Gaius Servilius Magnus
Gaius Servilius Magnus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 200 BC |
| Died | 148 BC (aged 52–53) |
| Cause of death | Disease |
| Nationality | Romanyan |
| Occupation | Soldier, politician |
| Spouse(s) | Cornelia |
| Children | 4, including Gnaeus and Marcus |
| Parent(s) | Marcus Servilius Nausca (father) |
| Allegiance | Romanyan Republic |
| Years of service | 180–148 BC |
| Rank | Consul |
| Commands held | IV Legion |
| Battles/wars | |
Gaius Servilius Magnus (200 – 148 BC) also known as Servilius the Great was a Romanyan soldier and politician who served as Consul six times as well as the Proconsul of Romanyan Midaya Inferior and as Quaestor and Aedile. Servilius led the Romanyan expansion in Ecros, succeeding Gaius Sejanus Brutellus as the main commander of the Romanyan force, and he conquered Parlas, Lower Midaya, Midaya, and Reyathus before his death in 148 of disease. Servilius was also the father of Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, the future founder of Craeperia Citerior, with Cornelia, and was the son of Marcus Servilius Nausca, a long time senator and former consul.
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Early Life
Gaius Servilius Magnus was born into the wealthy patrician gens Servilia on March 18, 200 BC in Romanya. The family was descended from ancient Iberics in northeastern Romanya and claimed to have come to Romanya in the sixth century BC around the founding of the Romanyan Republic. Gaius was originally born with the cognomen "Nausca" after his father Marcus Servilius Nausca, however later in life he would be granted the cognomen "Magnus" meaning " the Great" for his military achievements. Marcus Servilius Nausca was a wealthy politician who would serve as Aedile and later Consul in 197 with Gaius Sejanus Brutellus. This connection to Brutellus proved invaluable, as Gaius' sister Servilia would marry Sejanus and bring the gens Servilia into a close family bond with the powerful gens Brutella, which would allow Gaius Servilius to ascend the Cursus Honorum very quickly.
Military Career
Early Career
At the age of twenty Gaius joined the Romanyan Army and would serve in Hispania and later in First Egittan War in northern Sur under the leadership of Lucius Romilius Savottia before he was granted control of the IV Legion in 172 BC. Gaius was ordered by Consul Savottia to maintain the border in Moncamecia and the region was mostly quiet until 170. During this time he also married Cornelia, the daughter of Marcus Cornelius Silenus, a leading senator in Romanya, which further increased Gaius' political standing. In 170 local chief Morgantorix invaded the Romanyan client state of Etruricum with a confederation of tribes in the hopes to loot the city and force the Romanyans out of the gold-rich Andaluzian Mountains. Gaius responded by leading the IV Legion out to the city of Etruricum where he engaged Morgantorix at the Battle of Ponia and narrowly defeated the large confederation, forcing Morgantorix and his remaining troops to withdraw to the mountains. Gaius would pursue Morgantorix into the mountains, and begin the Morgantorian War with the goal of subduing the whole region and gaining control of the gold reserves.
Consulships and Military Reform
In 169 while on campaign Gaius Servilius was elected Consul, by the Senate with the support of both the Optimates and Populares, and together with co-Consul Savottia, he introduced a series of military reforms which drastically would improve the Romanyan Army and establish the Romanyan army as the leading military force in the Western Hemisphere. In 168 he was reelected consul, and during that time he was campaigning in central southern Ecros against local tribes and confederations, slowing establishing a dominant Romanyan presence in and to the east of the Andaluzian Mountains. In winter 167 he won a major victory in the mountains at Battle of Luperconia, finally defeating the Morgantorian confederation and capturing Morgantorix. The victory at Luperconia is considered one of the most brilliant victories in Ecrosian history, as surrounded, out of supplies, and exhausted, Gaius was able to rally his troops and eventually lead them to victory. Following the battle Gaius consolidated the region and in 166, after being named to his third term as consul, declared the region to be the province of Midaya Inferior, effectively annexing Etruricum which would serve as the region's capital. He then returned to Romanya and celebrated a great Triumph, at the end of which he executed Morgantorix publicly at the steps of the senate house and reportedly declared "Sic est sors omnium qui contra" (Jackian: Thus is the fate of all who oppose Romanya).
Following the elapsing of his third consular term, Gaius was named as the first Proconsul of Midaya Inferior, a position which he served for three years before being elected consul again in 163. It was during his time as Proconsul that his twin sons Gnaeus and Marcus were born, whom he each apply named "Geminus", meaning "Twin", and who would go on later in life to lead Craeperia Citerior and the Romanyan invasion of Yeronia and Mauritania respectively. In his fourth consulship Gaius began the Romanyan invasion of Midaya and Reyathus, both of which he fully conquered in 161 at the battles of Sedonia Forest and Toccullus. Gaius would serve as a Quaestor in Romanya for a year before returning to the front as a consul for his fifth term and leading a quick takeover of Parlas.
Later Career
In 158 Gaius returned to his position as Proconsul of Romanyan Midaya Inferior, where due to failing health he gradually lost his ability to lead troops directly in battle. It is believed that Gaius may have suffered a stroke and possibly had liver or kidney problems which contributed to his deteriorating health in just in his mid-forties. Gaius would serve another term as Consul in 155, however terrible health kept him mostly in Romanya, while co-consul Lucius Didius Mauritanius led Romanyan forces in Cospania. He would then serve as Aedile for five years in Romanya, before he returned to Etruricum and reassumed his post as Proconsul. Gaius' health did not stop worsening, and in 148 while traveling to Romanya, Gaius would die in Turis. Historians believe that his death probably was caused by another stroke, however no eye-witness accounts remain. He died at the age of fifty-two.
