Marcus Minucius Thermus

Marcus Minucius Thermus was an ancient Roman soldier and statesman. He was praetor in 81 BC and governor of Asia the following year,^[1] succeeding Murena.^[2] The capture of Mytilene occurred during his governorship; Mytilene had been in revolt against Rome and was suspected of actively or tacitly aiding so-called pirates in the region.^[3] Suetonius credits Thermus with the victory,^[4] but the siege may have been conducted by or in coordination with Lucius Licinius Lucullus. Little else is known of his life or career.^[5]

Julius Caesar began his military service under Thermus after his pardon by Sulla during the proscriptions of 82 BC.^[6] It was Thermus who sent the young Caesar as an envoy to the court of Nicomedes IV of Bithynia to request aid in the form of a fleet.

Although Thermus was a Sullan partisan, in 86 BC his younger brother Quintus had been a legate in Asia under appointment by the rival Marians. Quintus had replaced Fimbria after his mutiny.^[5]

^ T.R.S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, vol. 2 (New York 1952), pp. 76, 78, 81, citing Suetonius, Divus Iulius 2.1, where he is identified as a praetor, and David Magie, Roman Rule in Asia Minor (Princeton University Press, 1950), vol. 1, p 246f. and vol. 2, p. 1124, note 41.
^ Arthur Keaveney, Lucullus: A Life (Routledge, 1992), p. 182 online. Keaveney argues that Minucius assumed his post in Asia in 79 (pp. 182–187).
^ Philip de Souza, Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World (Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 123 online.
^ Harold B. Mattingly, "C. Verres and the Pirates," in From Coins to History: Selected Numismatic Studies (University of Michigan Press, 2004). p. 180, note 10 online.
^ ^a ^b Ronald T. Ridley, "The Dictator's Mistake: Caesar's Escape from Sulla," Historia 49 (2000) 227–228.
^ Matthias Gelzer, Caesar: Politician and Statesman, trans. Peter Needham (Oxford: Blackwell, 1968), ISBN 0-631-10430-5

[1] T.R.S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, vol. 2 (New York 1952), pp. 76, 78, 81, citing Suetonius, Divus Iulius 2.1, where he is identified as a praetor, and David Magie, Roman Rule in Asia Minor (Princeton University Press, 1950), vol. 1, p 246f. and vol. 2, p. 1124, note 41.

[2] Arthur Keaveney, Lucullus: A Life (Routledge, 1992), p. 182 online. Keaveney argues that Minucius assumed his post in Asia in 79 (pp. 182–187).

[3] Philip de Souza, Piracy in the Graeco-Roman World (Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 123 online.

[4] Harold B. Mattingly, "C. Verres and the Pirates," in From Coins to History: Selected Numismatic Studies (University of Michigan Press, 2004). p. 180, note 10 online.

[Ridley-227-5] Ronald T. Ridley, "The Dictator's Mistake: Caesar's Escape from Sulla," Historia 49 (2000) 227–228.

[6] Matthias Gelzer, Caesar: Politician and Statesman, trans. Peter Needham (Oxford: Blackwell, 1968), ISBN 0-631-10430-5

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Marcus Minucius Thermus

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