Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus was a famous politician and general of the Roman Republic, of the old gens Manlia. He had an outstanding career, being consul three times, in 347, 344, and 340 BC, and dictator three times, in 353, 349, and 320 BC. He was one of the early heroes of the Republic, alongside Cincinnatus, Cornelius Cossus, Furius Camillus, and Valerius Corvus. As a young military tribune, he defeated a huge Gaul in one of the most famous duels of the Republic, which earned him the epithet Torquatus after the torc he took from the Gaul's body. He was also known for his moral virtues, and his severity became famous after he had his own son executed for disobeying orders in a battle. His life was seen as a model for his descendants, who tried to emulate his heroic deeds, even centuries after his death.

The gens Manlia was one of the oldest and noblest patrician houses at Rome, from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus, consul in 480 BC, and for nearly five centuries its members frequently held the most important magistracies. Many of them were distinguished statesmen and generals, and a number of prominent individuals under the Empire claimed the illustrious Manlii among their ancestors.