Gnaeus Servilius Tzepion ( lat. Gnaeus Servilius Caepio ; died after 253 BC) - an ancient Roman politician and commander from the patrician clan Serviliev , consul 253 BC. er Participant of the First Punic War , in which he commanded the fleet. He made a successful raid on the coast of Africa , but on the way back he fell into a storm that killed more than half of his ships.
| Gnei Serviliy Tsepion | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lat Gnaeus servilius caepio | |||||||
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| Birth | |||||||
| Death | after 253 BC er | ||||||
| Rod | Servilia | ||||||
| Father | Gnei Serviliy Tsepion | ||||||
| Children | Gnei Serviliy Tsepion (according to one of the versions) | ||||||
| Rank | |||||||
Content
Origin
Gnei Servilius belonged to the ancient patrician family of Serviliev , one of the six clans, descended from Alba Longi [1] . According to the Capitoline Fasta , the father and grandfather of the Chain wore the same premenome , Gnaeus [2] . His cousin was Publius Servilius Gemin , consul of 252 and 248 BC. er [3]
In his Chronicle, Idacius mistakenly called Gneya Servilia Capitone [4] .
Biography
Gnei Servilius is mentioned in the sources only in connection with the events of 253 BC. e. when he became a consul . His colleague was the plebeian Guy Sempronius Blaise [4] [5] . At this time there was the First Punic War , and the consuls received joint command at sea. After unsuccessful maneuvers near Lilibey off the western coast of Sicily, Gnei Servilius and Guy Sempronius with a fleet of 260 ships made a predatory raid on the African coast. According to Polybius , they "made very frequent landings in which, however, they did not do anything remarkable" [6] ; according to Paul Orozii , they "devastated the entire seashore, which is washed by the Sirts, and, rising above, where they seized and plundered many cities, delivered huge booty to ships" [7] .
The Romans did not meet any serious resistance, but nevertheless decided to return to their homeland. Ancient authors report that this decision was made because of the large sea bank, with which the Roman squadron withdrew with great difficulty; perhaps, in reality, Tzepion and Blaise hurriedly made their way to the shores of Italy, as they learned about the approach of the enemy fleet [8] . On the way because of the storm, the Romans had to throw the entire load overboard [6] . Thanks to this, they were able to safely reach Panorm , but in the Tyrrhenian Sea , already off the coast of Italy, they were caught by a new big storm. A total of 150 Roman ships sank [9] . Orosius calls the site of this disaster Cape Palinur on the west coast of Lucania [10] .
After this disaster, Rome did not have the resources to build a new fleet. As a result, the Republic temporarily abandoned the naval war [8] . Gnea Servilius after the consulate is no longer mentioned in the surviving sources [4] .
Descendants
Consul of 203 BC was the son or grandson of Gnei Servilius . er the same name. The descendants of Gnea are all subsequent Tsepions; the female line from him is Mark Unius Brutus [3] .
Notes
- ↑ Geiger, 1973 , p. 143.
- ↑ Capitoline Fasts , 253 BC. er
- ↑ 1 2 Servilii Caepiones, 1942 , s. 1777-1778.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Servilius 43, 1942 .
- ↑ Broughton, 1951 , p. 211.
- ↑ 1 2 Polybius, 2004 , I, 39.
- ↑ Orozy, 2004 , IV, 9, 10.
- ↑ 1 2 Rodionov, 2005 , p. 112
- ↑ Sempronius 28, 1923 , s. 1368.
- ↑ Orozy, 2004 , IV, 9, 11.
Sources and literature
Sources
- Capitoline Fasts . The site "History of Ancient Rome." The appeal date is December 26, 2016.
- Pavel Orozy. The story against the pagans. - SPb. : Publisher Oleg Abyshko, 2004. - 544 p. - ISBN 5-7435-0214-5 .
- Polybius General history. - M .: AST, 2004. - T. 1. - 768 p. - ISBN 5-17-024958-6 .
Literature
- Rodionov E. Punic Wars. - SPb. : SPSU, 2005. - 626 p. - ISBN 5-288-03650-0 .
- Broughton R. Magistrates of the Roman Republic. - New York, 1951. - Vol. I. - P. 600.
- Geiger J. The Last Servilii Caepiones of the Republic // Ancient Society. - 1973. - № IV . - p . 143-156 .
- Münzer F. Sempronius 28 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1923. - Bd. II, 2. - Kol. 1368-1369.
- Münzer F. Servilii Caepiones // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1942. - Bd. II A, 2. - Kol. 1775-1780.
- Münzer F. Servilius 43 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1942. - Bd. II A, 2. - Kol. 1780.