Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (consul 6)

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (c. 30 BC – 33 AD) was a Roman senator, politician and general, praised by the historian Tacitus.

Lepidus was the son of Cornelia and Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus (who served as a censor) and brother-in-law to Augustus' granddaughter Julia the Younger. Thus, he was a descendant of one of the oldest patrician families, the Aemilii.

He became consul in 6 AD. He then distinguished himself as legate in charge of an army during the Illyrian War (6 – 9 AD) under the command of Tiberius, the later emperor. After the end of the war he served as governor of Dalmatia (modern day Croatia and Bosnia) or Pannonia (modern day Hungary).

At the time of Augustus' death, in 14 AD, he was governor of Northern Spain in charge of an army of three legions. Interestingly, while there were serious riots in the armies in Germany and Pannonia after Augustus' death, Lepidus army gave no trouble.

He defended Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (a friend of Tiberius, but also a relative of Lepidus) at his trial for the alleged poisoning of Germanicus.

In 21 AD, Tiberius offered him the governorship of Africa Province. He rejected the offer, however, because of ill-health and his children, but more likely to leave the position to Quintus Junius Blaesus, uncle of Lucius Aelius Sejanus the powerful pretorian prefect. Although these episodes may seem a flattery towards the emperor Tiberius, Lepidus' activities in the senate show an independent mind. In 21 AD he made a strong speech against the death penalty for an irreverent poet. Nevertheless, the poet was executed by order of the senate: this allowed Tiberius to praise Lepidus' moderation (as well as the senate's zeal in persecuting any offence against the emperor).

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