Quintus Fulvius Nobilior was a

Roman consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

who obtained the consulship in 153 BC. His father Marcus Fulvius Nobilior and his brother

Marcus Fulvius Nobilior (consul 159 BC) Marcus Fulvius Nobilior was a Roman politician. He is not to be confused with his father, who was also called Marcus Fulvius Nobilior and who also served as consul. He was tribune of the plebs 171 BC,Livy, "Ab Urbe Condita", book xlii. 32 curu ...

were also consuls. Nobilior and his father were

patrons Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of the writer Quintus Ennius.

Career

In 153 BC, Quintus Fulvius Nobilior was in charge of a 30.000 strong army to campaign in Spain, which was largely unsuccessful. The Roman army was initially deployed against the ''

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

'' of Segeda, whose Celtiberian inhabitants, the

Belli The Belli, also designated Beli or Belaiscos, were an ancient pre-Roman CelticCremin, ''The Celts in Europe'' (1992), p. 57. Celtiberian people who lived in the modern Spanish province of Zaragoza from the 3rd Century BC. Origins Apparently ...

, had been expanding its walls and attacking other nearby tribes. Segeda was destroyed, but the Belli assembled an army under chieftain Carus, which ambushed the Roman army in a move compared to the

Battle of Lake Trasimene The Battle of Lake Trasimene was fought when a Carthaginian force under Hannibal ambushed a Roman army commanded by Gaius Flaminius on 21 June 217 BC, during the Second Punic War. The battle took place on the north shore of Lake Tra ...

, inflicting heavy losses. Moving west to the meseta, Nobilior laid siege to

Numantia Numantia () is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray ( Soria), Spain. Numantia is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars. In 153 BC, Num ...

, an

whose inhabitants were to give Rome trouble for years and had sheltered the Belli when they fled their city. The Roman army faced difficult conditions in the winter and had to withdraw. Nobilior was replaced as consul in 152 BC by

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 ...

. He was censor with Appius Claudius Pulcher, probably in 136 BC. The Roman camp at Renieblas in Spain may have been Q. Fulvius Nobilior's winter quarters.Lawrence Keppie, ''The Making of the Roman Army: From Republic to Empire'', p. 46.

Cultural impact

Nobilior was designated consul in 154 BC, however his appointment could not come into effect until 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. ...

, the day for settling debts that marked the end of the calendar year. To overcome this obstacle, and recognizing the need for immediate action, the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

decreed January 1 as the new beginning to the civil year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulvius Nobilior, Quintus 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Nobilior, Quintus Ancient Roman censors