Sabinus (cognomen)
Encyclopedia
Sabinus is an ancient Roman cognomen
originally meaning "Sabine
"; that is, it indicated origin among the Sabines, an ancient people of Latium
. It was used by a branch of the gens
Flavia
, of the gens Calvisia
, and several others, and is by far the most common of the cognomina indicating ethnic origin that were in use during the Republican
and Augustan eras
. Sabine heritage carried a positive stereotype of traditional values and trustworthiness, and since the cognomen may have been appropriated by some politicians for its aura of uprightness, it should not always be taken as a mark of authentic Sabine origin.
lists the following as the earliest known use of Sabinus as a cognomen for each gens (in bold) known to use it:
was Titus Flavius Petro
, a veteran who had served under Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great") in the East during the 60s BC. After the civil wars of the 40s
, he was pardoned by Julius Caesar
and returned to civilian life. He came from Reate in Sabine territory, and his son used the cognomen Sabinus, either choosing to honor his heritage or perhaps returning to a name used earlier by the family. The Flavii Sabini are also the first family known to use the same praenomen (Titus) for brothers.
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...
originally meaning "Sabine
Sabine
The Sabines were an Italic tribe that lived in the central Appennines of ancient Italy, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome...
"; that is, it indicated origin among the Sabines, an ancient people of Latium
Latium
Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...
. It was used by a branch 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...
Flavia
Flavius
Flavius was a gens of ancient Rome, meaning "blond". The feminine form was Flavia.After the end of the popular Flavian dynasty of emperors, Flavius/Flavia became a praenomen, common especially among royalty: the adoption of this praenomen by Constantine I set a precedent for some imperial...
, of the gens Calvisia
Calvisius
The gens Calvisia was a Roman family, which first rose to prominence during the final century of the Republic, and remained influential well into imperial times. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Calvisius Sabinus in 39 BC...
, and several others, and is by far the most common of the cognomina indicating ethnic origin that were in use during the Republican
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 Augustan eras
Augustus
Augustus ;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...
. Sabine heritage carried a positive stereotype of traditional values and trustworthiness, and since the cognomen may have been appropriated by some politicians for its aura of uprightness, it should not always be taken as a mark of authentic Sabine origin.
Earliest uses of the cognomen
T.P. WisemanT.P. Wiseman
Timothy Peter Wiseman FBA , who usually publishes as T.P. Wiseman and is named as Peter Wiseman in other sources, is a classical scholar and professor emeritus of the University of Exeter...
lists the following as the earliest known use of Sabinus as a cognomen for each gens (in bold) known to use it:
- Appius ClaudiusClaudius (gens)The gens Claudia, sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic...
Sabinus RegillensisAppius Claudius Sabinus InregillensisAppius Claudius Sabinus Inregillensis or Regillensis was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman gens Claudia.He was born Attius Clausus, Atta Claudius, Titus Claudius or a lost original name from which the other versions derive. To the Romans he was known as Appius Claudius. He was a Sabine from...
, 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...
495 BC. - Titus Siccius or Sicinius Sabinus, consul 487 BC.
- Marcus Sextius Sabinus, 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...
202 BC. - Publius Sabinus (praenomenPraenomenThe 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...
conjectured), 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....
99 BC. - Lucius Titurius Sabinus, 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...
75 BC. - Titus Varius Sabinus, legate 63–62 BC.
- Gaius Calvisius Sabinus, consul 39 BC.
- Titus Vettius Sabinus, moneyerMoneyerA moneyer is someone who physically creates money. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They became most prominent in the Roman Republic, continuing into the empire.-Roman Republican moneyers:...
(monetalis) in 70 BC. - Titus Septimius Sabinus, praetor 28 BC.
- Marcus Minatius Sabinus, proquaestor 46–45 BC
- Publius Catienus Sabinus, praetor after AD 5.
- Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus, consul AD 9
- Alfidius Sabinus, 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 the late Augustan period.
Flavii Sabini
Sabinus was a cognomen of a branch of the Flavii. The Titi Flavii Sabini listed following are father, son, grandson and great-grandson. The grandfather of VespasianVespasian
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...
was Titus Flavius Petro
Titus Flavius Petro
Titus Flavius Petro was the paternal grandfather of the Roman Emperor Vespasian.He was a son of a contracted laborer, who each summer crossed the Po to assist the Sabines with their harvests....
, a veteran who had served under Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great") in the East during the 60s BC. After the civil wars of the 40s
Caesar's civil war
The Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...
, he was pardoned by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius 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....
and returned to civilian life. He came from Reate in Sabine territory, and his son used the cognomen Sabinus, either choosing to honor his heritage or perhaps returning to a name used earlier by the family. The Flavii Sabini are also the first family known to use the same praenomen (Titus) for brothers.
- Titus Flavius Sabinus (father of Vespasian)Titus Flavius Sabinus (father of Vespasian)See also Titus Flavius Sabinus for other men of this name.Titus Flavius Sabinus was the son of Titus Flavius Petro and wife ... Tertulla....
- Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul 47)Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul 47)Titus Flavius Sabinus was a Roman politician and soldier. He was the elder son of Titus Flavius Sabinus and Vespasia Polla and brother of the Emperor Vespasian.-Career:...
- Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul 69)Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul 69)See also Titus Flavius Sabinus for other men of this name.Titus Flavius Sabinus was the son of Titus Flavius Sabinus . He was suffect consul in May and June 69 and one of the generals who fought for Otho against Vitellius during the Year of the Four Emperors, although he submitted to Vitellius once...
- Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul 82)Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul 82)See also Titus Flavius Sabinus for other men of this name.Titus Flavius Sabinus, son of Titus Flavius Sabinus and brother to Titus Flavius Clemens, was consul of the Roman Empire in 82...
Others
- Quintus Titurius SabinusQuintus Titurius SabinusQuintus Titurius Sabinus, one of Caesar's legates during the Gallic Wars. He is first mentioned in Caesar's campaign against the Remi, in 57 BC, and in the following year he was sent by Caesar with three legions against the Venelli, Curiosolitae, and Lexovii , who were led by Viridovix...
, Roman commander killed at the start of the Belgic revolt in 54 BC - Masurius SabinusMasurius SabinusMasurius Sabinus, also Massurius, was a Roman jurist who lived in the time of Tiberius . Unlike most jurists of the time, he was not of senatorial rank and was admitted to the equestrian order only rather late in life, by virtue of his exceptional ability and imperial patronage...
, 1st-century jurist - Gaius Valarius SabinusGaius Valarius SabinusGaius Valarius Sabinus was a public officer in Ancient Rome, during the reign of Emperor Aurelian. After the revolt of Felicissimus and the mint workers in the spring of 271, Aurelian appointed Sabinus as the new finance minister. He was first given the title agens vice rationalis...
, finance minister during the rule of Aurelian - Sabinus (Ovid)Sabinus (Ovid)Sabinus was a Latin poet and friend of Ovid. He is known only from two passages of Ovid's works.At Amores 2.18.27—34, Ovid says that Sabinus has written responses to six of Ovid's Heroïdes, the collection of elegiac epistles each written in the person of a legendary woman to her absent male lover...
, friend of Ovid - Publius Sabinus, appointed praetorian prefect by VitelliusVitelliusVitellius , was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed Emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors...
on his accession, despite then only being a praefectus cohortisPrefectPrefect is a magisterial title of varying definition.... - Sabinus (1st century), Cornelius Sabinus, conspirator against Caligula
See also
- List of Sabini
- Calvisius Sabinus
- SabinusSabinusSabinus may refer to:* several ancient Romans; see Sabinus * Sabinus of Seville, 3rd century bishop of Seville, Spain* Sabinus , 4th century historianSaint Sabinus may refer to:* Saint Sabinus , Roman martyr...
, for others with the name