Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus Livianus (died c. 62 BC) 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 lett ...

politician and military commander who was

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 ...

in 77 BC.

Biography

Livianus was a well connected and influential figure in Late

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politics. A member of the

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient R ...

ic party, brother of the tribune Marcus Livius Drusus and son of the consul Marcus Livius Drusus, he was

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

into 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 ...

Lepidi. His influence was such that he was able to intercede with

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

on the young

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, an ...

's behalf, getting Sulla to spare Caesar's life. He was also married to Cornelia, Sulla's daughter. Around 91 BC Livianus succeeded his brother Marcus Livius Drusus as one of the

pontifices A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was lat ...

in the

College of Pontiffs The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other '' ...

. He served with distinction in the

Social War (91–87 BC) The Social War (from Latin , properly 'war of the allies'), also called the Italian War or the Marsic War, was fought from 91 to 87 BC between the Roman Republic and several of its autonomous allies () in Italy. The Italian allies wanted ...

, probably serving as

legate Legate may refer to: * Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

under

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (c. 128 – 63 BC) was a Roman politician and general. Like the other members of the influential Caecilii Metelli family, he was a leader of the Optimates, the conservative faction opposed to the Populares during ...

. He achieved some victories, most notably he was credited with killing the general of the

Marsi The Marsi were an Italic people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus (which was drained for agricultural land in the late 19th century). The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. D ...

Quintus Poppaedius Silo Quintus Poppaedius Silo (sometimes seen as ''Pompaedius'') (died 88 BC) was a leader of the Italian tribe of the Marsi and one of the leaders of the Italian rebels during the Social War against Rome. Poppaedius was called the 'heart and soul' of ...

, during the storming of

Venusia Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gerva ...

. Although having failed once to be elected

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 ...

, Livianus tried again, achieving the office by 81. He ran for the office of consul in 77, achieving it only after Gaius Scribonius Curio withdrew his candidature for that year in favor of Livianus. Neither Mamercus nor his consular colleague accepted a

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 command in

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: Hi ...

to help

in the

Sertorian War The Sertorian War was a civil war fought from 80 to 72 BC between a faction of Roman rebels ( Sertorians) and the government in Rome (Sullans). The war was fought on the Iberian Peninsula (called ''Hispania'' by the Romans) and was one of the ...

. There is no evidence that he obtained a provincial command after his term was concluded. Following his term as consul Livianus was probably a

promagistrate In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex- praetor whose '' imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. T ...

serving under

Marcus Antonius Creticus Marcus Antonius Creticus (flourished 1st century BC), a member of the Antonius family, was a Roman politician during the Late Roman Republic. He is best known for his failed pirate hunting career and being the father of the general Mark Antony. Bi ...

in 74, who had been given an extraordinary commission to clear the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

of pirates operating from Crete. By 70, he may have been

Princeps Senatus The ''princeps senatus'' ( ''principes senatus'') was the first member by precedence on the membership rolls of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the ''cursus honorum'' and possessing no '' imperium'', this office conferred prestige on ...

, although the evidence is inconclusive. He was called as a hostile witness against Gaius Cornelius in 65, as part of the events surrounding the

First Catilinarian Conspiracy The so-called first Catilinarian conspiracy was an almost certainly fictitious conspiracy which – according to various ancient tellings – involved Publius Autronius Paetus, Publius Cornelius Sulla, Lucius Sergius Catalina, and others. Anci ...

Family

Livianus had a daughter named

Aemilia Lepida Aemilia Lepida is the name of several ancient Roman women belonging to the '' gens Aemilia''. The name was given to daughters of men belonging to the Lepidus branch of the Aemilius family. The first Aemilia Lepida to be mentioned by Roman histori ...

who was engaged to her cousin Cato for a time. Livianus nephews and nieces Servilia, Servilia Minor, Gnaeus Servilius Caepio, Cato and Porcia may have lived with him after the death of their parents.

Depictions in fiction

Lepidus Livianus appears in

Colleen McCullough Colleen Margaretta McCullough (; married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson; 1 June 193729 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being ''The Thorn Birds'' and '' The Ladies of Missalonghi''. Life ...

's novel ''

The Grass Crown ''The Grass Crown'' is the second historical novel in Colleen McCullough's ''Masters of Rome'' series, published in 1991. The novel opens shortly after the action of ''The First Man in Rome''. Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla eat dinner ...

'' and its sequels.

Notes

Sources

* T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II'' (1952). *Anthon, Charles & Smith, William, ''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography'' (1860). * Gruen, Erich S., ''The Last Generation of the Roman Republic'' (1995). {{DEFAULTSORT:Aemilius Lepidus Livianus, Mamercus 60s BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman consuls Livianus, Mamercus Ancient Roman adoptees Livii Drusi Roman Republican praetors Year of birth unknown