Fabius
Encyclopedia
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....
. 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...
played a prominent part in history soon after the establishment of the Republic
Roman 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...
, and three brothers are said to have been invested with seven successive consulships
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...
, from BC 485 to 479. The house derived its greatest lustre from the patriotic courage and tragic fate of the 306 Fabii in the Battle of the Cremera
Battle of the Cremera
The Battle of the Cremera was fought between the Roman Republic and the Etruscan city of Veii, in 477 BC .Historical records show the defeat of the Roman stronghold on the river Cremera, and the consequent incursions of the Veientes in Roman territory.The preserved account of the battle, written by...
, BC 477. But the Fabii were not distinguished as warriors alone; several members of the gens were also important in the history of Roman literature
Latin literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings of the ancient Romans. In many ways, it seems to be a continuation of Greek literature, using many of the same forms...
and the arts.
Background
The family is generally thought to have been counted amongst the gentes maiores, the most prominent of the patrician houses at Rome, together with the Aemilii, Claudii, Cornelii, Manlii, and Valerii; but no list of the gentes maiores has survived, and even the number of families so designated is a complete mystery. Until 480 BC, the Fabii were staunch supporters of the aristocratic policies favoring the patricians and the senateRoman Senate
The 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...
against the plebs
Plebs
The plebs was the general body of free land-owning Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian...
. However, following a great battle that year against the Veientes
Veii
Veii was, in ancient times, an important Etrurian city NNW of Rome, Italy; its site lies in Isola Farnese, a village of Municipio XX, an administrative subdivision of the comune of Rome in the Province of Rome...
, in which victory was achieved only by cooperation between the generals and their soldiers, the Fabii aligned themselves with the people. Throughout the history of the Republic, they were frequently allied with other prominent families against the Claudii, the proudest and most aristocratic of all Roman gentes, and the champions of the established order.
The most famous legend of the Fabii asserts that, following the last of the seven consecutive consulships in 479 BC, the gens undertook the war with Veii
Veii
Veii was, in ancient times, an important Etrurian city NNW of Rome, Italy; its site lies in Isola Farnese, a village of Municipio XX, an administrative subdivision of the comune of Rome in the Province of Rome...
as a private obligation. A militia consisting of over three hundred men of the gens, together with their friends and clients, amounting to a total of some four thousand men, took up arms and stationed itself on a hill overlooking the Cremera, a little river between Rome and Veii. The cause of this secession is said to have been the enmity between the Fabii and the patricians, who regarded them as traitors for advocating the causes of the plebeians. The Fabian militia remained in their camp on the Cremera for two years, successfully opposing the Veientes, until at last they were lured into an ambush, and destroyed.
Three hundred and six Fabii of fighting age were said to have perished in the disaster, leaving only a single survivor to return home. By some accounts he was the only survivor of the entire gens; but it seems unlikely that the camp of the Fabii included not only all of the men, but the women and children of the family as well. They and the elders of the gens probably remained at Rome. The day on which the Fabii perished was forever remembered, as it was the same day that the Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
defeated the Roman army at the Battle of the Allia
Battle of the Allia
The Battle of the Allia was a battle of the first Gallic invasion of Rome. The battle was fought near the Allia river: the defeat of the Roman army opened the route for the Gauls to sack Rome. It was fought in 390/387 BC.-Background:...
in 390 BC. This was the fifteenth day before the kalends of Sextilis, or July 18, according to the modern calendar.
The name of the Fabii was associated with one of the two colleges of the Luperci, the priests who carried on the sacred rites of the ancient religious festival of the Lupercalia
Lupercalia
Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility...
. The other college bore the name of the Quinctilii, suggesting that in the earliest times these two gentes superintended these rites as a sacrum gentilicum, much as the Pinarii and Potitii
Potitia (gens)
The gens Potitia was one of the most ancient patrician families at Rome. It never attained any historical importance.The story of the Potitii is inextricably intertwined with that of the Pinarii. According to legend, a generation before the Trojan War, Hercules came to Italy, where he was received...
maintained the worship of Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
. Such sacred rites were gradually transferred to the state, or opened to the Roman populus; a well-known legend attributed the destruction of the Potitii to the abandonment of its religious office. In later times the privilege of the Lupercalia had ceased to be confined to the Fabii and the Quinctilii.
One of the thirty-five voting tribes into which the Roman people were divided was named after the Fabii; several tribes were named after important gentes, including the tribes Aemilia, Claudia, Cornelia, Fabia, Papiria, Publilia, Sergia, and Veturia. Several of the others appear to have been named after lesser families.
Origin of the gens
According to legend, the Fabii claimed descent from Hercules, who visited Italy a generation before the Trojan WarTrojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, and from Evander, his host. This brought the Fabii into the same tradition as the Pinarii and Potitii, who were said to have welcomed Hercules and learned from him the sacred rites which for centuries afterward they performed in his honor.
Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth, although the former is sometimes said to be the sole founder...
were called the Quinctilii and the Fabii, respectively. The brothers were said to have offered up sacrifices in the cave of the Lupercal
Lupercal
The Lupercal is a cave at the foot of the Palatine Hill in Rome, between the Temple of Apollo Palatinus and the Basilica of Santa Anastasia. In the legend of Rome's foundation, Romulus and Remus were found there by the lactating female wolf who suckled them until they were found by Faustulus...
at the base of the Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...
, which became the origin of the Lupercalia. This story is certainly connected with the tradition that the two colleges of the Luperci bore the names of these ancient gentes.
The nomen
Roman naming conventions
By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a name in ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts : praenomen , nomen and cognomen...
of the Fabii is said originally to have been Fovius, Favius, or Fodius; Plinius
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
stated that it was derived from faba
Vicia faba
This article refers to the Broad Bean plant. For Broadbean the company, see Broadbean, Inc.Vicia faba, the Broad Bean, Fava Bean, Field Bean, Bell Bean or Tic Bean, is a species of bean native to north Africa and southwest Asia, and extensively cultivated elsewhere. A variety is provisionally...
, a bean, a vegetable which the Fabii were said to have first cultivated. A more fanciful explanation derives the name from fovae, ditches, which the ancestors of the Fabii were said to have used in order to capture wolves.
It is uncertain whether the Fabii were of Latin
Latins (Italic tribe)
The Latins were a people of ancient Italy who included the inhabitants of the early City of Rome. From ca. 1000 BC, the Latins inhabited the small part of the peninsula known to the Romans as Old Latium , that is, the region between the river Tiber and the promontory of Monte Circeo The Latins (or...
or Sabine origin. Niebuhr
Barthold Georg Niebuhr
Barthold Georg Niebuhr was a Danish-German statesman and historian who became Germany's leading historian of Ancient Rome and a founding father of modern scholarly historiography. Classical Rome caught the admiration of German thinkers...
, followed by Göttling, considered them Sabines. However, other scholars are unsatisfied with their reasoning, and point out that the legend associating the Fabii with Romulus and Remus would place them at Rome before the incorporation of the Sabines into the nascent Roman state.
It may nonetheless be noted that, even supposing this tradition to be based on actual historical events, the followers of the brothers were described as "shepherds," and presumably included many of the people then living in the countryside where the city of Rome was to be built. The hills of Rome were already inhabited at the time of the city's legendary founding, and they stood in the hinterland between the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans. Even if many the followers of Romulus and Remus were Latins from the ancient city of Alba Longa
Alba Longa
Alba Longa – in Italian sources occasionally written Albalonga – was an ancient city of Latium in central Italy southeast of Rome in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC. In legend, Romulus and Remus, founders of...
, many may also have been Sabines already living in the surrounding countryside.
Praenomina used by the gens
The earliest generations of the Fabii favored the praenominaPraenomen
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...
Caeso
Caeso (praenomen)
Caeso or Kaeso is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, usually abbreviated K. Although never a common name, Caeso was regularly used by a number of prominent families, both patrician and plebeian, during the period of the Roman Republic. The feminine form is Caesula...
, Quintus
Quintus (praenomen)
Quintus 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 Quinctia and Quinctilia. The feminine form is Quinta...
, 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...
. Soon after the destruction of the Fabii at the Cremera, the name Numerius
Numerius (praenomen)
Numerius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, usually abbreviated N. The name was never especially common, but was used throughout the period of the Roman Republic, and into imperial times. The feminine form is Numeria...
first appears in the family. The Fabii were the only patrician family to use this praenomen regularly, although it occasionally appears in other patrician gentes, such as the Furii and Valerii, both of which habitually used old or uncommon praenomina. According to legend, Numerius entered the gens when Quintus Fabius Vibulanus married a daughter of Numerius Octacilius Maleventanus, and bestowed his father-in-law's name on his son.
Although the Fabii Ambusti and some later branches of the family used the praenomen 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...
, Quintus is the name most frequently associated with the Fabii of the later Republic. The Fabii Maximi used it to the exclusion of all other names until the end of the Republic, when they revived the ancient praenomen Paullus
Paullus (praenomen)
Paullus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, used throughout Roman history. The masculine form was not particularly common at Rome, but the feminine form, Paulla or Polla, is one of the most common praenomina. The name was later used as a cognomen in many families...
. This was done in honor of the Aemilii Paulli, from whom the later Fabii Maximi were descended, having been adopted into the Fabia gens at the end of the 3rd century BC. A variety of surnames associated with the Aemilii were also used by this family, and one of them is said to have been named Africanus Fabius Maximus, although his proper name may have been Quintus Fabius Maximus Africanus.
Servius
Servius (praenomen)
Servius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was used throughout the period of the Roman Republic, and well into imperial times. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Servilia. The feminine form is Servia...
was used by the Fabii Pictores, but does not appear to have been used by any of the other families of the gens. It may have entered the family through a maternal line.
Branches and cognomina of the gens
Cognomen
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 the Fabii under the Republic were Ambustus, Buteo, Dorso or Dorsuo, Labeo, Licinus, Maximus (with the agnomina
Agnomen
An agnomen , in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the cognomen was initially. However, the cognomina eventually became family names, so agnomina were needed to distinguish between similarly named persons...
Aemilianus, Allobrogicus, Eburnus, Gurges, Rullianus, Servilianus, and Verrucosus), Pictor, and Vibulanus. Other cognomina belonged to persons who were not, strictly speaking, members of the gens, but who were freedmen
Freedman
A freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....
or the descendants of freedmen, or who had been enrolled as Roman citizens
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to certain free-born individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance....
under the Fabii. The only cognomina appearing on coins are Hispaniensis, Labeo, Maximus, and Pictor.
In imperial times
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
it becomes difficult to distinguish between members of the gens and unrelated persons sharing the same nomen. Members of the gens are known as late as the 2nd century, but persons bearing the name of Fabius continue to appear into the latest period of the Empire.
The eldest branch of the Fabii bore the cognomen Vibulanus, which may allude to an ancestral home of the gens. The surname Ambustus, meaning "burnt", replaced Vibulanus at the end of the 5th century BC; the first of the Fabii to be called Ambustus was a descendant of the Vibulani. The most celebrated stirps of the Fabia gens, which bore the surname Maximus, was in turn descended from the Fabii Ambusti. This family was famous for its statesmen and its military exploits, which lasted from 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...
, in the 4th century BC until the wars with the Germanic invaders of the 2nd century BC. Most, if not all of the later Fabii Maximi were descendants of Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus was a Roman statesman and consul .Fabius was by adoption a member of the patrician gens Fabia, but by birth he was the eldest son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus and Papiria Masonis and the elder brother of Scipio Aemilianus...
, one of the Aemilii Paulli, who as a child was adopted by a descendant or close relative of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus
Fabius Maximus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator was a Roman politician and general, born in Rome around 280 BC and died in Rome in 203 BC. He was Roman Consul five times and was twice Dictator in 221 and again in 217 BC. He reached the office of Roman Censor in 230 BC...
.
Buteo, signifying a kind of hawk, was originally given to a member of the Fabia gens because such a bird on one occasion settled upon his ship with a favorable omen. This tradition, related by Plinius, does not indicate which of the Fabii first obtained this surname, but it was probably one of the Fabii Ambusti.
The surname Pictor, borne by another family of the Fabii, signifies a painter, and the earliest known member of this family was indeed a painter, famed for his work in the temple of Salus
Hygieia
In Greek and Roman mythology, Hygieia , was a daughter of the god of medicine, Asclepius. She was the goddess/personification of health , cleanliness and sanitation. She also played an important part in her father's cult...
, built by Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus between 307 and 302 BC. The later members of this family, several of whom were distinguished in the arts, appear to have been his descendants, and must have taken their cognomen from this ancestor.
Members of the Gens
- This list includes abbreviated praenominaPraenomenThe 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...
. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.
Fabii Vibulani
- Caeso Fabius Vibulanus, father of Quintus, Caeso, and Marcus, consuls from 485 to 479 BC.
- Quintus Fabius K. f. Vibulanus, consul in 485 and 482 BC.
- Caeso Fabius K.f. VibulanusCaeso Fabius Vibulanus (consul)- References :...
, consul in 484, 481, and 479 BC. - Marcus Fabius K. f. Vibulanus, consul in 483 and 480 BC.
- Quintus Fabius M. f. K. n. Vibulanus, consul in 467, 465, and 459 BC, and a member of the second decemvirateDecemviriDecemviri is a Latin term meaning "Ten Men" which designates any such commission in the Roman Republic...
in 450; triumphedRoman triumphThe Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
over the AequiAequithumb|300px|Location of the Aequi in central Italy.The Aequi were an ancient people of northeast Latium and the central Appennines of Italy who appear in the early history of ancient Rome. After a long struggle for independence from Rome they were defeated and substantial Roman colonies were...
and VolsciVolsciThe Volsci were an ancient Italic people, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. They then inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the south, the Hernici on the east, and stretching roughly from...
. - Marcus Fabius Q. f. M. n. Vibulanus, consul in 442 and tribunus militum consulari potestateTribuni militum consulari potestateThe tribuni militum consulari potestate , in English commonly also Consular Tribunes, were tribunes elected with consular power during the "Conflict of the Orders" in the Roman Republic, starting in 444 BC and then continuously from 408 BC to 394 BC and again from 391 BC to 367 BC.According to the...
in 433 BC. - Numerius Fabius Q. f. M. n. Vibulanus, consul in 421, and tribunus militum consulari potestate in 415 and 407 BC.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. M. n. Vibulanus, consul in 423 and tribunus militum consulari potestate in 416 and 414 BC.
- Quintus Fabius M. f. Q. n. Vibulanus Ambustus, consul in 412 BC.
Fabii Ambusti
- Quintus Fabius M. f. Q. n. Vibulanus Ambustus, consul in 412 BC.
- Marcus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. AmbustusMarcus Fabius Ambustus (pontifex maximus 390 BC)Marcus Fabius Ambustus was a statesman of ancient Rome who served as Pontifex Maximus in the year that Rome was taken by the Gauls, 390 BC. His three sons--Caeso, Numerius, and Quintus--were sent as ambassadors to the Gauls, when the latter were besieging Clusium, and participated in an attack...
, pontifex maximusPontifex MaximusThe Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post...
in 390 BC. - Caeso Fabius M. f. Q. n. AmbustusCaeso Fabius AmbustusCaeso Fabius Ambustus, was an ancient Roman who was the son of Marcus Fabius Ambustus, and brother to Numerius and Quintus. He was quaestor 409 BC with three plebeians as his colleagues, which was the first time that quaestors were chosen from the plebs...
, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 404, 401, 395, and 390 BC. - Numerius Fabius M. f. Q. n. AmbustusNumerius Fabius AmbustusNumerius Fabius Ambustus was an ancient Roman commander who was the son of Marcus Fabius Ambustus, and brother to Caeso and Quintus. In 406 BC, he and his forces captured the Volscian city of Anxur by securing the high ground above the town, from which they were able to launch attacks against its...
, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 406 and 390 BC. - Quintus Fabius M. f. Q. n. AmbustusQuintus Fabius Ambustus (tribune)Quintus Fabius Ambustus was a politician in the Roman Republic, the son of Marcus Fabius Ambustus . In 390 BC, when his father was pontifex maximus, he and two of his brothers, Numerius and Caeso, were sent as emissaries to a Gaulish army besieging Clusium...
, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 390 BC. - Marcus Fabius K. f. M. n. AmbustusMarcus Fabius Ambustus (consular tribune 381 BC)Marcus Fabius Ambustus was an ancient Roman politician who was the son of Caeso Fabius Ambustus. He was consular tribune in 381 BC. He had two daughters, of whom the elder was married to Servius Sulpicius Praetextatus, and the younger to Gaius Licinius Stolo, one of the authors of the Lex Licinia...
, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 381 and 369 BC, and censor in 363; supported the lex Licinia SextiaLex Licinia SextiaLex Licinia Sextia was a Roman law introduced around 376 BCE and enacted in 367 BCE. It restored the consulship, allegedly reserved one of the two consular positions for a plebeian , and introduced new limits on the possession of conquered land.- Authors :It is named for the plebeian tribunes Gaius...
, which granted the plebeians the right to hold the consulship. - Fabia M. f. K. n., married Servius Sulpicius Praetextatus, tribunus militum consulari potestate in 377, 376, 370, and 368 BC.
- Fabia M. f. K. n., married Gaius Licinius Calvus StoloGaius Licinius StoloGaius Licinius Stolo, along with Lucius Sextius, was one of the two tribunes of ancient Rome who opened the consulship to the plebeians.Records indicate he was tribune from 376 BC to 367 BC, during which he passed the Lex Licinia Sextia restoring the consulship, requiring a plebeian consul seat,...
, consul in 364 and 361 BC. - Marcus Fabius N. f. M. n. AmbustusMarcus Fabius Ambustus (consul 360 BC)Marcus Fabius N.f. Ambustus was a statesman and general of the Roman Republic. He was the son of Numerius Fabius Ambustus.He served as consul three times: in 360, 356, and 354 BC. His consulships occurred during a time in which Rome was reasserting itself following its defeat at the hands of the...
, consul in 360, 356, and 354 BC, princeps senatusPrinceps senatusThe princeps senatus was the first member by precedence of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and owning no imperium, this office brought enormous prestige to the senator holding it.-Overview:...
triumphed over the TiburtinesTivoli, ItalyTivoli , the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km east-north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills...
. - Gaius Fabius N. f. M. n. Ambustus, consul in 358 BC.
- Marcus Fabius M. f. N. n. AmbustusMarcus Fabius Ambustus (magister equitum 322 BC)Marcus Fabius M. f. N. n. Ambustus was a general and politician of ancient Rome. He was the son apparently of Marcus Fabius Ambustus, and brother to the great Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus. He was Master of the Horse in 322 BC....
, magister equitumMaster of the HorseThe Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...
in 322 BC. - Quintus Fabius AmbustusQuintus Fabius Ambustus (dictator)Quintus Fabius Ambustus was a politician in the Roman Republic. He was made dictator in 321 BCE, but immediately resigned because of some kind of irregularity in his election....
, nominated dictatorRoman dictatorIn the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
in 321 BC, but compelled to resign due to a fault in the auspices. - Gaius Fabius M. f. N. n. AmbustusGaius Fabius Ambustus (magister equitum 315 BC)Gaius Fabius M. f. N. n. Ambustus was a general and politician of ancient Rome. He was the son apparently of Marcus Fabius Ambustus, and brother to Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus and to the Marcus Fabius Ambustus who was magister equitum in 322 BC...
, appointed magister equitum in 315 BC, in place of Quintus AuliusQuintus Aulius CerretanusQuintus Aulius Q. f. Q. n. Cerretanus was twice consul in the Second Samnite War, first in 323 BC with Gaius Sulpicius Longus, when he had the conduct of the war in Apulia, and a second time in 319 BC with Lucius Papirius Cursor, when he conquered the Ferentani and received their city into...
, who fell in battle.
Fabii Dorsuones et Licini
- Gaius Fabius Dorsuo, bravely left the Capitoline HillCapitoline HillThe Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
to perform a sacrifice when Rome was occupied by the GaulsGaulsThe Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
following the Battle of the AlliaBattle of the AlliaThe Battle of the Allia was a battle of the first Gallic invasion of Rome. The battle was fought near the Allia river: the defeat of the Roman army opened the route for the Gauls to sack Rome. It was fought in 390/387 BC.-Background:...
in 390 BC, eluding the Gallic sentries both on his departure and his return. - Marcus Fabius (C. f.) Dorsuo, consul in 345 BC, carried on the war against the Volsci and captured Sora.
- Gaius Fabius M. f. M. n. Dorsuo Licinus, consul in 273 BC, died during his year of office.
- Marcus Fabius C. f. M. n. Licinus, consul in 246 BC.
Fabii Maximi
- Quintus Fabius M. f. N. n. Maximus Rullianus, consul in 322, 310, 308, 297, and 295 BC, dictator in 315 and censor in 304, princeps senatus; triumphed in 322 and 295.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. M. n. Maximus GurgesQuintus Fabius Maximus Gurges (consul 292 BC)Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges was the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus and a Consul in 292 and 276 BC.In 295 BC he was curule aedile, and fined certain matrons of noble birth for their disorderly life. With the proceeds of the fines built a temple to Venus near the Circus Maximus.He was...
, consul in 292, 276, and 265 BC, princeps senatus; triumphed in 292, 291, and 276. - Quintus Fabius (Q. f. Q. n.) Maximus, aedileAedileAedile was an 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 order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
in 265 BC, assaulted the ambassadors of Apollonia, and was remanded to the custody of the Apolloniates, but was dismissed unharmed. - Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus VerrucosusFabius MaximusQuintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator was a Roman politician and general, born in Rome around 280 BC and died in Rome in 203 BC. He was Roman Consul five times and was twice Dictator in 221 and again in 217 BC. He reached the office of Roman Censor in 230 BC...
, afterwards surnamed Cunctator, consul in 233, 228, 215, 214 and 209 BC, censor in 230, and dictator in 221 and 217, princeps senatus; triumphed in 233. - Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. MaximusQuintus Fabius Maximus (consul 213 BC)Quintus Fabius Maximus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 213 BC. He was the son of Fabius Maximus, the famous dictator who invented Fabian strategy, and served with his father during the Second Punic War....
, consul in 213 BC. - Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus, appointed augurAugurThe augur was a priest and official in the classical world, especially ancient Rome and Etruria. His main role was to interpret the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds: whether they are flying in groups/alone, what noises they make as they fly, direction of flight and what kind of...
in 203 BC. - Quintus Fabius Maximus, praetor peregrinusPraetorPraetor 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 181 BC. - Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus AemilianusQuintus Fabius Maximus AemilianusQuintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus was a Roman statesman and consul .Fabius was by adoption a member of the patrician gens Fabia, but by birth he was the eldest son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus and Papiria Masonis and the elder brother of Scipio Aemilianus...
, consul in 145 BC, the son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus, conqueror of Macedonia; as a child he was adopted by Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus. - Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus AllobrogicusQuintus Fabius Maximus AllobrogicusQuintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, was a Roman statesman and general.Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus, a member of the patrician gens Fabia, was the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, consul of 145 BC...
, consul in 121 BC, and censor in 108; triumphed over the AllobrogesAllobrogesThe Allobroges were a Celtic tribe of ancient Gaul, located between the Rhône River and the Lake of Geneva in what later became Savoy, Dauphiné, and Vivarais. Their cities were in the areas of modern-day Annecy, Chambéry and Grenoble, the modern of Isère, and modern Switzerland...
. - Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus Allobrogicus, son of the consul of 121 BC; remarkable only for his vices.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus Servilianus, consul in 142 BC.
- Quintus Fabius Maximus EburnusQuintus Fabius Maximus EburnusQuintus Fabius Maximus Eburnus was a Roman statesman of the patrician gens Fabia. He was consul in 116 BC.-Family:Eburnus was the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Servilianus, consul in 142 BC, himself adopted from the gens Servilia into the gens Fabia, allegedly by one of the two adoptive sons of...
, consul in 116 BC, he condemned one of his sons to death; being accused by Gnaeus Pompeius StraboPompeius StraboGnaeus Pompeius Strabo , whose cognomen means "cross eyed", is often referred to in English as Pompey Strabo to distinguish him from Strabo, the geographer. Strabo lived in the Roman Republic. Strabo was born and raised into a noble family in Picenum a rural district in Northern Italy, off the...
, he went into exile. - Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. MaximusQuintus Fabius Maximus (consul 45 BC)Quintus Fabius Maximus was a general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. He was a member of the patrician gens Fabia...
, 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 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....
, and consul suffectus in 45 BC. - Paullus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. MaximusPaullus Fabius MaximusPaullus Fabius Maximus was the elder son of Quintus Fabius Maximus and an unknown wife. He had one younger brother, Africanus Fabius Maximus and a sister, Fabia Paullina...
, consul in 11 BC. - Africanus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. MaximusAfricanus Fabius MaximusAfricanus Fabius Maximus was the younger son of Quintus Fabius Maximus and an unknown wife. His elder brother was Paullus Fabius Maximus and his sister was Fabia Paullina, who married Marcus Titius....
, consul in 10 BC. - Paullus Fabius Paulli f. Q. n. PersicusPaullus Fabius PersicusPaullus Fabius Persicus was the only son of Paullus Fabius Maximus and Marcia, a maternal cousin of Augustus and great-niece of Julius Caesar. As such, Persicus was a first-cousin-once-removed of Augustus and a great-great-nephew of Julius Caesar.- Birth and Name :Paullus Fabius Persicus is...
, consul in AD 34.
Fabii Pictores
- Gaius Fabius M. f. PictorGaius Fabius Pictor (painter)Gaius Fabius Pictor made some of the earliest Roman paintings that have survived. At least some of his works were painted in 304 B.C....
, painted the interior of the temple of SalusHygieiaIn Greek and Roman mythology, Hygieia , was a daughter of the god of medicine, Asclepius. She was the goddess/personification of health , cleanliness and sanitation. She also played an important part in her father's cult...
, dedicated in 302 BC. - Gaius Fabius C. f. M. n. Pictor, consul in 269 BC.
- Numerius Fabius C. f. M. n. Pictor, consul in 266 BC, triumphed over the SassinatesSarsinaSarsina is an Italian town situated in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Its territory is included in the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines.-History:...
, and again over the SallentiniIapygesThe Iapyges or Iapygians were an Indo-European people who inhabited the heel of Italy before being absorbed by the Romans.-Identity:The Iapyges have unknown origins but could have been from Illyria....
and MessapiiMessapiithumb|220px|Messapic ceramic, Archaeological Museum of [[Oria, Italy|Oria]], Apulia.The Messapii were an ancient tribe that inhabited, in historical times, the south-eastern peninsula or "heel" of Italy , known variously in ancient times as Calabria, Messapia and Iapygia...
. - Quintus Fabius C. f. C. n. PictorQuintus Fabius PictorQuintus Fabius Pictor was one of the earliest Roman historians and considered the first of the annalists. A member of the Fabii gens, he was the grandson of Gaius Fabius Pictor, a painter . He was a senator who fought against the Gauls in 225 BC, and against Carthage in the Second Punic War...
, the earliest of the Latin historians, he was an important source for later annalists, but most of his own work has been lost. - Quintus Fabius (Q. f. C. n.) Pictor, praetor in 189 BC, received SardiniaSardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
as his province, but was compelled by the pontifex maximusPontifex MaximusThe Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post...
to remain at Rome, because he was Flamen QuirinalisFlamen QuirinalisIn ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Quirinalis was the flamen devoted to the cult of god Quirinus. He was one of the three flamines majores, third in order of importance after the Flamen Dialis and the Flamen Martialis....
; his abdication was rejected by the senate, which designated him praetor peregrinus. - Servius Fabius (Q. f. Q. n.) Pictor, an annalist and antiquarian of the 2nd century BC.
- Numerius Fabius Q. f. Pictor, father of the triumvir monetalis.
- Numerius Fabius N. f. Q. n. Pictor, triumvir monetalisMoneyerA moneyer is someone who physically creates money. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They became most prominent in the Roman Republic, continuing into the empire.-Roman Republican moneyers:...
in 126 BC, was probably also Flamen Quirinalis.
Fabii Buteones
- Numerius Fabius M. f. M. n. Buteo, consul in 247 BC, during the First Punic WarFirst Punic WarThe First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
. - Marcus Fabius M. f. M. n. ButeoMarcus Fabius ButeoMarcus Fabius Buteo was a Roman politician during the 3rd century BC. He served as consul and as censor, and in 216 BC, being the oldest living ex-censor, he was appointed dictator, legendo senatui, for the purpose of filling vacancies in the senate after the Battle of Cannae. He was appointed by...
, consul in 245 BC, censor, probably in 241; appointed dictator in 216 to fill the vacancies in 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...
after the Battle of CannaeBattle of CannaeThe Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
. - Fabius M. f. M. n. Buteo, according to Orosius, accused of theft, and slain in consequence by his own father.
- Marcus Fabius Buteo, praetor in 201 BC, obtained SardiniaSardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
as his province. - Quintus Fabius Buteo, praetor in 196 BC, obtained the province of Hispania UlteriorHispania UlteriorDuring the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior was a region of Hispania roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania and Gallaecia...
. - Quintus Fabius Buteo, praetor in 181 BC, obtained Gallia Cisalpina as his province.
- Numerius Fabius Buteo, praetor in 173 BC, obtained the province of Hispania CiteriorHispania CiteriorDuring the Roman Republic, Hispania Citerior was a region of Hispania roughly occupying the northeastern coast and the Ebro Valley of what is now Spain. Hispania Ulterior was located west of Hispania Citerior—that is, farther away from Rome.-External links:*...
, but died at MassiliaMarseilleMarseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
on his way to his province. - Quintus Fabius Buteo, quaestorQuaestorA Quaestor was a type of public official in the "Cursus honorum" system who supervised financial affairs. In the Roman Republic a quaestor was an elected official whereas, with the autocratic government of the Roman Empire, quaestors were simply appointed....
in 134 BC; apparently the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, and nephew of Scipio Aemilianus, by whom he was entrusted with the command of four thousand volunteers during the Numantine WarNumantine WarThe Numantine War was the last conflict of the Celtiberian Wars fought by the Romans to subdue those people along the Ebro. It was a twenty year long conflict between the Celtiberian tribes of Hispania Citerior and the Roman government. It began in 154 BC as a revolt of the Celtiberians of...
.
Others
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Labeo, consul in 183 BC, triumphed in 189.
- Gaius Fabius Hadrianus, governor of AfricaAfrica ProvinceThe Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day northern Tunisia, and the small Mediterranean coast of modern-day western Libya along the Syrtis Minor...
circa 87 to 84 BC; his government was so oppressive that the colonists and merchants at UticaUtica, TunisiaUtica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa...
burnt him to death in his own praetorium. - Fabius Dossennus, a Latin comic playwright, whose style and care was criticized by Quintus Horatius FlaccusHoraceQuintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
. - Quintus Fabius Sanga, warned CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
about the conspiracy of CatilineCatilineLucius Sergius Catilina , known in English as Catiline, was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate.-Family background:Catiline was born in 108 BC to...
, after being informed by the ambassadors of the Allobroges. - Quintus Fabius Vergilianus, legate of Appius Claudius Pulcher in CiliciaCiliciaIn antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
in 51 BC; during the Civil WarCaesar's civil warThe Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...
, he espoused the cause of PompeiusPompeyGnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
. - Fabius RusticusFabius RusticusFabius Rusticus was a Roman historian who was quoted on several occasions by Tacitus. Tacitus couples his name with that of Livy and describes him as "the most graphic among ancient and modern historians." Tacitus also said that he embellished matters with his eloquence...
, a historian of the mid-1st century AD, frequently quoted by TacitusTacitusPublius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
on the life of 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....
. - Fabius Fabullus, legate of the fifth legion, chosen as a leader of the soldiers who mutinied against Aulus Caecina AlienusAulus Caecina AlienusAulus Caecina Alienus, Roman general, was born in Vicetia .He was quaestor of Hispania Baetica in AD 68. On the death of Nero, he attached himself to Galba, who appointed him to the command of Legio IV Macedonica at Mogontiacum in Germania Superior...
in AD 69; perhaps the same man to whom the murder of the emperor GalbaGalbaGalba , was Roman Emperor for seven months from 68 to 69. Galba was the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, and made a bid for the throne during the rebellion of Julius Vindex...
was attributed. - Gaius Fabius ValensFabius ValensFabius Valens of Anagnia was a Roman commander favoured by Nero. In 69 he was commander of Legio I Germanica based in Germania Inferior...
, one of the principal generals of VitelliusVitelliusVitellius , was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed Emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
, and consul suffectus ex kal. Sept. in AD 69. - Fabius Priscus, one of the legates sent against CivilisGaius Julius CivilisGaius Julius Civilis was the leader of the Batavian rebellion against the Romans in 69. By his nomen, it can be told that he was made a Roman citizen by either Augustus or Caligula....
in AD 70. - Marcus Fabius QuintilianusQuintilianMarcus Fabius Quintilianus was a Roman rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing...
, the most celebrated of Roman rhetoricians, granted the insignia and title of consul by DomitianDomitianDomitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
. - Fabius Justus, a distinguished rhetorician, and a friend of both Tacitus and the younger PliniusPliny the YoungerGaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
. - Quintus Fabius Catullinus, consul in AD 130.
- Fabius Cornelius Repentinus, appointed praefectus praetorioPraetorian prefectPraetorian prefect was the title of 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 aides...
in the reign of Antoninus PiusAntoninus PiusAntoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
. - Fabius Mela, an eminent jurist, probably of the mid-2nd century.
- Lucius Fabius Cilo SeptimianusLucius Fabius CiloLucius Fabius Cilo, full name Lucius Fabius Cilo Septiminus Catinius Acilianus Lepidus Fulcinianus, was a Roman senator of the 2nd century. He was born in Hispania, around 150 AD....
, consul suffectus in AD 193 and consul in 204. - Fabius Sabinus, one of the consiliarii of Alexander SeverusAlexander SeverusSeverus Alexander was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235. Alexander was the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly fifty...
, perhaps the same Sabinus later driven out of Rome by order of ElagabalusElagabalusElagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus, was Roman Emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was Syrian on his mother's side, the son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. Early in his youth he served as a priest of the god El-Gabal at his hometown, Emesa...
. - Titus Fabius Titianus, consul in AD 337.
- Fabius Planciades FulgentiusFabius Planciades FulgentiusFabius Planciades Fulgentius was a late-antique period writer. Four extant works are commonly attributed to him, as well as a possible fifth which some scholars include in compilations with much reservation...
, a Latin grammarian, probably not earlier than the 6th century.