Gaius Antonius Hybrida: Difference between revisions

{{short description|1st-century BC Roman consul in 63 BC and general}}

| predecessor = [[Lucius Julius Caesar (consul 64 BC)|Lucius Julius Caesar]] and [[Gaius Marcius Figulus (consul 64 BC)|Gaius Marcius Figulus]]

| successor = [[Decimus Junius Silanus (Consul 62 BCconsul)|Decimus Junius Silanus]] and [[Lucius Licinius Murena (consul 62 BC)|Lucius Licinius Murena]]

Hybrida was the younger of two sons of [[Marcus Antonius the(orator)|Marcus Antonius Orator]]; his brother was Marcus Antonius Creticus.<ref name=":5">{{cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?id=9w1FAAAAYAAJ&dqdetails/bub_gb_9w1FAAAAYAAJ|quote=Caius+ Antonius+ Hybrida.|title=Biographical Dictionary, Volume 3|date=1843|publisher=Longman|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9w1FAAAAYAAJ/page/n104 98]}}</ref> He had also a sister, [[Antonia (kidnapped by pirates)|Antonia]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lightman |first=Marjorie |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/104874963 |title=A to Z of ancient Greek and Roman women |last2=Lightman |first2=Benjamin |last3=Lightman |first3=Marjorie |date=18432008 |publisher=LongmanFacts On File |yearisbn=978-0-8160-6710-7 |isbnedition=Revised |location=New York |oclc=104874963 |page=9824}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |pageseditor-last=Smith |viaeditor-first=William |url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/acl3129.0001.001 |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology |date=1867 |page=209}}</ref> He was also the uncle and father-in-law of Mark Antony.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVtuQidyB0sC&dqq=Caius+Antonius+Hybrida|title=Warlords of Republican Rome: Caesar Against Pompey|last=Fields|first=Nic|date=2010|publisher=Casemate Publishers|year=|isbn=978-1-935149-06-7|location=4|page=75|pages=|via=}}</ref> Hybrida had two daughters;<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?id=9w1FAAAAYAAJdetails/bub_gb_9w1FAAAAYAAJ|title=Biographical Dictionary, Volume 3|last=|first=|publisher=Longman|year=1843|isbn=|location=|pages=78–79|via=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9w1FAAAAYAAJ/page/n84 78]–79}}</ref> Antonia Hybrida Major (''Majormajor'' Latin for ''themeaning "elder''") who married the Roman tribune [[Lucius Caninius Gallus (tribune 56 BC)|Lucius Caninius Gallus]]<ref name=":12" /> and Antonia Hybrida Minor (''Minor'' Latin for ''the younger'') who married her first paternal first cousin [[Mark Antony]] as his second wife.<ref name=":12" /> FromBy his daughter's marriagesdaughters, he had at least two grandchildren; the younger [[Lucius Caninius Gallus (consul 37 BC)|Lucius Caninius Gallus]] by Antonia Maior and [[Antonia (daughterwife of Mark AntonyPythodoros)|Antonia]] by Antonia Minor.<ref name=":12" />

In 87 BC, Hybrida accompanied Lucius Cornelius Sulla intoon Greecehis campaign against [[Mithridates VI of Pontus]] either as a [[military tribune]] or as a [[legatus|legate]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":3" /> Two years priorearlier, the [[Mithridatic Wars]] had begun due to a dispute between [[Mithridates VI of Pontus]] and [[Nicomedes III of Bithynia]] over the Roman province of [[Cappadocia]]. Mithridates invaded and conquered both [[Bithynia]] and Cappadocia before moving on to invade the Roman province of [[Roman GreeceAsia|Asia]],<ref>Philip Matyszak, ''Mithridates the Great, Rome's indomitable Enemy'', pp 38-42.</ref> where he [[Asian Vespers|massacred]] all the Roman citizens he could find.<ref>Philip Matyszak, ''Mithridates the Great, Rome's indomitable Enemy'', pp 44-47.</ref> He then sent troops to invade Greece, which in turn spurred some of the city-states to rebel against Rome.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC&dqq=First+Mithridatic+War|title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East|last=Tucker|first=Spencer|date=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=|isbn=978-1-85109-672-8|location=5|pages=112–113|via=}}</ref> At the time Rome was embroiled in internal conflict through the [[Social War (91–8891–87 BC)|Social WarsWar]] from 91 to 88 and then almost immediately after, an uprising occurred in Rome which further delayed Sulla's response to Mithridates87.<ref name=":0" /> After the rebellion in Rome was dealt with, Sulla, accompanied by Hybrida, marched on Greece to face the Mithridatic-Greek armies under the command of [[Archelaus (generalPontic army officer)|General Archelaus]] and [[Aristion]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0" /> The [[First Mithridatic War]] continued from 86 to 83.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0" /> During this campaign, Sulla drove the Mithridatic-Greek armies back towards Athens beforeand capturing[[Siege itof inAthens 86and Piraeus (87–86 BC)|besieged]] them there. After capturing Athens, Sulla marched north and defeated thetwo large Mithridatic armyarmies at Chaeronea[[Battle andof OnomarchusChaeronea in(86 northernBC)|Chaeronea]] Greeceand in[[Battle 85of Orchomenus|Orchomenus]]. He invaded Asia Minor the following year and then successfully forced a peace with Mithridates in 83.<ref name=":0" /> Sulla returned to [[Roman Italy|ItaliaItaly]] in 83, leaving [[Lucullus]] to command forces in Asia and Hybrida to command a small cavalry force in [[Achaea (Roman province)|AchaiaAchaea]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0" /> In Achaia, Hybrida levied contributions on the province, an offence for which he was prosecuted by the young Julius Caesar in 76. However, he refused to appear and succeeded in escaping punishment after appealing to the people's [[plebeian tribune]]s.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8WuyrcUNzQC&dqq=Gelzer,+Caesar+21|title=Caesar: Politician and Statesmen|last=Gelzer|first=Matthias|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1968|isbn=0-674-09001-2|location=|pages=23|via=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?iddetails/juliuscaesarlife0000kamm|url-access=2AaAAgAAQBAJ&dqregistration|quote=Gaius+ Antonius.|title=Julius Caesar: A Life|last=Kamm|first=Antony|date=2006|publisher=Routledge|year=|isbn=1-134-22033-2|locationpage=|[https://archive.org/details/juliuscaesarlife0000kamm/page=/33|pages=|via= 33]}}</ref>

Years later, in 70 BC, the censors [[Lucius Gellius Publicola (consul 72 BC)|Gellius]] and [[Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus|Lentulus]] expelled Hybrida from the [[Roman Senate|the Senate]] for the criminal offences committed by him while in Greece, for disobeying the summons of a praetor{{efn|name=fn2|The title of Praetor was conferred onto somebody acting in one of two official capacities; judicial duties within Rome or as commander of an army outside of Rome.<ref name="Rosenstein"/>}} and for the wasteful use of his property.<ref name=":5" /> Hybrida is described by the English Historianhistorian [[Antony Kamm]] as "a thoroughly disreputable character" and by author William E. Dunstan as "thuggish". In spite of this notorious reputation, Hybrida regained his seat in 68 or 66 after being elected as praetor.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?iddetails/juliuscaesarlife0000kamm|url-access=2AaAAgAAQBAJ&dqregistration|quote=Gaius+ Antonius.|title=Julius Caesar: A Life|last=Kamm|first=Antony|date=2006|publisher=Routledge|year=|isbn=1-134-22033-2|location=|page=[https://archive.org/details/juliuscaesarlife0000kamm/page/42|pages=|via= 42]}}</ref> Hybrida also probably served as a tribune sometime before his expulsion from the Senate and also served as [[aedile]]{{efn|name=fn3|Aediles were responsible for the maintenance of markets, roads, food supply, archives and the hosting of annual games. There were two pairs of Aediles; 2two Plebeian aediles who were presided over by tribunes and 2two Curule aediles who were presided over by the consuls.<ref name="Rosenstein"/>}} fromsome time between 69 toand 66.<ref name=":5" /> For the consular elections of 64, Hybrida and another candidate, Catiline, received the support of Caesar and Marcus Licinius Crassus for their bids to become [[Roman consul|consuls of Rome]]. Dunstan describes Catiline as an "opportunist" who had gained notoriety for murders during Sulla's proscriptions; Kamm expands on this description by including the alleged murder of his own son, violation of a [[Vestal Virgin]] and many other "unspeakable profligacies".<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> A third candidate also existed for the consular elections, Marcus Tullius Cicero, whom Dunstan describes as being a "brilliant orator", but he came from an undistinguished family.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkOhwFzz1AkC&dqq=mithridates+vi|title=Ancient Rome|last=Dunstan|first=William|date=2010|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield Publishers|year=|isbn=978-0-7425-6834-2|location=1|page=163|pages=|via=}}</ref> In the end, Cicero and Hybrida were elected to the position of consulconsuls for the year 63.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkOhwFzz1AkC&dqq=mithridates+vi|title=Ancient Rome|last=Dunstan|first=William|date=2010|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield Publishers|year=|isbn=978-0-7425-6834-2|location=1|pages=163–164|via=}}</ref>

Catiline was once again a candidate for the consulship for the year of 62 BC.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkOhwFzz1AkC|title=Ancient Rome|last=Dunstan|first=William|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield Publishers|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7425-6834-2|location=1|pages=164|via=}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?iddetails/juliuscaesarlife0000kamm|url-access=2AaAAgAAQBAJregistration|title=Julius Caesar: A Life|last=Kamm|first=Antony|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=1-134-22033-2|location=|pages=[https://archive.org/details/juliuscaesarlife0000kamm/page/43|via= 43]}}</ref> As part of his campaign, Catiline promised reforms to reduce and cancel debts, a proposal which brought him the support of bankrupt aristocrats, debtors, and poor farmers whose agricultural ventures had failed.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> This proposal, however, also pitched the conservatives, moderates and members of the Senate against him.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> On the day of the elections, Cicero attended wearing a breastplate under his tunic in an attempt to raise the alarm in the Senate and provoke the fear that Catiline might resort to violence as consul.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> In the end, [[Lucius Licinius Murena (consul 62 BC)|Lucius Licinius Murena]] and [[Decimus Junius Silanus (consul)|Decimus Junius Silanus]] were elected to the position of consul and Catiline's bid for the position had once again failed.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> In response, and having lost hope of having a successful political career, Catiline began to conspire against the Senate.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> Cicero employed spies to keep tabs on Catiline and began to piece together a case against Catiline to be brought to the Senate.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> In the midst of these developments, Hybrida first tried to remain on the fence, but was forced to action in the face of the risk of having himself charged as a co-conspirator.<ref name=":7" /> On 6 November 63, Cicero learned of a plot to have himself and other members of the Senate assassinated and Rome set on fire and sacked.<ref name=":8" /> While all of this was happening, Catiline and an army of his supporters, under the command of Gaius Manlius, were to march on Rome in response to this attack and bringtake Romecontrol toof itsthe salvationcity.<ref name=":8" /> ThisIn didresponse notto happen,these andallegations, Cicero called a meeting of the Senate which Catiline himself attended.<ref name=":8" /> At this meeting, Cicero launched an attack against Catiline denouncing him "to his face" while providing the details of the plot that he had learned of the night before.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> After this meeting, Catiline fled the city of Rome to join up with Manlius and an army of approximately 10,000 men at [[Etruria]].<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> The Senate, upon becoming aware of this, issued a ''senatus consultum ultimum'' declaring Catiline and his army as enemies of the state.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> Finally, Cicero arrested five men to be brought to the Senate for an immediate trial, the outcome of which was an order for their executions which was delivered and enacted by the Senate.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkOhwFzz1AkC|title=Ancient Rome|last=Dunstan|first=William|publisher=Littlefield and Rowman Publishers|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7425-6834-2|location=1|pages=164–165|via=}}</ref>

Towards the end of 63, Hybrida went to Etruria to assist the praetor [[Quintus Metellus Celer]] in preventing Catiline escaping through [[Alps|the Alps]] and into [[Gaul]].<ref name=":5" /> Catiline, hoping that Hybrida might choose to help him, opted to engage him and his consular army rather than the forces under the praetor.<ref name=":5" /> Hybrida, however, had given command of the army to his legate, [[Marcus Petreius]], having either suffered a bout of gout or pretended to have.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> Catiline put up his final resistance in Pistoria, Etruria, with an army of 30003,000 men.<ref name=":7" /> Here, Petreius and his soldiers massacred the entire army, killed and beheaded Catiline, and then sent his head to Rome.<ref name=":7" /> Hybrida, having adhered to the agreement that he had with Cicero and the Senate, was granted the governorship of Macedonia at the end of his consulship.<ref name=":5" />

Hybrida immediately,Immediately upon receiving histhe governorship of Macedonia, Hybrida set about robbing and plundering the provincials.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?id=9w1FAAAAYAAJdetails/bub_gb_9w1FAAAAYAAJ|title=Biographical Dictionary, Volume 3|last=|first=|publisher=Longman|year=1843|isbn=|location=|pages=98–99|via=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9w1FAAAAYAAJ/page/n104 98]–99}}</ref> An accountant in his court spread a report claiming that Hybrida's plundering had yielded as much profit for Cicero as it did for Hybrida himself; however, if he had indeed robbed the provincials on Cicero's account he never paid his dues to Cicero.<ref name=":9" /> Hybrida then began to move on to the barbarian lands around Macedonia with the same intent to pillage as he had in Macedonia.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?id=9w1FAAAAYAAJdetails/bub_gb_9w1FAAAAYAAJ|title=Biographical Dictionary, Volume 3|last=|first=|publisher=Longman|year=1843|isbn=|location=|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9w1FAAAAYAAJ/page/n105 99|via=]}}</ref> It was during these incursions that Hybrida suffered two successive defeats: the first came at the hands of the [[Dardani]]ans after he had encroached upon their land in Lower Moesia, and the second took place nearat the Greek polis of [[Battle of Histria|Histria]] in Upper Moesia.<ref name=":10" /> The ancient Roman historian Cassius Dio narrates the events thus:

In both of these instances, a failed retreat by Hybrida and his cavalry led to his unit being absolutely defeated and any plunder accrued during the attack was forfeited back to the natives.<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{cite book|url=httphttps://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/38*.html|title=Roman History|last=|first=|date=n.d.|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=Book XXXVIII, 10, 1–3|via=|last1=Dio|first1=Cassius}}</ref> This lack of success, rather than the extortion of the provincials, drew the attention of the Senate who threatened to recall and prosecute Hybrida for his mismanagement of the province.<ref name=":10" /> In 60 BC, Hybrida was quietly replaced by [[Gaius Octavius (proconsul)|Gaius Octavius]] as the Governor of Macedonia and in March of 59, during the consulship of Caesar and [[Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus|Marcus Culpurnius Bibulus]], was prosecuted for the mishandling of the governorship by Caesar and Crassus.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?iddetails/juliuscaesarlife0000kamm|url-access=2AaAAgAAQBAJregistration|title=Julius Caesar: A Life|last=Kamm|first=Antony|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=1-134-22033-2|location=|pages=[https://archive.org/details/juliuscaesarlife0000kamm/page/57|via= 57]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?iddetails/caesarpolitician0000gelz|url-access=i8WuyrcUNzQC&dqregistration|quote=Gelzer,+ Caesar+ 21.|title=Caesar: Politician and Statesman|last=Gelzer|first=Matthias|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1968|isbn=0-674-09001-2|location=|pages=[https://archive.org/details/caesarpolitician0000gelz/page/76|via= 76]}}</ref> In the end, Hybrida was tried by [[Marcus Caelius Rufus]] for his participation in the Catilinarian conspiracy and by [[Lucius Caninius Gallus]] for his crimes in Macedonia.<ref name=":10" /> He was defended by Cicero, not out of duty but as a protest against the current state of affairs in Rome.<ref name=":11" /> Despite this, Hybrida was found guilty of his crimes, ordered to pay a fine, and banished from Rome to a place of his choosing. Hybrida settled upon Cephallenia as his residence for the duration of his exile.<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?iddetails/caesarpolitician0000gelz|url-access=i8WuyrcUNzQC&dqregistration|quote=Gelzer,+ Caesar+ 21.|title=Caesar: Politician and Statesman|last=Gelzer|first=Matthias|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1968|isbn=0-674-09001-2|location=|pages=[https://archive.org/details/caesarpolitician0000gelz/page/78|via= 78]}}</ref>

== Exile, and later career, and death ==

During his exile at Cephellenia, Hybrida pretended to act as governor of the island which the people secretly allowed.<ref name=":5" /> In 49 BC, his nephew, Mark Antony, was elected to the role of tribune of the people and a legate of Caesar's in Italy. Despite this, Hybrida remained in exile until 47 when he returned to Rome at theCaesar's request of Caesar himself.<ref name=":5" /> One possible explanation for this is that Mark Antony was indebted to Hybrida; as Hybrida was in exile and had no civil rights, he could not enforce a payment and this suited Mark Antony.<ref name=":5" /> Hybrida was a candidate for censorship around 45; his character and support from Mark Antony, however, doomed his candidacy.<ref name=":5" /> The final mention of Hybrida during his life comes from Cicero who commented upon Mark Antony's divorce from Antonia Hybrida MajorMinor and the insult this conferred upon Hybrida himself.<ref name=":5" />

* {{Cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?id=9w1FAAAAYAAJdetails/bub_gb_9w1FAAAAYAAJ|title=Biographical Dictionary, Volume 3|last=|first=|publisher=Longman|year=1843|isbn=|location=|pages=|via=}}

* {{Cite book|url=httphttps://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/38*.html|title=Roman History|last=Dio|first=Cassius|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=|via=}}

* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkOhwFzz1AkC|title=Ancient Rome|last=Dunstan|first=William|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield Publishers|year=2010|isbn=978-0-7425-6834-2|location=|pages=|via=1}}

* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVtuQidyB0sC|title=Warlords of Republican Rome: Caesar Against Pompey|last=Fields|first=Nic|publisher=Casemate Publishers|year=2010|isbn=978-1-935149-06-7|location=|pages=|via=4}}

* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8WuyrcUNzQC&dqq=Matthias+Gelzer|title=Caesar: Politician and Statesmen|last=Gelzer|first=Matthias|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1968|isbn=0-674-09001-2|location=|pages=|via=}}

* {{Cite book|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/?iddetails/juliuscaesarlife0000kamm|url-access=2AaAAgAAQBAJregistration|title=Julius Caesar: A Life|last=Kamm|first=Antony|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=1-134-22033-2|location=|pages=|via=}}

* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC|title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East|last=Tucker|first=Spencer|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2009|isbn=978-1-85109-672-8|location=|pages=|via=5}}

{{succession boxs-bef|titlebefore=[[ListLucius ofJulius RomanCaesar Republican(consul consuls|Consul]]64 of the [[Roman Republic]]BC)|before=[[Lucius Julius Caesar]] and |before2=[[Gaius Marcius Figulus (consul 64 BC)|Gaius Marcius Figulus]]||after=[[Decimus Junius Silanus (Consul 62 BC)|Decimus Junius Silanus]] and [[Lucius Licinius Murena]]|years=''with [[Cicero|Marcus Tullius Cicero]]''<br />63 BC}}

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