Pomponia Ummidia
Encyclopedia
Pomponia Ummidia was Anatolian Roman noblewoman
and was a prominent figure in Rome
during the reigns of the Roman Emperor
s Gallienus
, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus
and Aurelian
. She lived in the period the Crisis of the Third Century
in the Roman Empire
.
Pomponia Ummidia came from a distinguished senatorial family. She was the daughter of the Roman Senator
Pomponius Bassus
and the wealthy heiress Annia Aurelia Faustina
, while her brother was the Roman Senator Pomponius Bassus
. She was of Italian Roman and Pontian Greek
ancestry.
The paternal great, grandparents of her mother was the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger
. Through her mother, Pomponia Ummidia was a descendant of the former ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire
.
Her cognomen
Ummidia reveals that she was a distant relative to the Ummidia (gens)
. Her mother named her this cognomen and names her in honor of three late relatives from the gens, who were:
She along with her brother, Pomponia Ummidia were born and raised in her mother’s large in Pisidia
. The estate her and her brother, was born and raised in is one of a number of estates in Pisidia called the Cyllanian Estates. These estates were very large properties and were around from the time of the Roman Dictator of the Roman Republic
, Lucius Cornelius Sulla
(c. 138 BC
-78 BC
).
When her father died in 221, her mother was briefly married to the Roman Emperor Elagabalus
. By the end of 221, Elagabalus had ended their marriage and divorced her mother.
When Annia Aurelia Faustina had died, Pomponia Ummidia had inherited her mother’s estate and the fortune of her mother. Through this, she became a very wealthy heiress. According to the inscriptions found at the estate, Pomponia Ummidia is named as the heiress of the estate and who inherited the estate from her parents. These inscriptions reveal that Pomponia Ummidia married a Greek Politician called Flavius Antiochianus
. Flavius Antiochianus was an active politician in the reigns of the four above mentioned Roman Emperors. She had spent her time between Rome and Pisidia. According to these inscriptions, Pomponia Ummidia appeared to have been a virtuous person in character. It is unknown whether if, Pomponia Ummidia bore Flavius Antiochianus any children.
History of Anatolia
The history of Anatolia encompasses the region known as Anatolia , known by the Latin name of Asia Minor, considered to be the westernmost extent of Western Asia...
and was a prominent figure in Rome
Rome
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 reigns of the 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...
s Gallienus
Gallienus
Gallienus was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis...
, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus
Quintillus
Quintillus , commonly known as Quintillus, was Roman Emperor for less than a year in 270.-Early Life and Election as Emperor:Quintillus was born at Sirmium in Illyricum. Originally coming from a low born family, Quintillus came to prominence with the accession of his brother Claudius II Gothicus to...
and Aurelian
Aurelian
Aurelian , was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following...
. She lived in the period the Crisis of the Third Century
Crisis of the Third Century
The Crisis of the Third Century was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasion, civil war, plague, and economic depression...
in the Roman Empire
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....
.
Pomponia Ummidia came from a distinguished senatorial family. She was the 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...
Pomponius Bassus
Pomponius Bassus (consul 211)
Pomponius Bassus was a Roman Senator that lived in the Roman Empire.The father of Pomponius Bassus was probably Gaius Pomponius Bassus Terentianus , who served as a suffect consul around 193 and the name of his mother is unknown....
and the wealthy heiress Annia Aurelia Faustina
Annia Faustina
Annia Aurelia Faustina was an Anatolian Roman noblewoman. She was an Empress of Rome and third wife of Roman Emperor Elagabalus briefly in 221.-Ancestry & Family:...
, while her brother was the Roman Senator Pomponius Bassus
Pomponius Bassus (consul 259 & 271)
Pomponius Bassus was a Roman Senator of Anatolian descent who lived in the Roman Empire.Bassus was of Italian Roman, Pontian Greek ancestry, who came from a distinguished senatorial family...
. She was of Italian Roman and Pontian Greek
Pontic Greeks
The Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea...
ancestry.
The paternal great, grandparents of her mother was the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger
Faustina the Younger
Annia Galeria Faustina Minor , Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger was a daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and Roman Empress Faustina the Elder. She was a Roman Empress and wife to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius...
. Through her mother, Pomponia Ummidia was a descendant of the former ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire
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....
.
Her cognomen
Cognomen
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...
Ummidia reveals that she was a distant relative to the Ummidia (gens)
Ummidia (gens)
The gens Ummidia was a Roman family which flourished during the 1st and 2nd centuries. The first member of the gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Ummidius Durmius Quadratus, governor of Syria during the reigns of Claudius and Nero...
. Her mother named her this cognomen and names her in honor of three late relatives from the gens, who were:
- Gaius Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus, a Roman SenatorRoman 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...
who served as a suffect consul in 146 who married Marcus Aurelius’ sister, Annia Cornificia FaustinaAnnia Cornificia FaustinaAnnia Cornificia Faustina was the youngest child and only daughter to Praetor Marcus Annius Verus and Domitia Lucilla. The parents of Cornificia came from wealthy senatorial families who were of consular rank. She was born and raised in Rome. The brother of Cornificia was the future Roman Emperor... - Ummidia Cornificia FaustinaUmmidia Cornificia FaustinaUmmidia Cornificia Faustina was a wealthy Roman noblewoman, an heiress and the niece of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.Cornificia Faustina was the daughter of Marcus Aurelius’ sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina and the Roman Senator who served as a suffect consul in 146, Gaius Ummidius Quadratus...
, the daughter of Gaius Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus and Annia Cornificia Faustina. She was the niece of Marcus Aurelius and the maternal grandmother of Annia Aurelia Faustina - Marcus Claudius Ummidius Quadratus, the paternal uncle of Annia Aurelia Faustina who was adopted by the Roman Consul Marcus Ummidius Quadratus AnnianusMarcus Ummidius Quadratus AnnianusMarcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus was a wealthy Roman Politician and the nephew of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.Quadratus was the son of Marcus Aurelius’ sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina and the Roman Senator who served as a suffect consul in 146, Gaius Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus....
. Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus was the brother of Ummidia Cornificia Faustina and the nephew of Marcus Aurelius
She along with her brother, Pomponia Ummidia were born and raised in her mother’s large in Pisidia
Pisidia
Pisidia was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Lycia, and bordering Caria, Lydia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. It corresponds roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey...
. The estate her and her brother, was born and raised in is one of a number of estates in Pisidia called the Cyllanian Estates. These estates were very large properties and were around from the time of the Roman Dictator of the Roman 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...
, Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
(c. 138 BC
138 BC
Year 138 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Serapio and Callaicus...
-78 BC
78 BC
Year 78 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lepidus and Catulus...
).
When her father died in 221, her mother was briefly married to the Roman Emperor Elagabalus
Elagabalus
Elagabalus , also known as Heliogabalus, was Roman Emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was Syrian on his mother's side, the son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. Early in his youth he served as a priest of the god El-Gabal at his hometown, Emesa...
. By the end of 221, Elagabalus had ended their marriage and divorced her mother.
When Annia Aurelia Faustina had died, Pomponia Ummidia had inherited her mother’s estate and the fortune of her mother. Through this, she became a very wealthy heiress. According to the inscriptions found at the estate, Pomponia Ummidia is named as the heiress of the estate and who inherited the estate from her parents. These inscriptions reveal that Pomponia Ummidia married a Greek Politician called Flavius Antiochianus
Flavius Antiochianus
Flavius Antiochianus was a prominent Roman politician during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus and Aurelian, in the period referred to as the Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire....
. Flavius Antiochianus was an active politician in the reigns of the four above mentioned Roman Emperors. She had spent her time between Rome and Pisidia. According to these inscriptions, Pomponia Ummidia appeared to have been a virtuous person in character. It is unknown whether if, Pomponia Ummidia bore Flavius Antiochianus any children.
Sources
- Aurelian the third century, by Alaric Watson 1999, Routledge
- The Cities and Bishoprics of Phyrgia: Being an Essay of the Local History of Phrygia from the Earliest Times to the Turkish Conquest Volume One, Part One - By William M. Ramsay 2004
- http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavio_Antiochiano
- http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavius_Antiochianus