Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus
Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus was the brother of triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and son to an elder Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.
He supported Cicero during the Catiline Conspiracy and never supported Pompey. Paullus was quaestor in 59 BC, aedile in 55 BC, praetor in 53 BC and consul in 50 BC.
During his consulship, Julius Caesar bribed him for his support. He reconstructed the Basilica Aemilia in Rome, with part of his bribery money.
According to Valerius Maximus: "When the senate decreed that the temples of Isis and Serapis be demolished and none of the workmen dared touch them, Consul L. Aemilius Paullus took off his official gown, seized an axe, and dashed it against the doors of that temple."(I, 3.3; quoting Julius Paris (translation from Loeb edition))
Paullus opposed the second triumvirate. His brother ordered his murder. On the day of his execution, the soldiers allowed him to escape. Paullus joined the political rebel Marcus Junius Brutus and after Brutus' suicide in 42 BC, Paullus was pardoned and lived his remaining years at Miletus.
Paullus's son, Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, was consul in 34 BC and colleague of Augustus Caesar in the office of censor in 22 BC. The younger Paullus married Cornelia Scipio a descendant of triumvir Pompey by whom he became the father of the Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul in 1 AD) who became the husband to Augustus's granddaughter, Julia the Younger, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the consul in 6 AD.
| Preceded by Marcus Claudius Marcellus and Servius Sulpicius Rufus |
Consul of the Roman Republic with Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor 50 BC |
Succeeded by Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus and Gaius Claudius Marcellus Maior |
External links
Roman coinage of Lucius Paullus can be seen at http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s0368.t.html