Mark Titius

Mark Titius belonged to a noble plebeian family. Some carriers of the nomenclature of Titius became part of the Senate estate in the last century of the Roman Republic ^[1] . Mark was the son of Lucius Ticius, and on his mother - the nephew of Lucius Muncius Planck , consul 42 years BC. e ^{[2] [3]} .

The first mentions of Mark Titius in the surviving sources date back to 43 BC. e. The triumphs , having come to power in Rome, compiled a list of transcripts, which included, among all others, Lucius Titius. The latter fled to Sicily to Sextus Pompey , and Mark gathered a fleet and with him began to piracy in the western Mediterranean : in particular, he robbed the coast of Etruria . In 40 BC e. the naval commander of Pompey Men defeated Mark and captured from the coast of Narbonne Gaul , but Pompey freed him for his father ^{[4] [5] [6]} .

After the signing of peace between Pompey and the members of the Second Triumvirate in 39 BC. e. Mark Titius was able to return to Rome ^[7] . There he became an ally of Mark Anthony (possibly influenced by his uncle Planck). In 36 BC e. Mark took part in the Parthian campaign of Anthony as a questor ^{[8] [9]} , and in 35 BC e. became governor of Asia ^[10] . His main task was to counteract Sextus Pompey, who was expelled from Sicily by Octavian and appeared in the East with unclear intentions. Titius was to either defeat Pompey or deliver him to Anthony in Alexandria . Sextus began the war; Together with Guy Fourney, Mark defeated him and offered to surrender in exchange for security guarantees. He refused, but soon was forced to surrender without any conditions. Titius ordered the assassination of Pompey in Miletus - either arbitrarily, or by order of Anthony or Planck ^{[11] [12]} (at the end of 35 BC) ^[13] .

In 32 BC e., when the conflict between Anthony and Octavian threatened to go into another civil war , Mark Titius along with Planck went over to the side of Octavian; defectors spoke about the contents of Anthony's will, which they had signed before. In particular, the document provided for the funeral of Anthony in Alexandria, and not in Rome, and the transfer of most of his property to Cleopatra and her children. Octavian used these facts in his propaganda campaign ^[14] .

Shortly after returning to Rome, Titius organized games at the Pompey Theater, but this ended in failure: the people met him as the killer of Sextus Pompey with such hatred that he had to leave the theater ^[15] . In 31 BC e. Titius was a consul-suffect (from May to September) ^[16] and fought in the battle of Action . He later became governor of Syria with legate powers. It is known that in this capacity, Titius received hostages from the Parthian king Fraat IV (four sons and four grandchildren) ^[17] and met with the king of Judea Herod the Great on the eve of his last trip to Rome. The last event dates back to 13 or 12 BC. e. How long Titius was governor of Syria is unclear ^[18] .

Thanks to one inscription ( CIL IX 5853 ) it is known that Titius was a member of the priestly collegium of pontiffs ^[18] .

Sources

1. Appian of Alexandria . Roman history. - M .: Ladomir, 2002 .-- 878 p. - ISBN 5-86218-174-1 .
2. Guy Valley Patculus . Roman History // Small Roman Historians. - M .: Ladomir, 1996 .-- S. 11-98. - ISBN 5-86218-125-3 .
3. Dion Cassius . Roman history (neopr.) . Date of treatment August 4, 2018.
4. Plutarch . Comparative biographies. - M .: Nauka, 1994 .-- ISBN 5-02-011570-3 , 5-02-011568-1.
5. Strabo Geography. - M .: Ladomir, 1994 .-- 944 p.

Literature

1. Broughton R. Magistrates of the Roman Republic. - New York, 1952. - Vol. II. - P. 558.
2. Münzer F. Titius // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1937. - Bd. II, 12. - Kol. 1554.
3. Münzer F. Titius 15 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1937. - Bd. II, 12. - Kol. 1558-1559.
4. Münzer F. Titius 18 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1937. - Bd. II, 12. - Kol. 1559-1562.