Publius Cornelius Dolabella (consul 10)

In his book The Augustan Aristocracy, Ronald Syme identifies the father with Publius Cornelius Dolabella, consul in 44 BC and son-in-law of Cicero.However, since the publication of Syme's book, a new fragment of the Fasti Tauromenium has been recovered which attests to another one: Publius Cornelius Dolabella, suffect consul in 35 BC.Tiberius rejected the proposal with an angry letter, stating that he was not so destitute of renown as to covet the meaningless honour of a tour of the neighbourhood of Rome.He granted Blaesus the rare privilege of adopting the honorary title of imperator, "victorious general", the last time this was accorded to a person outside the imperial house, and the third awarded for defeating Tacfarinas.His propaganda was highly effective and large numbers of Mauri warriors joined him, turning their backs on their young pro-Roman king, Ptolemy, who had recently succeeded his father, Juba II.[15] By the start of the 24 campaign season, Tacfarinas felt strong enough to lay siege to the Roman strong-point of Thubuscum (Khamisa, Algeria or Teboursouk, Tunisia).The proconsul summoned assistance from Ptolemy, in whose kingdom Tacfarinas had taken refuge, and who supplied large numbers of the Mauri horsemen who had remained loyal to him.Thus reinforced, Dolabella divided his force into four divisions advancing in parallel to cover as much territory as possible, with the allied cavalry acting as scouts, criss-crossing between the main columns.Tacfarinas evidently discounted the possibility that the Romans could discover his location, as he apparently failed to post a screen of sentries in the woods.Dolabella launched the registration of the whole plateau for tax purposes immediately after Tacfarinas' demise and completed it by 29 or 30, as evidenced by the stone markers laid down by the Roman surveyors, some of which survive to this day.His motion was voted down at the behest of Tiberius, despite the fact that arguably Dolabella deserved the accolade more than any of his three predecessors; unlike them, he had actually brought the war to an end by eliminating its instigator.
View of the central Tunisian plateau at Téboursouk , one possible location of the ancient Thubuscum , a Roman fort besieged by Tacfarinas in AD 24. This was prime wheat-growing country and supplied most of Rome's grain. It was the conflict between the demands of Roman agriculture and the traditional grazing rights of the Berber pastoralists that were the central cause of Tacfarinas' insurgency.
ConsulRoman EmpireMarcus Papius MutilusQuintus Poppaeus SecundusServius Cornelius Lentulus MaluginensisQuintus Junius BlaesusPublius Cornelius DolabellaDalmatiaProconsularAfricaTacfarinassenatorPrincipateGaius Junius SilanusArch of DolabellaPorta CaelimontanaCaelian HillpatricianCorneliiTacitusPublius Quinctilius VarusRonald SymeCiceroseptemviri epulonessodales TitensisAugustusTiberiusLucius Volusius SaturninusGaius SiliusJulius FlorusAeduanovationmajestasTéboursoukBlaesusSejanusimperatorLegio IX HispanaPtolemyJuba IITeboursoukRoman province of MauretaniaRoman province of AfricaAlgiersChott el Jeridtreason or maiestasZeitschrift für Papyrologie und EpigraphikAnnales