Publius Cornelius Rutilus Cossus

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Publius Cornelius Rutilus Cossus
Consular tribune of the Roman Republic
In office406 BC
ColleaguesGn. Cornelius Cossus, N. Fabius Ambustus, L. Valerius Potitus

Publius Cornelius Rutilus Cossus was a statesman and military commander from the early Roman Republic who served as Dictator in 408 BC.[1][2]

Family

Cossus belonged to the

consular tribune in 426. Publius' had at least two nephews: Gnaeus, consular tribune in 414 and consul in 409, and Publius, consular tribune in 408. Aulus
, dictator in 385 and perhaps consul in 413, may have also been his nephew. The Cornelii Cossi were thus among the foremost families of the Republic at the end of the 5th century BC.

Career

In 408 BC, a large army comprising mainly

Gaius Julius Iulus and Publius Cornelius Cossus, who wanted the command to stay with them. The disagreement stoked the existing tensions in Rome during the Conflict of the Orders, but Livy's narrative is confused on these events. The situation was only resolved when the third tribune, Gaius Servilius Structus Ahala, seeing that Iulus and Cornelius could not be persuaded, rose to nominate Rutilus Cossus, Cornelius' uncle.[4] Rutilus Cossus then appointed Ahala as his magister equitum
, which is doubtless the result of a power-sharing negotiation between the consular tribunes.

Rutilus Cossus and Ahala then led the army out to Antium. They defeated the Volscian coalition in one battle before laying waste to the countryside and storming the Volscian fortress at

Lake Fucinus. As many as 3.000 Volsci were taken prisoner.[4] When Cossus returned to the city, he lay down the office of dictator and, according to Livy, did not receive much acclaim for his success.[4] Indeed, according to the Fasti Triumphales
, Rutilus Cossus was not awarded a triumph.

Rutilus Cossus was elected as one of the consular tribunes for the year 406 BC, alongside Gnaeus Cornelius Cossus, his distant cousin, Numerius Fabius Ambustus, and Lucius Valerius Potitus.[5] The Senate ordered a new war on Veii, but the consular tribunes opposed it, arguing that the war against the Volsci was not over. Rutilus Cossus was given the command against the city of Ecetra, while Fabius took Anxur.[6] The consular tribunes then shared the booty with the soldiers, which improved the relations between plebeians and patricians. The Senate followed and ordered that citizens must be paid while serving, whereas they had to cover their own expenses before.[6]

References

  1. ^ John the Lydian, de magistratibus, i. 38.
  2. ^ Broughton, vol. I, p. 78.
  3. ^ Livy, iv. 56.
  4. ^ a b c Livy, iv. 57.
  5. ^ Broughton, vol I, p. 79.
  6. ^ a b Livy, iv. 59.

Bibliography

Ancient sources

Modern sources

  • T. Robert S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, American Philological Association, 1952–1986.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Publius_Cornelius_Rutilus_Cossus&oldid=1179588980"