Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus (consul 201 BC) served as

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 ...

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 ...

in 212 BC,

curule aedile Aedile ( , , 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 enforce public orde ...

and

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 201 BC. His brother Lucius Cornelius Lentulus was also consul in 199 BC. Gnaeus was possibly the son of L. Cornelius L. f. L. n. Lentulus Caudinus, curule aedile in 209 BC, though the presence of the praenomen Gnaeus, along with the absence of the agnomen Caudinus, are opposed to this connection.

Career

He wished for the province of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, that he might conclude the war with

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 ...

; but this well-earned glory was reserved for

Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest military commanders and ...

by 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 ...

. Lentulus had the command of the fleet on the coast of

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. ...

, with orders to pass over to Africa if necessary. Scipio used to say, that but for Lentulus' greediness he should have destroyed Carthage. Cn. Lentulus was proconsul in Hither Spain in 199 BC, and received an ovation for his services. In Book 18 of ''The Histories'', Greek historian

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

mentions a journey undertaken by Gnaeus Lentulus to meet with King Philip so as to encourage an alliance with Rome.

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Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus, Gnaeus 3rd-century BC Roman augurs 3rd-century BC Roman consuls 2nd-century BC Roman augurs Curule aediles Ancient Roman patricians Roman quaestors Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown