A
novus homo, Gaius Norbanus first came to prominence when he was elected one of the
plebeian tribunes for 103 BC. He achieved notoriety for his prosecution of
Quintus Servilius Caepio, where he accused Servilius Caepio of incompetence and dereliction of duty at the catastrophic defeat of the Roman armies by the
Cimbri at the
Battle of Arausio in 105 BC. At the
concilium plebis where Servilius Caepio was tried, two tribunes attempted to
veto proceedings, but were driven off by force. Although the
Senate vigorously tried to obtain his acquittal and he was defended by
Lucius Licinius Crassus, Norbanus managed to secure Caepio's conviction. Caepio was forced into exile to
Smyrna, while his fortune was confiscated. In 101 BC, Norbanus served as
quaestor under
Marcus Antonius, grandfather of the
triumvir Mark Antony, in his campaign against the pirates in
Cilicia. In 94 BC, Norbanus was accused of
minuta maiestas (treason) under the
Lex Appuleia by
Publius Sulpicius Rufus on account of the disturbances that had taken place at the trial of Caepio, but the eloquence of Marcus Antonius secured his acquittal. This was followed by his election as
Praetor in 89 BC, and his appointment as
governor of
Sicily. He kept the peace in his province, defending it against the Italian
socii during the
Social War. He managed to capture
Rhegium from the
Samnites in 88 BC. During the civil war between
Gaius Marius and
Lucius Cornelius Sulla he sided with Marius. He was elected
consul for 83 BC; at Mount Tifata, near
Capua, he intercepted Sulla, who had returned to Italy from Greece. Sulla sent over some emissaries to discuss coming to terms with Norbanus, but they were thrown out when it became apparent that they were trying to suborn Norbanus’ men, who were mostly raw recruits. Although Norbanus was helped by
Quintus Sertorius, they were defeated by Sulla at the
Battle of Mount Tifata, losing around 6,000 men in the process. He managed to regroup his shattered army at Capua, whereupon he eventually retreated to
Cisalpine Gaul. He and
Gnaeus Papirius Carbo were defeated by
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius at
Faventia. Norbanus was betrayed by one of his
legates,
Publius Albinovanus, who murdered many of Norbanus’ principal officers after inviting them to dinner before surrendering
Ariminium to Metellus Pius. Norbanus himself did not attend Albinovanus' invitation, and he managed to evade capture, fleeing to
Rhodes. After proscription by Sulla, he committed
suicide in the middle of a market-place, while the leading citizens of Rhodes were debating whether to hand him over to Sulla's men. == Notes ==