The gens Nasennia was an obscure plebeian 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 ...

. None of the Nasennii held any of the higher offices of the Roman state, and the family is best known from Gaius Nasennius, a soldier in the time of

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a 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 a civil war, an ...

. Many other Nasennii are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen ''Nasennius'' appears to belong to a class of names ending in ''-ennius'' and probably derived from

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 ...

. Chase compares it with the nomen ''Herennius'', suggesting that each developed from an earlier form with the suffix ''-endius''. An Oscan root points to the Nasennii originally being of

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

or Samnite extraction.

Praenomina

The only

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 ...

found among the Nasennii known from existing records are ''

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 P ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and ''

Aulus Aulus (abbreviated A.) is one of the small group of common forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome. The name was traditionally connected with Latin ''aula'', ''olla'', "palace", but this is most likely a false etymology. ''Aulus'' in fact p ...

'', all of which were very common throughout Roman history. Their prevalence among the Nasennii may be due to the fact that many of those whose names are recorded were freedmen, who assumed the praenomina of their masters when they obtained

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...

Members

* Gaius Nasennius, a centurion who served in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

under

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus (c. 114 BC – late 50s BC) was a politically active member of the Roman upper class. He was praetor in 74 BC and pontifex from 73 BC until his death. He was consul in 69 BC along with Quintus Hortensius Hortalu ...

, sought the assistance of

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 esta ...

after Caesar's death. The orator wrote Nasennius a letter of introduction to Marcus Junius Brutus. * Lucius Nasennius Jucundus, a freedman buried at Rome in the time of the emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

. * Gaius Nasennius Musaeus, named in several inscriptions from

Ostia Antica Ostia Antica ("Ancient Ostia") is a large archaeological site, close to the modern town of Ostia, that is the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome, 25 kilometres (15 miles) southwest of Rome. "Ostia" (plur. of "ostium") is a derivation ...

, dating to the time of Hadrian. * Gaius Nasennius Felix, named in inscriptions from Ostia Antica, one of which dates to AD 143. * Gaius Nasennius C. f. Felix, named in an inscription from Ostia Antica. * Gaius Nasennius Fortunatus, named in an inscription from Ostia Antica. * Gaius Nasennius Thalamus, named in an inscription from Ostia Antica. * Nasennius Salutaris, named in a funerary inscription from Rome. * Nasennius Pudens, one of the heirs of Publius Cornelius Victor, mentioned in the latter's funerary inscription at Rome. * Gaius Nasennius Plebeius, erected a monument at Rome in memory of Gaius Julius Unio. He is also named in an inscription from Castrimoenium. * Lucius Nasennius Secundus, named in the funerary inscription of his wife, Maximina Agrippina, at Caesarea in Mauretania Caesariensis. * Nasennius Orestinianus, a friend of Gaius Taminius Verus, named in an inscription from Collescipoli, near

Interamna Nahars Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...

. * Gaius Nasennius C. f. Priscus, named in an inscription from Herculaneum. * Aulus Nasennius, the former master of several freedmen and women from

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...

. * Aulus Nasennius A. l., a freedman, named in an inscription from Capua. * Aulus Nasennius, a freedman of the wife of Aulus Nasennius, known from an inscription at Capua.. * Eros Nasennia A. l. Dardanalia, a freedwoman of Aulus Nasennius, known from an inscription at Capua. * Aulus Nasennius Philargurus, a freedman of the wife of Aulus Nasennius, known from an inscription at Capua. * Aulus Nasennius Optatus, a freedman of Aulus Nasennius, known from an inscription at Capua. * Nasennia A. l., a freedwoman of Aulus Nasennius, known from an inscription at Capua. * Gaius Nasennius Marcellus, a municipal official from the Roman Colonia at Capua. * Gaius Nasennius C. l. Rufio, a freedman who set up a monument at Capua. * Gaius Nasennius Felix, contributed money to build a temple at Ostia Antica., . * Gaius Nasennius Nasennianus, contributed money to build a temple at Ostia Antica. * Gaius Nasennius Agathyrso, married Lucilia, and was the father of Gaius Nasennius Proculus. He and his family are buried at Ostia Antica.. * Gaius Nasennius C. f. Proculus, the son of Gaius Nasennius Agathyrso and Lucilia, married Terentia Acris, and was the father of Gaius. He built a family tomb at Ostia Antica. * Gaius Nasennius C. f. C. n. Proculus, the son of Gaius and Terentia Acris, died at the age of six, and was buried in the family tomb at Ostia Antica. * Gaius Nasennius, named in a funerary inscription from Ostia Antica. * Nasennius Apollinaris, responded at length to questions put to him by the jurist

Julius Paulus Julius Paulus ( el, Ἰούλιος Παῦλος; fl. 2nd century and 3rd century AD), often simply referred to as Paul in English, was one of the most influential and distinguished Roman jurists. He was also a praetorian prefect under the Rom ...

.''PIR'', vol. II, p. 398.

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 esta ...

, ''

Epistulae ad Brutum ''Epistulae ad Brutum'' (''Letters to Brutus'') is a collection of letters between Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero and fellow politician, and conspirator against Julius Caesar, Marcus Junius Brutus. The letters in this collecti ...

''. * ''

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 ...

'', 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 centu ...

''et alii'', '' Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (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 ...

'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). * Paul von Rohden, Elimar Klebs, & Hermann Dessau, ''

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 vol ...

'' (The Prosopography of the Roman Empire, abbreviated ''PIR''), Berlin (1898). {{DEFAULTSORT:Nasennia (gens) Roman gentes

Origin

Praenomina

Members

See also

References

Bibliography