Rubellia Bassa
Encyclopedia
Rubellia Bassa was a daughter of Gaius Rubellius Blandus
, consul in 18 and possibly his wife Julia
(killed 43) or an earlier wife.
and Livilla
), which would make Bassa the granddaughter of Tiberius
; however, this lineage is uncertain because her father, Gaius Rubellius Blandus
married Julia
when he around 55, which makes an earlier marriage likely (possibly to a Laecania Bassa), and Rubellia Bassa may have been the daughter of Blandus by this theorized earlier marriage.
Bassa had at least one sibling, a (?half)brother named Gaius Rubellius Plautus
, who was one of the nearest heirs of the blood of Augustus (being the grandson of Drusus Caesar
, who was an adopted grandson of Augustus
). Plautus was forced to kill himself in 62 and his wife Antistia Pollitta and children were executed four years later (perhaps because the children were direct descendants of previous Roman Emperors.
. Historian, Prof. Sir Ronald Syme
claims that Sergius Octavius Laenas Pontianus
, consul in 131 under Emperor Hadrian
, set up a dedication to his grandmother, "[Rub]elliae / [Bla]ndi f(iliae) Bassae / Octavi Laenatis / Sergius Octavius / Laenas Pontianus / aviae optimae ". This obscure link is perhaps a continuation of the both Julio-Claudian bloodline in the 2nd century.
Gaius Rubellius Blandus
Gaius Rubellius Blandus was a suffect consul of ancient Rome, a grandson of Rubellius Blandus of Tibur . Blandus' family were from the Equestrian class.-Career:...
, consul in 18 and possibly his wife Julia
Julia (daughter of Drusus the Younger)
Julia Drusi Caesaris Filia was the daughter of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla and granddaughter to the Roman Emperor Tiberius.-Chronology:At the time of Emperor Augustus' death in 14 Julia was ill...
(killed 43) or an earlier wife.
Possible Imperial ancestry
It has been theorized that her mother was Julia (daughter of Julius Caesar DrususJulius Caesar Drusus
Nero Claudius Drusus, later Drusus Julius Caesar was the only child of Roman Emperor Tiberius and his first wife, Vipsania Agrippina...
and Livilla
Livilla
Livia Julia was the only daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia Minor and sister of the Roman Emperor Claudius and Germanicus...
), which would make Bassa the granddaughter of Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
; however, this lineage is uncertain because her father, Gaius Rubellius Blandus
Gaius Rubellius Blandus
Gaius Rubellius Blandus was a suffect consul of ancient Rome, a grandson of Rubellius Blandus of Tibur . Blandus' family were from the Equestrian class.-Career:...
married Julia
Julia (daughter of Drusus the Younger)
Julia Drusi Caesaris Filia was the daughter of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla and granddaughter to the Roman Emperor Tiberius.-Chronology:At the time of Emperor Augustus' death in 14 Julia was ill...
when he around 55, which makes an earlier marriage likely (possibly to a Laecania Bassa), and Rubellia Bassa may have been the daughter of Blandus by this theorized earlier marriage.
Bassa had at least one sibling, a (?half)brother named Gaius Rubellius Plautus
Rubellius Plautus
Gaius Rubellius Plautus was a Roman noble and a political rival of Emperor Nero. Through his mother Julia, he was a relative of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was the grandson of Drusus , and the great-grandson of Tiberius and his brother Drusus...
, who was one of the nearest heirs of the blood of Augustus (being the grandson of Drusus Caesar
Julius Caesar Drusus
Nero Claudius Drusus, later Drusus Julius Caesar was the only child of Roman Emperor Tiberius and his first wife, Vipsania Agrippina...
, who was an adopted grandson of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
). Plautus was forced to kill himself in 62 and his wife Antistia Pollitta and children were executed four years later (perhaps because the children were direct descendants of previous Roman Emperors.
Marriage and possible descendants
Rubellia Bassa married Octavius Laenas, maternal uncle of the future emperor NervaNerva
Nerva , was Roman Emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became Emperor at the age of sixty-five, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Under Nero, he was a member of the imperial entourage and played a vital part in exposing the Pisonian conspiracy of 65...
. Historian, Prof. Sir Ronald Syme
Ronald Syme
Sir Ronald Syme, OM, FBA was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. Long associated with Oxford University, he is widely regarded as the 20th century's greatest historian of ancient Rome...
claims that Sergius Octavius Laenas Pontianus
Sergius Octavius Laenas Pontianus
Sergius Octavius Laenas Pontianus was a consul of Ancient Rome in the year 131CE, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. He was probably born in the late 1st century CE to an otherwise unknown Octavius Laenas and a woman named Pontia....
, consul in 131 under Emperor Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
, set up a dedication to his grandmother, "[Rub]elliae / [Bla]ndi f(iliae) Bassae / Octavi Laenatis / Sergius Octavius / Laenas Pontianus / aviae optimae ". This obscure link is perhaps a continuation of the both Julio-Claudian bloodline in the 2nd century.