Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus (c. 229 – 160 BC) was a two-time

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

and a general who conquered

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

, putting an end to the Antigonid dynasty in the

Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman ...

Family

Paullus' father was Lucius Aemilius Paullus, the consul defeated and killed in the Battle of Cannae. He was, in his time, the head of his branch of the

Aemilii The gens Aemilia, originally written Aimilia, was one of the greatest patrician families at ancient Rome. The gens was of great antiquity, and claimed descent from Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome. Its members held the highest offices o ...

Paulii, an old and aristocratic

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

family. Their influence was immense, particularly due to their fortune and alliance with the

Cornelii Scipiones The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any oth ...

. He was father to

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...

Early career

After the fulfillment of Paullus' military service, and being elected

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone ...

, he was elected

curule aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

in 193. The next step of his ''

cursus honorum The ''cursus honorum'' (; , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices') was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The '' ...

'' was his election as

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

in 191. During his term of office, he went to the

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...

provinces, where he campaigned against the Lusitanians between 191 and 189. However, he failed to be elected

for several years. Paullus was elected consul for the first time in 182, with Gnaeus Baebius Tamphilus as junior partner. His next military command, with ''proconsular

imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

'', was in 181, against the

Ingauni The Ingauni were a Celto-Ligurian tribe dwelling on the Mediterranean coast, around the modern city of Albenga (Liguria), during the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Ingauni'' by Livy (late 1st c. BC) ...

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

Later career

The

broke out in 171, when King

Perseus of Macedon Perseus ( grc-gre, Περσεύς; 212 – 166 BC) was the last king (''Basileus'') of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great. He was the last Antigonid to rule Macedon, aft ...

defeated a Roman army led by the consul Publius Licinius Crassus in the

Battle of Callinicus The Battle of Callinicus ( el, μάχη του Καλλίνικου) was fought in 171 BC between the Kingdom of Macedon and the Roman Republic near a hill called Callinicus, close to the Roman camp at Tripolis Larisaia, five kilometres north ...

. After two years of indecisive results for either side, Paullus was elected consul again in 168 (with Gaius Licinius Crassus as his colleague). As consul, he was appointed by the Senate to deal with the Macedonian war. Shortly afterward, on 22 June, he won the decisive

Battle of Pydna The Battle of Pydna took place in 168 BC between Rome and Macedon during the Third Macedonian War. The battle saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back to ...

. Perseus of Macedonia was made prisoner and the Third Macedonian War ended. In 167, Paullus received the Senate's instruction to return to Rome after first pillaging

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

, a kingdom suspected of sympathizing with the Macedonian cause. After loading the treasures in the Macedonian royal palace onto Rome-bound ships, he marched his army to Epirus, where contrary to his inclination, he ordered the plunder of seventy towns, resulting in the enslavement of 150,000 people. Paullus' return to Rome was glorious. With the immense plunder collected in Macedonia and Epirus, he celebrated a spectacular

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

, featuring no less than the captured king of Macedonia himself, and the king's sons, putting an end to the Antigonid dynasty. As a gesture of acknowledgement, the Senate awarded him the nickname (''

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between simil ...

'') ''Macedonicus''. This was the peak of his career. In 164 he was elected censor. He fell ill, appeared to recover, but relapsed within three days and died during his term of office in 160.

Family life and descendants

Angelica Kauffmann--Aemilius Paullus--original drawing--by 1783--private collection

Paullus's father Lucius Aemilius Paullus died in the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, when Paullus was still a boy. The Aemilii Paulli were connected by marriage and political interests to the Scipios, but their role in his subsequent upbringing is not clear. Paullus had been married first to Papiria Masonis (or Papiria Masonia), daughter of the consul Gaius Papirius Maso (consul in 231 BC), whom he divorced, according to Plutarch, for no particular reason. From this marriage, four children were born: two sons and two daughters. He divorced his wife while his younger son was still a baby, according to Roman historians; thus the divorce probably took place around 183 BC-182. Nevertheless, he was elected consul in 182. Paullus then married a second time (this wife's name is unknown) and had two more sons, the elder born around 181 and the younger born around 176, and another daughter, Aemilia Tertia, who was a small girl when he was chosen consul for the second time. Since four boys were too many for a father to support through the ''

'', Paullus decided to give the oldest two boys up for adoption, probably between 175 and 170. The elder boy was adopted in the Fabia family and became

Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus was a Roman statesman and consul (145 BC). Fabius was by adoption a member of the patrician gens Fabia, but by birth he was the eldest son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus and Papiria Masonis and the el ...

, thus joining his fortunes to the house of

Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, surnamed Cunctator ( 280 – 203 BC), was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed dictator in 221 and 217 BC. He was ...

, a national hero. The younger boy, possibly named Lucius, was adopted by his own cousin, Publius Cornelius Scipio, elder son and heir of Scipio Africanus, and became

Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...

, thus becoming heir to the legacy of Rome's most influential political dynasty. With the eldest sons safely adopted by two of the most powerful

houses, Paullus counted on the two younger ones to continue his own name. Both of them died young, one shortly after the other, at the same time that Paullus celebrated his triumph. The elder of the two remaining sons was 14 and the younger 9, according to Polybius. Their names are unknown to us. The successes of his political and military career were thus not accompanied by a happy family life. At Paullus' death, his sons Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus and Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus received his property by his will, even though they were legally no longer Aemilii Paulli; Scipio gave his share to his older brother who was less wealthy. Paullus's second wife (whose name is unknown to us) received her dowry back from the sale of some of her late husband's property (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

and Polybius both claim that Paullus died relatively poor, and that he had kept little for himself from the successful Macedonian campaign). With the death of Paullus, the Aemilii Paulli became extinct, even though he had two living sons. His elder surviving son Fabius Aemilianus eventually became consul and fathered at least one son, who in turn became consul as Fabius Allobrigicus in 121. This man, in turn, may have been the ancestor of later Fabii who tied their fortunes to

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

and

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

. The younger surviving son was more famous as

but died leaving no known issue. Paullus' first and former wife Papiria Masonia survived her ex-husband and lived to enjoy her former sister-in-law's property presented to her by her younger son (per Polybius). At her death, her property was divided between her sons, but Scipio gave it to his sisters. Of Paullus' daughters, one of the eldest two married Quintus Aelius Tubero from a relatively poor plebeian family; she was the mother of Quintus Aelius Tubero. The youngest, Aemilia Paulla Tertia,Plutarch, Cato Major 20.8. married the eldest son of

Marcus Porcius Cato Marcus Porcius Cato can refer to: *Cato the Elder (consul 195 BC) *Cato the Younger (praetor 54 BC) *Marcus Porcius Cato (consul 118 BC) * Marcus Porcius Cato (consul 36) *Marcus Porcius Cato (father of Cato the Younger) *Marcus Porcius C ...

and was the mother of consuls

and

Gaius Porcius Cato Gaius Porcius Cato (before 157 BC – after 109 BC in Tarraco) was a Roman politician and general, notably consul in 114 BC. He was the son of Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus and grandson of Cato the Censor. Initially a friend of the Gracchi br ...

References

Sources

*Livy, ''History of Rome'' XLIV, 17 – XLVI, 41. *Plutarch, ''Aemilius Paulus''

*Polybius, ''Histories'', XXXII, 8

External link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aemilius Paullus, Lucius, Macedonicus 220s BC births 160 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Romans 2nd-century BC Roman augurs 2nd-century BC Roman consuls 2nd-century BC Roman praetors Curule aediles Paullus, Lucius, Macedonicus Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid Roman censors Roman triumphators Third Macedonian War Year of birth uncertain