Quintus Pedius | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 92 BC |
| Died | 43 BC |
| Office | |
| Spouse | Valeria |
| Children | Quintus Pedius Poplicola |
| Relatives | Julius Caesar |
| Awards | Triumph (45 BC) |
Quintus Pedius (c. 92 BC[1] – late 43 BC) was aRoman politician and general who lived during the lateRepublic. He served as a military officer underJulius Caesar for most of his career. Serving with Caesar during thecivil war, he was electedpraetor in 48 BC and was given a triumph for victories over the Pompeians during the civil war's second Spanish campaign.
After Caesar's death, he joined with Caesar's heirOctavian and, with him, assumed suffect consulships in 43 BC in place of the ordinary consuls who had fallen in battle. He promulgated thelex Pedia, which established courts in which Caesar's killers and allies thereof were convictedin absentia. He died shortly after the start of theSecond Triumvirate's proscriptions.
He was the son of his homonymous father and his wife, Julia.[2] This Julia was one of thedictatorJulius Caesar's sisters,[3] making this Pedius one of Caesar's nephews.
Pedius served underJulius Caesar during theGallic Wars starting in 57 BC.[1] Broughton'sMagistrates of the Roman Republic places his term in Gaul under Caesar from 58–56 BC.[4] In 55 BC, he lost an election for the office ofaedile.[5]
DuringCaesar's civil war, Pedius joined with Caesar. In 48 BC, Pedius assumed apraetorship.[6] In that same year, he commanded alegion andsuccessfully quelled an anti-Caesarean uprising atCompsa, resulting in the deaths of bothMarcus Caelius Rufus andTitus Annius Milo,[citation needed] who had been leading the ill-fated revolt. From 46 to 45 BC, Pedius served as a Caesarian legate in Spain.[7] Pedius claimed victory againstSextus Pompey and returned toRome with Caesar. He was then honoured with atriumph aspro consule ex Hispania; the honour was granted illegally, according to Dio, as he was merely one of Caesar's legates.[8]
Suetonius and Appian record that after Caesar'sassassination in March 44 BC, Pedius was named one of Caesar's heirs in his will. With his cousinLucius Pinarius, he was to receive a quarter of Caesar's estate, but he renounced the inheritance in favor of Caesar's main heir, Pedius' cousinOctavian (the futureemperor Augustus).[9]
After the ordinary consuls of that year,Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus andAulus Hirtius, were both killed while fighting against Antony during thebattle of Mutina, Octavian – the only surviving commander of senatorial forces – marched on the city at the head of his army to demand his elevation as consul.[10] With Pedius as Octavian's colleague, on 19 August 43 BC, the two assumed office as suffect consuls after an irregularly convoked election.[11]
Their first action was to confirm Octavian's adoption as Caesar's heir; then, at Octavian's suggestion, Pedius promulgated thelex Pedia, which established courts to prosecute Caesar's killers.[12] This overruled a previoussenatus consultum which protected the tyrannicides from prosecution.[13] Consequently, Caesar's killers – along with co-conspirators and others who had little to do with the crime – were then convictedin absentia, according to Appian, all in a single day of proceedings.[14] They were formally "debarred from fire and water and their property [was] confiscated".[15]
After the passage of thelex Pedia, he also brought legislation to rescind the declaration ofMark Antony andMarcus Aemilius Lepidus as public enemies.[11] The early and rushed passage of thelex Pedia was likely related to Octavian's attempts to assume for himself leadership of the Caesarian faction by displaying his bona fides in avenging the death of Caesar; thelex Pedia was likely unrelated to the following proscriptions.[16]
Pedius was left in charge of Rome, while Octavian left for NorthernItaly to join Antony and Lepidus in forming theSecond Triumvirate. When news reached Rome of the new political alliance and of the lists of people whom the triumvirs had marked for death,Pedius became very concerned. Pedius was unable to stop the events from occurring and recommended only seventeen people to be put to death. Out of concern, he pledged to protect the citizens of Rome.[citation needed] Soon afterwards, Pedius had suffered so much political fatigue he died.
Pedius married a Roman noblewoman called Valeria, a sister ofMarcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus and thus a daughter ofMarcus Valerius Messalla Niger and his wife, Polla.[17] Pedius and Valeria had at least one child, a son namedQuintus Pedius Publicola. Publicola became a Roman senator and distinguished himself with his oratory.[citation needed]Pliny the Elder in hisNaturalis Historia mentions that Quintus Pedius had a grandson, also namedQuintus Pedius, who was mute and supposedly deaf;[page needed] this grandson may be theearliest example of a deaf individual named inwritten history.[citation needed]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Preceded by | Suffect consul of theRoman Republic Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus 43 BC | Succeeded by |