The gens Ulpia 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

family that rose to prominence during the first century AD. 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 ...

is best known from the emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, who reigned from AD 98 to 117. The Thirtieth Legion took its name, ''Ulpia'', in his honor. The city of Serdica, modern day

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, was renamed as Ulpia Serdica.

Origin

The Ulpii were from

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

. Little is known of them except that they were connected with a family of the Aelii from

Picenum Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name was assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum became ''Regio V'' in the Augustan territorial organisation of Roman Italy. It is now in Marche ...

. The name ''Ulpius'' may be derived from an Umbrian cognate of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''lupus'', meaning "wolf"; perhaps related to ''vulpes'', Latin for "fox". The most illustrious members of this gens were the Ulpii Trajani, who, according to a biographer of Trajan, came from the city of Tuder, in southern Umbria; there is evidence of a family of this name there. Members of this family were colonists of

Italica Italica () was an ancient Ancient Rome, Roman city in Hispania; its site is close to the town of Santiponce in the province of Seville, Spain. It was founded in 206 BC by Roman general Scipio Africanus, Scipio as a ''Colonia (Roman), colonia'' f ...

in Roman Spain, where Trajan was born. They were related to a family of the Aelii, which had evidently come from Atria; Trajan's aunt was the grandmother of

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

, who was likewise born at Italica.Syme, ''Tacitus'', p. 792 ''ff.''

Branches and cognomina

The Ulpii of the empire seem to have used a few cognomina like ''Trajanus'', ''Marcellus'' and ''Leurus.'' ''Trajanus'' indicates descent from or relation to the gens Traia, a family also known to have been present in Hispania. ''Marcellus'' is a diminutive of the praenomen '' Marcus''.

Members

Ulpii Trajani

* Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, father of the emperor Trajan, was consul ''suffectus'' in AD 72. * Ulpia, perhaps the same person as Ulpia M. f. Plotina recorded in

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 ...

, was the aunt of Trajan. She married Publius Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus, and was the grandmother of the emperor

. * Marcus Ulpius M. f. Trajanus, consul in AD 91; he was subsequently adopted by the emperor

Nerva Nerva (; born Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was a Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dynast ...

, and was himself emperor from AD 98 to 117. * Ulpia M. f. Marciana, the sister of Trajan, married Gaius Salonius Matidius Patruinus.

Ulpii Marcelli

* Marcus Ulpius Marcellus, admiral of the Classis Ravennas around AD 119. * Ulpius Marcellus, a jurist during the reigns of

Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...

and

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

. * Ulpius Marcellus, perhaps a son of the jurist, governor of

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

during the reign 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 ...

. * Ulpius Marcellus, probably the same person as the governor of Britannia, although uncertainties of chronology have led some scholars to believe he had a son of the same name.

Others

* Ulpia Plotina, the wife of Titus Calestrius Ampliatus. She must be distinguished from the Ulpia Plotina mentioned in an inscription from Pompeii. * Marcus Ulpius Leurus, a native of Hypata, was consul ''suffectus'' during the later second century. * Marcus Ulpius Primianus, prefect of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

from AD 195 to 196. * Ulpius Julianus,

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect (; ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief ai ...

under the emperor

Macrinus Marcus Opellius Macrinus (; – June 218) was a Roman emperor who reigned from April 217 to June 218, jointly with his young son Diadumenianus. Born in Caesarea (now called Cherchell, in modern Algeria), in the Roman province of Mauretania ...

, was sent to put down the rebellion of

Elagabalus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 13 March 222), better known by his posthumous nicknames Elagabalus ( ) and Heliogabalus ( ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short r ...

, but was slain by his own troops in AD 218. * Ulpia Gordiana, mother of the emperor

Gordian I Gordian I (; 158 – April 238) was Roman emperor for 22 days with his son Gordian II in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Caught up in a rebellion against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he was defeated in battle and committed suicide after ...

, according to the '' Augustan History''. * Marcus Ulpius Eubiotus Leurus, son of the consul Leurus, was consul ''suffectus'' in an uncertain year around AD 230. * Marcus Ulpius M. f. Flavius Tisamenus, elder son of the consul Eubiotus Leurus.Oliver, "The Sacred Gerusia", pp. 130, 131. * Marcus Ulpius M. f. Pupienus Maximus, younger son of the consul Eubiotus Leurus. * Ulpius Crinitus, according to Vopiscus, a successful general in the time of Valerian, who claimed to be a descendant of the house of Trajan. He adopted Lucius Domitius Aurelianus, the future emperor

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

, alongside whom he was appointed consul ''suffectus'' in AD 257. Modern historians suspect that he was an invention of the author, but if he existed, he may have been the father of the empress Ulpia Severina. * Gaius Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus, one of the "

Thirty Tyrants The Thirty Tyrants (, ''hoi triákonta týrannoi'') were an oligarchy that briefly ruled Classical Athens, Athens from 404 BC, 404 BCE to 403 BC, 403 BCE. Installed into power by the Sparta, Spartans after the Athenian surrender in the Peloponnesian ...

", he rebelled against

Postumus Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus ( 259–269) was a Roman commander of Batavian origin, who ruled as emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known to modern historians as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its al ...

and proclaimed himself emperor in AD 269, during the reign of

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; – 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 empire. He ...

, but was slain at Moguntiacum about two months later. *

Ulpia Severina Ulpia Severina was Roman empress as the wife of Roman emperor Aurelian from 270 to 275. Severina is unmentioned in surviving literary sources and known only from coinage and inscriptions, and as a result, very little is known about her. Her Ulp ...

, the wife of Aurelian, and Roman empress from AD 271 to 275. * Marcus Ulpius Pupienus Silvanus, a senator mentioned in an inscription from Surrentum in

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

, dating between the late third and mid-fourth century; from his name perhaps a descendant of the consul Marcus Ulpius Leurus..

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...

), ''Panegyricus Trajani'' (Panegyric on Trajan). * Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (

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 of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

), ''Roman History''. *

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus () 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 of Marcus'' (τῆς με ...

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'' ( Augustan History). * Eutropius, ''Breviarium Historiae Romanae'' (Abridgement of the History of Rome). * Sextus Aurelius Victor, ''De Caesaribus'' (On the Caesars), '' Epitome de Caesaribus'' (attributed). * Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, ''Histoire des Empereurs et des Autres Princes qui ont Régné Durant les Six Premiers Siècles de l’Église'' (History of the Emperors and Other Princes who Ruled During the First Six Centuries of the Church), Chez Rollin Fils, Paris (1690-1697, 1701, 1738). *

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 educa ...

, ''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'' 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, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). * James H. Oliver
"The Sacred Gerusia"
in ''Hesperia Supplements'', No. 6 (1941). *

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roma ...

, ''Tacitus'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1958). * Ronald Syme, ''Roman Papers'', vol. 7, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1979), . * Paul A. Gallivan, "The ''Fasti'' for A.D. 70–96", in '' Classical Quarterly'', vol. 31, pp. 186–220 (1981). * Paul M. M. Leunissen, ''Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander'', J.C. Gieben, Amsterdam (1989). * Julian Bennett, ''Trajan: Optimus Princeps'', Routledge, (1997). * Daniël den Hengst, ''Emperors and Historiography: Collected Essays on the Literature of the Roman Empire by Daniël den Hengst'', Brill, Leiden (2010). *

Werner Eck Werner Eck (born 17 December 1939) is professor of Ancient History at Cologne University, Germany, and a noted expert on the history and epigraphy of imperial Rome.Eck, W. (2007) ''The Age of Augustus''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, cover notes. Hi ...

and Andreas Pangerl, "Ein M. Ulpius Marcellus als praefectus classis Ravennatis in einem Diplom des Jahres 119 n. Chr.", in ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', vol. 181
pp. 202–206
(2012). {{Refend Roman gentes