He was praetor in Sicily in 210/9 BC, a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities. As a Roman senator, his most important legislation was the Cincian Law, which forbade the acceptance of payment for legal services.
Cincius was captured by Hannibal in one of the early battles of the Second Punic War.
His family most likely obtained membership in the Senate only in the troubled years of the Hannibalic War (218–201 BCE), and only for a short period of time.
His history of Rome, written in Greek, set the foundation of the city in 729–728 BC and reached his own times. With the work of Quintus Fabius Pictor, it formed the basis of the senatorial historical tradition, especially of the Second Punic War.
Dionysius also named Cincius as one of the earliest historians of Rome. According to Dionysius, Cincius‘ history, much like Pictor‘s, related both ancient and more recent events. Cincius dealt only cursorily with events further removed. Few fragments, only thirteen, of Cincius‘ history survive.
Lucius Cincius Alimentus: Roman annalist and jurist
