Appius Claudius Pulcher (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: APP•CLAVDIVS•C•F•APP•N•PVLCHER) was a Roman politician of the 2nd century BC.

Life

Son of Gaius Claudius Pulcher (who was

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 thro ...

in 177 BC), he was elected consul for 143 BC, and, to obtain a pretext for a triumph, attacked the Salassi, an Alpine tribe. He was at first defeated, but afterwards, following the directions of the Sibylline Books, gained a victory. On his return the celebration of the triumph was refused; but he held a triumph at his own expense, and when one of the

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

s attempted to drag him from his car, his daughter Claudia, one of the

Vestal Virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals (, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty from several s ...

s, walked by his side up to the capital. Next year he was an unsuccessful candidate for the censorship, though he afterwards held that office with Quintus Fulvius Nobilior, probably in 136 BC.Plutarch, ''Tiberius Gracchus'', 4. He allied with

Tiberius Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (; 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the ...

who married his daughter Claudia. Appius backed Tiberius' land reform bill and in 133 BC with Tiberius and Tiberius' brother,

Gaius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician and soldier who lived during the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, i ...

, was chosen commissioner for the division of the lands. Their post allowed them to survey the ''ager publicus'', publicly owned land that Tiberius wanted to distribute to citizens who had lost their property. Another faction in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

opposed them and Tiberius was assassinated in 133 BC. Appius was the enemy of

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185 BC – 129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and durin ...

. He died shortly after Tiberius Gracchus, probably in 130 BC. He was one of the Salii, an

augur An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined s ...

, and princeps senatus. CiceroCicero, ''Brutus'' or ''History of famous orators'', 28. says that his style of speaking was fluent and vehement. He married Antistia. His great-granddaughter was Clodia.

Family tree

Notes

References

''This entry incorporates public domain text originally from:'' * William Smith (ed.), ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', 1870. {{DEFAULTSORT:Claudius Pulcher, Appius consul 611 AUC 2nd-century births 130s BC deaths 2nd-century BC Roman augurs 2nd-century BC Roman consuls 2nd-century BC Roman praetors Ancient Roman censors Appius consul 611 AUC Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain