Quintus Marcius Rex was a

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 ...

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 ...

. He was the grandson of another Quintus Marcius Rex, the consul of 118 BC. One of his second cousins was the dictator

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, ...

, the great-grandson of another Quintus Marcius Rex, the praetor in 144 BC who constructed the Aqua Marcia. He was elected consul for 68 BC with Lucius Caecilius Metellus. Caecilius Metellus died near the start of the year, and, although Servilius Vatia was elected to replace him, Vatia died before he could enter office and Marcius continued as sole consul.Dio 36.4.1; Broughton, Magistrates vol. II p. 137 Marcius went to serve in Cilicia as

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

and, pressured by his brother-in-law,

Publius Clodius Publius Clodius Pulcher (93–52 BC) was a populist Roman politician and street agitator during the time of the First Triumvirate. One of the most colourful personalities of his era, Clodius was descended from the aristocratic Claudia gens, one ...

, refused to help Lucius Licinius Lucullus. He gave up his province in 66 BC to comply with the ''lex Manilia'' that gave command of the provinces of the east to Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. He was denied a

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 ...

upon his return. He was still waiting outside the city for a triumph when the

Catilinarian Conspiracy The Catilinarian conspiracy (sometimes Second Catilinarian conspiracy) was an attempted coup d'état by Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline) to overthrow the Roman consuls of 63 BC – Marcus Tullius Cicero and Gaius Antonius Hybrida – a ...

broke out in 63 BC. He was sent to watch the movements of Gaius Manlius,

Catilina Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the ...

's general. He refused to listen to Manlius's offers of peace. Marcius had married, Clodia Tertia, a sister of

Publius Clodius Pulcher Publius Clodius Pulcher (93–52 BC) was a populist Roman politician and street agitator during the time of the First Triumvirate. One of the most colourful personalities of his era, Clodius was descended from the aristocratic Claudia gens, one ...

. He died in 61 BC, without leaving to his brother-in-law an expected inheritance.

References

Quintus 61 BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman consuls Year of birth unknown {{AncientRome-politician-stub