Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (praetor 56 BC)

Template:Short description Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (born c. 92 BC;

1. REDIRECT Template:floruit until 52 BC) was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC and son of Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and Caecilia Metella.

Initially a supporter of Pompey, Scaurus fought under his command during the Third Mithridatic War, and later governed Syria. Ascending the cursus honorum, he threw magnificent games while curule aedile and later served as praetor. Receiving as his province Sardinia, he was charged with extortion on his return to Rome but was successfully defended by many eminent senators. His bid for the consulship of 53 BC was unsuccessful; in 52 BC he was convicted of bribery during those elections and went into exile. His fall was perhaps due to his marriage with Mucia, a former wife of Pompey, with whom he fell out of favour as a result.

Biography

Scaurus belonged to the important patrician gens Aemilia; he was the son of his homonymous father and Caecilia Metella. His famous father had served in the consulship of 115 BC and, from that year to his death, as princeps senatus. His father died in 88 BC during Scaurus' childhood. Pompey the Great was briefly married to his sister Aemilia and, even after her death, Pompey continued to take personal interest in the young man.

Third Mithridatic War

File:M. Aemilius Scaurus and Pub. Plautius Hypsaeus, denarius, 58 BC, RRC 422-1b.jpg

Denarius minted by Scaurus and Hypsaeus in 58 BC. The scene on the obverse depicts the surrender of Aretas III of Nabataea to Scaurus.

In 66 BC, during the Third Mithridatic War, Scaurus may have served as quaestor.Template:Sfn By 65 or 64 BC, Scaurus was appointed proquaestor in Syria under Pompey's overall command of the war.Template:Sfn

Roman intervention in Syria started when Pompey moved to deal with aggression from Nabataean king Aretas III. Pompey, however, was also engaged to intervene in a dispute between the rival claimants to Judaea: Hyrcanus and Aristobulus.Template:Sfn After Aretas intervened to favour Hyrcanus in Judaea, Scaurus headed embassy where he sided with Aristobulus and ordered Aretas to withdraw.Template:Sfn This preceded direct intervention by Pompey, who marched south in the autumn of 64 BC when Aristobulus had started to win the conflict. Pompey eventually made Hyrcanus high priest and ethnarch in Judaea and had Aristobulus sent to Rome in chains.Template:Sfn

When Pompey returned north to settle treat with Pharnaces in 63 BC, he left Syria organised as a province from lands carved out of the Seleucid Empire, under Scaurus as governor pro praetore with two legions.Template:Sfnm Scaurus moved to campaign against Aretas, but in 62 BC ended his campaign after accepting Aretas' nominal submission and payment of three hundred talents to Scaurus.Template:Sfnm At the close of 61 BC, Scaurus was succeeded in Syria by Lucius Marcius Philippus.Template:Sfn

Scarus' engagements in Syria and Judaea may be mentioned in Dead Sea Scroll 4Q333 (fragmentary) which states: Template:Quote

He was said by Pliny the Elder to have been the first Roman collector, or major collector, of engraved gems.

Curule aedile and praetor

Scaurus returned to Rome and – eligible due to his patrician status – was elected curule aedile a few years later, in 58 BC, with Publius Plautius Hypsaeus as his colleague.Template:Sfn Together, they minted denarii showing the scene of the surrender of the Nabataean king Aretas III to Scaurus.Template:Sfn The massive production of these coins was nevertheless not linked to the extravagant games – funded by his wealth acquired in SyriaTemplate:Sfn – he gave that year as aedile.Template:Sfnm During the year, he restored an ornament placed by his father on the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus that had been damaged by fire in 83 BC; he also erected the theatrum Scauri,Template:Sfn a magnificent wooden theatre with three levels and seats for eighty thousand spectators.

By 57 BC, he had been elevated to the college of pontiffs.Template:Sfn

He served as praetor in 56 BC, during which he presided over the quaestio de vi and the trial of Publius Sestius.Template:Sfn He received Sardinia as his province for 55 BC, probably pro consule.Template:Sfn

Consular attempt and exile

After returning from Sardinia, he received the support of Julius Caesar and Pompey in the canvass for the consulship of 53 BC,Template:Sfn but was immediately accused of extortion in his province on his return on 6 July 54 BC.Template:Sfnm Scaurus was defended by a glittering array of senior statesmen – Cicero, Quintus Hortensius, Marcus Calidius, and Marcus Claudius Marcellus gave speeches in his defence; nine former consuls, including Pompey, and a sitting quaestor testified to his character – in a trial before Cato the Younger.Template:Sfnm and was overwhelmingly acquitted on 2 September 54 BC in spite of his probable guilt.Template:Sfn

The candidates supported by the Triumvirs (Julius Caesar, Pompey and Crassus), Scaurus included, were defeated in the canvass for the consulship of 53 BC.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn After the elections, he – severally with the other candidates – was hauled before the courts for ambitus (electoral bribery) some time before 11 October 54 BC, but proceedings were incomplete.Template:Sfn Two years later, some time in 52 BC, Scaurus was again prosecuted de ambitu, possibly in a continuation of the first prosecution.Template:Sfn Cicero again attempted to defend him and a mob assembled to protest the prosecution, but Pompey sent men to disperse the mob and Scaurus was convicted.Template:Sfnm Pompey's hostility may have been for Scaurus' marriage to Pompey's former wife Mucia.Template:Sfn Scaurus was then expelled from the senate and thence went into exile. Nothing is known of his further fate.Template:Sfn

Issue

Scaurus had one child of the same name with his wife Mucia, who had previously been married to Pompey the Great.Template:Sfn This younger Scaurus sided with Antony during the War of Actium but was pardoned at Mucia's request.

See also

• Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC)

References

Sources

• • Template:Harvc
  • Template:Harvc

External links

• Template:DPRR
• Pliny on gem collecting
• Cicero, Pro Scauro, English translation at attalus.org