Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi (consul 27)

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Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi was a Roman nobleman who reached the rank of consul in the 1st century AD. His mother was a Roman woman and his father, also named Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi, was a consul and governor. He was the grandson of the famous Marcus Licinius Crassus and the last known direct descendant of that family line. He had a daughter, Licinia, who married the consul Lucius Calpurnius Piso; their son was Gaius Calpurnius Piso, who later opposed Emperor Nero.

Frugi’s public career is known from an inscription in Rome. He served as urban praetor and, in AD 27, as ordinary consul with Lucius Calpurnius Piso as his colleague. After AD 44 he governed Mauretania. He was admitted to the Collegium Pontificum, one of Rome’s most prestigious priestly colleges. When Emperor Claudius left Rome to expand the conquest of Britain, Frugi was one of many distinguished consulars who accompanied him, sharing glory while staying out of trouble in Rome. Claudius included Frugi in his triumph in AD 43; Frugi was exempted from wearing a purple-bordered toga and wore a palm-embroidered tunic, riding a richly decorated horse.

Frugi married Scribonia, a noblewoman descended from Pompeia, Pompey’s daughter. They had children, including Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi minor. In spring AD 47, Crassus Frugi, Scribonia, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus were executed on the orders of Empress Messalina; their bodies were placed in the tomb of the Licinii Calpurnii on the Via Salaria, along with their son Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi minor.