Publius Postumius Tubertus
Publius Postumius Tubertus,the son of Quintus, was the first of thepatriciangens Postumiato obtain theconsulship,which he held in 505 BC, and again in 503. Ten years later, he was one of the envoys sent by theRoman Senateto negotiate with theplebeiansduring the firstsecessio plebis.The outcome of those negotiations reunited theRoman people,and established thetribunes of the plebs,one of the most important institutions of theRoman Republic.[1]
Career
[edit]Postumius' first consulship came in 505 BC, the fifth year of the Republic. Together with his colleague,Marcus Valerius Volusus,hefought againsttheSabines,whom they defeated decisively nearTibur,obtaining atriumph.[2][3][4][5][6]
Postumius was consul for the second time in 503 BC.Livyrecords thathe foughtanddefeatedtheAurunci,and captured the town ofPometia,obtaining a second triumph.[2]Other authorities state that he fought against the Sabines again, at first with little success, but that he was eventually victorious, and was awarded anovation,or lesser triumph, which he celebrated on 3 April 503 BC.[7][5]This was the first occasion that this honour was bestowed upon amagistrateof the Republic.[8][9]Additionally, according to Jerome, Postumius and his colleague,Agrippa Menenius Lanatus,held acensusduring their term of office.[10][11]
In 493 BC, Postumius and Menenius were among the ten ambassadors sent by the senate to treat with the plebs gathered on theMons Sacerduring the first secession. Led by Menenius, the envoys successfully negotiated an agreement under which the patricians would forgive some of the debt owed by the plebeians; the terms of the agreement also established the office of thetribuni plebis,or "tribunes of the people", who received the power to veto acts of the magistrates and the senate.[12][13][14]
In consequence of his deeds and reputation, Postumius and his descendants were accorded the privilege of being buried within the city walls.[15]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,vol. III, p. 1080 ( "Tubertus" ).
- ^abLivy, ii. 16.
- ^Zonaras,Epitome Historiarum,v. 37–39, vii. 13.
- ^Plutarch, "The Life of Publicola", 20.
- ^abFasti Triumphales,AE1889, 70;1893, 80; 1904, 113, 196; 1930, 60; 1940, 61.
- ^Broughton, vol I, p. 7.
- ^Dionysius, v. 44-47.
- ^Zonaras,Epitome Historiarum,vii. 13.
- ^Pliny the Elder, xv. 29.
- ^Jerome,Chronicon,ad ann. 504.
- ^Broughton, vol I, p. 8.
- ^Dionysius, vi. 69.
- ^Livy, ii. 32.
- ^Broughton, vol I, p. 15.
- ^Cicero,De Legibus,ii. 23.
Bibliography
[edit]- Marcus Tullius Cicero,De Legibus.
- Dionysius of Halicarnassus,Romaike Archaiologia(Roman Antiquities).
- Titus Livius (Livy),History of Rome.
- Gaius Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Elder),Historia Naturalis(Natural History).
- Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (Plutarch),Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans.
- Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (St. Jerome),In Chronicon Eusebii(TheChroniconofEusebius).
- Joannes Zonaras,Epitome Historiarum(Epitome of History).
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,William Smith,ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
- T. Robert S. Broughton,The Magistrates of the Roman Republic,American Philological Association (1952–1986).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Smith, William,ed. (1870). "Tubertus".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.Vol. 3. p. 1080.