Ancharia (gens)
Encyclopedia
The gens Ancharia was a plebeian family at Rome
. The first of the gens
to achieve prominence was Quintus Ancharius, a senator early in the 1st century BC.
Ancharius may be derived from Ancharia, a name of the goddess Angerona
, by which she was known at Faesulae
. The ancestor of the Ancharii may have been particularly devoted to the worship of Angerona. This connection also suggests the possibility that the family was of Etruscan origin, and may have hailed from Faesulae.
associated with the Ancharii are Quintus
and Publius
.
used by the Ancharii included Priscus, a common surname meaning "elder" or "old-fashioned", and Soter, a "savior" or "protector." The latter surname was borne by a freedwoman
, and was not necessarily used by other members of the gens.
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 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 Quintus Ancharius, a senator early in the 1st century BC.
Origin of the gens
The origin of the Ancharii is uncertain, but 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...
Ancharius may be derived from Ancharia, a name of the goddess Angerona
Angerona
In Roman mythology, Angerona or Angeronia was an old Roman goddess, whose name and functions are variously explained. She is sometimes identified with the goddess Feronia....
, by which she was known at Faesulae
Fiesole
Fiesole is a town and comune of the province of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a famously scenic height above Florence, 8 km NE of that city...
. The ancestor of the Ancharii may have been particularly devoted to the worship of Angerona. This connection also suggests the possibility that the family was of Etruscan origin, and may have hailed from Faesulae.
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...
associated with the Ancharii are 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...
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...
.
Branches and cognomina of the gens
The 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...
used by the Ancharii included Priscus, a common surname meaning "elder" or "old-fashioned", and Soter, a "savior" or "protector." The latter surname was borne by a freedwoman
Freedman
A freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....
, and was not necessarily used by other members of the gens.
Members of the gens
- Quintus Ancharius, a senator of praetorian rank, killed by 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...
on his return to Rome from 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 87 B.C. - Ancharia, the first wife of Gaius OctaviusGaius OctaviusGaius Octavius was an ancestor to the Roman Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was the father of the Emperor Augustus, step-grandfather of the Emperor Tiberius, great-great grandfather of the Emperor Caligula, great-grandfather of the Emperor Claudius, and great-great-great grandfather of...
, father of AugustusAugustusAugustus ;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...
. - Quintus Ancharius, 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 59 and 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 56 B.C., received the province of MacedoniaMacedonia (Roman province)The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus defeated Andriscus of Macedon, the last Ancient King of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved...
the following year. - Ancharius Priscus, accused Caesius Cordus, 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 CreteHistory of CreteThe History of Crete goes back to the 7th Millennium B.C., preceding the ancient Minoan civilization by more than four millennia. The Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe and the first, in Europe, to build a palace...
, of majestas in A.D. 21. - Publia Ancharia Soteris, a freedwomanFreedmanA freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....
in BithyniaBithynia et PontusBithynia et Pontus was the name of a province of the Roman empire on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia . It was formed by the amalgamation of the former kingdoms of Bithynia and Pontus ....
; Gaius PliniusPliny the YoungerGaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
asked the emperor 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...
to grant her the Ius QuiritiumIus civileIus civile is Latin for "citizen law" . It was the body of common laws that applied to Roman citizens and the Praetores Urbani, the individuals who had jurisdiction over cases involving citizens....
, thereby making her a Roman Citizen.