Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (consul 23 BC)
Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso | |
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| Occupation(s) | Politician and soldier |
| Office |
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| Children | Gn. Calpurnius Piso (cos. 7 BC) |
| Parent | Gn. Calpurnius Piso (d. 64 BC) |
| Military career | |
| Wars | |
Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso
He was twice pardoned, and subsequently retired from politics. He was unexpectedly appointed consul in 23 BC by the Emperor Augustus, whom he served alongside. In mid-term Augustus fell ill and was expected to die, which would, in theory, have left Piso as the highest authority in the state. In the event, Augustus recovered.
Background
Calpurnius Piso bore the same name as his father, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso. He belonged to the
Piso's homonymous father was alleged to have participated in
Early career
Piso first came to notice in late 66 BC when he prosecuted
Give me a guarantee that you will not wage a civil war against the Republic if you are prosecuted, and I shall at once send the jurymen to convict you and send you into exile rather than Manilius.[6]
Feeling threatened by populist politician and general Julius Caesar, the optimates enlisted Pompey into their ranks in 53. In 50, the Senate, led by
After the defeat of the Pompeian forces in Hispania, Piso escaped to
Caesar made an ill-planned and disorganised landing in Africa on 28 December 47. He had insufficient food and fodder, which forced him to break up his forces to forage. Piso's light cavalry effectively disrupted these efforts, notably at the Battle of Ruspina when he harassed Caesar's defeated army as it retreated to its camp.[9] The two armies continued to engage in small-scale skirmishes while Caesar waited for reinforcements. Then two of the optimates' legions switched to Caesar's side. Emboldened, Caesar marched on Thapsus and besieged the city at the beginning of February 46. The optimates could not risk the loss of this position and were forced to accept battle. Scipio commanded "without skill or success",[10] and Caesar won a crushing victory which ended the war.[10]
Piso was forgiven in a general amnesty and seemed to come to terms with Caesar's victory. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, he joined with the tyrannicides,
Succession crisis of 23 BC
In 23, the domination of
Although Augustus clearly hoped to win Piso over, and in the process not only deflect attention away from Marcellus but also to reinforce the fiction that the republic still functioned, it is unclear why Piso accepted the role after so many years of rejecting the legitimacy of the Principate. Many explanations have been offered, including a sense of public duty, resurgence of his political ambitions, a desire to resurrect his family's dignitas after a long period of obscurity, or hope of consulships for his two sons.[8] Ernst Badian, writing in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, says that his acceptance of the consulship, along with the acceptance by Sestius Quirinalis of a suffect consulship the same year, marked "acceptance of Augustus' new order by the old republicans".[15]
As the year progressed, Augustus fell seriously ill. He gave up the consulship, and as his condition worsened, he began to make plans for the stability of the state should he die. Augustus handed over to his co-consul Piso all of his official documents, an account of the public finances, and authority over all troops in the provinces, declaring his intent that Piso, as consul, should take over the functioning of the state for the duration of his consulship. However, Augustus gave his signet ring to his lifelong friend the general Agrippa, a sign that Agrippa would succeed him if he were to die, not Piso.[16][17] After Augustus’ recovery, Calpurnius Piso completed the remainder of his term without incident. There is no record of his filling any other post after his consulship.[18][19]
Notes
Citations
- ^ a b c Broughton 1952, p. 261.
- ^ a b Syme 1986, p. 330.
- ^ Syme 1986, pp. 330, 368.
- ^ Badian 2012a.
- ^ Ward 1970, pp. 245–46.
- ^ a b Valerius Maximus 2004, p. 204.
- ^ Suetonius, Julius 28 Archived 2012-05-30 at archive.today
- ^ a b c d Syme 1986, p. 368.
- ^ Goldsworthy 2006, pp. 257–59.
- ^ a b Syme 1986, p. 245.
- ^ a b Smith 2005, p. 375.
- ^ Holland 2004, p. 294.
- ^ Swan 1967, p. 240.
- ^ Mennen 2011, p. 129.
- ^ Badian 2012b.
- ^ Alston 2015, p. 248.
- ^ Southern 2013, p. 120.
- ^ Syme 1986, p. 384.
- ^ Holland 2004, pp. 294–295.
Bibliography
Ancient sources
- Appian (1913) [2nd century AD]. Civil Wars. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by White, Horace. Cambridge: Harvard University Press – via LacusCurtius.
- ISBN 978-0-1995-3756-3.
Modern sources
- Alston, Richard (2015). Rome's Revolution: Death of the Republic and Birth of the Empire. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190231606.
- OCLC 496689514.
- ISBN 978-0-300-12048-6.
- Holland, Richard (2005). Augustus: godfather of Europe. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton. OCLC 60606420.
- Holland, Tom (2004). Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic. London: Abacus. ISBN 978-0349115634.
- Hornblower, Simon; et al., eds. (2012). The Oxford classical dictionary (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. OCLC 959667246.
- Badian, Ernst (2012a). "Calpurnius Piso (1), Gnaeus". In OCD4 (2012).
- Badian, Ernst (2012b). "Calpurnius Piso (2), Gnaeus". In OCD4 (2012).
- ISBN 978-0521256032.
- Mennen, Inge (2011). Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193–284. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9004203594.
- Smith, William, ed. (2005) [First published 1849]. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library. OCLC 612127868.
- Southern, Patricia (2013). Augustus. Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1134589562.
- Swan, Michael (1967). "The Consular Fasti of 23 B.C. and the Conspiracy of Varro Murena". Harvard Studies in Classical Philology. 71: 235–247. JSTOR 310766.
- OCLC 440243976.
- ISBN 978-1-6038-4071-2.
- Ward, Allen (1970). "Politics in the Trials of Manilius and Cornelius". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 101. The Johns Hopkins University Press: 545–556. JSTOR 2936071.
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