The gens Sextia 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 ...

, from the time of the early

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 continuing into imperial times. The most famous member of the

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 ...

was

Lucius Sextius Lateranus Lucius Sextius Sextinus Lateranus was a Roman tribune of the plebs and is noted for having been one of two men (the other being Gaius Licinius Stolo) who passed the Leges Liciniae Sextiae of 368 BC and 367 BC. Originally, these were a set of three ...

, who as

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 ...

from 376 to 367 BC, prevented the election of the annual

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

, until the passage of the ''

lex Licinia Sextia The Licino-Sextian rogations were a series of laws proposed by tribunes of the plebs, Gaius Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus, enacted around 367 BC. Livy calls them ''rogatio'' – though he does refer to them at times as ''lex' ...

'', otherwise known as the "Licinian Rogations," in the latter year. This law, brought forward by Sextius and his colleague,

Gaius Licinius Calvus 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 ...

, opened the consulship to the plebeians, and in the following year Sextius was elected the first plebeian consul. Despite the antiquity of the family, only one other member obtained the consulship during the time of the Republic. Their name occurs more often 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 simil ...

under the Empire.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 810 (" Sextia Gens").Livy, vi. 34–42.

Origin

The nomen ''Sextius'' is a patronymic surname, derived from the

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 ...

Sextus Sextus is an ancient Roman '' praenomen'' or "first name". Its standard abbreviation is Sex., and the feminine form would be Sexta. It is one of the numeral ''praenomina'', like Quintus ("fifth") and Decimus ("tenth"), and means "sixth". Althoug ...

'', meaning "sixth", which must have belonged to the ancestor of the gens.Chase, p. 123. It is frequently confounded with that of the patrician '' gens Sestia'', and in fact the two families may originally have been the same; however, Roman authors treated them as distinct gentes. The plebeian '' gens Sextilia'' was derived from the same praenomen.

Praenomina

The main praenomina of the early Sextii were '' Marcus'', '' Lucius'', and ''

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 ...

'', the most common names throughout all periods of Roman history. From filiations, we know that some of them also used '' Numerius'' and ''

'', of which the former was relatively uncommon at Rome. Later generations of this gens used '' Publius'', ''

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 ...

'', and ''

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 ...

'', all of which were also common. Epigraphy provides instances of '' Vibius'', a name that was also used by the patrician Sestii, supporting the theory of a common origin.

Branches and cognomina

Most of the Sextii under the Republic bore no surname, or else had only personal

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 ...

, instead of family-names. These included ''Baculus'', ''Calvinus'', ''Lateranus'', ''Naso'', ''Paconianus'', and ''Sabinus.''

Members

* Marcus Sextius,

in 414 BC, proposed that a colony should be sent to Bolae. * Numerius Sextius, grandfather of Lucius Sextius Lateranus, the tribune. * Sextus Sextius N. f., father of the tribune Lateranus. * Lucius Sextius Sex. f. N. n. Sextinus Lateranus,

with

from 376 to 367 BC, succeeded in passing the ''

'', opening the consulship to the plebeians; in 366 he became the first plebeian consul.'' Fasti Capitolini'', ; 1904, 114. * Marcus Sextius Sabinus, plebeian aedile in 203 BC, and

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 ...

in the following year, obtained

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

as his province. * Sextius,

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 ...

of the consul Lucius Calpurnius Bestia in

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

, in 111 BC. * Publius Sextius, praetor ''designatus'' in 100 BC, was accused of bribery by Titus Junius, and condemned. He might be the same person as the quaestor of 111. * Sextius, lictor of Verres in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, and his favorite executioner. * Publius Sextius Baculus, a

centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

with

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

's army in Gaul, who distinguished himself on many occasions by his great bravery. * Sextius Naso, one of the conspirators against Caesar in 44 BC. * Quintus Sextius, conspired against Quintus Cassius Longinus, governor of Hispania Ulterior, in 48 BC. After the conspiracy was suppressed, Sextius purchased his life from Cassius in exchange for a large sum of money. *

Quintus Sextius Quintus Sextius the Elder (; la, Quinti Sextii Patris; fl. c. 50 BC) was a Roman philosopher, whose philosophy combined Pythagoreanism with Stoicism. His praises were frequently celebrated by Seneca. Life Sextius was born no later than 70 BC. H ...

, a Sextian philosopher during the time of Caesar; his works were admired by the younger

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

. * Sextius Niger, a Sextian physician during the early Empire, and author of a pharmacological work. *

Sextius Paconianus Sextius Paconianus an agent of Sejanus. He was of prætorian rank. He caused the death of Sejanus, apparently to the satisfaction of the senators, for Sejanus had oft betrayed secrets entrusted to him by the Senate. Paconianus was complicit in a p ...

, one of the agents of

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian Guar ...

, who was imprisoned after his master's downfall in AD 31, and subsequently strangled for having written some libellous verses against the emperor. * Lucius Aninius Sextius Florentinus, a second century Roman senator, entombed at

Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...

Sextii Calvini

* Gaius Sextius, grandfather of the consul of 124 BC * Gaius C. f. Sextius, father of the consul of 124 BC * Gaius Sextius C. f. C. n. Calvinus, consul in 124 BC, and afterwards assigned the administration of Gaul. He conquered the

Salluvii The Salyes or Salluvii (Greek: ) were an ancient Celto-Ligurian people dwelling between the Durance river and the Greek colony of Massalia during the Iron Age. Although earlier writers called them 'Ligurian', Strabo used the denomination 'Celto-lig ...

, and founded the colony of

Aquae Sextiae Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix (Old Occitan, medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a List of communes in France with ov ...

. * Gaius C. f. Sextius Calvinus, described by Cicero as an excellent but sickly orator who stod as a candidate as praetor against Servilius Glaucia. He was probably a son of the consul and probably the same man as the praetor who restored the altar of an unknown deity. He may also have been the Gaius Calvinus who was a friend of Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo, described as only having one eye. Several historians have also identified him as the Sextius who was

under Lucius Calpurnius Bestia in 111 BC. * Publius Sextius Calvinus, Late Republican descendant of the consul of 124 BC, attested from a statue base in Thespiis

Sextii Africani

Titus Sextius Titus Sextius ( BC) was a Roman soldier as well as a governor in Africa. Sextius' origins are obscure. He belonged to ''gens'' Sextia and may have been an Ostian. Some of his descendants achieved consular rank and took the cognomen A ...

, one of Caesar's

legates A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer ...

in Gaul, he subsequently held the province 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 ...

on behalf of the triumvirs, until the government was given to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, in 40 BC. * Sextia, the wife of

Mamercus Aemilius Scaurus Mamercus Aemilius Scaurus (died AD 34) was a Roman rhetorician, poet and senator. Tacitus writes that Scaurus was "a man of distinguished rank and ability as an advocate, but of infamous life." He was suffect consul from July to the end of the ...

; they took their own lives after Scaurus was accused of in AD 34. *

Titus Sextius Africanus Titus Sextius Africanus was a Roman senator who was deterred by Agrippina the Younger from marrying Junia Silana. He served as a suffect consul in 59 AD. In 62 AD, he took the census in the provinces of Gaul, together with Quintus Volusius Satu ...

, was discouraged by Agrippina from marrying Junia Silana, the widow of

Gaius Silius Gaius Silius (died AD 24) was a Roman senator who achieved successes as a general over German barbarians following the disaster of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. For this achievement he was appointed consul in AD 13 with Lucius Munatius Planc ...

; in AD 62 he took the census in the provinces of Gaul. * Sextia, the mother-in-law of

Lucius Antistius Vetus 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 ...

; they were put to death by the emperor

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 ...

in AD 65. * Titus Sextius Magius Lateranus, consul in AD 94. * Titus Sextius Cornelius Africanus, consul in AD 112 with the emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

.'' Fasti Ostienses'', . *

Titus Sextius Lateranus 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 milit ...

, consul in AD 154. * Titus Sextius Magius Lateranus consul in AD 197.Mennen, ''Power and Status of the Roman Empire''.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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 ...

, '' Brutus'', ''

De Oratore ''De Oratore'' (''On the Orator''; not to be confused with ''Orator'') is a dialogue written by Cicero in 55 BC. It is set in 91 BC, when Lucius Licinius Crassus dies, just before the Social War and the civil war between Marius and Sulla, du ...

'', ''

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 aedileship, ...

''. * Gaius Julius Caesar, ''

Commentarii de Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...

'' (Commentaries on the Gallic War). *

Aulus Hirtius Aulus Hirtius (; – 43 BC) was consul of the Roman Republic in 43 BC and a writer on military subjects. He was killed during his consulship in battle against Mark Antony at the Battle of Mutina. Biography He was a legate of Julius Caesar's sta ...

, '' De Bello Alexandrino'' (On the Alexandrine War). * 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 o ...

), ''Bellum Jugurthinum'' (The Jugurthine War). * Titus Livius (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, 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 traditiona ...

), ''

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 ...

''. *

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, ''

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Ancient Greek, Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen ...

''. * Marcus Velleius Paterculus, ''Roman History''. * Valerius Maximus, ''

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). * Lucius Annaeus Seneca (

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...

), '' Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium'' (Moral Letters to Lucilius), ''

De Ira ''De Ira'' (''On Anger'') is a Latin work by Seneca (4 BC–65 AD). The work defines and explains anger within the context of Stoic philosophy, and offers therapeutic advice on how to prevent and control anger. Sources Seneca's main sources were ...

'' (On Anger). * Publius Cornelius Tacitus, '' Annales''. * 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, Hadr ...

), ''Bellum Civile'' (The Civil War). * ''

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). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952–1986). * Inge Mennen, ''Power and Status in the Roman Empire, AD 193–284'', Brill (2011). * Christian Settipani, ''Prosopographie sénatoriale romaine: nouveautés autour des Sextii'', L’Année Epigraphique (2014). {{Refend Roman gentes