The lost Scipio's or how the

[Caesar CXXXVII]

The Scipio's are the most famous, interesting and extolled single family in the history of the republic and produced the most illustrious man of that period (together with C. Iulius Caesar) P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus . He and other Scipio's were at the head of the republic for decades, and one scholar (don't remember his name) said that after Zama, Africanus was the most powerful man in the world.

Alas, no Scipio was ever a leader (Pius Scipio was one of many) of a faction in the struggle for power in the last 100 years of the republic and beyond.
In this list I will try to illustrate how the Scipio's died out literally and will mention many "lost" members of the family.

Basically the Scipio's had two branches stretching from one single ancestor, that is, from L. Cornelius Scipio "Barbatus" cos. 298 . One branch started from his first grandson, G. Cornelius Scipio "calvus" cos. 222 and the second started from his second grandson, P. Cornelius Scipio cos. 218 .

Africanus (princeps senatus 199-183) and his brother L. Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus (another famous general who ancient historians liked to underestimate him) were the sons of the consul of 218 . The conqueror of Africa and Hispania had 4 children
1. L. Cornelius Scipio who became praetor in 174 and died without children end of line
2. P. Cornelius Scipio who became an augur and died young and with one son P. Cornelius Scipio Who became flamen dialis and died young and without children. The augur adopted the son of L. Aemilius Paullus cos. 182 and 168 . This son was named P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (later Africanus Numantinus), cos 147 and 134. He too died without children end of line
3. Cornelia minor who married Ti. Sempronius Gracchus cos. 177 and 163. Their sons were the Gracchi brothers end of line
4. Cornelia major I shall return to her later

Such was the end of Africanus lineage .

Before turning to Asiaticus line, let us see the line of second branch, that of the consul of 222 . He had two sons :
1. G. Cornelius Scipio Hispallus cos 176 who died while consul . He had two sons Lucius Cornelius Scipio (died at the age of 20 without children) and G. Cornelius Scipio Hispanus praetor 139 . This praetor had a son, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio, Who became praetor c. 109 and died without children end of line
2. P. Cornelius scipio Nasica cos 194 "The best man in the republic" . Nasica died in c. 171 and had one son. P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica "Corculum", the princeps senatus between c. 147 and c. 142 . This "Corculum" married the above Cornelia major and the couple had one son, P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica "Serapio" cos. 138 a Scipio on both sides ! "Serapio"s one son was the consul of 111 who had the same name of his father . This consular had two children :
1. Cornelia who married one named P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus (a Lentulus by birth who was adopted by one M. Claudius Marcellus)
2. P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica praetor c. 93, died in 90, married a Licinia . They had two sons L. Licinius Crassus Scipio (he was adopted by his grandfather, L. Licinius Crassus cos. 95) who died at the age of 14 (end of line) and P. Cornelius scipio Nasica who was adopted by the consul of 80, Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius and became Q. Caecilius metellus Pius Scipio (Nasica) . The last one was cos 52 ,died in 46 and left two children a son who died at the age of 18 and a daughter, Cornelia who married P. Licinius Crassus the son of the IIIVIR and than Pompeius magnus end of line

So, the Nasica line did not survived the republic but the Asiaticus line did by a "strange" way .

Asiaticus, the brother of Africanus, Had one son, L. Cornelius Scipio Asiagenus who managed to become quaestor before dying at the age of 33 in 167. He had two sons, Lucius Cornelius Scipio (died without children) and Scipio Asiagenus Comatus . This Comatus had a son, L. Cornelius Scipio Asiagenes/Asiaticus cos 83 . The consul had two children  L. Cornelius Scipio who was proscribe and died without children and Cornelia . This Cornelia Married P. Sestius and their son named L. or P Cornelius Scipio Salvitto.
Salvitto is an enigma . I have found some sources that say he adopted a pomponius who became L.? Cornelius Scipio Pomponianus and/or that his biological children were Cornelia (married Paullus Aemilius Lepidus cos. 34) and P. Cornelius Scipio cos. 16 . In any case, the consul of 16 had a son Scipio the adulterer of 2 BC and the last "genuine" Scipio (other Scipio's were not related to the family).
There are many conjectures about Salvitto and by some he was the ancestor of the later Scipio's of the 1st and 2nd centuries . The Subject is so complicated that I left it for another day .


Hope You enjoyed it !


Sources :

Broughton, T.R.S. - Candidates Defeated in Roman Elections: Some Ancient Roman Also-Rans, 1991

Broughton, T.R.S. - The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, 1968

Broughton, T.R.S. - The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Supplement, 1986

Dessau, Hermann and Rohden, Paul von, 1978

Gelzer, Matthias - The Roman Nobility, 1969

Groag, Edmund and various - Prosopographia Imperii Romani, 2nd ed  1933  2006

Gruen, Erich S. - The Last Generation of the Roman Republic, 1974

Münzer, Friedrich - Römische Adelsparteien und Adelsfamilien, 1963

Scullard, H.H. - Roman Politics 220-150 BC, 1981

Settipani, Christian - Continuite Gentilice et Continuite Familiale dans les Familles Senatoriales Romaines a
l'Epoque Imperiale: Mythe Et Realite, 2000

Shackleton Bailey, D.R. - Two Studies in Roman Nomenclature, 1976

Syme, Ronald - The Augustan Aristocracy, 1986

Syme, Ronald - The Roman Revolution, 1968

Wiseman, T.P - New Men in the Roman Senate, 1971

Edited June 3, 2014 by Viggen

[Nephele]

Hope You enjoyed it !

 

I did! Nice bibliography, too.

 

I'm looking forward to your planned follow-up on Salvitto. In Book 7 of his Natural History, Pliny mentions that Salvitto received his name due to his resemblance to a well-known mime. I can't help but wonder whether this Scipio's contemporaries might have drawn other comparisons (beyond mere physical resemblance) between this Scipio and a public entertainer. Was it a joke between Scipio and his friends? Was it criticism from Scipio's foes? I'm intrigued.

 

-- Nephele

[Pompieus]

Excellent (as usual)

 

The cost of service to the Republic was obviously VERY heavy in terms of the lives of young aristocrats!

 

A list of Consulships of the Cornelii Scipiones (post 366BCE) :

 

 

L Cornelius Scipio 350

L Cornelius Scipio Barbatus (Cens 280)(Dict 306)(PM 304) 298

Cn Cornelius Scipio Asina (Tr 253/2) 260

L Cornelius Scipio (Cens 258)(Tr 259/8) 259

Cn Cornelius Scipio Asina (II) 254

Cn Cornelius Scipio Calvus 222

P Cornelius Scipio Asina 221

P Cornelius Scipio 218

P Cornelius Scipio Africanus P f L n (Cens 199)(PS 199) 205

P Cornelius Scipio Africanus (II) 194

P Cornelius Scipio Nasica Cn f (Tr 191/0) 191

L Cornelius Scipio Asiagenus P f L n (Tr 189/8) 190

Cn Cornelius Scipio Hispalus 176

P Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum (abd)(Cens 159)(PS 147)(PM 152) 162

P Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum (II) (Tr 155/4) 155

P Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus L f (Cens 142)(PS 142?) 147

P Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio (PM 141) 138

P Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus (II) 134

P Cornelius Scipio Nasica 111

L Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus 83

P Cornelius Scipio (suf) 35

P Cornelius Scipio 16

 

Metellus Pius Scipio (Cos 52) is left out as he looks like a Caecilius on my database. When I get a "MRR" I'll be able to add the Praetorships etc.

[Nephele]

When I get a "MRR" I'll be able to add the Praetorships etc.

 

Here's a list I compiled from my own MRR of Cornelii Scipiones who served in the office of Praetor. (Dates are listed first; the numbers in parentheses identify individuals, and correspond to the number of the article under the name of the family in Pauly-Wissowa's Real-Encyclopadie, in which an individual is discussed.)

 

194 (Praetor Farther Spain): P. Cornelius Cn. f. L. n. Scipio Nasica (350)

 

193 (Praetor Sicily): L. Cornelius P. f. L. n. Scipio Asiaticus (337)

 

179 (Praetor Pregrinus): Cn. Cornelius Cn. f. L. n. Scipio Hispallus (346)

 

177: Cn. Cornelius Scipio (320, 325) This entry is in question: Although Broughton lists six Praetors for this year, he also states that "according to a law passed in 181 there should be only four Praetors this year. The reference in Valerius Maximus (4.5.3) to a Cn. Scipio who was elected Praetor with the help of the scribe Cicereius is probably a mistake for L. Scipio, Praetor in 174, who was followed by Cicereius in 173."

 

176 M. Cornelius Scipio Maluginensis (348) "assigned Farther Spain but excused."

 

174 (Praetor Peregrinus): L. Cornelius Scipio (325)

 

165: P. Cornelius P. f. Cn. n. Scipio Nasica Corculum (353)

 

141: P. Cornelius P. f. P. n. Scipio Nasica Serapio (354)

 

139 (Praetor Peregrinus): Cn. Cornelius Scipio Hispanus (347)

 

114: P. Cornelius P. f. P. n. Scipio Nasica Serapio (355)

 

ca. 109: Cn. Cornelius Scipio (321)

 

ca. 93: P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica (351)

 

86: L. Cornelius L. f. L. n. Scipio Asiaticus (338)

 

-- Nephele

[Caesar CXXXVII]

Thank you Neph. and Pompey .

 

Yes, Salvitto...a Problem .

 

About Smith's chart - I am ignoring the sarcastic remark . I have found several differences and I tend to accept the more modern stemmas and speculations, they are more detailed and have more people . That is the difference between 1870 and more than 100 years of prosopography .

[ASCLEPIADES]

This Cornelia Married P. Sestius and their son named L. or P Cornelius Scipio Salvitto.

Salvitto is an enigma .

Specially because, if he was the son of Sestius, why was his name Cornelius Scipio?

 

Here comes Caius Suetonius Tranquillus, Vita Divus Iulius, cp. LIX, sec. II:

Ad eludendas autem vaticinationes, quibus felix et invictum in ea provincia fataliter Scipionum nomen ferebatur, despectissimum quendam ex Corneliorum genere, cui ad opprobrium vitae Salvitoni cognomen erat, in castris secum habuit.

 

"Furthermore, to make the prophecies ridiculous which declared that the stock of the Scipios was fated to be fortunate and invincible in that province, he kept with him in camp a contemptible fellow belonging to the Cornelian family, to whom the nickname Salvito had been given as a reproach for his manner of life".

 

And here comes Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, Caesar, cp. LII, sec. IV-V:

"On learning that the enemy were emboldened by an ancient oracle to the effect that it was always the prerogative of the family of the Scipios to conquer in Africa, he either flouted in pleasantry the Scipio who commanded the enemy, or else tried in good earnest to appropriate to himself the omen, it is hard to say which. He had under him, namely, a man who otherwise was a contemptible nobody, but belonged to the family of the Africani, and was called Scipio Sallustio. This man Caesar put in the forefront of his battles as if commander of the army, being compelled to attack the enemy frequently and to force the fighting".

 

And here comes Cassius Dio, Historia, Liber XLII, cp. LVIII, sec. I:

"When Caesar learned of this and saw that his own soldiers also were persuaded that it was so and were consequently afraid, he added to his retinue a man of the family of the Scipios who bore that name (he was otherwise known as Salutio)".

 

The orthography of his agnomen varies considerably among the diverse translations of these sources.

Edited December 10, 2008 by ASCLEPIADES

[Caesar CXXXVII]

 

This Cornelia Married P. Sestius and their son named L. or P Cornelius Scipio Salvitto.

Salvitto is an enigma .

Specially because, if he was the son of Sestius, why was his name Cornelius Scipio?

 

Here comes Caius Suetonius Tranquillus, Vita Divus Iulius, cp. LIX, sec. II:

Ad eludendas autem vaticinationes, quibus felix et invictum in ea provincia fataliter Scipionum nomen ferebatur, despectissimum quendam ex Corneliorum genere, cui ad opprobrium vitae Salvitoni cognomen erat, in castris secum habuit.

 

"Furthermore, to make the prophecies ridiculous which declared that the stock of the Scipios was fated to be fortunate and invincible in that province, he kept with him in camp a contemptible fellow belonging to the Cornelian family, to whom the nickname Salvito had been given as a reproach for his manner of life".

 

And here comes Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, Caesar, cp. LII, sec. IV-V:

"On learning that the enemy were emboldened by an ancient oracle to the effect that it was always the prerogative of the family of the Scipios to conquer in Africa, he either flouted in pleasantry the Scipio who commanded the enemy, or else tried in good earnest to appropriate to himself the omen, it is hard to say which. He had under him, namely, a man who otherwise was a contemptible nobody, but belonged to the family of the Africani, and was called Scipio Sallustio. This man Caesar put in the forefront of his battles as if commander of the army, being compelled to attack the enemy frequently and to force the fighting".

 

And here comes Cassius Dio, Historia, Liber XLII, cp. LVIII, sec. I:

"When Caesar learned of this and saw that his own soldiers also were persuaded that it was so and were consequently afraid, he added to his retinue a man of the family of the Scipios who bore that name (he was otherwise known as Salutio)".

 

The orthography of his agnomen varies considerably among the diverse translations of these sources.

 

 

Nice .

 

Plinius, Historia Naturalis " and after him, another Scipio of the same family was surnamed Salvitto, after a mime of that name The word " mimus" was applied by the Romans to a species of dramatic performance, as well as to the persons who acted in them. The Roman mimes were imitations of trivial and sometimes indecent occurrences in life, and scarcely differed from comedy, except in consisting more of gestures and mimicry than of spoken dialogue. Sylla was very fond of these performances, and they had more charms for the Roman populace than the regular drama".

 

And " when, upon passing through the hall of Scipio Pomponianus he observed that, in consequence of a testamentary adoption, the Salvittos, for that had been their surname to the disgrace of the

Africani, had surreptitiously contrived to assume the name of the Scipios" .

 

A foot note from the translator "So called from his father-in-law pomponius, a man Celebrated for his wealth, and by whom he was adopted. It would appear that Scipio Pomponianus adopted Scipio Salvitto, so called from his remarkable resemblance to an actor of mimes were probably branch of the Gens Cornelia" .

 

 

Tell you true, I am "working" on this "Salvitto" for a while - so many speculations about him .

 

 

Edit : Tell you THE truth...

Edited June 3, 2014 by Viggen

[Caesar CXXXVII]

As the first Salvitto was almost surely an adoption, we can attribute him the ancestry that we like; it seems the despise for him was almost universal.

I don't think we can discard at all the possibility that the first Salvitto was just a forgery from CJ Caesar for Thapsus.

 

Probably by adoption . It seems that Plutarchus regarded him as a direct descendant of "the Africani" or something like that . As for any ancestry, We can't ignore the name "Pomponianus" .

Forgery ? A possibility but we need evidence . I think it would be hard for someone to say "I am a Scipio" or "he is a Scipio" and get on with it, don't you ?