The gens Vipsania or Vipsana was an obscure plebeian family of equestrian rank at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens appear in history, although a number are known from inscriptions. By far the most illustrious of the family was Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, a close friend and adviser of Augustus, whom the emperor intended to make his heir. After Agrippa died, Augustus adopted his friend's sons, each of whom was considered a possible heir to the Empire, but when each of them died or proved unsuitable, Augustus chose another heir, the future emperor Tiberius. [1]
The Vipsanii are not mentioned in history until the very end of the Republic. Their nomen, Vipsanius, resembles other gentilicia ending in -anius, which were typically derived from place names or cognomina ending in -anus. Several inscriptions give the name as Vipsanus, perhaps the original form of the nomen. According to some scholars, the gens Vipsania was originally from Pisae in Etruria. [2] [3]
The only praenomina associated with the main family of the Vipsanii were Lucius and Marcus , two of the most common names throughout Roman history. Vipsanii named Gaius , Publius , Quintus , Sextus , and Titus are known from inscriptions and coins. [4]
Only one distinct family of the Vipsanii appears in history, with the cognomen Agrippa. This was originally a praenomen, used by a few families of the early Republic, including the patrician Furii and Menenii, but by the end of the Republic it seems to have been used exclusively as a cognomen. Its origin and meaning were obscure even in antiquity; the most familiar explanation was that it was one of many praenomina derived from the circumstances of childbirth, and referred to a child delivered feet-first. [lower-roman 1] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
The gens Acutia was a minor plebeian family at Ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned from the early Republic to imperial times. The first of the Acutii to achieve prominence was Marcus Acutius, tribune of the plebs in 401 BC.
The gens Alliena or Aliena was a minor plebeian family of the Roman Republic. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Lucius Alienus, plebeian aedile in 454 BC. However, the family then slipped into obscurity for several centuries, emerging once more in the first century BC.
The gens Pinnia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned in history, and few of them attained any of the higher offices of the Roman state, although a few became local governors, and at least one, Lucius Pinnius Porphyrio, held the quaestorship. Many others 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 Rusticelia, occasionally spelled Rusticellia, was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Hardly any members of this gens are mentioned in ancient writers, but a number are known from inscriptions.
The gens Safinia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned in history, but a number are known from inscriptions.
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 Septicia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Hardly any members of this gens are mentioned in ancient writers, but a number are known from inscriptions. The most famous of the Septicii was Gaius Septicius Clarus, Prefect of the Praetorian Guard under the emperor Hadrian.
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 Spuria was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens occur in ancient writers, but many are known from inscriptions. Although at least some were of equestrian rank, and a number of Spurii held public offices in the various municipia, the most illustrious person of this name may have been Lucius Spurius Maximus, a tribune of the Vigiles at Rome during the reign of Septimius Severus.
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 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 Tampia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in history during the time of Nero, but few achieved any distinction in the Roman state. The nomen Tampius is easily confused with that of Ampius. The most illustrious of the Tampii was Lucius Tampius Flavianus, who held the consulship twice during the latter half of the first century.
The gens Taria was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the time of Augustus, when Lucius Tarius Rufus attained the consulship.
The gens Tatia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. This gens is perhaps best known from the legendary figure of Titus Tatius, a Sabine king who fought against Romulus, and who subsequently became joint ruler of Rome. None of the Tatii held any of the higher magistracies of the Roman Republic, but a number are known from inscriptions.
The gens Tedia or Teidia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Only a few members of this gens are mentioned in history, but they had reached senatorial rank by the first century BC, and Sextus Tedius Valerius Catullus attained the consulship in AD 31. Other Tedii are known from inscriptions.
The gens Tiburtia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Hardly any members of this gens are mentioned in history, but a large number 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 Urseia or Ursia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. The only member of this gens known from Roman literature is the first-century jurist Urseius Ferox, but a few others are known from inscriptions.
The gens Varena or Varenia, rarely Vorena, was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Only a few members of this gens are mentioned in Roman literature, but many others are known from inscriptions. Several of the Vareni held minor magistracies at Rome or in other towns during imperial times, including Lucius Varenus Lucullus, who was a military tribune and pontifex during the first century, and Quintus Varenus Ingenuus, who served as aedile and quaestor. Vorena, a woman of this family during the second or third century, seems to have been a Vestal Virgin.