Appuleia (gens)
Encyclopedia
The gens Appuleia, occasionally written Apuleia, was a plebeian
family at Rome
, which flourished from the 5th century BC into imperial times. The first of the gens
to achieve importance was Lucius Appuleius, tribune of the plebs
in 391 BC.
, Sextus
, and Gaius
. There is one early instance of the praenomen
Quintus
, but Marcus
and Gnaeus
are not found before the 1st century BC.
of this gens are Decianus, Pansa, and Saturninus. Of these, only Saturninus was a regular surname. Decianus was first used by a member adopted from the Decia gens, and passed to his children.
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....
, which flourished from the 5th century BC into imperial times. 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 importance was Lucius Appuleius, 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 391 BC.
Praenomina used by the gens
The principal names used by the Appuleii were LuciusLucius (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...
, 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...
, 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 is one early instance of 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...
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...
, but 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 Gnaeus
Gnaeus (praenomen)
Gnaeus is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was common throughout the period of the Roman Republic, and well into imperial times. The feminine form is Gnaea. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Naevia...
are not found before the 1st century BC.
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...
of this gens are Decianus, Pansa, and Saturninus. Of these, only Saturninus was a regular surname. Decianus was first used by a member adopted from the Decia gens, and passed to his children.
Members of the gens
- Lucius Appuleius, 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 391 BC, impeached CamillusMarcus Furius CamillusMarcus Furius Camillus was a Roman soldier and statesman of patrician descent. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of Second Founder of Rome....
for having secreted part of the spoils of VeiiVeiiVeii 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...
. - Quintus Appuleius Pansa, 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 300 BC. - Lucius Appuleius, one of the Roman ambassadors sent in 156 BC to examine the state of affairs between AttalusAttalus II PhiladelphusAttalus II Philadelphus was a King of Pergamon and the founder of modern-day Turkish city Antalya...
and PrusiasPrusias II of BithyniaPrusias II Cynegus was the king of Bithynia. He was the son and successor of Prusias I and Apama III....
. - Appuleius, proquaestorPromagistrateA promagistrate is a person who acts in and with the authority and capacity of a magistrate, but without holding a magisterial office. A legal innovation of the Roman Republic, the promagistracy was invented in order to provide Rome with governors of overseas territories instead of having to elect...
, perhaps of Quintus Marcius Philippus, 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...
in Asia in 55 BC. - Appuleius, a praediator mentioned 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...
in two of his letters. - Marcus Appuleius, 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 Asia at the time of Caesar'sJulius 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....
death in 44 BC, proscribed by the triumvirsSecond TriumvirateThe Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Octavius , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic...
, but afterward restored to his native country. - Appuleius, probably tribunus plebis, proscribed by the triumvirs in 43 BC, and escaped with his wife to 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,...
. - Sextus Appuleius Sex. f. Sex. n., consul in 29 BC.
- Marcus Appuleius Sex. f. Sex. n., consul in 20 BC, possibly the same person as Marcus Appuleius.
- Sextus Appuleius Sex. f. Sex. n., consul in AD 14, a relation 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...
. - Appuleius Celsus, a physician from Centuripa in Sicilia, who was the tutor of Valens and Scribonius LargusScribonius LargusScribonius Largus was the court physician to the Roman emperor Claudius.About 47 AD, at the request of Gaius Julius Callistus, the emperor's freedman, he drew up a list of 271 prescriptions , most of them his own, although he acknowledged his indebtedness to his tutors, to friends and to the...
. - AppuleiusApuleiusApuleius was a Latin prose writer. He was a Berber, from Madaurus . He studied Platonist philosophy in Athens; travelled to Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt; and was an initiate in several cults or mysteries. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to gain the...
, perhaps named Lucius, author of MetamorphosesThe Golden AssThe Metamorphoses of Apuleius, which St. Augustine referred to as The Golden Ass , is the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety....
, or The Golden Ass. - Lucius Appuleius Barbarus, a botanical writer, probably dating to the 4th century.
Appuleii Saturnini
- Gaius Appuleius Saturninus, one of the commissioners sent 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...
in 168 BC to inquire into and settle the disputes between the Pisani and Lunenses. - Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, praetor in 166 BC.
- Lucius Appuleius SaturninusLucius Appuleius SaturninusLucius Appuleius Saturninus was a Roman popularist and tribune; he was a political ally of Gaius Marius, and his downfall caused a great deal of political embarrassment for Marius, who absented himself from public life until he returned to take up a command in the Social War of 91 to 88...
, tribunus plebis in 103, 102 and 100 BC. - Lucius Appuleius Saturninus (propraetor 58 BC), propraetor 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...
in 58 BC. - Gnaeus Appuleius L. f. Saturninus, son of the propraetor of Macedonia.
Appuleii Deciani
- Gaius Appuleius DecianusC. Appuleius DecianusGaius Appuleius Decianus was tribune of the plebs in 98 BC, known primarily for his connection to politically motivated prosecutions in the Late Roman Republic.-The case against P...
, tribunus plebis in 98 BC. - Gaius Appuleius C. f. DecianusC. Appuleius DecianusGaius Appuleius Decianus was tribune of the plebs in 98 BC, known primarily for his connection to politically motivated prosecutions in the Late Roman Republic.-The case against P...
, a negotiator at PergamonPergamonPergamon , 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...
and Apollonis in Asia MinorAnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
.