Marcus Valerius Corvus (c. 370–270 BC), also sometimes known as Corvinus, was a military commander and politician who served in the early-to-middle period of the

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 ...

. During his career he 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 ...

six times, beginning at the age of twenty-three. He was appointed dictator twice and led the armies of the Republic in the First Samnite War. He occupied the curule chair twenty-one times throughout his career. According to legend, he lived to the age of one hundred.

Early career

A member of the patrician Valeria, Valerius first came to prominence in 349 BC when he served as 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 ...

under the consul Lucius Furius Camillus, who was on campaign against the

Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...

of northern Italy. According to tradition, prior to one battle a huge Gallic warrior challenged any Roman to single combat. Valerius, who asked for and gained the consul's permission, accepted. As the two approached each other, a raven settled on Valerius's helmet and distracted the enemy by flying at his face, allowing Valerius to kill his enemy. The two armies then fought, resulting in a rout of the Gallic forces and a victory for the Romans. As a reward for his courage, Valerius received a gift of ten oxen and a golden crown, as well as the

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; : ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' had been initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, and so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between sim ...

(the

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 ...

word for "raven"). Regardless of the story's veracity, after this victory Corvus' popularity soared. He was elected

''in absentia'' in 348 BC at the unusually young age of 22. During his tenure, a treaty was made between Rome and

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

. In the subsequent year Corvus was likely elected to the office of

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 ...

, followed by his second consulship in 346 BC. On campaign he defeated the Antiates and the Volsci, sacking and destroying the town of Satricum apart from the temple of Mater Matuta. For these victories, 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 ...

awarded Corvus his first triumph.

First and Second Samnite Wars

Corvus served as curule aedile in 345 BC before his military abilities saw his election to the consulship for the third time in 343 BC. That year saw the outbreak of the First Samnite War, in which Corvus won victories at the Battle of Mount Gaurus and the Battle of Suessula. After the latter victory, Corvus had some 40,000 shields and 170 enemy standards piled before him on the battlefield. Corvus then returned to Rome to celebrate his second triumph. He then returned to the southern war front in wintertime to protect

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

from Samnite incursions. The year 342 BC was one of crisis for the Roman state, with the Roman legions stationed around Capua, as well as the surrounding Campanian towns, rebelling and marching on Rome. In response, Corvus was appointed dictator to deal with the mutineers. Meeting them at the head of an army some eight miles outside of Rome, he negotiated instead of fighting a battle. Using his past association with the army to gain their trust, he reached an agreement. Corvus pushed through laws (the ) which granted the mutinous soldiers immunity from prosecution, prevented the removal of a soldier's name from the roll of service without his consent, and prohibited any military tribune being demoted to the rank of centurion. He however refused to agree to the lowering of the rate of pay for the cavalrymen, and to the immediate execution of the

decemviri The decemviri or decemvirs (Latin for "ten men") refer to official ten-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two decemvirates, formally the decemvirate with consular power for writing laws () w ...

. It was also alleged that, during the troubles that brought about the passage of the , Corvus suggested that the Senate agree to the plebeian demands for the abolition of all debts; this was rejected out of hand. Historians such as Gary Forsythe and S. P. Oakley consider the alleged events of the mutiny to be later literary inventions, although the laws passed in that year are accurate. Corvus was elected consul for a fourth time in 335 BC, once again in response to an escalating military situation in Italy. The Sidicini had formed an alliance with the Ausones of Cales, and the Senate intended to send someone with a proven military record. In a break with tradition, the consuls did not cast lots for their provinces; the Senate instead assigned the area around Cales directly to Corvus. He successfully besieged and stormed the town; after its capture, the Romans established a

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

of 2,500 men. For this victory, Corvus was granted a third triumph, and the honor of carrying the

''Calenus''. In 332 BC, Corvus was appointed as interrex, a function he again fulfilled in 320 BC. He may also have served as legate under the dictator

Lucius Papirius Cursor Lucius Papirius Cursor (c.365–after 310 BC) was a celebrated politician and general of the early Roman Republic, who was five times consul, three times magister equitum, and twice Roman dictator, dictator. He was the most important Roman command ...

in 325 BC during the

Second Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanians, Lucania ...

. In 313 BC he was appointed as one of the , who were given the authority to establish a Latin colony at Saticula. In 312 BC he or his son served as consul with Publius Decius Mus as his colleague. Then in 310 BC he was again named a legate under Lucius Papirius Cursor, and fought in a major battle at Longulae against the Samnites. In 308 BC he was elected praetor for the fourth time as a reward for his services at Longulae.The dates for Corvus’ second and third praetorships remain unknown. Most likely his second praetorship occurred after 345 BC, while his third occurred before 308 BC.

Later career

Corvus was appointed dictator for the second time in 302 BC, in response to the revolt of the Marsi at Arretium and Carseoli. Corvus not only defeated the Marsi in battle, but also took the fortified towns of Milionia, Plestina and Fresilia. The Marsi sued for peace, and for his victories over them Corvus was awarded his fourth triumph. He was again appointed dictator in 301 BC, this time to engage in operations against the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

. While Corvus was in Rome taking the auspices, his (probably Marcus Aemilius Paullus) was ambushed by the enemy and forced to retreat to his camp, losing a portion of his army. Corvus, quickly coming to his rescue, engaged and defeated the Etruscans in battle, earning an additional triumph.The accounts of the events of the years 302–301 are contradictory and many of the details are considered very dubious. It is possible that Corvus was only Dictator for one year, and that his battles against the Etruscans a later literary invention. See Oakley, pp. 43–47 300 BC saw Corvus elected consul for the fifth time. During his year in office he defeated some rebel Aequians and was involved in the passage of two laws. The first was the Lex Ogulnia, which resulted in the opening of the College of Pontifices and the College of Augurs to the

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

s. The second, which he legislated himself, was the expansion of the , or right of appeal to the people, which now made illegal the use of severe force (specifically killing or lashing by the higher magistrates) within the city of Rome. Then in the following year (299 BC), after the Senate considered appointing him dictator for the fourth time, Corvus was elected suffect consul after the death of Titus Manlius Torquatus, who was in command of the war with the Etruscans. With Corvus' arrival, the Etruscans refused to give battle, but remained within their fortified towns. Although Corvus set entire villages on fire to draw them out, the Etruscans refused to engage him. After his sixth consulship Corvus retired from public life. He died at the age of 100, around the year 270 BC.

Character and reputation

A man with considerable military talents, Corvus also possessed a kind and amicable nature. Very popular with the soldiers he led into battle and with whom he shared camps, he reportedly competed with them in the athletic games which they played during their leisure time. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of reform, siding with the plebeians during the ongoing

Conflict of the Orders The Conflict of the Orders or the Struggle of the Orders was a political struggle between the plebeians (commoners) and patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 500 BC to 287 BC in which the plebeians sought political ...

. He held that the changing needs of an expanding state required a readjustment of the opportunities provided to plebeians, for the good of Rome. To later Roman writers, he served as a memorable example of the favors bestowed by

Fortuna Fortuna (, equivalent to the Greek mythology, Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Religion in ancient Rome, Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular thr ...

. A statue of Corvus stood in the Forum of Augustus alongside the statues of other Roman heroes. Nevertheless, annalist Valerius Antias may have exaggerated his list of accomplishments.Smith, p. 862; Oakley, p. 46

Footnotes

Sources

Ancient

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 ...

, ''The History of Rome''

Modern

* Oakley, S. P., ''A Commentary on Livy, Books 6–10'' Vol. IV (2007) * Forsythe, Gary, ''A Critical History of Early Rome from Prehistory to the First Punic War'' (2005) * Broughton, T. Robert S., ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', Vol I (1951) * Smith, William, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Vol I (1867) * Arnold, Thomas, ''History of Rome'', Vol. II (1840)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius Corvus, Marcus 370s BC births 270s BC deaths 4th-century BC Roman consuls 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Men centenarians Ancient Roman centenarians Ancient Roman dictators Ancient Roman generals Ancient Roman patricians Corvus, Marcus Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain