Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, Tribune 103 and 100 BCE

Saturninus was traditionally understood as either a self-serving demagogue or as yet someone whose career proves how politically broken the Roman Republican had become, but in this video, I argue that he was one of the most insightful and important figures from the entire Late Republic.

[Veesaki]

Terrific ! I feel like I have been whisked back in time to Wash.U.STL listening to my favorite prof. E.G. Weltin, well done !!

[theliberator]

Thanks for this video. I just finished reading The First Man in Rome and Saturninus was one of the most interesting characters in the book. I am very grateful to see this fantastic video on this character.

[SavingHistory]

The real thing they were punishing Caepio for was the stolen Gold of Tolosa. Saturninus failed to indict on that count because the gold was gone and the remaining evidence was only circumstantial. Plus, the court juries were still in the hands of the Senate - which were his allies. But, because Caepio had failed to follow direct orders from the Senate to join his forces to those of Mallius, his friends couldn’t protect him on that indictment. His fine, coincidentally, was 15, 000 talents of gold....the exact amount of the missing Gold of Tolosa. The fact that Caesar’s assassin, Brutus, was the great-grandson of Caepio, as well as one of Rome’s richest men, seems to hint that Caepio really did steal the Gold of Tolosa and laundered it through various businesses so it couldn’t be traced

[tribunateSPQR]

Great video, an under appreciated popular reformer IMO

[SavingHistory]

I really enjoyed this lecture! it’s so rare to find videos on Ancient Rome which are detailed rather than just sensationalist stories. Have you considered that the reason Saturninus was prosecuted in his new treason court might have been for sowing discord between the Senate and the People of Rome by accusing a large majority of the Senate of accepting bribes? The historians might not give us all the about Saturninus, but the stuff going on at the same time should point to some of the gaps. I think that when the emissaries of Mithridates VI of Pontus came to Rome seeking status as “Friend and Ally, ” they came with LOTS and LOTS of gold in their hands. The problem though is that Bithynia was already a Friend and Ally of Rome, and Bithynia was under constant attack and border wars from the aggressive Mithridates who constantly sought to enlarge Pontus by invading Bithynia. But when senators began slowly coming around to the possibility of granting said title to Pontus, Saturninus probably accused them of turning their backs on Rome’s formal ally in order to put money in their pockets. That the Senate was considering supporting the enemy of one of her “Allies, ” would clearly bring into question, in all the provinces, just exactly what the value of Friendship with Rome actually meant when allies could just be dumped for bigger and better allies. This would definitely have qualified, in Saturninus’s new treason court, as maiestas. Just a thought :-)

[natiw]

Maybe the Gracchi model couldn't work even with the Gracchi brothers, since the destabilisation it put on the already fragile political situation was one of the reasons of the collapse of all the political system.
According your description, Saturninos contributed to it.

[alanpennie]

Most interesting.
As you say Saturninus has been traduced and as a result it's difficult to reconstruct his thinking.
Sad that the military genius Marius was such a fool in politics.

[HxHDRA]

Btw do you add extra sources on your patreon?

[tacocruiser]

Why do we associate "equestrian" with horses? Was this a Roman thing?