Aulus Atilius Calatinus
Encyclopedia
Aulus Atilius Calatinus (d. by 216 BC), was a politician and general in Ancient Rome
. He was the first Roman dictator
to lead an army outside Italy (then understood as the Italian mainland), when he led his army into Sicily. He was consul
in 258 BC and again in 254 BC, a praetor
and triumphator
in 257 BC, and finally a censor
in 247 BC. Calatinus must have died by 216 BC, because Marcus Fabius Buteo
(censor in 241 BC) was named the oldest living ex-censor; Calatinus would have been senior to him in terms of the date of censorship and their respective ages.
. He conquered more towns after his narrow escape from the Carthaginians, and was granted a triumph
on his return. He was elected or appointed praetor in 257 BC in the year of his triumph.
He was reelected consul in 254 BC with Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina
, and the two co-consuls rebuilt the Roman fleet with 220 ships, after the earlier fleet had been lost in a storm off cape Pachynum. Both consuls sailed to Sicily, where they captured Panormus the same year. However, only Asina was granted the triumph (possibly because Calatinus had already triumphed three years before).
In 249 BC, following the disastrous naval losses of Publius Claudius Pulcher
and Iunius Pullus, Pulcher was fined 120,000 asses
and his colleague committed suicide. Both consuls were now unfit for command or deceased; the dictator Claudius Glycia, appointed by Pulcher, was removed on the grounds that he was Pulcher's freedman, and thus not even a Senator, let alone a senator of some status. Calatinus was therefore elected dictator
and led an army into Sicily
, becoming the first dictator to lead a Roman army outside Italy
. He had no great military successes, or at least none noted by Roman historians or in Smith.
He was elected censor
in 247 BC. Several years later, in 241 BC, he was chosen as mediator between the proconsul C. Lutatius Catulus and the praetor Q. Valerius, to decide which of the two had the right to claim a triumph, and he decided in favour of the proconsul.
According to Smith, Calatinus dedicated temples to Spes
(the personification of hope and safety of the young) in the Forum Holitorium
and Fides (the personification of good faith whose symbol is a pair of covered hands symbolizing an agreement) on the Capitol.
in the Samnite Wars
. Standing in disgrace of his imminent condemnation, the elder Calatinus was saved by a few timely words from the great Fabius Maximus Rullianus
(the first Maximus and at that time (306 BC) the thrice consul
and acting praetor
), his father-in-law. Fabius asserted that he would have never continued his relationship (as Patron) had he believed Atilius was guilty of such a crime. The Plebeian Atilii were therefore clients of the aristocratic Fabii, and also related to them by marriage. Thus, our present Atilius was the grandson, on his mother's side, of Fabius Rullianus.
The Atilius Catatinii were cousins of the other famous Atilii, the Atilii Regulii. Calatinus is clearly a congomen referring to Calatia, six miles southwest of Capua
. This region had been conquered during the consulship of the first named Atilius, Marcus Atilius Regulus Calenus, in 335 BC. Since his colleague, the Patrician Valerius, actually conquered Cales, it is likely that Atilius actually came from there. Pottery from the region indicates the name K. and N. Atilius are from the region near Capua. Interestingly, the forenames Kaeso and Numercius, Atilii names, are unique of all Patrician clans to the Fabii. The Atilii were the leading family of Campania
at the time of their gaining citizenship and the surname Regulus might refer to their regal position in that society. Fabii ownership of large land holding in Falernia probably resulted from the treaty of 340 in which Capuan lands north of the Volturnus
were ceded to Rome. (Munzer)
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. He was the first Roman dictator
Roman dictator
In the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
to lead an army outside Italy (then understood as the Italian mainland), when he led his army into Sicily. He was consul
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
in 258 BC and again in 254 BC, a praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
and triumphator
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
in 257 BC, and finally a censor
Censor (ancient Rome)
The censor was an officer in ancient Rome who was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the government's finances....
in 247 BC. Calatinus must have died by 216 BC, because Marcus Fabius Buteo
Marcus Fabius Buteo
Marcus Fabius Buteo was a Roman politician during the 3rd century BC. He served as consul and as censor, and in 216 BC, being the oldest living ex-censor, he was appointed dictator, legendo senatui, for the purpose of filling vacancies in the senate after the Battle of Cannae. He was appointed by...
(censor in 241 BC) was named the oldest living ex-censor; Calatinus would have been senior to him in terms of the date of censorship and their respective ages.
Career
Elected consul in 258 BC with Gaius Sulpicius Paterculus, he was given Sicily as his province. During his first consulship, he had several successes, taking many Sicilian towns, but fell into an ambush from which he and his army were saved by a tribune, Marcus Calpurnius FlammaMarcus Calpurnius Flamma
Marcus Calpurnius Flamma was a Roman military leader and hero in the First Punic War.Flamma was a military tribune who led 300 volunteers on a suicide mission to free a consular army from a defile in which they had been trapped by the Carthaginians...
. He conquered more towns after his narrow escape from the Carthaginians, and was granted a triumph
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
on his return. He was elected or appointed praetor in 257 BC in the year of his triumph.
He was reelected consul in 254 BC with Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina was a Roman politician involved in the First Punic War.Scipio Asina was a patrician member of the Scipiones branch of the famous Cornelii, a family with a history as old as the Roman Republic itself. He was son of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus and brother of Lucius...
, and the two co-consuls rebuilt the Roman fleet with 220 ships, after the earlier fleet had been lost in a storm off cape Pachynum. Both consuls sailed to Sicily, where they captured Panormus the same year. However, only Asina was granted the triumph (possibly because Calatinus had already triumphed three years before).
In 249 BC, following the disastrous naval losses of Publius Claudius Pulcher
Publius Claudius Pulcher
Publius Claudius Pulcher was a Roman general. His father was Gaius Claudius. He was the brother of the famous Roman politician Appius Claudius Caudex . He was the first of the Claudii to be given the cognomen "Pulcher" .He was curule aedile in 253 BC and consul in 249...
and Iunius Pullus, Pulcher was fined 120,000 asses
As (coin)
The , also assarius was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.- Republican era coinage :...
and his colleague committed suicide. Both consuls were now unfit for command or deceased; the dictator Claudius Glycia, appointed by Pulcher, was removed on the grounds that he was Pulcher's freedman, and thus not even a Senator, let alone a senator of some status. Calatinus was therefore elected dictator
Roman dictator
In the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
and led an army into Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, becoming the first dictator to lead a Roman army outside Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He had no great military successes, or at least none noted by Roman historians or in Smith.
He was elected censor
Censor (ancient Rome)
The censor was an officer in ancient Rome who was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the government's finances....
in 247 BC. Several years later, in 241 BC, he was chosen as mediator between the proconsul C. Lutatius Catulus and the praetor Q. Valerius, to decide which of the two had the right to claim a triumph, and he decided in favour of the proconsul.
According to Smith, Calatinus dedicated temples to Spes
Spes
In ancient Roman religion, Spes was the goddess of hope. Multiple temples to Spes are known, and inscriptions indicate that she received private devotion as well as state cult.-Republican Hope:...
(the personification of hope and safety of the young) in the Forum Holitorium
Forum Holitorium
The Forum Holitorium was the market for vegetables, herbs and oil forum venalium of early ancient Rome, by the Tiber at the foot of the Capitoline and Palatine hills...
and Fides (the personification of good faith whose symbol is a pair of covered hands symbolizing an agreement) on the Capitol.
Background
Calatinus was the son of Aulus Atilius Calatinus, who had been accused of betraying the city of SoraSora, Italy
Sora is a city and comune of Lazio, Italy, in the province of Frosinone. It is built in a plain on the banks of the Liri. This part of the valley is the seat of some important manufactures, especially of paper-mills....
in the Samnite Wars
Samnite Wars
The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars, between the early Roman Republic and the tribes of Samnium, extended over half a century, involving almost all the states of Italy, and ended in Roman domination of the Samnites...
. Standing in disgrace of his imminent condemnation, the elder Calatinus was saved by a few timely words from the great Fabius Maximus Rullianus
Fabius Maximus Rullianus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus , son of Marcus Fabius Ambustus, of the patrician Fabii of ancient Rome, was five times consul and a hero of the Samnite Wars. He was brother to Marcus Fabius Ambustus ....
(the first Maximus and at that time (306 BC) the thrice consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
and acting praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
), his father-in-law. Fabius asserted that he would have never continued his relationship (as Patron) had he believed Atilius was guilty of such a crime. The Plebeian Atilii were therefore clients of the aristocratic Fabii, and also related to them by marriage. Thus, our present Atilius was the grandson, on his mother's side, of Fabius Rullianus.
The Atilius Catatinii were cousins of the other famous Atilii, the Atilii Regulii. Calatinus is clearly a congomen referring to Calatia, six miles southwest of Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
. This region had been conquered during the consulship of the first named Atilius, Marcus Atilius Regulus Calenus, in 335 BC. Since his colleague, the Patrician Valerius, actually conquered Cales, it is likely that Atilius actually came from there. Pottery from the region indicates the name K. and N. Atilius are from the region near Capua. Interestingly, the forenames Kaeso and Numercius, Atilii names, are unique of all Patrician clans to the Fabii. The Atilii were the leading family of Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
at the time of their gaining citizenship and the surname Regulus might refer to their regal position in that society. Fabii ownership of large land holding in Falernia probably resulted from the treaty of 340 in which Capuan lands north of the Volturnus
Volturnus
In Roman mythology, Volturnus was a god of the waters, probably derived from a local Samnite cult. His festival, Volturnalia, was held on August 27.The Volturno river in Campania is named in his honour....
were ceded to Rome. (Munzer)
Sources
- William SmithWilliam Smith (lexicographer)Sir William Smith Kt. was a noted English lexicographer.-Early life:Born at Enfield in 1813 of Nonconformist parents, he was originally destined for a theological career, but instead was articled to a solicitor. In his spare time he taught himself classics, and when he entered University College...
, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and MythologyDictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and MythologyThe Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary.- Characteristic :...
v. 1, page 560