Marcus Furius Camillus (consul AD 8)


Marcus Furius Camillus, Senator and Consul of 8 AD, was a close friend of the emperor Tiberius.

Early life

He was a member of the gens Furia, whose origin had been in the Latin city of Tusculum. An early member of this family was Marcus Furius Camillus, who was known as the Second Founder of Rome for his victory over the Gauls during the Gallic siege of Rome. The family had declined over the centuries and by the time of Augustus they were relatively unimportant.

Career

Information about his early career is not known but if he had followed the cursus honorum he would probably have been 33 years old at the time of his consulship in 8 AD. This was the normal age for a man of patrician rank to become consul under the Principate as opposed to during the Roman Republic when the minimum age was 40. From this information we can guess that he had been a Quaestor, an Aedile, Praetor and a governor of a small province before becoming Consul.
After his year as Consul he was named Proconsul of Africa and inherited a war against the Numidian insurgent Tacfarinas. The war proved to be a difficult one because the tribes of this region did not live in towns which the Romans could attack. Camillus then had to fight a tough campaign of guerrilla warfare against the tribes who were very adept at this type of war and would not be easily subdued. Incredibly for a man without previous military experience, he was completely victorious and was even praised in public by the Emperor and awarded triumphal honours, a rare achievement for someone outside of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
The historian Tacitus wrote about him: "for the first time in centuries, a member of the Furius family had achieved military fame".

Family

He was the father of Livia Medullina Camilla who was betrothed to Claudius allegedly at Tiberius's instigation to reward a loyal friend; however, Livia died the day of her wedding, in 9 AD or 10 AD.
Camillus was also the father of Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus, consul of 32. Scribonianus was the instigator of the first major attempted coup of Claudius' reign, while governor of Dalmatia in 42.