Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus ( 461–446 BC) was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC,

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 461 BC and '' decemvir'' in 451 BC.

Family

He was the son of Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus (consul in 490 BC), and father of Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus ( military tribune with consular power in 402 BC and 398 BC).

Biography

Consulship

In 461 BC, he was consul with Publius Volumnius Amintinus Gallus. Their terms occurred during a period of political tensions between the

tribunes of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune () was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of the Roman Senate ...

, who demanded that the rights of the consuls be written down (drafted in the ''lex Terentilia'') and the conservative

patricians The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

who opposed limitations to the consular power. The consuls tried to raise troops against the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early history of ancient Rome. After a long stru ...

and the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

, traditional enemies of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The tribunes used their veto to block the levy. Four of the tribunes called the people to vote on their legal draft (the ''lex Terentilia''). The consuls refused to preside over the ballot and young patricians provoked trouble. The political process was paralysed most of the year as a result. It is in this context that Aulus Verginius, one of the plebeian tribunes, brought the young Caeso Quinctius to trial on a capital charge of obstructing the

based primarily on the testimony of Marcus Volscius Fictor.

''Decemvirate''

In 454 BC, the patricians and the tribunes of the plebs came to a compromise and the Senate finally approved sending a delegation of three senators, among them Servius Sulpicius, to Athens and

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

in order to study Greek law.

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 ...

refers to Publius Sulpicius being a member of the delegation. However, given that the decemvirs in the First ''Decemvirate'' appear to be former consuls, it seems probable Servius Sulpicius was a member of the delegation as well. The three Roman ambassadors returned in 452 BC and the report they gave to the Senate led to the creation of an extraordinary office, the ''decemviri consulari imperio legibus scribonis'' (decemviri writing the law with consular power). In 451 BC, Servius Sulpicius was in office while on the first commission of the decemvirs and participated in drafting the first ten of the

twelve tables The Laws of the Twelve Tables () was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornbl ...

End of career

Fall of the decemvirs

In 449 BC, the Second ''Decemvirate'' had stayed in power illegally, contrary to the will of the patricians and the plebeians. The armies sent to combat the Aequi and the

Sabines The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

, commanded by eight of the ten decemvirs, revolted, returning to Rome and assembling on

Monte Sacro __NOTOC__ The Mons Sacer, Sacer Mons, or Sacred Mount is a hill in Rome, famed as the location of the First secessio plebis, first secession of the plebs, in 494 BC.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'', vol. II, p. 871 ("Sacer Mons"). Geog ...

, They demanded that the decemvirs step down. The consuls Servius Sulpicius, Spurius Tarpeius, and Gaius Julius had envoys negotiate with the plebs who had left the city. Finally, the decemvirs left their positions, eight went into exile while two were prosecuted in court, but took their own lives during the process.

Legate

In 446 BC, Servius Sulpicius would have been legate under the orders of the consuls

Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus (513 BCafter 423 BC) was a Roman statesman and general who served as consul six times. Titus Quinctius was a member of the gens Quinctia, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome. He was the son of L ...

and Agrippa Furius Fusus during the campaign conducted against the

, ''Ab urbe condita'', III. 70.2-5

References

Bibliography

Ancient bibliography

, ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

'' *

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

,
Universal History
'

on the site Philippe Remacle *

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus (, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style was ''atticistic'' – imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime. ...

,
Roman Antiquities
'

an

at

LacusCurtius LacusCurtius is the ancient Graeco-Roman part of a large history website, hosted as of March 2025 on a server at the University of Chicago. Starting in 1995, as of January 2004 it gave "access to more than 594 photos, 559 drawings and engravings, ...

Modern bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus, Servius 5th-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman decemvirs Camerinus Cornutus, Servius