{{Short description, 3rd century prominent Roman noblewoman Pomponia Ummidia (219-after 275) was an Anatolian Roman noblewoman and was a prominent figure in

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 ...

during the reigns of the Roman Emperors

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...

Claudius Gothicus Marcus Aurelius Claudius "Gothicus" (10 May 214 – January/April 270), also known as Claudius II, was Roman emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alemanni and decisively defeated the Goths at the Battle ...

Quintillus Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus (died 270) was a Roman emperor. He was a brother of Emperor Claudius Gothicus, whom he succeeded after Claudius' death in 270. Quintillus' claim to be emperor was challenged by Aurelian, who was proclaimed em ...

and

Aurelian Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited t ...

. She lived in the period the

Crisis of the Third Century The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis (AD 235–284), was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. The crisis ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the ascensi ...

in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

Life

Pomponia Ummidia came from a distinguished senatorial family. She was the daughter of the

Roman Senator 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 ...

Pomponius Bassus and the wealthy heiress Annia Aurelia Faustina, while her brother was the Roman Senator Pomponius Bassus. She was of Italian Roman and Pontian Greek ancestry. The paternal great-grandparents of her mother were the Roman Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

and Roman Empress

Faustina the Younger Annia Galeria Faustina the Younger (born probably 21 September AD, – 175/176 AD) was Roman empress from 161 to her death as the wife of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, her maternal cousin. Faustina was the youngest child of Emperor Antoninus Pius an ...

. Through her mother, Pomponia Ummidia was a descendant of the former ruling

Nerva–Antonine dynasty The Nerva–Antonine dynasty comprised 7 Roman emperors who ruled from 96 to 192 AD: Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), Marcus Aurelius (161–180), Lucius Verus (161–169), and Commodus (180� ...

of the

. Her

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 ...

''Ummidia'' reveals that she was a distant relative to the

Ummidia gens The gens Ummidia was a ancient Rome, Roman family which flourished during the first and second centuries. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Ummidius Durmius Quadratus, governor of Syria (Roman province), Syria during th ...

. Her mother named her this cognomen and names her in honor of three late relatives from the gens, who were: * Gaius Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus, a

who served as a suffect consul in 146 who married Marcus Aurelius' sister,

Annia Cornificia Faustina Annia Cornificia Faustina (122/123between 152 and 158) was the youngest child and only daughter of the praetor Marcus Annius Verus and Domitia Lucilla. The parents of Cornificia came from wealthy senatorial families who were of consular rank. H ...

, who was his cousin, as his ''cognomini'' Annianus Verus suggest *

Ummidia Cornificia Faustina Ummidia Cornificia Faustina (AD 141–182) was a wealthy Roman noblewoman, an heiress and the niece of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Family Cornificia Faustina was the daughter of Marcus Aurelius’ sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina and a R ...

, the daughter of Gaius Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus and wife and cousin Annia Cornificia Faustina, she was the niece of Marcus Aurelius and the maternal grandmother of Annia Aurelia Faustina * Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus, b. 138, ordinary consul in 167, son of Gaius Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus, the brother of Ummidia Cornificia Faustina and the maternal nephew of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius * Marcus Claudius Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus, b. abt. 167, son of Gnaeus Claudius Severus, ordinary consul in 167, and adopted son of Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus, his father's colleague as ordinary consul in 167 She along with her brother, were born and raised in her mother's large estate in

Pisidia Pisidia (; grc-gre, Πισιδία, ; tr, Pisidya) was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Pamphylia, northeast of Lycia, west of Isauria and Cilicia, and south of Phrygia, corresponding roughly to the modern-day province of An ...

. The estate she and her brother was born and raised in, is one of a number of estates in Pisidia called the ''Cyllanian Estates''. These estates were very large properties and existed from the time of the Roman Dictator of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had t ...

(c. 138 BC-78 BC). When her father died in 221, her mother was briefly married to the Roman Emperor

Elagabalus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...

. By the end of 221, Elagabalus had ended their marriage by divorcing her mother. When Annia Aurelia Faustina died, Pomponia Ummidia inherited her mother's estate and the fortune of her mother. By this means, she became a very wealthy heiress. According to the inscriptions found on the estate, Pomponia Ummidia is named as the heiress of the estate, inheriting the estate from her parents. These inscriptions reveal that Pomponia Ummidia married a Greek Politician called

Flavius Antiochianus Flavius Antiochianus (flourished 3rd century) was a prominent Roman politician during the reigns of the emperors Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus and Aurelian, in the period referred to as the Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire ...

. Flavius Antiochianus was an active politician in the reigns of the four above mentioned Roman Emperors. She spent her time between Rome and Pisidia. According to the inscriptions, Pomponia Ummidia appears to have been a virtuous person in character. It is unknown whether Pomponia Ummidia bore any of Flavius Antiochianus' children.

Sources

* Alaric Watson, ''Aurelian the third century'' (Routledge, 1999) * William M. Ramsay, ''The Cities and Bishoprics of Phyrgia: Being an Essay of the Local History of Phrygia from the Earliest Times to the Turkish Conquest Volume One, Part One'' 219 births 3rd-century Romans Ummidia Ummidii Year of death unknown