Gaius Memmius (tribune of 111 BC)

Origin and early years

Gaius Memmii belonged to the plebeian family Memmiev , whose representatives held the kurul positions from the end of the 3rd century BC. e., but never before 34 BC. e. did not reach the consulate ^[1] . One of them was a plebeian aedile allegedly in 211 BC. e. ^[2] ; in 172, a certain Guy Memmy received praetorship ^[3] . From the words “ Sallustius put into the mouth of the national tribune” “I myself will use the freedom bequeathed to me by my father” ^[4] , it is sometimes concluded that Father Memmia could become famous as a defender of plebs ^[5] . If the “strong and merciless accuser” mentioned by Cicero, Gaius Memmius ^[6] , is the stands of the year 111 ^[7] , it turns out that he had a brother Lucius Memmius.

Date of birth of the future people's tribune 111 BC e. unknown. Sources mention Guy Memmius, a military tribune in the army, which in 134 acted against Numania . Arriving at the theater of operations, the new commander Scipio Emilian was faced with the flagrant licentiousness and effeminacy of his new subordinates. So, Memmius took with him to the war “cooling bowls decorated with stones, the work of Fericles” ^[8] . Outraged by such excesses, Scipio declared to the rostrum: “For me you are temporarily unsuitable, for yourself and the state you are always” ^[9] . Some researchers identify this Memmia with a greater or lesser degree of certainty with the people's tribune of the year 111 ^{[5] [10] [11] [12]} , but, in other opinions, there is no reason for this ^[13] .

Perhaps it is precisely with youthful excesses that Memmiah is connected ^[14] with the trial mentioned at Suetonius , in which Memmy defended himself. In response to accusations of frivolity, the defendant stated that something similar happened with the more well-deserved Romans: " Publius African , using the guise of Terence , put on the stage under his name plays that he wrote at home for entertainment" ^[15] .

Tribunate

Under 112 BC e. Guy Memmius is referred to as the person elected by the tribune for the following year. Sallust, which is the main source for the events of these years, characterizes Memmia as a person of an active, independent and hostile nobility ^[16] . This hostility manifested itself in connection with the scandal surrounding the Numidian issue.

One of the kings of Numidia Yugurt began a war with his brother Adgerbal for sole power and besieged him in Circus . The embassy, ​​led by Senate princeps Mark Emilius Skavr, demanded that the siege be lifted from the city, but nothing was achieved (Sallust, describing this episode, hints that Mark Emilius accepted a bribe from Yugurta ^[17] ). The result was the fall of Cirte and the massacre of local Italians ^[18] . When the news came to Rome about this, the nobles , bribed by Yugurt, tried to soften the general impression, and they would have succeeded if Memmius hadn’t explained to the Roman people that it’s about, thanks to several power-hungry people, to achieve the indulgence of the Senate to the crime of Yugurt " ^[19] .

The following year, already during the tribune of Memmia, the consul Lucius Calpurnius Bestia invaded Numidia with the army. Sallust argues that all representatives of the Roman command were bribed by the king and therefore signed a truce on very mild conditions ^[20] . This provoked widespread indignation in Rome, and Memmius made open accusations of bribery against Bestia, Skavr, who participated in the Numidian campaign as a legate , and other influential aristocrats. He secured the adoption of a decree according to which Praetor Lucius Cassius Longin was sent to Numidia to bring Yugurt. The king, who received guarantees of immunity, had to testify against those Romans who received bribes from him. This measure “terrified all the nobility” ^[21] .

After the arrival of Yugurta, Memmii tried to interrogate him before the assembly, but another tribune of the people, Guy Beby , according to Salust, also bribed, forbade the king to answer. This meant the end of the investigation; Yugurta soon left Rome ^[22] . After that, sources do not report on the actions of Memmia. Despite the failure of the tribune, the events of 111 played a role in the fact that two years later Lucius Kalpurniy Bestia, Lucius Opimius and Spurius Postumius Albin were still convicted of a criminal conspiracy with Yugurt ^[23] .

In his anti-Senate campaign, Memmius relied, in the opinion of some scholars, on horsemanism ^[24] , and in the opinion of others, on the people of Rome ^[25] . Many scholars believe that Sallust, who is the main source telling about the Yugurt War , largely distorted the picture to present the Roman elite of that time as completely corrupt ^[26] . In this case, Memmiy may look like a demagogue, trying to gain popularity of the crowd at all costs - including by making far-fetched accusations against the most influential people of the Republic ^[27] .

Valery Maxim mentions “the law of Memmia, which forbade the prosecution of people absent for state needs” ^[28] . Perhaps it was suggested by Guy Memmy ^[29] .

Subsequent years

Between 111 and 100 years BC. e. Memmy is mentioned in the sources only in connection with several lawsuits. There is a report that Mark Emilius Skavr testified against a man named Guy Memmy, accused of embezzlement ^[30] . Perhaps it was an ex-tribune, which the Princeps tried to take revenge in this way ^[31] . In addition, in 109 BC. e. Memmius acted as prosecutor in the trial against Lucius Calpurnia Bestia. Cicero mentions his causticity at Scavr:

When Skaur, who was very angry at him for having taken possession of the wealth of Frigion Pompey without a will, was present in court as a defender of Bestia, prosecutor Guy Memmius, seeing how they were carrying someone to bury, said: “Look, Scaurus is being dragged dead man: are you here alive? ”

- Cicero. About speaker II, 283. ^[32]

The same treatise of Cicero mentions a speech by Lucius Licinius Crassus against Memmius, which said, "as if he" bit Larg's elbow "when he had a fight with him in Tarracina because of a girlfriend." True, it also admits that this story, emphasizing the temper and depravity of Memmiah, is a figment of fiction ^[33] . In addition, Crassus, in a speech before the national assembly (for what reason it was uttered, is unknown) ridiculed the ex-tribune’s self-conceit: "Memmia seems so great to himself that, going down to the square, he tilts his head to go under the Fabius arch" ^{[34 ]} .

In historiography, assumptions are made about how the career of Memmia developed. According to one hypothesis, the politician belonged to the circle of Gaius Maria , whom he could meet even under Numantia ^[35] . There is an assumption that Memmius led that part of the horsemanism, which was initially supported by Lucius Appuleius Saturnin , but after the radicalization of his actions in 102 BC. e. sided with the Senate party; while the riders who remained with Saturnin to the end, the leader was Gaius Servilius Glavzia ^[36] . But there are no arguments in favor of this hypothesis ^[37] .

Not later than 102 BC e. Memmiah was supposed to occupy a praeture. He was allegedly a praetor in the year 104 ^{[38] [39]} , since sources mention the charge brought by Mark Emilius Skavr against Memmius and Guy Flavius ​​Fimbria , who was the consul that year. The verdict was acquittal, since the judges were convinced of Skavr's personal hostility towards the accused ^[40] .

Doom

In 100 BC e. Memmy nominated himself as consul. It was the year of the fifth consecutive consulate of Gaius Maria and the second tribune of Lucius Appuleius Saturnin. The latter, acting at the same time as Mary, supported Glaucius at the consular elections ^[41] .

Guy Servilius was removed from the competition due to the fact that he was praetor this year ^[42] . Thus, Guy Memmius remained one of two - along with Avl Postumiy Albin - a candidate for the post of second consul ( Mark Anthony Orator was already elected the first). But on the morning of election day, he was killed under obscure circumstances: according to some sources, "some people with clubs" beat him to death in the presence of the people ^[43] , according to others, someone Publius Mattius "inflicted a mortal wound on him with an ugly club" ^{[ 44]} .

All sources unanimously call the organizer of the murder of Saturnin. The latter eliminated Memmia either for the sake of electing Glaucus ^{[45] [46]} , or in order to avoid opposition of Memmia in the future ^{[47] [48] [44]} . This version is also reproduced in historiography ^{[49] [50] [51] [23]} . In addition, there was a hypothesis that Saturnin was not interested in the death of Memmiah, who probably remained the enemy of the Senate; the murder could have been organized by the old adversary Skavr or by a real (in contrast to the already withdrawn from the Glavzia’s election) rival in the struggle for consulate Avl Postumiy Albin. The latter was also the brother of Spurius Postumius, who was once convicted of having connections with Yugurt ^{[52] [53]} .

The Senate immediately blamed what happened on Saturnin and Glaucus, who were soon killed. Thus, the death of Memmia was used as a pretext for reprisal with opponents of the aristocratic "party" ^[54] .

Guy Memmius acts in the novels of Milii Jezerski 's Gracchus and Mari and Sulla, as well as in Colin McCullough's novel The First Man in Rome.

Sources

1. Aurelius Victor . About famous people // Roman historians of the IV century. - M .: Rosspan, 1997 .-- S. 179-224. - ISBN 5-86004-072-5 .
2. Lucius Anney Flor . Epitomes // Small Roman Historians. - M .: Ladomir, 1996 .-- 99-190 p. - ISBN 5-86218-125-3 .
3. Appian of Alexandria . Roman history. - M .: Ladomir, 2002 .-- 880 p. - ISBN 5-86218-174-1 .
4. Valery Maxim . Memorable deeds and sayings. - SPb. : Publishing House of St. Petersburg State University, 2007. - 308 p. - ISBN 978-5-288-04267-6 .
5. Valery Maxim . Memorable deeds and sayings. - SPb. , 1772. - T. 2. - 520 s.
6. Titus Livy . The history of Rome from the foundation of the city. - M .: Nauka, 1994 .-- T. 3 .-- 768 p. - ISBN 5-02-008995-8 .
7. Pavel Oroziy . The story against the Gentiles. - SPb. : Publisher Oleg Abyshko, 2004. - 544 p. - ISBN 5-7435-0214-5 .
8. Plutarch . Sayings of kings and commanders // Table talks. - L .: Nauka, 1990 .-- S. 340-388. - ISBN 5-02-027967-6 .
9. Sallust . Yugurt War // Caesar. Sallust. - M .: Ladomir, 2001 .-- S. 488-570. - ISBN 5-86218-361-2 .
10. Suetonius . About famous people // Suetonius. The lords of Rome. - M .: Ladomir, 1999 .-- S. 282-312. - ISBN 5-86218-365-5 .
11. Frontin. Military tricks (neopr.) . XLegio website. Date of treatment November 22, 2015.
12. Cicero. Brutus // Three treatises on oratory. - M .: Ladomir, 1994 .-- S. 253-328. - ISBN 5-86218-097-4 .
13. Cicero. For Mark Fontaine (Neopr.) . Site "Ancient Rome". Date of treatment March 8, 2016.
14. Cicero. About the speaker // Three treatises on oratory. - M .: Ladomir, 1994. - S. 75-252. - ISBN 5-86218-097-4 .
15. Cicero. Speech in defense of Lucius Cornelius Balba (neopr.) . Site "Ancient Rome". Date of treatment March 8, 2016.

Literature

1. Korolenkov A., Katz V. The murder of Guy Memmia // Studia historica. - 2006. - No. 6 . - S. 120-127 .
2. Korolenkov A., Smykov E. Sulla. - M .: Young Guard, 2007 .-- 430 p. - ISBN 978-5-235-02967-5 .
3. Seletsky B. Roman horsemen in the last period of the Saturnine movement // Bulletin of Ancient History. - 1973. - No. 1 . - S. 145-153 .
4. Seletsky B. The role of Scipio Emilian in the outbreak of the Yugurt War and the political position of his circle // Bulletin of Ancient History. - 1967. - No. 4 .
5. Trukhina N. Politics and Politics of the "Golden Age" of the Roman Republic. - M .: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1986. - 184 p.
6. Broughton T. Magistrates of the Roman Republic. - N. Y. , 1951. - Vol. I. - P. 600.
7. Crook JA, Lintott A., Rawson E. The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146–43 bc // The Cambridge Ancient History. - Cambr. : Cambridge University Press, 1994 .-- T. 9 .-- 929 p. - ISBN 9780521256032 .
8. Gruen E. Roman Politics and the Criminal Courts, 149-178 B.C. - Cambr. , 1968.
9. Klebs E. Appuleius 29 // RE. - Stuttg. : JB Metzler, 1895. - Bd. II, 1. - Kol. 261-269.
10. Münzer F. Memmius // RE. - 1942. - No. XV, 1 . - S. 602-603 .
11. Münzer F. Memmius 5 // RE. - 1942. - No. XV, 1 . - S. 604-607 .
12. Parker V. Romae omnia venalia esse . Sallust'Development of a Thesis and the Prehistory of the Jugurtine War // Historia. - 2004. - No. 53 . - S. 408-423 .
13. Van Ooteghem J. Gaius Marius. - Brux. : Palais des Academies, 1964 .-- 336 p.