The gens Bruttia was an

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

family during the late

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

and into imperial times. None of the

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

obtained any important magistracies until the latter half of the first century AD, when Lucius Bruttius Maximus was

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Origin

The Bruttius probably indicates that the ancestors of the gens were from

Bruttium 01 or 01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * ''01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''01011001'', the seventh studio album from Arjen Anthony L ...

, the southernmost region of

Italia Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The

Bruttii The Bruttians (alternative spelling, Brettii) () were an ancient Italic people. They inhabited the southern extremity of Italy, from the frontiers of Lucania to the Sicilian Straits and the promontory of Leucopetra. This roughly corresponds to ...

were an

Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian and South Picene. Oscan was spoken by a number of t ...

people descended from the Lucani, from whom they asserted their independence during the fourth century BC. The name of ''Bruttii'', which they adopted for themselves, may be a pre-Sabellic name meaning "runaways".

Praenomina

The

praenomina The praenomen (; plural: praenomina) was a first name chosen by the parents of a Ancient Rome, 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 ...

used by the Bruttii are ''

Lucius Lucius is a masculine given name derived from Lucius (Latin ; ), abbreviated L., one of the small group of common Latin forenames () found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius probably derives from Latin word ( gen. ), meaning "light" (<

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (biblical figure) (1st century AD) *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist * Gaius Acilius * Gaius Antonius * Gaius Antonius Hybrida * Gaius Asinius Gal ...

'', and ''

Quintus Quintus is a male given name derived from ''Quintus (praenomen), Quintus'', a common Latin language, Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is ...

''.

Branches and cognomina

No distinct families of the Bruttii appear under the Republic, during which the only

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "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 hereditar ...

is ''Sura''. A number of surnames occur in imperial times, of which all but ''Balbus'' appear to belong to the same family. The others were ''Maximus, Praesens'', and ''Crispinus''. This family came from Volceii, in

Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy, corresponding to the modern-day region of Basilicata. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and ...

, and seems to have made a habit of adopting names from the female line. The combination of ''Quinctius'' or ''Quintius Crispinus'' probably asserts the family's descent from the ancient patrician house of the Quinctii Crispini.''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', William Smith, Editor.

Members

* Quintus Bruttius Sura,

legate Legate may refer to: People * Bartholomew Legate (1575–1611), English martyr * Julie Anne Legate (born 1972), Canadian linguistics professor * William LeGate (born 1994), American entrepreneur Political and religious offices *Legatus, a hig ...

of Gaius Sentius Saturninus, governor of

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

in 88 BC. * Gaius Bruttius C. f., proquaestor in an unspecified year, and

aedile Aedile ( , , 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 enforce public orde ...

in 57 BC. * Bruttius, an eques, for whom

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

wrote a letter of introduction to Manius Acilius Caninus,

Sicilia Sicily (Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy. With 4.7 million inhabitants, including 1. ...

in 46 BC. * Bruttius, a philologer, with whom the younger Marcus Tullius Cicero studied at

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in 44 BC. * Quintus Bruttius Balbus, a candidate for

duumvir Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally spelled ''dyarchy'', as in the '' Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate. is a form of government chara ...

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

, mentioned in a political graffito. * Lucius Bruttius Maximus, proconsul of Cyprus in AD 80. * Gaius Bruttius L. f. Praesens Lucius Fulvius Rusticus,

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 thro ...

in AD 139. * Lucius Fulvius Gaius Bruttius C. f. L. n. Praesens Laberius Maximus, consul in AD 153 and 180. * Bruttia C. f. C. n. Crispina, Roman empress, the wife of

Commodus Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...

. * Lucius Bruttius C. f. C. n. Quinctius Crispinus, consul in AD 187. * Gaius Bruttius Praesens, consul in AD 217. * Lucius Bruttius Quintius Crispinus, consul in AD 224, and afterwards persuaded the city of

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

to resist

Maximinus Thrax Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" () was a Roman emperor from 235 to 238. Born of Thracian origin – given the nickname ''Thrax'' ("the Thracian") – he rose up through the military ranks, ultimately holding high command in the army of th ...

. * Gaius Bruttius Praesens, consul in AD 246. * Bruttius or "Brittius" Praesens, ''corrector'' of Lucania and Bruttium, and a ''pontifex major'', around the early fourth century., .

References

* * {{reflist Roman gentes

Origin

Praenomina

Branches and cognomina

Members

See also

References