Rome was not always the mighty empire most people now think of when ancient Rome is mentioned. In 519 BC, when Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was born, it was a small, growing city with a territory of 50 square miles which was ruled as a republic, having overthrown its tyrannical king, Tarquin the Proud, only ten years previously.

Cincinnatus' Fall Into Poverty

Cincinnatus was a man of the Roman patrician class – the nobles. He was highly respected by the rulers and people of the city. Cinicinnatus had been very wealthy, but became poor after an unfortunate incident with his son, Caeso. Caeso had a violent temper, and one day he attacked and beat a former tribune¹ named Marcus Volcius Fictor and his elderly brother, who died of his injuries. He was jailed and freed on an enormous bail of 30,000 pounds of bronze. This money was too much for Cincinnatus to pay alone, so he was helped by ten other men. Caeso, however, fled and the bail was lost.

Of course, that meant that Cincinnatus, for honour's sake, had to repay the men who had helped him with the bail. He did so by selling almost everything he owned. He, his wife Racilla, and a number of slaves were left to work a small, 4 acre plot of land outside the city.

Cincinnatus as Consul

When one of the city's two consuls² was killed in an attack on Rome, Cincinnatus was elected as his replacement. He restored the city to order, and as the end of his term approached, the senate wanted to elect him for another term. This was illegal, and Cincinnatus pointedly refused. His term complete, he returned to the farm.

This was not the only time he was called upon. When the Roman army was ambushed and looked to be destroyed, it was Cincinnatus they called on.

Rome Threatened

The army was away from the city when it was ambushed on the march by local enemies called the Aequi. Things looked grim for the soldiers until five captured horsemen were able to escape and return to the city to warn them that after the army was defeated, the city would be next. A second Roman force was also abroad and was too far away to be reached in time to rescue the first. The only men left in the city who might form a relief force were those who were too old or young to fight, and a few stragglers.³ In desperation, the city's leaders turned to Cincinnatus for help.

When they came to him, Cincinnatus left the farm and went to the city, where he took over. This was a part of Roman politics. During times of crisis, the senate could recommend the selection of a dictator – the term originates from the Latin for 'to say' because anything they said during their time of office became law. The right man for the job was then chosen by the two consuls. The dictator became superior to both consuls and senate for the duration of his term, which lasted at longest six months, and ruled under martial law. On this occasion, the consuls were each leading one of the armies, so Cincinnatus was elected directly by the senate. He was aware that his absence would mean the harvest that year would be poor and his family would go hungry, but he considered his duty more important.

Cincinnatus ordered the suspension of all business and for all men of military age to gather suitably provisioned. Everyone too old to fight was to assist in gathering food for the soldiers. Having spoken words of encouragement to his rag-tag force, Cincinnatus led them to the rescue of the Roman army, which had been under attack for three days. Arriving at night, he sent his men to surround the Aequi, digging a ditch all around them and filling it with stakes to prevent an escape. He then ordered his men to yell a fearsome Roman war cry to encourage their brothers under attack, before attacking the enemy themselves. It was a huge surprise, and the Aequi now had to defend against two armies at once. As they turned their focus from the newcomers to the re-energised Roman army, Cincinnatus ordered his men to dig in for the night. The following morning, they charged and the Aequi surrendered almost immediately. He allowed the survivors to dispand but took the leaders to Rome.

On his return, Cincinnatus was unsurprisingly treated as a hero. There were great celebrations of the victory including a procession. It was custom for a dictator to return his powers once the crisis was over, but before this, Cincinnatus did take the opportunity to try Marcus Volcius Fictor for perjury relating to his testimony in Caeso's trial. Some soldiers had claimed that Caeso was away on military duty at the time of the attack. As dictator, Cincinnatus found him guilty and exiled him. He then returned his powers. The leaders of the city had even offered to make Cincinnatus king, but to his enormous credit, he refused and returned to his poor farm, also refusing offers from the senate of land and the spoils of war.

The Final Call to Serve

Decades after this, Cincinnatus was called upon once again. It was a time of famine, and a wealthy Roman named Spurius Maelius was providing corn to the poor extremely cheaply or for free. This obviously made him extremely popular with the lower classes but raised the suspicions of the nobles, who suspected he might have kingly ambitions, an anathema to Romans. It was thought that he was keeping weapons in his home. It was decided to call Cincinnatus as dictator again. He was over 80 at the time, but accepted the call after initial hesitation. He went in secrecy and ordered Maelius to be called before a tribunal. Afraid, Maelius refused and in the melee which resulted, was killed. Though it could not be certain that he had been aiming to become king, Maelius was posthumously declared guilty of refusing the summons of the dictator, which was a capital offence. Several of the plebians, believing Maelius to have been killed by the powerful, attempted to revolt but failed. Cincinnatus had them executed.

The death of the saviour of the Republic could not have been too long after this, but unfortunately nothing is known of it.

Cincinnatus and George Washington

Shortly after the American War of Independence, comparisons began to be made between Cincinnatus and George Washington, the general who had led America's forces to victory and later served as President. It is not surprising that the leaders of the American Revolution looked to Rome as a model of how to form and run a republic, and the similarities between Washington and Cincinnatus are striking. Both were farmers, called on by their nation's leaders to serve. When their tasks were complete, both returned to their farms.

The city of Cincinnati in Ohio, USA is named after Cincinnatus – sort of. It's actually named after the Society of Cincinnati⁴, which was named after the man. A statue of Cincinnatus can be found in the city.