The gens Saenia was a
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 ...
. 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 first mentioned in the final century of the
Republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, and
Lucius Saenius Lucius Saenius (possibly Lucius Saenius BalbinusRonald Syme"Missing Senators" '' Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', 4 (1955), p. 57) (fl. 1st century BC) was a Roman senator and suffect consul in 30 BC as the colleague of Augustus.
Bio ...
attained the
consulship in 30 BC.
Branches and cognomina
All of the
cognomina
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 ...
borne by the Saenii who appear in history seem to be personal surnames. They included the ubiquitous ''Severus'', stern or severe, ''Donatus'', gifted, and probably ''Balbinus'', a diminutive of ''Balbus'', one who stammers. ''Pompeianus'', borne by one of the family, probably indicates that he was descended from the
Pompeia gens
The gens Pompeia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, first appearing in history during the second century BC, and frequently occupying the highest offices of the Roman state from then until imperial times. The first of the Pompeii to obtain t ...
through one of his maternal ancestors.
Members
* Lucius Saenius, a member of the
Roman senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
at the time that the
conspiracy of Catiline was uncovered, in 63 BC. He might be the same Lucius Saenius who was consul in 30 BC, but more likely his father.
* Lucius Saenius L. f., probably surnamed ''Balbinus'', consul ''suffectus'' from the Kalends of November to the end of 30 BC, as the final colleague of
Octavian that year. He was the author of the ''
lex Saenia
Lex or LEX may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lex'', a daily featured column in the ''Financial Times''
Games
* Lex, the mascot of the word-forming puzzle video game ''Bookworm''
* Lex, the protagonist of the word-forming puzzle video ga ...
'' by which Octavian appointed a number of new
patricians in the following year.
* Gaius Saenius Severus, consul ''suffectus'' from the Kalends of July in AD 126.
* Quintus Saenius Q. f. Pompeianus, ''conductor quattuor publicorum'' for the province of
Africa
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 ...
, probably in the time of the
Antonines. His wife was Fuficia Clymena, and he had two freedmen, Prosdectus and Trypherus, whose names appear on his tomb at Rome.
* Marcus Saenius Donatus, one of the
Arval Brethren
In ancient Roman religion, the Arval Brethren ( la, Fratres Arvales, "Brothers of the Fields") or Arval Brothers were a body of priests who offered annual sacrifices to the Lares and gods to guarantee good harvests. Inscriptions provide eviden ...
from at least AD 219 to 238.
[, , , , , , .]
Footnotes
See also
*
List of Roman gentes
References
{{reflist
Bibliography
* Gaius Sallustius Crispus (
Sallust
Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan o ...
), ''Bellum Catilinae'' (
The Conspiracy of Catiline
''Bellum Catilinae'' (''War of Catiline''), also called (''Conspiracy of Catiline''), is the first history published by the Roman historian Sallust. The second historical monograph in Latin literature, it chronicles the attempted overthrow of th ...
).
*
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, ''
Annales''.
* Appianus Alexandrinus (
Appian
Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...
), ''Bellum Civile'' (The Civil War).
* Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
), ''Roman History''.
* ''
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 p ...
'',
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 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).
*
T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952–1986).
* ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' (Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy, abbreviated ''ZPE''), (1987).
* Alison E. Cooley, ''The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy'', Cambridge University Press (2012).
Roman gentes