Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (Consul 113 BC)

Gnaeus Papirius Carbo came from the Roman noble family of Papirians and lost as consul in 113 BC. The battle of Noreia against the Cimbri .

Life

Gnaeus Papirius Carbo was probably the son of the praetor from 168 BC. BC, Gaius Papirius Carbo, but in any case a younger brother of the consul of the same name from 120 BC. Chr.

From a fragmentary inscription of honor that the Seleucid ruler Antiochus VIII had erected for Carbo in Delos , it is concluded that Carbo was perhaps 116 BC. BC as praetor and then as governor in Asia.

Carbo reached the consulate seven years after his older brother, i.e. 113 BC. His fellow consul was Gaius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius . It was then that the Cimbri , who were on the move, first came into view of the Romans. They had advanced as far as Noricum and in Rome there was evidently fear that they would march on across the Alps to northern Italy. According to the only detailed account , by the military historian Appian , of the battle that followed between the Germanic tribe and the Romans, Carbo initially had the Alpine passes occupied. He then advanced further when the Cimbri did not attack and demanded that they turn back and vacate the territory of the Norics , who were Roman allies. Although the Cimbri complied, the consul decided to set a trap for them. He offered to let guides lead them back. However, the Germanic peoples led them on a detour on behalf of Carbos, so that the consul could hurry ahead on a shorter route and ambush them. The deceived Cimbri, however, achieved a clear victory in the battle that was now unfolding, and only a severe storm prevented the Roman army from being completely destroyed. The scattered remains fled into the woods and only found each other again after three days. Appian does not refer to the opponents of the Romans as Cimbri, but as Teutons and gives no clue as to where exactly the fight took place. The geographer Strabo , however, mentions that the slaughter site was near Noreia . The location of this city is controversial, but it should at least be found in the area of Upper Carniola , Carinthia or Styria . The numerous mentions of Carbo's military failure by other authors are all very scarce.

After his consulate, Carbo was sued by Marcus Antonius , the grandfather of the triumvir of the same name . Although the reason for the charge is not given in the sources preserved, it seems to be established that Carbo 112 BC. Because of his defeat against the Cimbri, as soon afterwards also happened to other military leaders who had acted unsuccessfully in the wars against the Numidian king Jugurtha or against the Cimbri. The verdict of the proceedings against Carbo can not be inferred with certainty from a comment by speaker Marcus Tullius Cicero . This leaves room for interpretation for two completely contradicting theses: According to one, Carbo put an end to his life because of a threatened conviction by vitriol , according to the other he was acquitted.

Two sons of Carbo are known: his elder son, Gnaeus Papirius Carbo , served three times as consul and sided with Marius and Cinna in the Sullan civil war , while his younger son, Gaius Papirius Carbo, was a follower of Sulla and was a follower of Sulla in 80 BC. Was stoned by its own soldiers.

literature

• Friedrich Münzer : Papirius 37). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XVIII, 3, Stuttgart 1949, Sp. 1022-1024.

Remarks

1. ^ Cicero , epistulae ad familiares 9, 21, 3.
2. ↑ IDélos 1550 ; on this F. Münzer, RE XVIII, 3, Sp. 1022f.
3. ↑ Appian , Keltiké 13.
4. ↑ Strabo 5, 1, 8, p. 214 (after Poseidonios ).
5. ↑ K. Strobel: Noreia . In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA), Vol. 21 (2002), pp. 321f.
6. ^ Livius , periochae 63; Plutarch , Marius 16, 9f .; Velleius Paterculus 2, 12, 2; among others
7. ↑ Cicero, epistulae ad familiares 9, 21, 3; Apuleius , De magia 66; on this F. Münzer, RE XVIII, 3, Sp. 1023f.