Tiberius Coruncanius (died 241 BC) was a

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 ...

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 ...

in 280 BC. As a military commander in that year and the following, he was known for the battles against

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus ( ; ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greeks, Greek king and wikt:statesman, statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacidae, Aeacid house, and later he became ki ...

that led to the expression "

Pyrrhic victory A Pyrrhic victory ( ) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Such a victory negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress. The phrase originates from a quote from ...

". He was the first

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 ...

Pontifex Maximus, and possibly the first teacher of

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

to offer public instruction.

Biography

Coruncanius, of plebeian descent, is believed to have hailed from

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

. He was first elected consul in 280 BC with

Publius Valerius Laevinus Publius Valerius Laevinus was commander of the Roman forces at the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC, in which he was defeated by Pyrrhus of Epirus. In his '' Life of Pyrrhus'', Plutarch wrote that Gaius Fabricius Luscinus said of this battle that it ...

, and led an expedition into

Etruria Etruria ( ) was a region of Central Italy delimited by the rivers Arno and Tiber, an area that covered what is now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and north-western Umbria. It was inhabited by the Etruscans, an ancient civilization that f ...

against the Etruscan cities. When

invaded

Italia Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and defeated the Roman legions of Laevinus at the

Battle of Heraclea The Battle of Heraclea took place in 280 BC between the Romans under the command of consul Publius Valerius Laevinus, and the combined forces of Greeks from Epirus, Tarentum, Thurii, Metapontum, and Heraclea under the command of Pyrrhus, ...

, Tiberius' legions were recalled to Rome to bolster the defense of Roman territory. In 254 BC or 253 BC, he was the first plebeian elected ''Pontifex Maximus,'' or chief priest of the

, which position had been previously monopolized by patricians. He died in 241 BC and was succeeded by Lucius Caecilius Metellus, another plebeian.

Impact

He was the first who publicly professed law (''publice professus est''), known to be both eloquent and full of knowledge. Like

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

, he left no writings. His public legal instruction had the effect of creating a class of legally skilled non-priests (''jurisprudentes''), a sort of consultancy. After Coruncanius' death, instruction gradually became more formal, with the introduction of books on law beyond the then scant official Roman legal texts.Unknown. "legal education." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 4 March 2007 . It is possible that as the first plebeian ''Pontifex Maximus,'' Coruncanius allowed members of the public and students of the law of Ancient Rome to attend his consultations tasked with giving legal advice to citizens. These consultations were probably held outside the College of Pontiffs, and thus accessible to all those interested. As such, he became the first teacher of Roman law (how students of law learned their material earlier is unknown).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coruncanius, Tiberius 241 BC deaths People from the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Pontifices maximi of the Roman Republic Ancient Roman generals 3rd-century BC clergy Ancient Roman jurists Coruncanii Year of birth unknown