The gens Caecinia 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 of
Etruscan origin at
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...
. Members of this
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 ...
are first mentioned in the time of
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 est ...
, and they remained prominent through the first century 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 ...
, before fading into obscurity in the time of the
Flavian emperors. A family of this name rose to prominence once more at the beginning of the fifth century.
[''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. I, p. 529 (" Caecina").]
Origin
The Etruscan roots of the Caecinae are indicated by the form of their
nomen, which in the masculine form ends in ', typical of Etruscan names. The feminine form, ''Caecinia'', is formed as though the masculine form were ''Caecinius'', which is also encountered, though rarely, in inscriptions. The Caecinae seem either to have derived their name from, or given it to, the river Caecina, which flows by the town of
Volaterrae, one of the ancient cities of
Etruria
Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria.
Etruscan Etruria
The ancient people of Etruria
are identified as Etruscans. T ...
. A sepulchre belonging to the Caecinae has been discovered near Volaterrae; a beautiful sarcophagus, now in the Museum of Paris, was found inside. The poet Caecina had a villa in the same neighbourhood, and families of the name have resided at modern Volterra until the present day. From the tomb of the Caecinae, we learn that ''Ceicna'' was the Etruscan form of the name.
Praenomina
The chief
praenomina of the Caecinae were ''
Aulus'', ''
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 Asinius Pol ...
'', and ''
Lucius'', all of which were common throughout Roman history. Other common praenomina are occasionally found, including ''
Quintus'', ''
Publius'', and ''
Sextus''.
Branches and cognomina
The family was divided into several branches, and we accordingly find on the funeral urns the
cognomina ''Caspu'' and ''Tlapuni''; in Latin inscriptions we also meet with the surnames ''Quadratus'' and ''Placidus'', and various others occur.
Members
* Aulus Caecina, a native of
Volaterrae, whom
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 est ...
defended in his oration, ''Pro Caecina'', in 69 BC.
*
Aulus Caecina A. f. Severus, an orator and scholar of Etruscan culture. He was a political opponent of
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, an ...
, but was pardoned at the end of the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
. He was the author of a work on Etruscan religious practices, which was an important source of information for
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 ...
and
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature.
Seneca was ...
.
* Caecina, a native of Volaterrae, and friend of
Octavian
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 Pr ...
.
*
Aulus Caecina Severus
Aulus Caecina Severus was a Roman politician and general who was consul in 1 BC. He was Emperor Augustus' representative in Moesia when the Great Illyrian Revolt broke out. As a result, he spent 4 years in heavy fighting against the Illyrian ...
,
legate of
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the pat ...
, triumphed over the
Cherusci
The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the plains and forests of northwestern Germany in the area of the Weser River and present-day Hanover during the first centuries BC and AD. Roman sources reported they considered themse ...
in AD 14.
* Aulus Caecina Largus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 13.
*
Aulus Caecina Paetus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 37; put to death by the emperor
Claudius in AD 42.
* Gaius Caecina Largus, consul in AD 42, inhabited the magnificent house which formerly belonged to
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, a contemporary of Cicero.
* Publius Caecina Largus, a close friend of Claudius, and perhaps the brother of Gaius Caecina Largus.
* Quintus Caecina Primus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 53, probably in the middle of the year.
*
Gaius Caecina Tuscus
Gaius Caecina Tuscus (Greek ''Gaius Kokina'') was a 1st-century Roman politician and governor of Egypt during the reign of Nero, and is mentioned by Tacitus. Tuscus was a member of the Caecinia gens, Caecinae, an Etruscan family of Volaterrae, one ...
, governor of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
, was banished by the emperor
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 ...
.
*
Aulus Caecina Alienus
Aulus Caecina Alienus ( 40 – 79) was a Roman general active during the Year of the Four Emperors.
Biography
Caecina was born in Vicetia (modern Vicenza) around 40 A.D. He was ''quaestor'' of Hispania Baetica (southern Iberia) in 68 A.D. On the ...
, one of
Vitellius
Aulus Vitellius (; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of c ...
' generals in AD 69.
* Licinius Caecina, a
senator
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 e ...
attached to
Otho's party, in AD 69.
*
Gaius Laecanius Bassus Caecina Paetus, consul ''suffectus'' for the months of November and December in AD 70, and subsequently governor 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 ...
.
* Gaius Caecina Largus, governor of
Thracia AD 198.
* Caecina Largus, ''
praefectus annonae'' AD 250.
* Aulus Caecina Tacitus, governor of
Hispania Baetica, and consul, possibly ordinary consul in 273.
*
Antonius Caecina Sabinus, consul in AD 316.
* Caecinia Lolliana, a priestess of
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic language, Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughou ...
, and the wife of
Gaius Ceionius Rufius Volusianus Lampadius.
*
Publilius Ceionius Caecina Albinus, presumably the son of Lampadius and Lolliana, was governor of
Numidia
Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tuni ...
between 364 and 367.
*
Caecina Decius Albinus, son of Publilius, was of Rome in AD 402.
*
Caecina Decius Aginatius Albinus, of Rome in AD 414.
*
Albinus, of Rome in AD 426, consul in 444, and
praetorian prefect of Italy from 443 to 449. Possibly identical to Aginatius Albinus.
*
Caecina Decius Basilius, consul in 463 and twice praetorian prefect of Italy.
*
Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius, consul in AD 480 and praetorian prefect of Italy in 483.
*
Caecina Mavortius Basilius Decius, consul in AD 486.
[, .]
*
Caecina Decius Faustus Albinus, son of Maximus Basilius, was consul in 493 and praetorian prefect of Italy around 500.
See also
*
List of Roman gentes
References
Bibliography
*
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 est ...
, ''
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 ot ...
'', ''
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 lette ...
'', ''
Pro Caecina''.
*
Aulus Hirtius
Aulus Hirtius (; – 43 BC) was consul of the Roman Republic in 43 BC and a writer on military subjects. He was killed during his consulship in battle against Mark Antony at the Battle of Mutina.
Biography
He was a legate of Julius Caesar's ...
(attributed), ''
De Bello Africo'' (On the African War).
*
Marcus Velleius Paterculus, ''Compendium of Roman History''.
*
Quintus Asconius Pedianus
Quintus Asconius Pedianus (BC 9 - AD 76) was a Roman historian. There is no evidence that Asconius engaged in a public career, but he was familiar both with Roman government of his time and with the geography of the city. He may, therefore, have w ...
, ''Commentarius in Oratio Ciceronis Pro Scauro'' (Commentary on Cicero's Oration ''Pro Scauro'').
* Lucius Annaeus Seneca (
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature.
Seneca was ...
), ''
Naturales Quaestiones'' (Natural Questions).
* 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).
* Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (
Pliny the Younger), ''
Epistulae'' (Letters).
*
Flavius Josephus, ''
Bellum Judaïcum'' (The Jewish War).
*
Marcus Valerius Martialis (
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 an ...
), ''Epigrammata'' (Epigrams).
*
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, ''
Annales
Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts.
List of works with titles contai ...
'', ''
Historiae''.
*
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, ''
De Vita Caesarum
''De vita Caesarum'' ( Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The ...
'' (Lives of the Caesars, or The Twelve Caesars).
* Appianus Alexandrinus (
Appian
Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Ancient Greeks, Greek historian with Ancient Rome, Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of ...
), ''Bellum Civile'' (The Civil War).
*
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''.
*
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 ...
(attributed), ''
Epitome de Caesaribus
The ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' is a Latin historical work written at the end of the 4th century.
It is a brief account of the reigns of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Theodosius the Great. It is attributed to Aurelius Victor, but was writte ...
''.
*
Joannes Zonaras, ''Epitome Historiarum'' (Epitome of History).
* ''
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 p ...
'',
William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
*
Theodor Mommsen
Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classics, classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19 ...
''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 thr ...
'' (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, pp. 103–184 (1897).
* Arthur E. and Joyce S. Gordon, "Roman Names and the Consuls of A. D. 13", in ''American Journal of Philology'', vol. 72
pp. 283–292 (1951).
* A. H. M. Jones & J. R. Martindale, ''
The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...
'' (abbreviated ''PLRE''), Cambridge University Press (1971–1992).
* Paul A. Gallivan, "The ''Fasti'' for the Reign of Claudius", in ''
Classical Quarterly'', vol. 28, pp. 407–426 (1978); "The ''Fasti'' for A.D. 70–96", in ''
Classical Quarterly'', vol. 31, pp. 186–220 (1981).
*
Werner Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139" (Annual and Provincial Fasti of the Senatorial Governors from AD 69/70 to 138/139), in ''Chiron'', vol. 12 (1982).
* Paul M. M. Leunissen, ''Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander'' (Consuls and Consulars from the Time of Commodus to Severus Alexander), Verlag Gieben, Amsterdam, (1989).
* Olli Salomies, ''Adoptive and Polyonymous Nomenclature in the Roman Empire'', Societas Scientiarum Fenica, Helsinki (1992).
*
{{refend
Etruscan families
Roman gentes