Quintus Servilius Caepio (quaestor 103 BC)
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Quintus Servilius Caepio 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 ...
patrician, statesman and soldier. He was the son of
Quintus Servilius Caepio Quintus Servilius Caepio may refer to: * Quintus Servilius Caepio (consul 140 BC) * Quintus Servilius Caepio (consul 106 BC) * Quintus Servilius Caepio (quaestor 103 BC) * Quintus Servilius Caepio (adoptive father of Brutus) * Quintus Servilius ...
who was consul in 106 BCE and who lost his army during the
Battle of Arausio The Battle of Arausio took place on 6 October 105 BC, at a site between the town of Arausio, now Orange, Vaucluse, and the Rhône river, where two Roman armies, commanded by proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus ...
(Caepio the Younger served under his father at Arausio). He was 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 ...
some time in the last 90s BC and fought for Rome during the Social War. He was killed in the second year of the war while fighting the Marsi by
Quintus Poppaedius Silo Quintus Poppaedius Silo (sometimes seen as ''Pompaedius'') (died 88 BC) was a leader of the Italian tribe of the Marsi and one of the leaders of the Italian rebels during the Social War against Rome. Poppaedius was called the 'heart and soul' of t ...
.


Biography


Early life

Caepio was the son of
Quintus Servilius Caepio Quintus Servilius Caepio may refer to: * Quintus Servilius Caepio (consul 140 BC) * Quintus Servilius Caepio (consul 106 BC) * Quintus Servilius Caepio (quaestor 103 BC) * Quintus Servilius Caepio (adoptive father of Brutus) * Quintus Servilius ...
. His mother was likely a daughter of
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (c. 188 BC – 116 BC/115 BC) was a statesman and general of the Roman Republic during the second century BC. He was praetor in 148 BC, consul in 143 BC, the Proconsul of Hispania Citerior in 142 BC an ...
. He had at least two sisters, Servilia the wife of Marcus Livius Drusus is known, and the Servilia who married
Quintus Lutatius Catulus Quintus Lutatius Catulus (149–87 BC) was a Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic in 102 BC. His consular colleague was Gaius Marius. During their consulship the Cimbri and Teutons, Teutones marched south again and Cimbrian War, threatened ...
might be another, but it is also possible that this woman was actually his aunt.


Career

Caepio served as
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 ...
in 103 or possibly 100. Previously his father had been tried before the people by the tribune Gaius Norbanus for his catastrophic loss at the Battle of Arausio; he was convicted and banished. In his quaestorship the younger Caepio used violence to oppose
Lucius Appuleius Saturninus Lucius Appuleius Saturninus (died late 100 BC) was a Roman populist and tribune. He is most notable for introducing a series of legislative reforms, alongside his associate Gaius Servilius Glaucia and with the consent of Gaius Marius, during t ...
, a tribune of the plebs and a political ally of Norbanus, in Saturninus' attempt to pass a bill to sell grain at a deeply discounted price to the Roman people. In his role as he issued coins with the inscription ('for the purchase of grain by order of the senate'), implying senate sponsorship of the grain law. Caepio was later brought to trial around 95 BC on '' maiestas'' charges from actions as quaestor, but – defended by
Lucius Licinius Crassus Lucius Licinius Crassus (140 – September 91 BC) was a Roman orator and statesman who was a Roman consul and Roman censor, censor and who is also one of the main speakers in Cicero's dramatic dialogue on the art of oratory ''De Oratore'', set jus ...
– he was acquitted. In 92 BC, Caepio prosecuted Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, the eminent , for alleged provincial extortion and taking bribes from
Mithridates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (; 135–63 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an effective, ambitious, and r ...
. Scaurus filed a counter-suit against Caepio; eventually, both men were acquitted. Scaurus was apparently driven by the experience of the affair to side with Caepio's former brother-in-law, Livius Drusus, who was to be tribune in 91 BC. Broughton assigns a supposed praetorship to Caepio in (possibly) 91, but Sumner disputes this, saying there's no evidence that he held the office. Caepio became a chief opponent of Marcus Livius Drusus' legislative programme for 91, which included laws aimed at giving full citizenship to the Italians and reform the jury pool for various criminal trials. In this he was aided by the then-consul Lucius Marcius Philippus. Pliny (''NH'' 33.20) said that the dispute between the two started many years earlier because of a golden ring. Caepio, it was rumoured, was even involved in the assassination of Drusus, an event commonly seen by ancient sources as starting the Social War. Early in 90 BC, Caepio initiated a suit with Quintus Varius Severus against Marcus Aemilius Scaurus for a second time but left to serve as legate in the Social War. Regardless, the suit against Scaurus was unsuccessful. During the Social War, Caepio served as a
legate Legate may refer to: People * Bartholomew Legate (1575–1611), English martyr * Julie Anne Legate (born 1972), Canadian linguistics professor * William LeGate (born 1994), American entrepreneur Political and religious offices *Legatus, a hig ...
under the
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 ...
Publius Rutilius Lupus fighting the northern group of rebels. He defeated the
Paeligni The Paeligni or Peligni were an Italic tribe who lived in the Valle Peligna, in what is now Abruzzo, central Italy. History The Paeligni are first mentioned as a member of a confederacy that included the Marsi, Marrucini, and Vestini, with wh ...
, a rebel tribe related to the Marruncini. After the death of Lupus he was made joint-commander of Rome's northern army with
Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbrian War, Cimbric and Jugurthine War, Jugurthine wars, he held the office of Roman consul, consul an unprecedented seven times. Rising from a fami ...
. Marius had expected sole command and he did not get along with Caepio with disastrous results. After having dealt with a raiding legion of Marsi at Varnia, Caepio attempted to give Marius instructions, but Marius ignored them. Caepio was left on his own and was then obliged to move his legions back towards Caeoli. Once they reached the Arno at Sublaqueum they were tricked into leaving a secure position and attacked by the Marsi. Caepio's army was massacred, with Caepio being killed by the Marsi leader,
Quintus Poppaedius Silo Quintus Poppaedius Silo (sometimes seen as ''Pompaedius'') (died 88 BC) was a leader of the Italian tribe of the Marsi and one of the leaders of the Italian rebels during the Social War against Rome. Poppaedius was called the 'heart and soul' of t ...
.


Family

He likely had a son named
Quintus Quintus is a male given name derived from ''Quintus (praenomen), Quintus'', a common Latin language, Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is ...
from an early marriage to an unknown woman. Caepio later married
Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...
, sister of Marcus Livius Drusus, around 100 BC. Caepio and Livia had three children: Servilia, the 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 ...
, mother of
Brutus 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 ...
, and mother-in-law of
Gaius Cassius Longinus Gaius Cassius Longinus (; – 3 October 42 BC) was a Roman senator and general best known as a leading instigator of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC. He was the brother-in-law of Brutus, another leader of the conspir ...
; another daughter Servilia Minor; and a son, Gnaeus Servilius Caepio. Caepio divorced Livia 97 BC after falling out with her brother. Livia subsequently remarried in c. 96 BC to Marcus Porcius Cato: their children were Marcus (the famous Cato the Younger) and Porcia. Both Livia and Porcius Cato died . As a result, all of Livia's children (including those by Caepio) grew up in the household of Livius Drusus, until the latter's assassination in 91 BC.


In fiction

Caepio appears as a major character in '' The First Man in Rome'' and ''
The Grass Crown The Grass Crown () or Blockade Crown (''corona obsidionalis'') was the highest and rarest of all military decorations in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was presented only to a general, commander, or officer whose actions saved a ...
'', the first two books of
Colleen McCullough Colleen Margaretta McCullough (; married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson; 1 June 193729 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being '' The Thorn Birds'' and '' The Ladies of Missalonghi''. Lif ...
's ''
Masters of Rome ''Masters of Rome'' is a series of historical novels by Australian author Colleen McCullough, set in ancient Rome during the last days of the old Roman Republic; it primarily chronicles the lives and careers of Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sul ...
'' series. Plot points include Caepio's efforts to launder the Gold of Tolosa, which his father stole, and his opposition to Drusus's efforts to enfranchise Rome's Italian allies. This fictional Caepio is depicted as being divorced from Livia because of his cruelty towards her, rather than for purely political reasons.


See also

* Servilia gens


References

Sources * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Servilius Caepio, Quintus 90 BC deaths 1st-century BC executions 1st-century BC Romans Ancient Roman generals Roman quaestors Senators of the Roman Republic
Quintus Quintus is a male given name derived from ''Quintus (praenomen), Quintus'', a common Latin language, Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is ...
Year of birth unknown