Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Porcina
Encyclopedia
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Porcina was a member of important Roman gens Aemilia
, consul
in 137 BC
. He was probably son of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, tribune in 190 BC.
, who had been defeated by Numantines
. While he was waiting for reinforcements from home, as he was not yet in condition to attack the Numantines, he resolved to make war upon the Vaccaei, under the pretence of their having assisted the Numantines. However, the senate, immediately after knowing his decision, send deputies to command him to desist from his design, as they deprecated a new war in Spain, after experiencing so many disasters. Lepidus, however, had commenced the war before the deputies arrived and had summoned to his assistance his relation, Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus, who commanded in Further Spain and was a general of considerable experience and skill.
Notwithstanding his aid, Lepidus was unsuccessful. After laying waste the open country, the two generals laid siege to Palantia, the capital of the Vaccaei (the modern Palencia
), but they suffered so dreadfully from want of provisions, that they were obliged to raise the siege and a considerable part of their army was destroyed by the enemy in their retreat. This happened in the proconsulship of Lepidus (136 BC
) and when the news reached Rome, Lepidus was deprived of his command and condemned to pay a fine.
Lepidus was augur in 125 BC
, when he was summoned by the censors Gnaeus Servilius Caepio and Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla
, to account for having built a house in too magnificent style.
, who had read his speeches, speaks of him as the greates orator of his age and says that he was the first who introduced Latin oratory the smooth and even flow of words and the artificial construction of sentences which distinguished Greek. He helped to form the style of Tiberius Gracchus
and Gaius Carbo, who were accustomed to hear to him with great care.
He was, however, very deficient in a knowledge of law and Roman institutions.. In politics Lepidus seems to have belonged to the aristocratic party. He opposed in his consulship the law for introducing ballot
s (Lex Cassia Tabellaria) proposed by Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla and it appears from a fragment of Priscian, that Lepidus spoke in favour of a repeal of the lex Aemilia, which was probably sumptuary law proposed by the consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
in 115 BC
.
Aemilius
The gens Aemilia, originally written Aimilia, was one of the most ancient patrician houses at Rome. The family was said to have originated in the reign of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome, and its members held the highest offices of the state, from the early decades of the Republic to...
, consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
in 137 BC
137 BC
Year 137 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Porcina and Mancinus...
. He was probably son of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, tribune in 190 BC.
Command in Spain
He was sent into Spain in his consulship to succeed his colleague Gaius Hostilius MancinusGaius Hostilius Mancinus
Gaius Hostilius Mancinus was a Roman consul in 137 BC. Due to his campaign against Numantia in northern Spain, Plutarch called him "not bad as a man, but most unfortunate of the Romans as a general." During this campaign in the Numantine War, Mancinus was defeated, showing some cowardice,...
, who had been defeated by Numantines
Numantia
Numantia is the name of an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located 7 km north of the city of Soria, on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the municipality of Garray....
. While he was waiting for reinforcements from home, as he was not yet in condition to attack the Numantines, he resolved to make war upon the Vaccaei, under the pretence of their having assisted the Numantines. However, the senate, immediately after knowing his decision, send deputies to command him to desist from his design, as they deprecated a new war in Spain, after experiencing so many disasters. Lepidus, however, had commenced the war before the deputies arrived and had summoned to his assistance his relation, Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus, who commanded in Further Spain and was a general of considerable experience and skill.
Notwithstanding his aid, Lepidus was unsuccessful. After laying waste the open country, the two generals laid siege to Palantia, the capital of the Vaccaei (the modern Palencia
Palencia
Palencia is a city south of Tierra de Campos, in north-northwest Spain, the capital of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon...
), but they suffered so dreadfully from want of provisions, that they were obliged to raise the siege and a considerable part of their army was destroyed by the enemy in their retreat. This happened in the proconsulship of Lepidus (136 BC
136 BC
Year 136 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philus and Serranus...
) and when the news reached Rome, Lepidus was deprived of his command and condemned to pay a fine.
Lepidus was augur in 125 BC
125 BC
Year 125 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hypsaeus and Flaccus...
, when he was summoned by the censors Gnaeus Servilius Caepio and Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla
Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla
Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla was a Roman consul in 127 BC.As a tribune of Concilium Plebis in 137 BC he put forward and passed the Lex Cassia Tabellaria . In 127 BC he was consul with Lucius Cornelius Cinna and in 125 BC he was elected censor...
, to account for having built a house in too magnificent style.
Politics
Lepidus was a man of education and refined taste. CiceroCicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, who had read his speeches, speaks of him as the greates orator of his age and says that he was the first who introduced Latin oratory the smooth and even flow of words and the artificial construction of sentences which distinguished Greek. He helped to form the style of Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman Populares politician of the 2nd century BC and brother of Gaius Gracchus. As a plebeian tribune, his reforms of agrarian legislation caused political turmoil in the Republic. These reforms threatened the holdings of rich landowners in Italy...
and Gaius Carbo, who were accustomed to hear to him with great care.
He was, however, very deficient in a knowledge of law and Roman institutions.. In politics Lepidus seems to have belonged to the aristocratic party. He opposed in his consulship the law for introducing ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
s (Lex Cassia Tabellaria) proposed by Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla and it appears from a fragment of Priscian, that Lepidus spoke in favour of a repeal of the lex Aemilia, which was probably sumptuary law proposed by the consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus was a Roman consul in 115 BC and considered one of the most talented and influential politicians of the Republic....
in 115 BC
115 BC
Year 115 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scaurus and Metellus...
.