Marcus Licinius Crassus (Treasurer)

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Marcus Licinius Crassus (* probably before 85 BC; † 49 BC ) was a member of the ancient Roman plebeian family of the Licinians and the older son of the triumvir of the same name and his wife Tertulla .

Life

Marcus Licinius Crassus had a younger brother Publius , who like his father in 53 BC. Died in the fight against the Parthians . One of the sons of the triumvir Crassus allegedly looked so much like a man named Axius that his mother was suspected of an extramarital relationship. When the speaker Marcus Tullius Cicero was asked about his assessment of a successful speech by this son of the triumvir Crassus in the Senate, he replied in Greek, alluding to Axius: " Άξιος Κράσσου " (ie "worthy of a Crassus"). Macrobius also counts a son of the triumvir Crassus among those persons who would have mastered the art of dance particularly well. The ancient historian Friedrich Münzer relates all this information to the Marcus Licinius Crassus treated here and not to his brother Publius.

After his brother Publius had been around since 58 BC. Had fought in Gaius Iulius Caesar's Gallic War , Marcus Licinius Crassus was 54 BC. BC Caesar's quaestor in Gaul . This year he was likely to have participated in the later dictator's second campaign in Britain . He then spent the winter as the commander of a legion in the area of ​​the Bellovak tribe . Ambiorix , the leader of the Eburones , attempted a revolt and attacked Quintus Tullius Cicero , the speaker's younger brother. When Caesar set out to rescue him, Crassus and his army took over the guarding of the Samarobriva headquarters (today's Amiens ). 53 BC Caesar undertook a campaign against the Menapier , with Crassus , who still had the rank of (pro) quaestor, in command of one of the three army departments.

Crassus continued to be a close follower of Caesar. When, therefore, between this and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus at the beginning of 49 BC When the civil war broke out, the Parthians tried to contact Pompey because they were afraid that Crassus and his party would not leave the murder of the triumvir after the battle of Carrhae unpunished. Most recently Crassus practiced since April 49 BC. Took command of the province of Gallia cisalpina . He must not have lived much longer, since Marcus Calidius was head of this province the next year .

Crassus was married to Caecilia Metella, the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus . The relief decoration on the monumental tomb that has been preserved indicates Crassus' military service in the Gallic War. His son was the consul from 30 BC. BC, who, like his father, was named Marcus Licinius Crassus .

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Plutarch , Cicero 25, 5.
  2. ↑ Macrobius, Saturnalia 3, 14, 15.
  3. ^ Friedrich Münzer: Licinius 56 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XIII, 1, Stuttgart 1926, Col. 268.
  4. ^ Caesar, Gallic War 5, 24, 3.
  5. ^ Caesar, Gallic War 5, 46, 1f. and 5, 47, 1f.
  6. ^ Caesar, Gallic War 6, 6, 1.
  7. ↑ Justin 42: 4, 6.
  8. ^ Appian , Civil Wars 2, 165.
personal data
SURNAME Licinius Crassus, Marcus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Crassus, Marcus Licinius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Son of the triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus
DATE OF BIRTH before 85 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 49 BC Chr.