a ruler "between kings" (Latin ''inter reges'') during the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic. He was in effect a short-term regent. History The office of ''interrex'' was supposedly created follow ...

, a function he again fulfilled in 320 BC. He may also have served as legate under the dictator Lucius Papirius Cursor in 325 BC during the

Second Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...

. In 313 BC he was appointed as one of the ''triumviri coloniae deducendae'', who were given the authority to establish a Latin colony at Saticula. Then in 310 BC he was again named a legate under Lucius Papirius Cursor, and fought in a major battle at Longulae against the Samnites. In 308 BC he was elected praetor for the fourth time as a reward for his services at Longulae.The dates for Corvus’ second and third praetorships remain unknown. Most likely his second praetorship occurred after 345 BC, while his third occurred before 308 BC.

Later career

Corvus was appointed dictator for the second time in 302 BC, in response to the revolt of the

Marsi The Marsi were an Italic people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus (which was drained for agricultural land in the late 19th century). The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. ...

Arretium Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

and Carseoli. Corvus managed not only to defeat the Marsi in battle, but also to take the fortified towns of Milionia, Plestina and Fresilia. The Marsi sued for peace, and for his victories over them Corvus was awarded his fourth triumph. He was again appointed dictator in 301 BC, this time to engage in operations against the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...

. While Corvus was in Rome taking the

auspice Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. When the individual, known as the augur, interpreted these signs, it is referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" ( Latin ''aus ...

s, his '' magister equitum'' (probably

Marcus Aemilius Paullus Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...

) was ambushed by the enemy and forced to retreat to his camp, losing a portion of his army. Corvus, quickly coming to his rescue, engaged and defeated the Etruscans in battle, earning an additional triumph.The accounts of the events of the years 302-301 are contradictory and many of the details are considered very dubious. It is possible that Corvus was only Dictator for one year, and that his battles against the Etruscans a later literary invention. See Oakley, pgs. 43-47 300 BC saw Corvus elected consul for the fifth time. During his year in office he defeated some rebel

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 ...

ans and was involved in the passage of two laws. The first was the

Lex Ogulnia The ''lex Ogulnia'' was a Roman law passed in 300 BC. It was a milestone in the long struggle between the patricians and plebeians. The law was carried by the brothers Quintus and Gnaeus Ogulnius, tribunes of the plebs in 300 BC. For the firs ...

, which resulted in the opening up of the College of Pontifices and the College of Augurs to the Plebeians. The second, which he legislated himself, was the expansion of the ''provocatio'', or right of appeal to the people, which now made illegal the use of severe force (specifically killing or lashing by the higher magistrates) within the city of Rome. Then in the following year (299 BC), after the Senate considered appointing him dictator for the fourth time, Corvus was elected suffect consul after the death of Titus Manlius Torquatus, who was in command of the war with the Etruscans. With Corvus' arrival the Etruscans refused to give battle, but remained closed up within their fortified towns. Although Corvus set entire villages on fire to draw them out, the Etruscans refused to engage him. After his sixth consulship Corvus retired from public life. He died at the age of 100, around the year 270 BC.

Character and reputation

A man with considerable military talents, Corvus also possessed a kind and amicable nature. Very popular with the soldiers he led into battle and with whom he shared camps, he reportedly competed with them in the athletic games which they played during their leisure time. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of reform, siding with the plebeians during the ongoing

Conflict of the Orders The Conflict of the Orders, sometimes referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the plebeians (commoners) and patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 500 BC to 287 BC in which the plebe ...

. He held that the changing needs of an expanding state required a readjustment of the opportunities provided to plebeians, for the good of Rome. To later Roman writers, he served as a memorable example of the favors bestowed by

Fortuna Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...

. A statue of Corvus stood in the

Forum of Augustus The Forum of Augustus ( la, Forum Augustum; it, Foro di Augusto) is one of the Imperial fora of Rome, Italy, built by Augustus (). It includes the Temple of Mars Ultor. The incomplete forum and its temple were inaugurated in 2 BC, 40 years after ...

alongside the statues of other Roman heroes. Nevertheless, annalist

Valerius Antias Valerius Antias ( century BC) was an ancient Roman annalist whom Livy mentions as a source. No complete works of his survive but from the sixty-five fragments said to be his in the works of other authors it has been deduced that he wrote a chroni ...

may have exaggerated his list of accomplishments.Smith, pg. 862; Oakley, pg. 46

Footnotes

Sources

Ancient

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 ...

History of Rome

Modern

* Oakley, S. P., ''A Commentary on Livy, Books 6-10'' Vol. IV (2007) * Forsythe, Gary, ''A Critical History of Early Rome from Prehistory to the First Punic War'' (2005) * Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol I (1951) * Smith, William, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Vol I (1867). * Arnold, Thomas, ''History of Rome'', Vol. II (1840)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius Corvus, Marcus 370s BC births 270s BC deaths 4th-century BC Roman consuls 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Men centenarians Ancient Roman centenarians Ancient Roman dictators Ancient Roman generals Roman patricians Corvus, Marcus Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain