From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gaius Antistius Vetus
was a Roman politician and general who was
consul suffectus
in 30 BC as the colleague of
Augustus
, succeeding
Marcus Licinius Crassus
.
[1]
Biography
[
edit
]
Vetus was a descendant of the
Plebeian
Roman house of the
Antistii Veteres
. He was probably the son of Gaius Antistius Vetus, praetor in 70, and governor in 69 BC in
Hispania Ulterior
,
[2]
under whom
Julius Caesar
served as
quaestor
.
[3]
Initially a supporter of Caesar, Vetus was appointed
Quaestor
pro praetore
of
Syria
by Caesar, a position which he held in 45 BC.
[4]
[5]
He was forced to fight against
Quintus Caecilius Bassus
, the former governor and an opponent of Caesar, who refused to relinquish his post. Vetus besieged him until the
Parthians
came to relieve Bassus; during this time Vetus was hailed as
imperator
.
[6]
On his way back to
Rome
in 44 BC, he was intercepted by
Brutus
, one of Caesar's leading assassins, who persuaded him not only to hand over the province's revenues which he was taking to Rome,
[7]
but also to join the cause of the
Liberatores
.
[8]
[9]
In June 43 BC he was back in
Rome
but soon returned to Brutus where he served as one of his
legates
.
[10]
Fleeing after the defeat of Brutus at
Philippi
, Vetus eventually became reconciled with
Marcus Antonius
and
Octavianus
.
[11]
In 35 BC, Vetus was given command of the ongoing war against the
Salassi
, perhaps as the governor of
Transalpine Gaul
,
[12]
which he prosecuted with vigour, but without success.
[13]
Then in 30 BC, he was awarded the position of
consul suffectus
, serving alongside Octavianus for a portion of the year.
[14]
Vetus was then made
legate
of
Hispania Citerior
in 26 BC, one of the few men of consular standing to be given a military province during the reign of Augustus.
[8]
He took over from Augustus after the
Princeps
fell ill whilst on campaign in Spain, leading a
campaign
together with P. Carusius against the
Astures
which they successfully concluded in 25 BC.
[15]
His son,
Gaius Antistius Vetus
, served as consul in 6 BC. Two of his grandsons also went on to become consuls.
See also
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- T. Robert S. Broughton
,
The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II
(1952).
- Syme, Ronald,
The Roman Revolution
, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939.
- Anthon, Charles & Smith, William,
A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography
(1860).
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Attilio Degrassi
,
I fasti consolari dell'Impero Romano dal 30 avanti Cristo al 613 dopo Cristo
(Rome, 1952), p. 3
- ^
Luciano Canfora,
Giulio Cesare
, Laterza, Rome, 1999, 18
- ^
Syme, pg. 64
- ^
Broughgton, pg. 307
- ^
According to Broughton, the position of Quaestor which Vetus was supposed to have held in 61 BC never existed, while the position of Plebeian Tribune in 56 BC, where an Antistius was supposed to have attempted to prosecute Julius Caesar for his actions while Consul, refers to L. Antistius ? see
The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol III
.
- ^
Broughton, pg. 307; Anthon & Smith, pg. 933
- ^
Syme, pg. 171
- ^
a
b
Syme, pg. 330
- ^
Broughton, pg. 326
- ^
Broughton, pg. 351
- ^
Syme, pg. 206
- ^
Broughton, pg. 406
- ^
Syme, pg. 329
- ^
Syme, pg. 328
- ^
Syme, pg. 332