The gens Ancharia was a
plebeian
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
Etymology
The precise origins of ...
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 ...
. The first of the
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 ...
to achieve prominence was
Quintus Ancharius, a senator early in the first century BC.
Origin
The origin of the Ancharii is uncertain, but the
nomen ''Ancharius'' may be derived from ''Ancharia'', a name of the goddess
Angerona
In Roman religion, Angerona or Angeronia was an old Roman goddess, whose name and functions are variously explained. She is sometimes identified with the goddess Feronia.
Description
According to ancient authorities, she was a goddess who reliev ...
, by which she was known at
Faesulae
Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times.
Sin ...
. The ancestor of the Ancharii may have been particularly devoted to the worship of Angerona. As Faesulae was an
Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy
*Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization
**Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
** Etrusca ...
city, the family may have been of Etruscan origin.
Praenomina
The
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 Ancharii are ''
Quintus
Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth".
Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...
'' and ''
Publius''.
Branches and ''cognomina''
The
cognomina
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 ...
used by the Ancharii included ''Priscus'', a common surname meaning "elder" or "old-fashioned", and ''Soter'', a "savior" or "protector." The latter surname was borne by a
freedwoman
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
, and was not necessarily used by other members of the gens.
Members
*
Quintus Ancharius, a senator of praetorian rank, killed by
Marius in 87 B.C.
* Ancharia, the first wife of
Gaius Octavius, father of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
.
*
Quintus Ancharius,
tribune of the plebs
Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...
in 59 and
praetor
Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...
in 56 B.C., received the province of
Macedonia the following year.
*
Ancharius Priscus Ancharius is the ''nomen'' of the Roman '' gens Ancharia''. It may refer to various members of that family.
''Ancharius'' may also refer to a genus of catfish native to the island of Madagascar, including the following species:
* '' Ancharius br ...
, prosecuted
Caesius Cordus
Caesius, bluish-gray in Latin, may refer to:
* Caesius, the nomen of a prominent Roman family
*''Philippus Caesius'', latinized name of Philipp von Zesen
Philipp von Zesen, also Filip Cösius or ''Caesius'' (originally Ph. Caesien, Filip Zesen, ...
,
proconsul
A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority.
In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...
of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, for treason and extortion in A.D. 21.
* Publia Ancharia Soteris, a
freedwoman
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...
in
Bithynia
Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...
.
Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...
asked the emperor
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
to grant her the
Ius Quiritium
__NOTOC__
''Ius'' or ''Jus'' (Latin, plural ''iura'') in ancient Rome was a right to which a citizen (''civis'') was entitled by virtue of his citizenship (''civitas''). The ''iura'' were specified by laws, so ''ius'' sometimes meant law. As one ...
, thereby making her a
Roman citizen
Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
.
[Mika Kajava, ''Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women'' (1994).]
See also
*
List of Roman gentes
The gens (plural gentes) was a Roman family, of Italic or Etruscan origins, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same '' nomen'' and claimed descent from a common ancestor. It was an important social and legal structure in early ...
References
{{SmithDGRBM
Roman gentes