Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)

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Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus ,born ca 90 BC died 13 BC, was a patrician

Patrician

The term "patrician" originally referred to a group of elitism citizens in ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members. In the late Roman empire, the class was broadened to include high council officials, and after the fall of the Western Empire became a term for Byzantine Imperial governors in the West....
Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
politician of the 1st century BC who rose to become a member of the Second Triumvirate

Second Triumvirate

The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic....
and Pontifex Maximus
Pontifex Maximus

The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the Ancient Rome College of Pontiffs. This was the most important position in the Ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post....
. His father, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (120-77 BC)

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , was a Roman Republic statesman. He was the father of the second triumvirate Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and of the consul of 50 BC Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus....
, had been involved in a rebellion against the Roman Republic

Roman Republic

Julius Caesar

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Marcus Aemilius Lepidus ,born ca 90 BC died 13 BC, was a patrician

Patrician

Ancient Rome

Second Triumvirate

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (120-77 BC)

Roman Republic

Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's greatest supporters. He started his cursus honorum
Cursus honorum

The cursus honorum was the Sequence order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in both the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire....
as a praetor

Praetor

Praetor was a Title#Titles_for_heads_of_state granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, either before it was mustered or more typically in the field, or an elected Magistratus assigned duties that varied depending on the historical period....
in 49 BC, was placed in charge of Rome while Caesar defeated Pompey

Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, commonly known as Pompey /'p?mpi/, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir , was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman Republic....
in Spain, and was rewarded with the consul

Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Roman Empire. The title was also used in other city states, and revived in modern states, notably French Republic before the Napoleon I of Franceic counter-revolution....
ship in 46 BC after the defeat of the Pompeians

Pompey

Master of the Horse

The Master of the Horse was a historical position of varying importance in several European nations....
", effectively deputy in the dictatorship. Their brief alliance in power came to a sudden end, however, when Caesar was assassinated on March 15 44 BC (the Ides of March). One of the ringleaders of the conspiracy, Cassius Longinus

Gaius Cassius Longinus

For other individuals with a similar name, see Cassius Longinus.Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman Republic Roman Senate, the prime mover in the conspiracy against Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus....
, had argued for the killing of Lepidus and Mark Antony

Mark Antony

Marcus Junius Brutus

File:Portrait Brutus Massimo.jpgMarcus Junius Brutus or Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman Senate of the late Roman Republic....
had overruled him, saying the action was an execution not a political coup.

After Caesar's murder, Lepidus, despite reassuring the senate of his loyalty, allied himself with Mark Antony

Mark Antony

Marcus Antonius , known in English as Marc Antony, was a Roman Republic politician and General. He was an important supporter and the best friend of Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator, being Caesar's second cousin, once removed, by his mother Julia Antonia....
in a joint bid for power. But Caesar had left an heir: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian, his great nephew and adopted son. The three men met on an island in a river near Mutina (modern Modena

Modena

Modena is a city and a comune on the south side of the Padan Plain, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.An ancient town, it is the seat of an archbishop, but is now best known as "the capital of engines", since the factories of the famous Italian sports car makers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and...
), their armies lined along opposite banks, and formed the Second Triumvirate

Second Triumvirate

The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic....
, legalized with the name of Triumvirs for the Organization of the People by the Lex Titia
Lex Titia

The Lex Titia was a Roman law passed on November 27, 43 BC, that granted triumvirates the right to rule for a period of five years. It is commonly known as the law that formalized and legalized the second triumvirate of Augustus, Mark Antony and Lepidus ....
of 43 BC. Unlike the First Triumvirate

First Triumvirate

The First Triumvirate is a term used by some historians to refer to the unofficial Rome political alliance of Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Pompey....
of Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus, this one was formally constituted. In effect, it sidelined the consul

Consul

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
. The triumvirate's legal life span of five years was renewed in 38 BC by the treaty of Tarentum for an equal period of time.

After the pacification of the east and the defeat of the assassins' faction

Liberatores

Liberatores is the Latin name that the assassins of Julius Caesar gave themselves.The men considered the ringleaders of the conspiracy were Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus ....
in the Battle of Philippi

Battle of Philippi

The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Liberators' civil war between the forces of Mark Antony and Augustus against the forces of Julius Caesar's assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus in 42 BC, at Philippi in Macedonia ....
, during which he remained in Rome, Lepidus assumed rule of the western provinces of Hispania

Hispania

Hispania was the name given by the Ancient Rome to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula . When Rome was a Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into Roman provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior....
and Africa

Africa Province

File:Roman Africa.JPGThe Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day northern Tunisia, north-eastern Algeria and the Mediterranean Sea coast of modern-day western Libya along the Syrtis Minor....
. For a while he managed to distance himself from the frequent quarrels between his colleagues Antony and Octavian; however, in 36 BC an ill-judged political move gave Octavian the excuse he needed: Lepidus was accused of usurping power in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
and of attempted rebellion and was forced into exile in Circeii

San Felice Circeo

San Felice Circeo is a town and comune in the province of Latina, in the Lazio region of central Italy....
. He was stripped of all his offices except that of Pontifex Maximus
Pontifex Maximus

The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the Ancient Rome College of Pontiffs. This was the most important position in the Ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post....
. He died peacefully in 13 BC.

Family

Lepidus was the son of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (120-77 BC)

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , was a Roman Republic statesman. He was the father of the second triumvirate Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and of the consul of 50 BC Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus....
; his mother may have been a daughter of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus

Lucius Appuleius Saturninus

Lucius Appuleius Saturninus was a Roman Republic demagogue and tribune; he was a political ally of Gaius Marius, and his downfall caused a great deal of political embarrassment for Marius, who recused himself from public life until he returned to take command in the Social War of 91 to 88 BC....
. His brother was Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus and father to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the Younger

Lepidus the Younger

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the Younger or Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Minor , was the only child of triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus . Lepidus' mother was Junia Secunda, a sister to politician Marcus Junius Brutus....
. He married Junia, sister of Marcus Junius Brutus

Marcus Junius Brutus

File:Portrait Brutus Massimo.jpgMarcus Junius Brutus or Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman Senate of the late Roman Republic....
and Junia Tertia

Junia Tertia

Junia Tertia, or Tertulla, was the third daughter of Servilia Caepionis and her second husband Decimus Junius Silanus, half-sister of Marcus Junius Brutus, and wife of Gaius Cassius Longinus....
, Cassius Longinus

Gaius Cassius Longinus

Battle of Philippi

The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Liberators' civil war between the forces of Mark Antony and Augustus against the forces of Julius Caesar's assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus in 42 BC, at Philippi in Macedonia ....
, Lepidus managed to protect Junia Tertia and her mother Servilia

Servilia Caepionis

Servilia Caepionis is one of the few Rome women cited by ancient sources, mainly because she was the mistress of Julius Caesar, mother of one of Caesar's assassins, Marcus Junius Brutus, mother-in-law of another Caesar assassin Gaius Cassius Longinus, and half-sister of Cato the Younger....
from execution.

Fictional depictions

The triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus is the principle character of Alfred Duggan
Alfred Duggan

Alfred Duggan was an English historian, archeologist and best-selling historical novelist during the 1950s. Although he was raised in England, Duggan was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a family of wealthy landowners of United Kingdom and United States descent, his family moving to England when he was two years old....
's 1958 historical novel Three's Company. As the novel's title implies, it is centered on the second triumvirate, but relates the period through the lens of Lepidus' life and experiences.
He has minor roles in the Shakespeare plays Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)

Julius Caesar is a Shakespearean tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the conspiracy against the Roman Empire dictator Julius Caesar, his assassination and its aftermath....
and Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra

Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623.The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Markus Antonius and follows the relationship between Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Mark Antony from the time of the Roman-Persian Wars to Cleopatra's suicide....
.
In the BBC/HBO series Rome
Rome (TV series)

Rome is a British Academy Television Awards, Golden Globe-nominated and Primetime Emmy Award-winning historical drama film television series co-created by John Milius, William J....
, Lepidus is portrayed by Ronan Vibert
Ronan Vibert

Ronan Vibert is a Wales actor, known for his appearances on British television.Vibert was born in Cardiff, the son of Dilys and David Vibert, both artists....
, although much of his involvement in the 2nd Triumvirate is not included in the series' plots.