Quintus Varius Severus
Encyclopedia
Quintus Varius Severus was a politician in the late Roman Republic
. He was also called Hybrida (of mixed race) because his mother was Spanish
Quintus Varius Severus Hybrida was from Sucro, Spain (in northern Spain, in the contemporary municipality of Candamo
) and was the first senator of the Republic, who came from the Spanish province. In 90 BC he was elected to the tribune
. He wrote a law, the lex Varia, in order to punish all those who had assisted or advised those who took up arms against the Roman people. Under this law many distinguished senators such as Gaius Aurelius Cotta
were sent to exile. In the following year after the application of the law, Varius himself was also convicted by the same law he wrote.
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
. He was also called Hybrida (of mixed race) because his mother was Spanish
Quintus Varius Severus Hybrida was from Sucro, Spain (in northern Spain, in the contemporary municipality of Candamo
Candamo
Candamo is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the east by Las Regueras, on the south by Grado, on the north by Illas, Castrillón and Soto del Barco, and on the west by Pravia and Salas.-History:Around Candamo and specially on the...
) and was the first senator of the Republic, who came from the Spanish province. In 90 BC he was elected to the tribune
Tribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
. He wrote a law, the lex Varia, in order to punish all those who had assisted or advised those who took up arms against the Roman people. Under this law many distinguished senators such as Gaius Aurelius Cotta
Gaius Aurelius Cotta
Gaius Aurelius Cotta was a Roman statesman and orator; not to be confused with Gaius Aurelius L.f. Cotta who was Consul in 252 with Publius Servilius Q.f. Geminus....
were sent to exile. In the following year after the application of the law, Varius himself was also convicted by the same law he wrote.
Original texts
Literature
- Ernst Badian: Quaestiones Variae. in Historia 4, 1969, S. 447-491.
- Erich S. Gruen: The Lex Varia. In: Journal of Roman Studies 55, 1965, S. 59-73.
- Jochen Martin: Die Popularen in der Geschichte der späten Republik. Dissertation, Freiburg i. Br. 1965.
- Lukas Thommen: Das Volkstribunat der späten römischen Republik. Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-515-05187-2.