The gens Albinovana was an obscure plebeian family at

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. No members of this

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same Roman naming conventions#Nomen, nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (p ...

are known to have held any of the higher offices of the Roman state, and hardly any are mentioned in history. The family is perhaps best known from

Publius Albinovanus Publius Albinovanus ( 88–57 BC) was a Roman senator and a participant in the first round of civil wars of the Roman Republic. He was originally a strong supporter of Gaius Marius, for which he was briefly outlawed in 88–87 BC, but later, in 82, ...

, an infamous participant in the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 ...

between Marius and

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

, and from the first-century poet

Albinovanus Pedo Albinovanus Pedo was a Roman poet who flourished during the Augustan age. Works Pedo wrote ''Theseis'', referred to in a letter from his friend Ovid, epigrams which are commended by Martial and an epic poem on the exploits of Germanicus. He had t ...

. A number of Albinovani are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen ''Albinovanus'' belongs to a class of ending in ', of which some are derived from place names, but many are also typical of

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

. The first of this family to appear in history,

, was among the partisans of

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

, who indeed had a large Etruscan

clientele In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange ...

, making that a likely origin for the Albinovani. The same Albinovanus later commanded a legion of Lucanians in 82 BC, suggesting an affinity with that region instead, but there is no further evidence of such a connection. In older scholarship, ''Albinovanus'' was not recognized as a ''nomen gentilicium'', and was supposed to be a

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

belonging to another gens. Publius Albinovanus, the partisan of Marius, was thought to belong to the

Tullia gens The gens Tullia was a family at ancient Rome, with both patrician and plebeian branches. The first of this gens to obtain the consulship was Manius Tullius Longus in 500 BC, but the most illustrious of the family was Marcus Tullius Cicero, the ...

, and so was identified as "Publius ''Tullius'' Albinovanus".''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, p. 90 (" P. Tullius Albinovanus").

Praenomina

The only

praenomina The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birt ...

associated with the Albinovani mentioned by Roman writers or found in inscriptions are '' Publius'' and ''

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius P ...

'', two of the most common names throughout all periods of Roman history.

Members

, a partisan of Marius, whom

outlawed in 88 BC. Later a

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

Gaius Norbanus Gaius Norbanus (died 82 BC) was a Roman politician who was elected consul in 83 BC alongside Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus. He committed suicide in exile at Rhodes after being proscribed by Lucius Cornelius Sulla shortly after the latter's vi ...

, Albinovanus obtained Sulla's pardon by inviting Norbanus' chief officers to a banquet, where he murdered them, then betrayed Ariminium to Sulla's forces. Florus erroneously refers to Albinovanus as one of the

consuls A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

of 88 BC. * Publius Albinovanus, one of the

flamines minores A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...

in the

College of Pontifices The College of Pontiffs ( la, Collegium Pontificum; see ''collegium'') was a body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests of the state religion. The college consisted of the '' pontifex maximus'' and the other ...

from at least 69 BC to 57 BC or later.

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

and Macrobius mention him in a list of pontifices, but do not identify his priesthood more specifically. He might be the same Albinovanus who sided first with Marius, then Sulla during their first civil war. * Albinovanus, one of the accusers of

Publius Sestius Publius Sestius (d. after 35 BC) was a Roman politician and governor in the 1st century BC. He first appears as quaestor for the consul Gaius Antonius Hybrida and served in the campaign to put down the second Catilinarian conspiracy. He serve ...

, whom Cicero defended on a charge of ''vis'' in 56 BC. Cicero impeached the testimony of

Publius Vatinius Publius Vatinius was a Roman politician during the last decades of the Republic. He served as a Caesarian-allied plebeian tribune in the year 59 – he was the tribune that proposed the law giving Caesar his Gallic command – and later fought on ...

, Sestius' chief accuser, who first claimed to have hardly known Albinovanus, then admitted to discussing the case against Sestius with him in detail. * Albinovanus Celsus, a and companion of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, mentioned by

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

in AD 20. He is probably the same person as the poet Celsus mentioned by Horace, whose death is lamented by

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

. He was probably the father or brother of Albinovanus Pedo. * (Gaius) Albinovanus Pedo, a poet and friend of Ovid, is likely the same Pedo who commanded the cavalry of Germanicus during the latter's campaign in Germania in AD 15.''PW'', Albinovanus No. 5.

Albinovani from inscriptions

* Publius Albinovanus, named in an inscription from Rome, perhaps to be identified with the Marian partisan, or the pontifex. * Albinovana P. l. Ac .. a freedwoman of Publius Albinovanus, named in an inscription from Rome, dating from the first century BC.. * Albinovana Felicula, commemorated in an inscription from Rome as having made a gift of some sort to her brother, Albinovanus Priscus. The inscription is thought to be from the middle or later first century, but may be a forgery.. * Albinovana C. l. Iame, a freedwoman who dedicated a first-century family sepulchre at Rome for her parents, Lucius Oppius Iamo and Oppia Grapte. * Publius Albinovanus P. l. Meander, one of the freedmen of Publius Albinovanus, named in an inscription from Rome, dating from the first century BC. * Albinovana P. l. Nice, a freedwoman named in an inscription from Rome, dating to the Julio-Claudian dynasty. * Publius Albinovanus P. l. Philippus, one of the freedmen of Publius Albinovanus, named in an inscription from Rome, dating from the first century BC. * Publius Albinovanus P. l. Philomusus, one of the freedmen of Publius Albinovanus, named in an inscription from Rome, dating from the first century BC. * Albinovanus Philoxenus, together with Otatius Eros, Lollius Secundus, and Didius Primus, made an offering to the gods of reason, commemorated in an inscription dating from the first half of the first century, from the country of the

Marsi The Marsi were an Italic people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus (which was drained for agricultural land in the late 19th century). The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. ...

, found at modern

Pereto Pereto ( Marsicano: ') is a ''comune'' and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It was an ancient centre of the Marsi. Main sights *Medieval castle, with its 13th-century imposing towers, which belonged to the Colon ...

. * Albinovanus Priscus, received a gift from his sister, Albinovana Felicula, according to a first-century inscription from Rome, perhaps a modern forgery. * Albinovana C. f. Threpte, the daughter of Gaius Albinovanus Threptus, who built a second-century tomb at Rome for her.''Studi Romani'', 1914-59. * Gaius Albinovanus Threptus, dedicated a second-century tomb at Rome for his daughter, Albinovana Threpte. * Gaius Albinovanus Xan .. buried at Rome in a tomb built by Oppia Thumele for herself and Albinovanus. * Albinovana Ɔ. l. Zenis, a freedwoman named along with the freedman Lucius Aquillius Surus, in an inscription from Rome dating from the first half of the first century..

Notes

References

Bibliography

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, ''De Haruspicum Responsis'', ''In Vatinium Testem''. * Quintus Horatius Flaccus (

), '' Epistulae''. * Publius Ovidius Naso (

), ''

Epistulae ex Ponto ''Epistulae ex Ponto'' (''Letters from the Black Sea'') is a work of Ovid, in four books. It is a collection of letters describing Ovid's exile in Tomis (modern-day Constanța) written in elegiac couplets and addressed to his wife and friends. T ...

'' (Letters from Pontus). * Lucius Annaeus Seneca ( Seneca the Elder), ''Controversiae'', ''Suasoriae'' (Rhetorical Exercises). * Lucius Annaeus Seneca (

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...

), ''

Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium The ' (Latin for "Moral Letters to Lucilius"), also known as the ''Moral Epistles'' and ''Letters from a Stoic'', is a collection of 124 letters that Seneca the Younger wrote at the end of his life, during his retirement, after he had worked for ...

'' (Moral Letters to Lucilius). *

Publius Cornelius Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

''. * Lucius Annaeus Florus, ''Epitome de T. Livio Bellorum Omnium Annorum DCC'' (Epitome of Livy: All the Wars of Seven Hundred Years). * Appianus Alexandrinus (

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...

), ''Bellum Civile'' (The Civil War). *

Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

, ''Saturnalia''. * ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). *

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th centu ...

''et alii'', ''

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...

'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). * René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''

L'Année épigraphique ''L'Année épigraphique'' (''The Epigraphic Year'', standard abbreviation ''AE'') is a French publication on epigraphy (i.e the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing). It was set up by René Cagnat, as holder of the chair of 'Epigraphy an ...

'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). * August Pauly,

Georg Wissowa Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau. Education and career Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresla ...

, ''et alii'', '' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'' (Scientific Encyclopedia of the Knowledge of Classical Antiquities, abbreviated ''PW''), J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart (1894–1980). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897). * ''Studi Romani'', Istituto Nazionale di Studi Romani, Rome. * * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952–1986). * {{wikicite, reference=Katz, Barry R.,
The First Fruits of Sulla's March
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