Domitius Calvinus came from a
noble family and was
elected consul for 53 BC, despite a notorious electoral
scandal. He was on Caesar's side during the
Civil War with
Pompey. During the campaign in Greece, Caesar sent Domitius with two legions to intercept
Metellus Scipio who was bringing the Syrian legions to Pompey. At the decisive
Battle of Pharsalus he commanded the centre of Caesar's
army. After the battle he became
governor of
Asia. He tried to oppose the invasion of
Pharnaces, the king of
Bosphorus, who had taken the occasion of the Roman civil war to invade the province of
Pontus; however, he suffered a crushing defeat at the
Battle of Nicopolis in
Armenia (December of 48 BC). Direct intervention by Caesar brought a quick end to the conflict, and Pharnaces' army was annihilated at
Zela in 47 BC. Despite this failure, he remained a
trusted friend of Caesar. Domitius Calvinus's activities immediately after the death of Caesar are unknown, but in 43 BC he was a strong supporter of
Octavianus and participated in the civil war against
Brutus and
Cassius. During the
Philippi campaign in 42 BC, he had to bring reinforcements from
Italia to
Greece for
Mark Antony and Octavianus' army, however, his fleet was destroyed by the enemy in the
Ionian Sea with the loss of two
legions. Despite this defeat, he was awarded the honour of a second consulship in 40 BC and was sent by Octavianus as governor to
Hispania, where he remained for three years (39–36 BC). His military activities in Spain were successful since he was saluted as
imperator by his troops and on his return, he was awarded a
triumph. He also rebuilt the
Regia in the
Roman Forum. Although there are not many facts concerning his further
political activities, an inscription shows that in 20 BC he was still alive and a member of the important
Arval Brethren priesthood, reserved only for members of the nascent Imperial family and to the emperor's most distinguished supporters. Although Domitius Calvinus' career does not show any particular ability, either in politics (he obtained his first consulship only after scandalous
bribery) or in
war (he suffered two major defeats), he maintained an important political role. (However, it must be said that supporting the winning side all the way through the civil wars, evinces a most extraordinary ability and foresight in both politics and war, or luck.) This was most probably because he was one of the very few
Roman nobles to support the Caesar/Octavianus party from the very beginning. ==Family==