Fabia Numantina was a member of the patrician

Fabia gens The gens Fabia was one of the most ancient patrician families at ancient Rome. The gens played a prominent part in history soon after the establishment of the Republic, and three brothers were invested with seven successive consulships, from ...

. Precisely how she fits into this family is not certain; while she is generally believed to be the daughter of

Paullus Fabius Maximus Paullus Fabius Maximus (died AD 14) was a Roman senator, active toward the end of the first century BC. He was consul in 11 BC as the colleague of Quintus Aelius Tubero, and a confidant of emperor Augustus. Background The patrician Fabii were ...

and Marcia, a maternal first cousin of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, it is possible that she was the daughter of Paullus' brother,

Africanus Fabius Maximus Africanus Fabius Maximus was a Roman senator. His elder brother was Paullus Fabius Maximus (consul 11 BC) and his sister was Fabia Paullina, who married Marcus Titius. It is believed that Africanus was named in honour of his famous family ancestor ...

Marriages

Fabia Numantina was married twice: first to

Sextus Appuleius Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respecti ...

, a half-great-nephew of Augustus, by whom she had a son, also named

. This child died young, and Fabia described him on his tombstone as 'last of the Appuleii'. = ''ILS'' 935; Luna. Fabia's second husband was Marcus Plautius Silvanus,

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 disch ...

in AD 24. He was the son of Marcus Plautius Silvanus, who had been consul in 2 BC, and Lartia. However, Fabia and Silvanus seem to have been divorced prior to Silvanus' praetorship, as Silvanus was then married to a woman named Apronia, whom he apparently murdered by throwing her out of a window.

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. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

, ''Annales'', iv. 22.Syme, ''Augustan Aristocracy'', p. 418. Shortly after Apronia's murder, Fabia was "charged with having caused her husband's insanity by magical incantations and potions", but she was acquitted.

Other children

It is uncertain if Fabia had any children apart from Sextus Appuleius. She may have been the mother of a young man named Fabius Numantinus, who was admitted to a sacerdotal college in the

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

nian era.

References

Bibliography

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 historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical ...

, ''

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 ...

''. * ''

Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae ''Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae'', standard abbreviation ''ILS'', is a three-volume selection of Latin inscriptions edited by Hermann Dessau. The work was published in five parts serially from 1892 to 1916, with numerous reprints. Supporting mat ...

'' (''ILS''), Berlin (1892-1916). * Ronald Syme, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'', Oxford University Press (1989), , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabia Numantina Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 1st-century BC births 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans 1st-century BC Roman women 1st-century Roman women Numantina Julio-Claudian dynasty People acquitted of witchcraft Witchcraft in Italy