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Lucius Aemilius Paulus |
(Macedonicus) | |
| Makedonien, 2xx-179 f.Kr. | ||
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Romersk general. Lucius Aemilius Paullus Lepidus Macedonicus (c. 229–160 BC) --- (also spelled PAULUS) L. Aemilius
Paullus defeated the Macedonians in BC 168 and brought their king , Perseus,
and his sons to Rome to adorn his triumph. A trophy is centered in the
coin with TER printed above it. The togate L Aemilius Paullus is standing
to the right of a trophy with his right hand raised and to the far left
of the trophy is Perseus, with his hands bound behind him, and his two
sons before him are shown as prisoners; PAVLLVS is printed in the exergue. The Macedonian war between Rome and King Perseus had dragged on since 171; Paullus accepted (168) a second consulship to fight in Macedonia. Capturing the king near Pydna, he set up the country as a Roman dominion; he also sacked Epirus. Plutarch wrote his life. "His first wife was Papiria, the daughter of Maso, who had formerly been consul. With her he lived a considerable time in wedlock, and then divorced her, though she had made him the father of noble children; being mother of the renowned Scipio, and Fabius Maximus. The reason of this separation has not come to our knowledge; but there seems to be a truth conveyed in the account of another Roman's being divorced from his wife, which may be applicable here. This person being highly blamed by his friends, who demanded, Was she not chaste? was she not fair? was she not fruitful? holding out his shoe, asked them, Whether it was not new? and well made? Yet, added he, none of you can tell where it pinches me. Certain it is, that great and open faults have often led to no separation; while mere petty repeated annoyances, arising from unpleasantness or incongruity of character, have been the occasion of such estrangement as to make it impossible for man and wife to live together with any content. Aemilius, having thus put away Papiria, married a second wife, by whom he had two sons, whom he brought up in his own house, transferring the two former into the greatest and most noble families of Rome. The elder was adopted into the house of Fabius Maximus, who was five times consul; the younger, by the son of Scipio Africanus, his cousin-german, and was by him named Scipio. Of the daughters of Aemilius, one was married to the son of Cato, the other to Aelius Tubero, a most worthy man, and the one Roman who best succeeded in combining liberal habits with poverty. " (Plutarch, Life of Paullus Aemilius) Lucius Aemilius Paullus was consul in 182 and in 168, when he dealt with the last Macedonian leader, Perseus. Paullus was as destructive, brutal and greedy a Roman as they come, but because he was the father of Polybius's friend Scipio Aemilianus, he did not receive his due share of opprobrium in antiquity. Victory over Macedon meant that it was time to call accounts with those who had not supported Rome to the fullest. In Aetolia, the pro-Roman faction killed 500 of its opponents and exiled more. Paullus then praised those who had carried out this act, thereby encouraging similar purges elsewhere. In addition, accusations were laid against many others, who were arrested and deported to Italy to be dealt with there. Among these were 1000 members of the Achaean League, including Polybius, whose father was a leading member of the faction supporting Achaean independence (and hence implicit opposition to the Romans). All Macedonians of any consequence were also deported to Italy. Perseus was humiliated by being paraded in Paullus's triumph, and was kept in miserable circumstances in Italy. (It was pointedly but unsuccessfully suggested that he should commit suicide.) The plunder made from conquering Macedon was immense, but apparently it was not sufficient to satisfy the avarice of Paullus, whose troops were discontended (they felt that Paullus had been keeping too much for himself). Accordingly, during his return in 167 to Italy he took advantage of a decree of the senate stating that Epirus, some of whose leaders had foolishly espoused Perseus's cause, should serve as plunder. The area had already been subdued by a praetor whose camp was nearby. Paullus told the praetor not to interfere in his actions. He sent envoys to each of 70 towns (mainly in Molossia) saying that he would remove the garrisons if they collected all the gold and silver of the town in the agora (market place). When this was all arranged, he commanded his troops to attack suddenly all the towns on the same day at the same time. 150,000 people were enslaved through this act of treachery, so many in fact that the slave markets were glutted and the troops did not realize as much as had been expected. This of course did no good to the enslaved thousands. Strabo reports that even a century and a half later this once thickly populated area was a desert. One can only hope that the "tragedy" that soon befell Paullus was the work of the gods. He had four sons, and gave away two to be adopted by famous but childless senators. One was adopted by a descendant of the famous Cunctator and became Q. Fabius Maximus Aemilianus (the last name indicating that he had originally been an Aemilius); the other was adopted by the son of Scipio Africanus and became P. Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus. Just before Paullus celebrated his triumph, one of the sons remaining to him died and the same fate befell the other in its immediate aftermath. The triumph was one of unbelievable splendor (not surprising given Paullus' greed), spoiled only by the complaints about his cheapness made by his soldiers. Paullus could not ask for his other sons back, and his miserable name died with him (though it was revived at the time of the emperor Augustus by collateral members of the Aemilian gens). |