Afrania gens
Encyclopedia
The gens Afrania was a plebeian family at Rome
, which is first mentioned in the 2nd century BC. The first member of the gens
to achieve prominence was Gaius Afranius Stellio, who became praetor
in 185 BC.
origin. Lucius Afranius
, who held the consulship
in 60 BC, was from Picenum
, and a Titus Afranius
or Afrenius was one of the leaders of the Italian confederates during the Marsic War.
, the Afranii used the praenomina
Gaius
, Lucius
, Spurius
, and Marcus
. Publius
and Sextus
appear in imperial times.
of this gens which occurs under the Republic is Stellio.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, which is first mentioned in the 2nd century BC. The first member of the gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
to achieve prominence was Gaius Afranius Stellio, who became praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
in 185 BC.
Origin of the gens
The Afranii may have been of PicentinePicentes
The Picentes or Picentini are Latin exonyms for the people who lived in Picenum in the northern Adriatic coastal plain of ancient Italy. The endonym, if any, and its language are not known for certain....
origin. Lucius Afranius
Lucius Afranius (consul)
Lucius Afranius was an ancient Roman legatus and client of Pompey the Great. He served with Pompey during his Iberian campaigns against Sertorius in the late 70s BC, and remained in his service right through to the Civil War. He died after the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC.-Early career:Lucius...
, who held the consulship
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
in 60 BC, was from Picenum
Picenum
Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name is an exonym assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum was the birthplace of such notables as Pompey the Great and his father Pompeius Strabo. It was situated in what is now Marche...
, and a Titus Afranius
Titus Afranius
Titus Afranius or Afrenius, who was not a Roman, was one of the leaders of the Italian confederates in the Social war, 90 BC. At Mount Falerinus he united with Judacilius and Publius Ventidius Bassus and defeated the legate Pompeius Strabo, and pursued him into Firmum, after which the three went...
or Afrenius was one of the leaders of the Italian confederates during the Marsic War.
Praenomina used by the gens
During the RepublicRoman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
, the Afranii used the praenomina
Praenomen
The praenomen was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus , the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy...
Gaius
Gaius (praenomen)
Gaius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The feminine form is Gaia. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Gavia...
, Lucius
Lucius (praenomen)
Lucius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The feminine form is Lucia . The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes Lucia and Lucilia, as well as the cognomen Lucullus...
, Spurius
Spurius (praenomen)
Spurius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was used primarily during the period of the Roman Republic, and which fell into disuse in imperial times. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Spurilia. The feminine form is Spuria...
, and Marcus
Marcus (praenomen)
Marcus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The feminine form is Marca or Marcia. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Marcia, as well as the cognomen Marcellus...
. Publius
Publius (praenomen)
Publius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and was very common at all periods of Roman history. It gave rise to the patronymic gens Publilia, and perhaps also gens Publicia. The feminine form is Publia...
and Sextus
Sextus (praenomen)
Sextus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was common throughout all periods of Roman history. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes Sextia and Sextilia. The feminine form is Sexta...
appear in imperial times.
Branches and cognomina of the gens
The only cognomenCognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
of this gens which occurs under the Republic is Stellio.
Members of the gens
- Gaius Afranius Stellio, praetorPraetorPraetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
in 185, and triumvirTriumvirateA triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...
for founding a colony in 183 BC. - Gaius Afranius C. f. Stellio, served in the war against PerseusPerseus of MacedonPerseus was the last king of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great...
, and taken captive at the surrender of the Roman garrison at Uscana, 169 BC. - Spurius Afranius, appears on coins.
- Marcus Afranius, appears on coins.
- Lucius AfraniusLucius Afranius (poet)Lucius Afranius was an ancient Roman comic poet, who lived at the beginning of the 1st century BC. His comedies described Roman scenes and manners and the subjects were mostly taken from the life of the lower classes...
, a comic poet, who lived at the beginning of the 1st century BC - Lucius AfraniusLucius Afranius (consul)Lucius Afranius was an ancient Roman legatus and client of Pompey the Great. He served with Pompey during his Iberian campaigns against Sertorius in the late 70s BC, and remained in his service right through to the Civil War. He died after the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC.-Early career:Lucius...
, legateLegatusA legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
of Gnaeus PompeiusPompeyGnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
, and consul in 60 BC. - Gaia AfraniaGaia AfraniaGaia Afrania was the wife of the senator Licinius Buccio, and a very litigious woman. She always pleaded her own causes before the praetor, and thus gave occasion to the publishing of the edict which forbade all women to postulate. Afrania died in 48 BC.-References:...
, wife of the senator Licinius Buccio. - Lucius Afranius L. f., negotiated with CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
in HispaniaHispaniaAnother theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
for his life and that of his father. - Publius Afranius PotitusPublius Afranius PotitusPublius Afranius Potitus was a Roman plebeian who vowed during an illness of Caligula to sacrifice his own life if the emperor recovered, expecting to be rewarded for his devotion...
, executed by CaligulaCaligulaCaligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
. - Sextus Afranius BurrusSextus Afranius BurrusSextus Afranius Burrus , Praetorian prefect, was advisor to Roman Emperor Nero and, together with Seneca the Younger, very powerful in the early years of Nero's reign....
, tutor and advisor to the emperor NeroNeroNero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
, and murdered by him in AD 63. - Afranius Quintianus, compelled to commit suicide as a result of his part in Piso'sGaius Calpurnius PisoGnaeus Calpurnius Piso was a Roman senator in the 1st century. He was the focal figure in the Pisonian Conspiracy of 65 AD, the most famous and wide-ranging plot against the throne of Emperor Nero.-Character and early life:...
conspiracyPisonian conspiracyThe conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso in AD 65 represented one of the major turning points in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero...
against Nero in AD 65. - Afranius Dexter, a friend of the epigramEpigramAn epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
matist Marcus Valerius MartialisMartialMarcus Valerius Martialis , was a Latin poet from Hispania best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan...
, consul suffectus in AD 98, and killed during his consulship.