Carvilia (gens)
Encyclopedia
The gens Carvilia was a plebeian gens
at Rome
, which first distinguished itself during the Samnite Wars
. The first member of the gens to achieve the consulship
was Spurius Carvilius Maximus
, in 293 BC.
, Gaius
, and Lucius
.
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...
at Rome
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 first distinguished itself during the Samnite Wars
Samnite Wars
The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars, between the early Roman Republic and the tribes of Samnium, extended over half a century, involving almost all the states of Italy, and ended in Roman domination of the Samnites...
. The first member of the gens to achieve 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...
was Spurius Carvilius Maximus
Spurius Carvilius Maximus
Spurius Carvilius C. f. C. n., later surnamed Maximus, was the first member of the plebeian gens Carvilia to obtain the consulship, which he held in 293 BC, and again in 272 BC.-Early career:...
, in 293 BC.
Praenomina used by the gens
The praenomina used by the Carvilii were SpuriusSpurius (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...
, 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...
, and 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...
.
Prominent members of the gens
- Spurius Carvilius C. f. C. n. MaximusSpurius Carvilius MaximusSpurius Carvilius C. f. C. n., later surnamed Maximus, was the first member of the plebeian gens Carvilia to obtain the consulship, which he held in 293 BC, and again in 272 BC.-Early career:...
, consulRoman consulA 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 293 and 272 BC. - Spurius Carvilius S. f. C. n. Maximus RugaSpurius Carvilius Maximus RugaSpurius Carvilius S. f. C. n. Maximus Ruga was Roman consul in 234 and 228 BC. Spurius Carvilius Ruga, the schoolteacher, was his freedman.-Consulships:...
, consul in 234 and 228 BC. - Spurius Carvilius RugaSpurius Carvilius RugaSpurius Carvilius Ruga was the freedman of Spurius Carvilius Maximus Ruga. He is often credited with inventing the Latin letter G. His invention would have been quickly adopted in the Roman Republic, because the letter C was, at the time, confusingly used both for the /k/ and /g/ sounds...
, a freedmanFreedmanA freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....
and schoolteacher at Rome circa 230 BC, credited with developing the letter GGG is the seventh letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.-History:The letter 'G' was introduced in the Old Latin period as a variant of ⟨c⟩ to distinguish voiced, from voiceless, . The recorded originator of ⟨g⟩ is freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga, the first Roman to open a fee-paying school,...
. - Spurius CarviliusSpurius Carvilius (tribune)Spurius Carvilius was tribune of the people at Rome in 212 BC. Together with Lucius Carvilius , he proposed that a fine of 200,000 asses be levied against Marcus Postumius Pyrgensis, for defrauding the state. Postumius was one of the "farmers of the taxes", who made their living shipping goods to...
, tribunus plebisTribuneTribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
in 212 BC. - Lucius CarviliusLucius Carvilius (tribune)Lucius Carvilius was tribune of the people at Rome in 212 BC. Together with Spurius Carvilius, perhaps his brother, he proposed that a fine of 200,000 asses be levied against Marcus Postumius Pyrgensis, for defrauding the state. Postumius was one of the "farmers of the taxes", who made their...
, tribunus plebis in 212 BC. - Spurius Carvilius, representative of Gnaeus Sicinius, appointed by the SenateRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
to watch the ambassadors of 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...
in 171 BC. - Gaius CarviliusGaius CarviliusGaius Carvilius of Spoletium was at the town of Uscana, when the Roman garrison there was besieged by Perseus in 169 B.C. Once it became apparent that there were not enough supplies in the town to withstand a siege, the garrison sent Carvilius, together with Gaius Afranius, to negotiate a...
, negotiated the surrender of the Roman garrison at Uscana to Perseus in 169 BC.