Manius Aquilius (Consul 129 BC)

Manii Aquilius belonged to the ancient family Aquilius. Nothing is known about the early stages of his career: all that remains is to assume that no later than 132 BC. e. he was a praetor, according to lex Villia ^[1] . In 129, he became consul together with Guy Sempronius Tuditan ^{[2] [3]} .

The Aquilia Consulate had another exacerbation of the domestic political struggle associated with the work of the land commissions, which was established by Tiberius Gracchus . But Tuditan ^[4] had to deal with this problem, while Aquilius was sent to Asia Minor. The king of Pergamon, Attal III, who died in 133, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome, but in response raised an uprising Aristonikus , who claimed to be related to the dying Attalid dynasty. One of the consuls of the previous year, Mark Perperna won a decisive victory over the enemy, captured Aristonik and sent the treasury of local kings to Rome, but did not manage to bring matters into full order before the expiration of his powers ^{[5] [6]} .

According to the epitomator of Pompey Trog , Manius Aquilius went to Asia with great haste, envious of the successes of Perperna. The death of the latter from an illness near Pergamum put an end to the rivalry of the two nobles ^{[7] [8] [9]} .

At this point (129 BC), the war in the territory of the former Pergamon Kingdom was still ongoing. In historiography, there is an opinion that after the capture of Aristonik the peasants began to play a key role in the uprising ^[10] , but from sources it is known that Aquilius had to conquer some cities; he achieved success by poisoning the springs supplying these cities with water. According to Flora , the consul thus dishonored the Roman weapons ^{[11] [12]} .

Aquilius remained in Pergamum until 126 BC. e. with the powers of the proconsul ^{[13] [14]} . His most important tasks were the organization of the new province of Asia and the definition of its borders. Together with a special Senate commission consisting of ten legates ^[15] , Aquilius transferred the possessions of the Pergamon kings to Thrace and Chersonese in the provinces of Macedonia , Andros and Aegina from the provinces of Achaia , and some territories in the east to the local monarchs, who at one time sent military contingents for fight with Aristonik. The sons of the Cappadocian king Ariarat V received Lycaonia , and Phrygia was divided between the kings of Pontus and Bithynia ^{[16] [17]} , and the largest part of the divided territories - Great Phrygia - went to Pontus.

Appian explains the peculiarities of the section by the large bribe allegedly received by Aquilius from Mithridates Everget ^[18] . Opinions on this issue differ in historiography: some researchers draw attention to the fact that Aquilius made the decision not only one, but jointly with the Senate Commission, and that Appian writes not about his own purchase of Phrygia ^{[19] [20]} . Statements on this subject in his “Roman History” are made by Ambassador Mithridates VI Pelopidus ^[21] , ambassadors Nycomed Vifinsky ^[22] and Sulla ^[23] , that is, always interested persons. The Pontic king could use in order to obtain Phrygia, his status of "friend and ally of the Roman people" and the extensive connections in Rome that he had as a result of his phyllic policy ^[24] . However, there are opinions about the reliability of the story with a bribe ^[25] .

Upon his return to Rome on November 11, 126 BC. e. Aquilius celebrated a triumph, and in an honorary procession he was accompanied by Aristonik ^[26] , immediately after that he was executed. Later (between 126 and 123 BC), Aquilius was brought to trial by Publius Cornelius Lentulus on charges of misconduct in his province ^[14] . The court acquitted him ^[27] , although the guilt, according to Appian , was clear ^[28] .

Already in 123 BC. e. Guy Gracchus , who was the political opponent of Aquilia, began his activity. ^[29] He used the Mania case as an excuse to accuse senatorial judges of bribery and transfer control of the courts to the horseman class ^[28] . Aus Gellius cites the tribune’s speech regarding lex Aufeia mentioned only in this context: in it Gracch asserts that senators supporting this law take bribes from the Pontic king, and senators who advocate the repeal of the law take bribes from the king of Bithynia ^[30] . In historiography, a hypothesis was expressed about the identity of lex Aufeia and lex Aquilliae ^{[31] [32]} ; in any case, this plot is apparently connected with the activities of Aquilius Mania in the East, the results of which were disputed by Nycomed II Vifinsky ^[33] .

Gracchus recognized the transfer of Great Phrygia to Mithridates as unlawful ^[34] . The fate of Mania Aquilia is not known ^[14] .

The son of Mania Aquilia was the consul of 101 BC. e. of the same name ^[14] , whose fate also turned out to be closely connected with Asia.

Original

1. Lucius Anney Flor . Epitomes // Small Roman Historians. - M .: Ladomir, 1996 .-- 99-190 s. - ISBN 5-86218-125-3 .
2. Appian . Roman history. - M .: Ladomir, 2002 .-- 878 p. - ISBN 5-86218-174-1 .
3. Welley Patculus . Roman History // Small Roman Historians. - M .: Ladomir, 1996 .-- S. 11-98. - ISBN 5-86218-125-3 .
4. Aulus Gellius . Attic nights. Books 11 - 20. - St. Petersburg. : Publishing Center "Humanitarian Academy", 2008. - ISBN 978-5-93762-027-9 .
5. Eutropium . Breviary of Roman history. - SPb. , 2001 .-- 305 s. - ISBN 5-89329-345-2 .
6. Pavel Oroziy . The story against the Gentiles. - SPb. : Publisher Oleg Abyshko, 2004. - 544 p. - ISBN 5-7435-0214-5 .
7. Strabo Geography. - M .: Ladomir, 1994 .-- 944 p.
8. Cicero . About the nature of the gods. - SPb. : Alphabet, 2015 .-- 448 p. - ISBN 978-5-389-09716-2 .
9. Justin. Epitome of the composition of Pompey Trog. - SPb. : Publishing House of St. Petersburg State University, 2005. - 493 p. - ISBN 5-288-03708-6 .

Secondary Sources

1. Broughton T. Magistrates of the Roman Republic. - New York, 1951. - Vol. I. - P. 600.
2. Clebs E. Aquillius 10 // RE. - 1895. - Bd. II, 1. - Kol. 323-324.
3. Hill H. The So-called lex Aufeia // CR. - 1948. - T. 62 . - S. 112-113 .
4. Magie D. Roman Rule in Asia Minor. - Princeton, 1950 .-- 166 p.
5. McGing B. Appian, Manius Aquillius and Phrigia // Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies. - 1980. - T. 21 , No. 1 . - S. 35–42 .
6. Olshausen E. Pontos // RE. - 1978. - Bd. Xv. - Kol. 396-442.
7. Scherwin-White A. Roman Involvement in Anatolia 164-88 BC // JRS. - 1977.- T. 67 . - S. 62-75 .
8. Golubtsova E. The ideology and culture of the rural population of Asia Minor. I-III centuries .. - M .: Nauka, 1977 .-- 241 p.
9. Klimov O. Pergamon kingdom. - SPb. : Faculty of Philology and Arts, St. Petersburg State University; Nestor-Istoriya, 2010 .-- 400 p. - ISBN 978-5-8465-0702-9 .
10. Saprykin S. Pontic Kingdom. The state of the Greeks and barbarians in the Black Sea. - M .: Nauka, 1996 .-- 195 p. - ISBN 5-02-009497-8 .
11. Talah V. Born under the sign of a comet: Mithridates Eupator Dionysus. - Kiev, 2013 .-- 214 p. - ISBN 978-617-7085-08-8 .

• Manius Aquilius (Consul 129 B.C.E. ) - in Smith 's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.