Roman civil war commanders - Gnaeus Domitius CalvinusRoman senator, two-times consul and loyal suppo
Roman civil war commanders - Gnaeus Domitius CalvinusRoman senator, two-times consul and loyal supporter of both Caesar and Octavianus. Admittedly his military career could have been brighter, although he did command successfully the center of Caesar’s army at the decisive battle of Pharsalus. But he also suffered a couple of crushing defeats during civil wars and for example in December 48 BCE his army was almost wiped out by king Pharnaces. Only Caesar’s swift intervention (veni, vici, vici) saved his neck. And during the war between triumvirs and republican assassins/liberators he suffered a naval defeat against Brutus’ and Cassius’ fleet while trying to bring reinforcements to Macedonia. Two legions were lost. In 40 BCE he became consul for a second time and following year he was sent to govern Hispania.The coin - with bearded image of Hercules - is from this period (39-36 BCE). In Spain Calvinus’ military endeavors were probably more successful since his troops saluted him as a imperator and he was also awarded a triumph. It seems that Calvinus remained in Augustus’ favour during the later stages of his career since in the 20s BCE he was a member of Arval Brethren - an ancient and salient priesthood that was revived during Augustus’ reign. Only the members of imperial family and close allies were “eligible” for this office. https://smb.museum-digital.de/index.php?t=objekt&oges=170921&cachesLoaded=trueSource: Münzkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz; Creator: Lutz-Jürgen Lübke (Lübke und Wiedemann) Copyright Notice:CC BY-NC-SA -- source link
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