Marcia (mother of Trajan)
Encyclopedia
Marcia was an ancient Roman noblewoman and the mother of the emperor Trajan
.
and politically influential family, the plebs
gens Marcia , which claimed to be descended from the Roman King Ancus Marcius
. Marcia was a daughter of the Roman Senator
Quintus Marcius Barea Sura and Antonia Furnilla . Quintus Marcius Barea Sura was a friend to future Roman Emperor
Vespasian
. Her sister Marcia Furnilla
was the second wife of future Roman Emperor Titus
. Marcia was a maternal aunt to Furnilla’s and Titus’ daughter Julia Flavia
or Flavia Julia Titi.
Marcia’s paternal uncle was the Roman Senator
Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus
, while her paternal cousin was the noble woman Marcia Servilia Sorana
. Marcia’s paternal grandfather was Quintus Marcius Barea, who was Suffect Consul
in 26 and was twice Proconsul
of the Africa Province
, while her maternal grandfather could have been Aulus Antonius Rufus, a Suffect Consul either in 44 or 45 . The family of Marcia was connected to the opponents of Roman Emperor Nero
. In 65 after the failure of the Pisonian conspiracy
, her family was disfavored by Nero.
. During the reign of Roman Emperor
Claudius
(41-54), Marcia married a Spanish Roman general and senator
called Marcus Ulpius Traianus
. Traianus originally came from Italica
(near modern Seville
, Spain
) in the Roman Province of Hispania Baetica
. After Marcia married Traianus, for a time they lived in Italica.
Marcia bore Traianus two children:
Marcia owned clay-bearing estates called the Figlinae Marcianae, which was located in North Italy
. When Marcia died, Trajan inherited these estates from his mother. It is unknown if Marcia lived long enough to see Trajan become Emperor.
which was called Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi (modern Timgad
, Algeria
). Her son named this town in honor of her, her late husband and her daughter. The colony’s name is also a tribute in honoring her family.
Trajan
Trajan , 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...
.
Family
Marcia came from a nobleNobiles
During the Roman Republic, nobilis was a descriptive term of social rank, usually indicating that a member of the family had achieved the consulship. Those who belonged to the hereditary patrician families were noble, but plebeians whose ancestors were consuls were also considered nobiles...
and politically influential family, the plebs
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...
gens Marcia , which claimed to be descended from the Roman King Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth of the Kings of Rome.He was the son of Marcius and Pompilia...
. Marcia was a daughter of the Roman Senator
Roman Senate
The 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...
Quintus Marcius Barea Sura and Antonia Furnilla . Quintus Marcius Barea Sura was a friend to future Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , 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...
. Her sister Marcia Furnilla
Marcia Furnilla
Marcia Furnilla was a Roman noble woman that lived in the 1st century. Furnilla was the second and last wife of the future Roman Emperor Titus.-Family:...
was the second wife of future Roman Emperor Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
. Marcia was a maternal aunt to Furnilla’s and Titus’ daughter Julia Flavia
Julia Flavia
Flavia Julia Titi was the daughter and only child to Emperor Titus from his second marriage to the well-connected Marcia Furnilla. Her parents divorced when Julia was an infant, due to her mother's family being connected to the opponents of Roman Emperor Nero...
or Flavia Julia Titi.
Marcia’s paternal uncle was the Roman Senator
Roman Senate
The 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...
Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus
Barea Soranus
Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus was a Roman Senator in the 1st century. Soranus was from the gens Marcius. He was the son of Quintus Marcius Barea, who was Suffect Consul in 26 and was twice Proconsul of the Africa Province. Barea during his time in Africa was based in Leptis Magna...
, while her paternal cousin was the noble woman Marcia Servilia Sorana
Servilia (1st century)
Marcia Servilia Sorana or commonly known as Servilia was the daughter of Roman Senator Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus and her mother may have been from the gens Servilia. Servilia's paternal uncle was the Roman Senator Quintus Marcius Barea Sura, who was a friend to the future Roman Emperor Vespasian...
. Marcia’s paternal grandfather was Quintus Marcius Barea, who was Suffect Consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
in 26 and was twice 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...
of the Africa Province
Africa Province
The 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...
, while her maternal grandfather could have been Aulus Antonius Rufus, a Suffect Consul either in 44 or 45 . The family of Marcia was connected to the opponents of Roman Emperor Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
. In 65 after the failure of the Pisonian conspiracy
Pisonian conspiracy
The conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso in AD 65 represented one of the major turning points in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero...
, her family was disfavored by Nero.
Life
Marcia was born and raised in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. During the reign of Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
(41-54), Marcia married a Spanish Roman general and senator
Roman Senate
The 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...
called Marcus Ulpius Traianus
Marcus Ulpius Traianus (senator)
Marcus Ulpius Traianus Maior was a Roman senator who lived in the 1st century. He was father of the Roman Emperor Trajan.-Family:...
. Traianus originally came from Italica
Italica
The city of Italica was founded in 206 BC by the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus in order to settle Roman soldiers wounded in the Battle of Ilipa, where the Carthaginian army was defeated during the Second Punic War...
(near modern Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) in the Roman Province of Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica was one of three Imperial Roman provinces in Hispania, . Hispania Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica was part of Al-Andalus under the Moors in the 8th century and approximately corresponds to modern Andalucia...
. After Marcia married Traianus, for a time they lived in Italica.
Marcia bore Traianus two children:
- A daughter - Ulpia MarcianaUlpia MarcianaUlpia Marciana was the beloved elder sister of Roman Emperor Trajan. She was the eldest child born to Roman woman Marcia and the Spanish Roman senator Marcus Ulpius Traianus. Her second name Marciana she inherited from her mother’s paternal ancestors. Her birthplace is unknown.Marciana married...
(48-112/114), who inherited her second name from her mother’s paternal ancestry. Marciana married Gaius Salonius Matidius PatruinusGaius Salonius Matidius PatruinusGaius Saloninus Matidius Patruinus was a Roman Senator that lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century and was a contemporary to the reign of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, 69-79....
, who was a wealthy senator and became 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...
. Marciana bore Patruinus a daughter called Salonina MatidiaSalonina MatidiaSalonina Matidia was the daughter and only child of Ulpia Marciana and wealthy praetor Gaius Salonius Matidius Patruinus. Her maternal uncle was the Roman emperor Trajan. Trajan had no children and treated her like his daughter...
, who was born in 68. - A son - Marcus Ulpius Traianus, or known as 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...
(53-117). Trajan became and served as a Roman Emperor from 98 until his death in 117. He married a woman called Pompeia PlotinaPompeia PlotinaPompeia Plotina Claudia Phoebe Piso or Pompeia Plotina was a Roman Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Trajan. She was renowned for her interest in philosophy, and her virtue, dignity and simplicity. She was particularly devoted to the Epicurean philosophical school in Athens, Greece...
.
Marcia owned clay-bearing estates called the Figlinae Marcianae, which was located in North Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. When Marcia died, Trajan inherited these estates from his mother. It is unknown if Marcia lived long enough to see Trajan become Emperor.
Legacy
Around 100, her son Trajan founded a colony in North AfricaNorth Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
which was called Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi (modern Timgad
Timgad
Timgad , called Thamugas or Tamugadi in old Berber) was a Roman colonial town in the Aures mountain- numidia Algeria founded by the Emperor Trajan around 100 AD. The full name of the town was Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
). Her son named this town in honor of her, her late husband and her daughter. The colony’s name is also a tribute in honoring her family.
Sources
- http://www.jstor.org/pss/638620
- http://dcodriscoll.pbworks.com/Marcius_Barea
- http://www.roman-emperors.org/trajan.htm
- http://www.roman-emperors.org/wardoc2a.htm
- http://www.livius.org/le-lh/lepcis_magna/theater2.html
- http://www.livius.org/le-lh/lepcis_magna/lepcis02.html
- http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/athens/parthenon/7094/titus1.html&date=2009-10-25+12:55:21
- http://books.google.com.au/books?id=mhNUGgG2eacC&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95&dq=Marcia+mother+of+Trajan&source=web&ots=_uxBY32S6R&sig=MJuw9eTg0jw_5_munNaByBGFeY4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPA197,M1