Gaius Flaminius

Gaius Flaminius

Gaius Flaminius Nepos was a politician and consul of the Roman Republic in the 3rd century BC. He was the greatest popular leader to challenge the authority of the Senate before the Gracchi a century later.

In the aftermath of the First Punic War, Flaminius, a "novus homo", was the leader of a reform movement which sought to reorganize state land in Italy. As tribune of the plebs in 232 BC, he passed a plebiscite which divided the land south of Ariminum, which had been conquered from the Gauls decades before, and gave it to poor families whose farms had fallen into ruin during the war. The Senate was opposed to this and he did not consult them, contrary to the constitution and tradition.

Flaminius was governor of Sicily in 227. Meanwhile, the reorganization of the land contributed to a renewed attack on Roman territory by the Gauls, whom the Romans finally defeated at the Battle of Telamon in 224. In 223 Flaminius was elected consul for the first time, and with Publius Furius Philus he forced the Gauls to submit to Rome, creating the province of Cisalpine Gaul.

In 221 Flaminius was "magister equitum" to Marcus Minucius Rufus, then in 220 chosen as censor along with Lucius Aemilius Papus. During his term he arranged for the Via Flaminia to be built from Rome to Ariminum, established colonies at Cremona and Placentia, reorganized the Centuriate Assembly to give the poorer classes more voting power, and built the Circus Flaminius on the Campus Martius. In 218, while serving in the Senate, he was the only senator to support the "Lex Claudia", which prohibited senators from participating in overseas trade.

In 217, during the invasion of Italy by Hannibal, he was re-elected consul with Gnaeus Servilius, in what was considered a rebuke of the Senate's prosecution of the war. Flaminius raised new legions and marched north to meet Hannibal, but was ambushed at Lake Trasimene. The army was destroyed and Flaminius was killed. His supporters in the Senate began to lose power to the more aristocratic factions, and the Romans feared Hannibal would besiege their city. The Senate appointed as dictator Fabius Maximus.

References

* K. Jacobs, "Gaius Flaminius" (1938) (in Dutch)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gaius Flaminius — Joseph Noël Sylvestres Darstellung vom Tod des Flaminius auf dem Schlachtfeld (1882) Gaius Flaminius (* zwischen 280 v. Chr. und 275 v. Chr.; † 24. Juni 217 v. Chr. am Trasimenischen See) war ein römischer Staatsmann aus der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gaius Flaminius (Konsul 187 v. Chr.) — Gaius Flaminius († nach 181 v. Chr.) entstammte dem römischen Plebejergeschlecht der Flaminier und war 187 v. Chr. Konsul. Leben Gaius Flaminius besaß nach dem Zeugnis der Fasti Capitolini einen gleichnamigen Vater und Großvater[1] und war somit… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gaius Flaminius (consul 187 BC) — Gaius Flaminius was Roman consul for 187 BC, together with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. Flaminius was the son of Gaius Flaminius who was killed in the battle of Lake Trasimene.In 210 BC Flaminius served as quaestor Scipio Africanus in Spain. In 196… …   Wikipedia

  • Gaius Flaminius — noun Roman statesman and general who built the Flaminian Way; died when he was defeated by Hannibal (died 217 BC) • Syn: ↑Flaminius • Instance Hypernyms: ↑general, ↑full general, ↑statesman, ↑solon, ↑national leader …   Useful english dictionary

  • Gaius Flaminius Nepos — Caius Flaminius Nepos Caius Flaminius Nepos (mort en 217 av. J. C.), consul romain, d origine plébéienne. Biographie Caius Flaminius Nepos est tribun de la plèbe en 232 av. J. C., lorsque, en dépit de l opposition des membres du parti sénatorial …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Фламиний, Гай Фламиний (Gaius Flaminius) — (? — 217 до н. э.), римский народный трибун в 232, цензор в 220, консул в 223 и 218; провёл ряд законов по демократизации общества; вёл большое строительство (цирк Фламиния в Риме, знаменитая Фламиниева дорога и др.). Погиб во время 2 й… …   Большой Энциклопедический словарь

  • Flaminius — war ein römisches Gentilnomen. Die gens Flaminia war plebejisch und vor allem aus den letzten drei Jahrhunderten der römischen Republik bekannt. Bekanntester Namensträger war Gaius Flaminius, Konsul 223 und 217 v. Chr., der in der Schlacht am… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gaius — Gaius, alternately spelled Caius, was a common Roman praenomen. It is abbreviated C.; the abbreviation goes back to before the Roman alphabet distinguished between C and G.In classical times, the name was pronounced in three syllables, Gāius… …   Wikipedia

  • Gaius Atilius Regulus (consul 225 BC) — Gaius Atilius M.f. M.n. Regulus (killed 225 BC at Telamon in battle) was one of the two Roman consuls who fought a Celtic invasion of Italy in 225 BC 224 BC; he however was killed in battle and beheaded. Regulus came from a prominent family of… …   Wikipedia

  • Flaminius — noun Roman statesman and general who built the Flaminian Way; died when he was defeated by Hannibal (died 217 BC) • Syn: ↑Gaius Flaminius • Instance Hypernyms: ↑general, ↑full general, ↑statesman, ↑solon, ↑national leader * * * …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

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