Marcus Horatius Barbatus (consul 449)


Marcus Horatius M. f. L. n. Barbatus was a Roman politician and consul in 449 BC. He and Lucius Valerius Potitus, helped to abolish the decemvirate in 449; the two were elected consuls for the same year.

Opposition to the Decemvirate

Both Marcus and Lucius were patricians who stood up when a plebeian was being abused by the second decemvirate, spoke critically of the decemviri and showed sympathy towards the plebeians. When the plebeians rebelled in the second plebeian secession they were chosen as negotiators, because their actions had put them in a favourable light in the eyes of the plebeians, who felt that they were trustworthy. Both Marcus and Lucius would later be elected consuls in 449.