Lucius Julius Libo

Lucius Julius L. f. L. n. Libo was a member of the ancient patrician house of the Julii, who held the consulship in 267 BC, and won an important military victory.[1]

Lucius Julius Libo
Roman Senator
Consul
In office
267 BC – 266 BC
Preceded byPublius Sempronius Sophus, Appius Claudius Crassus Rufus
Succeeded byNumerius Fabius Pictor, Decimus Junius Pera
Personal details
BornRome
Political partyGens Julia

Family

The son and grandson of Lucius, Libo was the only significant member of his gens to appear in history during a span of nearly a century and a half. The Julii had been one of the leading families of the early Republic, claiming six consulships between 489 and 430 BC, and nine times filling the office of consular tribune from 438 to 379. But the last of the early Julii to hold a magistracy was Gaius Julius Iulus, who had been nominated dictator in 352 BC.

For modern scholars, Libo represents a link between the Julii Iuli of the early Republic, and the Julii Caesares, who flourished from the time of the Second Punic War to early Imperial times. It is not known whether Libo was descended from one of the Julii Iuli, or from a collateral branch of the family, nor whether he was an ancestor of the Caesars, although it has long been conjectured that they were his descendants.[lower-roman 1] In recent years, one scholar has postulated that Lucius Julius, the father of Sextus Julius Caesar, who was praetor in 208 BC, was the son of Libo, but if so it is not clear whether his surname was Libo or Caesar.[3]

Career

Libo was elected consul for 267 BC, together with Marcus Atilius Regulus. The two consuls carried on a war against the Sallentini, a Messapian people of Apulia, whom they conquered. In recognition of their victory, Libo and Regulus were granted a triumph, which they celebrated on January 23, 266.[4][5][1]

See also

Footnotes
  1. In his Genealogia Antiqua, William Berry presents a genealogical table in which he positively asserts Libo's descent from the Julii Iuli, and ancestry of the Julii Caesares, through a son or grandson, Numerius Julius Caesar, and the latter's son, Lucius. Although his tables were supposedly derived from the best authors, no source is given for these claims, and his chart of the Julii includes several other figures of dubious historicity, the existence of some of whom contradicts known historical sources. In particular, the chart mentions three early individuals named "Numerius Julius" and two named "Marcus Julius", names that are not found in any historical records or traditions, and which none of the Julii are known to have used during the entire period of the Republic.[2]

References
  1. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 778.
  2. William Berry, Genealogia Antiqua, or Mythological and Classical Tables, Compiled from the Best Authors on Fabulous and Ancient History, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, London (1816), pp. 50.
  3. Griffin, p. 13.
  4. Fasti Triumphales
  5. Eutropius, ii. 17.

Bibliography
  • Eutropius, Breviarium Historiae Romanae (A Brief History of Rome).
  • "Libo, L. Julius", in Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
  • Miriam Griffin, A Companion to Julius Caesar John Wiley & Sons (2009), ISBN 1444308459, ISBN 9781444308457.
Preceded by
Publius Sempronius Sophus and Appius Claudius Crassus Rufus		 Consul of the Roman Republic
with Marcus Atilius Regulus
267 BC		 Succeeded by
Decimus Junius Pera and Numerius Fabius Pictor
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