- Domitius Calvinus
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footer = ARdenarius ; 3,78 g. Circa 39-38 BC
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margin = 0Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus was a Roman
general , senator andconsul (both in 53 BC and 40 BC) who was a loyalpartisan of Caesar and Octavianus.Domitius Calvinus came from a
noble family and was elected consul in 53 BC, despite a notorious electoralscandal . He was on Caesar’s side during the Civil War withPompey . At the decisive battle of Pharsalus he commanded the center of Caesar’s army. After the battle he became governor of Asia. He tried to oppose theinvasion of Pharnaces, theking of Bosphorus, who had taken the occasion of the Roman civil war to invade the province ofPontus ; however he suffered a crushing defeat at the battle of Nicopolis inArmenia (December of 48 BC). Direct intervention by Caesar brought a quick end to the conflict, and Pharnaces’ army was annihilated at Zela in 47 BC. Despite this failure, he remained a trusted friend of Caesar.Domitius Calvinus's activities after the death of Caesar are unknown, but in 43 BC he was a strong supporter of
Octavianus and participated in the civil war against Brutus and Cassius. During thePhilippi campaign in 42 BC, he had to bring reinforcements from Italia to Greece forMark Antony and Octavianus' army, however his fleet was destroyed by the enemy in theIonian Sea with the loss of two legions. Despite this defeat he was awarded the honor of a second consulship in 40 BC and was sent by Octavianus as governor to Spain, where he remained for three years (39 BC-36 BC). Apparently, his military activities in Spain had success, since on his return he was awarded a triumph and was saluted as "imperator " by his troops. He also rebuilt the "Regia " in theRoman Forum . Although we do not have many facts concerning his further political activities, aninscription shows that in 20 BC he was still alive and a member of the important "Arval Brethren"priest hood, reserved only for members of the nascent Imperial family and to the emperor's most distinguished supporters.Although Domitius Calvinus' career does not show any particular ability, either in politics (he obtained his first consulship only after scandalous
bribery ) or inwar (he suffered two major defeats), he maintained an important political role. This was most probably due to the fact that he was one of the very few Roman nobles to support the Caesar/Octavianus party from the very beginning.References
*
Matthias Gelzer . "."Harvard University Press , 1997.
*Ronald Syme . "The Roman Revolution ."Oxford University Press , 1939.
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