2nd and 1st-century BC Roman consul

For the Manius Aquilius who was consul in 129 BC, see Manius Aquillius (consul 129 BC)

Manius Aquillius (died 88 BC), a member of the ancient Roman gens Aquillia, was consul in 101 BC.

Probably a son of Manius Aquillius, consul in 129, Aquillius was a loyal follower of Gaius Marius. During the election campaign for Marius's fourth consulship, Aquillius was left in command of the army in case the migrating Cimbri attacked before Marius could return to command the army himself.

As a reward for his loyal services, Gaius Marius ran with Aquillius under a joint ticket for the consulship of 101. After the consulship, with Rome struggling with famine caused by the slave revolt in Sicily, Aquillius was sent to put it down. Aquilius completely subdued Salvius and his insurgents and got an ovation in Rome in 100.[1] In 98, Aquillius was accused by Lucius Fufius of maladministration in Sicily. In the trial, he was defended by Marcus Antonius, Consul in 99, and even if there was sufficient evidence of his guilt, he was acquitted because of his bravery in the war.[2]

In 90, Aquillius was sent as ambassador to Asia Minor to restore Nicomedes IV of Bithynia, who had recently been expelled from his kingdom by Mithridates VI of Pontus. However, after achieving this, Aquillius then encouraged Nicomedes to raid Pontic territory. This prompted a furious backlash from Mithridates in 89, whose counter-attack began the First Mithridatic War.[3]

Mithridates defeated Aquillius in 88 near Protostachium. Aquillius was attempting to make his way back to Italy and managed to make it to Lesbos, where he was delivered to Mithridates by the inhabitants of Mytilene. After being taken to the mainland, he was then placed on a donkey and paraded back to Pergamon. On the trip, he was forced to confess his supposed crimes against the peoples of Anatolia. Aquillius's father, the elder Manius Aquillius, was a former Roman governor of Pergamon and was hated for the egregious taxes that he imposed. It was generally thought that Manius Aquillius the younger would follow in the footsteps of his father as a tax profiteer and was hated by some of the local peoples.[5]

Aquillius was eventually executed by Mithridates by having molten gold poured down his throat.[5] The method of execution became famous and, according to some unreliable accounts,[6] was repeated by Parthian contemporaries to kill Marcus Licinius Crassus who was at the time the richest man in Rome and a member of the First Triumvirate.[5]

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