Manius Aemilius Lepidus

Manius Aemilius Lepidus was a Roman senator who was active during the Principate. He was ordinary consul in AD 11 as the colleague of Titus Statilius Taurus. Tacitus reports that Augustus, while discussing possible rivals for the Roman Emperor Tiberius on his deathbed, described him as worthy of becoming emperor (capax imperii), but "disdainful" of supreme power.

Biography Early life Lepidus has been assumed to be the son of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the Younger and his wife Servilia Isaurica, but modern-day historians believe he was more likely the nephew of Lepidus the Younger by his brother Quintus Aemilius Lepidus. He had a sister named Aemilia Lepida.

Career After 5 BC, but prior to acceding to the consulship, Lepidus was co-opted as an Augur. He defended his sister at her trial in AD 20. At the trial of Clutorius Priscus, he argued without success that the proposed death sentence was excessively harsh. In AD 21, he achieved the pinacle of a Senatorial career, the proconsular governorship of Asia.

Ronald Syme has argued, very cogently, that it was not Manius but Marcus Lepidus, consul in 6 BCE, who defended Clutorius Priscus, see Syme, R. (1955). Marcus Lepidus, Capax Imperii. The Journal of Roman Studies, 45, 22–33. https://doi.org/10.2307/298740

Personal life He had a daughter also called Aemilia Lepida who married Emperor Galba.

Family