The gens Minicia 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 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 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 first mentioned in the first century, achieving the

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

under the emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

. Owing to the similarity of their names, the Minicii are regularly confused with members of the ancient and far more prominent gens

Minucia ''Minucia'' is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromot ...

.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 1090 (" Minicia Gens").

Origin

The Minucii originally came from Brixia in

Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...

. That city had received a

Roman colony A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term ''colony''. Characteri ...

shortly before the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

, and its inhabitants received

Roman citizenship 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 ...

in 41 BC.

Members

* Quintus Minicius Macer, mentioned in an inscription from Brixia.''PIR'', vol. I, p. 378. * Minicius Justus, an intimate friend of

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...

, was

praefectus castrorum The ''praefectus castrorum'' ("camp prefect") was, in the Roman army of the early Empire, the third most senior officer of the Roman legion after the legate (''legatus'') and the senior military tribune (''tribunus laticlavius''), both of whom w ...

for the

Legio VII Claudia Legio VII Claudia (Claudius' Seventh Legion) was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. History According to H.M.D. Parker, the first legion Julius Caesar raised for his campaigns in Cisalpine Gaul was the Seventh; the numbers 1-4 were omitted ...

in AD 69. * Aulus Minicius Rufus,

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 and Cyrenaica Crete and Cyrenaica ( la, Provincia Creta et Cyrenaica, Ancient Greek ) was a senatorial province of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, established in 67 BC. It comprised the island of Crete and the region of Cyrenaica in present-day L ...

, probably in AD 71.''PIR'', vol. I, p. 380. * Minicius Macrinus, an '' eques'' from Brixia, was enrolled among those of

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 ...

ian rank by the emperor

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 ...

. * Gaius Minicius Italus, a cavalry commander honoured by

, he subsequently became a provincial governor, and

Flamen A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...

of the Divine

. * Aulus Minicius Rufus,

Creta et Cyrenaica Crete and Cyrenaica ( la, Provincia Creta et Cyrenaica, Ancient Greek ) was a senatorial province of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, established in 67 BC. It comprised the island of Crete and the region of Cyrenaica in present-day L ...

in 71/72. * Minicius Acilianus, son of Minicius Macrinus and Acilia, is mentioned in the letters of Pliny the Younger. He was a little older than Pliny, and had been

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

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 ...

, and

. *

Lucius Minicius Rufus Lucius Minicius Rufus was a Roman senator. He was best known as an acquaintance of the philosopher and wonder-worker Apollonius of Tyana. Rufus is known to have been proconsular governor of Bithynia et Pontus in AD 82/83, then afterwards appointe ...

, consul in AD 88, during the reign 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 ...

. * Gnaeus Minicius Faustinus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 91. * Gaius Minicius P. f. Italus, ''eques'' and governor of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

from AD 100 to 103. *

Lucius Minicius Natalis Lucius Minicius Natalis was a Roman senator and military leader who occupied a number of offices in the imperial service. He was suffect consul in 106 with Quintus Licinius Silvanus Granianus Quadronius Proculus as his colleague. He is known entire ...

, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 106, and afterward proconsul of

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 ...

. * Gaius Minicius L. f. Fundanus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 107, and afterward proconsul of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. * (Titus) Salvius T. f. Rufinus Minicius Opimianus, procurator of Asia during the reign of Trajan.Eck, "Ergänzungen zu den Fasti Consulares", p. 327. * Gnaeus Minicius Faustinus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 117.''PIR'', vol. I, p. 377. * Titus Salvius (T. f.) T. n. Rufinus Minicius Opimianus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 123, and son of the Opimianus who was procurator of Asia. * Lucius Minicius L. f. Natalis Quadronius Verus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 139. Like his father before him, he subsequently became proconsul of Africa. * Minicius Opimianus, the son of Opimianus, consul in 123, was consul ''suffectus'' in AD 155. * Minicius Opimianus, the grandson of Opimianus, the consul of 123, was consul ''suffectus'' in AD 186 or 187, and proconsul of Africa at some point between AD 198 and 209. He died in office.''PIR'', vol. I, pp. 379, 380.

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (

), '' Epistulae'' (Letters). *

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''. * ''

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, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). *

Paul von Rohden Paul von Rohden (12 December 1862, Barmen – 28 February 1939, Pieterlen) was a German-Swiss schoolteacher and historian known for his research in the field of prosopography. He was the son of theologian Ludwig von Rohden (1815–1889) and the bro ...

Elimar Klebs Elimar Klebs (15 October 1852 – 16 May 1918) was a German historian of ancient history. He was the brother of botanist Georg Klebs. Biography Klebs was born in Braunsberg (Braniewo), Prussia. He studied in Berlin under Theodor Mommsen a ...

, &

Hermann Dessau Hermann Dessau (6 April 1856, Frankfurt am Main – 12 April 1931, Berlin) was a German ancient historian and epigrapher. He is noted for a key work of textual criticism published in 1889 on the ''Historia Augusta'', which uncovered reasons to ...

, ''

Prosopographia Imperii Romani The ', abbreviated ''PIR'', is a collective historical work to establish the prosopography of high-profile people from the Roman empire. The time period covered extends from the Battle of Actium in 31 BC to the reign of Diocletian. The final volum ...

'' (The Prosopography of the Roman Empire, abbreviated ''PIR''), Berlin (1898). *

Werner Eck Werner Eck (born 17 December 1939) is Professor of Ancient History at Cologne University, Germany, and a noted expert on the history and epigraphy of imperial Rome.Eck, W. (2007) ''The Age of Augustus''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, cover notes. His ...

, "Ergänzungen zu den ''Fasti Consulares'' des 1. und 2. Jh. nach Chr." ("Additions to the ''Fasti Consulares'' for the First and Second Centuries AD"), in ''Historia'', vol. 24, pp. 324–344 (1975); "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139" (Annual and Provincial Fasti of the Senatorial Governors from AD 69/70 to 138/139), in ''Chiron'', vol. 12 (1982). Roman gentes

Origin

Members

See also

References

Bibliography