Lucius Munatius Plancus

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A statue in honor of Plancus, dated 1580, in the courtyard of the Basel town hall

Lucius Munatius Plancus (* around 87 BC in Tibur ; † around 15 BC (?)) Was a Roman general , consul and censor . After his political and military beginnings under Caesar , he officiated after his murder in 44/43 BC. BC as governor of the recently conquered Gaul . In the power struggle between Mark Antony and the Senate led by Cicero , he did not clearly decide on one side, but waited for the outcome of the conflict without much commitment. As with the conclusion of the Second Triumvirate was made by agreement with Antony Octavian (later Emperor Augustus ) to the defeat of Senate Party and the murderers led Plancus struck first a career under Antonius and was 42 v. Chr. Consul and 39 BC BC governor of Asia . In the final battle between the triumvirs, he changed sides and revealed to Octavian the location of Antonius' will, the contents of which Octavian was able to exploit for his war propaganda. Finally, Plancus made a political career under Octavian after his victory over Antony and was 22 BC. Censor, but had little reputation.

Origin and early life

Lucius Munatius Plancus, who came from a knightly dynasty, was born in the city ​​of Tibur in Latium east of Rome . The same prenomen Lucius also carried out his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. As a teenager he made the acquaintance of the famous Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero , who probably contributed to his solid education. He was probably already before 54 BC. Admitted to the Senate as the first member of his family .

Career under Caesar

Plancus served in 54 BC. As a legate of Gaius Julius Caesar in his Gallic War . He was supposed to occupy Belgium and probably set up camp near Soissons . In October of this year, however, he moved to winter in the area of ​​the Carnutes , because they seemed to be preparing a rebellion. It can then be assumed that in the summer of 51 B.C.E. Stayed in Ravenna .

At Caesar's side, Plancus also fought in the ensuing civil war against the party of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus . 49 BC Chr. He led under the command of Gaius Fabius war in Spain, but has been south before something Pyrenees located Ilerda hard pressed. Then he took part in 47 BC. At the battle in Africa, but could not persuade the Pompeian Gaius Considius Longus to surrender the port city of Hadrumetum on the Mediterranean Sea .

At that time Plancus was already one of Caesar's close confidants and was therefore asked for help by Cicero in an inheritance matter for Gaius Ateius Capito . In June 46 BC When he returned to Italy in November of the same year, he was appointed one of the eight city ​​prefects of Rome who, during Caesar's absence from the Spanish War , were to manage the affairs of the capital under the supervision of the later triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus . In this role he minted gold coins. 45 BC BC Plancus officiated as praetor .

Shortly before his assassination, the dictator determined that Plancus 44/43 BC. Was to become governor of the province of Gallia Comata , that is, of the newly conquered Gaul. Caesar also designated him consul for 42 BC. Chr. Plancus was accused of being nominated for this high post less because of special achievements than because of charity towards the dictator. But before Plancus' departure from Rome, Caesar fell victim to the assassination attempt by the conspirators around Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus .

Lavieren in the fight between Mark Antony and the Senate

On March 17, 44 BC BC, two days after Caesar's murder, Plancus accepted the compromise negotiated between the Caesarians and Caesar murderers, according to which the latter was promised amnesty. At that time, the validity of the provisions still decreed by the dictator, including all office designations for the following years, was confirmed. Therefore Plancus kept his province, which he probably did not go to much later. The historian Appian reports that Plancus took command of three legions in Gallia Comata; if this is correct, it must be submitted by March 43 BC at the latest. He dug two more legions, because according to Cicero he commanded five legions at that time.

According to the inscription on his mausoleum, Plancus founded the colony Augusta Raurica (today: Augst ). This must be 44 or 43 BC. During his Gaulish governorship. Since, however, the archaeological evidence there was only in the year 6 BC. Set in BC, the Plancus project in the turmoil of the civil war after Caesar's murder either did not get beyond the planning stage or the foundation failed or the first foundation was on the Münsterhügel in today's Basel . On the other hand, the foundation of a Roman colony by Plancus and Lepidus in Lugdunum (today: Lyon ) in May 43 BC is better supported . Both foundations followed a colonization program developed by Caesar. A dated June 43 BC. A letter from Plancus to Cicero, which originated in the 3rd century BC, confirms the existence of the village Cularo (today: Grenoble ) in the Dauphiné Alps .

When it was still in the course of the year 44 BC When the tensions between the consul Mark Antony and the Senate under Cicero's leadership became ever more intense , Plancus initially tended towards the Senate party. Since September 44 BC For almost a year he maintained a steady correspondence with Cicero and promised him support, but essentially waited to see how the conflict between Antony and the Senate developed. Despite his assurance that he was on Cicero's side, he also seems to have sought contact with Antonius. In the meantime he was able to achieve some military successes against the Raetians north of Lake Constance , for which he was dubbed emperor .

When Antony besieged the Caesar murderer Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus in the northern Italian city of Mutina (today Modena ), Plancus, like Lepidus, advocated reconciliation in a letter to the Senate. Presumably he took into account the senators' desire for peace at the time, who had therefore sent a delegation to Antonius. However, their opinion had changed when Plancus' letter arrived on March 20, 43 BC. Chr. Changed again and therefore the Gallic governor had to take severe criticism from Cicero. After being informed about this change of opinion, Plancus continued to be loyal to the Senate in a new letter.

Early April 43 BC The Senate asked Lepidus and Plancus to move with their troops to Italy for support. Presumably on the basis of this order, Plancus crossed the Rhone at Vienne on April 26th to come to the aid of Decimus Brutus at Mutina. In the field of the Allobroges , probably near the town today lies in southeast France Cularo (now Grenoble ), he learned of the defeat that Anthony on April 21 in the Battle of Mutina against the consul Aulus Hirtius and the young Caesar's heir Octavian (the later Emperor Augustus ). So Plancus stopped his march and tried to pull Lepidus over to Cicero's side, although he had a tense relationship with him. The corresponding negotiations were conducted by Marcus Iuventius Laterensis , Plancus' brother Gaius Munatius Plancus and Gaius Furnius . Due to the progress made in this process, Plancus crossed the Isère on about May 11 or 12 . The appearance of Lucius Antonius at Forum Iulii (today Fréjus ) prompted Plancus to first give his brother the order to hurry ahead with 4,000 riders. For the next few days, however, Plancus himself remained in his camp on the Isère. Two reasons seem plausible as an explanation for his waiting: on the one hand Lepidus' answer that he should stay at the river, and on the other hand the notification that Lepidus and his soldiers are uncertain of their convictions.

At the request of Lepidus, Plancus broke on May 18, 43 BC. BC without breaking off the bridge over the Isère so that Decimus Brutus could follow. Plancus now moved towards Lepidus and set up his new base on the Verdon River at a respectable distance of about 20 km from the camp of Antonius, who in turn camped not far from Lepidus. On May 29, Antonius was able to take Lepidus by surprise and force them to unite their two armies, which now advanced against Plancus. Just in time, Plancus found out about this turnaround, hurried back across the Isère, then destroyed the bridge over it (June 4) and met with Decimus Brutus and his troops three days later at Cularo. Octavian, who had previously been allied with Cicero, refused to send reinforcements to these two last military leaders who had remained loyal to the Senate. So Brutus and Plancus remained in their position until at least the end of July, since their armies were significantly weaker than those of Antonius. Plancus blamed Octavian for allowing Antonius to unite with Lepidus. In his fear of a military confrontation, Plancus certainly also took into account the war weariness and the willingness to fraternize of the soldiers of the various generals; this circumstance had forced Lepidus to join Antonius.

After Octavian's invasion of Rome, the disempowerment of the Senate and the ostracism of numerous supporters of the party of the Caesar murderers, including Decimus Brutus (August 43 BC), Plancus also thought of changing sides. For Octavian had created the conditions for his reconciliation with Antony and the other leaders of the Caesarians. For Plancus, the condition for joining the victorious party was, of course, to turn away from the outlawed Decimus Brutus, whom he therefore left around September. Not much later, Brutus was murdered on the run. Plancus joined Antony through the mediation of the recently defected general and historian Gaius Asinius Pollio . He was given command of three and Lepidus of two of his five legions.

Career under Antonius

On the side of Antonius, the three generals Plancus, Lepidus and Pollio took part in the negotiations with Octavian in Bononia ( Bologna ) leading to the Second Triumvirate (end of October 43 BC). By far the greatest military power was held by Antonius and Octavian. At that time the triumvirs decided the proscription not many people acceptable to them. Despite his alliance with Antonius, Plancus was unable to protect his brother Lucius Plautius (or Plotius) Plancus (original name: Gaius Munatius Plancus), who had been on Cicero's side for too long, and who was therefore also included in the list of outlaws and a victim of the proscriptions fell. At least some other proscribed persons could be pardoned.

Returning to Rome, Plancus held on December 29, 43 BC. A triumph over the Raetians or Gauls, whom he had fought during his Gaulish governorship. But he had to put up with ridiculous verses because of the circumstances of his brother's death.

Plancus officiated with Lepidus in 42 BC. As consul. After the decisive victory of the triumvirs at Philippi over the party of the murderers of Caesar (October 42 BC) Octavian should reward the veterans with land grants in Italy. Plancus took over the territorial distributions in the Benevento area . Due to conflicts with the dispossessed Italians, Octavian got into great trouble. These sought Fulvia exploit, wife of Mark Antony, and his brother Lucius Antonius (41 v. Chr.). So it came to the Peruvian War , in the course of which Lucius Antonius was enclosed by Octavian and his generals in Perusia . Plancus was to bring relief to the besieged from the south and two other important Antonian generals, Asinius Pollio and Publius Ventidius Bassus , from the north. The three military leaders, however, proceeded in an uncoordinated and hesitant manner, presumably because they did not particularly enjoy the war and did not receive a clear statement on the events from Marcus Antonius, who was in distant Egypt. Plancus defeated a legion of Octavian once, but soon afterwards he withdrew to Spoletium . When the trapped troops of Lucius Antonius began to suffer from hunger, Plancus united at the beginning of 40 BC. His troops with those of Pollio and Bassus and advanced with them without much energy to Fulginiae , but apparently the three military leaders let themselves be prevented relatively easily from marching on. They also disagreed about the conduct of the war and disliked each other. Plancus advocated waiting. Therefore, Lucius Antonius hoped in vain for relief. When Perusia at the end of February 40 BC BC had to capitulate and thus Octavian's victory was certain, Plancus fled to Athens together with Fulvia and the sons of Mark Antony . There they met the triumvir who had come from Asia Minor .

Antonius immediately set off for Italy to maintain his influence. Plancus joined him and also took part in the autumn of 40 BC. In the agreement of Antony and Octavian in Brundisium . Until his apostasy (32 BC) Plancus then held an important position on the side of Antonius in the east of the Roman Empire. At first he was governor of the province of Asia . Already at the beginning of 40 BC The incursion of the Parthians in Syria and Asia Minor , which was begun by the deserter Quintus Labienus , forced Plancus, who was apparently not particularly successful as a general, to retreat from his province to the islands off the coast. Only Ventidius Bassus was able to throw the Parthians back into their territory through some brilliant campaigns (39–38 BC).

Plancus is only mentioned again in the sources in 35 BC. Mentioned when he held the office of governor of Syria . During this time he also received a second acclamation as emperor . Meanwhile, Sextus Pompeius fled to the east after his final defeat by Octavian and wanted to make himself at the beginning of 35 BC. BC by military means in Asia Minor, which belonged to Antonius' rule. But he was quickly defeated and executed on the orders of Marcus Titius , a nephew of Plancus. Despite contradicting sources, Titius was most likely acting on behalf of, or at least with, Antonius' consent. According to Appian, perhaps it was not the Triumvir himself, but the Plancus, who signed his seal, that issued the death order sent by letter to Titius. Not only is the assumption that Titius acted without an order from a higher authority improbable, but also the possibility, also indicated by Appian, that Plancus gave his nephew the execution order without the knowledge of his superior. Because the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII, who was so influential to Antony, stood up for Pompey, the opportunistic Plancus surely got the backing of the triumvir. It is most likely that the assumption that Plancus signed the death warrant on behalf of Antony, because, according to some sources available to Appian, the latter did not want to be the main person responsible out of consideration for his beloved Pompey and because of Pompey's reputation.

Plancus exploited Syria quite intensively and stayed after the end of his governorship since 34 BC. At Antonius. He played a submissive and flattering role towards Cleopatra, since she was at the height of her power thanks to her influence on the triumvirs. Two anecdotes that were probably circulating in Rome at the time illustrate this view. At a banquet, Plancus is said to have acted as the mime of the sea god Glaucus , painted the naked body sea green, with a tied fish tail and a reed crown in front of Cleopatra and her guests, thus behaving extremely unworthy of a Roman senator. On another occasion, Plancus allegedly officiated as referee in a bet between the triumvirs and the queen. This claimed to be able to serve a much more expensive meal than was consumed at the otherwise always very luxurious banquets. Plancus is said to have declared Cleopatra the winner after she dissolved a huge pearl in hot vinegar and drank it. However, this episode is most likely made up, since vinegar cannot break down pearls according to scientific knowledge.

Convert to Octavian

When the war between the two remaining triumvirs for sole rule in the entire Roman Empire was imminent and Antony at the beginning of 32 BC When his troops gathered in Ephesus BC , leading Antonians such as Plancus, whose nephew Marcus Titius and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, tried in vain to persuade the triumvir to send Cleopatra back.

Plancus and his nephew Titius left in June or July 32 BC. To Octavian over. According to the ancient biographer Plutarch , this change of party took place because the two men had been treated insultingly by Cleopatra because of their refusal to participate in the war. The real reason for their overflow is more likely to be to be found in their opportunism. Although they had allegedly been close friends with Cleopatra in the past, in the course of the propagandistic and military preparations for the war, uncle and nephew must have increasingly doubted Antonius' chances of victory, so they switched sides. Perhaps disputes with other leading Antonians and other reasons obscured by Octavian propaganda played a role in their decision. Plancus, for example, had a tense relationship with Domitius Ahenobarbus. According to the imperial historian Velleius Paterculus , who characterizes Plancus in an exaggeratedly negative way (for example as a shamefully humiliating flatterer of Cleopatra), Antonius is also said to have discovered the inspection of financial irregularities by Plancus and as a result the friendship between the two men cooled off. This could be seen as another reason for Plancus to overflow.

Probably in support of Octavian's propaganda, Plancus accused his former patron Antonius of committing numerous offenses in the Senate and thus attracted the mockery of the former praetor Publius Coponius, who said that Antonius had to do a lot before Plancus decided to switch sides . For Octavian, however, it was valuable that the two defectors informed him of the location and content of the will of Antony they once signed as a witness. The later emperor illegally usurped the document kept by the Vestals in Rome and found weighty reasons in its (perhaps forged by him) provisions - in particular Antony's confirmation of the donations of territory to Cleopatra's children and the wish to be buried in Egypt in any case to finally get full support for the war against Antony from the Senate and the people.

Career under Octavian / Augustus

Mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus on Monte Orlando

Plancus owed his (also political) survival to the timely conversion to Octavian, to the betrayal of Antony's will, which was so valuable for this, and not least to Octavian's victory over Antony and Cleopatra. As the oldest consular, Plancus applied on January 16, 27 BC. In the Senate to give Octavian the title of Augustus . No doubt he had agreed this procedure with Octavian. 22 BC BC Plancus and Paullus Aemilius Lepidus became the last two elected censors . However, Plancus was completely unsuitable for this high-ranking office and constantly argued with his counterpart. He enjoyed little respect, had to be accused of youthful sins and once even made room for the curular aedile Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus at an encounter on the street. From looted treasures he financed in the 20s BC The restoration of the Temple of Saturnus in Rome. It is unknown when Plancus died. His preserved, splendid mausoleum, a large tumulus grave, is on Monte Orlando near Gaëta .

Speaker and author

In the tradition Plancus is characterized as an excellent speaker. It is possible that he is the author of the Bellum Africanum (African War) , anonymous in the corpus of Caesarian writings . An ode (1, 7) dedicated to him by the Roman poet Horace is about the feelings of guilt that Plancus felt about his slain brother.

progeny

Plancus was probably the grandfather of the consul of the same name from 13 AD and Munatia Plancina , the wife of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso , who was accused of poisoning Germanicus in 20 AD .

Source edition

  • The correspondence between L. Munatius Plancus and Cicero, ed. by Gerold Walser, Basel 1957

literature

Web links

Commons : Lucius Munatius Plancus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Porphyry to Horace , Carmen 1, 7, 21; This information is confirmed by a picture of the battle of Hercules , the chief god of the Tiburtines, with the Farnesian bull on a copper coin of Plancus.
  2. ↑ CIL 10, 6087 : L. Munatius Plancus L. f. L. n. L. pron. Plancus.
  3. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10,3,2; 13.29.1.
  4. ↑ Caesar, Gallic War 5,24,3; 5.25.4.
  5. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 8,1,4.
  6. ^ Caesar, Civil Wars 1.40.
  7. ↑ Caesar, African War 4.
  8. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 13:29.
  9. ↑ Roman Republican Coinage 1.475.
  10. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10.1-26; In M. Antonium oratio Philippica 3.38; Cassius Dio , Roman History 46,29,6; Appian , Civil Wars 3.46; u. a.
  11. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10,3,3.
  12. ↑ Plutarch , Brutus 19.
  13. ^ Appian, Civil Wars 3.46; Cicero, ad familiares 10,8,6.
  14. ↑ a b CIL 10, 6087 .
  15. ↑ On the rediscovery of Munatius Plancus and his veneration at the knee of the Rhine in the 16th century see Elisabeth Landolt : The statue of Munatius Plancus and the sculptor Hans Michel. In: Basler Stadtbuch (1980), pp. 235–240; Stefan Hess , The search for the city founder. In: Basler Magazin , No. 17, April 26, 1997, p. 8.
  16. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10.1-24.
  17. ^ Cicero, In M. Antonium oratio Philippica 13:44.
  18. ↑ Cicero, In M. Antonium oratio Philippica 3.38; Acts of triumph; CIL 6, 1316 and CIL 10, 6087 .
  19. ^ Cicero, ad familiares 10.6.
  20. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10,6,1 f.
  21. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10.8.
  22. ^ Appian, Civil Wars 3.74; Cassius Dio, Roman History 46,29,6; Cicero, ad familiares 10,33,1.
  23. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10,9,3.
  24. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10, 11, 2 f.
  25. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10.15.3.
  26. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10.18; 10.21.
  27. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10.18.2; 10.18.4.
  28. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10.23.2 f.
  29. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10,24,4; 10.24.6.
  30. ^ Appian, Civil Wars 3.97; Cassius Dio, Roman History 46,53,2; Plutarch, Antonius 18; Velleius Paterculus , Historia Romana 2,63,3; Livy , Ab urbe condita , periocha 120; on this J. Bleicken, Augustus , p. 135 f.
  31. ^ Appian, Civil Wars 4:12; Cassius Dio 54.2.1; Valerius Maximus , Facta et dicta memorabilia 6,8,5; Pliny , Naturalis historia 13.25.
  32. ^ Appian, Civil Wars 4.37.
  33. ↑ Triumphal Acts; CIL 10, 6087 .
  34. ^ Velleius Paterculus, Historia Romana 2,67,4.
  35. ↑ CIL 10, 6087 ; Appian, Civil Wars 5.3.
  36. ^ Appian, Civil Wars 5.33; 5.35, on this J. Bleicken, Augustus , p. 192 f.
  37. ^ Appian, Civil Wars 5.50; Cassius Dio, Roman History 48.15.1; Velleius Paterculus, Historia Romana 2,76,2.
  38. ↑ CIL 6, 1316 ; CIL 10, 6087 ; Appian, Civil Wars 5.10.
  39. ^ Cassius Dio, Römische Geschichte 48,26; Plutarch, Antonius 30, Iustinus , Epitoma historiarum Philippicarum Pompei Trogi 42.4.
  40. ↑ Appian, Civil Wars 5.144.
  41. ^ Roman Republican Coinage 522; CIL 6, 1316
  42. ↑ Appianus, civil wars 5,144; see. Cassius Dio, Roman History 49,18,4 f .; on this J. Brambach, Kleopatra , p. 270 ff.
  43. ^ Velleius Paterculus, Historia Romana 2,83,2.
  44. ↑ Pliny, Naturalis historia 9: 119-121; Macrobius , Saturnalia 3, 17, 14 ff .; M. Clauss, Kleopatra , p. 66; C. Schäfer, Cleopatra , p. 186.
  45. ↑ Plutarch, Antonius 56,3 ff .; 58.3.
  46. ↑ Velleius Paterculus, Historia Romana 2.83.1 f .; Plutarch, Antonius 58.3; Cassius Dio, Roman History 50,3,2 f.
  47. ↑ Plutarch, Antonius 58.3.
  48. ^ So M. Grant, Cleopatra , p. 265 f. and C. Schäfer, Cleopatra , p. 209.
  49. ↑ Velleius Paterculus, Historia Romana 2,83,2; on this, C. Schäfer, Cleopatra , p. 210.
  50. ^ Velleius Paterculus, Historia Romana 2,83,3.
  51. ↑ Plutarch, Antonius 58: 4-8; Cassius Dio, Roman History 50,3,3-5; Suetonius , Augustus 17.1.
  52. ^ Suetonius, Augustus 7.2; Livy, Ab urbe condita , periocha 134; Velleius Paterculus, Historia Romana 2,91,1; Cassius Dio, Roman History 53,16,6; u. a.
  53. ↑ CIL I² p. 64; 65; 68; Cassius Dio, Roman History 54,2,1; Velleius Paterculus, Historia Romana 2,95,3; Suetonius, Claudius 16 and Nero 4; u. a.
  54. ↑ Velleius Paterculus, Historia Romana 2,95,3; Suetonius, Nero 4.
  55. ↑ CIL 6, 1316 ; Suetonius, Augustus 29.5.
  56. ↑ Cicero, ad familiares 10,3,3; u. a.
personal data
SURNAME Plancus, Lucius Munatius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Munatius Plancus, Lucius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman general and consul
DATE OF BIRTH around 87 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH Tibur
DATE OF DEATH around 15 BC Chr.