The gens Ovinia 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

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 ...

. 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 ...

occur in history toward 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 ...

, and from then to at least the fourth century. They produced generations of

Roman senators The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

, with Gaius Ovinius Tertullus obtaining the consulship toward the end of the second century.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 74 ("Ovinius").

Origin

The nomen ''Ovinius'' belongs to a class of gentilicia formed from other names using the suffix ''-inius''. In this case, it seems to be a patronymic surname derived from the

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 th ...

praenomen 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 bi ...

''Ovius''.

Branches and cognomina

Among the surnames of the Ovinii were ''Camillus'', ''Rusticus'', and ''Tertullus''. ''Camillus'' was an ancient cognomen referring to a youth in the service of a priestly office, and was made famous by the

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

Marcus Furius Camillus during the fourth century BC. ''Rusticus'' referred to someone of rural origin or habits. ''Tertullus'' is a diminutive of the cognomen ''Tertius'', "third".

Members

* Ovinius, proposed a law known as the ''lex Ovinia'', granting certain powers to the censors in order to maintain the list of senators. The law was passed by ''plebiscitum'', but its date is uncertain. * Quintus Ovinius, a Roman senator at the time of the war between Octavian and Marcus Antonius, who had taken charge of Cleopatra's spinning and weaving workshops. Octavian, who considered this conduct disgraceful for a senator, had Ovinius put to death at the conclusion of the war.''PIR'', vol. II, p. 442. * Gaius Ovinius Tertullus, consul ''suffectus'' before AD 198, subsequently became

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, ...

''pro praetore'' of

Moesia Inferior Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

during the reigns of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...

and

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

.''PIR'', vol. II, p. 443. * Ovinius Camillus, a senator who considered instigating a rebellion against the emperor

Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...

. When his inclinations were discovered, the emperor treated him with clemency. * Lucius Ovinius L. f. Rusticus Cornelianus, consul in AD 237, during the reign of

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 Diocletian ...

. He had been

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 ...

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 ...

, legate of one of the legions in Mysia inferior, and curator of the ''Via Tiburtina'' and the ''Via Flaminia''. * Rufria Ovinia L. f. L. n. Corneliana, daughter of the consul Rusticus Cornelianus. * Ovinius Pacatianus, ''

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and ...

'' in AD 276 and 277.''Chronography of 354''. *

Ovinius Paternus Ovinius Gaius Julius Aquilius Paternus ( 3rd century) was a Roman senator who was appointed consul in AD 267.He is not to be confused with the Consul of 268 (Aspasius Paternus) or 269 (also named Paternus). Biography Ovinius Paternus was a member ...

, ''praefectus urbi'' in AD 281, could possibly be the same person as Nonius Paternus, the consul of 279. * Lucius Ovinius Curius Proculus Modianus Africanus, consul in an uncertain year. His wife was Claudiana Eusebia, and he was the grandfather of Lucius Ovinius Africanus. His monument at Rome dates to the end of the third or the beginning of the fourth century.. * Lucius Ovinius Africanus, grandson of the consul Africanus. *

Ovinius Gallicanus Ovinius Gallicanus (''floruit'' 293317) was a senator of the Roman Empire, probably the first Christian Roman consul. In 293 or 300 he was the ''curator'' of Teanum Sidicinum. On 4 August 316 he is attested as ''praefectus urbi'' of Rome, as succes ...

, ''praefectus urbi'' in AD 316, and consul ''suffectus'' the following year.''PLRE'', vol. 1, p. 383 ("Ovinius Gallicanus").

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Aelius Lampridius, Aelius Spartianus, Flavius Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Trebellius Pollio, and Vulcatius Gallicanus, ''Historia Augusta'' (

Augustan History The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...

). * '' Chronography of 354''. * Paulus Orosius, ''Historiarum Adversum Paganos'' (History Against the Pagans). * ''

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). *

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...

''et alii'', ''

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...

'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897). *

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). * A. H. M. Jones & J. R. Martindale, ''

The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...