The gens Ulpia 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 lett ...

family that rose to prominence during the first century AD. The

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

is best known from the emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, who reigned from AD 98 to 117. The Thirtieth Legion took its name, ''Ulpia'', in his honor. The city of

Serdica Serdika or Serdica ( Bulgarian: ) is the historical Roman name of Sofia, now the capital of Bulgaria. Currently, Serdika is the name of a district located in the city. It includes four neighbourhoods: "Fondovi zhilishta"; "Banishora", "Orlandov ...

, modern day

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, was renamed as Ulpia Serdica.

Origin

The Ulpii were from

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

. Little is known of them except that they were connected with a family of the Aelii from

Picenum Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name is an exonym assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum was ''Regio V'' in the Augustan territorial organization of Roman Italy. Picenum was also ...

. The name ''Ulpius'' may be derived from an Umbrian cognate of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

word ''lupus'', meaning "wolf"; perhaps related to ''vulpes'', Latin for "fox". The most illustrious members of this gens were the Ulpii Trajani, whom according to a biographer of Trajan, came from the city of

Tuder Todi () is a town and '' comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. ...

, in southern Umbria; there is evidence of a family of this name there. Members of this family were colonists of Italica in Roman Spain, where Trajan was born. They were related to a family of the Aelii, which had evidently come from Atria; Trajan's aunt was the grandmother of

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...

, who was likewise born at Italica.Syme, ''Tacitus'', p. 792 ''ff.''

Members

Ulpii Trajani

* Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, father of the emperor Trajan, was consul ''suffectus'' in AD 72. * Ulpia, perhaps the same person as Ulpia M. f. Plotina, was the aunt of Trajan. She married Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus, and was the grandmother of the emperor

. * Marcus Ulpius M. f. Trajanus, consul in AD 91; he was subsequently adopted by the emperor

Nerva Nerva (; originally Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dy ...

, and was himself emperor from AD 98 to 117. * Ulpia M. f. Marciana, the sister of Trajan, married

Gaius Salonius Matidius Patruinus Gaius Salonius Matidius Patruinus (died 78) was a Roman Senator who lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century during the reign of Vespasian (r. 69–79). Life Patruinus came from a wealthy family of Vicetia (modern Vicenza, northern Ita ...

Ulpii Marcelli

Ulpius Marcellus Ulpius Marcellus was a Roman consular governor of Britannia who returned there as general of the later 2nd century. Ulpius Marcellus is recorded as governor of Roman Britain in an inscription of 176–80, and apparently returned to Rome after a te ...

, a jurist during the reigns of

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatori ...

and

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good E ...

. *

, perhaps a son of the jurist, governor of

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Grea ...

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. ...

. *

, probably the same person as the governor of Britannia, although uncertainties of chronology have led some scholars to believe he had a son of the same name.

Others

* Ulpia Plotina, the wife of Titus Calestrius Ampliatus. * Ulpius Julianus,

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

under the emperor Macrinus, he was sent to put down the rebellion of

Elagabalus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...

, but was slain by his own troops, in AD 218. * Marcus Ulpius Leurus, a native of

Hypata Ypati ( el, Υπάτη) is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, central peninsular Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Lamia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an a ...

, and consul ''suffectus'' during later second century. * Ulpia Gordiana, mother of the emperor

Gordian I Gordian I ( la, Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus; 158 – April 238 AD) was Roman emperor for 22 days with his son Gordian II in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Caught up in a rebellion against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, ...

, according to the ''

Augustan History The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the si ...

''. *

Marcus Ulpius Eubiotus Leurus Marcus Ulpius Eubiotus Leurus was a Roman senator, who was active during the first part of the third century. Life He was suffect consul in one of the '' nundinia'' around the year 230. He is known entirely from inscriptions. He was the son of ...

, son of the consul Leurus, was consul ''suffectus'' in an uncertain year around AD 230. * Marcus Ulpius M. f. Flavius Tisamenus, elder son of the consul Eubiotus Leurus.Oliver, "The Sacred Gerusia", pp. 130, 131. * Marcus Ulpius M. f. Pupienus Maximus, younger son of the consul Eubiotus Leurus. * Ulpius Crinitus, according to Vopiscus, a successful general in the time of Valerian, who claimed to be a descendant of the house of Trajan. He adopted Lucius Domitius Aurelianus, the future emperor

Aurelian Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited ...

, alongside whom he was appointed consul ''suffectus'' in AD 257. Modern historians suspect that he was an invention of the author, but if he existed, he may have been the father of the empress Ulpia Severina. * Gaius Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus, one of the "

Thirty Tyrants The Thirty Tyrants ( grc, οἱ τριάκοντα τύραννοι, ''hoi triákonta týrannoi'') were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. Upon Lysander's request, the Thirty were elec ...

", he rebelled against

Postumus Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman commander of Batavian origin, who ruled as Emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known to modern historians as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its allegiance to Ga ...

and proclaimed himself emperor in AD 269, during the reign of

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...

, but was slain at

Moguntiacum 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 ...

about two months later. *

Ulpia Severina Ulpia Severina was Roman empress as the wife of Roman emperor Aurelian from 270 to 275. Severina is unmentioned in surviving literary sources and known only from coinage and inscriptions and as a result, very little is known about her. Her Ulpia ...

, the wife of Aurelian, and Roman empress from AD 271 to 275. * Marcus Ulpius Pupienus Silvanus, a senator mentioned in an inscription from

Surrentum Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...

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

, dating between the late third and mid-fourth century; from his name perhaps a descendant of the consul Marcus Ulpius Leurus..

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...

), ''Panegyricus Trajani'' (Panegyric on Trajan). * 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''. *

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus ( el, Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death o ...

us, ''History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus''. * Aelius Lampridius, Aelius Spartianus, Flavius Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Trebellius Pollio, and Vulcatius Gallicanus, ''Historia Augusta'' (

). * Eutropius, ''Breviarium Historiae Romanae'' (Abridgement of the History of Rome). * Sextus Aurelius Victor, ''De Caesaribus'' (On the Caesars), ''

Epitome de Caesaribus The ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' is a Latin historical work written at the end of the 4th century. It is a brief account of the reigns of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Theodosius the Great. It is attributed to Aurelius Victor, but was writte ...

'' (attributed). *

Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont (30 November 163710 January 1698) was a French ecclesiastical historian. Life He was born in Paris into a wealthy Jansenist family, and was educated at the ''Petites écoles'' of Port-Royal, where his histori ...

, ''Histoire des Empereurs et des Autres Princes qui ont Régné Durant les Six Premiers Siècles de l’Église'' (History of the Emperors and Other Princes who Ruled During the First Six Centuries of the Church), Chez Rollin Fils, Paris (1690-1697, 1701, 1738). * Joseph Hilarius Eckhel, ''Doctrina Numorum Veterum'' (The Study of Ancient Coins, 1792–1798). * ''

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). * James H. Oliver
"The Sacred Gerusia"
in ''Hesperia Supplements'', No. 6 (1941). *

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

, ''Tacitus'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1958). * Paul A. Gallivan, "The ''Fasti'' for A.D. 70–96", in ''

Classical Quarterly The Classical Association is a British learned society in the field of classics, aimed at developing classical study and promoting its importance in education. Constitution The association was founded on 19 December 1903, and its objects are def ...

'', vol. 31, pp. 186–220 (1981). * Paul M. M. Leunissen, ''Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander'', J.C. Gieben, Amsterdam (1989). * Julian Bennett, ''Trajan: Optimus Princeps'', Routledge, (1997). * Daniël den Hengst, ''Emperors and Historiography: Collected Essays on the Literature of the Roman Empire by Daniël den Hengst'', Brill, Leiden (2010). {{Refend Roman gentes