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AR Denarius (Rome, 108-107 BC)
O/ Winged bust of victory right; XVI before.
R/ Mars walking left, holding spear with point downwards in right hand and a trophy over left shoulder; apex before; corn-ear behind; L VALERI/FLACCI downwards on left.
3.77g; 19mm
Crawford 306/1 (150 obverse dies/187 reverse dies)
- Bertolami Fine Arts e-Auction 44, lot 422.
Lucius Valerius L.f. L.n. laccus:
Flaccus belonged to the gens Valeria, one of the most important patrician gentes, alongside the Cornelii, the Fabii, and the Claudii. Besides, the first member of the gens to reach the consulship was also one of the first Consuls of the republic: Publius Valerius Poplicola (with Lucius Junius Brutus).
The Valerii Flacci emerged in the 3rd century, when Lucius Valerius Flaccus received the consulship in 261. Four other Valerii Flacii were consuls before our moneyer, including Lucius Valerius Flaccus in 195, together with his friend Cato the Elder, with whom he also became Censor in 184. He was Proconsul in Cisalpine Gaul in 194, and defeated the Insubres near Mediolanum (Livy, XXXIV, 46). In 190, he also sent colonists to Placentia and Cremona (Livy, XXXVII, 46). The obverse of this denarius probably alludes to his victory, whilst the corn-ear on the reverse refers to the colonies. The apex on the reverse refers to the role of Flamen Martialis, held by the family since Gaius Valerius Flaccus in 209 (Livy, XXXIX, 45). The father of the moneyer, Lucius, was also Flamen, and Consul in 131.
Like his father, our Flaccus was a Flamen Martialis and then became Praetor in c.103. During his propraetorship, it seems that he was attacked by his Quaestor, Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, perhaps the son of the Princeps Senatus, for an unknown reason (Cicero, Divinatio in Caecilium, 63). Flaccus reached the consulship in 100 alongside Marius, who was Consul for the sixth time. According to Plutarch, quoting Publius Rutilius Rufus, Marius bribed voters to elect Flaccus instead of his enemy Metellus Numidicus, because he could easily control him (Marius, 28). He then continued to climb the ranks and became Censor in 97, with Marcus Antonius, grandfather of the Triumvir. Cinna had Flaccus appointed Princeps Senatus in 86, probably for the same reason as Marius in 100.
Nevertheless, it appears that Flaccus switched sides soon after and supported Sulla. This change might have been triggered by the murder of his homonymous cousin in 85. The latter had been Consul suffect in 86 (after the death of Marius) and sent to Asia to replace Sulla in his command against Mithridates (Appian, Mithridatic Wars, 52), but was killed by his deputy Gaius Flavius Fimbria. Perhaps Fimbria feared that Flaccus could deal with Sulla and took the decision to kill him, which could explain why the Consuls for 85, Cinna and Carbo, also leaders of the Populares, took no action against him; instead, they even transferred the murdered Flaccus' power to Fimbria. However, led by Sextus Nonius Sufenas, Fimbria's soldiers rapidly defected to Sulla, who left no other choice to Fimbria but to commit suicide (Appian, Mithridatic Wars, 59-60).
These events might have moved our Flaccus, who used his position of Princeps Senatus to act in favour of Sulla, by sending envoys to him in order to make peace (Livy, Periochae, 83). He then led the Senate to reject Carbo's demand to Italian cities to give him hostages to ensure their loyalty against Sulla (Periochae, 84). Once victorious, Sulla was naturally grateful to Flaccus and asked the Senate to elect him Interrex, so he could in turn appoint Sulla as Dictator (Appian, Civil Wars, I, 98) through a law named the Lex Valeria. Sulla finally made Flaccus his Magister Equitum, essentially an honorific title by now -- Sulla had all the power.
Flaccus probably died in the late 70s and is not known to have had children.
Bibliography:
Plutarch's Sertorius, edited by Christoph F. Konrad, UNC Press Books, 1994, p.85-87.
Bruce W. Frier, "Sulla's Propaganda: The Collapse of the Cinnan Republic," in American Journal of Philology 92, 1971, p.592.
Francis Ryan, Rank and Participation in the Roman Senate, Franz Steiner Verlag, 1998, p. 191.
Collection : Roman Republic