Lucius Pinarius Scarpus

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Lucius Pinarius Scarpus was a Roman general of the 1st century BC. BC, came from the patrician dynasty of the Pinarians and was a nephew or great-nephew of Gaius Iulius Caesar . After his assassination he initially belonged to the supporters of the triumvir Marcus Antonius , but later went over to his opponent Octavian, who later became Emperor Augustus .

Relationship to Caesar

In his will Caesar continued his by the author of Kaiserviten, Suetonius , as sororum nepotes designated ( "grandson of the Sisters") Relatives Octavian, Quintus Pedius and Lucius Pinarius a heirs. The later Augustus received three quarters, the other two each one eighth of the dictator's fortune, but Pedius and Scarpus ceded their inheritance to Octavian. According to this, Scarpus would have been a grandson of Caesar's older sister, Julia . However, since Pedius was clearly older than Octavian due to his career path and, due to his equality with Pinarius in the will, should have had the same degree of kinship as the latter to Caesar, according to an assumption by the historian Friedrich Münzer , Pedius and Pinarius could also be sons of the older Julia and thus nephews of the dictator. In that case Scarpus would have been the son of an unknown Pinarius who was married to the elder Julia. But if Scarpus was a grandson of Juliet, then he was the son of a daughter Juliet's marriage to a Pinarius.

Political career

After Caesar's assassination (March 15, 44 BC), Scarpus was on the side of the Caesarians according to his relationship and took 42 BC. In the decisive and victorious Balkan campaign of the triumvirs against the murderers of the dictator. He was left behind with luggage and a legion in Amphipolis by Antony advancing to Philippi .

The sources preserved do not provide any information about Scarpus' life in the following decade. His name only reappears in the reports of ancient authors on the occasion of the decisive dispute between Antonius and Octavian over the sole rule in the Roman Empire. At that time he was acting as a governor of the Cyrenaica appointed by Antony and commander of four legions. Formally, Cyrene was under Ptolemaic suzerainty, but the Egyptians only exercised civil administration, while Scarpus, as Roman representative, exercised military administration. He and his legions were supposed to protect Egypt from an attack by Octavian. After the defeat in the Battle of Actium (September 2, 31 BC) Antony sailed back to North Africa with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII . Antony wanted to take over the legions stationed in Cyrenaica to organize the defense of Egypt, but Scarpus had Antony's messengers executed and switched to Octavian's side. Since not all officers wanted to go along with the conversion, he had some executed and thus disciplined the others. Finally, he surrendered his province and legions to the general Octavian, Gaius Cornelius Gallus , who was advancing against Alexandria from the west .

The victorious Octavian thanked Scarpus for this conversion by at least 27 BC. BC as governor of Cyrenaica, as documented by finds of coins from Scarpus. When he was still serving under Antonius, he issued denarii with his name and that of the eighth legion. After changing sides, his coin legends first show the name of Caesar, but later also the name of Augustus, which the new Princeps had been using since 27 BC. Led. On the front of some coins, Scarpus describes himself as an emperor ; perhaps he won this title by defeating the indigenous population of Libya. His further fate is unknown.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ The full name of Pinarius is not given in any ancient source. Suetonius ( Caesar 83, 2) calls him Lucius Pinarius , Cassius Dio at one point in his Roman history (51, 5, 6) Pinarius Scarpus . In a second mention of Cassius Dios (51, 9, 1) and on his coins, he is only referred to as Scarpus , in Appian only ever as Pinarius .
  2. ^ Suetonius: Caesar. 83, 2; Appian: Civil Wars. 3, 86 and 388.
  3. ^ F. Münzer: Pinarius 24. In: RE. XX 1, col. 1405f .; F. Münzer: From the circle of relatives of Caesar and Octavian. In: Hermes . Volume 71, 1936, pp. 226-230; Jochen Bleicken : Augustus. 1998, p. 692.
  4. ^ Appian: Civil Wars. 4, 447.
  5. ↑ Christoph Schäfer : Cleopatra. 2006, p. 154.
  6. ↑ Cassius Dio 51, 5, 6; without mentioning Scarpus Plutarch : Antonius. 69, 1ff. and Orosius 6, 19, 15; C. Schäfer: Cleopatra. 2006, p. 230f.
  7. ^ Cassius Dio 51, 9, 1.
  8. ↑ RRC 546, 1-3
personal data
SURNAME Lucius Pinarius Scarpus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lucius Pinarius; Pinarius Scarpus; Pinarius; Scarpus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman politician and general, (great?) nephew of Caesar
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd century BC BC or 1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 1st century BC BC or 1st century