Publius Licinius Crassus (son of triumvir)

Publius Licinius Crassus (b. 86?–82? B.C., d. 53 B.C.) was one of two sons of Marcus Licinius Crassus the triumvir and Tertulla. He belonged to the last generation of Roman "nobiles" who came of age and began a political career before the collapse of the Republic. His peers included Marcus Antonius, Marcus Junius Brutus, Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, Gaius Scribonius Curio, and the poet Gaius Valerius Catullus.

Publius was highly regarded by Julius Caesar, under whose command he served in Gaul for three years, and by Cicero, who praised his speaking ability and good character.

In the mid-50s, Publius married Cornelia, the intellectually gifted daughter of Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio. They had no children, and his promising career was cut short when he died along with his father in an ill-conceived [Elizabeth Rawson, “"Crassorum funera",” "Latomus" 41 (1982) 540–549.] war against Parthia (present-day Iraq). Cornelia then married the much older Pompeius Magnus.

Scholarly opinion is divided as to whether Publius or his brother Marcus, as the bearer of their father’s name, was the elder; Ronald Syme argued vigorously for a family dynamic that casts Marcus as the older but Publius, named after his grandfather (consul 97 B.C.), as the more talented younger brother. [Ronald Syme, “The Sons of Crassus,” "Latomus" 39 (1980) 403-408, reprinted in "Roman Papers", vol. 3, edited by Anthony R. Birley (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984).]

ee also

Battle of Carrhae

References