The gens Sergia was a patrician family at ancient Rome, which held the highest offices of the Roman state from the first century of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the Sergii to obtain the consulship was Lucius Sergius Fidenas in 437 BC. Despite long and distinguished service, toward the end of the Republic the reputation of this gens suffered as a result of the conspiracy of Catiline. [1]
The Sergii claimed descent from Sergestus, one of the Trojans who came to Italy with Aeneas, a tradition mentioned by Vergil in the Aeneid. [2] [1] The etymology of the nomen Sergius is problematic. Chase hesitantly suggests a connection with the praenomen Servius , probably from an old Latin root meaning to preserve or keep safe. He classifies the nomen with other gentilicia that either originated at Rome, or cannot be shown to have come from anywhere else. [3] However, the cognomen Fidenas, borne by the first branch of this gens appearing in history, may indicate that they originally came from Fidenae, where Roman colonies had been planted for centuries. [4]
The main praenomen of the Sergia gens was Lucius , which was used by all branches of the family at all periods. Gaius was also used from the earliest times, while Marcus was favoured by the Sergii Sili. All of these were among the most common praenomina throughout Roman history. The only other name regularly used by the Sergii was Manius , a relatively distinctive praenomen favoured by a few gentes, which belonged to one of the most illustrious of the Sergii of the early Republic, and was still in use after the Second Punic War. Other praenomina appear infrequently.
The cognomina of the Sergii during the Republic were Catilina, Esquilinus, Fidenas, Orata, Paulus, Plancus, and Silus. Some of the Sergii who appear in history had no surname. [1]
Fidenas, the surname of the oldest distinct family of the Sergii, is said to have been obtained by Lucius Sergius Fidenas, the consul of 437 BC. The year before his consulship, the Romans had put down a revolt at Fidenae, an ancient Latin city about five miles north of Rome; the implication perhaps being that Sergius had participated in the recovery of the city. However, it may be that Sergius, or one of his ancestors, was a native of that city, where a Roman colony was said to have existed since the early monarchial period. [5] [4] One of the Fidenates bore the additional surname Coxo, applied to one with prominent hips. [6]
Esquilinus originally designated someone who lived on the Esquiline Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome, may have been a personal cognomen, as only one of the Sergii is known to have borne it. This cognomen belongs to a common class of surnames derived from the place of a person's origin or residence. [7] [8]
The most distinguished family of the Sergii during the latter part of the Republic bore the cognomen Silus, originally describing someone with an upturned nose. The first of this branch rose to fame during the Second Punic War, but by the time of Catiline, who was his great-grandson, they had fallen into poverty and obscurity. [9] [10]
Of other surnames, Orata or Aurata, golden, was the surname of a wealthy merchant of the Sergian gens, who is said to have obtained it either because of his substantial gold rings, or because he kept goldfish. [11] Meanwhile, Plancus, referring to someone with flat or splayed feet, belongs to a common class of surnames derived from the physical characteristics of the bearer. This is amended by some scholars to Plautus, although the meaning is nearly identical. [6] [12]
The gens Fabia was one of the most ancient patrician families at ancient Rome. The gens played a prominent part in history soon after the establishment of the Republic, and three brothers were invested with seven successive consulships, from 485 to 479 BC, thereby cementing the high repute of the family. Overall, the Fabii received 45 consulships during the Republic. The house derived its greatest lustre from the patriotic courage and tragic fate of the 306 Fabii in the Battle of the Cremera, 477 BC. But the Fabii were not distinguished as warriors alone; several members of the gens were also important in the history of Roman literature and the arts.
The gens Aemilia, originally written Aimilia, was one of the greatest patrician families at ancient Rome. The gens was of great antiquity, and claimed descent from Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome. Its members held the highest offices of the state, from the early decades of the Republic to imperial times. The Aemilii were almost certainly one of the gentes maiores, the most important of the patrician families. Their name was associated with three major roads, an administrative region of Italy, and the Basilica Aemilia at Rome.
The gens Baebia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first member of the gens who obtained the consulship was Gnaeus Baebius Tamphilus, in 182 BC. During the later Republic, the Baebii were frequently connected with the patrician family of the Aemilii.
The gens Manlia was one of the oldest and noblest patrician houses at Rome, from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus, consul in 480 BC, and for nearly five centuries its members frequently held the most important magistracies. Many of them were distinguished statesmen and generals, and a number of prominent individuals under the Empire claimed the illustrious Manlii among their ancestors.
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.
The gens Quinctia, sometimes written Quintia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, its members often held the highest offices of the state, and it produced some men of importance even during the imperial period. For the first forty years after the expulsion of the kings the Quinctii are not mentioned, and the first of the gens who obtained the consulship was Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus in 471 BC; but from that year their name constantly appears in the Fasti consulares.
The gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any other gens. At least seventy-five consuls under the Republic were members of this family, beginning with Servius Cornelius Maluginensis in 485 BC. Together with the Aemilii, Claudii, Fabii, Manlii, and Valerii, the Cornelii were almost certainly numbered among the gentes maiores, the most important and powerful families of Rome, who for centuries dominated the Republican magistracies. All of the major branches of the Cornelian gens were patrician, but there were also plebeian Cornelii, at least some of whom were descended from freedmen.
The gens Marcia, occasionally written Martia, was one of the oldest and noblest houses at ancient Rome. They claimed descent from the second and fourth Roman Kings, and the first of the Marcii appearing in the history of the Republic would seem to have been patrician; but all of the families of the Marcii known in the later Republic were plebeian. The first to obtain the consulship was Gaius Marcius Rutilus in 357 BC, only a few years after the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia opened this office to the plebeians.
The gens Minucia was an ancient Roman family, which flourished from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times. The gens was apparently of patrician origin, but was better known by its plebeian branches. The first of the Minucii to hold the consulship was Marcus Minucius Augurinus, elected consul in 497 BC.
The gens Servilia was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was celebrated during the early ages of the Republic, and the names of few gentes appear more frequently at this period in the consular Fasti. It continued to produce men of influence in the state down to the latest times of the Republic, and even in the imperial period. The first member of the gens who obtained the consulship was Publius Servilius Priscus Structus in 495 BC, and the last of the name who appears in the consular Fasti is Quintus Servilius Silanus, in AD 189, thus occupying a prominent position in the Roman state for nearly seven hundred years.
The gens Verginia or Virginia was a prominent family at ancient Rome, which from an early period was divided into patrician and plebeian branches. The gens was of great antiquity, and frequently filled the highest honors of the state during the early years of the Republic. The first of the family who obtained the consulship was Opiter Verginius Tricostus in 502 BC, the seventh year of the Republic. The plebeian members of the family were also numbered amongst the early tribunes of the people.
Marcus Geganius Macerinus was a Roman statesman who served as Consul in 447, 443, and 437 BC, and as Censor in 435 BC.
Gaius Servilius Ahala was a three time consular tribune, in 408, 407 and 402 and one-time magister equitum, in 408 BC, of the Roman Republic.
Lucius Sergius Esquilinus was a Roman politician, and member of the Second Decemvirate in 450 and 449 BC.
Lucius Sergius Fidenas was a Roman politician during the 5th century BC, and was elected consul in 437 and 429 BC. In 433, 424, and 418 BC he was military tribune with consular power.
Lucius Papirius Crassus was a consul of the Roman republic in 436 BC and possibly a censor in 430 BC.
Proculus Verginius Tricostus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 435 BC. He was possibly re-elected as consul in 434 BC.
Aulus Manlius Vulso Capitolinus was a consular tribune of the Roman Republic in 405, 402 and 397 BC.
Manius Sergius Fidenas was a consular tribune of the Roman Republic in 404 and 402 BC.
Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus was a consular tribune of the Roman Republic in 402 and 398 BC.