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The gens Aurelia was a
plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins o ...
family at ancient Rome, which flourished from the third century BC to the latest period of the
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
. The first of the Aurelian
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 ...
to obtain the consulship was Gaius Aurelius Cotta in 252 BC. From then to the end of the
Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, the Aurelii supplied many distinguished statesmen, before entering a period of relative obscurity under the early emperors. In the latter part of the first century, a family of the Aurelii rose to prominence, obtaining patrician status, and eventually the throne itself. A series of emperors belonged to this family, through birth or adoption, including
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 ...
and the members of the
Severan dynasty The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus (), who rose to power after the Year of the Five Empe ...
.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, p. 436 (" Aurelia Gens"). In 212, the ''
Constitutio Antoniniana The ''Constitutio Antoniniana'' (Latin for: "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus") (also called the Edict of Caracalla or the Antonine Constitution) was an edict issued in AD 212, by the Roman Emperor Caracalla. It declared that all free men in th ...
'' of
Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...
(whose full name was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) granted Roman citizenship to all free residents of the Empire, resulting in vast numbers of new citizens who assumed the nomen ''Aurelius'', in honour of their patron, including several emperors: seven of the eleven emperors between
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 ...
and
Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
( Claudius Gothicus,
Quintillus Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus (died 270) was a Roman emperor. He was a brother of Emperor Claudius Gothicus, whom he succeeded after Claudius' death in 270. Quintillus' claim to be emperor was challenged by Aurelian, who was proclaimed em ...
, Probus, Carus,
Carinus Marcus Aurelius Carinus (died 285) was Roman emperor from 283 to 285. The elder son of emperor Carus, he was first appointed ''Caesar'' and in the beginning of 283 co-emperor of the western portion of the empire by his father. Official accoun ...
,
Numerian Numerian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus; died November 284) was Roman emperor from 283 to 284 with his older brother Carinus. They were sons of Carus, a general raised to the office of praetorian prefect under Emperor Probus in 28 ...
and
Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was '' Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...
) bore the name "Marcus Aurelius". So ubiquitous was the name in the latter centuries of the Empire that it suffered abbreviation, as ''Aur.'', and it becomes difficult to distinguish members of the Aurelian gens from other persons bearing the name.


Origin

The nomen ''Aurelius'' is usually connected with the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...
adjective ''aureus'', meaning "golden", in which case it was probably derived from the color of a person's hair. However,
Festus Festus may refer to: People Ancient world * Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD *Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian *Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli *Festus ( ...
reports that the original form of the nomen was ''Auselius'', and that the medial 's' was replaced by 'r' at a relatively early period; the same process occurred with the archaic nomina ''Fusia, Numisia, Papisia, Valesia'', and ''Vetusia'', which became ''Furia, Numeria, Papiria, Valeria'', and ''Veturia'' in classical
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...
. According to Festus, ''Auselius'' was derived from a
Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divi ...
word for the sun.


Praenomina

All of the
praenomina The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the '' dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the bir ...
used by the chief families of the Aurelii were common throughout Roman history. The Aurelii of the Republic primarily used ''
Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist * Gaius Acilius * Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida * Gaius Asinius Gallus * Gaius Asiniu ...
,
Lucius Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...
, Marcus'', and '' Publius'', to which the Aurelii Orestides added '' Gnaeus''. The Aurelii Fulvi of imperial times used '' Titus, Marcus'', and ''Lucius'', while the Aurelii Symmachi used ''
Quintus Quintus is a male given name derived from '' Quintus'', a common Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is an English masculine given name and ...
'' and ''Lucius''.


Branches and cognomina

There were three main stirpes of the Aurelii in republican times, distinguished by the
cognomina A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...
''Cotta'' (also spelled ''Cota'')'', Orestes'', and ''Scaurus''. ''Cotta'' and ''Scaurus'' appear on coins, together with a fourth surname, ''Rufus'', which does not occur among the ancient writers. A few personal cognomina are also found, including ''Pecuniola'', apparently referring to the poverty of one of the Aurelii during the
First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...
. ''Cotta'', the surname of the oldest and most illustrious branch of the Aurelii under the Republic, probably refers to a cowlick, or unruly shock of hair; but its derivation is uncertain, and an alternative explanation might be that it derives from a dialectical form of ''cocta'', literally "cooked", or in this case "sunburnt".Chase, pp. 109, 110. Marcus Aurelius Cotta, moneyer in 139 BC, minted an unusual denarius, featuring Hercules in a
biga Biga may refer to: Places * Biga, Çanakkale, a town and district of Çanakkale Province in Turkey * Sanjak of Biga, an Ottoman province * Biga Çayı, a river in Çanakkale Province * Biga Peninsula, a peninsula in Turkey, in the northwest par ...
driven by centaurs, presumably alluding to some mythological event connected with the gens, but the exact symbolism is unknown. The Aurelii Cottae were prominent from the First Punic War down to the time of
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) 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 ...
, after which they faded into obscurity. The last of this family appearing in history include Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus, a friend of
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) 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 ...
, who squandered his family fortune through reckless prodigality, and his son, who received a stipend from
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unt ...
in order to maintain his household in a manner befitting his illustrious forebears. The Cottae were related to
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
and
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
through
Aurelia Cotta Aurelia ( – July 31, 54 BC) was the mother of the Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar. Family Aurelia was a daughter of Rutilia and Lucius Aurelius Cotta or his brother, Marcus Aurelius Cotta.'Aurelia' in William Smith, ed., ''Dictionar ...
, who was Caesar's mother. The Aurelii Scauri were a relatively small family, which flourished during the last two centuries of the Republic. Their surname, ''Scaurus'', belongs to a common class of cognomina derived from an individual's physical features, and referred to someone with swollen ankles. ''Orestes'', the surname of a family that flourished for about a century toward the end of the Republic, was a Greek name, and belonged to a class of surnames of foreign origin, which appear during the middle and late Republic. In Greek mythology,
Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
was the son of
Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the hus ...
and Clytemnestra, and avenged his father's murder by slaying his own mother, and after escaping the judgment of the
Erinyes The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the '' Iliad'' invokes t ...
, became king of Mycenae. The circumstances by which the name became attached to a branch of the Aurelii are unclear, but perhaps allude to some heroic deed, or military service in Greece. The Aurelii Fulvi, who rose to prominence in imperial times, originally came from
Nemausus Deus Nemausus is often said to have been the Celtic patron god of Nemausus (Nîmes). The god does not seem to have been worshipped outside this locality. The city certainly derives its name from Nemausus, which was perhaps the sacred wood in which ...
in Gallia Narbonensis.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, pp. 210–212 (" Antoninus Pius"), vol. II, p. 189 (" Fulvus"). Titus Aurelius Fulvus, the first of the family to attain the consulship, was made a patrician about AD 73 or 74.Jones, ''The Emperor Domitian'', p. 52. In the second century, the Aurelii Fulvi obtained the Empire itself, when the consul's grandson, Titus Aurelius Fulvus, was adopted as the successor to
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 ...
, becoming the emperor Antoninus Pius. Most of the emperors who followed were born or adopted into the gens, through the end of the Severan dynasty. The surname ''Fulvus'' was a common surname, referring to someone with yellowish, yellow-brown, tawny, or strawberry blond hair. The Aurelii Galli were a family that achieved notability during the second century, attaining the consulship on at least three occasions. Their surname, ''Gallus'', had two common derivations, referring either to a cockerel, or to a
Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during R ...
. In the latter case, it might indicate that the first of this family was of Gallic descent, that he was born in Gaul, that he had performed some noteworthy deed in Gaul, or that in some manner he resembled a Gaul. The Aurelii Symmachi were one of the last great families of the western empire, holding the highest offices of the Roman state during the fourth and fifth centuries. The Symmachi were regarded as members of the old Roman aristocracy, and acquired a reputation for their wisdom and learning.


Members


Aurelii Cottae

* Gaius Aurelius L. f. C. n. Cotta,
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
in 252 and 248 BC, during the First Punic War, he fought against the
Carthaginians The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of t ...
in
Sicily Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...
, taking the towns of
Himera Himera (Greek: ), was a large and important ancient Greek city, situated on the north coast of Sicily at the mouth of the river of the same name (the modern Imera Settentrionale), between Panormus (modern Palermo) and Cephaloedium (modern Cefal ...
and
Lipara Lipari (; scn, Lìpari) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and ''comune'', which is administratively part of the Metropolit ...
, and receiving a triumph for his victories in the former year. He was censor in 241, and
magister equitum The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be no ...
to the
dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in time ...
Gaius Duilius Gaius Duilius ( 260–231 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. As consul in 260 BC, during the First Punic War, he won Rome's first ever victory at sea by defeating the Carthaginians at the Battle of Mylae. He later served as censor in 258, an ...
in 231.''
Fasti Capitolini The ''Fasti Capitolini'', or Capitoline Fasti, are a list of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, extending from the early fifth century BC down to the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Together with similar lists found at Ro ...
'', ; 1940, 59, 60.
*Gaius Aurelius C. f. L. n. Cotta, legate of the consul Claudius Marcellus in 216 BC. * Marcus Aurelius C. f. L. n. Cotta,
plebeian aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...
in 216 BC. In 212, during the Second Punic War, he served under the consul Appius Claudius Pulcher at
Puteoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα ...
. He was appointed '' decemvir sacrorum'' in 203, and the following year was an ambassador to
Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king (Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon aga ...
. He died in 201. * Gaius Aurelius C. f. C. n. Cotta, ''praetor urbanus'' in 202 BC, and consul in 200, carried on the war against the
Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They spo ...
in Italy. When the enemy was defeated by the
praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...
Lucius Furius Purpureo Lucius Furius Purpureo was a Roman politician and general, becoming consul in the year 196 BC. Lucius Furius was from the '' gens Furia'' patrician family in Rome. Military tribune Purpureo was a military tribune in 210 BC during the Second Punic ...
, Cotta distracted himself by raiding and plundering the countryside. * Marcus Aurelius M. f. C. n. Cotta, served as the legate of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus during the war against
Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the re ...
in 189 BC. He brought Antiochus' ambassadors and other representatives of the east to Rome, where he gave his report to the
senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the ...
. * Lucius Aurelius C. f. C. n. Cotta,
military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone t ...
in 181 BC, was one of the commanders of the third legion in the war against the
Ligures The Ligures (singular Ligur; Italian: liguri; English: Ligurians) were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named. Ancient Liguria corresponded more or less to the current Italian reg ...
, together with Sextus Julius Caesar. * Lucius Aurelius L. f. C. n. Cotta, as tribune of the plebs in 154 BC, attempted to use his sacrosanctity as tribune to evade his creditors. Consul in 144 BC, he was denied the command against
Viriathus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or w ...
through the influence of
Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...
, who subsequently accused him of various crimes. Cotta was acquitted, chiefly out of spite against Scipio. * Lucius Aurelius L. f. L. n. Cotta, consul in 119 BC, attempted to prosecute Gaius Marius, then tribune of the plebs, for a law he had proposed to reduce the influence of the
optimates Optimates (; Latin for "best ones", ) and populares (; Latin for "supporters of the people", ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated academic ...
in the
comitia The legislative assemblies of the Roman Republic were political institutions in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the contemporary historian Polybius, it was the people (and thus the assemblies) who had the final say regarding the election ...
. Marius threatened to imprison Cotta, and the senate abandoned the consul's scheme. * Marcus Aurelius (L. f. L. n.) Cotta, in 139 BC. He married Rutilia, the sister of
Publius Rutilius Rufus Publius Rutilius Rufus (158 BCafter 78 BC) was a Roman statesman, soldier, orator and historian of the Rutilia ''gens'', as well as a great-uncle of Gaius Julius Caesar (through his sister Rutilia, Caesar's maternal grandmother). He achieved the ...
, consul in 105, and their three sons Marcus, Gaius, and Lucius became consuls in 74, 75, and 65 respectively.Crawford, ''Roman Republican Coinage'', p. 263. * Aurelia L. f. L. n., the wife of
Gaius Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
, proconsul of
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
early in the first century BC, and mother of the dictator Caesar. * Lucius Aurelius (L. f. L. n.) Cotta, in 105 BC and tribune of the plebs ''circa'' 103; he tried to obstruct the prosecution of Quintus Servilius Caepio by the tribune
Gaius Norbanus Gaius Norbanus (died 82 BC) was a Roman politician who was elected consul in 83 BC alongside Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus. He committed suicide in exile at Rhodes after being proscribed by Lucius Cornelius Sulla shortly after the latter's v ...
, but failed. He was praetor in an uncertain year; Broughton places his praetorship ''circa'' 95. Cicero describes him as a mediocre orator, who deliberately presented himself as a rustic. * Marcus Aurelius M. f. L. n. Cotta, consul in 74 BC, received the province of
Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, ...
during the war with Mithradates. He was defeated, and lost his entire fleet, for which he blamed his quaestor, Publius Oppius, whom Cicero defended. Cotta himself was later condemned for extortion in his province, on the accusation of Gaius Papirius Carbo. * Gaius Aurelius M. f. L. n. Cotta, a distinguished orator, praised by Cicero. During the Social War, he had supported the cause of the allies, and was subsequently exiled until 82 BC. Consul in 75, he attempted to reverse one of
Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...
's most onerous laws, arousing the ire of the optimates. He was granted a triumph for his successes as proconsul of Gaul, but died from an old wound on the day before the ceremony. * Lucius Aurelius M. f. L. n. Cotta, as praetor in 70 BC, carried the , expanding the classes of persons who could serve on juries. He became consul in 65, after accusing the consuls elect of ''
ambitus In ancient Roman law, ''ambitus'' was a crime of political corruption, mainly a candidate's attempt to influence the outcome (or direction) of an election through bribery or other forms of soft power. The Latin word ''ambitus'' is the origin of ...
'', and became a target of the
First Catilinarian conspiracy The so-called first Catilinarian conspiracy was an almost certainly fictitious conspiracy which – according to various ancient tellings – involved Publius Autronius Paetus, Publius Cornelius Sulla, Lucius Sergius Catalina, and others. A ...
. He was censor in 64, but the tribunes of the plebs compelled him to resign. He was an ally of both Cicero and Caesar. * Marcus Aurelius M. f. M. n. Cotta, son of the consul of 74 BC, upon assuming the toga virilis, avenged his father by charging Carbo, his father's accuser, of extortion in his province, the same crime for which the elder Cotta had been condemned. Probably the same Cotta who as propraetor of Sardinia in 49, fled to Africa before the arrival of Caesar's legate, Quintus Valerius Orca. * Marcus Aurelius M. f. M. n. Cotta, probably a son of the propraetor Marcus, adopted a son of
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64 BC – AD 8 or c. 12) was a Roman general, author, and patron of literature and art. Family Corvinus was the son of the consul in 61 BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger,Syme, R., ''Augustan Aristocracy'' ...
, who became ''Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus''. * Marcus Aurelius M. f. M. n. Cotta Maximus Messalinus, son of
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64 BC – AD 8 or c. 12) was a Roman general, author, and patron of literature and art. Family Corvinus was the son of the consul in 61 BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger,Syme, R., ''Augustan Aristocracy'' ...
, was adopted into the gens Aurelia. He was consul in AD 20, and an intimate friend of the emperor
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) 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 ...
. He gained a reputation for hostility and cruelty, causing a number of leading senators to accuse him of ''majestas''. The emperor, however, defended him in a missive to the senate, whereupon Messalinus was acquitted. He was also the patron of
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the t ...
.''Fasti Ostienses'', , 245, 4531–4546, 5354, 5355. * Aurelius M. f. M. n. Cotta, a nobleman who received an annual stipend from the Emperor Nero in AD 58, because he had dissipated his family estate in profligacy. He was doubtless the son of Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus.


Aurelii Scauri

* Gaius Aurelius Scaurus, praetor in 186 BC, was assigned the province of
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian language, Italian, Corsican language, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese dialect, Algherese and Catalan languag ...
. * Marcus Aurelius M. f. Scaurus, in 118 BC, perhaps the same as the consul of 108. * Marcus Aurelius Scaurus, consul ''suffectus'' in 108 BC. As a legate in Gaul in 105, he was defeated and captured by the Cimbri at the Battle of Arausio. Scaurus was slain by the Cimbric chief, Boiorix, when he warned his captors that they could not hope to defeat Rome. * Marcus Aurelius (M. f.) Scaurus, a quaestor mentioned in
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
's oration against
Verres Gaius Verres (c. 120–43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence adv ...
.


Aurelii Orestides

* Lucius Aurelius L. f. L. n. Orestes, consul in 157 BC. * Lucius Aurelius L. f. L. n. Orestes, consul in 126 BC, was sent against the Sardinians, over whom he triumphed in 122.
Gaius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician in the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, including laws to establish ...
and Marcus Aurelius Scaurus served under his command. Orestes and his brother, Gaius, were orators mentioned in passing by Cicero.Cicero, ''Brutus'', 28. * Gaius Aurelius L. f. L. n. Orestes, and his brother, Lucius, were orators briefly mentioned by Cicero. * Lucius Aurelius L. f. L. n. Orestes, consul in 103 BC, with Gaius Marius as his colleague. Orestes died during his year of office. * Gnaeus Aurelius Orestes, ''
praetor urbanus Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge variou ...
'' in 77 BC, issued a decision that was appealed to the consul Mamercus Aemilius Lepidus. Lepidus sustained the appeal, negating Orestes' decision. Broughton identifies him with the consul of 71. * Gnaeus Aurelius Cn. f. Orestes, adopted by Gnaeus Aufidius, the historian, assuming the name of
Gnaeus Aufidius Orestes Gnaeus Aufidius Orestes (died 1st century BC) was a Roman politician who was elected consul in 71 BC. Biography Originally born into the Orestes branch of the Plebeian gens Aurelia, Aufidius Orestes was adopted by the elderly Gnaeus Aufidius, a R ...
. After he failed to win election as tribune of the plebs, he succeeded in obtaining the consulship for 71 BC. Cicero, however, suggests that his election was due largely to the lavish gifts that he distributed among the people. * Aurelia Orestilla, the second wife of Catiline, who reputedly slew his grown son in order to overcome her objection to their marriage. According to Cicero's correspondent,
Marcus Caelius Rufus Marcus Caelius Rufus (28 May 82 BC – after 48 BC) was an orator and politician in the late Roman Republic. He was born into a wealthy equestrian family from Interamnia Praetuttiorum (Teramo), on the central east coast of Italy. He is best know ...
, Aurelia's daughter was betrothed to
Quintus Cornificius Quintus Cornificius (died 42 BC) was an ancient Roman of senatorial rank from the '' gens'' Cornificia. He was a general, orator and poet, a friend of Catullus and a correspondent of Cicero. He was also an augur. He wrote a now lost epyllion ti ...
.


Aurelii Fulvi

* Titus Aurelius Fulvus, the grandfather of the emperor Antoninus Pius, was legate of the third legion during the reign of
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unt ...
, and subsequently a supporter of
Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
, under whom he served as consul ''suffectus circa'' AD 71, and governor of
Hispania Citerior Hispania Citerior (English: "Hither Iberia", or "Nearer Iberia") was a Roman province in Hispania during the Roman Republic. It was on the eastern coast of Iberia down to the town of Cartago Nova, today's Cartagena in the autonomous community of ...
from 75 to 78. He was consul for the second time in 85, together with the emperor
Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flav ...
. At one time, he was ''praefectus urbi''. * Titus Aurelius T. f. Fulvus, the father of Antoninus Pius, was consul in AD 89, for the first four months of the year. * Titus Aurelius T. f. T. n. Fulvus, afterwards Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus Pius, emperor from AD 138 to 161. He had been consul in AD 120, then distinguished himself as Proconsul of Asia, and was adopted by Hadrian shortly before the emperor's death.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, pp. 210–212 (" Antoninus Pius"). * Marcus Aurelius T. f. T. n. Fulvus Antoninus, a son of Antoninus Pius, who must have died before AD 138, as Antoninus had no living sons when he was adopted by Hadrian.Cassius Dio, lxix. 21. * Marcus Galerius Aurelius T. f. T. n. Antoninus, another son of Antoninus Pius, must also have died before AD 138. * Aurelia T. f. T. n. Fadilla, daughter of Antoninus Pius, and wife of Lucius Aelius Lamia Silvanus, died shortly after her father was appointed governor of Asia. * Anna Galeria T. f. T. n. Faustina, another daughter of Antoninus Pius, married her cousin, Marcus Aurelius, and was empress from AD 161 to her death, about 175. She was noted for her extravagance and intrigues, which the emperor appears to have indulged, or at least tolerated. * Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, born Marcus Annius Verus, a nephew of Antoninus Pius, by whom he was adopted on the orders of Hadrian in AD 138, and whom he succeeded as emperor from 161 to 180.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, pp. 439–443 (" Marcus Aurelius Antoninus"). * Lucius Aurelius Verus, born Lucius Ceionius Commodus, was adopted by Antoninus Pius upon the latter's adoption by Hadrian in AD 138. He was appointed emperor together with Marcus Aurelius in 161, reigning until his death in 169. * Annia Aurelia M. f. Galeria Lucilla, daughter of
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 ...
, married the emperor Lucius Verus. When he died young, a rumour began that Lucilla had poisoned him. Her second husband was the general
Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus ( 125 – 193 AD) was a politician and military commander during the 2nd century in the Roman Empire. A general under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Pompeianus distinguished himself during Rome's wars against the Part ...
, whom she despised as her inferior. She joined a plot against her brother, the emperor Commodus, but after being detected was banished to Capreae, where she was put to death about AD 183.Julius Capitolinus, "The Life of Marcus Aurelius", 7, 26, "The Life of Lucius Verus", 2. * Annia Galeria M. f. Aurelia Faustina, daughter of Marcus Aurelius, and wife of Gnaeus Claudius Severus, consul in AD 167. Their son,
Tiberius Claudius Severus Proculus Tiberius Claudius Severus Proculus (about 163-by 218) was a Roman Senator. Via his mother he was a grandson of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, but he played only a limited role in dynastic politics. Descent and family Severus Proculus was of noble desce ...
, was consul in 200. * Titus Aelius Aurelius M. f., son of
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 ...
, probably died young. * Titus Aurelius M. f. Fulvus Antoninus Geminus, son of Marcus Aurelius and twin brother of Commodus, died at the age of four, ''circa'' AD 165. * Domitia M. f. Faustina, daughter of Marcus Aurelius, apparently died young. * Lucius Aurelius M. f. Commodus Antoninus, son of Marcus Aurelius, emperor from AD 177 to 192. After a promising beginning, he gave himself over to luxury, self-indulgence, and tyranny. He was assassinated at the end of 192. * Annia Aurelia M. f. Fadilla, daughter of Marcus Aurelius, married
Marcus Peducaeus Plautius Quintillus Marcus Peducaeus Plautius Quintillus (died 205) was a Roman noble closely related by birth, adoption, and marriage to the Nerva-Antonine emperors. Through his marriage to Fadilla, the daughter of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Empress Faustina the ...
. * Vibia Aurelia M. f. Sabina, daughter of Marcus Aurelius, married
Lucius Antistius Burrus Lucius Antistius Burrus Adventus (–188 AD) was a Roman senator who lived in the 2nd century. He was one of the sons-in-law of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger. Burrus originally came from a senatorial family from Thibilis, a ...
.


Aurelii Galli

* Lucius Aurelius Gallus, consul ''suffectus'' in an uncertain year between AD 128 and 133. * Lucius Aurelius Gallus, consul ''suffectus Ex. Kal. Jul.'' in AD 146. * Lucius Aurelius Gallus, consul in AD 174. * Lucius Aurelius Gallus, consul in AD 198. * Lucius Aurelius Gallus, governor of
Moesia Inferior Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alba ...
from AD 201 to about 204.


Aurelii Symmachi

* Aurelius Valerius Symmachus Tullianus, consul in 330. * Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus ''signo'' Phosphorius, ''praefectus urbi'' in AD 364, and consul-designate for 377. He was a superb diplomat, and among the most esteemed members of the senate. * Quintus Aurelius L. f. Symmachus ''signo'' Eusebius, one of the most respected scholars and rhetoricians of the late fourth century, and a passionate defender of Rome's pagan traditions. He was ''praefectus urbi'' in AD 384 and consul in 391. * Quintus Fabius Q. f. L. n. Memmius Symmachus, held a number of high offices, including the quaestorship and praetorship, before becoming proconsul of Africa in AD 415. He was ''praefectus urbi'' in AD 418. * Quintus Aurelius (Q. f. Q. n.) Symmachus, consul in AD 446 with
Flavius Aetius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 454) was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433454). He managed po ...
. * Quintus Aurelius Q. f. (Q. n.) Memmius Symmachus, consul in AD 485, and ''praefectus urbi'', was the father-in-law of
Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tra ...
.


Others

* Publius Aurelius Pecuniola, a kinsman of the consul Gaius Aurelius Cotta, under whom he served during the siege of
Lipara Lipari (; scn, Lìpari) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and ''comune'', which is administratively part of the Metropolit ...
in 252 BC. As a result of his negligence, his camp was set on fire, and nearly captured. As a punishment, Pecuniola was scourged, and demoted to the rank of legionary. * Lucius Aurelius, quaestor ''urbanus'' in 196 BC. * Aurelius Opilius, a freedman who became a philosopher, rhetorician, and grammarian, and a friend of
Publius Rutilius Rufus Publius Rutilius Rufus (158 BCafter 78 BC) was a Roman statesman, soldier, orator and historian of the Rutilia ''gens'', as well as a great-uncle of Gaius Julius Caesar (through his sister Rutilia, Caesar's maternal grandmother). He achieved the ...
, whom he accompanied into exile at Smyrna, around 92 BC. * Aurelius Cornelius Celsus, a physician, perhaps named Aulus, rather than Aurelius. He probably lived in the time of Augustus, or at the latest in the mid-first century. He employed a scientific approach to medicine, and his treatise, ''De Medicina'', in eight books, still survives. * Lucius Aurelius Priscus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 67. * Quintus Aurelius Pactumeius Fronto, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 80. He entered office on the Kalends of March, and held the consulate for two months. * Titus Aurelius Quietus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 82. He served from the Kalends of September, perhaps until the end of the year. * Aurelia Messalina, the wife of Ceionius Postumius and mother of
Clodius Albinus Decimus Clodius Albinus ( 150 – 19 February 197) was a Roman imperial pretender between 193 and 197. He was proclaimed emperor by the legions in Britain and Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) after the murder ...
. * Aurelius, a physician, one of whose prescriptions is quoted by
Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one of ...
. * Marcus Aurelius Verianus, governor of
Roman Egypt , conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt , common_name = Egypt , subdivision = Province , nation = the Roman Empire , era = Late antiquity , capital = Alexandria , title_leader = Praefectus Augustalis , image_map = Roman E ...
in 188. *
Marcus Aurelius Cleander Marcus Aurelius Cleander ( gr, Μᾶρκος Αὐρήλιος Κλέανδρος; died 19 April 190), commonly known as Cleander, was a Roman freedman who gained extraordinary power as chamberlain and favourite of the emperor Commodus, rising ...
, a freedman of Commodus, whom the emperor entrusted with the maintenance of his household, and then the imperial bureaucracy. He enriched himself by selling magistracies, but following a grain shortage in AD 190, the
praefectus annonae The ("prefect of the provisions"), also called the ("prefect of the grain supply") was a Roman official charged with the supervision of the grain supply to the city of Rome. Under the Republic, the job was usually done by an aedile. However, in ...
incited a riot against him. The emperor made no effort to defend his favourite, who was put to death to placate the mob. * Quintus Aurelius Polus Terentianus, governor of Dacia in 193. *
Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pompeianus Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pompeianus ( 177 – 211/212) was a Roman senator active in the early 3rd century. He was the son of Lucilla, the daughter of Marcus Aurelius, and her second husband Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, a general active politica ...
, consul in AD 209. * Marcus Aurelius Sebastenus, equestrian governor of
Mauretania Tingitana Mauretania Tingitana (Latin for "Tangerine Mauretania") was a Roman province, coinciding roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco. The territory stretched from the northern peninsula opposite Gibraltar, to Sala Colonia (or Chellah) ...
from AD 215 to 217. * Aurelius Philippus, the tutor of
Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...
, who afterward wrote a life of the emperor. * Lucius Julius Aurelius Septimius Vabalathus Athenodorus, king of the
Palmyrene Empire The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century. Named after its capital city, Palmyra, it encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egyp ...
. * Marcus Aurelius Olympius Nemesianus, an esteemed poet during the reign of the emperor Carus, and the author of ''Cynegetica'', a treatise on hunting with dogs, most of which has been lost. Several fragments of his other works have survived. * Aurelius Arcadius Charisius, a jurist, who probably flourished during the fourth century. *
Sextus Aurelius Victor Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 – c. 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a short history of imperial Rome, entitled ''De Caesaribus'' and covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. The work w ...
, a Latin historian of the fourth century, and the author of several important historical and biographical works. He was governor of
Pannonia Secunda Pannonia Secunda was one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of emperor Diocletian. The capital of the province was Sirmium (today Sremska Mitrovica). Pannonia Secunda included parts of present-day ...
under the emperor Julian, and prefect of Rome in AD 389 under
Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
. * Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, a jurist, poet, and Christian philosopher of the late fourth and early fifth century. * Aurelius Onesimus, a legionary in the Legio I Illyricorum.


''Stemma'' of the Aurelii Cottae

''Stemma'' made from Münzer and Badian.Münzer, ''Aristocratic Parties'', p. 295.Badian, ''Studies'', p. 64.


See also

*
List of Roman gentes The gens (plural gentes) was a Roman family, of Italic or Etruscan origins, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same '' nomen'' and claimed descent from a common ancestor. It was an important social and legal structure in early ...
* Lucius Domitius Aurelianus, emperor from 270 AD to 275 AD. * Aurelius, one of the
Martyrs of Córdoba The Martyrs of Córdoba were forty-eight Christian martyrs who were executed under the rule of Muslim administration in Al-Andalus (name of the Iberian Peninsula under the Islamic rule). The hagiographical treatise written by the Iberian Christ ...
- see
Aurelius and Natalia Aurelius and Natalie (died 852) were Christian martyrs who were put to death during the reign of Abd ar-Rahman II, Emir of Córdoba, and are counted among the Martyrs of Córdoba. Aurelius was the son of a Muslim father and a Christian mother ...
*
Ambrosius Aurelianus Ambrosius Aurelianus ( cy, Emrys Wledig; Anglicised as Ambrose Aurelian and called Aurelius Ambrosius in the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and elsewhere) was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Sax ...
, possible
historical basis for King Arthur The historicity of King Arthur has been debated both by academics and popular writers. While there have been many suggestions that Arthur was a real historical person, current consensus among academic historians holds him to be a mythological or ...
*
Aurelius of Carthage Aurelius of Carthage was a Christian saint who died around 430. A friend of Augustine of Hippo, he was bishop of Carthage from about 391 until his death. Life Not much is known about his life outside of his ecclesiastical activities. At the tim ...
, a fifth-century
Christian saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ort ...
*
Contarini The House of Contarini is one of the founding families of Venicehttps://archive.org/details/teatroaraldicose02tett, Leone Tettoni. ''Teatro araldico ovvero raccolta generale delle armi ed insegne gentilizie delle piu illustri e nobili casat ...


Footnotes


References

{{Reflist


Bibliography


Ancient sources

*
Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
, ''Academica Priora'', '' Brutus'', ''De Domo Sua'', ''De Lege Agraria contra Rullum'', '' De Legibus'', ''
De Officiis ''De Officiis'' (''On Duties'' or ''On Obligations'') is a political and ethical treatise by the Roman orator, philosopher, and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero written in 44 BC. The treatise is divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds h ...
'', ''
De Oratore ''De Oratore'' (''On the Orator''; not to be confused with '' Orator'') is a dialogue written by Cicero in 55 BC. It is set in 91 BC, when Lucius Licinius Crassus dies, just before the Social War and the civil war between Marius and Sulla, d ...
'', '' Divinatio in Quintum Caecilium'', ''
Epistulae ad Atticum ''Epistulae ad Atticum'' (Latin for "Letters to Atticus") is a collection of letters from Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero to his close friend Titus Pomponius Atticus. The letters in this collection, together with Cicero's oth ...
'', ''
Epistulae ad Familiares ''Epistulae ad Familiares'' (''Letters to Friends'') is a collection of letters between Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero and various public and private figures. The letters in this collection, together with Cicero's other letters ...
'', ''
In Catilinam The Catilinarian Orations (; also simply the ''Catilinarians'') are a set of speeches to the Roman Senate given in 63 BC by Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of the year's consuls, accusing a senator, Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline), of leading a ...
'', ''In Pisonem'', ''
In Verrem "In Verrem" ("Against Verres") is a series of speeches made by Cicero in 70 BC, during the corruption and extortion trial of Gaius Verres, the former governor of Sicily. The speeches, which were concurrent with Cicero's election to the aedileshi ...
'', ''Orator ad Marcum Brutum'', ''
Philippicae The ''Philippics'' ( la, Philippicae, singular Philippica) are a series of 14 speeches composed by Cicero in 44 and 43 BC, condemning Mark Antony. Cicero likened these speeches to those of Demosthenes against Philip II of Macedon; both Demo ...
'', ''Pro Fonteio'', ''Pro Murena'', ''Pro Plancio'', ''Pro Sestio''. *
Marcus Caelius Rufus Marcus Caelius Rufus (28 May 82 BC – after 48 BC) was an orator and politician in the late Roman Republic. He was born into a wealthy equestrian family from Interamnia Praetuttiorum (Teramo), on the central east coast of Italy. He is best know ...
, ''Apud Ciceronis ad Familiares''. *
Gaius Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
, ''
Commentarii de Bello Civili '' Commentarii de Bello Civili'' ''(Commentaries on the Civil War)'', or ''Bellum Civile'', is an account written by Julius Caesar of his war against Gnaeus Pompeius and the Roman Senate. It consists of three books covering the events of 49– ...
''. * Gaius Sallustius Crispus (
Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...
), ''Bellum Catilinae'' (The Conspiracy of Catiline), ''Historiae'' (The Histories). * Cornelius Nepos, ''De Viris Illustribus'' (On the Lives of Famous Men). * Quintus Horatius Flaccus (
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
), '' Satirae'' (Satires). * Titus Livius (
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
), ''
History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...
''. *
Marcus Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the pe ...
, ''Compendium of Roman History''. *
Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...
, '' Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium'' (Memorable Facts and Sayings). * Quintus Asconius Pedianus, ''Commentarius in Oratio Ciceronis In Cornelio'' (Commentary on Cicero's Oration ''In Cornelio''). * Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, ''De Re Rustica''. * Gaius Plinius Secundus (
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
), '' Historia Naturalis'' (Natural History). *
Sextus Julius Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube ...
, ''Strategemata'' (Stratagems). * Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (
Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilian ...
), ''
Institutio Oratoria ''Institutio Oratoria'' (English: Institutes of Oratory) is a twelve-volume textbook on the theory and practice of rhetoric by Roman rhetorician Quintilian. It was published around year 95 AD. The work deals also with the foundational education ...
'' (Institutes of Oratory). *
Publius Cornelius Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
, '' Annales'', '' Historiae'', '' De Origine et Situ Germanorum'' (The Origin and Situation of the Germans, or "Germania"). *
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographie ...
, '' De Vita Caesarum'' (Lives of the Caesars, or The Twelve Caesars), ''De Illustribus Grammaticis'' (On the Illustrious Grammarians). * Appianus Alexandrinus (
Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...
), ''Bella Mithridatica'' (The Mithridatic Wars), ''Bellum Civile'' (The Civil War). * Aelius Galenus (
Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one of ...
), ''De Compositione Medicamentorum Secundum Locos Conscriptorum'' (On the Composition of Medications According to the Place Prescribed). *
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 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 ...
'' (Augustan History). * Eutropius, ''Breviarium Historiae Romanae'' (Abridgement of the History of Rome). *
Sextus Aurelius Victor Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 – c. 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a short history of imperial Rome, entitled ''De Caesaribus'' and covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. The work w ...
, ''De Caesaribus'' (On the Caesars), ''
De Viris Illustribus ''De Viris Illustribus'', meaning "concerning illustrious men", represents a genre of literature which evolved during the Italian Renaissance in imitation of the exemplary literature of Ancient Rome. It inspired the widespread commissioning of ...
'' (On Famous Men). *
Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gestae ...
, ''Res Gestae''. *
Codex Theodosianus The ''Codex Theodosianus'' (Eng. Theodosian Code) was a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312. A commission was established by Emperor Theodosius II and his co-emperor Valentinian III on 26 March 429 ...
. *
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus Quintus Aurelius Symmachus signo Eusebius (, ; c. 345 – 402) was a Roman statesman, orator, and man of letters. He held the offices of governor of proconsular Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and consul in 391. Symmachus s ...
, ''Epistulae''. *
Paulus Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...
, ''Historiarum Adversum Paganos'' (History Against the Pagans). *''Digesta'', or ''Pandectae'' ( The Digest). * Paulus, ''Epitome de Sex. Pompeio Festo de Significatu Verborum'' (Epitome of Festus' ''De Significatu Verborum''). *
Joannes Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Greek historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held th ...
, ''Epitome Historiarum'' (Epitome of History).


Modern sources

* Jan Gruter, ''Inscriptiones Antiquae Totius Orbis Romani'' (Ancient Inscriptions from the Whole Roman World), Heidelberg (1603). *
Ludovico Antonio Muratori Lodovico Antonio Muratori (21 October 1672 – 23 January 1750) was an Italian historian, notable as a leading scholar of his age, and for his discovery of the Muratorian fragment, the earliest known list of New Testament books. Biography Born ...
, ''Novus Thesaurus Veterum Inscriptionum'' (New Treasury of Ancient Inscriptions), Milan (1739–42). *
Johann Christian Wernsdorf Johann Christian Wernsdorf I (6 November 1723 in Wittenberg – 25 August 1793 in Helmstedt) was a German writer, poet, and rhetorician. Life Born the son of Gottlieb Wernsdorf the Elder and his wife Magaretha Katharina (nee Nitsch), he lost his ...
, ''Poëtae Latini Minores'' (Minor Latin Poets), Altenburg, Helmstedt (1780–1799). *
Joseph Hilarius Eckhel Joseph Hilarius Eckhel (13 January 1737 – 16 May 1798) was an Austrian Jesuit priest and numismatist. Biography Eckhel was born at Enzersfeld, in Lower Austria. His father was farm-steward to Count Zinzendorf, and he received his early educ ...
, ''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). * Theodor Mommsen ''et alii'', ''
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...
'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). * René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''
L'Année épigraphique ''L'Année épigraphique'' (''The Epigraphic Year'', standard abbreviation ''AE'') is a French publication on epigraphy (i.e the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing). It was set up by René Cagnat, as holder of the chair of 'Epigraphy an ...
'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897). *
Friedrich Münzer Friedrich Münzer (22 April 1868 – 20 October 1942) was a German classical scholar noted for the development of prosopography, particularly for his demonstrations of how family relationships in ancient Rome connected to political struggles. He d ...
, ''Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families'', translated by Thérèse Ridley, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 (originally published in 1920). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952). *
Ernst Badian Ernst Badian (8 August 1925 – 1 February 2011) was an Austrian-born classical scholar who served as a professor at Harvard University from 1971 to 1998. Early life and education Badian was born in Vienna in 1925 and in 1938 fled the Nazis wi ...
, ''Studies in Greek and Roman History'', Blackwell (1964). * Anthony R. Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius'', B. T. Batsford, London (1966). * Geza Alföldy, ''Fasti Hispanienses'', F. Steiner, Wiesbaden (1969). *
Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian. Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' a ...
, ''Roman Republican Coinage'', Cambridge University Press (1974, 2001). * T. P. Wiseman,
Legendary Genealogies in Late-Republican Rome
, '' Greece & Rome'', Second Series, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Oct., 1974), pp. 153–164. *
Guido Bastianini Guido Bastianini (born September 10, 1945 in Florence), Italian papyrologist and palaeographer. Bastianini finished his papyrological studies in Florence 1970. He had participated in various archaeological missions in Egypt organized by the Isti ...
,
Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30a al 299p
(List of the Prefects of Egypt from 30 BC to AD 299), in ''
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik The ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' (commonly abbreviated ZPE; "Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy") is a peer-reviewed academic journal which contains articles that pertain to papyrology and epigraphy. It has been described as "t ...
'', vol. 17 (1975). *''Dicționar de istorie veche a României'' (Dictionary of Ancient Romanian History), Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică (1976). *Paul A. Gallivan, "Some Comments on the ''Fasti'' for the Reign of Nero", 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. 24, pp. 290–311 (1974), "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). *Brian W. Jones, ''The Emperor Domitian'', Routledge, London (1992). *
Benet Salway Richard William Benet Salway is a senior lecturer in ancient history at University College London. His areas of speciality include Greek and Roman epigraphy and onomastics, Roman law, Roman Imperial history and travel and geography in the Graeco ...

"What’s in a Name? A Survey of Roman Onomastic Practice from c. 700 B.C. to A.D. 700"
in ''Journal of Roman Studies'', vol. 84, pp. 124–145 (1994). * J.E.H. Spaul,
Governors of Tingitana
, in ''Antiquités Africaines'', vol. 30 (1994). *John C. Traupman, ''The New College Latin & English Dictionary'', Bantam Books, New York (1995). Roman gentes