Tullus Cloelius

Tullus Cloelius or Cluilius, called Cloelius Tullus in some sources,[1] was a Roman envoy to Fidenae. He and his fellow envoys Gaius Fulcinius, Spurius Antius, and Lucius Roscius were dispatched in the year 438 B.C., tasked with investigating the reasons for Fidenae's alliance with Veii. All four were murdered on the orders of the Veientine king, Lars Tolumnius. Statues of the slain ambassadors were then erected at the public expense outside the Rostra in Rome, and the following year, Rome declared war against Veii in response to the incident.[2][3][4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Cluilius is the ancient form of the nomen Cloelius, while Tullus is an ancient praenomen, which had fallen into disuse by the later Republic, but was commonly used as a cognomen, or surname. For this reason, his name is frequently found as Cloelius Tullus, without a praenomen, which is unusual during this period of Roman history. In his Philippics, Cicero gives his name as Tullus Cluilius, apparently preserving the name in its original form.
  2. ^ Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, iv. 17.
  3. ^ Marcus Tullius Cicero, Philippicae, ix. 2.
  4. ^ Gaius Plinius Secundus, Historia Naturalis, xxxiv. 6. s. 11.