Gaius Lutatius Catulus ( 242–241 BC) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

statesman and

naval commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries, th ...

in the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

. He was born a member of the

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or 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 of the gro ...

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

Lutatius. His

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...

"Catulus" means "puppy". There are no historical records of his life prior to consulship, but his career probably followed the standard

cursus honorum The , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices'; ) was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The comprised a mixture of ...

, beginning with service in the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and continuing with the positions of

military tribune A military tribune () 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 tribunes as a stepping stone to the Senate. The should not be confused with the ...

and

quaestor A quaestor ( , ; ; "investigator") was a public official in ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officia ...

. He was elected as 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 thro ...

in 242 BC, a '' novus homo''. His colleague as consul was Aulus Postumius Albinus. In addition to the consulship Postumius held the position of

Flamen Martialis In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Martialis was the high priest of the official state cult of Mars, the god of war. He was one of the '' flamines maiores'', the three high priests who were the most important of the fifteen flamens. The Flamen ...

, and for this reason the pontifex maximus Lucius Caecilius Metellus forbade him from leaving the city. Lutatius was therefore the only candidate for commanding the war in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. 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 ...

appointed the

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 disch ...

Quintus Valerius Falto Quintus Valerius Falto was a Roman general and statesman during the middle era of the Roman Republic. He fought in the final phase of the ongoing First Punic War; he led the Roman fleet to victory during the Battle of the Aegates, for which he was ...

as his second-in-command. This was somewhat of a novelty, since a second praetorship was created only a few years earlier, thereby allowing one of the praetors to leave Rome. Typically the two consuls shared the command of the army. Upon assuming command Lutatius and Valerius embarked for Sicily. Lutatius had the command of both legions and a new fleet. This fleet was funded by donations from wealthy citizens as the prolonged war had left the public treasury virtually empty. The degree to which Lutatius was involved with the construction of the fleet is unknown. No decisive action in the war was taken in 242 BC. His brother,

Quintus Lutatius Cerco Quintus Lutatius Cerco (died 236 BC) was a Roman politician in the third century BC. Family He was a member of gens Lutatia. Gaius Lutatius Catulus, consul in 242 BC, was his brother. Career In 241 BC, he was elected consul together with Aulus M ...

, was elected consul in the following year (and censor in 236 BC), but Lutatius and Valerius were granted proconsulship and propraetorship, respectively, allowing them to continue leading the military efforts against

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, 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 classic ...

. In 241 BC, Carthage sent a large fleet commanded by an admiral called Hanno to Sicily with dual purpose of regaining

naval supremacy Command of the sea (also called control of the sea or sea control) is a naval military concept regarding the strength of a particular navy to a specific naval area it controls. A navy has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rivals ...

and resupplying

Hamilcar __NOTOC__ Hamilcar (, ,. or , , "Melqart is Gracious"; , ''Hamílkas'';) was a common Carthaginian masculine given name. The name was particularly common among the ruling families of ancient Carthage. People named Hamilcar include: * Hamilcar th ...

and their besieged garrisons in Sicily. A wound prevented Lutatius from commanding the fleet in the ensuing

Battle of the Aegates The Battle of the Aegates was a naval battle fought on 10 March 241 BC between the fleets of Carthage (state), Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome during the First Punic War. It took place among the Aegates Islands, off the western coast of the ...

personally, and so the command passed to Valerius. The battle ended in decisive Roman victory. Carthage, unable to fund a replacement fleet, was forced to negotiate a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

favorable to the Romans with Lutatius. Lutatius' original treaty was rejected by the Senate, a commission of 10 senators negotiated an even stricter treaty which still bore Lutatius' name.

Adrian Goldsworthy Adrian Keith Goldsworthy (; born 1969) is a British historian and novelist who specialises in ancient Roman history. Education Adrian Goldsworthy attended Westbourne School, Penarth. He then read Ancient and Modern History at St John's College, ...

, The Fall of Carthage (2006), pp 128-129. Both Lutatius and Valerius were awarded 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 ...

by the

. To celebrate his victory, Lutatius built a temple to

Juturna In the myth and religion of ancient Rome, Juturna, or Diuturna, was a goddess of fountains, wells and springs, and the mother of Fontus by Janus. Mythology Juturna was an ancient Latin deity of fountains, who in some myths was turned by ...

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for 'Field of Mars'; Italian: ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...

, in the area currently known as

Largo di Torre Argentina Largo di Torre Argentina (, ) is a large open space in Rome, Italy, with four Roman Republican temples and the remains of Pompey's Theatre. It is in the ancient Campus Martius. This was one of the places the ancient " Argentario"--the silver/mo ...

. There is no historical record of his subsequent life or career. Gaius Lutatius Catulus is also the main character of Finnish writer

Jukka M. Heikkilä Jukka M. Heikkilä (born 1966) is a Finnish author. He writes historical fiction set in the ancient world. Published works * ''Sisilian prinsessa'' - 310–240 BC * ''Antigonos, jumalten poika'' - 302–294 BC * ''Arkhimedes syrakusalainen'' - 270 ...

's book ''Merikonsuli'' ("The Marine Consul").

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutatius Catulus, Gaius consul 512 AUC 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Roman Republican admirals Roman Republican generals Catulus, Gaius consul 512 AUC Roman commanders of the First Punic War