Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus ( late 4th century BC) was a Roman general and statesman, 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 thro ...

of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

thrice, he was also appointed '' dictator'' or ''

magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be n ...

'' thrice, and censor in 307 BC. In 311, he made a vow to the goddess Salus that he went on to fulfill, becoming the first

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 ...

to build a temple. The temple was one of the first dedicated to an abstract deity, and Junius was one of the first generals to vow a temple and then oversee its establishment through the construction and dedication process. The desultory manner in which Junius Bubulcus survives in the historical record obscures the stature indicated by the number of high offices he held from 317 to 302 BC; it has been observed that he "cannot have been as colourless as he appears in

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 i ...

Political and military career

Junius was consul in 317 BC with the patrician Quintus Aemilius Barbula. The two were joint consuls again in 311. From the mid-4th century to the early 3rd century BC, several plebeian-patrician "

tickets Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery, Lottery ticket * Parking violation, Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Ticket system, Toll ticket, a slip of paper use ...

" repeated joint terms, suggesting a deliberate political strategy of cooperation. The Second Samnite War was a formative time in the creation of a ruling elite (the ''

nobiles The ''nobiles'' ( ''nobilis'', ) were members of a social rank in the Roman Republic indicating that one was "well known". This may have changed over time: in Cicero's time, one was notable if one descended from a person who had been elected con ...

'') that comprised both patricians and plebeians who had risen to power. As consul, Junius exerted force in central Italy to restore Roman control over the Vestini. In 313 BC, as consul with

Lucius Papirius Cursor Lucius Papirius Cursor (c.365–after 310 BC) was a celebrated politician and general of the early Roman Republic, who was five times consul, three times magister equitum, and twice Roman dictator, dictator. He was the most important Roman command ...

who was in his fifth term, Junius is credited with the capture of Nola, Atina, and Calatia by some sources. The following year, he was appointed either ''dictator'' or ''magister equitum'', and was sent with troops to the Marrucini, with some success. In 311, Junius held command in

Samnium Samnium () is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The language of t ...

. The Augustan historian

says that allied

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

attacked the

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

of Sutrium, an exposed outpost, and Junius fought a battle that ended with nightfall rather than resolution. The outcome of the campaign seems ambiguous: "The sum total of his achievement apparently was to sack some otherwise unknown hamlets, Talium, Cataracta, and Ceraunilia." According to Livy, Junius regained Cluviae and captured Bovianum, a town of the Pentri, but this may be the propaganda of his ''

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 ...

''.

Diodorus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which survive intact, b ...

gives a more laudatory report of Roman actions, while Zonaras gives a less favorable ending. The varying assessments of Roman success may indicate a slim and costly victory. Whatever the scale of his victories, Junius celebrated a triumph which featured ''praeda pecorum'', booty in the form of cattle. During a Samnite ambush, Junius had prayed to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, but made a vow to the goddess Salus, presumably for a narrow escape in battle. Salus was the divine embodiment of health, welfare, safety, and salvation both personal and public. This was also a time of plague, and in 313 Poetelius Libo Visolus had been appointed '' dictator clavi figendi causa'', that is, the dictator appointed to drive a nail, a much-debated ritual intended in this instance to stop the outbreak. Reverence toward Salus's power to grant or withhold her favor as a response to plague may also have occasioned the temple, as Junius put out public contracts for its construction five years after the battle that is supposed to have prompted the vow, when he was censor in 307. As ''dictator'' in 302 he oversaw its dedication. The temple housed paintings by Gaius Fabius, a relative of Fabius Rullianus; the ''cognomen'' Pictor, or "painter" (see Fabius Pictor) is likely to have been acquired by a branch of the Fabii at this time. Denarii minted by Decimus Junius Silanus in 91 BC picture Salus and may be intended to recall the founding of her temple by his ancestor. In their second joint consulship, both Junius Bubulcus and Aemilius Barbula refused to recognize the revision of 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 ...

roll made the previous year by the censors

Appius Claudius Caecus Appius Claudius Caecus ( 312–279 BC) was a statesman and writer from the Roman Republic. He is best known for two major building projects: the Appian Way (Latin: Via Appia), the first major Roman road, and the first Roman aqueduct, aqueduc ...

and Gaius Plautius Venox. Junius was ''magister equitum'' in 310 and possibly again in 309; his office in the latter year may have been ''dictator''. As censor in 307 with Marcus Valerius Maximus, he removed Lucius Annius from the senate on moral grounds. Annius had divorced his wife even though she had been a virgin when they married, and had done so without honoring his social obligations by consulting his friends. Junius was appointed ''dictator'' again in 302 BC. Livy's account of this year is somewhat confused. He makes both Junius and Valerius Maximus ''dictatores'', but military campaigns on at least four fronts may account for the multiplicity of appointments. Junius's war against the Aequi is one of a series from 304 to 300 BC. Junius swiftly put down an insurrection that broke out when Alba was colonized, and the Aequi ceased to exist as a separate people at this time. There is a consul in 292 of the same name, this may be him or an unknown son.Livy 9, 27 4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Junius Bubulcus Brutus, Gaius 4th-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman dictators Gaius, Bubulcus Magistri equitum (Roman Republic) Ancient Roman censors