Lucius Septimius 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 ...

soldier and mercenary who is principally remembered as one of the assassins of the triumvir

Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

. At the time of the assassination in 48 BC, Septimius was serving the Ptolemies of Egypt as a mercenary. He was dispatched with orders to murder Pompey by

Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator (, ''Ptolemaĩos''; c. 62 BC – 13 January 47 BC) was Pharaoh of Egypt from 51 to 47 BC, and one of the last members of the Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BC). He was the son of Ptolemy XII and the brother of and co ...

's advisors who wanted to win the favour of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

for their king.

Life

Septimius had served under Pompey in his eastern campaign in the 60s BC, and he was in the army with which

Aulus Gabinius Aulus Gabinius ( – 48 or 47 BC) was a politician and general of the Roman Republic. He had an important career, culminating with a consulship in 58 BC, mainly thanks to the patronage of Pompey. His name is mostly associated with the '' le ...

restored Cleopatra's father

Ptolemy XII Auletes Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus ( – 51 BC) was a king of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt who ruled from 80 to 58 BC and then again from 55 BC until his death in 51 BC. He was commonly known as Auletes (, "the Flautist"), referring to ...

to the throne in 55 BC. He had stayed in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

as part of a mercenary garrison, known as the

Gabiniani The (in English: Gabinians) were 2000 Roman legionaries and 500 cavalrymen stationed in Egypt by the Roman general Aulus Gabinius after he had reinstated the Pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes on the Egyptian throne in 55 BC. The soldiers were left ...

, to support the king.Beryl Rawson, ''The Politics of Friendship: Pompey and Cicero'' Volume: 6. Sydney University Press. 1978, p.177 In ''

Commentarii de Bello Civili '' Commentarii de Bello Civili'' (''Commentaries on the Civil War''), or ''Bellum Civile'', is an account written by Julius Caesar of his war against Gnaeus Pompeius and the Roman Senate. It consists of three books covering the events of 49– ...

'', Caesar refers to him as a "military tribune". Septimius was a leading figure among the Gabiniani. When Pompey fled to Egypt in 48 BC following his defeat by

at the

Battle of Pharsalus The Battle of Pharsalus was the decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War fought on 9 August 48 BC near Pharsalus in Central Greece. Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the Roman Republic under the command of Pompey. ...

, Pompey hoped to gain their support along with that of the new Egyptian king

, having been friends with Egypt's prior king, Ptolemy XII Auletes; however the advisers of the child successor believed they could win Caesar's favor by killing his foe. The Egyptian general

Achillas Achillas (; died 47 BC) was one of the guardians of the Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, and commander of the king's troops, when Pompey fled to Egypt in September 48 BC. He was called by Julius Caesar a man of extraordinary daring, ...

met Pompey at the shore in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

accompanied by Septimius and a centurion named Salvius. They greeted him under a pretense of friendship and killed him upon landing. According to both

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

and Caesar's account, Pompey was reassured by the presence of Septimius, whom he knew from earlier campaigns. But it was Septimius who led the attack by stabbing Pompey in the back, then Salvius and Achillas joined in. Septimius then beheaded the corpse and removed Pompey's signet ring. The killing did not placate Caesar and in the ensuing war, the Gabiniani sided with Cleopatra's brother Ptolemy XIII, against Caesar and Cleopatra. The fate of Septimius is not recorded.

In literature

Later literary accounts often attributed Pompey's murder solely to Septimius, or place the principal guilt on him. This is the case in the poem ''

Pharsalia ''De Bello Civili'' (; ''On the Civil War''), more commonly referred to as the ''Pharsalia'' (, neuter plural), is a Latin literature, Roman Epic poetry, epic poem written by the poet Lucan, detailing the Caesar's civil war, civil war between Ju ...

'' by the Roman poet

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November AD 39 – 30 April AD 65), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba, Hispania Baetica (present-day Córdoba, Spain). He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imper ...

, in which the fact that Septimius, a Roman, was doing the bidding of a foreign king is depicted as especially shameful. Lucan portrays Septimius as the archetype of a traitor: "With what reputation will posterity send Septimius into the centuries? What name will this wickedness have from those who call what Brutus did a crime?". In the Massinger and Fletcher play '' The False One'', Septimius is the central character, the "false one" of the title. He also appears in

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage ...

's ''

La Mort de Pompée ''The Death of Pompey'' (''La Mort de Pompée'') is a tragedy by the French playwright Pierre Corneille on the death of Pompey the Great. It was first performed in 1642, with Julius Caesar played by Molière. Like many of Corneille's plays, it ...

'' (1643).Eugene M. Waith, "The Death of Pompey: English Style, French Style," in: ''Shakespeare and Dramatic Tradition,'' William R. Elton and William B. Long, eds., Newark, DE, University of Delaware Press, 1989; pp. 276–85. In 1910,

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer. He was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967, during which time he lived at Burcot, Oxfordshire, near Abingdon ...

treated Pompey and Septimius in his play '' The Tragedy of Pompey the Great''. Septimius also appears in George Shaw's play '' Caesar and Cleopatra''. In the play, Caesar forgives him.

In popular culture

In the video game ''

Assassin%27s Creed Origins ''Assassin's Creed Origins'' is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the tenth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series and the successor to ''Assassin's Creed Syndicate'' (20 ...

'', one of the main antagonists, referred to either as Lucius Septimius or as "The Jackal", is based on him. This fictional version of Septimius is the second-in-command of the Order of the Ancients, a precursor organization to the

Templar Order The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the most important military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded in 11 ...

. Additionally, his story is greatly expanded from the historical record, being pardoned by Caesar and serving him until his assassination on the

Ides of March The Ides of March (; , Medieval Latin: ) is the day on the Roman calendar marked as the , roughly the midpoint of a month, of Martius, corresponding to 15 March on the Gregorian calendar. It was marked by several major religious observances. ...

, shortly before Caesar's own assassination. In the television drama series ''Rome'', he is portrayed by David Kennedy. Caesar orders his execution.

Notes

References

* Maspero, Gaston, et al.
History of Egypt, Chaldea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria
'. Translated by M. L McClure and Herbert McClure. The Grolier Society, 1904. * Plutarch, ''Life of Pompey''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Septimius, Lucius 1st-century BC Romans Ancient Roman soldiers

Lucius Lucius is a masculine given name derived from Lucius (Latin ; ), abbreviated L., one of the small group of common Latin forenames () found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius probably derives from Latin word ( gen. ), meaning "light" (<

1st-century BC births 1st-century BC deaths

Life

In literature

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References