The gens Messia was a

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or 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 of the gro ...

family at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The first person of this name to appear in history is Vettius Messius, a

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

an soldier whose courage inspired his comrades in a desperate battle against the Romans in 431 BC. It is not known when the Messii first obtained

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome () 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, traditions, and cu ...

. Members of the family appear in the lists of annual magistrates during the final decades of the

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 ...

. In imperial times, some of the Messii achieved the highest offices of the Roman state.

Members

* Vettius Messius, a Volscian warrior of humble origin, who in 431 BC rallied his countrymen against the Roman army under the command of the

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

Aulus Postumius Tubertus Aulus Postumius Tubertus was a Roman military leader in the wars with the Aequi and Volsci during the fifth century BC. He served as ''Magister Equitum'' under the dictator Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus in 434 BC, and was dictator himself in 431.' ...

. So fiercely did the Volsci fight that the outcome of the battle was in doubt for some time, but the Romans prevailed; the fate of Vettius Messius is unknown. * Gaius Messius,

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune () was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the pow ...

in 57 BC, introduced a bill to recall

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 ...

from exile, and passed a law granting Gnaeus Pompeius control over the grain supply. He was

plebeian 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 54, and defended by Cicero in the same year. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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 policies.J ...

, he served as one of Caesar's lieutenants in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. * Gaius Messius C. f., a soldier from

Berytus Berytus (; ; ; ; ), briefly known as Laodicea in Phoenicia (; ) or Laodicea in Canaan from the 2nd century to 64 BCE, was the ancient city of Beirut (in modern-day Lebanon) from the Roman Republic through the Roman Empire and late antiquity, Ear ...

, who participated in the

Siege of Masada The siege of Masada was the Roman Empire's defeat of the Sicarii, occurring from 72 to 73 AD – during the final period of the First Jewish–Roman War – on and around a hilltop in present-day Israel. The siege is recorded by a single contem ...

during the

First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–74 CE), also known as the Great Jewish Revolt, the First Jewish Revolt, the War of Destruction, or the Jewish War, was the first of three major Jewish rebellions against the Roman Empire. Fought in the prov ...

. He might have been a cavalryman serving with the

Legio X Fretensis Legio X Fretensis ("Tenth legion of the Strait") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by the young Gaius Octavius (later to become Augustus Caesar) in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the dissolu ...

. * Messius Maximus, a close friend of

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 ...

, who addressed a number of letters to him. Messius was an author, whose work Pliny admired, and whose advice he sought upon his own writing. * Marcus Messius Rusticus, consul ''suffectus'' from September to December in AD 114. * Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius, emperor from AD 249 to 251.Aurelius Victor, ''De Caesaribus'', 29, ''Epitome de Caesaribus'', 29.Zonaras, xii. 19, 20. * Quintus Herennius Etruscus Messius C. f. Decius, better known simply as "Herennius Etruscus", was the son of Decius, and briefly ruled alongside his father until they were both slain in battle, in AD 251. * Gaius Valens Hostilianus Messius C. f. Quintus, generally believed to have been the son of Decius, succeeded to the empire on the deaths of his father and brother, in AD 251, reigning alongside

Trebonianus Gallus Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus ( 206 – August 253) was Roman emperor from June 251 to August 253, in a joint rule with his son Volusianus. Early life Gallus was born in Italy, in a respected senatorial family with Etruscan ancestry, cer ...

. Hostilian died later the same year, either in an epidemic, or betrayed by his colleague. * Messius Arusianus, a Latin grammarian who flourished at the end of the fourth century. *

Messius Phoebus Severus Messius Phoebus Severus (''floruit'' 469–470) was a Roman politician and philosopher. He was appointed consul with Flavius Iordanes for 470. Biography Born in Rome, he studied at the school of the neoplatonist philosopher Proclus, in Alexan ...

, consul in AD 470, under the emperor

Anthemius Procopius Anthemius (; died 11 July 472) was the Western Roman Empire, Western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Born in the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, Anthemius quickly worked his way up the ranks. He married into the Theodosian dyna ...

, who granted him the rank of '' Patricius'', and appointed him ''

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...

''. He restored parts of the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

, and according to

Damascius Damascius (; ; 462 – after 538), known as "the last of the Athenian Neoplatonists", was the last scholarch of the neoplatonic Athenian school. He was one of the neoplatonic philosophers who left Athens after laws confirmed by emperor Jus ...

, Severus and the emperor planned to restore Rome's pagan cults.Damascius, ''The Life of Isidore''.

Notes

References

Bibliography

Marcus Tullius 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 ...

, ''

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 oth ...

'', ''Post Reditum in Senatu''. *

Gaius Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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. He ...

, (attributed), ''De Bello Africo'' (On the African War). * Titus Livius (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

), ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

'' (History of Rome). * Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (

), '' Epistulae'' (Letters). *

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

, '' Historia Ecclesiastica''. * Eutropius, ''Breviarium Historiae Romanae'' (Abridgement of the History of Rome). *

Sextus Aurelius Victor Sextus Aurelius Victor ( 320 – 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a now-lost monumental history of imperial Rome covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. Under the emperor Julian (361- ...

, ''De Caesaribus'' (On the Caesars), ''

Epitome de Caesaribus The ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' is a 5th-century Latin historical work based on the '' Liber de Caesaribus'' (also known as ''Historiae abbreviatae'') by Aurelius Victor. It is a brief account of the reigns of the Roman emperors from Augustus ...

'' (attributed). * Aelius Lampridius, Aelius Spartianus, Flavius Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Trebellius Pollio, and Vulcatius Gallicanus, ''Historia Augusta'' (

Augustan History The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...

). *

Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to: People * * Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints * Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy * Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alch ...

, ''Historia Nova'' (New History). *

, ''Vita Isidori'' (The Life of

Isidore Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is a masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος, latinized ''Isidorus'') and can literally be translated to 'gift of Isis'. The name has survi ...

), summarized by

Photius Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...

in the '' Bibliotheca''. *

Jordanes Jordanes (; Greek language, Greek: Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, claimed to be of Goths, Gothic descent, who became a historian later in life. He wrote two works, one on R ...

, '' Romana''. *

Joannes Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Roman historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private s ...

, ''Epitome Historiarum'' (Epitome of History). *

Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont (30 November 163710 January 1698) was a French ecclesiastical historian. Life He was born in Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, l ...

, ''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 William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). * 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 a ...

'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952). * Michael Speidel, "Roman Army Pay Scales", in ''Journal of Roman Studies'', vol. LXXXII, pp. 87–106 (1992). {{DEFAULTSORT:Messia gens Roman gentes

Members

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography