Sextilia (gens)
Encyclopedia
The gens Sextilia was a plebeian
family at Rome
. The first member of the gens
to achieve prominence was Gaius Sextilius, consular tribune
in 379 BC. None of the family obtained the consulship
, but they endured throughout Roman history from the early Republic
into imperial times
.
Sextilius is a patronymic surname, derived from the praenomen
Sextus
. The nomen of the gens Sextia
was derived from the same name, much as the praenomen Quintus
gave rise to the gentes Quinctia and Quinctilia.
used by the Sextilii included Gaius
, Lucius
, Marcus
, Publius
, and Quintus
, all of which were very common throughout Roman history. Although the nomen Sextilius was derived from Sextus, none of its members known to history bore that praenomen.
, but a few surnames are found in later times and under the Empire.
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...
family at Rome
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 first 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...
to achieve prominence was Gaius Sextilius, consular tribune
Tribuni militum consulari potestate
The 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 379 BC. None of the family obtained 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...
, but they endured throughout Roman history 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...
into 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....
.
Origin of the gens
The nomenRoman 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...
Sextilius is a patronymic surname, derived from 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...
Sextus
Sextus (praenomen)
Sextus 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 Sextia and Sextilia. The feminine form is Sexta...
. The nomen of the gens Sextia
Sextia (gens)
The gens Sextia was a plebeian family at Rome, from the time of the early Republic and continuing into imperial times. The most famous member of the gens was Lucius Sextius Lateranus, who as tribune of the plebs from 376 to 367 BC, prevented the election of the annual magistrates, until the...
was derived from the same name, much as the praenomen 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...
gave rise to the gentes Quinctia and Quinctilia.
Praenomina used by the gens
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...
used by the Sextilii included 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, all of which were very common throughout Roman history. Although the nomen Sextilius was derived from Sextus, none of its members known to history bore that praenomen.
Branches and cognomina of the gens
The Sextilii were not divided into families with distinctive surnames. Most of the Sextilii under the Republic bore no cognomenCognomen
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...
, but a few surnames are found in later times and under the Empire.
Members of the gens
- Gaius Sextilius, 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 379 BC, in which year an equal number of patricians and plebeiansPlebsThe 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...
were elected to the office. - Sextilia, a Vestal VirginVestal VirginIn ancient Roman religion, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins , were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome, as embodied by their cultivation of the sacred fire that could not be...
, who was condemned for incest, and buried alive in 273 BC. - Lucius Sextilius, one of the tresviri nocturniTriumvirateA triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...
, who were accused by the tribunes 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...
, and condemned, because they had arrived too late to put out a fire in the Via SacraVia SacraThe Via Sacra was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum , to the Colosseum....
. - Marcus Sextilius, of FregellaeFregellaeFregellae was an ancient town of Latium adiectum, situated on the Via Latina between Aquinum and Frusino , near the left branch of the Liris....
, assured the consuls of 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...
, that eighteen of the Roman coloniesColonia (Roman)A Roman colonia was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of Roman city.-History:...
were ready to furnish the state with soldiers, when twelve had refused to do so. - Publius SextiliusPublius SextiliusPublius Sextilius was a Roman praetor and governor of Africa during the civil wars between Sulla and Marius. As propraetor in 88 B.C., he refused Marius and his followers asylum in Africa.-Marius in Africa:...
, 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...
in 88 BC, he forbade MariusGaius MariusGaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
to land in the country. - Sextilius, an Etruscan, betrayed Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo to the assassins of Marius and CinnaLucius Cornelius CinnaLucius Cornelius Cinna was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelii gens....
, in 87 BC, although he had previously been defended by Caesar, when accused of a very grave offense. - Sextilius, 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 Lucius Licinius LucullusLucullusLucius Licinius Lucullus , was an optimate politician of the late Roman Republic, closely connected with Sulla Felix...
during the Mithridatic WarThird Mithridatic WarThe Third Mithridatic War was the last and longest of three Mithridatic Wars fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and his allies and the Roman Republic...
, was sent to attack Tigranocerta. - Sextilius, a 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...
, was carried off by the pirates, shortly before PompeiusPompeyGnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
was appointed to the command of the war against them. - Aulus Sextilius, a negotiator or money-lender in AcmoniaAcmoniaAcmonia or Akmonia is an ancient city and a titular see of Phrygia Pacatiana, in Asia Minor, now known as Ahat Köyü. It is mentioned by Cicero and was a point on the road between Dorylaeum and Philadelphia....
, a town in PhrygiaPhrygiaIn antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
, described by 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...
as a homo improbus. - Gaius Sextilius, the nephew of Marcus Aufidius LurcoAufidius LurcoMarcus Aufidius Lurco or known as Aufidius Lurco, was a Roman magistrate who lived in the 1st century BC. Lurco was a member of the gens Aufidia, a Roman family of Plebs status, who appeared in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. They became a family of consular rank...
, described by 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...
as a man et pudens et constans et gravis. He may be the same man as the praetor Sextilius mentioned by 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:...
. - Publius Sextilius, 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 61 BC. - Quintus Sextilius, a friend of Titus Annius MiloTitus Annius MiloTitus Annius Milo Papianus was a Roman political agitator, the son of Gaius Papius Celsus, but adopted by his maternal grandfather, Titus Annius Luscus...
. - Sextilius Andro, of PergamumPergamonPergamon , or Pergamum, was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, today located from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus , that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC...
, mentioned by Cicero. - Publius Sextilius Rufus, succeeded to the property of Quintus Fadius Gallus in a dishonorable manner.
- Gaius Sextilius Rufus, quaestor in CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
in 47 BC. In the wars following the death 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....
, he commanded the fleet of Gaius Cassius LonginusGaius Cassius LonginusGaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...
. - Sextilius Hena, a poet of CordubaCórdoba, Spain-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, in HispaniaHispaniaAnother theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, wrote a poem on the death of Cicero, of which the first line is quoted by SenecaSeneca the ElderLucius or Marcus Annaeus Seneca, known as Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Rhetorician , was a Roman rhetorician and writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Cordoba, Hispania...
. - Sextilia, a virtuous Roman matron, and the mother of the emperor 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...
; she lived to see her son emperor, but died shortly before his fall. - Sextilius Felix, was stationed on the frontiers of RaetiaRaetiaRaetia was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It was bounded on the west by the country of the Helvetii, on the east by Noricum, on the north by Vindelicia, on the west by Cisalpine Gaul and on south by Venetia et Histria...
by Marcus Antonius PrimusMarcus Antonius PrimusMarcus Antonius Primus was a Roman Empire general.Primus was born at Tolosa in Gaul. During the reign of Nero, he was resident in Rome and a member of the Senate, from which he was expelled for conspiring to forge a will with Valerius Fabianus, and was banished from the city...
in AD 70, to watch the movements of Porcius Septimius, procurator of the province under Vitellius. There he remained until the following year, when he helped to quell an insurrection of the TreviriTreveriThe Treveri or Treviri were a tribe of Gauls who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, at the latest, until their eventual absorption into the Franks...
.