Quintus Aemilius

Quintus Aemilius (fl. about 280 BC). Roman general and statesman. A nobleman from an old and distinguished family, he was elected consul in 279 BC, together with Gaius Fabricius Luscinus; they shared command of the 70,000 man Roman-allied army sent against King Pyrrhus of Epirus, and were defeated at the Battle of Asculum in 279 in a particularly hard-fought two-day battle; of this battle, Pyrrhus is said to have remarked, "Another such victory and I shall be lost" which is the origin of the term Pyrrhic victory.