The gens Sempronia was one of the most ancient and noble houses of ancient Rome. Although the oldest branch of this gens was patrician, with Aulus Sempronius Atratinus obtaining the consulship in 497 BC, the thirteenth year of the Republic, but from the time of the Samnite Wars onward, most if not all of the Sempronii appearing in history were plebeians. Although the Sempronii were illustrious under the Republic, few of them attained any importance or notice in imperial times. [1]
The praenomina favored by the patrician Sempronii were Aulus , Lucius , and Gaius . The plebeian families of the gens used primarily Gaius, Publius , Tiberius , and Marcus . The Tuditani used Marcus, Gaius, and Publius, while their contemporaries, the Gracchi, used Tiberius, Gaius, and Publius. Some families, including the Rutili and Muscae, used Titus instead of Tiberius.
Of the many branches of the Sempronia gens, the only family which was certainly patrician bore the cognomen Atratinus, a surname originally describing someone clad in black or mourning attire. Several of this family attained the highest offices of the Roman state under the early Republic, but the name does not occur again until 34 BC. Given the fashion for reviving old surnames in the late Republic, it seems improbable that this represented the direct line of the Sempronii Atratini, returning to prominence after more than three centuries in eclipse. [2] [3]
Most or all of the other stirpes of the Sempronii were plebeian. Their surnames included Asellio, Blaesus, Densus, Gracchus, Longus, Musca, Pitio, Rufus, Rutilus, Sophus, and Tuditanus. Along with Atratinus, Gracchus and Pitio are found on coins. [1]
Sophus, referring to someone regarded as "wise", belonged to a small, plebeian family that flourished from the time of the Samnite Wars down to the middle of the third century BC. Blaesus, originally indicating someone known for stammering, was the surname of a plebeian family that attained prominence during the Punic Wars. Tuditanus, which the philologist Lucius Ateius Praetextatus supposed to have been bestowed upon one of the Sempronii with a head like a tudes, or mallet, belonged to a family that flourished during the latter half of the third century BC. [4] [5]
Longus was a common surname, which usually referred to a person who was quite tall, although it could also mean "tedious". This family was prominent for a few decades, beginning around the start of the Second Punic War. Rutilus, or "reddish", usually referred to the color of someone's hair, and it marks a family that first appears in the early second century BC. A diminutive of Rufus, red, it may have belonged to the same family that later bore that surname. The cognomen Musca refers to a fly, a nickname might allude to someone's height, in contrast to Longus, or could refer to a person's persistence. [6]
The Sempronii Gracchi were the most distinguished family of the gens. They belonged to the plebeian nobility, obtaining their first consulship during the First Punic War, and remaining prominent for over a century. Their surname, Gracchus, indicated a jackdaw. The Sempronii Gracchi included several accomplished statesmen and generals, but they are perhaps better remembered for the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, who were martyred in the cause of agrarian reform. A few members of this family are mentioned under the early Empire, but they were of little consequence. [7]
The gens Claudia, sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain the consulship was Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis, in 495 BC, and from that time its members frequently held the highest offices of the state, both under the Republic and in imperial times.
The gens Tullia was a family at ancient Rome, with both patrician and plebeian branches. The first of this gens to obtain the consulship was Manius Tullius Longus in 500 BC, but the most illustrious of the family was Marcus Tullius Cicero, the statesman, orator, and scholar of the first century BC. The earliest of the Tullii who appear in history were patrician, but all of the Tullii mentioned in later times were plebeian, and some of them were descended from freedmen. The English form Tully, often found in older works, especially in reference to Cicero, is now considered antiquated.
The gens Licinia was a celebrated plebeian family at ancient Rome, which appears from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times, and which eventually obtained the imperial dignity. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo, who, as tribune of the plebs from 376 to 367 BC, prevented the election of any of the annual magistrates, until the patricians acquiesced to the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia, or Licinian Rogations. This law, named for Licinius and his colleague, Lucius Sextius, opened the consulship for the first time to the plebeians. Licinius himself was subsequently elected consul in 364 and 361 BC, and from this time, the Licinii became one of the most illustrious gentes in the Republic.
The gens Junia or Iunia was one of the most celebrated families of ancient Rome. The gens may originally have been patrician, and was already prominent in the last days of the Roman monarchy. Lucius Junius Brutus was the nephew of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome, and on the expulsion of Tarquin in 509 BC, he became one of the first consuls of the Roman Republic.
The gens Calpurnia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which first appears in history during the third century BC. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Calpurnius Piso in 180 BC, but from this time their consulships were very frequent, and the family of the Pisones became one of the most illustrious in the Roman state. Two important pieces of Republican legislation, the lex Calpurnia of 149 BC and lex Acilia Calpurnia of 67 BC were passed by members of the gens.
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, a Roman republican consul in the year 238 BC, was the first man from his branch of the family to become consul.
The gens Minucia was an ancient Roman family, which flourished from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times. The gens was apparently of patrician origin, but was better known by its plebeian branches. The first of the Minucii to hold the consulship was Marcus Minucius Augurinus, elected consul in 497 BC.
Gaius Sempronius Tuditanus was a politician and historian of the Roman Republic. He was consul in 129 BC.
The gens Annia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Livy mentions a Lucius Annius, praetor of the Roman colony of Setia, in 340 BC, and other Annii are mentioned at Rome during this period. Members of this gens held various positions of authority from the time of the Second Punic War, and Titus Annius Luscus attained the consulship in 153 BC. In the second century AD, the Annii gained the Empire itself; Marcus Aurelius was descended from this family.
The gens Veturia, originally Vetusia, was an ancient patrician family of the Roman Republic. According to tradition, the armourer Mamurius Veturius lived in the time of Numa Pompilius, and made the sacred ancilia. The Veturii occur regularly in the Fasti Consulares of the early Republic, with Gaius Veturius Geminus Cicurinus holding the consulship in 499 BC. Like other old patrician gentes, the Veturii also developed plebeian branches. The family declined in the later Republic, with the last consular Veturius holding office in 206 BC, during the Second Punic War.
The gens Pomponia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members appear throughout the history of the Roman Republic, and into imperial times. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC; the first who obtained the consulship was Manius Pomponius Matho in 233 BC.
The gens Fannia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which first appears in history during the second century BC. The first member of this gens to attain the consulship was Gaius Fannius Strabo, in 161 BC.
The gens Herennia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned among the Italian nobility during the Samnite Wars, and they appear in the Roman consular list beginning in 93 BC. In Imperial times they held a number of provincial offices and military commands. The empress Herennia Etruscilla was a descendant of this gens.
The gens Hortensia was an ancient plebeian family in Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the fifth century BC, but from that time somewhat infrequently until the final century of the Republic. The most illustrious of the gens was the orator Quintus Hortensius, a man of great learning, and a contemporary of Cicero. Under the Empire they seem to have sunk back into obscurity.
The gens Villia was a plebeian family at Rome. Its members are mentioned in the first century of the Republic, but the only Villius who obtained the consulship was Publius Villius Tappulus, in BC 199.
The gens Laelia was a plebeian family at Rome. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Laelius in 190 BC.
Lucius Sempronius Atratinus was a Roman politician and the suffect consul in 444 BC along with Lucius Papirius Mugillanus. The consulship was mostly peaceful, including renewing treaty with Ardea.
Aulus Sempronius Atratinus was a consular tribune of the Roman Republic in 425, 420, 416 BC and possibly consul in 428 BC.