The gens Bruttia was an
ancient Roman family during the late
Republic and into
imperial times. None of the
gens obtained any important magistracies until the latter half of the first century AD, when Lucius Bruttius Maximus was
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 ...
in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
.
Origin
The Bruttius probably indicates that the ancestors of the gens were from
Bruttium 01 or '01 may refer to:
* The year 2001, or any year ending with 01
* The month of January
* 1 (number)
Music
* 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001
* ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000
* ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011
* ''O1'' (Hiroyuki Sawa ...
, the southernmost region of
Italia
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the Italy (geographical region) ...
. The
Bruttii were an
Oscan
Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian.
Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including ...
people descended from the
Lucani, from whom they asserted their independence during the fourth century BC. The name of ''Bruttii'', which they adopted for themselves, may be a
pre-Sabellic name meaning "runaways".
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 ...
used by the Bruttii are ''
Lucius
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...
,
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 ...
'', and ''
Quintus''.
Branches and cognomina
No distinct families of the Bruttii appear under the Republic, during which the only
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 ...
is ''Sura''. A number of surnames occur in imperial times, of which all but ''Balbus'' appear to belong to the same family. The others were ''Maximus, Praesens'', and ''Crispinus''. This family came from Volceii, in
Lucania
Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto.
It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttiu ...
, and seems to have made a habit of adopting names from the female line. The combination of ''Quinctius'' or ''Quintius Crispinus'' probably asserts the family's descent from the ancient
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 ...
house of the
Quinctii Crispini.
['']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 ...
'', William Smith, Editor.
Members
*
Quintus Bruttius Sura,
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, ...
of
Gaius Sentius Saturninus, governor of
Macedonia in 88 BC.
*
Gaius Bruttius C. f.,
proquaestor
In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...
in an unspecified year, and
aedile
''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to ...
in 57 BC.
* Bruttius, an
eques, for whom
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 ...
wrote a letter of introduction to
Manius Acilius Caninus,
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 ...
in
Sicilia
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
in 46 BC.
* Bruttius, a philologer, with whom
the younger Marcus Tullius Cicero studied at
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
in 44 BC.
* Quintus Bruttius Balbus, a candidate for
duumvir
Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', "the office of ...
at
Pompeii, mentioned in a political graffito.
* Lucius Bruttius Maximus, proconsul of Cyprus in AD 80.
*
Gaius Bruttius L. f. Praesens Lucius Fulvius Rusticus,
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
in AD 139.
*
Lucius Fulvius Gaius Bruttius C. f. L. n. Praesens Laberius Maximus, consul in AD 153 and 180.
*
Bruttia C. f. C. n. Crispina, Roman empress, the wife of
Commodus.
*
Lucius Bruttius C. f. C. n. Quinctius Crispinus, consul in AD 187.
*
Gaius Bruttius Praesens, consul in AD 217.
*
Lucius Bruttius Quintius Crispinus, consul in AD 224, and afterwards persuaded the city of
Aquileia to resist
Maximinus Thrax
Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" ("the Thracian"; – 238) was Roman emperor from 235 to 238.
His father was an accountant in the governor's office and sprang from ancestors who were Carpi (a Dacian tribe), a people whom Diocleti ...
.
*
Gaius Bruttius Praesens, consul in AD 246.
* Bruttius or "Brittius" Praesens, ''corrector'' of Lucania and Bruttium, and a ''pontifex major'', around the early fourth century.
[, .]
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 ...
*
Brutus (disambiguation)
References
*
*
{{reflist
Roman gentes