Marc Vinicius (Consul of 19 B.C.)

One of the largest commanders of the first decades of the Roman Empire, a personal friend of Augustus ^[1] . Came from a horseman family; born in the city of Cala in Northern Campania . In 25 BC. e. Augustus legate propretor in Gaul, made a punitive campaign against the Germans who killed the Roman merchants ^[2] . Then, apparently, was the governor of Achaea . An inscription from Corinth in honor of Marcus Agrippa , dating from 18-12 BC. e., mentions among the administrative districts of the city the tribe of Vinicius, probably named in his honor ^[3] .

In 19 BC e. Vinicius, as a reward for his services, was appointed consul-suftek to replace Guy Sentius Saturnin . In 14-13 BC. e. as governor of Illyric, he commanded the Pannonian War , defeated the barbarians, then was replaced by Agrippa and sent to Macedonia to lead an attack on the Illyrians from the south ^[4] . Presumably, he was the first Roman military commander to cross to the left bank of the Danube, where he defeated the Bastarn ^[1] .

In 1-3 n. e. as governor of Germany at the head of the five legions, he tried to suppress a strong uprising of local tribes; I could not achieve a turning point in the war, but managed to maintain a position on the right bank of the Rhine and was awarded triumphant distinctions ^[5] .

Apparently, until the end of his life he remained a friend of the emperor. Suetonius cites an excerpt from a letter from Augustus to Tiberius :

At dinner, dear Tiberius, our guests were all the same, and even Vinicius and Celius the Elder came. We played the old-fashioned way yesterday and today: they threw dice and whoever had a “dog” or six, put a stake on the denarius for a bone, and whoever had a Venus would take money.

- Suetonius . August. 71.2.

His grandson was Mark Vinicius , consul of 30 and 45 years.

• Parfyonov V.N. Emperor Caesar Augustus. Army. War. Politics. - SPb .: Aleteyya, 2001. - ISBN 5-89329-396-7