1. Early Life and Family Background
Metellus Scipio's early life was marked by his prestigious birth into one of Rome's most distinguished families and a significant adoption that altered his name but not his noble standing, ensuring the continuity of a powerful lineage deeply intertwined with Roman history.
1.1. Birth and Lineage
Born around 95 BC with the name Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, he was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, who served as praetor around 95 BC, and Licinia. His ancestry was exceptionally illustrious: he was the grandson of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, a consul in 111 BC, and Lucius Licinius Crassus, consul in 95 BC. Even further back, his great-grandfather was Scipio Nasica Serapio, the figure notoriously responsible for the murder of the plebeian champion Tiberius Gracchus in 133 BC. Through his mother Cornelia, Serapio was also a grandson of the legendary Scipio Africanus. Scipio's father passed away not long after his praetorship, survived by two sons and two daughters. While one brother was adopted by their grandfather Crassus, he left little significant mark on history.
1.2. Adoption and Name Change
In adulthood, Publius Scipio, as he was known early in his life, was adopted through the testament of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, who had been consul in 80 BC and pontifex maximus. This legal process was more akin to an inheritance condition, where Scipio accepted the name of Caecilius Metellus to inherit the estate of Metellus Pius, who had died without a male heir. Despite this adoption, Scipio retained his patrician status. His ancestry, as noted by the scholar Ronald Syme, was "unmatched for splendour." After his adoption, he was sometimes referred to as "Metellus Scipio" or simply "Scipio." The official form of his name, as recorded in a decree of the Roman Senate, was "Q. Caecilius Q. f. Fab. Metellus Scipio." The fact that he was later able to hold the office of interrex, which required patrician rank, further affirms his continued noble status.
2. Personal Life and Family Connections
Metellus Scipio's private life was intertwined with the political ambitions of late Republican Rome, most notably through strategic marriages that solidified his social standing and influenced major political alliances.
2.1. Marriage and Children
Metellus Scipio married Aemilia Lepida, the daughter of Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus Livianus, consul in 77 BC. However, he faced rivalry for Aemilia's hand. Even the austere Cato the Younger had sought to marry Aemilia Lepida, who had previously been betrothed to Scipio but was then free after Scipio had initially rejected her and broken the engagement. Yet, before Cato's marriage could proceed, Scipio changed his mind and, with considerable effort, won Aemilia back. This turn of events greatly angered and inflamed Cato, who attempted to pursue legal action but was dissuaded by his friends. In his rage, Cato resorted to writing "iambic verse," heavily criticizing Scipio.
The couple had one son, also named Metellus Scipio, who appears to have died at the young age of 18. Another son may have been born around 70 BC, or one might have been adopted. Their daughter, the much more renowned Cornelia Metella, was also born around this time.
2.2. Cornelia Metella's Marriage to Pompey
Scipio initially arranged for his daughter, Cornelia Metella, to marry Publius Crassus, the son of Marcus Licinius Crassus. However, following Publius's death at the Battle of Carrhae, Scipio strategically sought to become Pompey's father-in-law, a position previously held by Julius Caesar. He approached Pompey with a proposal for Cornelia's hand, which Pompey accepted. This marriage, despite Pompey being at least thirty years Cornelia's senior, was a significant political maneuver. It was one of the decisive acts by which Pompey publicly severed his alliance with Caesar and declared himself the champion of the conservative optimates. Scipio and Pompey subsequently served together as consuls in 52 BC, further solidifying their political partnership.
3. Political Career
Metellus Scipio's political career was a steady ascent through the Roman magistracies, reflecting his aristocratic lineage and his alignment with the conservative faction that dominated the late Roman Republic before the outbreak of civil war.
3.1. Early Public Activities
Metellus Scipio made his initial public appearance as "P. Scipio" among the young nobiles who formed the defense team for Sextus Roscius during his prosecution in 80 BC. In this role, he was associated with other future consuls, including Marcus Messalla and Metellus Celer, demonstrating his early engagement in Roman public life alongside prominent figures.
3.2. Major Magistracies
Metellus Scipio's progression through the cursus honorum saw him hold several key positions. While his possible tenure as tribune of the plebs in 59 BC is debated due to his patrician status, some scholars suggest that his adoption into a plebeian gens may have technically qualified him for the office. He is thought to have been a curule aedile in 57 BC, an occasion marked by his staging of funeral games in honor of his adopted father, who had passed away six years prior. He served as praetor, most likely in 55 BC, during the second consulship of Pompey and Marcus Crassus. In 53 BC, he held the office of interrex alongside Marcus Valerius Messalla. The holding of this office, which was exclusively open to patricians, further casts doubt on his alleged tribunate, strongly suggesting he maintained his patrician status throughout. His political ascent culminated in his election as consul in 52 BC, where he served with Pompey, the same year he formalized his crucial alliance with Pompey through the marriage of his daughter, Cornelia Metella.
3.3. Role in Roman Politics
Indisputably an aristocratic and conservative figure, Metellus Scipio was a prominent member of the optimates, the traditionalist senatorial faction in the late Republic. Before the death of Crassus in 53 BC, he served as at least a symbolic counterweight to the power of the so-called First Triumvirate. His value within the political landscape was further enhanced by the "opportune deaths" of other influential figures, leaving no remaining Metellan consuls of his generation. By 57 BC, he was a member of the prestigious College of Pontiffs, likely nominated upon his adoptive father's death in 63 BC and subsequently elected, solidifying his institutional influence within the Roman religious and political system.
4. Role in Caesar's Civil War
Metellus Scipio played a critical and ultimately losing role in the civil war against Julius Caesar, aligning himself firmly with Pompey and the senatorial cause. His leadership was marked by controversial financial demands and military defeats.
4.1. Outbreak of the Civil War
In January of 49 BC, Metellus Scipio was instrumental in escalating the political tensions that led to civil war. He successfully persuaded the senate to issue the ultimatum to Caesar, an act that effectively made war inevitable. This decisive action positioned him as a key figure in precipitating the conflict and solidified his alignment with Pompey and the anti-Caesarian faction.
4.2. Proconsulship in Syria and Asia
Later in 49 BC, Scipio became the proconsul of the Roman province of Syria. He then took up winter quarters in the province of Asia. During his governorship, he resorted to often oppressive means to gather ships, troops, and money for the Pompeian war effort. As recounted by Caesar, he imposed taxes on individuals, including slaves and children, and levied charges on columns, doors, grain, soldiers, weaponry, oarsmen, and machinery, effectively taxing anything that could be named to raise funds. His administration in these provinces was characterized by severe financial exploitation. Additionally, Scipio ordered the execution of Alexander of Judaea, a significant political act in the region. He also controversially claimed the title of Imperator for alleged minor victories in the Amanus Mountains, a claim that Caesar disparagingly noted as a shallow justification for demanding large sums from local states and rulers.
4.3. Major Battles and Defeats
In 48 BC, Scipio moved his forces from Asia to Roman Greece, where he engaged in maneuvers against Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus and Lucius Cassius until Pompey's arrival. At the pivotal Battle of Pharsalus, he commanded the center of Pompey's forces. Following the decisive defeat of the optimates by Caesar, Metellus Scipio fled to Africa. There, with the support of his former romantic rival, Cato the Younger, he managed to wrest control of Pompey's remaining forces from the loyal Publius Attius Varus, likely in early 47 BC. However, in 46 BC, he held command at the Battle of Thapsus, a role he executed "without skill or success," leading to another major defeat for the anti-Caesarian forces, alongside Cato.
5. Death
Metellus Scipio's life ended in a dramatic and philosophically noteworthy manner after his final defeat in the civil war, choosing suicide to avoid capture.
5.1. Circumstances of Death
Following the catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Thapsus, Metellus Scipio attempted to escape to the Iberian Peninsula with the intention of continuing the fight against Caesar. However, his escape vessel was intercepted by the fleet of Publius Sittius off the coast of Hippo Regius. Cornered and facing inevitable capture by his enemies, Scipio chose to take his own life by stabbing himself. This act ensured that he would not fall into the hands of Caesar's forces.
5.2. Assessment of His Death
Metellus Scipio's death achieved an uncharacteristic moment of dignity, particularly in his final words. As he departed from his soldiers, he reportedly uttered, `Imperator se bene habetYour general's just fineLatin` or "The Imperator conducts himself well." These words garnered strong praise from the Stoic moral philosopher Seneca. Seneca highlighted Scipio's resolve, noting how he pierced his body with a sword upon seeing his ship in enemy hands and, when asked about the commander, replied that "All is well with the commander." Seneca considered these words to elevate Scipio to the level of his ancestors, preserving the "glory which fate gave to the Scipios in Africa." For Seneca, it was a greater deed to conquer death than to conquer Carthage, and he posed the rhetorical question: "Ought a general to die otherwise, especially one of Cato's generals?"
6. Historical Assessment and Controversies
Metellus Scipio's legacy is largely marked by negative assessments from classical scholars, highlighting his personal flaws and political conservatism, which aligned him with figures opposed to popular movements in Roman history.
6.1. Character and Reputation
Classical scholar John H. Collins provides a particularly scathing summary of Metellus Scipio's character and reputation. According to Collins, Scipio was "as personally despicable and as politically reactionary as they come." His reputation was tarnished by accusations of being a debauchee and an incompetent and bull-headed commander. Collins also characterizes him as an undisciplined tyrant when in a position of authority and an extortioner of the provinces. Furthermore, Scipio was seen as a "proscription-thirsty bankrupt." Collins asserted that Scipio was a "worthy great grandson des hochmütigen, plebejerfeindlichen Junkersof an arrogant aristocrat, enemy to the plebsGerman," emphasizing his loyalty to a lineage that had historically opposed the interests of the plebs, notably his grandfather, who led the lynching of Tiberius Gracchus. Collins concludes that Scipio was a "most unworthy father of the gentle Cornelia," implying that his daughter's virtuous character stood in stark contrast to his own. The only redeeming quality Collins found was in Scipio's final words, `Imperator se bene habetYour general's just fineLatin`, which he acknowledged showed "any trace of the nobler character of his great forebears."
6.2. Major Criticisms
Specific criticisms against Scipio detail his involvement in numerous controversial actions. He was known as a defender of Gaius Verres, a Roman magistrate notorious for his corrupt governance. His lifestyle was reportedly dissolute and "singularly repulsive," as described in accounts of a notorious party he arranged while consul, where prominent women and aristocratic youth were allegedly involved in scandalous activities. Militarily, he was often depicted as incompetent and stubborn, particularly highlighted by his command at the Battle of Thapsus, which resulted in a crushing defeat. Politically, his actions in provincial governance, particularly during his proconsulship in Syria and Asia, involved widespread extortion and oppressive taxation to fund the civil war. Caesar himself documented how Scipio levied taxes on nearly every conceivable item and individual. His financial difficulties and alleged desire for proscriptions against his enemies further painted him as ruthless and desperate. These criticisms, combined with his family's historical actions against popular figures like Tiberius Gracchus, solidify his reputation as a conservative aristocrat fundamentally opposed to plebeian interests and democratic ideals.