Aedemon
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| Aedemon | |
|---|---|
| Rebel leader in Mauretania | |
| Reign | 40-42 |
| Successor | Roman conquest (Sabalus) |
| Died | 42 Mauretania |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Mauretania |
| Conflicts | Aedemon's Revolt |
Aedemon (Greek: Αἰδήμων) was a freedman of North African origins[1] from Mauretania who lived in the 1st century AD. Aedemon was a loyal former household slave to the client King Ptolemy of Mauretania who led an uprising against Roman rule in Mauretania in 40 AD after his former master's murder.
Ptolemy was murdered in unknown circumstances while on a visit in Rome on order of his unstable second cousin, the Roman Emperor Caligula in late 40. From loyalty and memory of his former master, Aedemon wanted to avenge Ptolemy and started the revolt in the Kingdom of Mauretania against Rome. Few people from the kingdom joined in the revolt, however. One inscription from Volubilis, a major town of the kingdom, shows that at least a significant part of the town's population fought against Aedemon. The power vacuum created an opportunity for indigenous tribes to assume independence. Consequently, the Roman annexation implied the reassurance of tribal allegiance by fighting tribal chiefs like Sabalus. By then, Caligula had been murdered on January 24, 41 and his paternal uncle Claudius had become the new emperor.