Petronia gens

Denarius issued by Publius Petronius Turpilianus, circa 19 or 18 BC. The obverse depicts Augustus, the reverse Pegasus.

The gens Petronia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. This gens claimed an ancient lineage, as a Petronius Sabinus is mentioned in the time of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last of the Roman kings, but few Petronii are mentioned in the time of the Republic. They are frequently encountered under the Empire, holding numerous consulships, and eventually obtaining the Empire itself during the brief reign of Petronius Maximus in AD 455.^[1]

Origin

The Petronii were of Sabine origin, as indicated by the surname Sabinus, belonging to the legendary figure from the time of Tarquin, and alluded to by coins minted by Publius Petronius Turpilianus, depicting the death of Tarpeia, whom according to legend was persuaded by the Sabines under Titus Tatius to open the citadel to them, in the time of Romulus.^[2] The nomen Petronius appears to be a patronymic surname derived from the Oscan praenomen Petro or Petrus, the Oscan equivalent of the Latin Quartus, fourth, and making Petronius cognate with a number of obscure Latin gentilicia, such as Quartius and Quartinius.^[3] An alternative derivation would be from the cognomen Petrus, a rustic, although this may also derive from the Oscan praenomen. Petronius belongs to a large class of gentilicia derived from other names ending in -o, most of which are plebeian.^[4]

Praenomina

The early Petronii used the praenomina Gaius, Marcus, and Publius, all of which were very common throughout Roman history. Other names occur toward the end of the second century AD, including Quintus, Lucius, and Sextus, but these may have been inherited from other families.

Members

This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.

• Petronius Sabinus, said to have copied the Sibylline Books during the reign of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, with the assistance of a certain Marcus Tullius or Atilius.^[5][6]
• Gaius Petronius, one of the legates sent to Asia Minor in 156 BC, in order to study the conflict between Attalus of Pergamon and Prusias of Bithynia.^[7]
• Marcus Petronius Passer, mentioned in passing by Varro in Rerum Rusticarum, his treatise on agriculture.^[8]
• Petronius, a military tribune serving in the army of Marcus Licinius Crassus, the triumvir, in 55 BC. Petronius was with Crassus when his commander was slain by the Parthians.^[9]
• Petronius, one of the conspirators in the assassination of Caesar, was apprehended by Marcus Antonius in Asia, and put to death.^[10]
• Gaius Petronius, governor of Egypt, circa 25 to 21 BC, fought against Amanirenas of Kush, also known as "Candace of Aethiopia", and took a number of towns. A friend of Herod, Petronius supplied Judaea with grain during a famine.^[11][12][13]
• Publius Petronius Turpilianus, triumvir monetalis in the time of Augustus, is known from a number of remarkable coins.^[2][14]
• Petronius,^[i] perhaps the same person as the physician Marcus Petronius Heras, a writer on pharmacy mentioned by a number of sources. He must have lived toward the beginning of the first century AD.^[15][16][17]
• Marcus Petronius Heras, a physician mentioned in an inscription recorded by Jan Gruter, perhaps the same person as the writer on pharmacy.^[18]
• Publius Petronius, consul suffectus in AD 19, serving from the Kalends of July to the end of the year.^[19]
• Gaius Petronius Umbrinus, consul suffectus for the months of September to December, AD 25.^[20]
• Petronius, the centurion charged with guarding the tomb of Jesus, in the non-canonical Gospel of Peter.
• Publius Petronius (P. f.), succeeded Lucius Vitellius as governor of Syria from AD 37 to 41, with orders to install a statue of Caligula in the Temple at Jerusalem. He was a legate pro praetore under Claudius.^[21][22]
• Gaius Petronius Pontius Nigrinus, consul in AD 37, the year which saw the death of Tiberius.^{[23][24][25][26]}
• Aulus Petronius Lurco, consul suffectus in AD 58, serving from the Kalends of July to the end of the year.^[27]
• Gaius Petronius Arbiter an intimate friend of Nero, noted for his luxury and decadence. He was appointed proconsul of Bithynia, and later held the consulship. Accused of treason, he slowly weakened himself by bloodletting, until his death in AD 66. He is best known as the author of the Satyricon.^[28][29][30]
• Publius Petronius (P. f.) Turpilianus, consul in AD 61, and governor of Britain from 61 to 63. After the suppression of the Pisonian conspiracy, he was among those to whom Nero awarded the triumphal insignia; but Nero's favour caused Galba to have him put to death.^[31][32]
• Publius Petronius Niger, consul suffectus for the months of May to August in AD 62.^[33]
• Titus Petronius Niger, consul suffectus for the months of July and August in AD 63.^[34]
• Petronius Priscus, banished by Nero in AD 66, after the conspiracy of Piso was suppressed. Tacitus gives no indication that Priscus was in any way involved in the conspiracy, instead suggesting that his exile was arbitrary. He was permitted to settle in the islands of the Aegean.^[35]
• Marcus Petronius Umbrinus, consul suffectus in AD 81, probably for the months of September and October.^[36][37]
• Titus Petronius Secundus, praetorian prefect under Domitian, joined the conspiracy that led to the emperor's assassination.^[38][39]
• Petronius Quadratus, praefectus of Roman Egypt c. 126^[40]
• Lucius Petronius Sabinus, consul suffectus for the months of September and October, AD 145.^[41]
• Marcus Petronius Honoratus, praefectus of Roman Egypt from 147 to 148.^[42]
• Marcus Petronius Mamertinus, consul suffectus in AD 150.^[41]
• Marcus Petronius M. f. Sura Mamertinus, consul in AD 182.^[43]
• Marcus Petronius M. f. Sura Septimianus, brother of Sura Mamertinus, consul in AD 190.^[43]
• Petronia M. f., sister of Marcus Petronius Sura Mamertinus, married the senator Marcus Antoninus Antius Lupus.
• Petronius M. f. M. n. Antoninus, son of Marcus Petronius Sura Mamertinus.
• Quintus Petronius Didius Severus, father of the emperor Didius Julianus.
• Lucius Fulvius Gavius (Numisius?) Petronius Aemilianus, consul in AD 206.^[43]
• Lucius Petronius Taurus Volusianus, consul in AD 261, praefectus urbi, and praetorian prefect under the emperor Gallienus.^[44]
• Petronius Annianus, consul in AD 314.
• Petronius Probianus, consul in AD 322.^[45]
• Petronius Probinus, consul in AD 341.^[46]
• Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus, consul in AD 371.^[47][48]
• Anicius Petronius Probus, consul in AD 406.^[49]
• Saint Petronius, fifth century bishop of Bologna.
• Petronius Maximus, emperor for seventy-five days in AD 455, was torn apart by the mob at Rome.
• Petronius Probinus, consul in AD 489.
• Rufius Petronius Nicomachus Cethegus, consul in AD 504.

Footnotes

1. Probably not Petronius Diodotus, as found in some manuscripts of Pliny, or Petronius Musa, as inferred from Galen, which seems to be a misunderstanding of Μουσας in the original.

See also

• List of Roman gentes

References

1. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, p. 215 ("Petronia Gens").
2. Eckhel, vol. v, p. 270 ff, vol. vi., p. 99.
3. Petersen, "The Numerical Praenomina of the Romans", p. 353 and note 24.
4. Chase, pp. 118–120.
5. Valerius Maximus, i. 1. § 13.
6. Dionysius, iv. 62.
7. Polybius, xxxii. 26.
8. Varro, Rerum Rusticarum, iii. 2. § 2.
9. Plutarch, "The Life of Crassus", 30, 31.
10. Appian, Bellum Civile, v. 4.
11. Cassius Dio, liv. 5.
12. Strabo, xvii. p. 820.
13. Josephus, Antiquitates Judaïcae, xv. 9. § 2.
14. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, p. 1192 ("Publius Petronius Turpilianus").
15. Dioscorides, De Materia Medica, praef. vol. i, p. 2.
16. Pliny the Elder, xx. 32.
17. Galen, De Compositione Medicamentorum per Genera, ii. 5, vol. xiii, p. 502, v. 11, p. 831.
18. CIL V, 6064.
19. Tacitus, Annales, iii. 49, vi. 45.
20. Fasti Arvalium, AE 1987, 163; 1991, 306; 1991, 307.
21. Josephus, Antiquitates Judaïcae, xviii. 9. § 2, Bellum Judaïcum, ii. 10.
22. Seneca the Younger, Apocolocyntosis.
23. Cassius Dio, lviii. 27.
24. Suetonius, "The Life of Tiberius", 73.
25. Tacitus, Annales, vi. 45.
26. Gallivan, "The Fasti for the Reign of Gaius".
27. Gallivan, "The Fasti for the Reign of Nero", pp. 291, 309.
28. Tacitus, Annales, xvi. 17–19.
29. Pliny the Elder, xxxvii. 2.
30. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, pp. 215–218 ("Gaius Petronius").
31. Tacitus, Annales, xiv. 29, 39, xv. 72, Agricola, 16, Historiae, i. 6, 37.
32. Plutarch, "The Life of Galba", 15.
33. Eck, "Miscellanea Prosopographica", pp. 227 ff.
34. Gallivan, "The Fasti for the Reign of Nero", pp. 302, 303, 310.
35. Tacitus, Annales, xv. 71.
36. CIL VI, 2060.
37. Gallivan, "The Fasti for A.D. 70–96", pp. 189, 215.
38. Cassius Dio, lxvii. 15.
39. Eutropius, viii. 1.
40. Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto", p. 284.
41. Eck, "Die Fasti consulares der Regierungszeit des Antoninus Pius".
42. Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto", pp. 290–291.
43. Leunissen, Konsuln und Konsulare, pp. 129–137.
44. Samuel, Greek and Roman Chronology, pp. 272 ff.
45. CIL VI, 1686.
46. CIL IX, 10.
47. CIL VI, 1752.
48. ICUR, 1, 1936, 2088.
49. ICUR, 1, 1358.

Bibliography

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• Guido Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30^a al 299^p" (List of the Prefects of Egypt from 30 BC to AD 299), in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, vol. 17 (1975).
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