Mark Pletory Cestian

Mark Pletorius belonged to a noble plebeian family , whose representatives appear in the sources only in connection with the last decades of the Roman Republic. The plethora of Cestiana achieved the greatest success in comparison with other branches of the genus, but even they did not reach the highest posts ^[1] . Mark's father bore the same name ^[2] ; presumably ^[3] it was that Mark Pletorius , whom the Sullans executed in 82 BC. e. ^[four]

Mark Pletorius was about the same age as Mark Tullius Cicero , born in 106 BC. e. The first references to it in the surviving sources date back to 69 BC. e., when Cestian brought a legal charge against Mark Fontey . The last three years he was the governor of Narbonne Gaul and actively requisitioned food and money from the local population for military needs, and also recruited military units from the provincials. Therefore, the Gauls turned for help to the patron of allobrogs Mark Fabius, and he asked Mark Pletorius to become the prosecutor in the case of abuse of power. Details of the charge remain unknown. The protector was Cicero, whose speech was partially preserved; in these fragments, Cestian is mentioned three times, and once the speaker calls him his friend ^[5] (possibly with irony). It is not known what sentence Fontey was ^{[2] [6]} .

Later (in 68 ^[2] or 67 ^[7] BC), Mark Pletorius held the post of Kuril aedil together with Lucius Flaminius . In this capacity, he minted a coin on behalf of the Senate . Thanks to Cicero’s speech “In Defense of Aul Cloument Gabit” it is known that in the presence of Cestian and his colleague the case of “one little man, the Edilian scribe Decim Matrinius” was heard ^[8] . In the same speech, it is reported that Mark Pletorius and Lucius Flaminius presided over the murder court ^[9] ; accordingly, a hypothesis appeared in historiography that we are talking about praetorship , which should refer to 66 BC. e. ^[2] Robert Broughton, the author of the classic reference book on Roman magistrates, calls Pletoria and Flaminius not praetors, but just judges in connection with the year 66. ^[10]

Thanks to epigraphic sources, it is known that a magistrate named Mark Pletorius visited Delphi . There is an assumption that it was Cestian, after the praeture, he received control of Macedonia or another province, the path to which ran through the Balkans. Proponents of this hypothesis believe that preture did not necessarily fall to 66 BC. e., too close to the time of edility from the point of view of the Cornelian law: it could be 65 or 64 years. One of Cicero’s later letters confirms that Cestian was well acquainted with oriental affairs ^[2] : he “not only participated” in the discussion of the situation in Cilicia , “but also directed it all” ^[11] .

The last mention of Cestian dates back to 51 BC. e. In a letter to Attica from Cilicia, Cicero mentions "the news that Sey was burned by plethoric fire" ^[12] . This is the Roman public and enemy of Cicero; Researchers are unanimous in the opinion that Mark Pletory was convicted of some crime (perhaps extortion), and Sei recognized him as an accomplice. Cicero considered it necessary to note that the news about Say “did not upset him” ^[12] . This led to the assumption that the news about Cestian of the author of the letter was still upsetting, and that in a speech in defense of Fontey, Cicero calls Mark Pletorius his friend seriously ^[2] .

Sources

1. Mark Tullius Cicero . Letters from Mark Tullius Cicero to Attica, relatives, brother Quintus, M. Brutus. - SPb. : Nauka, 2010 .-- V. 3 .-- 832 p. - ISBN 978-5-02-025247-9 , 978-5-02-025244-8.
2. Mark Tullius Cicero. Speech in defense of Mark Fontey (Neopr.) . Site "History of Ancient Rome". Date of treatment January 7, 2019.

Literature

1. Grimal P. Cicero. - M .: Young Guard, 1991 .-- 544 p. - ISBN 5-235-01060-4 .
2. Broughton R. Magistrates of the Roman Republic. - New York, 1952. - Vol. II. - P. 558.
3. Münzer F. Plaetorius // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1950. - Bd. XX, 1. - Kol. 1947.
4. Münzer F. Plaetorius 11 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1950. - Bd. XX, 1. - Kol. 1949.
5. Münzer F. Plaetorius 16 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1950. - Bd. XX, 1. - Kol. 1950-1952.