Publius Cornelius Dolabella (fl. 1st century BC) was a Roman senator who was appointed suffect consul in 35 BC with Titus Peducaeus as his colleague.[1]
A member of the patrician Dolabella branch of the gens Cornelia, Dolabella was probably the descendant of Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella, who was Urban praetor in 81 BC.[2] His father may have been Publius Cornelius Dolabella the consul of 44 BC.[3]
He may have been the man who informed Cleopatra of Octavian's plans when he had captured her.[4]
Much of his career is unknown; based on a series of rare and enigmatic bronze coins, it has been postulated that he may have been a triumvir monetalis in Sicily at some early point in his career. Appointed consul suffectus in 35 BC to replace Sextus Pompeius, it is not known whether he was a partisan of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus or Marcus Antonius. He also perhaps may have been the Dolabella who accompanied Augustus to Gaul between 16 – 13 BC.[5]
It is speculated that Dolabella married a Quinctilia, a sister of Publius Quinctilius Varus, and that their son was Publius Cornelius Dolabella, who was Roman consul in AD 10.[6]