The gens Fabricia 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 of
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 ...
. 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 from the early third century BC down to the end of the
Republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, but they seldom attained positions of importance in the Roman state.
['']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, Editor.
Origin
The Fabricii seem to have belonged originally to the
Hernici
The Hernici were an Italic tribe of ancient Italy, whose territory was in Latium between the Fucine Lake and the Sacco River (''Trerus''), bounded by the Volsci on the south, and by the Aequi and the Marsi on the north.
For many years of the earl ...
an town of
Aletrium
Alatri ( la, Aletrium) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio, with c. 30,000 inhabitants. An ancient city of the Hernici,Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hernici". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed. ...
, where Fabricii occur as late as the time of
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 estab ...
. The first Fabricius who occurs in history is the celebrated
Gaius Fabricius Luscinus
Gaius Fabricius Luscinus Monocularis ("the one-eyed"), son of Gaius, was said to have been the first of the Fabricii to move to ancient Rome, his family originating from Aletrium.
In 284 BC he was one of the ambassadors to Tarentum, successfully k ...
, who distinguished himself in the war against
Pyrrhus, and who was probably the first of the Fabricii who left his native place and settled at Rome. We know that in 306 BC, shortly before the war with Pyrrhus, most of the Hernician towns revolted against Rome, but were subdued and compelled to accept the Roman franchise without suffrage. But three towns, Aletrium,
Ferentinum
Ferentino is a town and ''comune'' in Italy, in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, southeast of Rome.
It is situated on a hill above sea level, in the Monti Ernici area.
History
''Ferentinum'' was a town of the Hernici; it was captured from them ...
, and
Verulae, which had remained faithful to Rome, were allowed to retain their former constitution; that is, they remained to Rome in the relation of
isopolity An isopoliteia ( grc, ἰσοπολιτεία) was a treaty of equal citizenship rights between the ''poleis'' (city-states) of ancient Greece. This happened through either mutual agreement between cities or through exchange of individual decrees. I ...
.
Gaius Fabricius Luscinus probably left Aletrium either at that time or soon after, and settled at Rome, where, like other settlers from isopolite towns, he soon rose to high honours. Besides this Fabricius, no members of his family appear to have risen to any eminence at Rome; and we must conclude that they were either men of inferior talent, or what is more probable, that being strangers, they laboured under great disadvantages, and that the jealousy of the illustrious Roman families, plebeian as well as patrician, kept them down, and prevented their maintaining the position which their sire had gained.
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 estab ...
, ''Pro Cluentio
''Pro Cluentio'' is a speech by the Roman orator Cicero given in defense of a man named Aulus Cluentius Habitus Minor.
Cluentius, from Larinum in Samnium, was accused in 69 BC by his mother Sassia of having poisoned his stepfather, Statius Abbiu ...
'' 16 ''ff''.
Praenomina used
The early Fabricii favoured 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 ...
''
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 Pol ...
'' and ''
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 L ...
''. In later generations, we also find ''
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 ''
Aulus
Aulus (abbreviated A.) is one of the small group of common forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome.
The name was traditionally connected with Latin ''aula'', ''olla'', "palace", but this is most likely a false etymology. ''Aulus'' in fact p ...
''.
Branches and cognomina
''Luscinus'' is 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 ...
of the Fabricii that we meet with under the Republic. In the time of the Empire we find a Fabricius with the cognomen ''Veiento''. There are a few without a cognomen.
Members
:''This list includes abbreviated
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 ...
. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation
Filiation is the legal term for the recognized legal status of the relationship between family members, or more specifically the legal relationship between parent and child. As described by the Government of Quebec:
Filiation is the relationship ...
.''
* Gaius Fabricius, grandfather of the consul of 282 BC.
* Gaius Fabricius C. f., father of the consul of 282 BC.
*
Gaius Fabricius C. f. C. n. Luscinus,
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 throug ...
in 282 and 278 BC, and
censor in 275.
* Gaius Fabricius (C. f. C. n.) Luscinus,
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 ...
''urbanus'' in 195 BC, and legate to the consul
Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus
Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus (properly Asiagenes; 3rd century BC – after 183 BC) was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. He was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio and the younger brother of Scipio Africanus. He was elected co ...
in 190.
* Gaius and Lucius Fabricius belonged to the ''
municipium
In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...
'' of
Aletrium
Alatri ( la, Aletrium) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio, with c. 30,000 inhabitants. An ancient city of the Hernici,Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hernici". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed. ...
, and were twins. According to
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 estab ...
they were both men of bad character; and C. Fabricius, in particular, was charged with having allowed himself to be made use of as a tool of Oppianicus, about BC 67, to destroy
Aulus Cluentius.
* Lucius Fabricius C. f., was ''
curator viarum'' in BC 62, and built a new bridge of stone, which connected the city with the island in the
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...
, and which was called, after him, ''pons Fabricius''. The time at which the bridge was built is expressly mentioned by
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
, and the name of its author is still seen on the remnants of the bridge, which now bears the name of ''ponte quattro capi''. The
scholiast
Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...
on
Horatius mistakenly calls the Fabricius who built this bridge a consul. There is also a coin bearing the name of Lucius Fabricius.
*Quintus Fabricius was
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 BC 57, and well disposed towards Cicero, who was then living in exile. He brought before the people a motion that Cicero should be recalled, as early as the month of January of that year. But the attempt was frustrated by
Publius Clodius Pulcher
Publius Clodius Pulcher (93–52 BC) was a populist Roman politician and street agitator during the time of the First Triumvirate. One of the most colourful personalities of his era, Clodius was descended from the aristocratic Claudia gens, one ...
by armed force. In the ''
Monumentum Ancyranum
Temple of Augustus and Rome is an augusteum located in Altındağ district of Ankara. It is thought to have been built around 25–20 AD. Besides being one of the most important Roman period ruins in the city, it is also known for ''Monumentum A ...
'' and in Cassius Dio, he is mentioned as consul ''suffectus'' of the year BC 36.
*Lucius Fabricius, a
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 ...
of
Carthago Nova
Cartagena () is a Spanish city and a major naval station on the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Iberia. As of January 2018, it has a population of 218,943 inhabitants, being the region's second-largest municipality and the country's sixth-lar ...
between 54 and 40 BC. He minted bronze coins during his magistracy.
[Amela Valverde, "Carthago Nova", pp. 121–123.]
*
Quintus Fabricius Quintus Fabricius (fl. 1st century BC) was a Roman Senator who was appointed suffect consul in 2 BC.
Biography
Quintus Fabricius is suspected to have been either the son or grandson of the Quintus Fabricius who was a Plebeian Tribune in 57 BC.
A ...
, suffect consul in 2 BC. A
Novus homo
''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' (Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his Roman gens, family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as R ...
.
*
Aulus Fabricius Veiento, praetor during the reign of
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
, he was banished for publishing a number of libels, and for supposedly selling the honours granted by the emperor. He subsequently returned to Rome and became a favourite of
Domitian
Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...
. According to
Aurelius Victor
Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 – c. 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a short history of imperial Rome, entitled ''De Caesaribus'' and covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. The work w ...
, served as consul under Domitian, although his name does not appear in the
consular fasti
In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simi ...
.
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
Bibliography
* Luis Amela Valverde,
Las primeras emisiones (tardo-republicanas) del taller de Carthago Nova. Unas notas, ''OMNI'', n°7, 07-2015.
{{SmithDGRBM
Roman gentes