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 o ...

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 (753–50 ...

. The first of the

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

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 relie ...

, by which she was known at Faesulae. The ancestor of the Ancharii may have been particularly devoted to the worship of Angerona. As Faesulae was an Etruscan 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 bir ...

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 a ...

'' and '' Publius''.

Branches and ''cognomina''

The cognomina 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, 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 Pr ...

. * 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 state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

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 Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

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 b ...

, 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, a 17th-century Dutch writer {{Disambiguation ...

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 ' ...

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, Cypru ...

, for treason and extortion in A.D. 21. * Publia Ancharia Soteris, a freedwoman 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 sout ...

. Pliny the Younger 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 presid ...

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).

References

{{SmithDGRBM Roman gentes

Origin

Praenomina

Branches and ''cognomina''

Members

See also

References