Aulus Gabinius was a Roman statesman and general. He was an avid supporter of Pompey who likewise supported Gabinius. He was a prominent figure in the latter days of the Roman Republic.
Career
In 67 BC, when tribune of the plebs, Gabinius brought forward the law which gave Pompey the command in the war against the Pirates of the Mediterranean, with extensive powers that gave him absolute control over the sea and the coasts for 50 miles inland. Through Gabinius' two other measures, loans of money to foreign ambassadors in Rome were made actionable and the Senate was ordered to give audiences to foreign envoys on certain fixed days each year. During the Third Mithridatic War Gabinius served Pompey as a legate. In 65 BC he marched with two legions into Northern Mesopotamia to pressure the Parthian king, Phraates III into a treaty with Pompey. In 61 BC, Gabinius, then praetor, tried to win public favour by providing games on a scale of unusual splendour, and in 58 BC managed to secure the consulship, although not without suspicion of bribery. During his term of office he aided Publius Clodius Pulcher in bringing about the exile of Marcus Tullius Cicero. In 57 BC Gabinius went as proconsul to Syria. On his arrival he reinstated Hyrcanus II in the high-priesthood of Jerusalem, suppressed revolts, introduced important changes in the government of Judaea and rebuilt several towns. He also supported Mithridates III in his struggle against his brother Orodes but abandoned Mithridates when the more lucrative offer of restoring Ptolemy XII Auletes to the Egyptian throne reached him. In 55 BC, Gabinius was sent by Pompey to Egypt, without the consent of the Senate, to restore Ptolemy XII to his kingdom. He succeeded in fulfilling his task after a short successful campaign, in which he was supported by the young cavalry officerMark Antony. He left some of his troops, the so-called Gabiniani, in Egypt to protect Ptolemy XII. These Gabiniani fought against rebellious subjects of the king and later, after the king's death, against Gaius Julius Caesar. During Gabinius' time in Egypt, Syria had been devastated by robbers, and Alexander, son of Aristobulus, had again taken up arms with the object of depriving Hyrcanus II of the high-priesthood. With some difficulty Gabinius restored order, and in 54 BC handed over the province to his successor, Marcus Licinius Crassus. The Roman equites, who as tax collectors had suffered heavy losses during the disturbances in Syria, were greatly embittered against Gabinius, and, when he appeared in the Senate to give an account of his governorship, he was brought to trial on three counts, all involving a capital offence. On the charge of maiestas incurred by having left his province for Egypt without the consent of the Senate and in defiance of the Sibylline Books, Gabinius was acquitted. It was said that the judges were bribed, and even Cicero, an enemy of Gabinius, was persuaded by Pompey to say as little as he could. On the second charge, that of repetundae, with special reference to the 10,000 talents paid by Ptolemy XII for his restoration, he was found guilty, in spite of evidence offered on his behalf by Pompey and witnesses from Alexandria and the eloquence of Cicero, who had been induced to plead his cause. Nothing but Cicero's wish to do a favour to Pompey could have induced him to take on the task. Commentators hint that the half-heartedness of Cicero's defence contributed to Gabinius's condemnation. The third charge, that of ambitus, was consequently dropped. Gabinius went into exile and his property was confiscated. After the outbreak of Caesar's Civil War, Gabinius was recalled by Gaius Julius Caesar in 49 BC and entered his service, but took no active part against his old patron, Pompey. After the Battle of Pharsalus, he was commissioned to transport some recently levied troops to Illyricum. On his way overland, he was attacked by the Dalmatians and with difficulty made his way to Salona. There Gabinius defended himself against the attacks of the Pompeian commander, Marcus Octavius, but a few months later died of illness.
