Quintus Aemilius Laetus (died 193) was a

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the

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 ...

imperial bodyguard, known as the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

, from 191 until his death in 193. He acceded to this position upon the deaths of his predecessors

Regillus Regillus was an ancient lake of Latium, Italy, famous in the legendary history of Rome as the lake in the neighborhood of which occurred (in 496 B.C.) the Battle of Lake Regillus between the Romans and the Latin League, Latins which finally decid ...

and

Lucius Julius Vehilius Gratus Julianus Lucius Julius Vehilius Gratus Julianus was a soldier and an eques who held a number of military and civilian appointments during the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus. Julianus received honors two separate times for his military ser ...

, by appointment of

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...

. His name suggests that his family received

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...

from Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. When the behavior of Commodus turned increasingly erratic during the early 190s, Laetus is thought to have been implicated in the conspiracy that led to the emperor's murder on 31 December 192. The plot was a calculated attempt to advance the city prefect Publius Helvius Pertinax to the throne, but the assassination inadvertently initiated a period of

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 polici ...

known as the

Year of the Five Emperors The Year of the Five Emperors was AD 193, in which five men claimed the title of Roman emperor: Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus, and Septimius Severus. This year started a period of civil war when multiple rulers vie ...

, during which the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

witnessed five different claimants to the imperial power. The year opened with the brief reigns of Pertinax and

Didius Julianus Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 or 137 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor for nine weeks from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including D ...

, before erupting to a full-scale war between the generals

Pescennius Niger Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 135 – 194) was Roman Emperor from 193 to 194 during the Year of the Five Emperors. He claimed the imperial throne in response to the murder of Pertinax and the elevation of Didius Julianus, but was defeated by a riv ...

Clodius Albinus Decimus Clodius Albinus ( 150 – 19 February 197) was a Roman imperial pretender between 193 and 197. He was proclaimed emperor by the legions in Britain and Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) after the murd ...

, and

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...

. Although Laetus himself had been responsible for the accession of Pertinax, his claim to the imperial purple was opposed by the majority of the Praetorian Guard, forcing Pertinax to secure their support with an excessive promise of money. When he managed to pay only half of the promised sum, he was deserted by Laetus and killed by rogue Praetorians. In one of the most infamous episodes in Roman history,Birley, p. 95 the guard then proceeded to sell the Empire by

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition e ...

to Didius Julianus. In response, the armies of Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus rose in revolt, and marched on Rome. When his demise appeared imminent, Didius Julianus ordered the execution of Laetus and the conspirators against Commodus, on suspicion that they would side with Severus.

Media portrayals

* Laetus appears in the 2005 PlayStation 2 video game, Colosseum: Road to Freedom. He appears at first as a bodyguard for Commodus's mistress, but is later revealed to be the final boss of the game. * A character named Quintus played by Tomas Arana appears in the movie ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

'' released in 2000 and is loosely based on Quintus Aemilius Laetus. Quintus serves under Maximus in the opening battle scene. He later sides with Commodus and arrests Maximus. Quintus appears later as the commander of the Praetorian Guard.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aemilius Laetus, Quintus 193 deaths 2nd-century Romans Nerva–Antonine dynasty Executed ancient Roman people People executed by the Roman Empire 2nd-century executions Praetorian prefects People from Sfax Executed Tunisian people Laetus, Quintus Year of birth unknown Ancient murderers