Hostilia (gens)
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....
, which traced its origin to the time of Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
. The most famous member of 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...
was Tullus Hostilius
Tullus Hostilius
Tullus Hostilius was the legendary third of the Kings of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius, and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius...
, the third King of Rome
King of Rome
The King of Rome was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 BC, when the last king was overthrown. These kings ruled for...
; however, all of the Hostilii known from the time 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...
were plebeians
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...
. Several of the Hostilii were distinguished during Punic Wars
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 B.C.E. to 146 B.C.E. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place...
. The first of the family to obtain 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 Aulus Hostilius Mancinus in 170 BC.
Origin of the gens
The Hostilii came originally from MedulliaMedullia
Medullia was a town in ancient Latium, Italy.In Rome's early semi-legendary history, Medullia was one of a number of cities of the Latins who went to war with ancient Rome in the 7th century BC, during the reign of the Roman King Ancus Marcius. The town was the focus of the main part of the war...
, an ancient city in Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
, and are thought to have settled at Rome in the time of Romulus. Although the Hostilii of the Republic had no specific tradition about Medullia, coins minted by one of the later Hostilii bear the heads of Pallor and Pavor, the gods of fear and panic, in an allusion to Tullus Hostilius, who vowed temples to Pallor and Pavor during his 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...
and Fidenae
Fidenae
Fidenae, or Fidenes, home of the Fidenates, was an ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the Via Salaria, which ran between it and the Tiber. As the Tiber was the border between Etruria and Latium, the left-bank settlement of Fidenae represented an extension of Etruscan...
. If the later Hostilii were descended from the Hostilii of the regal period, then they were of Medullian origin.
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...
Hostilius is a patronymic surname, based on the praenomen
Praenomen
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...
Hostus
Hostus (praenomen)
Hostus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was used in pre-Roman times and during the early centuries of the Roman Republic, but become obsolete by the 1st century BC. The feminine form was probably Hosta or Hostia. The patronymic gentes Hostia and Hostilia were derived from Hostus...
, which was borne by the ancestors of the gens. The same praenomen gave rise to another gens, with the nomen Hostius. The earliest known member of the Hostilii was Hostus Hostilius
Hostus Hostilius
Hostus Hostilius was a nobleman of Ancient Rome during the reign of Romulus.He fought valiantly in defending the Roman Citadel and died during the Sabine invasion of Rome that followed the "Rape of the Sabine Women". He married the daughter of the Sabine woman Hersilia.His grandson, Tullus...
, a Roman champion in the earliest days of the city. However, if he also bore the nomen Hostilius, then that name must have originated at an earlier time.
Praenomina used by the gens
The principle names used by the Hostilii were AulusAulus (praenomen)
Aulus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was common throughout Roman history from the earliest times to the end of the Western Empire in the fifth century. The feminine form is Aula. An alternative pronunciation leads to the variant spellings Olus or Ollus and Olla. Aulus was widely...
, 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...
, and 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...
. There are also instances of 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...
and Publius
Publius (praenomen)
Publius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and was very common at all periods of Roman history. It gave rise to the patronymic gens Publilia, and perhaps also gens Publicia. The feminine form is Publia...
. The ancient Hostilii appear to have made regular use of the praenomen Hostus. Tullus
Tullus (praenomen)
Tullus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was used from the earliest times to the end of the Roman Republic. Although never particularly common, the name gave rise to the patronymic gens Tullia, and it may have been used as a cognomen by families that had formerly used the name. The...
, also used by the gens in the earliest times, appears to have been revived by the family during the later Republic. A woman of the gens is known to have used the praenomen Quarta.
Branches and cognomina of the gens
The Hostilii of the Republic bore the surnames Cato, Mancinus, Saserna, and Tubulus. Firminus and Rutilus are found in imperial times. Some of the Hostilii do not appear to have had cognominaCognomen
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...
.
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.- Hostus HostiliusHostus HostiliusHostus Hostilius was a nobleman of Ancient Rome during the reign of Romulus.He fought valiantly in defending the Roman Citadel and died during the Sabine invasion of Rome that followed the "Rape of the Sabine Women". He married the daughter of the Sabine woman Hersilia.His grandson, Tullus...
, of Medullia, a Roman champion in the time of RomulusRomulus- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
, fell in battle against the Sabines. - Hostus Hostilius Hosti f., son of Hostus Hostilius, and father of Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome.
- Tullus Hostilius Hosti f. Hosti n.Tullus HostiliusTullus Hostilius was the legendary third of the Kings of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius, and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius...
, the third King of RomeKing of RomeThe King of Rome was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 BC, when the last king was overthrown. These kings ruled for...
. - Quarta Hostilia, married first Gnaeus Fulvius Flaccus, praetor in 212 BC, and second Gaius Calpurnius Piso, consul in 180 BC, whom she was convicted of poisoning.
- Marcus Hostilius, moved the site of the town of Salapia in ApuliaApuliaApulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
. - Gaius Hostilius, 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...
sent to AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
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 negotiate between Antiochus EpiphanesAntiochus IV EpiphanesAntiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great. His original name was Mithridates; he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne....
, King of SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, and Ptolemy EuergetesPtolemy VIII PhysconPtolemy VIII Euergetes II , nicknamed , Phúskōn, Physcon for his obesity, was a king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. His complicated career started in 170 BC, when Antiochus IV Epiphanes invaded Egypt, captured his brother Ptolemy VI Philometor and let him continue as a puppet monarch...
and CleopatraCleopatra II of EgyptCleopatra II was a queen of Ptolemaic Egypt.-Family:Cleopatra II was the daughter of Ptolemy V and likely Cleopatra I. She was the sister of Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon. She would eventually marry both of her brothers.Her first marriage was with her brother Ptolemy VI in ca....
of Egypt in 168 BC. - Hostilius, a poet, perhaps as late as the age of Cicero, known solely from a line quoted by PriscianPriscianPriscianus Caesariensis , commonly known as Priscian, was a Latin grammarian. He wrote the Institutiones grammaticae on the subject...
. - Hostilius, proposer of the lex Hostilia, permitting legal actions to be brought on behalf of persons absent due to public service, whether civil or military. The date of the law is uncertain, but a series of cases mentioned by Cicero may have been related to it.
- Tullus Hostilius, a supporter of Marcus AntoniusMark AntonyMarcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
, elected tribune of the plebsTribuneTribune 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...
for 43 BC. - Hostilius Rutilus, praefectPrefectPrefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
of the camp in the army of DrususDrususDrusus was a cognomen in Ancient Rome originating with the Livii. Under the Republic, it was the intellectual property and diagnostic of the Livii Drusi. Under the empire and owing to the influence of an empress, Livia Drusilla, the name was used for a branch of the Claudii into which she had...
in GermaniaGermaniaGermania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...
, in 11 BC. - Hostilius, a Cynic philosopher, banished by the emperor VespasianVespasianVespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
, circa AD 72. - Hostilius Firminus, legate of Marius Priscus, proconsulProconsulA proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...
of Africa in AD 101, during the reign of TrajanTrajanTrajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
; forfeited his senatorial privileges as a result of charges of extortion and cruelty.
- Hostus Hostilius
Hostilii Mancini
- Lucius Hostilius Mancinus, an officer in the army of the dictator Quintus Fabius 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...
in 217 BC. - Lucius Hostilius L. f. Mancinus, father of the consul of 145 BC.
- Aulus Hostilius L. f. A. n. MancinusAulus Hostilius MancinusAulus Hostilius Mancinus was a Roman consul in the year 170 BCE, together with Aulus Atilius Serranus....
, 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 170 BC, during the war against 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...
. - Lucius Hostilius L. f. L. n. Mancinus, commander of the fleet during the Third Punic WarThird Punic WarThe Third Punic War was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage, and the Roman Republic...
, and consul in 145 BC. - Gaius Hostilius A. f. L. n. MancinusGaius Hostilius MancinusGaius Hostilius Mancinus was a Roman consul in 137 BC. Due to his campaign against Numantia in northern Spain, Plutarch called him "not bad as a man, but most unfortunate of the Romans as a general." During this campaign in the Numantine War, Mancinus was defeated, showing some cowardice,...
, consul in 137 BC, defeated by the NumantinesNumantine 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...
. - Aulus Hostilius Mancinus, curule 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...
of an uncertain year, mentioned in an anecdote of Aulus GelliusAulus GelliusAulus Gellius , was a Latin author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome, where he held a judicial office...
.
Hostilii Tubuli
- Gaius Hostilius Tubulus, praetorPraetorPraetor 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 209 BC, during the Second Punic WarSecond Punic WarThe Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
; in 207 he inflicted heavy losses on Hannibal's army. - Lucius Hostilius Tubulus, praetor in 142 BC, exiled for accepting bribes.
- Lucius Hostilius Tubulus, 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 105 BC.
Hostilii Catones
- Aulus Hostilius Cato, praetor in 207 BC, obtained SiciliaSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
as his province. - Gaius Hostilius Cato, praetor with his brother in 207 BC.
- Lucius Hostilius Cato, 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 Scipio Asiaticus in 190 BC, acquitted of bribery.
Hostilii Sasernae
- Hostilius Saserna, the name of two agricultural writers, father and son, who lived in the time between CatoCato the ElderMarcus Porcius Cato was a Roman statesman, commonly referred to as Censorius , Sapiens , Priscus , or Major, Cato the Elder, or Cato the Censor, to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Cato the Younger.He came of an ancient Plebeian family who all were noted for some...
and VarroMarcus Terentius VarroMarcus Terentius Varro was an ancient Roman scholar and writer. He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus.-Biography:...
. - Lucius Hostilius Saserna, triumvir monetalis in 48 BC.
- Gaius Hostilius Saserna, served with his brother, Publius, under 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....
in the African War, in 46 BC. - Publius Hostilius Saserna, served under Caesar in the African War.