Publius Cornelius P.f. P.n. Scipio (living circa 211 BC/205 BC–170 BC) was the eldest son of Scipio Africanus and his wife

Aemilia Paulla Aemilia Tertia, also known as Aemilia Paulla (c. 230–163 or 162 BC), was the wife of the Roman consul and censor Scipio Africanus. She was the daughter, possibly the third surviving daughter, of the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus and the ...

.The dates of Publius are uncertain, given that the dates of his parents's marriage are also uncertain. Some historians argue that Scipio Africanus married Aemilia after he returned from Spain in 206 BC, pointing to Scipio's reported comment about his betrothed wife in 209 BC (as reported by Livy). However, given that his younger brother was elected praetor in 174 BC, it is unlikely that either brother was so young as to be barely eligible for the Senate in that year. It is more likely that Scipio married Aemilia Paulla circa 212 BC or earlier, and that his two elder sons were born by 209 BC. This would make sense of the younger son's being captured by pirates circa 194–192 BC; if he was travelling to Greece or on military service, Lucius would be old enough. He was chosen augur from 180 BC. Little information on him survives, as he did not stand for any of the high offices or have a public career of note.

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

relates that he was in poor health, the particulars of which he refuses to mention, stating that "we ought not to reproduce ... their faults (of ancestors)." Scipio died young from his poor health. Scipio had no natural progeny. For remedy according to Roman custom he adopted as son and heir his first cousin

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...

(b. 185 BC) who was probably born Lucius Aemilius Paullus, second and younger surviving son of

Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus (c. 229 – 160 BC) was a two-time consul of the Roman Republic and a general who conquered Macedon, putting an end to the Antigonid dynasty in the Third Macedonian War. Family Paullus' father was Luciu ...

by his first wife Papiria Masonis. This adoption probably took place after his brother

Lucius Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...

died childless. Thereafter the son used the name Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus. Cicero adds that the eldest son of Scipio Africanus had "more ample intellectual culture" than his father and that the state endured a loss in his not being able to seek high office.''De Senectute'' XI; ''Brutus'' 77

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Scipio, Publius 3rd-century BC Romans 2nd-century BC Roman augurs Publius Roman patricians