The gens Rufinia was an obscure plebeian 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 BC ...

. Few members of this gens are mentioned in history, although the derivative surname ''Rufinianus'' appears in several sources. A number of Rufinii are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen ''Rufinius'' belongs to a class of gentilicia formed from surnames ending in ''-inus'', using the suffix ''-inius''. The name was formed from 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 ...

''Rufinus'', reddish, a diminutive of ''Rufus'', red, and in this way is related to a number of other gentilicia formed from ''rufus'', ''ruber'', and ''rutilus'', all with similar meanings, and in most cases originally applied to someone with red or reddish hair.

Praenomina

The Rufinii used a number of 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 ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Marcus'', '' Publius'', and ''

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 ...

''.

Members

* Rufinia, buried at Rome, aged forty-two. * Rufinia, named in an inscription from Berytus in Syria. * Rufinia, buried in a family sepulchre at Comum in Cisalpine Gaul, was the wife of either Rufus or Rufinius Secundus.. * Rufinia, buried at Rome in a tomb dedicated by her parents, Amandus and Protogenia. * Gaius Rufinius, named in an inscription from

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

Venetia and Histria Venetia et Histria (Latin: ''Regio X Venetia et Histria'') was an administrative subdivision in the northeast of Roman Italy. It was originally created by Augustus as the tenth ''regio'' in 7 AD alongside the nine other ''regiones''. The region h ...

. * Gaius Rufinius, the benefactor of Julius Adlucus, named as his heir in an inscription found near

Pictones The Pictones were a Gallic tribe dwelling south of the Loire river, in the modern departments of Vendée, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne, during the Iron Age and Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Pictonibus'' and ''Pictones'' by Julius Caes ...

in Gallia Aquitania. * Rufus Rufinius, a centurion in the third legion, and the husband of Julia Ziora, was buried at

Lambaesis Lambaesis (Lambæsis), Lambaisis or Lambaesa (''Lambèse'' in colonial French), is a Roman archaeological site in Algeria, southeast of Batna and west of Timgad, located next to the modern village of Tazoult. The former bishopric is also a Lat ...

in Numidia with a tomb dedicated by his son, Rufinius Vitalis.. * Titus Rufinius, named in an inscription from

Tarraco Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It became the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior during the period of the Roman Republi ...

in Hispania Citerior. * Rufinius Adnametus, the son of Africanus, made a donation to the spirit of

Lucius Caesar Lucius Caesar (17 BC – 20 August AD 2) was a grandson of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. The son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder, Augustus' only daughter, Lucius was adopted by his grandfather along with his older brother, ...

Avaricum Avaricum was an '' oppidum'' in ancient Gaul, near what is now the city of Bourges. Avaricum, situated in the lands of the Bituriges Cubi, was the largest and best-fortified town within their territory, situated on very fertile lands. The terrai ...

in Gallia Aquitania. * Rufinia Auxesis, the wife of Popilius Fortunatus, and mother of Popilia Felicula, a little girl buried at Rome, aged six years, two months, and twelve days. * Publius Rufinius Ephestion, the husband of Ulpia Sabina, a woman buried at Rome. * Marcus Rufinius Felix, one of the

Seviri Augustales The Sodales or Sacerdotes Augustales (''singular'' Sodalis or Sacerdos Augustalis), or simply Augustales,Tacitus, ''Annales'' 1.54 were an order ('' sodalitas'') of Roman priests originally instituted by Tiberius to attend to the maintenance of t ...

at Civitas Saliniensum in

Alpes Maritimae The Alpes Maritimae (; English: 'Maritime Alps') were a small province of the Roman Empire founded in 63 AD by Nero. It was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Graiae et Poeninae a ...

, made an offering to the gods at

Cemenelum Cimiez (; Italian: ''Cimella'') is an upper class neighborhood in Nice, Southern France. The area contains the Musée Matisse and the ruins of ''Cemenelum'', capital of the Ancient Roman province Alpes Maritimae on the Ligurian coast. ''Ceme ...

, the provincial capital, dating to the second century AD. * Titus Rufinius Geminus, buried at Rome with a tomb dedicated by his

client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...

, Titus Rufinius Parthenius.. * Rufinia C. f. Graeca, the wife of Gaius Firmius, and mother of Firmia and Secunda, buried in a family sepulchre at

Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Roman city in northern Italy. The city was settled by the Insubres around 600 BC, conquered by the Romans in 222 BC, and ...

in Cisalpine Gaul. * Rufinia Helpis, buried at Rome with a tomb dedicated by her husband, Rannius Secundus. * Rufinius Maximus, the father of Rufinius Secundus, and grandfather of Marcus Rufinius Secundinus. * Rufinia Nigra, buried at the present site of Bou Auya, formerly part of

Africa Proconsularis 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 ...

. * Titus Rufinius Parthenius, dedicated a tomb at Rome to his patron, Titus Rufinius Geminus. * Rufinia Paterna, buried at Briginno in Gallia Narbonensis, with a tomb dedicated by her son, Marcus Messius Maternus. * Lucius Rufinius Primus Italicus, a resident of Regina in

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 di ...

, where he was buried, aged forty, with a tomb dedicated by his wife, Fabia Campana. * Rufinius Rufus, dedicated a tomb at

Comagena Comagena was a fortified Roman camp on the Danube, on the site of the modern town of Tulln on the Danube in Lower Austria, Austria. Built as a defensive work along the Norican frontier, it originally housed an '' ala'' of up to 500 cavalry troo ...

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...

to his wife, Claudia Aquina, aged thirty-five. * Rufinius Saturninus, a soldier in the first legion, made an offering to Neptune at

Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium was the Roman colony in the Rhineland from which the city of Cologne, now in Germany, developed. It was usually called ''Colonia'' (colony) and was the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and t ...

Germania Inferior Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agripp ...

. * Rufinius Saturninus, together with Apuleius Aequalis, built a tomb at

Prusa ad Olympum ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

Bithynia and Pontus Bithynia and Pontus ( la, Provincia Bithynia et Pontus, Ancient Greek ) was the name of a province of the Roman Empire on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). It was formed during the late Roman Republic by the amalgamation of the ...

to Nobilinius Scriptio, a soldier in the thirtieth legion, aged forty, who had served in the Roman army for seventeen years. * Marcus Rufinius Secundinus, son of Rufinius Secundus, and grandson of Rufinius Maximus, buried in a family sepulchre at Comum. * Rufinius Secundus, son of Rufinius Maximus, and father of Marcus Rufinius Secundinus, built a family sepulchre at Comum. * Publius Rufinius Serenus, dedicated a tomb at

Puteoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα ...

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

to his wife, Junia Theodota. * Marcus Rufinius Severus, gave a libationary offering to the ''fata'' of Dervonna, local goddesses of Cisalpine Gaul, at Brixia in Venetia and Histria. * Rufinius Silbinus, buried at

Aeclanum Aeclanum (also spelled Aeculanum, it, Eclano, grc, Ἀικούλανον) was an ancient town of Samnium, Southern Italy, about 25 km east-southeast of Beneventum, on the Via Appia. It lies in Passo di Mirabella, near the modern Mirabell ...

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 ...

, with a tomb dedicated by his foster-father, Rufinius Successus, dating to the first century AD.. * Rufinius Silvanus, buried at Regina, aged forty, with a monument from his wife, Vibia Aurelia. * Gaius Rufinius Silvester, buried at Aeclanum. * Rufinia Successa, buried at Aeclanum.. * Rufinius Successus, dedicated a tomb at Aeclanum to his foster-son, Rufinius Silbinus. * Rufinius Vitalis, son of the centurion Rufus Rufinius and Julia Ziora.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* ''

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). *

Giovanni Battista de Rossi Giovanni Battista (Carlo) de Rossi (23 February 1822 – 20 September 1894) was an Italian archaeologist, famous even outside his field for rediscovering early Christian catacombs. Life and works Born in Rome, he was the son of Commendatore C ...

, ''Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romanae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores'' (Christian Inscriptions from Rome of the First Seven Centuries, abbreviated ''ICUR''), Vatican Library, Rome (1857–1861, 1888). * ''Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità'' (News of Excavations from Antiquity, abbreviated ''NSA''), Accademia dei Lincei (1876–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). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897). * 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 ...