Publicola the Elder

Lucius Valerius Laevinus Publicola (3 February 42 BC – 13 November 11 BC),[2] known by his cognomen Publicola the Elder, was a Roman aristocrat and politician who played a critical role in the events that led to the foundation of the Order of Rome and was pivotal in ensuring its longevity through secrecy. He was also a poet and writer and his works currently reside in Dr. Monty King's Collection of Histories in Kyoto, Japan.

In 44 BC, Brutus the Younger and the other founders of the Order of to Restore the Republic, known publicly as the Liboratores, confronted (then) Laevinus with the opportunity to lead the organization in secret from Asia Minor. Their goal was to have a seed of the organization to live out their vision if their plot to assassinate Caesar went awry. Laevinus set out from Rome the night before the Ides of March and reached Asia Minor in a month and a half. By that time, Julius Caear had been assassinated and Rome plunged into Civil War. Once Laevinus reached the border with Asia Minor, he was stopped by military personnel who had recently received word of Caesar's death. Through his shrewd skill, Laevinus evaded captured and continued on his way to Galatia. Once in Galatia, he met with a close confidant of Brutus' known as Gaius Helvius, who harbored Laevinus for two years.

After Brutus committed suicide at Philippi, Laevinus took the reigns of the Order to Restore the Republic. Through the intricate web of contacts and envoys Brutus had developed during the war and with the aid of Helvius, Laevinus organized systematic efforts to curb the scope of both Octavian and Antony. He used his network to create tension publicly between the two, which eventually led to another civil war, which he did not anticipate would end with Octavian being named Caesar Augustus. He worked tirelessly to instill civil unrest that would challenge Augustus' rule, but was unable to stop his rise to power. On December 15, 32 BC, his fellow members within the Order moved to name him Publicola, meaning "friend of the people," and taken by the man Quintus Pedius, a friend of Laevinus' who had passed away between the two civil wars.

Laevinus, now Publicola, lived out the rest of his life wandering between the eastern provinces in the newly founded empire, seeking to turn a province against Augustus, but failing to secure the support of any large swaths of the local populace. He nearly turned the prefect of Egypt, Aelius Gallus, to his cause, but his efforts were cut short by Gallus' recall by Augustus for having failed to pacify the Kushites. Still, Publicola's Journey to Egypt is recanted as an ambitious endeavor undertaken by the Order's founder. Publicola also visited Judea, Mauretania, Africa, and Syria, where he remained in 15 BC until the end of his life. On November 13, 11 BC, in the arms of his wife and in the presence of his son, Publicola the Younger, who was 31 at the time, Publicola passed away in Sidon in the Roman province of Syria, where he had been speaking with the prefect, Marcus Titus, through his intricate network of agents and operatives.

Much of Publicola's life is unknown to the general public. What little existed was intercepted by the Order of Rome and destroyed to preserve their secrecy. What remains in existence sits in Monty King's Collection of Histories, including his bust. Publicola is considered by members of the Order of Rome as one of their greatest and most ambitious leaders. His cognomen was subsequently adopted as a synonym for "Leader of the Order of Rome"; the title "Publicola" was used by nearly every successive leader of the Order following him and his son and successor. Without him, the course of world events would be starkly different, as the Order would have died with Brutus the Younger at Philippi.