Lucius Opimius

Lucius Opimius

Lucius Opimius was Roman consul in 121 BC, known for ordering the execution of 3,000 supporters of popular leader Gaius Gracchus without trial, using as pretext the state of emergency declared after Gracchus's recent and turbulent death.

He is first mentioned for crushing the revolt of the town of Fregellae in 125 BC. He was elected consul in 121 BC with Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, and while Fabius was campaigning in Gaul, he took part in perhaps the most decisive event of Roman history to that point.

When Gaius Gracchus and M. Fulvius Flaccus were defeated for re-election by Opimius and Fabius, Gracchus organized a mass protest on the Aventine Hill. Alarmed by this action, the Senate passed the motion senatus consultum ultimum, which Opimius understood as an order to suppress their activities by any means necessary -- including force. He gathered an armed force of Senators and their supporters, and confronted Gracchus and his followers, an act which quickly became a pitched battle inside the city of Rome. Gracchus, Flaccus, and many of their followers were slain in this conflict, and after clearing the streets of his opponents, Opimius established a quaestio or tribunal that condemned to death 3000 people accused of being supporters of Gracchus.

Opimius was prosecuted for these violent actions in 120 BC, but Carbo won his acquittal. Opimius' victory established the senatus consultum ultimum in Roman constitutional practice, providing a limitless tool that the various Roman factions used against each other in the following years as the Republic slipped increasingly into violence and civil war.

In 116 BC, Opimius headed a commission that divided Numidia between Jugurtha and his brother Adherbal. Suspecting that the commission had been influenced by bribes from Jugurtha, its members were later investigated by a tribunal that censured their conduct. Humiliated, Opimius went into exile in Dyrrhachium, where he later died.[1]

References

  1. ^ Plutarch. [Lives of] Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, c. 39. In: Waterfield, Robin. Plutarch, Roman Lives, pp. 114, 458 (note to p. 114) ISBN 978-0-19-282502-5
Preceded by
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Gaius Fannius
Consul of the Roman Republic
with Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus
121 BC
Succeeded by
Gaius Papirius Carbo and Publius Manilius

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lucius Opimius — est le fils de Quintus Opimius[1], consul en 154 av. J. C. avec Lucius Postumius Albinus. Lucius Opimius est consul de Rome en 121 av. J. C. avec Quintus Fabius Maximus. Sommaire 1 Avant sa préture 2 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Lucius Opimius — war im Jahr 121 v. Chr. zusammen mit Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus römischer Konsul. Als praetor urbanus im Jahr 125 v. Chr. schlug er den Aufstand der Stadt Fregellae nieder. Als Konsul nahm er, während Fabius auf einem Feldzug in Gallien… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lucius — (Luzius) war ein römischer Vorname (praenomen), der selten auch als Familienname (nomen gentile) und Beinamen (cognomen) verwendet wurde. Er wurde meistens nur mit der Abkürzung L. wiedergegeben. Der Name leitet sich vermutlich von… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lucius Septimuleius — est un personnalité romaine du IIe siècle av. J.‑C.. C est le type même de l odieux personnage. Biographie Cette section est vide, insuffisamment détaillée ou incomplète. Votre aide est la bienvenue ! Natif d Anagni, Lucius… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Opimĭus — Opimĭus, plebejisches Geschlecht in Rom: 1) Lucius O., war 125 v. Chr. Prätor u. eroberte das empörte Fregelli; bekam 121 v. Chr. als Consul in den Gracchischen Unruhen unumschränkte Macht, führte das bewaffnete Volk gegen C. Gracchus, wobei… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Opimĭus — Opimĭus, Lucius, Römer aus plebejischem Geschlecht, leitete als Konsul 121 v. Chr. den Kampf des Adels gegen den Volkstribun C. Gracchus, in dem dieser mit einer großen Zahl seiner Anhänger erschlagen wurde. 115 als Gesandter an Jugurtha nach… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • OPIMIUS — vide Lucius, it. Quintus …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • L. Opimius — Lucius Opimius Lucius Opimius fut consul de Rome en 121 av. J. C.. Connu pour avoir écrasé la révolte de la cité de Fregellae en 125 av. J. C., il fut élu consul en 121 avec Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus. C est durant son consulat, et alors …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Quintus Opimius — est un homme politique romain du IIe siècle av. J.‑C. En 154 av. J. C., il est élu consul avec Lucius Postumius Albinus. Son fils Lucius Opimius est consul en 121 av. J. C. Consul de la République romaine ( …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Опимий — (Lucius Opimius) римский госуд. деятель. Будучи претором, взял и разрушил в 125 г. до Р. Хр. город Вольсков Фрегеллы, восставший вследствие того, что союзникам было отказано в праве римского гражданства. Выбранный на 121 г. консулом, он выступил …   Энциклопедический словарь Ф.А. Брокгауза и И.А. Ефрона

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”