Marcus Junius D. f. M. n. Silanus 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 ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and

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 25 BC as the colleague of

Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, the emperor Augustus.

Biography

Silanus was a descendant of the noble Roman house of the

Junii Silani The gens Junia or Iunia was one of the most celebrated families of ancient Rome. The gens may originally have been patrician, and was already prominent in the last days of the Roman monarchy. Lucius Junius Brutus was the nephew of Lucius Tar ...

. He was probably the son of Decimus Junius Silanus, consul in 62 BC, (thus the grandson of Marcus Junius Silanus, consul in 109 BC.) and Servilia, mistress 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 ...

, (thus the half brother of

Brutus the Younger Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

, full brother of Junia Prima, Junia Secunda and

Junia Tertia Junia Tertia, also called Tertulla, (c. 75 BC – 22 AD) was the third daughter of Servilia and her second husband Decimus Junius Silanus, and later the wife of Gaius Cassius Longinus. Biography Early life Through her mother, she was the younger ...

and the brother-in-law of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the triumvir, through Secunda. Silanus was possibly the same man who served as one of

legates A legate (Latin: , ) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman army, equivalent to a high-ranking general officer of modern times. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer in comman ...

in 53 BC. He supported his brother-in-law Lepidus in 44 BC after Caesar's murder, accompanying Lepidus over the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. The following year, Lepidus sent him with a detachment of troops to join

Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the ...

Mutina Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbi ...

, but refused to accept responsibility for the help which Silanus gave. After falling out of favor with the triumvirs, in 39 he fled to

Sextus Pompeius Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the la ...

. He was able to return to Antonius's service under the terms of the

Pact of Misenum The Pact of Misenum was a treaty to end the naval blockade of the Italian Peninsula during the war between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey. Signed in 39 BC, the triumvirs allowed Sextus Pompeius to retain his control of Sicily and S ...

. A Silanus later served under Antonius in

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

and

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 ...

from 34 to 32, with the title of ''

Quaestor A quaestor ( , ; ; "investigator") was a public official in ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officia ...

pro consule'' or perhaps ''

Proquaestor In ancient Rome, a promagistrate () was a person who was granted the power via '' prorogation'' to act in place of an ordinary magistrate in the field. This was normally ''pro consule'' or ''pro praetore'', that is, in place of a consul or praet ...

''. Although the inscription in Achaea names a Silanus whose parents were named Marcus and Sempronia. Around this time he was also elected as an

Augur An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined s ...

. Before the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between Octavian's maritime fleet, led by Marcus Agrippa, and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, near the former R ...

, Silanus went over to Octavianus. The future emperor raised him to the Patriciate in 30 BC, and they held the consulship together in 25. Marcus may have married a woman named Manlia from the Manlii Torquati, based on his descendants names. Silanus' grandson,

Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus was a Roman senator. He was consul in AD 19, with Lucius Norbanus Balbus as his colleague. Biography Silanus was a descendant of the noble Roman house of the Junii Silani. His grandfather was Marcus Junius Silanu ...

, was consul in AD 19, and married a great-granddaughter of Augustus.''

Oxford Classical Dictionary The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...

'', 2nd Ed. (1970).

Notes

References

Sources

* T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II'' (1952). * Syme, Ronald, ''The Roman Revolution'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939. * Anthon, Charles & Smith, William, ''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography'' (1860). {{DEFAULTSORT:Junius Silanus, Marcus consul 729 AUC 1st-century BC Roman augurs 1st-century BC Roman consuls Children of Servilia (mother of Brutus) Family of Marcus Junius Brutus Marcus consul 729 AUC People of the War of Mutina People of the War of Actium

Biography

See also

Notes

References

Sources