Acutia (gens)
Encyclopedia
The gens Acutia was a plebeian family at Rome
, from the early Republic
to imperial times
. The first member of this gens
to achieve prominence was Marcus Acutius, tribune of the plebs
in 401 B.C.
and Quintus
.
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....
, from the early 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...
to 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....
. The first member of this 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 Marcus Acutius, tribune of the plebs
Tribune
Tribune 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 401 B.C.
Praenomina used by the gens
The Acutii are known to have used the praenomina MarcusMarcus (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...
and 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...
.
Branches and cognomina of the gens
The earliest Acutii are found without a cognomen. In the 1st century AD, the surname Nerva is found.Members of the gens
- Marcus Acutius, 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 401 B.C., was elected by the other tribunes (by co-optation) in violation of the lex Trebonia. - Acutia, wife of Publius VitelliusPublius Vitellius the YoungerPublius Vitellius was a 1st century Roman commander under Germanicus, with whom he was friends. He was the son of the eques Publius Vitellius the Elder and belonged to the gens Vitellia - the future emperor Vitellius was Publius the Younger's nephew...
, whose nephew Aulus 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...
became emperor in A.D. 69. - Quintus Acutius Nerva, consul suffectusRoman 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 A.D. 100.