Leading Statesman of the Roman Republic

[Primus Pilus]

Thanks to MPC, we've completely reworked the Leading Statesman of the Roman Republic page. He clearly put some considerable effort into it, and despite his well known feelings about the "Darling of Venus", he provides a very objective overview. So please take a moment to check it out...

[The Augusta]

I am in absolute awe at the amount of work MPC has put into this. It's a fabulous addition to the Forum, not just for the overviews he gives of the main periods of the Republic, but it can stand alone as a wonderful quick reference guide whenever you want to look someone up. Like PP, I recommend everyone to have a look at this.

 

Well done, and thank you, Cato.

[M. Porcius Cato]

it can stand alone as a wonderful quick reference guide whenever you want to look someone up.

 

Thanks, Augusta. If I had had this handy earlier, I'd not have made the error of accusing Regulus of being the killer of the Sacred Chickens. In my entry on Appius Claudius Pulcher (cos 249), I list his killing of the Sacred Chickens as his very first important deed. Just goes to show, human memory is subject to massive interference (which is why I'm such a nag about citing sources and evidence).

[ASCLEPIADES]

Salve, guys!

Honestly, this stuff is an IMPRESSIVE PIECE OF WORK by any standard; I became exhausted with less than half of the reading, so I'm sorry but I will need more than a moment just to check it out. Congratulations!

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

I second everything that's already been said It really is excellent work and will become a very useful source in the future no doubt.

 

Just a quick question MPC........

 

Who on your list do you think was THE most influential statesman, the one who gave the most to Rome, in other words if you were asked to put them in order of the "greatest" who would top your list , and why?

[M. Porcius Cato]

Who on your list do you think was THE most influential statesman, the one who gave the most to Rome, in other words if you were asked to put them in order of the "greatest" who would top your list , and why?

 

That is a very difficult question, but it can be broken down.

 

Start by asking what positive events were most responsible for shaping the classical republic. I'd say they were (1) integration of plebeians and non-Roman Italians into all levels of government, (2) the Hellenization of Roman culture, and (3) the projection of Roman power outside Italy. These are the three events that transformed an agrarian-based, local power ruled by a hereditary aristocracy into a money-based, international power ruled by elected representatives of the people.

 

It's difficult to find one man who very substantially contributed to all three trends. Maybe Aemilius Paullus.

[Pantagathus]

Nice work MPC, very nice & complete overview.

[miguel]

This impressive! Thank you MPC!! And I couldn't help giggling when seeing M. Porcius Cato on the list.

 

Julius Caesar is in my mind when I first saw GPM's question. But it turns out that we have to analyse in so many aspects. Anyway, what about Scipio Africanus?

[Klingan]

Very nice list there, it could come in very useful!

 

Great work MPC!

[M. Porcius Cato]

This impressive! Thank you MPC!! And I couldn't help giggling when seeing M. Porcius Cato on the list.

That reminds me to mention that I automatically included everyone who was a subject of Plutarch's biographies (those names are in bold). For this reason alone, I had to include the two Porcii Catones (like it was twisting my arm--ha!)

 

What about Scipio Africanus?

 

My criteria for most influential was making a significant contribution toward (1) integration of plebeians and non-Roman Italians into all levels of government, (2) the Hellenization of Roman culture, and (3) the projection of Roman power outside Italy.

 

Scipio Africanus gets high marks for #3, but his Hellenizing role was less than that of Scipio Aemilianus and Aemilius Paulus (both whom contributed greatly to extending Roman reach) and his role in working toward the political participation of plebeians and Italians much less than that of Publicola, Dentatus, and Livius Drusus.

 

There was a fourth criteria I considered, which was the role in protecting Rome from invaders. It might be a fun exercise to make a list of Rome's great defenders. Camillus, in my view, would probably top that list, with Dentatus closely behind.

[Primus Pilus]

M. Furius Camillus.

 

In addition to those state military achievements in MPC's overview, he was instrumental in re-establishing order (both militarily and politically) after the sack of Rome by the Gauls. Had the Plebs had their way, perhaps Veii would've been settled as an alternative to political compromise and the re-establishment of Rome. Though he was a member of the most conservative faction. it was ultimately his concession that allowed passage of the Lex Licinia Sextia (367 BC). This ended the extended period of dictatorships and military tribunates and restored the more "Republican" institution of the consulship along with the notion that 1 consul should be a Pleb.*

 

Then again, he was such a polarizing figure through most of his career, divided by Plebeian and Patrician affiliations, that it would be difficult to give him the highest rating on the chart. Additionally, he hardly fits Cato's criteria for the Hellenization of Rome, and accounts of his life are also most likely laced with elements of heroic fiction (though not nearly as probable as that of Cincinnatus).

 

* the exact details of the law are disputed. It has sometimes been described as having guaranteed that 1 Consul should be Plebeian but this probably did not happen until the Lex Genucia of 342 BC. It has sometimes also been suggested that this law allowed for the first Plebeian Consul but this is probably inaccurate as many earlier Consuls had Plebeian name origins. There is no question that immediately following it's passage, there was a Plebeian Consul and that the office was open to Plebs, the most important concept of this law was not just allowing Consuls to be Plebes but the restoration of the Consular system itself. It also limited the amount of newly acquired land that a single person could own (thereby restricting the power of the Patricians) but whatever the fine details, it was a clearly a step in settling the struggle of the orders.

[M. Porcius Cato]

Camillus was undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the history of the republic.

 

Out of curiosity, is there a UNRV biography on anyone (in the appropriate time frame) who has not been mentioned in my list? I don't think there's a Biographies section here at UNRV, and it might be useful to use this list as a way of organizing the biographies that have been written (e.g., by including a link to the bio on Spartacus in the entry on Crassus).

[ASCLEPIADES]

Salve, guys!

There is more than one definition of statesmanship. Whichever you choose, I think we should measure any statesman by his/her achievements; how deep, how far and how long do they affected his/her society and the World.

By that standard, I can't see any possible controversy; no other single Roman politician affected Rome, Europe and the Western World so deeply and so extensively, both in space and in time, as Augustus.

Certainly, there were many men and women behind his achievements (vg, Agrippa, Livia, Maecenas, Salvidienus); quoting a member of UNVR (I can't remember who) every government is an oligarchy. But he was clearly the head in any sense. Paraphrasing Augustus himself, he received a state on the brink of disintegration and left an effective system of government that endured more than three centuries, surviving even the mediocrity of a lot of his successors.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Salve, guys!

There is more than one definition of statesmanship. Whichever you choose, I think we should measure any statesman by his/her achievements; how deep, how far and how long do they affected his/her society and the World.

By that standard, I can't see any possible controversy; no other single Roman politician affected Rome, Europe and the Western World so deeply and so extensively, both in space and in time, as Augustus.

Certainly, there were many men and women behind his achievements (vg, Agrippa, Livia, Maecenas, Salvidienus); quoting a member of UNVR (I can't remember who) every government is an oligarchy. But he was clearly the head in any sense. Paraphrasing Augustus himself, he received a state on the brink of disintegration and left an effective system of government that endured more than three centuries, surviving even the mediocrity of a lot of his successors.

Salve Asclepiades!

 

I agree with everything you say about Augustus, but MPC compiled his list about the leading statesmen of the Republic, about people who believed in the idea of a republic and believed in a state run by elected representatives of the people and not by one man alone.

 

The Republic finally came to an end ( it had been in decline for a while ) when Augustus came to power so you can argue that he did nothing at all for the Republic apart from put the final nail in it's coffin.

[ASCLEPIADES]

Salve Asclepiades!

 

I agree with everything you say about Augustus, but MPC compiled his list about the leading statesmen of the Republic, about people who believed in the idea of a republic and believed in a state run by elected representatives of the people and not by one man alone.

 

The Republic finally came to an end ( it had been in decline for a while ) when Augustus came to power so you can argue that he did nothing at all for the Republic apart from put the final nail in it's coffin.

Salve, GPM! Touch

Edited July 19, 2007 by ASCLEPIADES