The gens Novellia 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

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 ...

. The only member 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 ...

known to have held any magistracies was Torquatus Novellius Atticus, perhaps better known from an anecdote of

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

; however, many others are known from inscriptions.

Origin

It seems probable that the nomen ''Novellius'' belongs to a class of gentilicia formed either from diminutives of other names, or from cognomina, using the suffix ''-ellius''. In this case, the nomen is apparently derived from the

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 ...

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 ...

''Novius'', marking the Novellii as a family of Oscan origin. The greatest number of Novellii known from extant inscriptions lived in Mediolanum and the province of

Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...

Members

* Publius Novellius Atticus, the father of Torquatus, according to a first century inscription from

Tibur Tivoli ( , ; la, Tibur) is a town and in Lazio, central Italy, north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills. The city offers a wide view over the Roman Campagna. History Gaius Julius Solinu ...

. * Torquatus Novellius P. f. Atticus, a native of Mediolanum, held a number of magistracies under the early

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, serving as military tribune,

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 ...

, aedile, 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 ...

; he was curator of public works and charged with administering the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, then

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

under

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

and

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

. Pliny recounts how he won the surname ''Tricongius'' by drinking three congii of wine at a single draught, in the presence and to the great astonishment of Tiberius. He died at Forum Julii, aged forty-three. * Gaius Novellius Fortunatus, named in an auction record from

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

, dating to AD 57. * Gaius Novellius Natalis, a magistrate at Pompeii. * Gaius Novellius C. f. Verinus, named in an inscription from Rome dating to AD 175. * Marcus Novellius M. f. Montanus, governor of

Municipium Dardanorum Municipium Dardanorum or Municipium DardanicumThe Illyrians by J. J. Wilkes, 1992, , p. 258,"In the south the new city named municipium Dardanicum, was another 'mining town' connected with the local workings (Metalla Dardanica)." was a Roman ...

Moesia Superior Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

, during the reign of

Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...

.. * Marcus Novellius Eros, named in an inscription from Municipium Dardanorum, dating to the time of Commodus. * Gaius Novellius Octavianus, named in a roll of soldiers of the fifth cohort at Rome, dating to the beginning of the third century. * Lucius Novellius, named in an inscription from

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

. * Lucius Novellius, a soldier in the seventh cohort at Rome.. * Marcus Novellius M. f., a soldier in the twenty-second legion, buried at

Mogontiacum Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Mainz ...

, aged thirty-three. * Mansuetus Novellius C. l., a freedman buried at

Augusta Taurinorum Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

, in Cisalpine Gaul, aged fifty. * Quintus Novellius M. f., named in an inscription from

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...

. * Marcus Novellius Aequalis, husband of Egnatia Primigenia, named in an inscription from Mediolanum. * Publius Novellius Agathopus, erected a monument at Rome to his wife, Murridia Firma. * Gaius Novellius Amphio, named in an inscription from Genava in Gallia Narbonensis. * Quintus Novellius Augurinus, father of Quintus Novellius Primus, for whose grave Augurinus erected a monument.. * Publius Novellius Crescens, husband of Tertia, named in an inscription from Duno in Cisalpine Gaul. * Lucius Novellius Daphnis, mentioned in an inscription from Rome. * Quintus Novellius Decumus, mentioned in an inscription from Mediolanum. * Gaius Novellius C. f. Expectatus, named in an inscription from Mediolanum. * Novellia Fusca, wife of Gaius Allius Pudens, named in an inscription from Mediolanum.. * Lucius Novellius T. f. Hispello, a soldier in the sixteenth legion, buried at Mogontiacum, aged forty-five. * Novellia Justina, daughter of Lucius Novellius Lanuccus.''RIB'' 1, 1743. * Lucius Novellius Lanuccus, father of Novellia Justina, buried at

Aesica Aesica (with the modern name of Great Chesters) was a Roman fort, one and a half miles north of the small town of Haltwhistle in Northumberland, England. It was the ninth fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Vercovicium (Housesteads) to the east and ...

in Britain, aged seventy. * Lucius Novellius Lucifer, son of Crotus and Novellia Trophime, and husband of Novia Scodrina, named in a funerary inscription from Dyrrachium in Macedonia. * Lucius Novellius Lucrio, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome. * Gaius Novellius C. f. Marcellinus, buried at

Philippi Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colon ...

in Macedonia, aged fifty-two. * Quintus Novellius Martialis, a comrade of Lucius Surius Sabinus, a soldier in the eighth cohort at Rome, for whose grave Martialis erected a monument. * Gaius Novellius Primianus, mentioned in an inscription from Mediolanum. * Gaius Novellius Primus, a veteran of the eleventh legion, named in a libationary inscription from Vindonissa in

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio' ...

. * Quintus Novellius Q. f. Primus, buried at Rome, with a monument erected by his father, Quintus Novellius Augurinus. * Sextus Novellius Proculus, a soldier buried at Rome, for whom a monument was erected by his brother, Novellius Tertius.. * Lucius Novellius Pudens, mentioned in an inscription from

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

. * Gaius Novellius P. f. Rufus, the brother of Quintus Novellius Vatia, named in an inscription from Mediolanum.. * Gaius Novellius C. f. Taluppius, named in a libationary inscription, dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, at Crenna in Cisalpine Gaul. * Novellius Tertius, brother of Sextus Novellius Proculus, a soldier buried at Rome. * Marcus Novellius Ursus, the father of Flavia Tertullina, buried at

Tilurium Tilurium was an Illyrian fortified settlement of the Delmatae. Tilurium was the location a Roman cohort in the territory of the Delmatae. The site is now located on the hill of Gardun near Trilj. See also *List of ancient cities in Illyria ...

in Illyricum, aged eight years, four months. * Quintus Novellius P. f. Vatia, the brother of Gaius Novellius Rufus, named in an inscription from Mediolanum. * Novellius Verus, named in an inscription from Mediolanum. * Gaius Novellius Vitalis, husband of Valeria Satonia, named in a libationary inscription from Poetovio in

Pannonia Superior Pannonia Superior, lit. Upper Pannonia, was a province of the Roman Empire. Its capital was Carnuntum. It was one on the border provinces on the Danube. It was formed in the year 103 AD by Emperor Trajan who divided the former province of Pannon ...

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Gaius Plinius Secundus (

), '' Naturalis Historia'' (Natural History). *

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'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). * "Archaeological News", in ''American Journal of Archaeology'', vol. IX, No. 4, pp. 569–614 (Oct.–Dec. 1894). * ''The Roman Inscriptions of Britain'' (abbreviated ''RIB''), Oxford, (1990–present). * David Braund, ''Augustus to Nero: A Sourcebook on Roman History, 31 BC–AD 68'', Routledge Revivals, New York (2014), . {{DEFAULTSORT:Novellia (gens) Roman gentes