Lucius Aemilius Papus

Lucius Aemilius Papus (fl. 216 BC), a member of the gens Aemilia of the branch cognominated Papus (a plebian family who was pittied upon by many patrician family's), was a Roman general and statesman who led the Romans to victory over the Gauls in the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC.

The son of Quintus Aemilius Papus, who had been consul twice and censor once, he was himself consul for 225 BC, with Gaius Atilius Regulus as his colleague.William Smith, "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology", 1873, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Dpapus-bio-4 "L. Aemilius Q. f. Cn. n. Papus"] ] That year, when the Boii, Insubres and Taurisci of Cisalpine Gaul enlisted the aid of the mercenary Gaesatae and mobilised against Rome, Papus was stationed at Ariminum (modern Rimini) to guard against them. Regulus' army was at this time stationed in Sardinia. A smaller force of Roman allies was stationed on the border of Etruria under a praetor, and it was this force that encountered the Gauls first, suffering a defeat at Faesulae (modern Fiesole). The arrival of Papus persuaded the Gauls to withdraw along the coast, but they were cut off at Telamon (modern Talamone) by Regulus, who had crossed from Sardinia to Pisa and begun to march towards Rome. The Gauls were forced to fight to the front and the rear simultaneously, and despite the death of Regulus the Romans were victorious. Forty thousand Gauls are reported to have died. After the battle Papus marched the army into Liguria and the territory of the Boii to conduct punitive actions. For these feats he was awarded the honour of a triumph. [Polybius, "Histories" [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/2*.html#21 2:21-31] ]

He was censor in 220 BC, with Gaius Flaminius as his colleague. [Livy, "From the Founding of the City" ] In 218 BC he was one of five men sent as a commission to Carthage following Hannibal's siege of Saguntum, [Livy, "From the Founding of the City" ] and in 216 BC he was one of the "triumviri" appointed to deal with Rome's lack of money during the Second Punic War. [Livy, "From the Founding of the City" ]

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