Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator, Quintus

Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator, Quintus (c. 275-203 bc), Roman statesman and general, grandson of Fabius Maximus Rullianus. Fabius became consul in 233 bc, censor in 230, and held the consulship a further four times in 228, 215, 214, and 209. He was an ambassador to Carthage in 218 and, in 217, during the Second Punic War, became dictator of Rome by popular acclamation. As dictator, he constantly harassed the flanks of the army of the Carthaginian general Hannibal, and, by avoiding a decisive encounter with the Carthaginian invaders, gave Rome time to build its strength, tactics that earned him the surname Cunctator (“delayer”). Despite eventually achieving their objective, such policies made him unpopular and Minucius Rufus, commander of the cavalry under Fabius, was elevated to an equal share in the dictatorship. Fabius resigned as dictator and at the expiration of his own term, his resignation was followed by a disastrous Roman defeat at Cannae. During his fifth consulship, Fabius recovered Tarentum (modern Taranto), one of Hannibal's strongholds.