Marcus Perperna

Who was Marcus Perperna?

Marcus Perperna, Roman consul in 130 BC, is said to have been a consul before he was a citizen; for Valerius Maximus relates, that the father of this Perperna was condemned under the lex Papia after the death of his son, because he had falsely usurped the rights of a Roman citizen.

M. Perperna was praetor in 135 BC, in which year he had the conduct of the war against the slaves in Sicily, and in consequence of the advantages which he obtained over them received the honour of an ovation on his return to Rome. He was consul 130 BC with Lucius Cornelius Lentulus, and was sent into Anatolia against Aristonicus, who had defeated one of the consuls of the previous year, Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus. Perperna, however, soon brought the war to a close. He defeated Aristonicus in the first engagement, and followed up his victory by laying siege to Stratonikeia, whither Aristonicus had fled. The town was compelled by famine to surrender, and the king accordingly fell into the consul's hands. Perperna did not however live to enjoy the triumph, which he would undoubtedly have obtained, but died in the neighbourhood of Pergamum on his return to Rome in 129 BC.