- Publius Rutilius Rufus
Publius Rutilius Rufus (born 158 BC – after 78 BC) was a Roman statesman, orator and historian of the
Rutilius family, as well as great-uncle of Gaius Julius Caesar.He started his military career in 134 BC, as a member of the staff of
Scipio Africanus Minor during theNumantine War . Later on, Rufus was a legate ofQuintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus in the campaign againstJugurtha of Numidia of 109 BC, along withGaius Marius . He distinguished himself in thebattle of the Muthul , where he faced a charge by the foeBomilcar and managed to capture or maim most of the Numidianwar elephant s. In 105 BC he was elected to theconsul ship as a junior partner ofGnaeus Mallius Maximus . His main achievements concerned the discipline of the army and the introduction of an improved system of drill. Subsequently, he served as legate toQuintus Mucius Scaevola , governor of Asia.By assisting his superior in his efforts to protect the provincials from the extortions of the "
publicani ", or farmers of taxes, Rufus incurred the hatred of the equestrian order, to which the publicani belonged. In 92 BC he was charged with the very offence of extortion over those whom he had done his utmost to prevent. The charge was widely known to be false, but as the juries at that time were chosen from the equestrian order, his condemnation was only to be expected, as the order bore a grudge against him. Rufus was defended by his nephewGaius Aurelius Cotta and accepted the verdict with the resignation befitting aStoic and pupil ofPanaetius .He retired to
Mytilene , and afterwards toSmyrna , where he spent the rest of his life (possibly as an act of defiance against his prosecutors: he was welcomed with honour into the very city he was prosecuted for allegedly looting), and whereCicero visited him as late as the year 78 BC. Although invited byLucius Cornelius Sulla to return to Rome, Rufus refused to do so. It was during his stay at Smyrna that he wrote his autobiography and a history of Rome in Greek, part of which is known to have been devoted to the Numantine War. He possessed a thorough knowledge of law, and wrote treatises on that subject, some fragments of which are quoted in the Digests. He was also well acquainted with Greek literature.References
*1911
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