Gaius Marcius Censorinus was a triumvir monetalis c. 88 BC. In 87, as a military tribune or prefect, he commanded the cavalry that attacked and killed the consul Gnaeus Octavius, then brought his head to Cinna; the historian Appian remarks[1] that this was the first time a consul's head was displayed on the Rostra, but unfortunately not the last. In 82, near the end of the civil war between Sulla and the Marian-Cinnan faction, Carbo sent Censorinus with eight legions to the aid of the besieged Praeneste, but he was ambushed by Pompeius near Sena Gallica. After Carbo fled to Africa, Censorinus was among the officers who made a last-ditch effort to break Sulla's line that culminated in defeat at the Battle of the Colline Gate.[2]
Unless otherwise noted, dates, offices and citations of ancient sources are from T.R.S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic (American Philological Association, 1951, 1986), vol. 1; vol. 2 (1952); vol. 3 (1986); abbreviated MRR.
^Robin Seager, "Sulla," in The Cambridge Ancient History (Cambridge University Press, 1994), vol. 9, pp. 178 online and 193; Patrick McGushin, Sallust: The Histories (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992), vol. 1, p. 101 online.
^The praenomen is indicated by the coin, but not the gentilicum, which is given for the Censorinus who was an officer and is considered the same man.
^Claude Eilers, Roman Patrons of Greek Cities (Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 236 online.