Gaius Terentius Varro

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Gaius Terentius Varro was a Roman consul and military commander best known for co-leading the Roman forces that suffered a devastating defeat to Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae during the Second Punic War.


Statements (44)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Roman general
Roman politician
consul of the Roman Republic
human
activeIn 3rd century BC
associatedWithLocation Cannae
associatedWithPeople Hannibal Barca
Lucius Aemilius Paullus
battleOutcome catastrophic Roman defeat at Cannae
blamedFor Roman defeat at Cannae by some ancient sources
campaignObjective to relieve the siege of Roman allies in Apulia and confront Hannibal
coConsul Lucius Aemilius Paullus
commandStructure alternating command with Lucius Aemilius Paullus at Cannae
consulshipYear 216 BC
countryOfCitizenship Roman Republic
deathDate after 216 BC (exact date unknown)
deathPlace Roman Republic (uncertain specific location)
era Roman Republic
familyBackground novus homo
governedTerritory unspecified Roman province as praetor (attested but unclear)
historicalSource Livy
Polybius
knownFor co-commanding Roman forces at the Battle of Cannae
defeat at the Battle of Cannae
languageOfWorkOrName Latin
legacy example of Roman resilience after military disaster
frequent subject of military-historical analysis of Cannae
militaryConflict Second Punic War
militaryEngagement Battle of Cannae
militaryRank commander of consular army
notableWork command of Roman army at the Battle of Cannae
officeType plebeian consul
opponent Hannibal Barca
politicalAlignment representative of plebeian interests
positionHeld aedile
consul of the Roman Republic
praetor
quaestor
praisedFor returning to Rome after Cannae and continuing public service
receivedHonor thanks of the Roman Senate after Cannae for not despairing of the republic
RomanTribe Terentia gens (plebeian family)
socialClass plebeian
supportedPoliticalFaction popularis tendency
tacticalApproachAtCannae aggressive direct engagement with Hannibal’s forces

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Battle of Cannae
commander
Second Punic War
hasCommander
Hannibal
opponent

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