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89-685: The Delmatae appear in historical record for the first time in 181 BC, when upon the death of their ruler Pleuratus III of the Illyrian kingdom, they refused to accept the rule of his son, Gentius and seceded. They expanded and came to include coastal Illyrian tribes like the Tariotes , the Hylli and the Nesti and increased their territory to the north against the Liburni . Conflict with Roman expansionism and its local allies in

178-587: A coastal region by the Dinaric Alps. Their capital settlement Delminium was located close to present-day Tomislavgrad . The first Dalmatian war in 156–155 BC finished with the destruction of capital Delminium by consul Scipio Nasica . The second Dalmatian war was fought in 119–118 BC, apparently ending in Roman victory as consul L. Caecilius Metellus celebrated triumph in 117 BC and assumed his surname Delmaticus . The third Dalmatian war 78–76 BC finished with

267-555: A couple of years. In 168 Rome mustered a strong army under the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus to put an end to the conflict. Paullus chose Corculum to serve as one of his military tribunes , probably for family reasons, as Paullus was also the brother-in-law of Scipio Africanus, and the Aemilii were long allies of the Cornelii. Despite their family connections, ancient historians' accounts show that they had difficult relations throughout

356-579: A decisive role during the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC; he later won a triumph over the Dalmatae in 155 BC. He was remembered as a staunch conservative, defender of the ancestral Roman customs against political and cultural innovations, notably Hellenism , in contradiction with the policies of his famous father-in-law Scipio Africanus and cousin Scipio Aemilianus . This conservatism led him to order

445-405: A king, possibly Massinissa of Numidia , as the Cornelii had personal ties with him since Scipio Africanus. This memoir was used by Plutarch in his Life of Aemilius , who notes the discrepancies with Polybius. The memoir is considered to be one of the earliest Roman autobiographical texts, second to a long letter of Scipio Africanus to Philip V , which likely inspired Corculum. Opinions on

534-405: A million combatants, auxiliaries and civilians on both side. In the aftermath, some Delmataean communities were relocated in the northern Sandzak region and others were resettled in parts of Carinthia to provide labor for the Roman mines. The defeat of the revolt began the integration of Dalmatia which in turn led to the romanization of the region by the early Middle Ages. The original form of

623-468: A result, modern historians have had diverging interpretations to explain some of his deeds, especially his opposition to the war against Carthage, or his destruction of the first Roman theatre in stone. Corculum belonged to the patrician gens Cornelia , which was the foremost gens of the Republic in terms of consulships (the Cornelii had obtained 42 consulships before his). The Scipiones formed one of

712-459: A second cognomen . The agnomen Corculum is unique in Roman history; it is probably an archaic Latin word meaning "intellectual giftedness" or "cleverness". It is not known how Corculum received this nickname, but it may derive from his ingenious military strategies. Cicero speaks highly of Corculum, describing him as "an able orator", but it seems that his speeches were already lost by Cicero's time. He and Aurelius Victor add that Corculum

801-500: A source of depravity, culminating with their interdiction in 1642. Therefore, Corculum frequently appears in pamphlets of the era, such as those written by John Northbrooke (1577), Stephen Gosson (1582), Philip Stubbes (1583), Philip Sidney (1595) Thomas Beard (1597), and John Rainolds (1599). The French avant-garde playwright Antonin Artaud mentions Corculum in his essay The Theatre and its Double (published in 1938), about

890-465: A statue found in the tomb was first described as the "head of Ennius", because it has a laurel-wreath, associated with poets. However, Filippo Coarelli later demonstrated that this association was only made at the time of Horace , while the head dates from the 2nd century BC. Coarelli prefers to see the laurel-wreath as the attribute of a triumphator buried in the tomb; since Africanus was buried in his villa of Liternum , it only leaves Corculum as

979-420: A toponym linked to the root *dele . The form Dalmatae and the respective regional name Dalmatia are later variants as is already noted by Appian (2nd century AD). His contemporary grammarian Velius Longus highlights in his treatise about orthography that the correct form of Dalmatia is Delmatia , and notes that Marcus Terentius Varro who lived about 2 centuries prior of Appian and Velius Longius, used

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1068-552: A variant of dele with *-mā , which is ultimately from proto-Albanian *dailā . Toponyms linked to the name are found throughout the territories inhabited by Illyrians including the chief settlement of the Delmatae, Delminium and Dalmana in present-day N. Macedonia. The medieval Slavic toponym Ovče Pole ("plain of sheep" in South Slavic) in the nearby region represents a related later development. In Albania, Delvinë represents

1157-642: A younger brother named Lucius, whose career is unknown, possibly because he was demoted by Cato the Censor during his censorship of 184. Corculum married his second cousin Cornelia, eldest daughter of Scipio Africanus. They were betrothed in Africanus' lifetime, but married after his death in 183; on this occasion Corculum received a large dowry of 25 silver talents . The marriage may have been concluded between Scipio Nasica and Africanus' daughter to improve relations among

1246-484: Is described as such on his epitaph. It seems that his descendants were able to convince their peers of this claim, because Corculum's father (the consul of 191) officially received the title of Optimus Vir from the senate when in 204 he was asked to bring the sacred stone of the goddess Magna Mater from Ostia to Rome. Corculum is likewise designated by Livy as the "best man" in the Periochae . The Nasicae likely used

1335-556: The Fabii ); Corculum said he and Fabius volunteered. According to Polybius, Corculum took 5,000 men with him (Corculum said 8,320 men in his memoir). At first, he faked a movement to the sea, but once at Heracleum he told his staff the real purpose of the mission, and moved by night to Pythium (departing in the night of 17 and 18 June 168). Meanwhile, Paullus attacked the Macedonians to prevent them from detecting Corculum's move. Pythium

1424-626: The Ligures and Corculum against the Dalmatae in Illyria . The First Dalmatian War had been triggered in 156 by an attack of the Dalmatae on the Illyrians , allied to Rome, and their treatment of an embassy of Gaius Fannius Strabo (consul in 161). In addition, Polybius gave the contemptuous explanation that the senate wanted to give some exercise to the army, possibly because he was opposed to this war. Figulus—the consul for 156—was initially defeated by

1513-584: The Roman Republic . Born into the illustrious family of the Cornelii Scipiones , he was one of the most important Roman statesmen of the second century BC, being consul two times in 162 and 155 BC, censor in 159 BC, pontifex maximus (chief priest) in 150 BC, and finally princeps senatus (leader of the Senate ) in 147 BC. Corculum was a talented military commander, who played

1602-568: The Seleucids , and contrasted with the brutality of Aemilius Paullus, who enslaved 150.000 people in Epirus on his way back to Rome. It was "the greatest slave-hunting operation in the history of Rome". Plutarch's criticism of Paullus on this point might derive from an hostile comment by Corculum in his memoir, who could have disapproved Paullus' enslavement of the Epirotes. Corculum remained tribune of

1691-580: The Shkumbin valley and cities in Illyria which had been subdued by Philip. Earlier he had perhaps received some regions formerly controlled by the Ardiaean State and annexed by Philip, although this is not certain. This placed under the control of Pleuratus, the route to attack Macedonia from the west, but the Roman intention was rather to deny control to Macedonia than to signal their regard for Pleuratus. Bato on

1780-552: The centuriate assembly elected him before Figulus. Corculum was assigned the province of Corsica , while Figulus departed to Gaul . However, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus —the previous consul who had presided over their election—realised after their departure that he had not conducted the auspices correctly; the senate therefore decided to recall the consuls and organise new consular elections. The new consuls were Lentulus—Corculum's former colleague in 169 and 165—and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus . Modern scholars do not believe

1869-598: The ongoing war to be too dangerous. Corculum might have taken advantage of this event by claiming Roman morals were weakened by cultural innovations, such as a stone theatre; with its destruction, he gained the moral authority he needed for his political ambitions. Toward the end of the 150s, Corculum clashed with the other champion of Roman morality—Cato the Censor—over the war against Carthage. Their rivalry started after Cato visited Africa in 153 as member of an embassy sent to arbitrate between Massinissa and Carthage, since

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1958-466: The "official" explanation of Corculum's removal found in ancient sources, and see instead an intrigue against him, even though Gracchus was Corculum's brother-in-law (he had married another daughter of Scipio Africanus). Scullard postulates that Gracchus had some interests in Corsica and Sardinia, and wanted to keep Corculum out of his clientele. Briscoe thinks that there were some unknown disagreement among

2047-543: The 54th lustrum , and registered 328,316 Roman citizens, almost 9,000 less than the previous lustrum of 164. They re-appointed for the fifth time Marcus Aemilius Lepidus as princeps senatus. Aulus Gellius reports an anecdote from Masurius Sabinus on the demotion of a knight by the censors during the census , because his horse was not well-fed, and its owner answered the censors disrespectfully, an event similar to what happened to Corculum's younger brother in 184. As for his building program, Corculum installed

2136-649: The Cornelii Scipiones, and that Corculum clashed with the rest of the family; Gracchus was at this time very close to the Scipiones Africani and might have acted against his brother-in-law. It would explain several later cases of tensions between the Nasicae and the Africani. In 159 Corculum was elected censor prior with the plebeian Marcus Popillius Laenas , despite his abortive consulship. The censors completed

2225-591: The Dalmatae, but then besieged their capital of Delminium (now near Tomislavgrad in Bosnia , but different from the Roman Delminium ). Corculum took over the command at this point and captured Delmnium, which he completely destroyed and sold its inhabitants to slavery. However, Appian and Florus do not mention Corculum at all, and ascribe the whole campaign to Figulus, while Frontinus and Zonaras make Corculum

2314-589: The Delmatae were akin to eastern Illyrians and northern Pannonii . The tribe was subject to Celtic influences. One of the Dalmatian tribes was called Baridustae that later was settled in Roman Dacia. Pliny the Elder also mentioned the Tariotes , and their territory Tariota, which was described as an ancient region. The Tariotes are considered part of the Delmatae. The archeological remnants suggest their material culture

2403-458: The French poet Joachim Du Bellay published Les Antiquitez de Rome (translated as The Ruins of Rome by Edmund Spenser ), in which the entire 23rd sonnet is devoted to Corculum (although he is not named directly). Du Bellay praised his opposition to the war against Carthage. In the late 16th and early 17th century England, Puritans led a long campaign against theatres, which they considered

2492-575: The Punic city (in 146). Zonaras wrongly tells that at this occasion Corculum advised sparing the Carthaginians once again. In 147 Corculum was appointed princeps senatus , which made him the most influential senator, despite his failure against Cato. Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Lupus was likely the censor behind his appointment, as he is the only known senator to have supported his stance on Carthage. Jacques Heurgon thinks that Corculum, supported by

2581-554: The Roman Courage, Impatient of Pleasure's faint Desires, Through Idleness, would turn to civil Rage, And be her self the Matter of her Fires. For in a People given all to Ease, Ambition is engendred easily; As in a vicious Body, gross Disease Soon grows through Humours Superfluity. That came to pass, when swoln with Plenty's Pride, Nor Prince, nor Peer, nor Kin they Would abide. Edmund Spenser , 1591 In 1558

2670-1011: The Roman Republic have been mentioned. The dotted lines show adoptions from natural fathers. The name "Cornelius" is implied for all the men named Scipio except for Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica . O que celui estoit cautement sage Qui conseilloit pour ne laisser moisir Ses citoyens en paresseux loisir, De pardonner aux rempars de Cartage ! Il prevoyoit que le Romain courage Impatient du languissant plaisir Par le repos se laisseroit saisir À la fureur de la civile rage. Aussi voit-on qu’en un peuple ocieux, Comme l’humeur en un corps vicieux, L’ambition facilement s’engendre. Ce qui advint, quand l’envieux orgueil De ne vouloir ni plus grand, ni pareil, Rompit l’accord du beau-pere et du gendre. Joachim Du Bellay , 1558 Augustine discusses in lengths Corculum's deeds in The City of God as he liked his attempt to fight

2759-515: The Romans, his only merit lay in the fact that he did not cause them any damage. Be this as it may, Pleuratus became famous for what he had gained from loyalty to the Romans, and Polybius reports that in return for doing nothing he was made the greatest of the rulers of Illyria. Pleuratus also had the Dalmatians in northern Illyria under his control which later got their independence when Gentius came to

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2848-460: The Scipiones among Mediterranean courts, almost that of a royal family. It seems that Corculum prevented Amphipolis from being punished by Paullus for having opened its gates to Perseus in his flight, because a statue of him was later erected in the city's gymnasium. Corculum's moderation against the defeated Macedonians and Greeks mimicked that of Africanus after his victories against Carthage and

2937-486: The arch built by Scipio Africanus, and therefore gave the Scipiones a strong presence on the Capitol. Davies however thinks that such porticoes typically followed a successful campaign and should be dated after Corculum's triumph in 155–154. Corculum was elected consul a second time in 155, together with the plebeian Marcus Claudius Marcellus —former consul in 166, and the grandson of the great Claudius Marcellus . Corculum

3026-430: The area and prevent Perseus from counter-attacking, since he had been seen heading to this city after his defeat. Once there, Corculum likely informed Paullus that Perseus had fled to Samothrace , where he was finally captured by Gnaeus Octavius , who commanded the fleet. According to Plutarch, Perseus initially wanted to surrender to Corculum because he trusted him more. It illustrates the very high status enjoyed by

3115-401: The army of Massinissa later in 150, thus breaching the treaty of 201, which stated that Carthage could not wage war without Rome's assent; Carthage therefore gave casus belli to Rome, which finally declared war in the beginning of 149. In addition to this casus belli , several facts explain how Cato won the decision. Firstly, the influence of the princeps senatus Marcus Aemilius Lepidus

3204-507: The campaign. The confused accounts of Aurelius Victor and Lucius Ampelius , who say that Corculum refused the triumph, are denied by the Fasti Triumphales , although the date is lost; it could have taken place in 155 or 154. In 154 the censors Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Valerius Messala started the construction of the first stone theatre in Rome. In 151, whilst the building

3293-541: The campaign. Most of what is known on the final military operations of the Third Macedonian War derive from two lost—and conflicting—sources, quoted by later classical writers. The first one is the Histories of Polybius , who talked to several witnesses of the war (Romans and Macedonians); his story was mostly followed by Livy . The second account is a letter or memoir written by Corculum himself and addressed to

3382-696: The capture of Salona (port Solin near modern city Split ) by the proconsul C. Cosconius . During the Roman Civil War of 49–44 BC, the Delmatae supported Pompey against the coastal Roman colonies which supported Caesar and continuously fought against the Caesarian generals Gabinius and Vatinius . After Pompey's defeat they continued to fight against Roman legions in Dalmatia. The fourth and final conflict occurred 34–33 BC during Octavian's expedition to Illyricum because of their iterative revolts, and finished with

3471-555: The capture of Pythium, Perseus retreated north, and set his camp just before Pydna. Corculum then completed the turning movement around Mount Olympus and met with Paullus (who had followed Perseus) on 21 June. Livy says that Corculum and other officers in Paullus' staff wanted to attack Perseus immediately, but the consul preferred to delay in order to rest the troops. The Battle of Pydna started on 22 June, after an unexpected skirmish between foraging soldiers. The phalanx advanced against

3560-462: The capture of the new Delmatian capital- Soetovio (now Klis ). The last revolts of Delmatae under their federal leader Bato , against Romans were in 12 BC and the Great Illyrian Revolt in 6–9 AD; both also failed and finished by a terminal pacification of bellicose Delmatae. In Roman Imperial times the Dalmatae formed numerous Roman auxiliaries : Archaeology and onomastic shows that

3649-548: The destruction of the first stone theatre in Rome in 151 BC and to oppose the final war against Carthage , advocated by his rival Cato the Censor . In spite of his political influence, Corculum could not prevent the war from being voted in 149 BC, with the probable support of his cousin Scipio Aemilianus, who destroyed Carthage in 146 BC. Due to a lack of sources, his life is sparsely known. Moreover, ancient authors often give contradictory accounts of his life; as

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3738-410: The eastern Adriatic began in 156–55 BC. The Roman–Dalmatae Wars lasted until 33 BC when Octavian (the later Emperor Augustus) installed Roman hegemony in Dalmatia. Local instability and minor rebellions continued in the province of Dalmatia and culminated in the Great Illyrian Revolt in Dalmatia and closely linked Pannonia in 6 AD. The revolt, which lasted for three years, involved more than half

3827-488: The entrance, where he placed three large statues, including those of Africanus and Asiaticus, but deliberately omitted that of Corculum, whose achievements could have awarded him a statue there. Serapio in turn wrote the epitaph of Scipio Hispanus (who died in 139), in which he alluded to Aemilianus' inability to produce an heir. He also married his son (the consul of 111) to the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus , one of Aemilianus' opponents. The head of

3916-401: The events of the late Republic. Scholars have given alternative explanations for his opposition to the war. He might have favoured traditional Roman foreign policy of balance of powers, against the new "brute force" policy emerging in this decade (like Carthage, Corinth was razed in 146); or he could have wanted a just cause before declaring war. Initially Corculum had enough support in

4005-669: The extensive cattle breeding, and the iterative plundering of other surrounding tribes and of coastal towns on the Adriatic. The major collective deity of the Delmatic federation was their pastoral god 'Sylvanus' they called Vidasus. His divine wife was 'Thana', a Delmatic goddess mostly comparable with Roman Diana and Greek Artemis. Their frequent reliefs often accompanied by nymphs, are partly conserved up today in some cliffs of Dalmatia; in Imotski valley also their temple used from 4th to 1st century BC,

4094-429: The family, which had been strained by political competition between its members; for instance, Nasica had run against Scipio Asiaticus for the consulship in 191 and for the censorship in 184. The Scipiones used a number of personal nicknames to distinguish themselves from other prominent men of the family. Corculum's father used the agnomen Nasica ("nosed"), which was retained by his descendants—including Corculum—as

4183-525: The fear that they could enrich Carthage, from where they were bought—a policy perhaps sponsored by Cato. These ostentatious games contradict the firm conservative stance of his later career so much that some scholars think it could have been an addition by an hostile annalist. The Third Macedonian War began in 171 after King Perseus of Macedon had allegedly tried to assassinate Rome's ally Eumenes II of Pergamon (among many other reasons). However, Perseus managed to defend his kingdom rather well for

4272-582: The first water clock at Rome in the Basilica Aemilia ; the Romans had to hitherto rely solely on sundials . He also removed all the statues of men placed around the Forum that had been built without an instruction from the Senate or a people's assembly. The bronze statue of Spurius Cassius Vecellinus , who had been sentenced to death for seeking regal power in 485 BC, was even melted down. The censors' goal

4361-499: The form Delmatia as it corresponded to the chief settlement of the tribe, Delminium . The toponym Duvno is a derivation from Delminium in Croatian via an intermediate form *Delminio in late antiquity. The Delmatae appear in historical record in 181 BC. The death of Pleuratus III of the Illyrian kingdom and the succession by his son Gentius led the Delmatae to not recognize his rule and secede altogether. The Daorsi , who lived to

4450-459: The former encroached on the lands of the latter. Cato was impressed by the prosperity of the Punic city and noticed that it had "lots of timber", which could be used to build ships (in order to make war against Rome). From this point on, Cato advocated the destruction of Carthage, and concluded all his speeches on any subject with the famous words "Carthage must be destroyed" ( Carthago delenda est ). Ancient authors tell Corculum argued that

4539-464: The legions, but the uneven field broke its ranks, so Roman soldiers could pass through the gaps thus created and defeat smaller bits of phalanx individually, resulting in a crushing victory for the Romans, who only lost 80 men (according to Corculum). Corculum said he led the Roman right wing, which had to fight Perseus' Thracian contingent, but it might be another rewriting of the events from him. Paullus then sent him to Amphipolis in order to ravage

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4628-455: The longest study on the subject, James Tan suggests that Corculum intended to succeed to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who had died in 152, as princeps senatus and pontifex maximus. For this, he had to "demonstrate his worthiness" by appearing as the natural leader of the state. In 151, the Roman political class was shocked by the refusal of many conscripts to serve in Hispania , because they considered

4717-499: The loss of Rome's hereditary enemy would result in the decline of Roman morals and discipline, and bring social division, because the fear of Carthage kept the Romans in check. Using the same rhetorical trick as Cato, he ended all his speeches by saying that Carthage must be saved ( Carthago servanda est ). Cato had actually developed the same argument as Corculum when he spoke against the destruction of Rhodes after it had supported Perseus. Lintott writes that this argument

4806-586: The man portrayed. Nevertheless, Etcheto considers that the youthful look of the man does not match the advanced age at which Corculum received his triumph, and suggests instead the adoptive brother of Scipio Aemilianus (whose early death triggered Aemilianus' adoption). The relations with the allied families of the Sempronii Gracchi, Aemilii Paulli, and Caecilii Metelli are also shown. Only magistracies attested with certainty in Broughton 's Magistrates of

4895-629: The memoir have widely diverged among modern historians; some consider it to be a faithful account of the events, while others have rejected it as an act of self-advertising, with further opinions in-between. In southern Macedonia Perseus had fortified the north bank of the Elpeus River to prevent Paullus from entering his kingdom from the south. Paullus therefore designed a circling movement around Mount Olympus to flank Perseus. He appointed Corculum to head this operation, assisted by Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus (Paullus' natural son, adopted into

4984-589: The moral corruption of the Roman people, especially his opposition to the destruction of Carthage and his destruction of the theatre. He nonetheless criticises him for not completely banning plays—a weakness he attributes to the fact that the Revelation had not yet taken place. O wary Wisdom of the Man, that would That Carthage Towres from Spoil should be forborn! To th' end that his victorious People should With cankring Leisure not be overworn; He well foresaw, how that

5073-457: The most lavish circus games ever seen so far, which included 63 panthers, 40 bears and elephants. Livy does not tell the nature of the show; it could have been staged hunts ( venatio ), or a simple parade of animals. The aediles benefited from a law passed the previous year by the tribune of the plebs Gnaeus Aufidius, which allowed importation of beasts from Africa for the circus games. The ban on such imports might have been justified by

5162-623: The name of the tribe is Delmatae , and shares the same root with the regional name Dalmatia and the toponym Delminium . It is considered to be connected to the Albanian dele and its variants which include the Gheg form delmë , meaning "sheep", and to the Albanian term delmer , "shepherd". According to Orel , the Gheg form delme hardly has anything in common with the name of Dalmatia because it represents

5251-453: The only Roman commander of the war. As Corculum was awarded a triumph, but not Figulus, the former must have completed the campaign. The influence and fame of the Cornelii Scipiones, as well as a possible historical account of the campaign by Corculum himself (as he did after Pydna), may explain why he alone received the triumph and was remembered as the winner of the war by some ancient historians—who omitted Figulus, apparently behind most of

5340-511: The opposition to Tiberius Gracchus shows that he also inherited his father's influence over the senate. Corculum was likely buried in the Tomb of the Scipiones , located on the Via Appia , in the southeast of Rome. At this time, the familial tomb was the object of a symbolic battle between the two main members of the family, Scipio Aemilianus and Scipio Serapio (Corculum's son). The former reorganised

5429-499: The other hand was given no territorial gains, such as Paeonia which the Dardanians had long longed for. By 189 BC he was regarded as one of the most ideal client kings of the Romans. in the same year the king of Pergamum and a long-standing ally of the Romans, Eumenes , complained in the Senate that Pleuratus had not deserved so much increase of his power in Illyria . Euemenes insisted that Pleuratus did not actually do anything for

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5518-411: The people, were probably attracted by the glory and enormous booty they could get by taking Carthage. He may even have sabotaged the peace negotiations between Massinissa and Carthage in 150, in order to make a Roman intervention more likely. Besides, Aemilianus was the friend of Manius Manilius —the consul of 149 who started the operations against Carthage—and personally directed the final assault on

5607-472: The plague that broke out the previous year in Rome—because his son Nasica Serapio succeeded him as pontifex maximus that year. Such a succession at the head of the Roman religion was unprecedented. However, neither Corculum's son (consul in 138), nor his grandson (consul in 111) became princeps senatus, contrary to what Diodorus and Valerius Maximus tell; although the leading role Serapio had in

5696-467: The prestige of this epithet for their own benefit, but contrary to Africanus, Asiaticus, and Aemilianus, they followed a very conservative line and scrupulously respected the senatorial supremacy, while their cousins often breached constitutional rules with the support of popular assemblies . Corculum's first known magistracy is that of curule aedile in 169. Together with his colleague Publius Cornelius Lentulus (the future consul of 162), they funded

5785-491: The senate to reject Cato's proposal. It seems that in 152 he headed an embassy sent to mediate between Carthage and Massinissa. While blaming the former for their military build-up, he forced the latter to withdraw from some of the territories he had conquered, which temporarily removed the threat of a war in the area. Corculum's influence can also be measured by the fact that in 150 he was chosen pontifex maximus —the most important priesthood. Carthage nonetheless attacked

5874-428: The soldiers in 167, and was sent by Paullus to raid Illyria in retaliation for having supported Perseus. Corculum was praetor in 165, although nothing is known on his magistracy because Livy's manuscript ends the previous year. He then became consul in 162, alongside the plebeian Gaius Marcius Figulus . Cassiodorus —who relied on Livy for his list of consuls—describes him as the consul prior , which means

5963-460: The south of the Delmatae did the same. Over the centuries, the Delmatae and Ardiaei were among the Illyrian groups which expanded their territory northwards at the expense of the Liburni . They Delmatae may have been originally pushed towards the coast because of Celtic migrations in Pannonia Strabo writes that the territory of the Delmatae was divided into an inland (present-day Tropolje ) and

6052-535: The stone tumuli of kurgan type. After the classic Roman reports (Muzic 1998), nomadic Delmatae were extremely superstitious, and they had a primitive panic dread from all celestial phenomena: any view on the night stars was for them forbidden in the fear of a sure death, and in the case of solar or lunar eclipses they repeated tremendous collective howling because of the immediate world ending, made hysterical suicides etc. Pleuratus III Pleuratus III ( Ancient Greek : Πλευρᾶτος; ruled c. 205 – 181 BC )

6141-430: The throne. Some of Pleuratus' authority, or indeed most of it, was based on a relatively strong fleet of lembi. Pleuratus was permitted to plunder and devastate the coast of Aetloia with sixty lembi during the next round of warfare in 189 BC, but received no gains of territory at the conclusion of hostilities. This was with no doubt done with the knowledge of the Romans or even on their behalf. In 181 BC Pleuratus died and

6230-453: The time all because of his loyalty to the Romans. Pleuratus was succeeded by his son Gentius , who was the last Illyrian king. Pleuratus is listed among the parties to the Treaty of Phoenice in 205 BC. There is evidence that Pleuratus may have reigned with his father as co-regents prior to 205 BC. He may have been preparing for his future as sole king of the Ardiaean State. By 200 BC Pleuratus

6319-452: The two censors, passed the decree ordering the translation of the books on agriculture by the Punic author Mago , which were seized from Carthage in 146. Corculum was re-appointed princeps in 142 by the censors Scipio Aemilianus and Lucius Mummius Achaicus . Corculum and his predecessor Marcus Aemilius Lepidus were the only two men who held both the offices of leader of the senate and chief priest. Corculum possibly died in 141—perhaps of

6408-685: The two main stirpes of the Cornelii—the other being the Lentulii—with 14 consulships since Publius Cornelius Maluginensis Scipio , consul in 395 and founder of the family. Corculum was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica (consul in 191) and grandson of Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus (consul in 222) who died during the Second Punic War . In addition, he was the cousin of Scipio Africanus , who defeated Hannibal , and Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus , who defeated Antiochos III . He also had

6497-538: Was a pontiff —wanted to prevent the "secularisation" of theatrical games, which were closely connected to sacred festivals and usually took places near temples. Mazzarino adds that Corculum might have been an enemy of the censor Cassius Longinus, as he had already destroyed the statue of his ancestor during his own censorship. Gruen says that a permanent theatre would have deprived magistrates of some of their authority as they built and destroyed new wood theatres every time they entered and left their office. Author of

6586-475: Was a respected jurist, specialising in civil and pontifical law. Some scholars thought that he was even given a house on the Via Sacra by the state, in order to be consulted by the people more easily, but this honour was given to his father. The Scipiones Nasicae claimed a moral superiority over Rome with the epithet of optimus vir (the "best man"), carried at least since Lucius Scipio (consul in 259) as he

6675-591: Was a ruler of the Illyrian kingdom under the Labeatan dynasty . He was the son of Scerdilaidas . Pleuratus continued his father's pro- Roman policy even more decidedly, so much that his loyalty to Rome was well known, even to other dynasts. He managed to extend the boundaries of the Illyrian State in the south when he was rewarded land annexed by Philip V of Macedon . He became one of the most prominent Illyrian kings of

6764-405: Was almost complete, Corculum passed a senatus consultum ordering the destruction of the theatre, and auctioning its dismantled elements. This decree—or another—also banned seated stands for games within a radius of one mile from outside the city. Ancient sources tell that, as a firm protector of Roman morality, he considered that Romans had to watch plays standing, because remaining seated

6853-504: Was associated with the idleness of the Greeks. This action took place in a general context of reducing the growing influence of Hellenism at Rome, since Cato the Censor also expelled several Greek philosophers the same year. Romans had to wait until the construction of the Theatre of Pompey in 55 to have a permanent structure in stone to watch plays, but the ban on seating while watching plays

6942-486: Was later embellished by historians living after the Gracchi to explain the hundred years of social crisis that prevailed in Rome once Carthage had been destroyed; Sallust is especially known for having theorised this concept of the necessary fear of a common enemy ( Metus hostilis ). This gave a prophetic tone to Corculum's speech, and has therefore been doubted by several historians who argue that he could not have foreseen

7031-511: Was missed in the senate after his death in 152, because like Corculum, he favoured prudent diplomacy. Secondly, Corculum was not in Rome in 149, but in Greece, in order to investigate the situation after the Macedonian Andriskos had revolted against Rome and claimed to be Perseus' son; Corculum organised the defence there by levying an army of Achaean soldiers to hold until a Roman army

7120-492: Was more primitive than those of the surrounding ancient tribes, especially in comparison with the oldest Liburnians . Only their production of weapons was rather advanced. Their elite had stone built houses only, but numerous Delmatic herdmen yet settled in natural caves, and a characteristic detail in their usual clothing was the fur cap. Their nomadic society had a strong patriarchal structure, consisting chiefly of shepherds, warriors and their chieftains. Their main jobs had been

7209-514: Was mostly Bato who caused the Macedonians damage and became a greater threat to its northern borders. Nonetheless in 196 BC Pleuratus was rewarded with possession of the strategic region of Lynkestis , which had been in Macedonian hands for nearly two centuries after the defeat of Bardyllis in 358 BC. The Ardiaean State was also given control over the Illyrian Parthini, former Roman allies in

7298-554: Was once again described as consul prior by Cassiodorus. His election broke the ten-year-rule fixed by the Lex Villia , which forbade iterations of a magistracy within ten years. Since Corculum's short-lived colleague in 162 Marcius Figulus was also elected consul in 156, both former consuls must have argued that they were not really concerned by the Lex Villia as their consulship had been cancelled. The Senate sent Marcellus against

7387-494: Was perhaps repealed as soon as 145. The place of the theatre of Longinus and Messala was later reused to build the Theatre of Marcellus . Modern historians have suggested that Corculum had other motivations. The most common reason advanced by them is that Corculum tried to avoid the danger of creating a permanent place that could have been used for political gatherings—as in Greece political meetings often took place in theatres. Hoffmann furthermore thinks that Corculum—who

7476-594: Was ruling alone when he appeared at the Roman headquarters in Dassaretia offering to assist the expedition against Macedonia . The Roman consul P. Sulpicius Galba declined the offer but promised to seek Pleuratus' help when his army was in Macedonia. Pleuratus was allied with Bato of Dardania , and they both invaded Macedonia in 199 BC. Although Pleuratus invaded the territories of Philip V at least once, his contribution to Roman victory in 197 BC would appear to be minimal. It

7565-465: Was sent in 148. Münzer suggests he was sent abroad to weaken the opposition to the war in the senate. Astin furthermore shows that the decisive support for Cato came from Scipio Aemilianus —several later accounts underline their mutual respect—who could capitalise on the illustrious fame of his grandfather Scipio Africanus to get a majority of senators in favour of the destruction of Carthage. Aemilianus and some other leading senators, supported by

7654-474: Was succeeded by his son, Gentius . Unlike Pleuratus, Gentius developed bad relations with Rome and finally fought against them in the Third Illyrian War . Pleuratus had three sons, Gentius and Plator, while Caravantius was only the son of his wife Eurydice. Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum (c. 206 BC – c. 141 BC) was a politician of

7743-457: Was successfully taken in the early morning of 20 June 168, perhaps because the garrison was still asleep. Corculum's version is different, as he wrote that a deserter warned Perseus of the flanking manoeuvre; he therefore had to face a force of 12,000 men, whom he defeated—and also personally killed a giant Thracian. Livy, following Polybius, tells the Macedonians were only 5,000, a number favoured by modern historians. In any case, after hearing of

7832-577: Was to temper individual ambitions as they could threaten the collective government of the Roman Republic. This decision was taken in a context of increased control on public morality, notably marked by the Lex Fannia of 161, a sumptuary law which restricted ostentatious banquets. Velleius Paterculus adds that Corculum built porticoes on the Capitol around the Temple of Jupiter . They were located besides

7921-438: Was unearthed. The third important one of Delmatae was a war god ' Armatus ' comparable with Roman Mars and Greek Ares. Their bad deity was the celestial Dragon devouring the sun or moon in the eclipses. A strong weapons cult was very specific for the patriarchal Delmatae, and in their masculine tombs different weapons are widely present (that is rare in neighbouring peoples e.g. Liburni, Iapydes, etc.). Their usual tombs were under

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