Gaius Cassius Longinus (consul 73 BCE)
Encyclopedia
Gaius Cassius Longinus Varus was a Roman consul
in 73 BC
was married to Anna, (together with Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus
). Cassius and his colleague passed the lex Terentia Cassia that ordered the state to buy up grain in Sicily and sell it for a low price in Rome. As proconsul
of Cisalpine Gaul
in the next year, 72 BC, during the Third Servile War
, Cassius tried to stop Spartacus
and his followers near Mutina (now Modena
) as the slave army was trying to break through to unoccupied Gaul, but suffered defeat and barely managed to get away alive. Two years later, Cassius appeared as witness of the prosecution in the trial against the corrupt former governor of Sicily, Verres
. In 66 BC, Cassius supported the Manilian law
that gave command of the war against Mithridates to Pompey
; he was joined in this by Cicero
, then praetor
, whose famous speech in support of the same bill survives.
This Cassius Longinus may have been the father of the more famous Caesar assassin, Gaius Cassius Longinus
.
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...
in 73 BC
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
was married to Anna, (together with Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus
Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus
Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus , younger brother of the more famous Lucius Licinius Lucullus, was a supporter of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and consul of ancient Rome in 73 BC. As proconsul of Macedonia in 72 BC, he defeated the Bessi in Thrace and advanced to the Danube and the west coast of the...
). Cassius and his colleague passed the lex Terentia Cassia that ordered the state to buy up grain in Sicily and sell it for a low price in Rome. As proconsul
Proconsul
A proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...
of Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul
Cisalpine Gaul, in Latin: Gallia Cisalpina or Citerior, also called Gallia Togata, was a Roman province until 41 BC when it was merged into Roman Italy.It bore the name Gallia, because the great body of its inhabitants, after the expulsion of the Etruscans, consisted of Gauls or Celts...
in the next year, 72 BC, during the Third Servile War
Third Servile War
The Third Servile War , also called the Gladiator War and the War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last of a series of unrelated and unsuccessful slave rebellions against the Roman Republic, known collectively as the Roman Servile Wars...
, Cassius tried to stop Spartacus
Spartacus
Spartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
and his followers near Mutina (now Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
) as the slave army was trying to break through to unoccupied Gaul, but suffered defeat and barely managed to get away alive. Two years later, Cassius appeared as witness of the prosecution in the trial against the corrupt former governor of Sicily, Verres
Verres
Gaius Verres was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. It is not known what gens he belonged to, though some give him the nomen Licinius.-As governor:...
. In 66 BC, Cassius supported the Manilian law
Lex Manilia
The Lex Manilia was a Roman law established in 66 BC. The proposal of the law was supported by Cicero in his De Imperio Cn...
that gave command of the war against Mithridates to Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
; he was joined in this by Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, then 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...
, whose famous speech in support of the same bill survives.
This Cassius Longinus may have been the father of the more famous Caesar assassin, Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...
.
Selected ancient Sources
- Livy, Periochae 96.
- Plutarch, Crassus 9.7.
- Florus, Epitome 2.8.10.
- Orosius 5.24.4.