Manius Aemilius Lepidus 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 letter ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, who was active during the

Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...

. He was ordinary consul in AD 11 as the colleague of

Titus Statilius Taurus Titus Statilius Taurus was the name of a line of Roman senators. The first known and most important of these was a Roman general and two-time consul prominent during the Triumviral and Augustan periods. The other men who bore this name were hi ...

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

reports that

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 ...

on his deathbed, while discussing possible rivals for the Roman Emperor

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 ...

, described him as worthy of becoming emperor (''capax imperii''), but "disdainful" of supreme power.

Biography

Early life

Lepidus has been assumed to be the son of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the Younger and his wife Servilia Isaurica, but it is in modern-day believed that he was more likely the nephew of Lepidus the Younger. He had a sister named Aemilia Lepida.

Career

After 5 BC, but prior to acceding to the consulship, Lepidus was coopted as an

Augur An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...

. He defended his sister at her trial in AD 20. At the trial of

Clutorius Priscus Clutorius Priscus (c. 20 BC – AD 21) was a Roman poet. Priscus was paid an honorarium by the Roman Emperor Tiberius to produce a panegyric for his nephew and adopted son Germanicus upon his death in AD 19. Two years later, Tiberius' son D ...

, he argued without success that the proposed death sentence was excessively harsh. In AD 21, he achieved the pinacle of a Senatorial career, the

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 governorship 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 area ...

Personal life

He had a daughter also called Aemilia Lepida who married Emperor

Galba Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...

Family

References

Imperial Roman consuls Roman governors of Asia Augurs of the Roman Empire Aemilii Lepidi 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans {{AncientRome-politician-stub