Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer (c. 104 BC – 59 BC)

Following his urban magistracies, if they occurred, he served as a legate under Pompey in 66 BC. In the winter of 66 BC, Oroeses, king of the Caucasian Albanians attacked Pompey's army during Saturnalia celebrations in Lesser Armenia. Pompey had split his army into three divisions. Celer was in charge of one of them and custodian of Tigranes the Younger of Armenia. Celer vigorously repulsed Oroeses while Flaccus and Pompey, who were in charge of the other two divisions, defeated the other Albanians.^[8]

Praetorship and proconsulship

Celer became urban praetor in 63 BC. During the year,

Celer continued in Cisalpine Gaul through the remainder of the year.[20] While there, he supported his adoptive brother Metellus Nepos against Cicero and the majority in the senate.^[21] Nepos as plebeian tribune had attempted to use force in the assemblies to transfer the anti-Catilinarian command from the consul Antonius to Pompey; this triggered a senatus consultum ultimum which saw Nepos flee the city for Pompey's camp.^[22]

Consulship and death

In suo anno ("his year"; ie the first year he was eligible), Celer was elected consul for 60 BC.^[23] Lucius Afranius, a Pompeian ally, was his consular colleague. Prior to 62 BC, Celer and his brother Nepos had supported Pompey's political position at Rome while Pompey was on campaign. By 60 BC, the two had turned against Pompey in part because Pompey had divorced Celer's sister Mucia Tertia. The divorce came shortly after Pompey's return to Italy in December 62 BC as part of Pompey's attempts to realign himself politically. However, the divorce – amid claims of infidelity – harmed the public reputation and dignitas of the Caecilii Metelli: the two brothers of Mucia, Celer and Nepos, took this slight very seriously.^[24] While Dio claims that Pompey supported Celer's consular campaign, this familial quarrel makes Dio's claim unlikely.^[25]

During Celer's consulship, Pompey sought senatorial ratification of his eastern settlements and land grants for his veterans. Lucius Licinius Lucullus, whom Pompey had replaced in command pursuant to the lex Manilia of 66 BC, challenged his rival's actions: instead of approving Pompey's settlements as a whole, Lucullus stalled the entire process by having each element reviewed in committee before separate votes on each part.^[26] In this, Lucullus was supported by Celer, Cato the Younger, and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The combined political influence of the four allies was able to prevent Pompey from securing any of his main goals.^[27] Celer also opposed Crassus' attempts to reduce the taxes expected from the publicani tax farmers in Asia.

For this strong opposition, the pro-Pompeian plebeian tribune Lucius Flavius had Celer thrown into jail and attempted to keep him there by sitting on a bench before the door. Celer, intending to stay the night, had his allies cut a hole in the wall so that senators could attend to him. Pompey, afraid of the political blowback of holding the consul like a political prisoner, had Flavius set Celer free.^[28] Celer also opposed the attempts of his brother-in-law, Publius Clodius Pulcher, in transferring himself from the patricians to the plebeians.^[29]

These victories for Celer, however, saw Pompey join a political alliance with the next year's consul, Gaius Julius Caesar, and Crassus.^[30] When Caesar's consulship began in 59 BC, Celer opposed the three allies.^[2] He died unexpectedly in April 59 BC prior to taking up a proconsulship Transalpine Gaul.^[31]

Family

Celer was the grandson of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Balearicus;^[2] he was also the biological son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos, the consul of 98 BC, and the adoptive son of the homonymous Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer who was plebeian tribune in 90 BC and aedile c. 88 BC.^[1]

He married