Aemilia Lepida (fiancee of Claudius)

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Aemilia Lepida from Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum

Aemilia Lepida (5 BC – c. 43 AD) was a noble Roman woman and matron. She was the first great-grandchild of the Emperor Augustus.

Biography

Early life

She was the first great-grandchild of Emperor Augustus and the noblewoman Scribonia, being the firstborn child of Julia the Younger, who was their only daughter Julia the Elder's first daughter. Her father was Lucius Aemilius Paullus, who was the son of Paullus Aemilius Lepidus, and grandson of Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, and therefore a great-nephew of the triumvir Lepidus, and of a distinguished and ancient patrician family, the Aemilii Lepidi.

She may possibly have a brother named Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (6-39) who was married to Caligula's favorite sister Julia Drusilla.[1]

Marriage

In her younger years, Lepida was betrothed to Claudius,[2] but her parents fell out of favour with Augustus so the emperor broke off the engagement.[3] In AD 8, her mother Julia the Younger (otherwise called Vipsania Julia) was exiled for adultery, like her own mother Julia. Her father Lucius was executed in 14 for participating in a conspiracy against Augustus.

By AD 13, Lepida had married Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus, a member of the patrician branch of the ancient gens Junia. Their children were:

The time of her death is not known. She is sometimes said to have been poisoned on the orders of Agrippina the Younger during the reign of Nero, but this Lepida was evidently Domitia Lepida Minor, the mother of Valeria Messalina and the second wife of Appius Junius Silanus.

See also

References

  1. ^ Barrett, Anthony, 'Caligula: The Corruption of Power' (Routledge, 1989), p.82-3.
  2. ^ Levick, Barbara (13 July 2003). Tiberius the Politician. Routledge. p. 38. ISBN 9781134603794.
  3. ^ Kershaw, Stephen P. (20 June 2013). A Brief History of the Roman Empire. Hachette UK. p. 85. ISBN 9781780330495.
  4. ^ Barrett, Anthony, 'Caligula: The Corruption of Power' (Touchstone, 1989), p.viii-ix.

Sources