The gens Traia was an obscure

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

ancient Rome 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 ...

. No members of this

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 ...

are mentioned by Roman writers, but several are known from inscriptions.

Origin

The nomen ''Traius'' belongs to a large class of gentilicia formed using the suffix ', which was typical 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 and South Picene. Oscan was spoken by a number of t ...

names. Epigraphy places some of the Traii in

Samnium Samnium () is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The language of t ...

, an Oscan-speaking region of Italy.

Praenomina

All of the Traii known from inscriptions bore very common

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 ...

, including ''

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 ...

'', ''

Marcus Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...

'', 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

A family of this gens settled in

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

by the Augustan era, where they achieved some local importance at

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 ...

and

Arva Arva, Árva, ARVA or Arvas may refer to: ;Current places: * Arva, Ontario, Middlesex Centre, Ontario, Canada * Arva, Iran, a village in Ardabil Province, Iran * Arvagh or Arva, County Cavan, Ireland * Arva River, tributary of the Milcov River in ...

Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...

. Gaius Traius Pollio was one of the duumvirs at Italica, while Quintus Traius Areianus was honoured with a statue at Arva. The

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 ...

''Pollio'' was an old Latin surname originally derived from the occupation of the bearer, indicating a polisher. ''Areianus'', which belonged to at least two generations of the family from Arva, probably commemorated their descent from the Areia gens. Similarly, the surname ''Trajanus'', borne by a family of the

Ulpia gens The gens Ulpia was a Roman family that rose to prominence during the first century AD. The gens 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. ...

from Tuder in

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 ...

, probably recorded their descent from the Traii, some of whom lived at Tuder. The emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

was descended from a branch of this family that settled in

, as did some of the Traii. The surname is found with Lucius Blattius Trajanus Pollio, colleague of the duumvir Gaius Traius Pollio; his surnames seem to indicate that he was likewise descended from the Traii Polliones.

Members

* Traia, a woman named in a pottery inscription from Rome. * Gaius Traius, named in a sepulchral inscription from

Hispania Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...

. * Marcus Traius M. f., named in an inscription from Tuder in

. * Lucius Traius Adjutor, buried at the site of modern

Pesco Sannita Pesco Sannita (Campanian: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples and about north of Benevento. Pesco Sannita borders the following municipalities: Benevent ...

, formerly part of

, in a tomb built by Tituleia Felicissima, his wife of twenty-five years.. * Quintus Traius Areianus, father of the Areianus honoured at

in Hispania Baetica, was probably the husband of Aemilia Lucilla, and the father or stepfather of Sergius Rufinus. * Quintus Traius Q. f. Areianus, honoured with a sepulchre and statue at Arva, dedicated by his mother, Aemilia Lucilla, and brother, Sergius Rufinus.. * Lucius Traius L. f. Honoratus, dedicated a tomb at

Ligures Baebiani In ancient geography, the Ligures Baebiani were a settlement of Ligurians in Samnium, Italy. History The towns of ''Taurasia'' (not to be confused with modern Taurasi) and ''Cisauna'' in Samnium had been captured in 298 BC by the Roman consul, co ...

in Samnium for his mother, Quintia Phoebas.. * Gaius Traius Logismus, together with Quartula Cantria, perhaps his wife, dedicated a tomb at Corduba in Hispania Baetica, dating from the middle part of the first century, for Faustus, probably their child, aged seven months. * Gaius Traius C. f. Pollio, designated one of the municipal duumvirs of Italica, along with Lucius Blattius Trajanus Pollio, probably his relative, in an Augustan-era inscription.. * Marcus Traius Samacius Dualius, a youth buried at the site of modern

Zarza de Granadilla Zarza de Granadilla is a Spanish municipality in Cáceres Province, Extremadura. Zarza de Granadilla has a population of 1873. It is situated at the north of the province of Cáceres, between the valley of the river Ambroz and Alagon. It borde ...

, formerly part of

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

, aged fifteen.''Hispania Epigraphica'', 2013, 141.

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th ce ...

''et alii'', ''

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...

'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). * 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 ...