Quintus Pedius ( – late 43 BC) was a Roman politician and general who lived during the late Republic. He served as a military officer under Julius Caesar for most of his career. Serving with Caesar during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he was elected

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

in 48 BC and was given a triumph for victories over the Pompeians during the civil war's second Spanish campaign. After Caesar's death, he joined with Caesar's heir

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

and, with him, assumed suffect consulships in 43 BC in place of the ordinary consuls who had fallen in battle. He promulgated the ''lex Pedia'', which established courts in which Caesar's killers and allies thereof were convicted ''in absentia''. He died shortly after the start of the Second Triumvirate's proscriptions.

Early life

He was the son or grandson of a Quintus Pedius and Julia. Julia was one of

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

's sisters, making Pedius one of Caesar's nephews. Pedius served under

during the

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...

starting in 57 BC. Broughton's ''Magistrates of the Roman Republic'' places his term in Gaul under Caesar from 58–56 BC. In 55 BC, he lost an election for the office of

aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to ...

. During

Caesar's civil war Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was one of the last politico-military conflicts of the Roman Republic before its reorganization into the Roman Empire. It began as a series of political and military confrontations between Gaius Julius Caesar and ...

, Pedius joined with Caesar. In 48 BC, Pedius assumed a

ship. In that same year, he commanded a

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

and who had been leading the ill-fated revolt. From 46 to 45 BC, Pedius served as a Caesarian legate in Spain. Pedius claimed victory against

Sextus Pompey Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the las ...

and returned to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

with Caesar. He was then honoured with a

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

as ''pro consule ex Hispania''; the honour was granted illegally, according to Dio, as he was merely one of Caesar's legates.

Consulship

After the ordinary consuls of that year,

Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus (died 22 April 43 BC) was consul of the Roman Republic in 43 BC. Although supporting Gaius Julius Caesar during the Civil War, he pushed for the restoration of the Republic upon Caesar’s death. He died of injur ...

and Aulus Hirtius, were both killed while fighting against Antony during the battle of Mutina, Octavian – the only surviving commander of senatorial forces – marched on the city at the head of his army to demand his elevation as consul. With Pedius as Octavian's colleague, on 19 August 43 BC, the two assumed office as suffect consuls after an irregularly convoked election.

''Lex Pedia''

Their first action was to confirm Octavian's adoption as Caesar's heir; then, at Octavian's suggestion, Pedius promulgated the ''lex Pedia'', which established courts to prosecute Caesar's killers. This overruled a previous ''senatus consultum'' which protected the tyrannicides from prosecution. Consequently, Caesar's killers – along with co-conspirators and others who had little to do with the crime – were then convicted ''in absentia'', according to Appian, all in a single day of proceedings. They were formally "debarred from fire and water and their property asconfiscated". After the passage of the ''lex Pedia'', he also brought legislation to rescind the declaration of

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus as public enemies. The early and rushed passage of the ''lex Pedia'' was likely related to Octavian's attempts to assume for himself leadership of the Caesarian faction by displaying his bona fides in avenging the death of Caesar; the ''lex Pedia'' was likely unrelated to the following proscriptions.

Death

Pedius was left in charge of Rome, while Octavian left for Northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to join Antony and Lepidus in forming the Second Triumvirate. When news reached Rome of the new political alliance and of the lists of people whom the triumvirs had marked for death, Soon afterwards, Pedius had suffered so much political fatigue he died.

Personal life

Pedius married a Roman noblewoman called Valeria, a sister of

Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64 BC – AD 8 or c. 12) was a Roman general, author, and patron of literature and art. Family Corvinus was the son of the consul in 61 BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger,Syme, R., ''Augustan Aristocracy'', ...

and thus a daughter of Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger and his wife, Polla. Pedius and Valeria had at least one child, a son named Quintus Pedius Publicola. Publicola became a Roman senator and distinguished himself with his oratory.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

in his ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

'' mentions that Quintus Pedius had a grandson, also named Quintus Pedius, who was mute and supposedly deaf; this grandson may be the

References

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pedius, Quintus Ancient Roman generals 1st-century BC Roman consuls Roman Republican praetors 43 BC deaths Year of birth unknown Pedii Family of Julius Caesar