Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 122 BC)
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Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (died 104 BC) was consul
of Rome
in 122 BC. He was the son of the Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus
who was consul in 162 BC.
In the year of his consulship he was sent against the Allobroges
in Gallia Transalpina, under the pretext that they had had received Rome's enemy, Teutomalius, king of the Salluvii, and had laid waste to the territory of Rome's allies, the Aedui
. Rome’s desire to create a secure land route to their provinces in Spain through Gaul was more likely its real reason for entering Gaul. He and Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus
conquered the Allobroges and their ally, Bituitus
, king of the Arverni
, near Vindalium, at the confluence of the Sulga and Rhone
, winning the battle mainly through terror caused by war elephant
s. He erecting trophies to commemorate his victory, traveled on an elephant in procession through the province, and was honored with a triumph
in 120 BC, at the fore of which he paraded the captive Vituitus.
As censor in 115 BC, he expelled twenty-two senators from the senate
. He is most famous for constructing the Via Domitia
(cir. 118 BC), connecting Rome to her provinces in Spain. Constructed along an ancient trading road, crossing the Alps by one of the easiest passages, the Col de Montgenèvre
., it is possibly the same pass taken by Hannibal
in his famous crossing in 218 BC. It was built around the same time as the founding of Colonia Narbo Martius (Narbonne), the first Roman colony in Gaul.
He was also elected Pontifex
.
He died around 104 BC, leaving two sons, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul in 96 BC) and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
(consul in 94 BC). He was the grandfather of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
(consul in 54 BC).
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...
of Rome
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....
in 122 BC. He was the son of the Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 162 BC)
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, son of the Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus who had been consul in 192 BC, was chosen pontifex in 172 BC, when still a young man, and in 169 BC was sent with two others as commissioners into Macedonia...
who was consul in 162 BC.
In the year of his consulship he was sent against the Allobroges
Allobroges
The Allobroges were a Celtic tribe of ancient Gaul, located between the Rhône River and the Lake of Geneva in what later became Savoy, Dauphiné, and Vivarais. Their cities were in the areas of modern-day Annecy, Chambéry and Grenoble, the modern of Isère, and modern Switzerland...
in Gallia Transalpina, under the pretext that they had had received Rome's enemy, Teutomalius, king of the Salluvii, and had laid waste to the territory of Rome's allies, the Aedui
Aedui
Aedui, Haedui or Hedui , were a Gallic people of Gallia Lugdunensis, who inhabited the country between the Arar and Liger , in today's France. Their territory thus included the greater part of the modern departments of Saône-et-Loire, Côte-d'Or and Nièvre.-Geography:The country of the Aedui is...
. Rome’s desire to create a secure land route to their provinces in Spain through Gaul was more likely its real reason for entering Gaul. He and Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, was a Roman statesman and general.Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, a member of the patrician gens Fabia, was the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, consul of 145 BC...
conquered the Allobroges and their ally, Bituitus
Bituitus
Bituitus was a king of the Arverni, a Gallic tribe living in what is now the Auvergne region of France. The Arverni were a powerful opponent of the Roman Republic during the 3rd and 2nd centuries under the leadership of Luernios, the father of Bituitus...
, king of the Arverni
Arverni
The Arverni were a Gallic tribe living in what is now the Auvergne region of France during the last centuries BC. One of the most powerful tribes in ancient Gaul, they opposed the Romans on several occasions...
, near Vindalium, at the confluence of the Sulga and Rhone
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, winning the battle mainly through terror caused by war elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s. He erecting trophies to commemorate his victory, traveled on an elephant in procession through the province, and was honored with 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...
in 120 BC, at the fore of which he paraded the captive Vituitus.
As censor in 115 BC, he expelled twenty-two senators from the senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
. He is most famous for constructing the Via Domitia
Via Domitia
The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now southern France. The route that the Romans regularised and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, so old that it traces the mythic route travelled by Heracles...
(cir. 118 BC), connecting Rome to her provinces in Spain. Constructed along an ancient trading road, crossing the Alps by one of the easiest passages, the Col de Montgenèvre
Col de Montgenèvre
The Col de Montgenèvre is a high mountain pass in the Cottian Alps, between France and Italy.The pass takes its name from the village Montgenèvre , which lies in the vicinity...
., it is possibly the same pass taken by Hannibal
Hannibal Barca
Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca Hannibal's date of death is most commonly given as 183 BC, but there is a possibility it could have taken place in 182 BC. was a Carthaginian military commander and tactician. He is generally considered one of the greatest military commanders in history...
in his famous crossing in 218 BC. It was built around the same time as the founding of Colonia Narbo Martius (Narbonne), the first Roman colony in Gaul.
He was also elected Pontifex
Pontifex
PONTIFEX was a mid-1980s project that introduced a novel approach to complex aircraft fleet scheduling, partially funded by the European Commission’s Strategic Programme for R&D in Information Technology.Since the mathematical problems stemming from non trivial fleet scheduling easily become...
.
He died around 104 BC, leaving two sons, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul in 96 BC) and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 94 BC)
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was a politician of ancient Rome of the late 2nd and early 1st century BC. He served as praetor in Sicily, probably in 96 BC, shortly after the Second Servile War, when slaves had been forbidden to carry arms. He ordered a slave to be crucified for killing a wild boar...
(consul in 94 BC). He was the grandfather of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 54 BC)
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, consul 54 BC, was an enemy of Julius Caesar and a strong supporter of the aristocratic party in the late Roman Republic.He is first mentioned in 70 BC by Cicero as a witness against Verres...
(consul in 54 BC).