The Albans were Latins from the ancient city of Alba Longa, southeast of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Some of Rome's prominent

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

families such as the

Julii The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

Servilii The gens Servilia was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was celebrated during the early ages of the Republic, and the names of few gentes appear more frequently at this period in the consular Fasti. It continued to produce men of influ ...

Quinctii The gens Quinctia, sometimes written Quintia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, its members often held the highest offices of the state, and it produced some men of importance even during the imperia ...

, Geganii,

Curiatii In the ancient Roman legend of the kingdom era, the Horatii were triplet warriors who lived during the reign of Tullus Hostilius. The accounts of their epic clash with the Curiatii and the murder of their sister by Publius, the sole survivor ...

and

Cloelii The gens Cloelia, originally Cluilia, and occasionally written Clouilia or Cloulia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was prominent throughout the period of the Republic. The first of the Cloelii to hold the consulship was Quint ...

were of Alban descent.

Origins

According to Roman mythology, Ascanius, son of

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...

hero

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

, founded the Alban tribe when he settled in Alba Longa around 1152 BC. Literary sources suggest the city’s name is derived from the white (''alba'') sow

saw when arriving in

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...

. Based on limited archaeological evidence, experts say the Alban tribe inhabited the long ridge between the modern-day

Lake Albano Lake Albano (Italian: ''Lago Albano'' or ''Lago di Castel Gandolfo'') is a small volcanic crater lake in the Alban Hills of Lazio, at the foot of Monte Cavo, southeast of Rome. Castel Gandolfo, overlooking the lake, is the site of the Papal Pal ...

and

Monte Cavo Monte Cavo, or less occasionally, "Monte Albano," is the second highest mountain of the complex of the Alban Hills, near Rome, Italy. An old volcano extinguished around 10,000 years ago, it lies about from the sea, in the territory of the ''co ...

Power in Latium

At its height, the Albans and the city of Alba Longa exerted great power and influence over

. In particular, literary sources such as

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

’s '' Historia Naturalis'' state that Alba Longa headed a league of city-states in Latium, possibly called ''Prisci Latini''. Most of these sources tend to vary regarding the political structure of the alliance as well as Alba Longa’s hegemonic role. Many historians say it is uncertain if the Albans exerted any sort of dominance since most of the surviving sources are biased.Ashby, Thomas. "Alba Longa." ''Journal of Philology'' 27.53 (1899): 37-44. The ''Prisci Latini'' are the colonists sent out by the Alban king,

Latinus Silvius Latinius Silvius (said to have reigned 1079–1028 BCDionysius of Halicarnassus ''Roman Antiquities'' 1.71) was the fourth descendant of Aeneas and fourth in the list of mythical kings of Alba Longa (according to Livy). Titus Livius credits him w ...

, who would be made to submit to Roman authority following the destruction of Alba Longa in the mid-7th century BC. Those colonists would be a part of 30 villages that would form the ''populi Albenses'' which may have been related to the 30 Latin villages of the same time in ancient Latium.

Religious customs

However, Pliny and others generally agree that the communities of

gathered at Alba Longa for sacrificial rites. Every year in the spring, the tribes would congregate on ''Mons Albanus'' (

) to worship Iuppiter Latiaris. The festival was known as ''

Feriae Latinae The ''Feriae Latinae'' or Latin Festival was an ancient Roman religious festival held in April on the Alban Mount. The date varied, and was determined and announced by the consuls each year when they took office. It was one of the most ancient f ...

''. The major custom in this ceremony was a great banquet, which required all attending cities to bring food, especially meat. These offerings were then divided among the attendants and owning some of the food signified membership within the league.Walbank, F. W., ed. ''The Cambridge Ancient History''. Vol. 7. Cambridge, Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1989 Pliny lists 30 tribes participating in the ''Feriae Latinae''. This festival continued as an annual event through the imperial age of

. There is also evidence that leaders from the surrounding tribes of

met at a spring in Alba Longa known as ''Aqua Ferentia''."Alba Longa." ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography''. 1873 ed. This supports the theory that the Albans were central figures in

. Alba Longa was also known for its wine and good stone quarries.

Downfall

The prosperity of the Alban people declined in the seventh century BC. Tullus Hostilius waged war against Alba Longa and ultimately devastated the city, sparing only the temples. Historians attribute our lack of archaeological evidence to Tullus Hostilius’ campaign. Indeed, portions of the city wall’s foundation are all that remain. After this victory,

assumed the command that had long been held by the Albans. Many from Alba Longa immigrated to

following the war and some of

’s most elite patrician families (including the

) trace their heritage back to Alba Longa, which illustrates its importance in the history of Rome.

Roman gentes of Alban origin

Cloelia gens The gens Cloelia, originally Cluilia, and occasionally written Clouilia or Cloulia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was prominent throughout the period of the Republic. The first of the Cloelii to hold the consulship was Quin ...

Curiatia gens The ''gens Curiatia'' was a distinguished family at Rome, with both patrician and plebeian branches. Members of this gens are mentioned in connection with the reign of Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome, during the seventh century BC. The f ...

Gegania gens The gens Gegania was an old patrician family at ancient Rome, which was prominent from the earliest period of the Republic to the middle of the fourth century BC. The first of this gens to obtain the consulship was Titus Geganius Macerinus in 4 ...

Julia gens The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

Metilia gens The gens Metilia was a minor family at ancient Rome. Although they occur throughout Roman history, and several were tribunes of the plebs, beginning in the fifth century BC, none of the Metilii attained the higher offices of the Roman state until ...

* Numitoria gens *

Quinctia gens The gens Quinctia, sometimes written Quintia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, its members often held the highest offices of the state, and it produced some men of importance even during the imperia ...

Servilia gens The gens Servilia was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was celebrated during the early ages of the Republic, and the names of few gentes appear more frequently at this period in the consular Fasti. It continued to produce men of inf ...

* Tullia gens

Prominent Romans of Alban ancestry

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

, Roman statesman, military and writer. *

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 ...

, Roman statesman, orator, lawyer and philosopher.

References

{{reflist, 2 Ancient Italic peoples Alba Longa