Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus minor Numantinus (* 185 BC ; † 129 BC ), usually Scipio Aemilianus or "the younger Scipio" to distinguish it from the older Scipio Africanus , was a Roman general and statesman who above all is known for the successful siege and subsequent destruction of Carthage .

Life

He was the younger son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus , the conqueror of Macedonia . At the age of 17, he fought alongside his father in the Battle of Pydna , in which the fate of Macedonia was decided and northern Greece submitted to the Roman Republic . He was of Publius Cornelius Scipio adopted , whose name he took the eldest son of Scipio Africanus so.

In 151 BC At a time of catastrophe for the Romans in Hispania , he volunteered his services in the province and soon developed his influence on the Iberian tribes, much like the elder Scipio, his adoptive grandfather, nearly 60 years earlier. In the following year, the Carthaginians asked him to act as a mediator between them and the Numidian prince Massinissa , who, supported by a Roman party, invaded Carthaginian territory.

In 149 BC Rome declared war on Carthage ( Third Punic War ) and sent an army to besiege the city. In the first military operations, which ended with little success for the Romans, Scipio, although a subordinate officer, repeatedly distinguished himself, and 147 BC. BC he was elected consul , although he had not yet reached the statutory minimum age, just so that he could take over the supreme command in the war.

After a year of desperate struggle and despite fierce resistance from the defenders under the general Hasdrubal , he conquered Carthage and, at the behest of the Senate, destroyed it to the ground. On his return to Rome he was given an extraordinary triumphal procession ; like his adoptive grandfather, he was nicknamed Africanus ; since this had already preceded him in this title, he is also called "the younger Africanus" ( Latin Africanus minor ).

142 BC As a censor he tried to put a stop to the increasing luxury and moral decline of the time. Around the year 140 BC Together with Lucius Caecilius Metellus Calvus and Spurius Mummius, he undertook a legation trip to the east, as the Senate did in the 2nd century BC. Often sent. In addition to Egypt, he probably also visited the Seleucid Empire in today's Syria, Pergamon, Rhodes and Greece. The ambassadors endeavored to maintain existing friendships and to ensure Roman supremacy in the Mediterranean.

After his return to Rome in 139 BC. He was unsuccessfully accused of high treason by Tiberius Claudius Asellus , whom he had deposed as censor. The speeches he gave on the occasion (and which have been lost) have been described as brilliant.

134 BC He became consul again, again in disregard of a legal regulation, and took over the supreme command of the demoralized troops in Spain, which tried in vain to conquer Numantia on the Durius ( Duero ). After devoting several months to restoring the morale of the troops, he locked the city. The fall and destruction of Numantia in 133 BC BC sealed the rule of Rome on the peninsula. For this achievement Scipio was further nicknamed Numantinus .

Scipio was married to Sempronia, the sister of the Gracches . It is true that he supported the plans of his brother-in-law Tiberius Gracchus ; but when his conflict with the Senate majority escalated and led to constitutional breaches, Scipio, who did not want a power shift from the Senate to the People's Assembly, seems to have distanced himself. For although he had been one of the most important proponents of the Gracchian agrarian law in the Senate, he had also been against the increasingly radical methods of Tiberius Gracchus. After the death of Tiberius Gracchus he was publicly asked by the tribune of the people Gaius Papirius Carbo what he thought of the fate of his brother-in-law, and he replied that if Gracchus had actually sought the royal crown, as his enemies said, he was of course rightly slain been. This statement, however, clearly clouded his immense popularity with the people. Nevertheless, Scipio was instrumental in the implementation of the provisions of the Gracchian agricultural law.

A little later, in 129 BC. He was found dead in bed on the morning of the day he was about to give a speech on the agricultural laws of the Gracchi. The mystery surrounding his death was never cleared up and there were political reasons not to take up the subject. But there was always suspicion that he was murdered by one of the Gracchi supporters, e. B. von Carbo, whom Cicero expressly accuses of the crime.

Act

Scipio Cornelius Africanus, a great general and politician that he was, is forever associated with the destruction of Carthage. However, he was a staunch opponent of the same and - as far as old sources can be believed - he regretted having to carry out this order. Since he was an educated man, he (together with his friends like the consuls Gaius Laelius and Lucius Furius Philus ) gathered around him in the Scipionenkreis men like the Greek historian Polybios , the philosopher Panaitios and the poets Gaius Lucilius and Terenz - if you believe Cicero may. At the same time he (after Polybios and Cicero) had all the virtues of the Romans, the latter honoring him in his De re publica , in which Scipio is the main speaker. As a speaker he seems to have been no less distinguished than as a soldier. He spoke remarkably good and pure Latin and particularly enjoyed serious intellectual conversations. After taking Carthage, he returned to the Sicilian cities the art treasures that Carthage had stolen from them. He did not take advantage of the innumerable opportunities he must have had to amass a fortune. In the political issues that became acute in his time (care for landless citizens, position of allies) he tried to represent a moderate stance. So you can count him among the more open conservatives.

swell

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Konrad Bilz: The politics of P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus . In: Würzburg Studies on Classical Studies . tape 7 . Stuttgart 1936, p. 45 .
  2. ↑ Harold Braithwaite Mattingly: Scipio Aemilianus' Eastern Embassy . In: Classical Quarterly . tape 36 , 1986, pp. 491-495 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, Publius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Scipio, the younger; Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus; Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, Publius Cornelius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman general and politician, destroyed Carthage
DATE OF BIRTH 185 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 129 BC Chr.