Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio (consul 138 BC) - Political Career

Political Career

One important reference to Scipio Nasica’s participation in politics is as a mysterious “Cornelius” by the historian Appian. This “Cornelius” is credited with a great Roman defeat at the hands of the widely feared “Pannonians.” After some deduction, one can identify the leader of the Roman forces to be Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, who in 141 BC was the praetor of Macedonia. Some debate would classify a more likely candidate for the terrible “Pannonians” to be actually from the region of Illyria, just south of Pannonia proper.

In the same year, Scipio Nasica would be awarded the title of Pontifex Maximus, inheriting it from his father who died in the same year. In 138 BC, Nasica would be elected to the office of consul, part of a series of “strong men” to rectify the recent bouts of unrest and defeats abroad. During his consulship, Scipio Nasica would attempt to avenge his own defeat as praetor; in doing so, he attempted to raise harsh levies on the Romans. Discontent with his demands, opposition would rise against him under the leadership of probably Nasica’s greatest political rival, the tribune Curiatius. Curiatius had Nasica arrested on the grounds of withholding the legal privileges of the tribunes against the levy. While in custody, Nasica was given the name “Serapio” as an insult, referring to the shape of his nose.

Scipio Nasica’s next major political involvement would be that in the murder of Tiberius Gracchus. Gracchus rose to office at a time when the Roman Republic was bloated with the effects of extensive expansion abroad; a huge influx of slave labor and foreign wealth, a change in the function of agriculture and devaluation in the crop market were causing a massive domestic crisis, challenging the fundamental values of Roman culture (there is a debate over whether it was a grain crisis or a manpower crisis). Tiberius Gracchus had taken the office of tribune and was passing laws of reform to help rectify this domestic crisis, though his legislation was empowering the plebs of Roman society. Feeling threatened, the patrician favoring majority of the Senate aligned with Scipio Nasica and his cousin Scipio Aemilianus, who would lead the opposition against Gracchus. Nasica would be the one responsible for gathering senators to assassinate Gracchus during elections in 133 BC. Scipio Nasica had gathered the senators to Gracchus’ bloody death claiming that the tribune desired to become king of Rome. To commit the assassination Scipio Nasica covered his head with the hood of his pontifex maximus robe which possibly denoted the killing as a ritualized sacrifice for the good of Rome. After his assassination, Scipio would lead a witch hunt to eradicate any surviving members of Gracchus’ supporters. Those supporters would demand that Scipio be held responsible for murder, though modern scholars believe that the majority of the Senate supported both of the Scipio men in the controversy.