Quintus Pedius ( – late 43 BC) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

politician and general who lived during the late

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

. He served as a military officer under

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

for most of his career. Serving with Caesar during the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

, 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 disch ...

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

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 The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created at the end of the Roman republic for Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November ...

's proscriptions.

Early life

He was the son of his homonymous father and his wife, Julia. This Julia was one of the

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

's sisters, making this 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, and Switzerland). Gauls, Gallic, Germanic peoples, Germanic, and Celtic Britons, Brittonic trib ...

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 ( , , 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 enforce public orde ...

. During

Caesar's civil war Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was a civil war during the late Roman Republic between two factions led by Julius Caesar and Pompey. The main cause of the war was political tensions relating to Caesar's place in the Republic on his expected ret ...

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

ship. In that same year, he commanded a legion 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 la ...

and returned to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

with Caesar. He was then honoured with a triumph as ''pro consule ex Hispania''; the honour was granted illegally, according to Dio, as he was merely one of Caesar's legates. Suetonius and Appian record that after Caesar's

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

in March 44 BC, Pedius was named one of Caesar's heirs in his will. With his cousin Lucius Pinarius, he was to receive a quarter of Caesar's estate, but he renounced the inheritance in favor of Caesar's main heir, Pedius' cousin

(the future

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Augustus).

Consulship

After the ordinary consuls of that year, Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and

Aulus Hirtius Aulus Hirtius (; – 43 BC) was consul of the Roman Republic in 43 BC and a writer on military subjects. He was killed during his consulship in battle against Mark Antony at the Battle of Mutina. Biography He was a legate of Julius Caesar's st ...

, were both killed while fighting against Antony during the

battle of Mutina The Battle of Mutina took place on 21 April 43 BC between the forces loyal to the Roman Senate, Senate under consuls Gaius Vibius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius, supported by the forces of Augustus, Caesar Octavian, versus the forces of Mark Antony ...

, 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 people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

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, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to join Antony and Lepidus in forming the

. 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 and thus a daughter of

Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger was a senator of the Roman Republic. Career He was praetor in the year of Cicero's consulship, 63 BC, and consul in 61 BC, the year in which Publius Clodius profaned the mysteries of the Bona Dea, and Gnaeus Pompeiu ...

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 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

in his ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' () is a Latin 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. Despite the work' ...

'' 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 People of the War of Mutina Roman people of the Gallic Wars People of Caesar's civil war