Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus

Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus was a Roman consul and general who defeated the Macedonian king Perseus. His victory at Pydna in 168 BC ended the Third Macedonian War and demonstrated the battlefield advantages of the Roman legion over the Macedonian phalanx under broken terrain.

Aemilius Paullus had already held the consulship in 182 BC before being elected again in 168 to take command against Perseus of Macedon. His victory at Pydna ended the Antigonid monarchy and brought him the agnomen Macedonicus. He celebrated a spectacular triumph at Rome, but his family life was marked by the deaths of two young sons around the time of the victory.