Publius Cornelius Scipio P.f. P.n. Africanus

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Publius Cornelius Scipio P.f. P.n. Africanus (living circa 211 BC/205 BC-170 BC) was the elder surviving son of Scipio Africanus and his wife Aemilia Paulla.^[1] He was chosen flamen dialis and was augur from 180 BC. Little information on him survives other than that he was wealthy, cultivated, erudite, and that he suffered from ill-health like many other Roman noblemen in the Middle Republic.

He adopted as his son and his heir his first cousin Scipio Aemilianus (b. 185 BC) who was probably born Lucius Aemilius Paullus, second and younger surviving son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus by his first wife Papiria Masonis. This adoption probably took place after his brother Lucius died childless.

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^ The dates of Publius are uncertain, given that the dates of his parents's marriage are also uncertain. Some historians argue that Scipio Africanus married Aemilia after he returned from Spain in 206 BC, pointing to Scipio's reported comment about his betrothed wife in 209 BC (as reported by Livy). However, given that his younger brother was elected praetor in 174 BC, it is unlikely that either brother was so young as to be barely eligible for the Senate in that year. It is more likely that Scipio married Aemilia Paulla circa 212 BC or earlier, and that his two elder sons were born by 209 BC. This would make sense of the younger son's being captured by pirates circa 194-192 BC; if he was travelling to Greece or on military service, Lucius would be old enough.