Publius Quinctilius Varus
Publius Quinctilius Varus was a Roman general and politician under the first Roman emperor Augustus. Varus is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions when ambushed by Germanic tribes led by Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Although he was a patrician by birth, his family had long been impoverished and was unimportant.
About Publius Quinctilius Varus in brief
Publius Quinctilius Varus was a Roman general and politician under the first Roman emperor Augustus. Varus is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions when ambushed by Germanic tribes led by Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, whereupon he took his own life. Although he was a patrician by birth, his family had long been impoverished and was unimportant. His father was a senator who had served as a quaestor in 49 BC. Despite Varus’ father’s political allegiances, he became one of the supporters of the heir of Julius Caesar, Octavian. When Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa died in early 12 BC, Varus delivered his funeral eulogy alongside the future emperor, Tiberius. After occupying Jerusalem and crucifying 2000 Jewish rebels in 4 BC, he may have been one of prime objects of popular anti-Roman sentiment in Judaea at the moment of the Jews, nearly en masse, began a full-scale boycott of the Roman pottery industry.
After the Judaea massacre, VarUS returned to Antioch, where he was known for his harsh rule and high taxes. In 8–7 BC,Varus governed the province of Africa. Later he went to govern Syria from 76 BC until 4 BC with four legions under his command. His marriage to Claudia Pulchra shows that Varus still enjoyed political favor. His wife was a daughter of Claudia Marcella Minor and the Roman consul of 12BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Appianus. Her maternal grandmother was Octavia the Younger, sister of Augustus, Hence she was a grand-niece of Augustus. Through their son, they may have had further descendants. The historian Josephus says that the son of Varus served under him during his command in Syria.
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