'''Sempronius Asellio'''<ref>His praenomen is unknown. Ernst Badian, "The Sempronii Aselliones", [https://www.casa-kvsa.org.za/legacy/Vol-11-1968.pdf ''The Proceedings of the African Classical Associations''], pp. 1–6</ref> (flourished {{c.|158}}{{nbsp}}BC{{nbsp}}{{ndash}} c. 91{{nbsp}}BC)<ref>Liv. lxxiv. Epit.</ref> was an early Roman historian and one of the first writers of historiographic work in Latin. He was a military tribune of P. Scipio Aemilianus Africanus at the siege of Numantia in Hispania in 134{{nbsp}}BC. Later he joined the circle of writers centred on Scipio Aemilianus. Asellio wrote the history of the events in which he was engaged,<ref>Aulus Gellius, ''Noctes Atticae'' 2.13.3 .</ref> and thus preceded Caesar in his more famous accounts of his military campaigns.
==Life== Asellio, whose background is unknown, probably belonged to the prestigious plebeian gens Sempronia. He was greatly influenced by his co-writer Polybius, who was supported by Scipio Aemilianus. Polybius attempted not only to record events as they took place, but also to look for the causes that led to them. Asellio was the first Roman historian to follow this method.<ref>Smith, W., ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology''. Digitized copy in {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070405232034/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0393.html Ancient Library]}}. Retrieved 14 September 2007.</ref> In his work, he showed contempt for the previous Roman historians of the annalistic school. According to him, they wrote nothing else than a diary as far as form was concerned.<ref>Asellio cited by Gellius 5.18.7-9 .</ref><ref>Bruno Gentili, Giovanni Cerri, ''La letteratura di Roma arcaica e l'ellenismo''. Con la collaborazione di Salvatore Monda. Biblioteca Aragno. Torino: Nino Aragno Editore, 2005. Chapter 7.</ref>
==Work== Sempronius Asellio composed the ''Rerum Gestarum Libri'' (Latin for "Books of Things Done"), also referenced as the ''Libri Rerum Gestarum'' or ''Historiae'' ("History").<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/10197683/The_buried_tradition_of_programmatic_titulature_among_republican_historians_Polybius_Πραγματεία_Asellio_s_Res_Gestae_and_Sisenna_s_redefinition_of_Historiae_In_American_Journal_of_Philology_136_3_2015_503_24 Krebs], C. B. "The buried tradition of programmatic titulature among republican historians. Polybius' Πραγματεία, Asellio's ''Res Gestae'', and Sisenna's redefinition of ''Historiae''," ''American Journal of Philology'' 136 (2015), 503-24. </ref> It comprised at least fourteen books and dealt mostly with the events of the Third Punic War (149 BC - 146 BC).<ref>Crutwell, Charles Thomas (M.A.) ''A History of Roman Literature: From the Earliest Period to the Death of Marcus Aurelius'' (1877) Book I Chapter IX</ref> It is also possible his work was a continuation of Polybius, whose own history stopped at 146 BC. Asellio's work covered events as late as 91 BC or even 83 BC.
Cicero did not think highly of Asellio's work and spoke disparagingly of its simple style. Nothing, apart from 15 citations preserved by later authors (Aulus Gellius and some grammarians), survives of his work.
==See also== *Sempronia gens *Cato the Elder
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == *''Historicorum Romanorum reliquiae'', Hermannus Peter (ed.), vol. 1, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, Lipsiae, 1914², [https://archive.org/stream/historicorumroma01peteuoft#page/178/mode/2up pagg. 179-184].
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Category:150s BC births Category:90s BC deaths Category:2nd-century BC historians Category:1st-century BC historians Category:2nd-century BC writers in Latin Category:1st-century BC writers in Latin Category:2nd-century BC Romans Category:1st-century BC deaths Category:1st-century BC Romans Category:Roman Republican soldiers Category:Latin historians Category:Latin writers known only from secondary sources Category:Military historians Category:Ancient Roman military writers Category:Old Latin-language writers Asellio Category:Year of birth uncertain Category:Year of birth unknown