Marcus Aemilius Lepidus | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in the City Hall ofReggio Emilia, which he founded. | |
| Consul of theRoman Republic | |
| In office 15 March 175 BC – 14 March 174 BC Serving with Publius Mucius Scaevola | |
| Preceded by | Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Hispallus andQuintus Petillius |
| Succeeded by | Spurius Postumius Albinus Paullulus andQuintus Mucius Scaevola |
| In office 15 March 187 BC – 14 March 186 BC Serving with Gaius Flaminius | |
| Preceded by | Gaius Livius Salinator andMarcus Valerius Messalla |
| Succeeded by | Quintus Marcius Philippus andSpurius Postumius Albinus |
| Pontifex Maximus | |
| In office 180 BC – 152 BC | |
| Preceded by | Publius Licinius Crassus |
| Succeeded by | Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 230 BC |
| Died | 152 BC |
| Children | Marcus Aemilius Lepidus |
| Parent |
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Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (c. 230 – 152 BC) was aRoman consul,Pontifex Maximus,Censor andPrinceps Senatus. A scion of the ancientPatrician gensAemilia, he was most likely the son ofMarcus Aemilius Lepidus, with his brothers being Lucius and Quintus.[1][2]
According toPolybius, Lepidus was "the handsomest man of his time," as well as, in the words ofDiodorus, being "gifted with superior intelligence".[3][4] Combining these qualities with an impeccable aristocratic birth, political skill and a reputation for bravery, Lepidus soon rose to become one of the leading Romans of his generation.
Lepidus was the great-grandfather ofMarcus Aemilius Lepidus the Triumvir.[5]
Although he was only 15 at the time of theBattle of Cannae in the2nd Punic War, it was then that Lepidus first distinguished himself. If not at Cannae itself, then in one of the battles closely following it, Lepidus saved the life of one of his countrymen by killing his assailant. For this act of gallantry, theSenate ordered an equestrian statue of the young man erected on theCapitoline to commemorate the deed.[6] It was a remarkable honour for one so young and one that marked Lepidus out for the future greatness he would achieve.
Later that year, 216 BC, Lepidus' father,Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who had been an augur and twice consul, died and Marcus and his two brothers staged funeral games for three days in his honour.[7]
In 201, Lepidus and two colleagues were sent as ambassadors by the Senate to kingPtolemy V of Egypt, both to announce Rome's victory overCarthage and ensure that Rome's alliance with Egypt would continue through the coming war withPhilip V of Macedon, which the Romans were preparing for.[8] Ptolemy was still only a young boy at this time and there is a tradition that Lepidus for a time acted himself during his stay in Egypt as the king's guardian and for a time governed the country. This appeal toRome for the Senate to send a regent to them was, according to Justin, made by the Egyptians themselves.[9]
At this time also, while inAlexandria, Lepidus sailed to meet personally with Philip while the king was besiegingAbydus, in an attempt to persuade him to lift the siege and abandon his attacks onPergamum and the Rhodians, who had appealed to Rome.[10] Lepidus delivered a message from the Senate that Philip of Macedon must cease from making war on any other Greeks and agree to pay compensation toAttalus I of Pergamum andRhodes for any damage caused. If Philip would not agree to these terms then he andMacedon would soon find themselves at war with Rome.[11] Rejecting the demands and saying that he was ready for war, Philip took the city and Lepidus departed. The result of the king's refusal of these terms was the outbreak of theSecond Macedonian War.
In 193 Lepidus served ascurule aedile along with his kinsmanLucius Aemilius Paullus, during which time the two Aemilii constructed two new porticoes, or arcades, in Rome, one of them being thePorticus Aemilia.[12]
Elected asPraetor in 192, Lepidus served his term from 191 and into 190 as the governor ofSicily.[13] Due to the ongoing war between Rome and Antiochus in the East, Lepidus was charged with the defence of the island from attack as well as ensuring that one-fifth of all the corn produced was sent to support the armies campaigning inGreece.[14]
In 190 Lepidus left Sicily early before his term as governor had expired without first asking the permission of the Senate to do so and hastened back to Rome in order to stand in theconsular elections.[15] This, however, counted against him and made him unpopular with the people as he was accused of abandoning his province and responsibilities in order to satisfy personal ambition. Following the vote, only one candidate,Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, a rival of Lepidus, had achieved the required majority, but that still meant that the other consulship was vacant. However, the following day, Nobilior co-opted the candidate who had come second,Gnaeus Manlius Vulso, as his colleague and the two assumed the Consulship for 189. Lepidus had polled third out of the four candidates, behind Manlius but ahead ofMarcus Valerius Messalla.[16] This humiliating defeat for the aristocraticpatrician Lepidus, who likely saw the consulship as his birthright, further embittered a hatred that had already existed between him and Nobilior.
The following election, held later in 189, Lepidus again stood as a candidate for the consulship. Nobilior, however, returned to Rome to conduct and oversee the elections and he used his position to prevent any votes being cast for Lepidus, his personal enemy. As a result, although this time unfairly, Lepidus once more suffered the humiliation of defeat in the elections and could justly blame Nobilior. Instead, Marcus Valerius Messalla, who the previous year had polled behind Lepidus, andGaius Livius Salinator were elected consul.
For the third successive time, Lepidus stood as a consular candidate in 188, and this time he was successful and was elected consul withGaius Flaminius as his colleague.[17]
In 187 BC, as he and Flaminius assumed office, word reached the Senate that theLigurians were preparing to make war on Rome. This threat so close to Rome caused theSenate to decreed that both consuls should haveLiguria assigned as their joint province and command.[18] Lepidus opposed this, protesting that Nobilior andManlius were still acting like kings in the East even though their terms had expired and yet the Senate still intended to confine both consuls to Liguria without recalling or replacing either of the two Eastern commanders. Either Nobilior and Manlius should be replaced, or their armies should be disbanded and they return to Rome.[19] The Senate agreed to recall Nobilior and Manlius from the East, but reiterated its decision that both Lepidus and Flaminius were to take command in Liguria.
From 180 onwards, he was electedpontifex maximus and from 179, he wasprinceps senatus. That same year he was also elected censor along with his great rivalMarcus Fulvius Nobilior. In 175, he was elected consul for the second time.[20] He oversaw construction of theVia Aemilia in 187, a Roman road from the town ofPlacentia toAriminum, still in use and one of the most important roads in Northern Italy. He established the Roman colonies ofParma andMutina and gave his name to the Roman castrum ofRegium Lepidi (todayReggio Emilia).
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Consul of theRoman Republic withGaius Flaminius 187 BC | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Consul of theRoman Republic withPublius Mucius Scaevola 175 BC | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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