Digital Prosopography of the Roman Republic

AURE1866 C. Aurelius (96) M. f. Cotta

Life Dates

  • 124?, birth (Rüpke 2005)
  • 90, exiled (Kelly 2006) Expand

    Kelly No. 28, Alexander No. 105.

  • 82, restored (Kelly 2006) Expand

    Kelly No. 28.

  • 73, death (Rüpke 2005)

Relationships

grandson of
? L. Aurelius (98) L.? f. C. n. Cotta (cos. 144) (Badian 1990)
son of
M. Aurelius (106) Cotta (married to Rutilia (38)) (Zmeskal 2009) Expand

Ascon. Cornel. 67C

Rutilia (38) (daughter of? P. Rutilius (8) (tr. pl. 169)) (Zmeskal 2009) Expand

Cic. Att. XII 20.2, Cic. Att. XII 22.2, Cic. de orat. I 229, Cic. nat. deor. III 80

brother of
L. Aurelius (102) M. f. Cotta (cos. 65) (Zmeskal 2009) Expand

Ascon. Cornel. 67C

M. Aurelius (107) M. f. Cotta (cos. 74) (Zmeskal 2009) Expand

Asc. Cornel. 67C

Career

  • Repulsa (Tr. Pl.) 90 (Pina Polo 2012) Expand
    • pp. 65-72 (Pina Polo 2012)
  • Aedilis? before 81 (Broughton MRR II Appendix 2) Expand
    • Cos. 75 Attained all the highest offices (Cic. Off. 2.59). No specific proof that he held the aedileship. (Broughton MRR II Appendix 2)
    • In MRR 2.23, refer: also to Cic. ND 1.61; 3.80; and cf. MRR 2.25, note 2. Praetor. Sumner suggests that he was probably elected a praetor promptly after Sulla's victory and his return to Rome (Cic. Brut. 311), so probably for 81, and then became propraetor in Spain in 80 (Orators 110; cf. MRR 2.78). C. F. Konrad in his thesis (see the Bibliography) suggests that the commander of the fleet in Spain may not have been either C. or M. Cotta but L., the youngest of the three brothers (RE no. 102, Cos. 65), but in that case his service would have been under Fufidius (see MRR 2.81). For P. O. Spann (Sertorius 76), C. Cotta was proconsul in Hisp. Ult. in 80 (Plut. Sert. 12.2; Sall. Hist. 104-105M) and Fufidius was Cotta's legatus. Aedile? The passage (Of. 2.59) in which Cicero reports the boast of L. Philippus (Cos. 91), Cotta (above), and C. Curio (Cos. .76) that they had attained omnia quae haberentur amplissima sine ullo munere is understood by both MÅnzer and Shatzman to mean that they were never aediles. Probably so, but Cicero's reference, there to the relatively modest expense of his own aedileship might cause some uncertainty. Badian remarks that all three are mentioned in the past tense, and so had died before the autumn of 44 when Cicero finished writing this book of the De Officiis (Athenaeum 48, 1970, 3-4; cf Att. 16.11). Shatzman (Athenaeum 46, 1968, 345f.) is therefore mistaken in naming L. Cotta, who was still alive in the autumn of 44 (Cic. Phil. 2. 13). It remains true however that Philippus in 86, Curio almost certainly in 61 (see on C. Scribonius Curio [10], below), and L. Cotta in 64, all reached the censorship, but C. Cotta never did. (Broughton MRR III)
  • Pontifex? 81 to 77 (Rüpke 2005) Expand
    • 12 Cotta's reference to Livius Drusus as his sodalis (Cic ND 3.80) does not prove that they were Pontifices together. Yet his influence, connections, and prominence favor a date for his election before 90 rather than after Sulla's victory over the Marians. See L. R. Taylor, AJPh 63 (1942) 393, 411. (Broughton MRR II)
  • Praetor 81 (Broughton MRR III) Expand
    • 1 The latest date possible under the Cornelian law. (Broughton MRR II)
    • Cic. Acad. 2.1; of. Elogium, Inscr. Ital. 13.8.84-CIL 12.1, p. 196ILS 60. (Broughton MRR II)
    • In MRR 2.23, refer: also to Cic. ND 1.61; 3.80; and cf. MRR 2.25, note 2. Praetor. Sumner suggests that he was probably elected a praetor promptly after Sulla's victory and his return to Rome (Cic. Brut. 311), so probably for 81, and then became propraetor in Spain in 80 (Orators 110; cf. MRR 2.78). C. F. Konrad in his thesis (see the Bibliography) suggests that the commander of the fleet in Spain may not have been either C. or M. Cotta but L., the youngest of the three brothers (RE no. 102, Cos. 65), but in that case his service would have been under Fufidius (see MRR 2.81). For P. O. Spann (Sertorius 76), C. Cotta was proconsul in Hisp. Ult. in 80 (Plut. Sert. 12.2; Sall. Hist. 104-105M) and Fufidius was Cotta's legatus. Aedile? The passage (Of. 2.59) in which Cicero reports the boast of L. Philippus (Cos. 91), Cotta (above), and C. Curio (Cos. .76) that they had attained omnia quae haberentur amplissima sine ullo munere is understood by both MÅnzer and Shatzman to mean that they were never aediles. Probably so, but Cicero's reference, there to the relatively modest expense of his own aedileship might cause some uncertainty. Badian remarks that all three are mentioned in the past tense, and so had died before the autumn of 44 when Cicero finished writing this book of the De Officiis (Athenaeum 48, 1970, 3-4; cf Att. 16.11). Shatzman (Athenaeum 46, 1968, 345f.) is therefore mistaken in naming L. Cotta, who was still alive in the autumn of 44 (Cic. Phil. 2. 13). It remains true however that Philippus in 86, Curio almost certainly in 61 (see on C. Scribonius Curio [10], below), and L. Cotta in 64, all reached the censorship, but C. Cotta never did. (Broughton MRR III)
    • p. 748, footnote 307 (Brennan 2000)
  • Propraetor 80 Hispania (Broughton MRR II) Expand
    • Propraetor (Plut. Sert. 12.3). Defeated at sea near Mellaria by Sertorius (Plut.). (Broughton MRR II)
    • In MRR 2.23, refer: also to Cic. ND 1.61; 3.80; and cf. MRR 2.25, note 2. Praetor. Sumner suggests that he was probably elected a praetor promptly after Sulla's victory and his return to Rome (Cic. Brut. 311), so probably for 81, and then became propraetor in Spain in 80 (Orators 110; cf. MRR 2.78). C. F. Konrad in his thesis (see the Bibliography) suggests that the commander of the fleet in Spain may not have been either C. or M. Cotta but L., the youngest of the three brothers (RE no. 102, Cos. 65), but in that case his service would have been under Fufidius (see MRR 2.81). For P. O. Spann (Sertorius 76), C. Cotta was proconsul in Hisp. Ult. in 80 (Plut. Sert. 12.2; Sall. Hist. 104-105M) and Fufidius was Cotta's legatus. Aedile? The passage (Of. 2.59) in which Cicero reports the boast of L. Philippus (Cos. 91), Cotta (above), and C. Curio (Cos. .76) that they had attained omnia quae haberentur amplissima sine ullo munere is understood by both MÅnzer and Shatzman to mean that they were never aediles. Probably so, but Cicero's reference, there to the relatively modest expense of his own aedileship might cause some uncertainty. Badian remarks that all three are mentioned in the past tense, and so had died before the autumn of 44 when Cicero finished writing this book of the De Officiis (Athenaeum 48, 1970, 3-4; cf Att. 16.11). Shatzman (Athenaeum 46, 1968, 345f.) is therefore mistaken in naming L. Cotta, who was still alive in the autumn of 44 (Cic. Phil. 2. 13). It remains true however that Philippus in 86, Curio almost certainly in 61 (see on C. Scribonius Curio [10], below), and L. Cotta in 64, all reached the censorship, but C. Cotta never did. (Broughton MRR III)
  • Pontifex 76 to 73 (Rüpke 2005) Expand
    • C. Iulius Caesar succeeded C. Aurelius Cotta. Vell. 2.43.1. Caesar was elected in absence (Vell.). (Broughton MRR II)
  • Consul 75 (Broughton MRR II) Expand
    • CIL 12.2.953; Cic. Verr. 2.1.130, and 3.18; Sall. Hist. 2.42M; Fast. Cap., Degrassi 56f., 130, 486 f. (L. O[cta]vius Cn. f. Cn. n., C. Aur[el]ius M. f. [- n. C]ot [ta]); Obseq. 60; Chr. 354 (Octavio et Cotta); Cassiod.; and on Cotta, Cic. Pis. 62; Ascon. 66 C. Cotta carried a law permitting Tribunes of the Plebs to attain ocher magistracies (Cic. Corn. in Ascon. 66, and 7SC; Sall. Hist. 2.49M; 3.48.8M; cf. Ps.-Ascon. 255 Stangi). He also concluded a treaty with King Hiempsal of Numidia (Cic. Leg. Agr. 2.58), and carried two laws, one affecting private cases (Cic. Corn. 1.9 and Ascon. 66C), and the other censorial leases (Cic. Verr. 2.3.19, cf. 18 and 130; cf. Ps.-Ascon. 251 Stangl), both abrogated the following year. A shortage in the grain supply occasioned the speech recorded in Sall. Hist. 2.44-48M. (Broughton MRR II)
  • Triumphator? c. 74 (Broughton MRR II) Expand
    • Triumph? ex Gallia Cisalpina. Decreed by Senate, Cotta died before celebration. MRR II.111 (74/73). (Broughton MRR II)
  • Proconsul 74 Gallia Cisalpina (Broughton MRR II) Expand
    • Proconsul in Cisalpine Gaul (Cic. Brut. 318; Sall. Hist. 2.98M, at the end). See 73, Promagistrates, and Pontifices. (Broughton MRR II)
  • Triumphator? c. 73 (Broughton MRR II) Expand
    • Triumph? ex Gallia Cisalpina. Decreed by Senate, Cotta died before celebration. MRR II.111 (74/73). (Broughton MRR II)
  • Proconsul 73 Gallia Cisalpina (Broughton MRR II) Expand
    • Proconsul in Cisalpine Gaul (see 74, Promagistrates). He died at the end of 74 or early in 73 on the eve of the celebration of his triumph (Cic. Pis. 62; Ascon. 14 C; see below, Pontifices). (Broughton MRR II)

< Back to results