Mamercus Aemilius Scaurus (died AD 34) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

rhetorician, poet and senator.

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

writes that Scaurus was "a man of distinguished rank and ability as an advocate, but of infamous life." He was suffect consul from July to the end of the year AD 21, with Gnaeus Tremellius as his colleague. Scaurus was a member of the

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 ...

Aemilia gens 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 office ...

. His father was Marcus Aemilius Scaurus. The younger Scaurus was married twice. His first wife was Aemilia Lepida, who bore him a daughter; Lepida was accused of adultery and attempting to poison

Publius Sulpicius Quirinius Publius Sulpicius Quirinius (c. 51 BC – AD 21), also translated as Cyrenius, was a Roman Empire, Roman Aristocracy (class), aristocrat. After the banishment of the ethnarch Herod Archelaus from the Tetrarchy (Judea), tetrarchy of Judea in AD 6, ...

, found guilty, and exiled. After Lepida had died, or Scaurus divorced her, he married Sextia.

Life

The first mention of Scaurus in historical literature comes in AD 14, at the time of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

' accession to the throne. Both Scaurus and

Quintus Haterius Quintus Haterius (c. 63 BCAD 26) was a Roman politician and orator born into a senatorial family. Career Haterius was a Populares orator under Augustus, but his style of oration was sometimes criticised. In Seneca's Epistle, "On the Proper Styl ...

gave speeches of congratulation, which the new emperor suspected of being insincere. While Tiberius responded to Haterius' comments with invective, he passed over what Scaurus said in silence. Scaurus appears periodically in Tacitus' ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'' afterwards. In the year 21, when Corbulo complained on the Senate floor that a young noble, Lucius Sulla, had not shown him respect at a gladiatorial show despite being an ex-

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 ...

, much older and more respected by the older senators, Scaurus, Lucius Arruntius, and other kinsmen of the young Sulla defended him. Arguments followed and were only ended when

Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus) (10 BC–AD 54), Roman emperor from 41 to 54 * Drusus Caesar (AD 8–33), adoptive grandson of Roman emperor Tiberius * Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC–AD 23), son of Roman emperor Tiberiu ...

intervened and brought the body back to order. Both Sulla and Scaurus apologized to Corbulo. The following year Scaurus appears in the Senate joining in the prosecution of

Gaius Junius Silanus Gaius Junius Silanus was a Roman Senator active during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He acceded to the rank of Roman consul in 10 AD as the colleague of Publius Cornelius Dolabella. For the term 20/21 the sortition selected him to be proco ...

for extortion while

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

ar governor of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, sacrilege and violating the

Law of majestas The law of majestas, or ''lex maiestatis'', encompasses several ancient Roman laws (''leges maiestatis'') throughout the Republican and Imperial periods dealing with crimes against the Roman people, state, or Emperor. Description In Roman law, th ...

towards Tiberius. This prosecution resulted with Silanus exiled to the island of

Cynthus Mount Cynthus (, ''Kýnthos'') is located on the isle of Delos, part of the Greek Cyclades. Mythology In Greek mythology, Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis on this island, having been shunned by Zeus' wife Hera who was extremely jealous of ...

. Scaurus' final episode in the Senate began in the year 32, when Servilius and Cornelius Tuscus accused him and a number of other senators of treason. While some were saved by the intervention of one of the tribunes of the urban cohorts, Tiberius postponed Scaurus' case intending to handle it himself; Tacitus notes the emperor "affixed some ominous marks to the name of Scaurus." When Tiberius considered Scaurus' case two years later, his enemy the praetorian prefect

Naevius Sutorius Macro Quintus Naevius Cordus Sutorius Macro (21 BC – AD 38) was a prefect of the Praetorian Guard, from 31 until 38, serving under the Roman Emperors Tiberius and Caligula. Upon falling out of favour, he killed himself. Biography Macro was born in 2 ...

added the charge that certain verses in a tragedy Scaurus had written could be interpreted to disrespect Tiberius. At the suggestion of his wife Sextia, Mamercus Aemilius Scaurus took his own life; she followed suit shortly after.Tacitus, ''Annales'' VI.29

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aemilius Scaurus, Mamercus 34 deaths 1st-century Romans 1st-century writers Scaurus, Mamercus Ancient Roman rhetoricians Ancient Romans who committed suicide Senators of the Roman Empire Senators of the Roman Republic Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Year of birth unknown