Marcus Egnatius Rufus
Marcus Egnatius Rufus († 19 BC in Rome) was a Roman senator and politician at the time of Augustus .
Probably 22 BC He was aedile and gained great popularity among the urban Roman population by setting up a private fire brigade . In contrast to earlier companies of this type, which, such as the fire department of Marcus Licinius Crassus, were only active against payment, Egnatius made the 600 slaves he financed available as a fire department free of charge. The great popularity gained in view of the numerous fires in the city led to the fact that it was built as early as 21 BC. Was elected praetor without observing the usual waiting period .
19 BC He wanted to continue the Roman official career with the election as consul , but the consul Gaius Sentius Saturninus prevented this , probably at the instigation of Augustus. Egnatius was accused of instigating a conspiracy against Augustus. Seneca adds him to the multiple conspiracy and assassination attempts against Augustus. Egnatius was imprisoned and executed with some of his followers. The background for this was probably that Augustus saw Egnatius as a political competitor who could have been dangerous to him because of his popularity with the people. Augustus then set up his own fire brigade, which also consisted of 600 slaves, and later (7 or 6 BC) a fire brigade consisting of 3,500 freed persons , the vigiles , which was divided into seven cohorts of 500 men each and a praefectus vigilum was subordinated. By 200 the strength was doubled to 7,000 men.
literature
- Ph. Badot: A propos de la conspiration de M. Egnatius Rufus . In: Latomus. 32, 1977, pp. 606-615.
- Werner Eck : Egnatius [II. 10] ME Rufus. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 3, Metzler, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-476-01473-8 , Sp. 892.
- Rudolf Hanslik : Egnatius II. 6. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 2, Stuttgart 1967, Col. 206.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Velleius Paterculus , Historia Romana 2, 91, 3f.
- ^ Cassius Dio , Roman History 53, 24, 4 .
- ↑ Seneca, De brevitate vitae 4,5; De clementia 1,9,6.
- ^ Karl-Wilhelm Weeber: Nightlife in ancient Rome. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2004. p. 12
- ↑ Cassius Dio Roman History 53, 24, 6 ; 55, 8 ; 55, 26, 4f.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Egnatius Rufus, Marcus |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Rufus, Marcus Egnatius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Roman senator and politician in the time of Augustus |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1st century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 19 BC Chr. |
| Place of death | Rome |