Lucius Cassius Longinus (c. 106 – after 63 BC) was a Roman politician and a participant in the conspiracy of Catilina. He is probably identical with the

moneyer A moneyer is a private individual who is officially permitted to mint money. Usually the rights to coin money are bestowed as a concession by a state or government. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They bec ...

Lucius Cassius, son of Quintus, who minted coins in 78 BC. He was probably already a senator in 74 BC, when he is found as a juror in the trial of Oppianicus. In 70 BC, he was a juror in the trial of

Gaius Verres Gaius Verres ( 114 – 43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence advo ...

, and was elected

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 ...

for the following year. As

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 ...

in 66 BC, Longinus prevented the trial of an unruly tribune of the previous year, Gaius Cornelius, from taking place. Longinus unsuccessfully ran for the consulship of 63 BC, the same year as

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

. He then joined the conspiracy of Lucius Sergius Catilina, another failed candidate, to overthrow the government. Longinus conducted secret negotiations with the

Allobroges The Allobroges (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; ) were a Gauls, Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman period. The Allob ...

, and was entrusted with setting fire to the city on the outbreak of the conspiracy. However, he seems to have suspected that the Allobroges were informants, and fled the city before the arrest and execution of his fellow conspirators. After the conspiracy was exposed, he was ordered arrested and, if caught, executed.Sallust, ''The War Against Catilina'', 51.4 His fate, however, is unknown, as there is no mention of him after this point. It is possible that he died with Catilina at Pistoria.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassius Longinus, Lucius 100s BC births 1st-century BC deaths 1st-century BC Romans Lucius Catilinarians Moneyers of ancient Rome Roman Republican praetors Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain