For the Italian city, see Silanus

Silanus, Sardinia

Silanus is a comune in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 120 km north of Cagliari and about 40 km west of Nuoro. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,346 and an area of 48.1 km²....

.

Silanus is the cognomen

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 a patrician branch of the gens Junia, a noble family of ancient Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 which came to prominence during the Empire

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....

. Important members of this family included three brothers who lived in the reigns of Claudius

Claudius

Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

 and Nero

Nero

Nero , 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....

. They were descended via their mother, Aemilia Lepida

Aemilia Lepida (fiancee of Claudius)

For other women with this name, see Aemilia Lepida.Aemilia Lepida was a noble Roman woman and matron. She was the eldest daughter and first born child of Julia the Younger and consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus. Her father was of a distinguished and ancient patrician family...

, from the emperor 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...

. All three brothers came to tragic ends.

• Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus (14- by November, 54), who was consul in 46.
• Decimus Junius Silanus Torquatus
  Decimus Junius Silanus Torquatus
  Decimus Junius Silanus Torquatus was a Roman noble who lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century. He served as a consul in 53...
  
   (d. 64, forced to commit suicide) who was consul in 53.
• Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus
  Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus
  In the 1st century, lived two noblemen uncle and nephew, that shared the name Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus who were two descendants of Roman Emperor Augustus....
  
   the elder (committed suicide on New Year's Day, 49), praetor in 48 who was engaged to Claudius's
  Claudius
  Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
  
   daughter Claudia Octavia
  Claudia Octavia
  Claudia Octavia was an Empress of Rome. She was a great-niece of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal first cousin of the Emperor Caligula, daughter of the Emperor Claudius, and stepsister and first wife of the Emperor Nero...
  
   until Agrippina the Younger
  Agrippina the Younger
  Julia Agrippina, most commonly referred to as Agrippina Minor or Agrippina the Younger, and after 50 known as Julia Augusta Agrippina was a Roman Empress and one of the more prominent women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
  
   spread false rumors about his alleged incest with his sister Junia Calvina.

An earlier prominent member of this family was:

• Decimus Junius Silanus (consul), consul in 62 BC, who, as the senior consul-elect, was an important figure in the crushing of the Catilinarian Conspiracy shortly beforehand.

According to Sallust

Sallust

Gaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust , a Roman historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines...

 in his history of the Jugurthine War

Jugurthine War

The Jugurthine War takes its name from the Berber king Jugurtha , nephew and later adopted son of Micipsa, King of Numidia.-Jugurtha and Numidia:...

, Titus Turpilius Silanus was the commander of the Roman garrison at Vaga, and the only Roman to survive when the native Numidians rose up against the garrison. Silanus was subsequently tried and executed by the proconsul, Metellus

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus was the leader of the conservative faction of the Roman Senate and a bitter enemy of Gaius Marius....

, for suspected treason.