Publius Sempronius Sophus (Consul 304 BC)

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Publius Sempronius Sophus is the oldest known member of the Roman family of Sempronians , which has since been attested only as plebeian . He was born in 304 BC. Chr. Consul and 300 v. Chr. Censor .

Lineage and Early Career

Publius Sempronius Sophus's father also had the Praenomen Publius , while his grandfather's first name was Gaius .

For the first time, Sophus is 310 BC Testified as a tribune of the people when he tried in vain to force the famous censor Appius Claudius Caecus to resign because he did not resign after 18 months as legally stipulated. The great speech that Titus Livius puts in Sophus' mouth on this occasion was invented by the Roman historian.

consulate

Sophus was made consul with Publius Sulpicius Saverrio in 304 BC. Elected. At that time the end of the Second Samnite War was sealed by the conclusion of a peace. This was followed by a short war against the Aequer , who had long been enemies of the Romans , and this people was finally subdued. In addition to the detailed report of Livy, there is also a short account of this campaign by the Sicilian historian Diodorus , whose brief mentions of events in the earlier Roman Republic are considered very credible by most researchers, since he is evidently referring to an older and more credible informant Livy supported. Historically, Livius' information about the outbreak of the war against the Aequer and the initial course of this campaign are relatively worthless. According to this report, the Aequer are said to have surrendered their camp to the Roman army led by both consuls and withdrew to their cities for defense. On the other hand, Livius' further presentation, which differs only slightly from Diodor's statements, is credible, that the Romans 31 (according to Diodor 40) destroyed places of the Aequer in only 50 days and almost exterminated this people, that afterwards a triumph over the defeated tribe was held and now the Marser , Marruciner and Paeligner became Roman allies. Livy attributes the war and triumph over the Aequer to both consuls, while Diodorus only attributes Sophus. The acts of triumph conform to Diodorus on this point, also give the duration of the war as 50 days and assign the other consul Sulpicius Saverrio a triumph over the Samnites.

Thus, the likely course of the military operations of 304 BC can be determined. Can be reconstructed as follows: Both consuls were commissioned with the fight against the Samnites, but this did not happen as a result of the peace agreement; then Sophus moved with part of the army against the Aequer and subjugated them, while his counterpart stayed in Samnium and feuded the mountain tribes living next to it. Overall, the warlike activities of the two consuls date from 304 BC. BC more reliably than otherwise handed down in this early epoch of Roman history.

Censorship and other offices

After the Lex Ogulnia, which granted plebeians admission to the priestly colleges, 300 BC. In the same year Sophus was one of the first plebeians to be accepted into the circle of pontifices . At the same time he became a censor with his consular colleague and expanded the Roman tribes to include the Aniensis and the Terentina. When several peoples such as the Etruscans , Gauls and Samnites united in an alliance against the Romans (296 BC), he took over the organization of the defense of Rome as praetor . He was also to appoint those triumvirs who had to establish colonies in Minturnae and Sinuessa .

Legal activity

The Roman jurist Sextus Pomponius , who lived in the 2nd century AD, characterizes Sophus as an excellent legal expert, from which he is also said to have received his cognomen , in a work which is handed down in excerpts from the digest of the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. This claim that Sophus had excellent legal knowledge is likely to be credible because during his consulate (304 BC) the secretary of the censor Claudius Caecus, Gnaeus Flavius , as curular aedile for Roman legal history, took groundbreaking measures and because it was precisely at that time that the Pontifices (of which Sophus became a member 300 BC, see above) set significant accents for legal development. However, no details of Sophus' legal activities are known.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Triumphal Acts: Publius Sempronius Sophus P. f. C. n.
  2. ^ Livy 9, 33, 5-9, 34, 26.
  3. ↑ Fasti Capitolini ; Livy 9:45, 1; Diodor 20, 91, 1; among others
  4. ↑ Livy 9:45 , 1-4; Diodorus 20, 101, 5.
  5. ^ Livy 9:45, 5-18.
  6. ^ Livy 9:45, 5-16.
  7. ^ Livy 9, 45, 17-18.
  8. ↑ F. Münzer, RE II A, 2, col. 1438.
  9. ^ Livy 10: 9, 2.
  10. ↑ Livus 10, 9, 14th
  11. ↑ Livy 10:21 , 4.
  12. ↑ Livy 10:21 , 9.
  13. ^ Sextus Pomponius in Digest 1, 2, 2, 37; on this F. Münzer, RE II A, 1, Sp. 1438.
personal data
SURNAME Sempronius Sophus, Publius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sophus, Publius Sempronius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman consul and censor
DATE OF BIRTH before 310 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH after 296 BC Chr.