The gens Umbria, occasionally written Umbreia, was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Only a few members of this gens are mentioned by Roman writers, but a number are known from inscriptions. Marcus Umbrius Primus was the first to attain the consulship, in the time of Commodus. [1]
The nomen Umbrius is derived from the cognomen Umber, referring to an inhabitant of Umbria. [2] While this implies that the ancestors of the Umbrii came from Umbria, the largest number of inscriptions from this gens are from Samnium. Alongside Umbrius is found Umbreius. As a gentile-forming suffix, -eius was common among nomina of Oscan origin, and was regarded as equivalent to the Latin -ius, which in some cases replaced it. [3] Thus, Umbrius might have been assumed by someone whose ancestors came from Umbria, and settled in the Oscan-speaking parts of central and southern Italy.
The main praenomina of the Umbrii were Gaius , Marcus , Lucius , and Publius , four of the most common names at all periods of Roman history, which they sometimes supplemented with Titus or Gnaeus , also common names. A few of the Umbrii bear other names, including Quintus and Sextus . This gens also provides an instance of the feminine praenomen Maxima.
The only distinctly hereditary cognomen of this gens is Primus, "first", [4] which appears as the surname of Umbrius Primus, a wealthy farmer in Samnium at the beginning of the second century. [5] He may have been an ancestor of Marcus Umbrius Primus, the first of this family to attain the consulship, around AD 185. [1] Several other members of this family can be glimpsed over the following century, including the consuls Marcus Nummius Umbrius Primus Senecio Albinus, in 206, and another Marcus Umbrius Primus in 289. [1]
A number of Umbrii settled in Roman North Africa, where they appear in inscriptions from the second century onward. Several of these bore the surname Felix, meaning "happy" or "fortunate"; [4] [6] some of this family used related cognomina, such as Felicitas, "happiness", or Fortunatus. [7]
The gens Artoria was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned in history, but a number are known from inscriptions. Under the later Empire at least some of them were of senatorial rank.
The gens Accia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome during the late Republic. The gens is known primarily from two individuals, Lucius Accius, a tragic poet of the second century BC, and Titus Accius, best known for his prosecution of Aulus Cluentius Habitus in Cicero's oration Pro Cluentio. Other Accii are known from inscriptions.
The gens Catilia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome, found from the first century BC and throughout imperial times. Only a few members of this gens are mentioned in history, though others occur in epigraphy. The most illustrious of the Catilii was Lucius Catilius Severus, consul in AD 120, and one of the ancestors of Marcus Aurelius. Another Catilius Severus was among the advisors of Severus Alexander.
The gens Pescennia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the time of Cicero, but it was not until imperial times that they came to prominence. The Pescennii were of equestrian rank. The most illustrious of the family was Gaius Pescennius Niger, an able general, who was proclaimed emperor in AD 193, only to be defeated and put to death by Septimius Severus the following year.
The gens Pollia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. The gens must have been very old, as one of the original Servian tribes was named after it, suggesting that the Pollii were important landowners during the Roman monarchy. However, few Pollii are mentioned in history, and none of them attained any of the higher offices of the Roman state. A number of Pollii are known from inscriptions.
The gens Racilia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned as early as the fifth century BC, but few of them achieved any prominence in the Roman state.
The gens Saturia was an obscure plebeian family of equestrian rank at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the time of Cicero, and a number of them had distinguished military careers, but none of them attained any of the higher offices of the Roman State.
The gens Seppia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens appear in history, but many are known from inscriptions.
The gens Servenia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens are mentioned in ancient writers, but a number are known from inscriptions, dating from the late Republic to the third century. At least some of the Servenii attained senatorial rank under the early Empire. None of them appear to have held the consulship, but Lucius Servenius Cornutus was praetor, and an important provincial governor under the Flavian dynasty.
The gens Servia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned in ancient writers, but a number are known from inscriptions.
The gens Staia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned by ancient writers, but a number are known from inscriptions. The most illustrious of the Staii was Lucius Staius Murcus, governor of Syria in 44 BC, and a military commander of some ability who served under several leading figures of the period.
The gens Stenia or Stennia, occasionally spelled Sthenia, was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Hardly any members of this gens are mentioned in ancient writers, but a large number are known from inscriptions.
The gens Suellia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens first appear in the time of the Republic, but few are mentioned by ancient writers. Others are known from inscriptions. The Suellii are easily confused with the Suilii, although there is a possibility that the two gentes were in fact identical. The most illustrious of this family was probably Gnaeus Suellius Rufus Marcianus, who was consul during the reign of Commodus.
The gens Spedia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens are mentioned in ancient writers, but many are known from inscriptions, and several were locally important, serving as duumvirs at Antinum in Samnium, Pompeii in Campania, and Sarmizegetusa in Dacia.
The gens Tannonia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned in Roman literature, but many are known from inscriptions.
The gens Tettidia, occasionally found as Tettiedia, was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens are mentioned by Roman writers, but several are known from inscriptions.
The gens Tillia, occasionally written Tilia, was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned in history, but others are known from inscriptions.
The gens Trebatia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned at the time of the Social War, in which one of the Samnite generals was a Trebatius, but the best-known of the Trebatii is likely the jurist Gaius Trebatius Testa, a contemporary and friend of Cicero, Caesar, and Augustus.
The gens Tussidia or Tusidia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens are mentioned by Roman writers, but a number are known from inscriptions, including Lucius Tusidius Campester, who attained the consulship in AD 142.
The gens Urvinia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens are mentioned by Roman writers, but several are known from inscriptions.