Product Code Database
Lucius Septimius was a Ancient Rome soldier and mercenary who is principally remembered as one of the assassins of the triumvir Pompey. At the time of the assassination in 48 BC, Septimius was serving the Ptolemies of Egypt as a mercenary. He was dispatched with orders to murder Pompey by Ptolemy XIII's advisors who wanted to win the favour of Julius Caesar for their king.
Septimius was a leading figure among the Gabiniani. When Pompey fled to Egypt in 48 BC following his defeat by Julius Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus, Pompey hoped to gain their support along with that of the new Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII, having been friends with Egypt's prior king, Ptolemy XII Auletes; however the advisers of the child successor believed they could win Caesar's favor by killing his foe. The Egyptian general Achillas met Pompey at the shore in Alexandria accompanied by Septimius and a centurion named Salvius. They greeted him under a pretense of friendship and killed him upon landing.Maspero, pp. 316-19.
According to both Plutarch and Caesar's account, Pompey was reassured by the presence of Septimius, whom he knew from earlier campaigns. But it was Septimius who led the attack by stabbing Pompey in the back, then Salvius and Achillas joined in. Plutarch, Life of Pompey Septimius then beheaded the corpse and removed Pompey's signet ring. The killing did not placate Caesar and in the ensuing war, the Gabiniani sided with Cleopatra's brother Ptolemy XIII, against Caesar and Cleopatra. The fate of Septimius is not recorded.
In the Massinger and Fletcher play The False One, Septimius is the central character, the "false one" of the title. He also appears in Pierre Corneille's La Mort de Pompée (1643).Eugene M. Waith, "The Death of Pompey: English Style, French Style," in: Shakespeare and Dramatic Tradition, William R. Elton and William B. Long, eds., Newark, DE, University of Delaware Press, 1989; pp. 276–85. In 1910, John Masefield treated Pompey and Septimius in his play The Tragedy of Pompey the Great. Septimius also appears in George Shaw's play Caesar and Cleopatra. In the play, Caesar forgives him.
In the television drama series Rome, he is portrayed by David Kennedy. Caesar orders his execution.
|
|
