Titus Didius (also spelled Deidius in ancient times) was a politician and general 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 98 BC he became the first member of his family to be

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 ...

. He is credited with the restoration of the Villa Publica,Makin, Ena. "The Triumphal Route, with Particular Reference to the Flavian Triumph." The Journal of Roman Studies 11(1921) 27. and for his

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * command (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...

Hispania Citerior Hispania Citerior (English: "Hither Iberia", or "Nearer Iberia") was a Roman province in Hispania during the Roman Republic. It was on the eastern coast of Iberia down to the town of Cartago Nova, today's Cartagena in the autonomous community of ...

(the south-east of modern-day Spain). He held two

Triumphs ''Triumphs'' ( Italian: ''I Trionfi'') is a 14th-century Italian series of poems, written by Petrarch in the Tuscan language. The poem evokes the Roman ceremony of triumph, where victorious generals and their armies were led in procession by the ...

, one for his victories over the

Scordisci The Scordisci (; ) were an Iron Age cultural group who emerged after the Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe, and who were centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morav ...

, another for his victories in Spain.

Family background

Titus Didius belonged 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 ...

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

'' Didia, which was relatively new in Roman politics. The first known member of the gens was his homonymous father, who passed a

sumptuary law Sumptuary laws (from Latin ) are laws that regulate consumption. '' Black's Law Dictionary'' defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures for apparel, food, furnitu ...

(the '' lex Didia'') when he was

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

in 143 BC. From his filiation given in the

Fasti Capitolini The ''Fasti Capitolini'', or Capitoline Fasti, are a list of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, extending from the early fifth century BC down to the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Together with similar lists found at Rom ...

, we also know that Didius' grandfather was named Sextus.

Career

Triumvir monetalis (c. 113–112 BC)

Titus Didius first appears in history as

triumvir monetalis The ''triumvir monetalis'' ( ''tresviri'' or ''triumviri monetales'', also called the , abbreviated IIIVIR A. A. A. F. F.) was a moneyer during the Roman Republic and the Empire, who oversaw the minting of coins. In that role, he would be respon ...

, one of the three men tasked with minting

coins A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

, probably in 113 or 112. The reverse of his denarii shows two

gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

s fighting.

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer. Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...

suggests that it may have been a political promise from Didius to offer gladiatorial shows, should he be elected

curule aedile Aedile ( , , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public orde ...

(the magistrate in charge of organising such games). It is not known whether Didius was subsequently elected.

Tribune of the Plebs (103 BC)

Titus Didius held office in 103 BC as a tribune of the Plebs. He is noted for attempting to veto fellow tribune Gaius Norbanus's prosecution of Quintus Servilius Caepio in the aftermath of 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 ...

, which resulted in him being driven off from the proceedings by force.

Praetor (101 BC)

Two years later in 101 BC, he was elected a

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 ...

. During this time he fought in

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

, defeating the

and earning his first triumph upon his return in 100 BC.

Consul (98 BC)

In 98 BC Didius was elected consul alongside Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos. Along with restoring the Villa Publica, he enacted a law which disallowed combining two unrelated proposals in one bill.

Proconsul (97–93 BC)

After his term as

, Didius was assigned to govern the province of

as a

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

, where he governed from 97 BC to 93 BC. Nearly his entire proconsular term in Spain was spent at war with the Celtiberi. In the four years Didius governed Spain, he achieved multiple victories and is said to have slain 20,000 Arevaci, quelled the rebellious city of Termes (today Tiermes in the

province of Soria Soria is a Province (Spain), province of central Spain, in the eastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Castile and León. Most of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area. Demo ...

), and besieged Colenda for nine months, after which time the city fell and the women and children were sold into slavery.Appian, History of Rome. https://www.livius.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_spain_20.html#%A7100 Didius earned another triumph after slaughtering a colony of "robbers"—in actuality, poor people who had banded together to subsist through banditry after losing their property. Didius lured them in with promises of land to live on, and when the families assembled within the Roman ''

castra ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

'' in good faith, he had them all killed. The historian

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; ; ; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the pr ...

indicates that Didius's exceptional cruelty and treachery caused an even greater uprising which his experienced successor, Gaius Valerius Flaccus, had to put down. The famous Roman rebel

Quintus Sertorius Quintus Sertorius ( – 73 or 72 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian Peninsula. Defying the regime of Sulla, Sertorius became the independent ruler of Hispania for m ...

served as a military

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

under Titus Didius in Spain. He was awarded 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 ...

for crushing an insurrection in and around Castulo.

Death (89 BC)

After concluding his service in Spain, Didius served as a legate in the Social War, under Lucius Julius Caesar in 90 BC, then Lucius Porcius Cato and

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

in 89 BC.Cicero, "Pro Fonteio." http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0019&layout=&loc=Font.+43 Shortly following a successful capture of

Herculaneum Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby city of ...

, he died in battle on June 11, 89 BC.

Footnotes

Bibliography

* T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association, 1951–1952. *

, ''Roman Republican Coinage'', Cambridge University Press, 1974. {{DEFAULTSORT:Didius, Titus 89 BC deaths 2nd-century BC Romans 1st-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

Ancient Roman generals killed in action Ancient Roman triumphators Year of birth unknown