Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus

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Titus Manlius Torquatus lived in the 4th century BC. And was a Roman patrician from the Gens Manlia . He was three times the Roman consul .

Life

He is mentioned for the first time in Titus Livius ' historical work Ab urbe condita , when he was distinguished by his love of sons towards his father, when he was brought to court for hardship during the eviction:

"Among other things, the tribune reproached him [the father] for having his son [Titus Manlius Torquatus], banished a young man from the city, to whom nothing disgusting could be proven, excluded from his house and the household gods, the forum, the daylight and the contact with his peers and put into a dungeon and workhouse for slave labor, where the young man, the offspring of a respected family and son of a dictator, learn through his daily misery that he is truly descended from an authoritative father. But for what offense? Because he is less eloquent and not ready to speak. Shouldn't the father have encouraged this innate weakness if there had been a trace of humanity in him, or should he punish it and make it conspicuous by torture? Not even the mute animals cherished or cared for their young any less if one of them did not develop enough as desired. "

Titus Manlius' fight against the Gauls , relief from 1598 in Weikersheim Castle

The son then threatened the prosecutor, the tribune of the people Marcus Pomponius , with a dagger, so that he withdrew the allegations of violence against his father Lucius Manlius Imperiosus. As a reward, Titus Manlius was even awarded the office of military tribune . The story describes the pietas patris , the devotion of Roman society to the father.

As a military tribune, he had around the year 360 BC. BC (similar to Marcus Valerius Corvus ) defeated a Gauls unusually tall in a duel . His nickname Torquatus was given to him because of a necklace ( torquis ) that he captured. The honorary name applied to his entire family and also his descendants.

Titus Manlius beheads his son (engraving from 1553)

According to Roman tradition, Titus Manlius Torquatus was born three times - 353, 349 and 320 BC. - appointed dictator and was Roman consul in 347, 344 and 340 BC However, the events of this early phase of Roman history appear to be often flawed by the ancient historians, and Manlius' first two alleged terms as dictator are considered unhistorical in modern scholarship.

In his third consulate, Titus Manlius Torquatus defeated the Latins at the Battle of Trifanum . During the clashes with the Latins, he is said to have sentenced his son of the same name to death and executed him. He had killed a group of Romans mocking Latins on a scouting ride, against the orders of his father. Titus Manlius Torquatus, in whom the discipline of the army came first, had his son tied to the stake and beheaded.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 7,4,4–6. German translation according to: T. Livius: Roman history. Book VII-X. Edited in Latin and German by Hans Jürgen Hillen . 3rd edition, Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf 2008, pp. 13–15.
  2. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 7.5.
  3. ^ Christian Müller: Manlius I, 12. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 7, Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-476-01477-0 , Sp. 825.
  4. ↑ For the dating see T. Robert S. Broughton: The Magistrates of the Roman Republic. Volume 1, American Philological Association, New York 1951, pp. 119 f.
  5. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 7:10.
  6. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 7,19,10 (first dictatorship); 7.26.11 f. (second dictatorship); 7.27.3 (first consulate); 7.28.6 (second consulate); 8,3,5 (third consulate). The third dictatorship is attested in the Fasti Capitolini . For the dates see T. Robert S. Broughton: The Magistrates of the Roman Republic. Volume 1, American Philological Association, New York 1951, pp. 125-136.
  7. ^ Karl Julius Beloch : Roman history up to the beginning of the Punic Wars. De Gruyter, Berlin / Leipzig 1926, p. 65 ( digitized version ). Christian Müller agrees: Manlius I, 12. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 7, Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-476-01477-0 , Sp. 825.
  8. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 8: 11, 11 f .; Diodor , Historical Library 16,90,2.
  9. ↑ Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 8,7.
personal data
SURNAME Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus, Titus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Imperiosus Torquatus, Titus Manlius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman consul 347 BC Chr.
DATE OF BIRTH before 390 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH after 340 BC Chr.