Lucius Furius Purpureo 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 ...

politician and general, becoming consul in the year 196 BC. Lucius Furius was from the '' gens Furia'' patrician family in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Military tribune

Purpureo was a

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 ...

in 210 BC during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

. After the

Battle of Numistro The Battle of Numistro was fought in 210 BC between Hannibal's army and one of the Roman consular armies led by consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus. It was the fourth time they met in a battle. Previous encounters were located around the walls of ...

against

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

, he was left behind in charge of the wounded with a small number of guards, while the consul

Marcus Claudius Marcellus Marcus Claudius Marcellus (; 270 – 208 BC) was a Roman general and politician during the 3rd century BC. Five times elected as Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic (222, 215, 214, 210, and 208 BC). Marcellus gained the most prestigious a ...

pursued the enemy.

Praetor

He was a

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 200 BC and received

Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul (, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the name given, especially during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, to a region of land inhabited by Celts (Gauls), corresponding to what is now most of northern Italy. Afte ...

as his province. Shortly after he arrived in Cisalpine Gaul with 5,000

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

troops, about 40,000

Insubres The Insubres or Insubri were an ancient Celtic population settled in Insubria, in what is now the Italian region of Lombardy. They were the founders of Mediolanum (Milan). Though completely Gaulish at the time of Roman conquest, they were the re ...

, Cenomani, and

Boii The Boii (Latin language, Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; ) were a Celts, Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul (present-day Northern Italy), Pannonia (present-day Austria and Hungary), present-day Ba ...

, led by the Carthaginian general, Hamilcar, plundered Placentia and besieged

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

. Upon learning of the invasion, Purpureo requested more troops from Rome. 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 ...

responded by sending him a new army of two Roman legions and a similar number of Latin troops. After sending his original 5,000 troops to

Etruria Etruria ( ) was a region of Central Italy delimited by the rivers Arno and Tiber, an area that covered what is now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and north-western Umbria. It was inhabited by the Etruscans, an ancient civilization that f ...

, Purpureo proceeded to raise the siege at Cremona. He gained a brilliant victory. Over 35,000 Gauls were killed or taken prisoner, and Hamilcar and three Gallic chiefs fell in the battle. The senate voted three days of thanksgiving in consequence of the victory, and the honor of a triumph was granted to him. The following year, Purpureo was a deputy of the proconsul Publius Sulpicius Galba during peace talks with

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and their ambassadors. Not much was achieved at this meeting and the Macedonians tried to convince the

Aetolia Aetolia () is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on ...

ns, a Roman ally, to break their alliance and join Macedonia. This event ensured that no peace was concluded and both sides continued to fight.

Consul of 196 BC

In 196 BC, Purpureo was Consul with

. Both assigned to Cisalpine Gaul, they, together and separately, forced the Boii and other native tribes into submission. On their return to Rome, Marcellus celebrated a triumph.Livy, History of Rome 33.37.

Family

Lucius Furius Purpureo was the son of Spurius Furius Purpureo. It is known that Purpureo was a descendant of

Marcus Furius Camillus Marcus Furius Camillus (; possibly – ) was a Roman statesman and politician during the early Roman republic who is most famous for his capture of Veii and defence of Rome from Gallic sack after the Battle of the Allia. Modern scholars are dub ...

and had a son of his own namesake who served as Legatus in Aetolia in 200 BC under Publius Sulpicius Galba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furius Purpureo, Lucius 3rd-century BC Roman generals 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Purpureo, Lucius 2nd-century BC diplomats