Bruttius
Encyclopedia
The gens Bruttia was a Roman
family during the late Republic
and into imperial times
. None of the gens
obtained any important magistracies until the latter half of the 1st century AD, when Lucius Bruttius Maximus was proconsul
in Cyprus
.
, the southernmost region of Italia. The Bruttii
were an Oscan
people descended from the Lucani
, from whom they asserted their independence during the 4th century BC. The name of Bruttii, which they adopted for themselves, may be a pre-Sabellic
name meaning "runaways".
used by the Bruttii are Lucius
, Gaius
, and Quintus
.
is Sura. A number of surnames occur in imperial times, of which all but Balbus appear to belong to the same family. The others were Maximus, Praesens, and Crispinus. This family came from Volceii, in Lucania
, and seems to have made a habit of adopting names from the female line. The combination of Quinctius or Quintius Crispinus probably asserts the family's descent from the ancient patrician house of the Quinctii Crispini.
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....
family during the late 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...
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....
. None 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...
obtained any important magistracies until the latter half of the 1st century AD, when Lucius Bruttius Maximus was proconsul
Proconsul
A 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 Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , 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...
.
Origin of the gens
The nomen Bruttius probably indicates that the ancestors of the gens were from BruttiumCalabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, the southernmost region of Italia. The Bruttii
Bruttii
The Bruttii , were an ancient Italic people who inhabited the southern extremity of Italy, from the frontiers of Lucania to the Sicilian Straits and the promontory of Leucopetra, roughly corresponding to modern Calabria.-History:...
were an Oscan
Oscan language
Oscan is a term used to describe both an extinct language of southern Italy and the language group to which it belonged.The Oscan language was spoken by a number of tribes, including the Samnites, the Aurunci, the Sidicini, and the Ausones. The latter three tribes were often grouped under the name...
people descended from the Lucani
Lucani (ancient people)
The Lucani were an ancient people of Italy, living in Lucania, who spoke an Oscan language, a member of the Italic languages.-Society:...
, from whom they asserted their independence during the 4th century BC. The name of Bruttii, which they adopted for themselves, may be a pre-Sabellic
Osco-Umbrian languages
The Osco-Umbrian languages or Sabellic languages are a group of languages that belong to the Italic language family of the Indo-European languages. They were spoken in central and southern Italy before Latin replaced them as the power of the Romans expanded...
name meaning "runaways".
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 Bruttii are 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...
, 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...
, 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
No distinct families of the Bruttii appear under the Republic, during which the only 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...
is Sura. A number of surnames occur in imperial times, of which all but Balbus appear to belong to the same family. The others were Maximus, Praesens, and Crispinus. This family came from Volceii, in Lucania
Lucania
Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium...
, and seems to have made a habit of adopting names from the female line. The combination of Quinctius or Quintius Crispinus probably asserts the family's descent from the ancient patrician house of the Quinctii Crispini.
Members of the gens
- Bruttius Sura, 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 Gaius Sentius Saturninus, 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 Macedonia (Roman province)Macedonia (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 88 BC. - Bruttius, an eques, for whom 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...
wrote a letter of introduction to Manius Acilius Glabrio, 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 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,...
in 46 BC. - Bruttius, a philologer, with whom the younger Marcus Tullius CiceroCicero MinorMarcus Tullius Cicero Minor , or Cicero the Younger, was born in 64 BC. He was the son of Marcus Tullius Cicero, who as a distinguished orator and consular senator was one of the leading figures of the Roman Republic during the 1st century BC. His mother was Terentia, Cicero senior’s first wife...
studied at AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in 44 BC. - Quintus Bruttius Balbus, a candidate for duumvir at PompeiiPompeiiThe city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
, mentioned in a political graffito. - Lucius Bruttius Maximus, proconsul of Cyprus in AD 80.
- Gaius Bruttius L. f. Praesens Lucius Fulvius RusticusCaius Bruttius PraesensCaius or Gaius Bruttius Praesens Lucius Fulvius Rusticus was an important Roman senator of the reigns of Roman emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. A friend of Pliny the Younger and Hadrian, he was twice consul, governed provinces, commanded armies and ended his career as City Prefect of...
, 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 AD 139. - Lucius Fulvius Gaius Bruttius C. f. L. n. Praesens Laberius MaximusGaius Bruttius PraesensLucius Fulvius Gaius Bruttius Praesens Laberius Maximus Polyonymus was a prominent Roman senator and twice consul during the reigns of Roman emperors Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. His career is largely known from inscriptions...
, consul in AD 153 and 180. - Bruttia C. f. C. n. CrispinaBruttia CrispinaBruttia Crispina was the Empress of Rome and wife of Roman Emperor Commodus.Crispina’s mother is unknown and her father was twice consul Gaius Bruttius Praesens. Crispina’s paternal grandparents were consul and senator Caius Bruttius Praesens and rich heiress Laberia Hostilia Crispina, who was the...
, Roman empress, the wife of CommodusCommodusCommodus , was Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180. His name changed throughout his reign; see changes of name for earlier and later forms. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded...
. - Lucius Bruttius C. f. C. n. Quinctius CrispinusLucius Bruttius Quintius CrispinusLucius Bruttius Quintius Crispinus was a Roman who lived in the 2nd century. His mother is unknown and his father was Roman consul Gaius Bruttius Praesens. Crispinus' paternal grandparents were consul and senator Caius Bruttius Praesens and rich heiress Laberia Hostilia Crispina, who was the...
, consul in AD 187. - Gaius Bruttius Praesens, consul in AD 217.
- Lucius Bruttius Quinctius Crispinus, consul in AD 224, and afterwards persuaded the city of AquileiaAquileiaAquileia is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times...
to resist Maximinus. - (Bruttius) Praesens, consul in AD 246.