Lucius Julius Libo ( 267–266 BC) was a Roman senator and military commander. He was
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 267 BC, together with
Marcus Atilius Regulus
Marcus Atilius Regulus () was a Roman statesman and general who was a consul of the Roman Republic in 267 BC and 256 BC. Much of his career was spent fighting the Carthaginians during the first Punic War. In 256 BC, he and Lucius ...
. During their term of office, the two men carried on a successful war against the
Sallentini
The Messapians were an Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia respectively. All three tribes spoke the Messapian language, ...
, a
Messapian people of
Apulia
Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...
, and also conquered the city of
Brundisium
Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic positio ...
. In recognition of their victory, Libo and Regulus were granted a
triumph, which they celebrated on 23 January 266.
Although the patrician
Julii
The gens Julia was one of the most prominent patrician families of ancient Rome. From the early decades of the Republic, members of this gens served in the highest offices of the Roman state, beginning with Gaius Julius Iulus, consul in 489  ...
had been a prominent family of the early
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 ...
, Libo is the only member of the clan to appear in history since the
dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...
ship of
Gaius Julius in 352 BC. For modern scholars, Libo probably represents a genealogical link between the Julii of the early Republic and the
Julii Caesares
The Julii Caesares were the most illustrious family of the patrician ''gens Julia''. The family first appears in history during the Second Punic War, when Sextus Julius Caesar was praetor in Sicily. His son, Sextus Julius Caesar, obtained ...
, who flourished from the time of 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 ...
to early
Imperial times. Sumner suggested that Libo, whose father and grandfather were both also named Lucius, was a descendant of
Lucius Julius Iullus,
consular tribune
A consular tribune was putatively a type of magistrate in the early Roman Republic. According to Roman tradition, colleges of consular tribunes held office throughout the fifth and fourth centuries BC during the so-called "Conflict of the Or ...
in 388 and 379 BC, while Badian also adduced other known relatives of Iullus as possibilities. It has also been conjectured that Lucius Julius, father of
Sextus Julius Caesar,
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 208 BC, was the son of Libo.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Libo, Lucius
3rd-century BC Roman consuls
3rd-century BC Roman generals
Libo, Lucius
Ancient Roman patricians
Ancient Roman triumphators