Lucius Appuleius Saturninus

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Coin of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus from 104 BC Chr. Front: Roma with helmet. Back side: Saturn , a Quadriga deflected

Lucius Appuleius Saturninus (* around 138 BC ; † December 10, 100 BC ) was a Roman tribune and representative of the popular group.

Life

As a quaestor (104 BC) he oversaw grain imports in the port of Ostia , but was deposed by the Senate and replaced by Marcus Aemilius Scaurus , a leader of the optimistic group. He does not seem to have been accused of ineptitude or poor performance, so that the perceived arbitrariness when he was recalled could have led him to a popular practice.

103 BC He was elected tribune of the people and worked with Gaius Marius . Presumably in order to secure his favor and that of his soldiers, he proposed that each of the veterans of Marius in Africa 100 yoke should be given land. He contributed significantly to the fourth consulate of Marius in 102 BC. Chr. At. The arrival of the ambassadors of King Mithridates VI gave him an opportunity to take a provocative stand against the Senate . of Pontus in 101 BC BC, who brought large sums of money to bribe the Senate. Saturninus made compromising revelations which offended the ambassadors. He was therefore brought to justice and only escaped condemnation through an ad misericordiam appeal to the people. The first tribunate of Saturninus is probably also assigned his maiestas law, the exact regulations of which are unknown, but whose aim was probably to strengthen the power of the tribune and the popular. The law revolved around the minuta maiestas (diminished authority) of the Roman people, that is, all deeds that were likely to damage the integrity of the community, so it dealt with broader terms than the modern word treason . This law also made it possible to remove senators from the Senate if they were violated, and thus threatened the principle of co-option within the Roman elites who recruited Senate members through the censors .

Saturninus also introduced a law, the aim of which was to support the common people by purchasing grain at a fixed price. Quaestor Quintus Servilius Caepio declared that the state treasury could not stand this, and Saturninus' own colleagues then vetoed it. Saturninus nevertheless ordered the vote to continue, so Caepio had to dissolve the meeting by force.

The main goal of Saturninus' personal interests was Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus , who as a censor had tried in vain to exclude Saturninus from the Senate for immorality. To make himself popular with the people who continued to remember the Gracchus , Saturninus showed himself with Equitius , a paid freedman who claimed to be the son of Tiberius Gracchus . Although Sempronia, sister of the Gracchi, refused to recognize him, the people threw stones at Caecilius Metellus because he denied Equitius civil rights. Later Equitius was elected tribune of the people.

Marius, who after his victory over the Cimbri wanted to achieve a land distribution to his veterans by referendum, concluded an agreement with Saturninus and his ally Gaius Servilius Glaucia , which was supported by the veterans of Marius and the needy common people. Marius was born in 100 BC. Elected consul for the sixth time. Saturninus now introduced an agricultural law as an extension of the previously presented African law. It provided that all land north of the Padus ( Po ) that was previously owned by the Cimbri, including the territory of the independent Celts who had been temporarily subjugated by them, should be kept ready for distribution among the veterans of Marius.

Colonies were to be founded in Sicily , Achaea and Macedonia , for which the Tolosan gold , the temple treasure suppressed by Quintus Servilius Caepio (consul 106 BC and father of the quaestor of the same name), was to be used. Furthermore, the Italian population should be admitted to these colonies, and since they were civil colonies, this would have meant granting citizenship. This part of the law was rejected by the urban Roman plebs . A clause stipulated that within five days of the decision, each senator should take an oath on the law. Otherwise fines and expulsion from the Senate were threatened. All senators took the oath, except for Caecilius Metellus, who went into exile because of it. Senatorial opponents argued against the law because thunder had been heard; Saturninus replied that the Senate should remain calm because otherwise the thunder would be followed by hail. The bills ( leges Appuleiae ) were finally passed by Saturninus with the help of the veterans of Marius.

Marius, who felt ignored by his allies and compromised by their decisive approach, seriously considered breaking with them. Saturninus and Glaucia saw their only prospect of safety in remaining in public office. Saturninus was elected for the tenure that ended December 10, 100 BC. Began, elected for the third time as the tribune of the people, and Glaucia, although already praetor and therefore not elected for two years, wanted to run for the consulate. But Marius did not allow Glaucia's candidacy. Marcus Antonius Orator was elected unopposed, the other, Gaius Memmius , who would most likely have been elected, was slain by men hired by Saturninus and Glaucia during the ballot. Saturninus then occupied the Capitol and probably tried to force a legitimation of a candidacy from Glaucia. This process produced a complete turnaround in public opinion. The Senate met the following day, declared Saturninus and Glaucia to be enemies of the state, and provided Marius with a senatus consultum ultimum to defend the republic. Marius had no alternative but to obey. Marius, who had probably promised them the sparing of their lives, brought them to the Hostilia Curia with the intention of taking legal action against them. But the more impulsive members of the Senate climbed onto the roof, tore out the tiles, and stoned Saturninus and many others to death. Glaucia, who fled to a house, was also violently killed.

Evaluation of the laws

If one looks at the sequence in the legal activity of Saturninus, then one can assume that he did not act completely arbitrarily. The Grain Law can be seen as a popular and popular measure of attracting the people to later laws. The land law benefited Marius or his veterans alone. On the other hand, the supply of veterans was a major problem for the republic that needed to be resolved. The lex de maiestate upgraded the position of a tribune of the people. The offensive and obvious election advertising for the Marius speaks for itself. Metellus' exile or banishment offers more than the motive of the deposed quaestor seeking revenge. Metellus was also an opponent of Marius and a strong man of the optimistic group that worked against the six-time consul.

Saturninus seems to have forgotten the republic's balance of power . With the promising ignoring of intercessions, with the oath on his laws and the exile of the famous Metellus, but at the latest with the murder of Memmius, he exceeded the limits of the bearable. That made it too extreme for Marius too. This left him no other option than to eliminate his circle of supporters. Saturninus was an ambitious man who was well versed in power politics, who became the driving force and forgot the realities and constraints of the political process.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Cicero Pro Sestio 39.
  2. ↑ Plutarch , Marius 28-30. See also Jochen Martin : The Populars in the History of the Late Republic , p. 179 f.
  3. ↑ Plutarch, Marius 14.7 f.
  4. ↑ Martin, p. 181.
  5. ↑ Rhetorica ad Herennium 1.21.
  6. ↑ De Viris Illustribus 73.3 f.
  7. ↑ Plutarch, Marius 28.5.
  8. ↑ Plutarch, Marius 2-4.
  9. ↑ Plutarch, Marius 29.6-8. Velleius Paterculus 2,25,4, however, speaks of a banishment.
  10. ↑ De Viris Illustribus 73.3.
  11. ↑ De Viris Illustribus 73.10.
  12. ↑ Plutarch, Marius 30.3.
  13. ^ Cicero, De Legibus 2.14.
  14. ↑ Martin, p. 180.
  15. ↑ Florus , Epitomae 2,4,1.
  16. ↑ Martin, p. 185.
  17. ^ Leonhard Burckhardt : Political strategies of the optimates in the late Roman Republic , Stuttgart 1988, p. 148 f.

literature

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Secondary literature

  • Ernst Badian : The Death of Saturninus . In: Chiron 14, 1984, pp. 101-147.
  • Jochen Martin: The Populars in the History of the Late Republic . Dissertation, Freiburg i. Br. 1965.
  • Theodor Mommsen : Roman history , book IV, chap. 6th
  • Lukas Thommen : The people's tribunate of the late Roman Republic , Stuttgart 1989 ISBN 3-515-05187-2 .
  • Frederick Walter Robinson: Marius, Saturninus and Glaucia , Jena 1912.
personal data
SURNAME Appuleius Saturninus, Lucius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Saturninus, Lucius Appuleius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman tribune
DATE OF BIRTH around 138 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH December 10, 100 BC Chr.