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 ...

politician who became

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 66 BC alongside Lucius Volcatius Tullus.

Biography

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 clan, Lepidus was

proquaestor 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. Thi ...

in an eastern province between 84 BC and 78, and was the father of

Quintus Aemilius Lepidus Quintus Aemilius Lepidus (possibly Quintus Aemilius Lepidus Barbula) (fl. 1st century BC) was a Roman Senate of the Roman Republic, senator and military officer who was appointed Roman consul, consul in 21 BC as the colleague of Marcus Lollius. Bio ...

. By 69 he was elected to the post of

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 vario ...

and in 66 he was elected consul together with Lucius Volcatius Tullus. Lepidus is mentioned several times by

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

, but never attained much political importance. In 65, he is spoken of as one of the witnesses against Gaius Cornelius, whom Cicero defended. In 63,

Catiline Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the R ...

offered to place himself in Lepidus's custody after Catiline was notified of an impending prosecution. Lepidus belonged to the aristocratic party, but on the breaking out of the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in 49, he retired to his

Formia Formia is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean coast of Lazio, Italy. It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way. It has a population of 38,095. Istat 2017 History ...

n villa to watch the progress of events. Here he was in almost daily intercourse with Cicero, from whose letters we learn that Lepidus was resolved not to cross the sea with Gnaeus Pompeius, but to yield 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 ...

if the latter was likely to be victorious. He eventually returned to Rome in March.Anthon & Smith, pg. 432

Notes

References

* T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II'' (1952). * Holmes, T. Rice, ''The Roman Republic and the Founder of the Empire'', Vol. I (1923) * Anthon, Charles & Smith, William, ''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography'' (1860).

Sources

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...

, ''Bellum Catilinae,'
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In Catilinam The Catilinarian Orations (; also simply the ''Catilinarians'') are a set of speeches to the Roman Senate given in 63 BC by Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of the year's consuls, accusing a senator, Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline), of leading a p ...

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Pro Sulla Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired f ...

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* Dio Cassius, ''Roman History''
36.42
* Asconius, ''in Cornel.'' p. 66, ed. Orelli Roman Republican praetors 1st-century BC Roman consuls Aemilii Lepidi {{AncientRome-politician-stub