Lucius Julius Caesar (consul 64 BC)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Lucius Julius Caesar.

Lucius Julius Caesar (fl. 1st century BC) was a Roman politician and

senator who was elected consul of the Roman Republic in 64 BC. A supporter of his cousin, the Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar, Lucius was a key member of the senatorial coalition which strove to avoid civil war between the Roman Senate and his nephew Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony)
in the aftermath of Caesar's assassination in 44 BC.

Early career

A member of the

Roman Province of Asia in 77 BC, probably under Terentius Varro.[1] By 69 BC Lucius had been elected to the priestly position of Augur,[2] and by the end of 67 BC, he had served in the office of Praetor.[3]

Lucius Caesar was then elected Roman consul for 64 BC, serving alongside Gaius Marcius Figulus. During his consulship, senatorial decrees were passed which limited the number of attendants who could accompany candidates during election campaigns, as well as making guilds and societies illegal.[4] During the following year (63 BC), he, together with his cousin, the future Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar, was appointed to a two-man committee (Duumviri Perduellionis), for the purpose of bringing the senator Gaius Rabirius to trial for Perduellio.[5]

Later that same year, in the aftermath of the

Caius Scribonius Curio Burbulieus.[6]

Caesar's civil war

In 52 BC, Lucius was serving as a

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
.

During the next two years he remained in Rome, shoring up political support for Gaius, while he campaigned in Spain, and Greece. After the Battle of Pharsalus, Gaius was appointed Dictator, and he proceeded to transfer some of his veteran legions to Italy. However, the legions became mutinous, forcing Mark Antony, the Master of the Horse, to leave Rome to deal with them (47 BC). In an unprecedented procedure, Antonius appointed Lucius as Praefectus urbi,[9] with orders to keep Rome secure while Antonius was absent. Lucius proved unable to prevent Rome from falling into turmoil.[10]

Mutina campaign and efforts for peace

Gaius Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC created an unstable atmosphere throughout the

Liberators worsened, Lucius Julius Caesar retired to Neapolis
. This retirement was brief, as Lucius Caesar was back in Rome before the end of the year.

He openly joined

Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus), the embassy was disbanded.[13]

Later, after Antony had suffered a number of military setbacks, Lucius Caesar was one of the first to state that his nephew should be declared an enemy of the state. He was however to regret this when the

proscribed. Fleeing to his sister's (Antony's mother's) house, Lucius remained there until she obtained a pardon for him from her son. Lucius Caesar was still alive in 40 BC, when he was recorded as still being active as an augur.[14]

Family

Lucius was the son of his homonymous father who was consul in 90 and censor in 89 BC. Lucius had a sister named Julia who was the wife of Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura. Lucius had three known sons, Gnaeus, Lucius, and Sextus.[15]

References

  1. ^ Broughton 1952, pp. 88–90.
  2. ^ Broughton 1952, pp. 135, 255.
  3. ^ Broughton 1952, p. 143.
  4. ^ Broughton 1952, p. 161.
  5. ^ Broughton 1952, p. 171.
  6. ^ Broughton 1986, pp. 2, 110.
  7. ^ Broughton 1952, p. 238.
  8. ^ Holmes 1923, p. 207.
  9. ^ Broughton 1952, p. 292.
  10. ^ Holmes 1923, p. 228.
  11. ^ Syme (1939). The Roman Revolution. p. 170.
  12. ISBN 9788413400969
    .
  13. ^ Broughton 1952, p. 351.
  14. ^ Broughton 1952, p. 365.
  15. ^ Zmeskal 2009, pp. 140–41. Zmeskal records no known wife.

Sources

  • Broughton, T. Robert S. (1952). The Magistrates of the Roman Republic. Vol. II.
  • Broughton, T. Robert S. (1986). The Magistrates of the Roman Republic. Vol. III.
  • Holmes, Rice T. (1923). The Roman Republic and the Founder of the Empire. Vol. III.
  • Smith, William. "11. L. julius L. f. L. n. caesar". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. p. 538. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05 – via The Ancient Library.
  • Zmeskal, Klaus (2009). Adfinitas (in German). Vol. 1. Passau: Verlag Karl Stutz.
    ISBN 978-3-88849-304-1
    .

External links
Political offices
Preceded by
L. Manlius Torquatus
 Roman consul
64 BC
With: Gaius Marcius Figulus 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucius_Julius_Caesar_(consul_64_BC)&oldid=1217570768"