The ''gens Centenia'' was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
family in the time of the
Second Punic War. It is best known from two individuals,
Gaius Centenius Gaius Centenius ( fl. 3rd century BC) was a propraetor of the Roman army. He fought at the Second Punic War, and was defeated at the Battle of Lake Trasimene.
According to Polybius, the Roman consul Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, who was en route to me ...
,
propraetor
In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...
in 217 B.C., whose cavalry force was defeated by
Maharbal Maharbal ( xpu, 𐤌𐤄𐤓𐤁𐤏𐤋, ; centuryBC) was a Numidian army commander in charge of the cavalry under Hannibal and his second-in-command during the Second Punic War. Maharbal was a very close friend to Hannibal and admired hi ...
, and
Marcus Centenius Penula, a veteran
centurion distinguished for his bravery, who was granted a force to deal with
Hannibal in
Lucania
Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto.
It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttiu ...
, and was likewise defeated in 212.
Paulus Orosius
Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in ''Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), th ...
, ''Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII'', iv. 16.
See also
*
List of Roman gentes
The gens (plural gentes) was a Roman family, of Italic or Etruscan origins, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same '' nomen'' and claimed descent from a common ancestor. It was an important social and legal structure in early ...
Footnotes
Roman gentes
{{Roman-gens-stub