The gens Cluentia was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
family of the late
Republic. The
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 ...
first appears during the
Social War, in which
Lucius Cluentius Lucius Cluentius was a general of the Pompeiian forces. Lucius Cluentius, called Aulus Cluentius by Eutropius, was one of the Italian generals during the Social War. He commanded the Pompeiian troops against Sulla, and was at first victorious, bu ...
was general of the
Pompeiian forces. The most famous family of the name lived at
Larinum
Larino ( nap, label= Campobassan dialect, Larìne; la, Larinum) is a town and ''comune'' of approximately 8,100 inhabitants in Molise, province of Campobasso, southern Italy. It is located in the fertile valley of the Biferno River.
The old to ...
, where they and their cousins, the
Aurii, fell victim to the machinations of
Oppianicus, exposed by
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 ...
in his oration, ''
Pro Cluentio
''Pro Cluentio'' is a speech by the Roman orator Cicero given in defense of a man named Aulus Cluentius Habitus Minor.
Cluentius, from Larinum in Samnium, was accused in 69 BC by his mother Sassia of having poisoned his stepfather, Statius Abb ...
''.
[''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', pp. 806, 807 ("Cluentia", "Lucius Cluentius", "Aulus Cluentius Habitus".]
Origin
The Cluentii were probably of
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.
Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including ...
origin. Both Pompeii and Larinum, the towns with which the family was associated, were located within Oscan territory. Lucius Cluentius and the Pompeiian forces he commanded during the Social War fought against the Roman army under
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 ha ...
, so the Cluentii may not have gained
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
until the conclusion of the war.
Branches and cognomina
The only
cognomen
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 her ...
associated with the Cluentii is ''Habitus'', also found as ''Abitus'' and ''Avitus''. ''Habitus'' might refer to a person's manner of dress, style, or bearing; ''Avitus'' is derived from an adjective, meaning "grandfatherly, ancestral," and thus might indicate the senior branch of a family.
Members
*
Lucius Cluentius Lucius Cluentius was a general of the Pompeiian forces. Lucius Cluentius, called Aulus Cluentius by Eutropius, was one of the Italian generals during the Social War. He commanded the Pompeiian troops against Sulla, and was at first victorious, bu ...
, called Aulus Cluentius by
Eutropius, was one of the Italian generals during the Social War. He commanded the Pompeiian troops against
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 ha ...
, and was at first victorious, but was subsequently defeated and slain.
* Aulus Cluentius Habitus, a respected citizen of Larinum, who died in 88 BC, leaving a widow, Sassia, a son and a daughter.
[Cicero, ''Pro Cluentio'', 5.]
* Cluentia, sister of the elder Aulus Cluentius Habitus, married
Statius Albius Oppianicus, by whom she was allegedly poisoned. Oppianicus subsequently married Cluentius' widow, Sassia.
*
Aulus Cluentius A. f. Habitus, accused his stepfather, Oppianicus, of attempting to poison him. Oppianicus was convicted in 74 B.C., allegedly because the judge had been bribed. Eight years later, Cicero defended Cluentius on a similar charge made by Oppianicus' son.
[Cicero, ''Pro Cluentio'', ''passim'', ''In Verrem'', i. 10, 13–61, ''Pro Caecina'', 10.]
* Cluentia A. f., sister of the younger Aulus Cluentius Habitus, married her cousin,
Aulus Aurius Melinus
Aulus (abbreviated A.) is one of the small group of common forenames found in the culture of ancient Rome.
The name was traditionally connected with Latin ''aula'', ''olla'', "palace", but this is most likely a false etymology. ''Aulus'' in fact p ...
. Her mother, Sassia, persuaded him to divorce her, and his death was procured by Cluentia's stepfather, Oppianicus.
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 earl ...
References
{{reflist
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 ...
, ''
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 aedileship ...
'', ''
Pro Caecina'', ''
Pro Cluentio
''Pro Cluentio'' is a speech by the Roman orator Cicero given in defense of a man named Aulus Cluentius Habitus Minor.
Cluentius, from Larinum in Samnium, was accused in 69 BC by his mother Sassia of having poisoned his stepfather, Statius Abb ...
''.
* 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).
*
Eutropius, ''Breviarium Historiae Romanae'' (Abridgement of the History of Rome).
* ''
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).
* D.P. Simpson, ''Cassell's Latin and English Dictionary'', Macmillan Publishing Company, New York (1963).
Roman gentes