Marcus Salvius Otho (grandfather of emperor Otho)

Last updated
Marcus Salvius Otho
Occupationmoneyer
EraAugustan
Known forgrandfather of emperor Otho
Spouse(s)Titia (possibly)
ChildrenMarcus Salvius Otho
Lucius Salvius Otho

Marcus Salvius Otho was an ancient Roman politician and grandfather of emperor Otho.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Marcus Salvius Otho was a member to the Salvia gens. His father is described by Suetonius as an Eques (knight) of Etruscan descent whose ancestors came from Ferentinum and were descended from the princes of Etruria while his mother is not named and stated as being of lowly origin, [1] she may not even have been freeborn. [2] There have been many attempts at identifying Marcus father, among them an Otho mentioned to have been a "puny-headed" follower of Julius Caesar in one of Catullus poems was proposed by Ernst Bickel, [3] T. P. Wiseman and Bruce W. Frier have propossed that he may be the Salvius who was tribune of the plebs in 43 BC (and that this man was the son of an Urban praetor in 76 BC) [4] who Elizabeth Rawson also identifies as the Salvius who was the first victim of the proscriptions of the Second Triumvirate, [5] Joachim Losehand argued against a connection with the Gabinian centurion Salvius who assassinated Pompey. [6]

Otho is premused to have been born around 40 BC. [7] He was raised and educated in the household of empress Livia, [1] probably along her sons Tiberius and Drusus after their father died in 33 BC. [7]

Career

Coin minted by Otho, circa 7 BC. Roma, principato, asse di marcus salvius otho, 7 ac.JPG
Coin minted by Otho, circa 7 BC.

Through Livia's influence he entered the senate and reached the praetorship. [8] Unusually for a novus homo Otho was triumvir monetalis [9] in an uncertain year, possibly 11 BC [7] or 7 BC (as his coinage depicts Victoria crowning Augustus, perhaps celebrating Tiberius triumph that year). [10]

Marriage

Otho married a woman whose identity is not known for certain, but Suetonius describes her as a noblewoman "allied to several great families". The appearance of the name "Titianus" among his descendants has led to speculation that she may have been a Titia. [11] [12] [13] A Titia L. f. is known from inscription to have been the wife of a Salvius. This woman died young in 23 BC. [14] [15] He may have had a first-born homonymous son who became a moneyer, [16] as well as the better known Lucius Salvius Otho, father of emperor Otho, (although there were rumours that Lucius was actually Tiberius' bastard). [9]

Related Research Articles

Galba Roman emperor from AD 68 to 69

Galba was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Lucius Livius Ocella Sulpicius Galba. He was the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors and assumed the throne following Emperor Nero's suicide.

Tiberius 2nd Roman emperor, from AD 14 to 37

Tiberius Caesar Augustus 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 was the politician Tiberius Claudius Nero and his mother was Livia Drusilla, who would eventually divorce his father, and marry the future-emperor Augustus in 38 BC. Following the untimely deaths of Augustus' two grandsons and adopted heirs, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, Tiberius was designated Augustus' successor. Prior to this, Tiberius had proved himself an able diplomat, and one of the most successful Roman generals: his conquests of Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and (temporarily) parts of Germania laid the foundations for the empire's northern frontier.

Livia Wife of Roman emperor Augustus and mother of emperor Tiberius

Livia Drusilla was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julian family in 14 AD.

Livia gens Ancient Roman family

The gens Livia was an illustrious plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first of the Livii to obtain the consulship was Marcus Livius Denter in 302 BC, and from his time the Livii supplied the Republic with eight consuls, two censors, a dictator, and a master of the horse. Members of the gens were honoured with three triumphs. In the reign of Augustus, Livia Drusilla was Roman empress, and her son was the emperor Tiberius.

Claudia gens Ancient Roman family

The gens Claudia, sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain the consulship was Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis, in 495 BC, and from that time its members frequently held the highest offices of the state, both under the Republic and in imperial times.

Julia gens Ancient Roman family

The gens Julia was one of the most ancient patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the consulship was Gaius Julius Iulus in 489 BC. The gens is perhaps best known, however, for Gaius Julius Caesar, the dictator and grand uncle of the emperor Augustus, through whom the name was passed to the so-called Julio-Claudian dynasty of the first century AD. The nomen Julius became very common in imperial times, as the descendants of persons enrolled as citizens under the early emperors began to make their mark in history.

Licinia gens Ancient Roman family

The gens Licinia was a celebrated plebeian family at ancient Rome, which appears from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times, and which eventually obtained the imperial dignity. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo, who, as tribune of the plebs from 376 to 367 BC, prevented the election of any of the annual magistrates, until the patricians acquiesced to the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia, or Licinian Rogations. This law, named for Licinius and his colleague, Lucius Sextius, opened the consulship for the first time to the plebeians. Licinius himself was subsequently elected consul in 364 and 361 BC, and from this time, the Licinii became one of the most illustrious gentes in the Republic.

Tiberius Claudius Nero was a Roman politician, senator, and praetor who lived in the last century of the Roman Republic.

Junia gens Ancient Roman family

The gens Junia was one of the most celebrated families of ancient Rome. The gens may originally have been patrician, and was already prominent in the last days of the Roman monarchy. Lucius Junius Brutus was the nephew of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome, and on the expulsion of Tarquin in 509 BC, he became one of the first consuls of the Roman Republic.

The gens Scribonia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens first appear in history at the time of the Second Punic War, but the first of the Scribonii to obtain the consulship was Gaius Scribonius Curio in 76 BC.

Aquillia gens Ancient Roman family

The gens Aquillia or Aquilia was a plebeian family of great antiquity at ancient Rome. Two of the Aquillii are mentioned among the Roman nobles who conspired to bring back the Tarquins, and a member of the house, Gaius Aquillius Tuscus, was consul in 487 BC.

Julii Caesares Roman patrician family

The Julii Caesares were the most illustrious family of the patrician gens Julia. The family first appears in history during the Second Punic War, when Sextus Julius Caesar was praetor in Sicily. His son, Sextus Julius Caesar, obtained the consulship in 157 BC; but the most famous descendant of this stirps is Gaius Julius Caesar, a general who conquered Gaul and became the undisputed master of Rome following the Civil War. Having been granted dictatorial power by the Roman Senate and instituting a number of political and social reforms, he was assassinated in 44 BC. After overcoming several rivals, Caesar's adopted son and heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, was proclaimed Augustus by the senate, inaugurating what became the Julio-Claudian line of Roman emperors.

Lucius Salvius Otho Father of Roman emperor Otho

Lucius Salvius Otho was the father of the Roman emperor Otho. He was born of a distinguished and well-connected family on his mother's side. His close friendship with Tiberius, and physical similarity to him, led to rumours that he was Tiberius's son.

The gens Terentia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Dionysius mentions a Gaius Terentilius Arsa, tribune of the plebs in 462 BC, but Livy calls him Terentilius, and from inscriptions this would seem to be a separate gens. No other Terentii appear in history until the time of the Second Punic War. Gaius Terentius Varro, one of the Roman commanders at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, was the first to hold the consulship. Members of this family are found as late as the third century AD.

The gens Titia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The gens is rarely mentioned in the Republican period, and did not rise out of obscurity till a very late time. None of its members obtained the consulship under the Republic, and the first person of the name who held this office was Marcus Titius in BC 31.

Pomponia gens Ancient Roman family

The gens Pomponia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members appear throughout the history of the Roman Republic, and into imperial times. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC; the first who obtained the consulship was Manius Pomponius Matho in 233 BC.

The gens Gallia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Several members of this gens are mentioned during the first century BC.

Salvia gens Ancient Roman family

The gens Salvia was a minor plebeian Roman family of the late Republic, which came to prominence under the early Empire. The first of the family known to have held public office at Rome was Publius Salvius Aper, praetorian prefect in 2 BC. About this time, the Salvii achieved equestrian rank, and thereafter held various positions in the Roman state for the next two centuries, before falling back into obscurity. Lucius Salvius Otho was raised to patrician rank by the emperor Claudius, but the most illustrious of the Salvii was his son, Marcus, who was proclaimed emperor in AD 69.

The gens Lucceia, occasionally Luceia or Luccia, was a plebeian family at Rome, which flourished during the final century of the Republic and under the early Empire.

References

  1. 1 2 Bittarello, Maria Beatrice (October 2009). "The Construction of Etruscan 'Otherness' in Latin Literature". Greece & Rome. Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association. 55 (2): 211–233. doi:10.1017/S0017383509990052. JSTOR   40389197. S2CID   154767448.
  2. ↑ Suetonius (2011). The Caesars. Translated by Hurley, Donna W. Hackett Publishing. p. 281. ISBN   9781603846035.
  3. ↑ Forsyth, P. Y. (1987). "Catullus 54: A Note". The Classical World. 80 (6): 421–423. doi:10.2307/4350089. JSTOR   4350089.
  4. ↑ Frier, Bruce W. (1983). "Urban Praetors and Rural Violence: The Legal Background of Cicero's Pro Caecina". Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-). 113. p. 224. doi:10.2307/284012. ISSN   0360-5949. JSTOR   284012.
  5. ↑ Rawson, Elizabeth (1991). Roman Culture and Society: Collected Papers. Clarendon Press. p. 323. ISBN   9780198147527.
  6. ↑ Losehand, Joachim (2007). Die letzten Tage des Pompeius: von Pharsalos bis Pelusion. Phoibos. p. 207. ISBN   9783901232947.
  7. 1 2 3 Rawson, Beryl (2003). Children and Childhood in Roman Italy. OUP Oxford. p. 162. ISBN   9780191514234.
  8. ↑ Barrett, Anthony A. (2002). Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome. Yale University Press. p. 189. ISBN   9780300102987.
  9. 1 2 Levick, Barbara (2003). Tiberius the Politician. Routledge. p. 28. ISBN   9781134603794.
  10. ↑ Kugener, Marc Antoine; Herrmann, Léon (1972). Latomus. Vol. 31 (second ed.). Editions Latomus. p. 806.
  11. ↑ Raepsaet-Charlier, Marie-Thérèse (1987). Prosopographie des femmes de l'ordre sénatorial: Ier-IIe siècles. Académie Royale de Belgique. Classe des Lettres. Fonds René Draguet. Vol. 1. Isd. p. 599. ISBN   9789068310863.
  12. ↑ Heil, Matthäus; Wachtel, Klaus, eds. (2006). Prosopographia Imperii Romani Saec I, II, III. De Gruyter. pp. 51–53. ISBN   9783110193169.
  13. ↑ Antiquitas: Abhandlungen zur alten Geschichte. Vol. 31. R. Habelt Verlag. 1982. p. 443.
  14. ↑ Adriana, Emiliozzi (1983). "Sull'epitaffio del 67 a. C. nel sepolcro dei Salvii a Ferento". Mélanges de l'école française de Rome (in Italian). 95 (2): 701–717. doi:10.3406/mefr.1983.1388 – via Persee.fr.
  15. ↑ Ottavianelli, Giovanna (2019). "Sulle tracce di un imperatore di origini ferentiensi: Marcus Salvius Otho" (PDF). Archeotuscia.com (in Italian). pp. 25–29. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  16. ↑ Hobler, Francis (1860). Records of Roman History, from Cnaeus Pompeius to Tiberius Constantinus, as Exhibited on the Roman Coins. Vol. 1. Nichols. p. 34.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.