Quintus Pompey (Consul 141 BC)

Quintus Pompeius came from the Roman plebeian family of the Pompeians and reached 141 BC. BC as the first representative of his sex the consulate .

origin

The Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero dubbed Quintus Pompeius as homo novus , since no member of the Pompeians had reached higher offices of the cursus honorum before him . The father of Quintus Pompeius was an otherwise unknown Aulus Pompeius who allegedly worked as a flute player. Perhaps this claim is a deliberate invention by political opponents of homo novus .

consulate

The early life and first offices of the career of Quintus Pompey are unknown. Nevertheless, his political achievements at the time are likely to have been not insignificant, so that he, who was also a talented and popular speaker with the plebs, through the support of the people against the opposition of the Optimates , especially Scipio Aemilianus , 141 BC. The highest state office could take place.

Pompey was assigned to Spain as a province, with which he had to continue the military conflict of the Romans against the Celtiberian tribes fighting for their freedom ( Numantine War ). The proconsul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus , who had been in charge of this war, handed over to Pompey at the beginning of 141 BC. The supreme command of the Roman armed forces, which comprised 30,000 infantrymen and 2,000 cavalrymen. The consul was denied major military successes. First he attacked the important resistance center Numantia from the east, but was repulsed with great losses. His siege of Termantia also failed, although the enclosed city could muster significantly fewer soldiers for defense than the Roman attackers. The consul tried to blame his predecessor in the commando for these failures: Metellus had given him poorly trained soldiers and destroyed military equipment and food. This claim contradicts the statement of the ancient war historian Appian that the troops taken over from Pompey were in good condition.

Pompey could at least celebrate a small victory by taking the small town of Lagni. During this conquest, however, the city's population fought together with the Romans against the Numantine soldiers who had previously occupied the place. The consul then operated successfully against a robber captain named Tanginus before he let the fighting rest because of the upcoming winter.

Further career

Although Pompey had not exactly distinguished himself as a military leader in Spain, he has not yet been recalled. Therefore he kept in 140 BC The supreme command, but could not increase its military performance. He did not succeed in completely enclosing Numantia because the defenders prevented him from doing so with clever countermeasures. End of 140 BC The previous Roman troops were replaced by newly arrived soldiers, with whom Pompey only suffered greater losses, so that he now switched to negotiations with his enemies. As a result, he reached an agreement with the defenders of the two cities he had not conquered, Numantia and Termantia, according to which they consented to an extradition of hostages and prisoners and a monetary payment of 30 talents. However, he denied the existence of such a contract to the consul Marcus Popillius Laenas when this early in 139 BC. Wanted to take over the leadership of the war against the Celtiberer. The Numantines complained to the Senate in Rome about this underhanded approach . Presumably, however, Pompey had not only acted on his own in his controversial behavior, but with the knowledge of a senate commission that had arrived at the time of his negotiations with the Numantines. Ultimately, the request to extradite Pompey was rejected and his approach was approved.

Presumably, Pompey's political enemies were the originators of the extradition request directed against him. About a year later, around 138 BC. They tried to bring Pompey's career to a legal end by accusing him of extortion. Pompey was heavily burdened by two influential aristocratic brothers, namely Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus and Lucius Caecilius Metellus Calvus and Gnaeus and Quintus Servilius Caepio . However, the defendant was not convicted.

136 BC Pompey returned to Spain, where he and his opponent Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus had to serve as a legate to the consul Lucius Furius Philus . On this occasion it should have approached the Optimates and belonged to 133 BC. With their representatives to the decided enemies of the social reformist appearing tribune Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus , whom he accused of having committed high treason and wanting to rise to the king. A complaint in this regard was not made, however, since Gracchus was soon slain with hundreds of his followers.

131 BC Pompey crowned his political career by attaining the high office of censor . His colleague was his former opponent Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus. For the first time in Roman history, there were two plebeian censors.

Pompey married late and had at least one son and daughter Pompeia. Nothing is known about his life after his censorship.

literature

• Franz Miltner : Pompey 12). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XXI, 2, Stuttgart 1952, Sp. 2056-2058.

Remarks

1. ↑ Cicero, per M. Fonteio 23; per L. Murena 16.
2. ↑ Fasti Capitolini , CIL I² p. 26th
3. ↑ ^{a b} Plutarch , Scipio minor 8 = moralia 200c.
4. ^ Cicero, Brutus 96.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Appian , Iberica 76.
6. ↑ Orosius 5, 4, 13.
7. ^ Appian, Iberica 77.
8. ↑ Valerius Maximus 9, 3, 7.
9. ^ So Diodor 33, 17; the place name Malia given by Appian ( Iberica 77) might be wrong; so Franz Miltner : Pompeius 12). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XXI, 2, Stuttgart 1952, Col. 2056 f.
10. ↑ Appian, Iberica 78; Cassius Dio , fragment 76; Florus 1, 34, 2.
11. ^ Appian, Iberica 79.
12. ↑ Cicero, de officiis 2, 109; Velleius Paterculus 2, 1, 5; Florus 2, 18, 4; Orosius 5, 4.
13. ↑ Cicero, per M. Fonteio 23; see. ders., Brutus 97; Valerius Maximus 8, 5, 1.
14. ↑ Valerius Maximus 3, 7, 5; Cassius Dio, book 33, fragment 82.
15. ↑ Plutarch, Tiberius Gracchus 14; Orosius 5, 8, 4.
16. ↑ Cicero, Brutus 263; Livy , periochae 59.