Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (88 BC-12 BC) was a Roman general who was a member of the Second Triumvirate of 43 to 33 BC alongside Octavian and Mark Antony. Lepidus was the weakest member of the Triumvirate, with his capital at Carthage, and he was ousted in 33 BC after he attempted to absorb Sicily into his domains.
Biography[]
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was born in Rome in the Roman Republic, the son of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and Appuleia, and he married the sister of Marcus Junius Brutus, Junia Secunda. In 49 BC he was made Praetor of the Republic, and in 46 BC he was made a Consul after the defeat of Pompeian forces in the east. Cicero called on Lepidus to join forces with his brother-in-law when Julius Caesar was killed in 44 BC, but he refused, and instead joined in a triumvirate with Octavian and Mark Antony. Collectively, the Triumvirs ruled all of Italy south of Lombardy, but Lepidus independently ruled the northern provinces of Africa in present-day Tunisia and Libya. At the 42 BC Battle of Philippi, Lepidus aided in the defeat of the Liberatores army and had to see his brother-in-law and his brother-in-law Gaius Cassius Longinus kill themselves. In 36 BC, Lepidus raised a large army of 14 legions to subdue Sextus Pompey in Sicily, playing a major role in his defeat. However, after Pompey's defeat, he stationed his legions in Sicily and had a dispute with Octavian over who held authority over the island. Octavian accused Lepidus of inciting unrest and planning to usurp power, so Octavian stripped him of all of his offices except for Pontifex Maximus, and he exiled him to Circeii. He died in 12 BC, and Octavian - now emperor Augustus - assumed the title of Pontifex Maximus himself.