Lucius Aemilius Papus ( fl. 216 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. He jointly commanded the Roman armies which defeated the

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

s at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC; his co-Consul, Gaius Atilius Regulus was killed during the battle. Papus was honoured with a

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 ...

for this victory. He subsequently held several senior positions. He belonged to 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 ...

'' gens Aemilia''.

Ancestry

William Smith says that Papus was the grandson of

Quintus Aemilius Papus Quintus Aemilius Papus (fl. 282 BC275 BC), a member of the '' gens Aemilia'' - an ancient ruling class — of the Papus family, was a Roman general and statesman. Career Quintus Aemilius Papus was elected consul for 282 BC and 278, both time ...

, himself the grandson of (a different) Quintus Aemilius Papus. His grandfather had been

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 ...

twice and censor once.William Smith. (1870)
"Papus - Q. Aemilius Papus"

Career

Papus was consul for 225, with Gaius Atilius Regulus as his colleague. That year the

Boii The Boii (Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; grc, Βόιοι) were a Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul ( Northern Italy), Pannonia (Hungary), parts of Bavaria, in and around Bohemia (after whom ...

Insubres The Insubres or Insubri were an ancient Celtic population settled in Insubria, in what is now the Italian region of Lombardy. They were the founders of Mediolanum (Milan). Though completely Gaulish at the time of Roman conquest, they were the r ...

and

Taurisci The Taurisci were a federation of Celtic tribes who dwelt in today's Carinthia and northern Slovenia (Carniola) before the coming of the Romans (c. 200 BC). According to Pliny the Elder, they are the same as the people known as the Norici. Etym ...

of Cisalpine Gaul enlisted the aid of the mercenary

Gaesatae The Gaesatae or Gaesati (Greek Γαισάται) were a group of Gallic mercenary warriors who lived in the Alps near the river Rhône and fought against the Roman Republic at the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC., s.v. ''Gaesatae''. According to som ...

and mobilised against Rome. Papus was stationed at Ariminum (modern

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

) to guard against them. Regulus' army was at this time stationed in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. A smaller force of Roman allies was stationed on the border of Etruria under a

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 ...

, and it was this force that encountered the Gauls first, suffering a defeat at

Faesulae Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

(modern

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

). Papus arrived shortly after the battle and this persuaded the Gauls to withdraw along the coast. Meanwhile, Regulus had crossed from Sardinia, landed at Pisa, and was marching towards Rome. His scouts met the Celts' advance guard head-on near Telamon (modern Talamone), in an area called Campo Regio, to the surprise of both. As soon as they realised that they faced a second full Roman army they deployed their infantry facing both front and rear, with their flanks protected by wagons and chariots. The fighting was fierce, with Regulus being killed early in the battle and his head brought to the Celtic leaders. Eventually, the surrounded Gauls were worn down and broke. Most of their cavalry fled, but forty thousand Gauls are reported to have died with ten thousand being taken prisoner. The Romans lost six thousand killed and many more wounded. After the battle Papus marched the army into

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and the territory of the

to conduct punitive actions. The defeat of the Gauls was so heavy that they never threatened Rome again. Papus was awarded the honour of a

. Papus was censor in 220, with Gaius Flaminius as his colleague. In 218 he was one of five men sent as an embassy to

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...

following Hannibal's

siege of Saguntum The siege of Saguntum was a battle which took place in 219 BC between the Carthaginians and the Saguntines at the town of Saguntum, near the modern town of Sagunto in the province of Valencia, Spain. The battle is mainly remembered today because ...

. The embassy was sent to obtain satisfaction for the capture and destruction of the city, which had been under Rome's protection. The mission ended with the Roman delegation declaring war on the floor of the Carthaginian senate and so starting the Second Punic War. In 216 Papus was one of the '' triumviri'' appointed to deal with Rome's lack of money during the war.

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 ...

. (1905). ''From the Founding of the City'', Book 23.21

Death

There are no surviving records of when Papus died, nor of whether he left any surviving children.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aemilius Papus, Lucius Roman censors Papus, Lucius 3rd-century BC births Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown