Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus "Augur" (c. 54 BC – 25 AD) was a politician and general of the early

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

during the reign of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, who became

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 14 BC as the colleague of

Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi (flourished 1st century AD) was a Roman nobleman of consular rank who lived during the Roman Empire. Frugi's mother was an unnamed Roman woman, while his father was consul and governor Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi. ...

. Enormously wealthy, he reputedly was forced by emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

to commit suicide in 25 AD.

Life and career

A member of the patrician '' gens Cornelia'', the Lentuli were among the most haughty of the old Patrician families, with a long distinguished lineage that stretched back to the Sack of Rome in 387 BC. Lentulus Augur was an impoverished member of the family, and was only able to qualify for the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

as a result of a generous donation from the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. This in effect meant that he became a

client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuable ...

of the emperor. He was used by Augustus to demonstrate the support of the ancient great houses for the system of the

Principate The Principate was the form of imperial government of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the Dominate. The principate was ch ...

, as well as his dedication to reviving the name and status of the old Roman nobility. He might be identical with Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus, who was a

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 ...

in 29 BC; if so, his children were

Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio Publius Cornelius Lentulus Scipio (c. 15 BC52 AD) was a Roman senator active during the Principate. He was suffect consul in the '' nundinium'' of July-December AD 24, as the colleague of Gaius Calpurnius Aviola. His name combines the two most f ...

Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis (died AD 23) was a Roman statesman, who flourished during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He was ''flamen dialis'', and consul ''suffectus'' in AD 10. Descent Descended from the patrician Cornelia ge ...

and Cosconia Gallita. With the emperor's support, he was awarded the consulship in 14 BC. Lentulus was appointed as the

Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, 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 ...

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, where he served from 2 to 1 BC. Lentulus was also given the opportunity to pursue a military career, and he was appointed imperial legate of Illyricum sometime before 4 AD. It is believed that he was also the imperial legate in

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

before 6 AD, where he fought across the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, winning an honorary triumph for his victories over the

Getae The Getae or Getai ( or , also Getans) were a large nation who inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania, throughout much of Classical Antiquity. The main source of informa ...

. In 14 AD he was serving along the Danube under

Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Gaius Livius Drusus (jurist), son of the Roman consul of 147 BC * Marcus Livius Drusus (consul) (155–108 BC), opponent of populist reformer Gaius Gracchus * Marcus Livius Drusus (reformer) (died 91 BC), whose assassinatio ...

as his ''

Comes ''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). Th ...

''. The new emperor,

, had appointed him in the hope he would act as an advisor to Drusus. His presence was resented by the

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

n legions, who mutinied after the death of Augustus. They attacked him and he was only rescued through the intervention of Drusus. He returned to Rome in 16 AD. When

Marcus Scribonius Libo Drusus Marcus Scribonius Libo Drusus (died 13 September 16) was a Roman accused of treason against the emperor Tiberius. Biography Early life He was likely the son or paternal grandson of Marcus Livius Drusus Libo (adopted brother of empress Livia). It ...

killed himself (after being accused of treason), he recommended in the Senate that members of the

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 ...

Scribonius were never again to bear the name Drusus. Then in 22 AD, while standing in for the absent pontifex maximus, he objected to the appointment of the incumbent

flamen dialis In ancient Roman religion, the was the high priest of Jupiter. The term ''Dialis'' is related to ''Diespiter'', an Old Latin form of the name ''Jupiter''. There were 15 '' flamines'', of whom three were ''flamines maiores'', serving the thr ...

, Servius Cornelius Lentulus Maluginensis (his possible son) as governor of

. That same year he proposed that the property inherited by Gaius Junius Silanus through his mother would not be confiscated as a result of Silanus’ conviction of extortion, to which Tiberius agreed. In 24 AD, he was accused of conspiring to murder Tiberius along with Numerius Vibius Serenus, Marcus Caecilius Cornutus and

Lucius Seius Tubero Lucius Seius Tubero was a Roman senator, who flourished under the reign of Tiberius. He was suffect consul for February through July of the year 18, succeeding the emperor Tiberius, and as the colleague first of Germanicus, then of Livineius Reg ...

. The emperor exonerated him of all charges. Tiberius declared that, “I am not worthy to live if Lentulus hates me as well.” Lentulus died in 25 AD, leaving his enormous fortune to Tiberius.

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

implied that this was a voluntary act;

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

, however, states that he committed suicide and was forced to leave his fortune to Tiberius. A wealthy man (estimated at 400 million

Sesterces The ''sestertius'' (: ''sestertii'') or sesterce (: sesterces) was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin. The name ''sester ...

according to Seneca), his

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

had reduced him to poverty before he was able to reclaim his wealth through the generosity of Augustus. He was given large coastal estates in

Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia, was t ...

by Augustus, who was an absentee landholder. After his death, his lands went mostly to Tiberius, but some of his Spanish estates were obtained by the Vibii Serenii. Seneca described Lentulus as:

A barren mind, and a spirit no less feeble. He was the greatest of misers, but freer with coins than talk, so dire was his poverty of speech. He owed all his advancement to Augustus.

had a much higher opinion of him, describing him as:

A man who bore his poverty with fortitude, and when he innocently acquired great wealth, he used it with great moderation.Tacitus, IV:44

References

Bibliography

Ancient

Annals
*

Life of Tiberius

Modern

* * * Keay, S. J. ''Roman Spain'' University of California Press (1988) * Seneca, ''Moral and Political Essays'', Trans. John Madison Cooper, Cambridge University Press (1995) * Smith, William, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Vol II (1867). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Lentulus Augur, Gnaeus 50s BC births 25 deaths 1st-century BC Roman consuls 1st-century Romans Imperial Roman consuls Roman governors of Asia Ancient Roman generals Augurs of the Roman Empire Augur, Gnaeus Ancient Roman politicians who died by suicide Suicides in Ancient Rome Generals of Augustus Generals of Tiberius Ancient Roman patricians Year of birth uncertain