The gens Herennia was a plebeian 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 BC ...

. Members of this gens are first mentioned among the Italian nobility during the

Samnite Wars The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...

, and they appear in the Roman consular list beginning in 93 BC. In Imperial times they held a number of provincial offices and military commands. The empress

Herennia Etruscilla Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla was an Augusta and later regent of the Roman Empire, married to Emperor Decius, and mother of Emperors Herennius Etruscus and Hostilian. She served as regent of the Roman Empire during the reign of her son Hostil ...

was a descendant of this gens.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 406 (" Herennia Gens"). The extensive mercantile interests of the Herennii are attested by several authors, who describe the family's participation in the Sicilian and

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

trade, and especially their involvement in purchasing and exporting

silphium Silphium (also known as ''silphion'', ''laserwort'', or ''laser'') is an unidentified plant that was used in classical antiquity as a seasoning, perfume, aphrodisiac, and medicine. It also was used as a contraceptive by ancient Greeks and Romans ...

, a medicinal herb of great value in antiquity, which grew only along a short stretch of the African coast, and defied all attempts to cultivate it.Pliny the Elder, ''Naturalis Historia'', xix. 3. The Herennian interest in trade is attested by the surname ''Siculus'' (a Sicilian), the settlement of a merchant named Herennius at

Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names in antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean. Originally a 7th-centuryBC Phoenician foundation, it was great ...

, the legend of the founding of a temple to Hercules at Rome,Macrobius, ''Saturnalia'', iii. 6.Servius, ''Ad Aneidem'', viii. 363. and a coin of the gens bearing a representation of the goddess

Pietas ''Pietas'' (), translated variously as "duty", "religiosity" or "religious behavior", "loyalty", "devotion", or "filial piety" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief virtues among the ancient Romans. It was the distingui ...

on the obverse, and on the reverse Amphinomus carrying his father, a reference to the legend of the two brothers of

Catana Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, who escaped an eruption of Mount Aetna carrying their aged parents.Claudian, ''Carmina Minora'', "On the Statues of the Two Brothers at Catana".Eckhel, vol. I, p. 203, vol. V, p. 224.

Origin

The Herennii were originally Samnites from

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

, but they were absorbed into the Roman state following the Samnite Wars. The nomen ''Herennius'' appears to be a patronymic surname, as ''Herennius'' was 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 ...

praenomen. The

Marii The gens Maria was a plebeian family of Rome. Its most celebrated member was Gaius Marius, one of the greatest generals of antiquity, and seven times consul.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, p. 949 ("Maria Gens") ...

were their hereditary clientes.Plutarch, "The Life of Marius", 5.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

mentions a Herennius who was one of the leading members of the senate of

Nola Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian wor ...

, and many of the Herennii remained in this region of Italy; a Marcus Herennius was decurion of Pompeii about 63 BC. The Herennii preserved a

Sabellic The Osco-Umbrian, Sabellic or Sabellian languages are an extinct group of Italic languages, the Indo-European languages that were spoken in Central and Southern Italy by the Osco-Umbrians before being replaced by Latin, as the power of Ancient Ro ...

custom by assuming

matronymic A matronymic is a personal name based on the given name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. Around the world, matronymic surnames are far less common than patronymic surnames. In som ...

and occasionally surnames, the arrangement of which could vary considerably. Livy records an example of this in connection with the panic over the discovery of the

Bacchanalia The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rome ...

at Rome in 186 BC: Minius Cerrinius was the son of a Cerrinius and Minia Paculla; after marrying Herennia, he became Herennius Cerrinius. Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius was the son of the emperor Decius and Herennia Etruscilla.

Praenomina

The Herennii of the Republic favoured the praenomina ''

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 ...

, Marcus'', 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 ...

'', the three most common names throughout Roman history. At least one was named ''

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

'', also among the most common praenomina.

Branches and cognomina

In the time of the Republic, 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 ...

found for the Herennii include ''Balbus, Bassus, Cerrinius, Pontius'', and ''Siculus''. Many other surnames occur in Imperial times. ''Balbus'' and ''Bassus'' were common surnames, the former originally referring to one who stammers, and the latter to one inclined to stoutness. ''Cerrinius'' and ''Pontius'' were Samnite nomina, the latter perhaps cognate with the Latin ''Quinctius''. ''Siculus'' refers to an inhabitant of Sicily, where some of the Herennii carried on their trade. ''Picens'', attributed to the consul of 34 BC, would, if accurate, suggest that a branch of the Herennii had settled in Picenum.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 408 (" Herennius", no. 15).

Members

* Gaius Herennius, according to some sources one of the commissioners for assigning land to the Latin colony at Placentia in 218 BC. He and his colleagues were obliged to seek refuge at

Mutina Modena (, , ; egl, label= Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. A town, and seat ...

following an insurrection of the

Boii The Boii (Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; grc, Βόιοι) were a Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul ( Northern Italy), Pannonia (Hungary), parts of Bavaria, in and around Bohemia (after whom ...

, but according to Polybius they were captured by the Gauls. * Herennius Bassus, one of the leading senators at

in 215 BC, during the Second Punic War. In answer to the embassy of Hannibal urging the town to desert the Roman cause, Bassus said that the city was satisfied with its alliance with Rome, and had no desire to change sides. * Herennius Cerrinius, a priest who officiated at the Bacchanalia held at Rome in 186 BC, having been initiated into the rites by his mother, Minia Paculla. The exposure of the rites and rumours about the immoral behaviour of participants caused a general panic at Rome, and they were brutally suppressed, in the course of which Cerrinius probably perished. * Marcus Octavius Herennius, according to legend, a flute-player who became a successful trader. He dedicated a tenth of his gains to

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

, and after successfully fending off an attack of pirates, the god appeared to him in a dream, stating that he had given Herennius the strength. In gratitude, Herennius built a chapel to Hercules at the foot of the Aventine Hill, near the

Porta Trigemina The Porta Trigemina was one of the main gates in the ancient 4th century Servian Wall of Rome, Italy. The gate no longer exists, but it is frequently mentioned by ancient authors as standing between the north end of the Aventine Hill and the Tiber ...

. * Herennius Siculus, a

haruspex In the religion of ancient Rome, a haruspex (plural haruspices; also called aruspex) was a person trained to practise a form of divination called haruspicy (''haruspicina''), the inspection of the entrails ('' exta''—hence also extispicy ...

, and a friend of

Gaius Sempronius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician in the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, including laws to establish ...

, was arrested because of his association with Gracchus; but rather than face the dishonour of imprisonment in the

Tullianum The Mamertine Prison ( it, Carcere Mamertino), in antiquity the Tullianum, was a prison (''carcer'') with a dungeon ('' oubliette'') located in the Comitium in ancient Rome. It is said to have been built in the 7th century BC and was situated o ...

, he bashed his head against the doorpost, and so expired. * Gaius Herennius, the

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

, who was summoned to testify against Marius on a charge of bribery. Herennius refused, on the grounds that it would be unlawful for a patron to do injury to his client. He probably lived near

Arpinum Arpino ( Southern Latian dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Frosinone, in the Latin Valley, region of Lazio in central Italy, about 100 km SE of Rome. Its Roman name was Arpinum. The town produced two consuls of the ...

. * Marcus Herennius, consul in 93 BC, who won election against the noted orator Lucius Marcius Philippus, despite his own humble birth and limited oratorical skill. Large amounts of the expensive medicinal herb

reached Rome during his consulship, probably due to the trading connections of the Herennii. * Gaius Herennius,

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 80 BC, opposed Sulla's proposal to recall Gnaeus Pompeius from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. He was probably the same person as the

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, ...

Herennius who later served under

Sertorius Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 – 73 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian peninsula. He had been a prominent member of the populist faction of Cinna and Marius. During the l ...

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...

; he was defeated and slain by Pompeius near Valentia. He may also be the same as the senator Gaius Herennius, convicted of at some point before 69. * Titus Herennius, a banker at

, whom

Verres Gaius Verres (c. 120–43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence adv ...

had put to death during his

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 vari ...

ship, despite more than one hundred Roman citizens at Syracuse who attested to his good character and innocence of any crime. * Gaius Herennius, the addressee of a treatise on rhetoric attributed 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 esta ...

; he does not seem to be identified with any of the other men of this name. * Marcus Herennius, a decurion at Pompeii in 63 BC, he was struck and killed by lightning out of a cloudless sky. Under augural law, this constituted a prodigy, and the event was later viewed as foreshadowing the treason of Catiline. * Sextus Herennius, father of the tribune. * Gaius Herennius Sex. f., tribune of the plebs in 59 BC, lent considerable support to

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 ...

, when he illegally procured his adoption into a plebeian gens, in order to obtain the tribunician power. * Lucius Herennius, joined

Lucius Sempronius Atratinus Lucius Sempronius Atratinus (died 7 AD) was a Roman politician who was elected suffect consul in 34 BC. He is mentioned in ''Pro Caelio'', a famous speech in defense of Marcus Caelius Rufus by Marcus Tullius Cicero. Biography Probably born a ...

in the prosecution of

Marcus Caelius Rufus Marcus Caelius Rufus (28 May 82 BC – after 48 BC) was an orator and politician in the late Roman Republic. He was born into a wealthy equestrian family from Interamnia Praetuttiorum ( Teramo), on the central east coast of Italy. He is best know ...

for ''vis'' in 56 BC. Cicero, who was a friend of all three men, successfully defended Caelius in his oration ''

Pro Caelio ''Pro Caelio'' is a speech given on 4 April 56 BC, by the famed Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero in defence of Marcus Caelius Rufus, who had once been Cicero's student but more recently was a political rival. Cicero's reasons for defending Cael ...

'', in which he asserted that Herennius and Sempronius were being exploited by

Clodia Clodius is an alternate form of the Roman '' nomen'' Claudius, a patrician '' gens'' that was traditionally regarded as Sabine in origin. The alternation of ''o'' and ''au'' is characteristic of the Sabine dialect. The feminine form is Clodia. R ...

, Caelius' former lover, and the sister of Cicero's enemy, Publius Claudius Pulcher. * Lucius Herennius Balbus, demanded that the slaves belonging to

Titus Annius Milo Titus Annius Milo (died 48 BC) was a Roman political agitator. The son of Gaius Papius Celsus, he was adopted by his maternal grandfather, Titus Annius Luscus. In 52 BC, he was prosecuted for the murder of Publius Clodius Pulcher and exiled from ...

and his wife, Fausta, be tortured in order to obtain evidence concerning the death of Publius Claudius Pulcher. * Herennius Gallus, an actor at Gades, whom Lucius Cornelius Balbus raised to the rank of an eques, presenting him with a gold ring, and seating him in the part of the theatre that was reserved for the equites. * Herennius, a young man expelled from the army by

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 ...

on account of his profligate habits. Macrobius relates two anecdotes concerning their conversations. * Marcus Herennius, father of the consul of BC 34. * Marcus Herennius M. f. Picens, consul ''suffectus'' in November and December, 34 BC. * Marcus Herennius M. f. M. n. Picens, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 1. * Herennius Capito,

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

of Iamnia during the reign of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, arrested

Herod Agrippa Herod Agrippa (Roman name Marcus Julius Agrippa; born around 11–10 BC – in Caesarea), also known as Herod II or Agrippa I (), was a grandson of Herod the Great and King of Judea from AD 41 to 44. He was the father of Herod Agrippa II, th ...

for a debt owed to the Imperial treasury, and reported on Herod's conduct when the young man escaped. *

Herennius Senecio Herennius Senecio (d. 93 AD) was among the Stoic Opposition to the emperor Domitian, under whose rule he was executed. He was from Baetica in Roman Spain. He was the author of a laudatory biography of the Stoic martyr Helvidius Priscus. In 93 AD ...

, quaestor in his native province of

Hispania Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of the basic di ...

, was accused by Metius Carus of having sought no public office after the quaestorship, and having written the ''Life of

Helvidius Priscus Helvidius Priscus, Stoic philosopher and statesman, lived during the reigns of Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian. Biography Helvidius came from town of Cluviae, and his father had been the senior centurion of a legion. From early y ...

'', who had been put to death by

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

. On these apparently slight grounds, the emperor

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 Fl ...

had Herennius executed. * Herennius Pollio, an orator in the time of Pliny the Younger, might be the same as either Publius or Marcus, consuls in AD 85. * Publius Herennius Pollio, consul ''suffectus'' alongside his son, Marcus, in July and August of AD 85.Gallivan, "The ''Fasti'' for A.D. 70–96", pp. 190, 197, 216. * Marcus Annius Herennius P. f. Pollio, consul ''suffectus'' together with his father, Publius, in July and August, AD 85. * Herennius Severus, a friend of Pliny the Younger, who describes him as a ''vir doctissimus'', "a most learned man". *

Lucius Herennius Saturninus Lucius Herennius Saturninus was a Roman senator active during the reign of Domitian and Trajan (c. AD 81–117). He was suffect consul for the '' nundinium'' of May to June AD 100, with Pomponius Mamilianus as his colleague. The ''cursus honoru ...

, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 100. * Marcus Herennius Pollio, consul ''suffectus'' before AD 103. * Herennius Severus, consul ''suffectus'' in a ''nundinium'' between the years 118 and 138. * Gaius Herennius Capella, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 119. * Marcus Herennius Faustus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 121. * Marcus Herennius Secundus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 183. *

Herennius Modestinus Herennius Modestinus, or simply Modestinus, was a celebrated Roman jurist, a student of Ulpian who flourished about 250 AD. He appears to have been a native of one of the Greek-speaking provinces, probably Dalmatia. In Valentinian's ''Law of Ci ...

, a celebrated jurist of the third century AD; he was a pupil of

Ulpian Ulpian (; la, Gnaeus Domitius Annius Ulpianus; c. 170223? 228?) was a Roman jurist born in Tyre. He was considered one of the great legal authorities of his time and was one of the five jurists upon whom decisions were to be based according to ...

, and considered one of the great jurists in the classical period of Roman law. * Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla, wife of the emperor

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procl ...

, and Roman empress from AD 249 to 251. She is not mentioned by the historians, but is known from coins and inscriptions bearing her name and likeness. * Quintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius, son of the emperor Decius, was appointed consul in AD 251, and subsequently elevated to the rank of ''Augustus'', becoming emperor together with his father; but both father and son were slain in battle against the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

before the end of the year.Zonaras, xii. 20.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Polybius, ''Historiae''. *

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 esta ...

, ''

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

'', ''

Epistulae ad Atticum ''Epistulae ad Atticum'' (Latin for "Letters to Atticus") is a collection of letters from Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero to his close friend Titus Pomponius Atticus. The letters in this collection, together with Cicero's ot ...

'', ''

In Verrem "In Verrem" ("Against Verres") is a series of speeches made by Cicero in 70 BC, during the corruption and extortion trial of Gaius Verres, the former governor of Sicily. The speeches, which were concurrent with Cicero's election to the aedileshi ...

, Pro Murena'', ''Rhetorica ad Herennium'' (attributed), ''

'', ''

Epistulae ad Familiares ''Epistulae ad Familiares'' (''Letters to Friends'') is a collection of letters between Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero and various public and private figures. The letters in this collection, together with Cicero's other letter ...

''. * Gaius Sallustius Crispus (

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...

), ''Historiae''. * Titus Livius (

), ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

''. * Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities). *

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

, ''

Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia'') by Valerius Maximus (c. 20 BC – c. AD 50) was written arou ...

'' (Memorable Facts and Sayings). *

Quintus Asconius Pedianus Quintus Asconius Pedianus (BC 9 - AD 76) was a Roman historian. There is no evidence that Asconius engaged in a public career, but he was familiar both with Roman government of his time and with the geography of the city. He may, therefore, have w ...

, ''Commentarius in Oratio Ciceronis

Pro Milone The "Pro Tito Annio Milone ad iudicem oratio" (Pro Milone) is a speech made by Marcus Tullius Cicero in 52 BC on behalf of his friend Titus Annius Milo. Milo was accused of murdering his political enemy Publius Clodius Pulcher on the Via Appia. Cic ...

'' (Commentary on Cicero's Oration ''Pro Milone''). * Gaius Plinius Secundus (

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 ' ...

), ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

'' (Natural History). * Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus ( Pliny the Younger), '' Epistulae''. * Appianus Alexandrinus (

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...

), ''Bellum Samniticum'' (History of the Samnite Wars). * Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

), ''

Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...

''. *

Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, ''

Antiquitates Judaicae ''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the re ...

'' (Antiquities of the Jews). *

Publius Cornelius Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, '' Historiae'', '' De Vita et Moribus Iulii Agricolae'' (On the Life and Mores of Julius Agricola). * Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (

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 ...

), ''Roman History''. *

Julius Obsequens Julius Obsequens was a Roman writer active in the 4th or early 5th centuries AD, during late antiquity. His sole known work is the ''Prodigiorum liber'' (''Book of Prodigies''), a tabulation of the wonders and portents that had occurred in the Ro ...

, ''Liber de Prodigiis'' (The Book of Prodigies). *

Sextus 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 ...

, ''De Caesaribus'' (On the Caesars), ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' (Extracts of ''On the Caesars'', attributed). *

Servius Servius is the name of: * Servius (praenomen), the personal name * Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian * Servius Tullius, the Roman king * Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the 1st century BC Roman jurist See ...

, ''Ad Virgilii Aeneidem commentarii'' (Commentary on Vergil's ''Aeneid''). * Claudius Claudianus ( Claudian), ''Carmina Minora'' (Lesser Poems). *

Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

, ''Saturnalia''. * Joannes Zonaras, ''Epitome Historiarum'' (Extracts of History). *

Ludovico Antonio Muratori Lodovico Antonio Muratori (21 October 1672 – 23 January 1750) was an Italian historian, notable as a leading scholar of his age, and for his discovery of the Muratorian fragment, the earliest known list of New Testament books. Biography Born ...

, ''Novus Thesaurus Veterum Inscriptionum'' (New Treasury of Ancient Inscriptions), Milan (1739-42). * Francesco Scipione, Marchese di Maffei, ''Museum Veronense, hoc est, Antiquarum Inscriptionum atque Anaglyphorum Collectio'' (Museum of Verona, or a Collection of Antique Inscriptions and Reliefs). *

Joseph Hilarius Eckhel Joseph Hilarius Eckhel (13 January 1737 – 16 May 1798) was an Austrian Jesuit priest and numismatist. Biography Eckhel was born at Enzersfeld, in Lower Austria. His father was farm-steward to Count Zinzendorf, and he received his early educ ...

, ''Doctrina Numorum Veterum'' (The Study of Ancient Coins). * ''

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, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952–1986). * E. Mary Smallwood, ''Documents Illustrating the Principates of Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian'', Cambridge University Press (1966). * Paul A. Gallivan, "The ''Fasti'' for A.D. 70–96", in '' Classical Quarterly'', vol. 31, pp. 186–220 (1981). * Olli Salomies, ''Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire'', Societas Scientiarum Fenica, Helsinki (1992). * John C. Traupman, ''The New College Latin & English Dictionary'' (Bantam, 1995). * Werner Eck and Andreas Pangerl, "Neue Diplome mit den Namen von Konsuln und Statthaltern," in ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', vol. 187 (2013). {{Refend Roman gentes Roman gentes of Samnite origin

Origin

Praenomina

Branches and cognomina

Members

See also

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References

Bibliography