Lucius Aurelius Cotta (Consul 65 BC)

Lucius Aurelius belonged to the influential plebeian family Aurelius , whose representative first reached the consulate in 252 BC. e. Capitoline fasts call the name of Lucius's father - Mark ^[1] ; nothing more is known about Marcus Aurelius Cott. E. Badian suggested that this noble could be the youngest son of Lucius Aurelius Cotta , consul 144 BC. e., but immediately specified that "we cannot determine the exact position of the father on the family tree" ^[2] .

The mother of Lucius Aurelius was the sister of Publius Rutilius Rufus ^{[3] [4]} , consul 105 BC. e., " new man ", close to the powerful Metell family. Lucius had two older brothers - Guy , consul 75 BC. e., and Mark , consul 74 BC e. ^[5] There is a hypothesis that his sister was Aurelius , the mother of Guy Julius Caesar ^[6] , but the origin of this matron is in any case unknown, except for the very fact of some kindred relationship with the Cotta brothers ^[7] .

Presumably in his youth Lucius Aurelius was a monetarist ^[5] . The dates of his questures and edilite are unknown ^[8] . Perhaps the first mention of it in the sources dates back to 82 BC. e. Suetonius mentions a certain Aurelius Cottu in the biography of Gaius Julius Caesar: when Sulla ordered Caesar to be killed during prosecution killings , the latter’s “relatives and relatives”, Aurelius Cotta and Mamerk Emilius Lepidus Livian , begged the dictator for mercy. After a long resistance, “he gave up, but exclaimed, obeying either divine suggestion or his own instinct:“ Your victory, get it! but you must know: the one whose salvation you are trying so hard will someday perish for the cause of the optimites that you and I have defended: in one Caesar there are a lot of Maries! " ^] , or his brother Guy ^[11] .

The first step in the career of Lucius Aurelius, about which reliable information has been preserved in the sources, is the praeture of 70 BC. e. ^[12] This year's consuls, Gnei Pompey the Great and Mark Licinius Crassus , set about repealing the laws passed by the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla , and Cotta took part. He proposed reform of the specialized courts, quaestiones perpetuae (it is possible that before that another, more radical reform project was considered ^[13] ). The recruitment scheme for judicial colleges of senators alone was canceled, but there was no simple return to the Gracchus system, when there were only horsemen in colleges. Now, one-third of the courts consisted of senators, the second of the riders, and the third of the erara tribunes (wealthy citizens who did not fall into the category of riders) ^{[14] [15]} . This decision is characterized as a compromise ^{[16] [17]} or as a populist concession ^[14] . Nevertheless, the reform for a long time eliminated one of the main sources of disagreement in society ^{[18] [15] [19]} .

In 66 BC e. Lucius Aurelius nominated himself as consul for the following year. He lost the election to Publius Autronius Petu , but immediately, along with his unfortunate friend Lucius Manlius Torquatus, accused Pet and the second winner, Publius Cornelius Sullu , of bribing voters. The court recognized the accusation as fair and deprived the consuls-designates of the post and the right to continue political activity. Repeated elections were held, in which Cotta and Torquat ^{[20] [21]} won. Sources associate these events with the emergence of “the first conspiracy of Catilina, ” in which Lucius Sergius Catilina , Sulla, Pet participated, as well as, according to some reports, Marc Licinius Crassus and Gaius Julius Caesar . In January, the conspirators planned 65 BC. e. to kill Cotta and Torquat and seize power, but their plans became known, and the Senate granted consuls protection ^{[22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]} . Many researchers consider this story to be just a propaganda myth developed by Caesar’s enemies ^[28] .

Censors 65 BC e., Mark Licinius Crassus and Quintus Lutacius Catul Capitolin , early resigned because they could not agree on fundamentally important issues. Therefore, new elections were organized, one of the winners of which was Lucius Aurelius; the name of his colleague is unknown ^[29] . Information about the censorship of Cotta was preserved thanks to the only mention - in the plutarch biography of Mark Tullius Cicero ^[30] . It is reported that Lucius Aurelius was a censor when Cicero sought the consulate ^[31] . Kotte and his colleague failed to do anything because of the opposition of the people's stands , who were afraid of expulsion from the Senate ^[32] .

Lucius Aurelius attended the meeting of the Senate on December 5, 63 BC. e., when the fate of the supporters of Catilina, who remained in Rome, was decided ^[33] . Later, he proposed to appoint a thanksgiving on the occasion of the defeat of the conspiracy and received universal support ^[34] . On January 1, 57, Cotta proposed invalidating the law of Publius Claudius Pulchre , on the basis of which Cicero was forced to retire into exile; he even stated that if he had been a censor at that time, he would have included the name of Cicero in the list of senators ^[35] . Soon after, Mark Tullius was indeed able to return to Rome ^[30] .

The next mention of Lucius Aurelius dates back to January 49 BC. e. At this time, Gnei Pompey was preparing for war with Guy Julius Caesar and, with the support of the Senate, distributed the provinces among his supporters. “By private agreement of the Pompeian party,” Cotta and another Caesar’s relative, Lucius Marcius Philippe , were not invited to the draw ^[36] . In 44 BC e. he was Quindetzemvir ^[37] . There were rumors that he was going to make a proposal to proclaim Caesar the king, since only the king can defeat the Parthians ^[38] .

The last time Lucius Aurelius is mentioned in sources in September 44 BC. e., six months after the assassination of Caesar ^[30] . Cicero writes that Cotta "because of some fatal despair, as he says, comes less often to the Senate" ^[39] .

Plutarch writes that Lucius Aurelius was a "big drunkard" and talks in this connection about one of Mark Tullius Cicero's witticisms dating back to the time of the censorship of Cotta. “Once, while quenching thirst, Cicero said to his friends around:“ I know that you are afraid that the censor would not be angry with me for drinking water, and you are right “” ^[31] . But the same Mark Tullius in his speeches calls Lucius Aurelius “the most visionary husband and best friend of the state” ^[40] , “the husband of outstanding talents and the greatest mind” ^[34] .

Sources

1. Capitoline fasts (neopr.) . Site "History of Ancient Rome". Date of treatment July 21, 2017.
2. Dion Cassius . Roman history (neopr.) . Date of treatment July 23, 2017.
3. Titus Livy . The history of Rome from the foundation of the city. - M .: Nauka, 1994 .-- T. 3 .-- 768 p. - ISBN 5-02-008995-8 .
4. Plutarch . Comparative biographies. - M. , 1994. - ISBN 5-02-011570-3 , 5-02-011568-1.
5. Guy Sallust Crisp . About the Catilina conspiracy // Caesar. Sallust. - M .: Ladomir, 2001 .-- S. 445-487. - ISBN 5-86218-361-2 .
6. Guy Suetonius Tranquill . Life of the Twelve Caesars // Suetonius. The lords of Rome. - M .: Ladomir, 1999 .-- S. 12-281. - ISBN 5-86218-365-5 .
7. Mark Tullius Cicero . About the speaker // Three treatises on oratory. - M .: Ladomir, 1994. - S. 75-252. - ISBN 5-86218-097-4 .
8. Mark Tullius Cicero. Letters from Mark Tullius Cicero to Attica, relatives, brother Quintus, M. Brutus. - SPb. : Nauka, 2010 .-- V. 3 .-- 832 p. - ISBN 978-5-02-025247-9 , 978-5-02-025244-8.
9. Mark Tullius Cicero. Speech. - M .: Nauka, 1993 .-- T. 1 .-- 448 p. - ISBN 5-02-011168-6 .
10. Guy Julius Caesar . Notes on the Civil War // Notes. - SPb. : AST, 2001 .-- S. 202-326. - ISBN 5-17-005087-9 .

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11. Clebs E. Aurelia // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1896. - Bd. II, 2. - Kol. 2543.
12. Clebs E. Aurelius 102 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1896. - Bd. II, 2. - Kol. 2485-2487.
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• Lucius Aurelius Cotta (Consul 65 B.C. ) - in Smith 's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.