Lucius Postumius Albinus (c. 272 BC216 BC) was a Roman politician and general of the 3rd century BC who was elected

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 ...

three times. Most of our knowledge about his career and his demise comes from

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

's ''Ab Urbe Condita''.

Biography

Albinus was a member of the patrician '' gens Postumia'', and the son of Aulus Postumius Albinus, who was a consul in 242 BC. He was elected as a consul for the first time in 234 BC, during which he campaigned against the

Ligures The Ligures or Ligurians were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day Northern Italy, north-western Italy, is named. Because of the strong Celts, Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in anti ...

. It has been conjectured that he was then elected

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 ...

for the first time in the following year (233 BC). Albinus was then elected as a consul for a second time in 229 BC, during which he and his consular colleague Gnaeus Fulvius Centumalus were engaged in a war against the Illyrian queen

Teuta Teuta ( Illyrian: ''*Teutana'', 'mistress of the people, queen'; ; ) was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC. Following the death of her spouse Agron in 231 BC, she assumed ...

. Albinus commanded the land forces, and gained a number of significant victories during the year. He captured Apollonia and then went to the relief of Epidamnos and Issa, forcing the Illyrians to abandon both sieges. He also managed to subdue a number of local Illyrian tribes before returning to Epidamnos. Albinus was granted a pro-consular extension to his command in 228 BC, after his term ended, in order to conclude the peace treaty with the

Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...

. Once it had been concluded, he sent legates to the Aetolian and

Achaean League The Achaean League () was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era confederation of polis, Greek city-states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea (ancient region), Achaea in the northwestern Pelopon ...

s, where they explained the reasons for the war and the Roman invasion, as well as the terms of the treaty with Queen Teuta. On his return to Rome, unlike his comrade, he was not granted a triumph to celebrate his victory. Albinus disappears from the historical record during the next decade, but resurfaced in 216 BC, with 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 ...

in full swing. The Romans, finding themselves short of experienced military commanders, were forced to recall men such as Albinus to serve during this period of crisis. Consequently, Albinus, who was not even in Rome for the election, was elected praetor for the second time, and given command of the province of

Gallia Cisalpina 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 ...

. He led his army of two legions plus reinforcements against the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

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 ...

, who had risen in revolt and declared for

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 ...

The death of the Roman General Postumius at the hands of the Boii

During his term as a praetor, he was elected in absentia (and whilst on campaign) as a

for the year 215. However, he did not live to officially enter the consulship. While travelling through the Litana forest in

, Albinus was ambushed by a force of

warriors, who annihilated most of his army at the Battle of Silva Litana. Albinus and the remainder of his legions tried to escape over a nearby bridge, but they were slaughtered by a Boii detachment that guarded the crossing. The consul-elect was decapitated, and his

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

was then clad in

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and made into a sacrificial bowl. As

tells us: When news of Albinus’ death reached

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, ...

, it caused such an alarm that the shops were closed and hardly anyone ventured out of their homes. 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 ...

ordered the

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 ...

s to go around the city and order the citizens to re-open their shops and stop the unofficial public mourning.Livy, 23:25 Albinus’ replacement as consul was

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 ...

Sources

Ancient

''History of Rome''
Rev. Canon Roberts (translator), Ernest Rhys (Ed.); (1905) London: J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. *

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 ...

''Histories''
Evelyn S. Shuckburgh (translator); London, New York. Macmillan (1889); Reprint Bloomington (1962).

Modern

* Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol I (1951) * Smith, William, ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', Vol I (1867).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Postumius Albinus, Lucius 520 270s BC births 215 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Ancient Romans killed in action Deaths by decapitation Elected officials who died without taking their seats Lucius 520 Roman commanders of the Second Punic War Year of birth uncertain

Biography

See also

Sources

Ancient

Modern

Notes