Tiberius Canutius or Cannutius was tribune of the plebs

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...

 in 44 BC, the year of Caesar's

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

 assassination. As a supporter of the senatorial party, he opposed the triumvirs

Second Triumvirate

The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Octavius , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic...

, resorting to military force during the Perusine War. He was captured and put to death by Octavianus

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

 in 40 BC.

Tribunate

As tribunus plebis in 44 BC, Canutius was violently opposed to Marcus Antonius

Mark Antony

Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...

, one of Caesar's closest allies. In the aftermath of Caesar's murder, a rift developed between Antonius and Octavianus, Caesar's nephew. Towards the end of October, Octavianus approached the city of Rome, and Canutius went out to meet him, in order to learn his intentions. Upon Octavianus declaring against Antonius, Canutius conducted him into the city, and spoke to the people on his behalf.

Shortly afterward, Octavianus went into Etruria

Etruria

Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...

, and Antonius returned to Rome. When the latter summoned 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...

 to the Capitol

Capitoline Hill

The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...

 on the 28th of November, in order to declare Octavianus an enemy of the state, he would not allow Canutius and two of his fellow tribunes, Decimus Carfulenus

Decimus Carfulenus

Decimus Carfulenus, called Carsuleius by Appianus, was a Roman statesman from the time of the Civil War to the Battle of Mutina, in which he perished.-Biography:...

 and Lucius Cassius Longinus

Lucius Cassius Longinus

Lucius Cassius Longinus was the name of several ancient Romans of the gens Cassia.*Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla was a consul of the Roman Republic in 127 BC.* Lucius Cassius Longinus was consul in 107 BC....

, to approach the Capitol, lest they should put their veto upon the decree of the senate.

After the departure of Antonius from Rome to prosecute the war against Decimus Junius Brutus

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Roman politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination...

 in Cisalpine Gaul, Canutius had full scope for indulging his hostility to Antonius, and constantly attacked him in the most furious manner, continua rabie lacerabat.

Perusine War

Upon the establishment of the triumvirate in the following year, BC 43, Canutius is said by Velleius Paterculus

Marcus Velleius Paterculus

Marcus Velleius Paterculus was a Roman historian, also known simply as Velleius. Although his praenomen is given as Marcus by Priscian, some modern scholars identify him with Gaius Velleius Paterculus, whose name occurs in an inscription on a north African milestone .-Biography:Paterculus belonged...

 to have been included in the proscription and put to death; but this is a mistake, for he was engaged in the Perusine War, BC 40. As Octavianus had deserted the senatorial party, Canutius became one of his enemies, and accordingly he joined Fulvia

Fulvia

Fulvia Flacca Bambula , commonly referred to as simply Fulvia, was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the Late Roman Republic. Through her marriage to three of the most promising Roman men of her generation, Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Scribonius Curio and Mark Antony, she gained...

 and Lucius Antonius

Lucius Antonius (brother of Mark Antony)

Lucius Antonius was the younger brother and supporter of Mark Antony, a Roman politician.Lucius was son of Marcus Antonius Creticus, son of the rhetorician Marcus Antonius Orator executed by Gaius Marius' supporters in 86 BC, and Julia Antonia, a cousin of Julius Caesar...

 in their attempt to crush Octavianus. Canutius fell into his enemy's hands on the capture of Perusia

Perusia

The ancient Perusia, now Perugia, first appears in history as one of the 12 confederate cities of Etruria. It is first mentioned in the account of the war of 310 or 309 BC between the Etruscans and the Romans...

, and was put to death by his orders.