Cincius Alimentus

Lucius Cincius Alimentus (born towards -240 and died towards -190) is a Roman Historien of Greek language of the III E.

Its life

Roman, contemporary senator of Fabius Pictor, it was eclipsed by this last as a writer. Praetor in -210, it will be named propretor of the Sicily into -209/208, assuring the command of two legions. Thereafter, it will be made prisoner by the general Hannibal during the Second Punic War, towards -208. Hannibal will treat nevertheless with a particular respect this prisoner of war.

This animated episode of its life will allow Cincius Alimentus however, to attend in privileged witness the confrontation between Rome and Carthage. It will be able to remember it in its historical writings.

Its work

Its Annales is characterized by the concern from rigor from their chronology. They begin with the mythological account from the arrival from Enée in Italy, to be completed by the second war of Carthage against Rome. Cincius also described there its detention at the Carthaginians.

It on the occasion to be informed, near Hannibal itself, on manpower of the Carthaginian army at the time of the crossing of the the Rhone, as we reveals it a fragment preserved by the historian Tite Live (Book 21-38.2). Contrary to other historians, it knew to make a clear distinction between Rome and the Latium.

According to Denys d' Halicarnasse, Cincius Alimentus had dated with precision the Fondation from Rome by mentioning the fourth year from the twelfth Olympiade, that is to say -729. The German historian Barthold Georg Niebuhr justifies the variation with the commonly allowed date (-753) by the use, by Cincius, of an old Etruscan calendar romano- which counted the year in 10 months, and not in 12, following a later reform.

The fame of annals of Cincius Alimentus was such as they were seems it used by Florus, an author of 1st century a. J. - C.

Random links: