The gens Traia was an obscure

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 ...

. No 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 mentioned by Roman writers, but several are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen ''Traius'' belongs to a large class of gentilicia formed using the suffix ', which was typical of

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 ...

names. Epigraphy places some of the Traii in

Samnium Samnium ( it, Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The lan ...

, an Oscan-speaking region of Italy.

Praenomina

All of the Traii known from inscriptions bore very common

praenomina 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 birt ...

, including ''

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 L ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Marcus'', 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 ...

''.

Branches and cognomina

A family of this gens settled in

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: Hispania ...

by the Augustan era, where they achieved some local importance at

Italica Italica ( es, Itálica) was a Roman town founded by Italic settlers in Hispania; its site is close to the town of Santiponce, part of the province of Seville in modern-day Spain. It was founded in 206 BC by Roman general Scipio as a settleme ...

and Arva in

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 ...

. Gaius Traius Pollio was one of the

duumvirs The duumviri (Latin for "two men"), originally duoviri and also known in English as the duumvirs, were any of various joint magistrates of ancient Rome. Such pairs of magistrates were appointed at various periods of Roman history both in Rome its ...

at Italica, while Quintus Traius Areianus was honoured with a statue at Arva. The

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 ...

''Pollio'' was an old Latin surname originally derived from the occupation of the bearer, indicating a polisher. ''Areianus'', which belonged to at least two generations of the family from Arva, probably commemorated their descent from the Areia gens. Similarly, the surname ''Trajanus'', borne by a family of the

Ulpia gens The gens Ulpia was a Roman family that rose to prominence during the first century AD. The gens is best known from the emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, who reigned from AD 98 to 117. The Thirtieth Legion took its name, ''Ulpia'', in his honor. ...

from

Tuder Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, probably recorded their descent from the Traii, some of whom lived at Tuder. 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 ...

was descended from a branch of this family that settled in

, as did some of the Traii. The surname is found with Lucius Blattius Trajanus Pollio, colleague of the duumvir Gaius Traius Pollio; his surnames seem to indicate that he was likewise descended from the Traii Polliones.

Members

* Traia, a woman named in a pottery inscription from Rome. * Gaius Traius, named in a sepulchral inscription from

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 ...

. * Marcus Traius M. f., named in an inscription from

. * Lucius Traius Adjutor, buried at the site of modern

Pesco Sannita Pesco Sannita (Campanian: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples and about north of Benevento. Pesco Sannita borders the following municipalities: Benevent ...

, formerly part of

, in a tomb built by Tituleia Felicissima, his wife of twenty-five years.. * Quintus Traius Areianus, father of the Areianus honoured at Arva in Hispania Baetica, was probably the husband of Aemilia Lucilla, and the father or stepfather of Sergius Rufinus. * Quintus Traius Q. f. Areianus, honoured with a sepulchre and statue at Arva, dedicated by his mother, Aemilia Lucilla, and brother, Sergius Rufinus.. * Lucius Traius L. f. Honoratus, dedicated a tomb at

Ligures Baebiani In ancient geography, the Ligures Baebiani were a settlement of Ligurians in Samnium, Italy. History The towns of ''Taurasia'' (not to be confused with modern Taurasi) and '' Cisauna'' in Samnium had been captured in 298 BC by the consul L. Corn ...

in Samnium for his mother, Quintia Phoebas.. * Gaius Traius Logismus, together with Quartula Cantria, perhaps his wife, dedicated a tomb at Corduba in Hispania Baetica, dating from the middle part of the first century, for Faustus, probably their child, aged seven months. * Gaius Traius C. f. Pollio, designated one of the municipal

of Italica, along with Lucius Blattius Trajanus Pollio, probably his relative, in an Augustan-era inscription.. * Marcus Traius Samacius Dualius, a youth buried at the site of modern Zarza de Granadilla, formerly part of

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusita ...

, aged fifteen.''Hispania Epigraphica'', 2013, 141.

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

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). * René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''

L'Année épigraphique ''L'Année épigraphique'' (''The Epigraphic Year'', standard abbreviation ''AE'') is a French publication on epigraphy (i.e the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing). It was set up by René Cagnat, as holder of the chair of 'Epigraphy an ...