Lucius Furius Purpureo

Lucius Furius Purpureo was a Roman politician and general, becoming consul in the year 196 BC. Lucius Furius was from the Furia (gens) patrician family in Rome.

Praetor and the Second Punic War

Purpureo was given the command of a small garrison at Numistro by the consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus after the Battle of Numistro in 210 BC, but had little other recorded involvement in the Second Punic War.^[1]

Purpureo was a praetor during the consul election of 201 BC which was then decided by the praetors themselves. He, along with the three other praetors, selected Gaius Aurelius Cotta and Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus as consuls for 200 BC. While still in Rome in 201 BC Purpureo, Gnaeus Sergius Plancus, Quintus Fulvius Gillo, and Quintus Minucius Rufus drew lots to see where each praetor would govern in the upcoming year. Plancus received the city of Rome, Gillo received Sicily, Rufus received Bruttium, and Purpureo received Gaul.^[2]

Shortly after arriving in the province of Gaul, Publius Sulpicius Galba declared war on Macedonia and gave Purpureo 5,000 allied Roman troops to enable him to defend his province from barbarian incursions. However, this contingent of soldiers was insufficient to protect Gaul from the large armies of Insurbians, Canomanians, and Boians, led by the Carthaginian General Hamilcar. These armies are said to have numbered around 40,000. Upon learning of the invasion Purpureo sent messengers to Rome to request more troops. The Senate responded by sending legions from Etruria and telling Purpureo to use his standing force of 5,000 to relieve the besieged cities of Gaul from Hamilcar until more legions could arrive. Hamilcar was soon after recalled by the Carthaginians for breaking the Second Punic Wars' Treaty with Rome.^[3]

The following year, Purpureo was a deputy of the proconsul Publius Sulpicius Galba during peace talks with Macedonia and their ambassadors. Not much was achieved at this meeting and the Macedonians tried to convince the Aetolians, a Roman ally, to break their alliance and join Macedonia. This event ensured that no peace was concluded and both sides continued to fight. ^[4]

Consul of 196 BC

In 196 BC Purpureo was elected Consul with Marcus Claudius Marcellus.^[5] After resolving some domestic issues, the two consuls proceeded into the country of the Boians. Overrunning the country and devastating everything in their path as far as the city of Felsina, the consuls forced the Boians into submission. Once the consuls returned to Rome Purpureo was granted a triumph for his success in the war with the Boians.

Family

Lucius Furius Purpureo was the son of Spurius Furius Purpureo. It is known that Purpureo was a descendant of Marcus Furius Camillus and had a son of his own namesake who served as Legatus in Aetolia in 200 BC under Publius Sulpicius Galba.

References

1. Edmonds, Cyrus (1891). The History of Rome, Volume 3 (1 ed.). London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 1091–1092. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
2. Edmonds, Cyrus (1891). The History of Rome, Volume 3 (1 ed.). London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 1344–1346. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
3. Edmonds, Cyrus (1891). The History of Rome, Volume 3 (1 ed.). London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 1348–1351. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
4. Edmonds, Cyrus (1891). The History of Rome, Volume 3 (1 ed.). London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 1369–1370. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
5. Edmonds, Cyrus (1891). The History of Rome, Volume 3 (1 ed.). London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 1440–1441. Retrieved 19 May 2015.