The gens Claudia (Latin: [ˈkɫau̯di.a]), sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses of 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.
Plebeian Claudii are found fairly early in Rome's history. Some may have been descended from members of the family who had passed over to the plebeians, while others were probably the descendants of freedmen of the gens. In the later Republic, one of its patrician members voluntarily converted to plebeian status and adopted the spelling "Clodius".
In his life of the emperor Tiberius, who was a scion of the Claudii, the historian Suetonius gives a summary of the gens, and says, "as time went on it was honoured with twenty-eight consulships, five dictatorships, seven censorships, six triumphs, and two ovations." Writing several decades after the fall of the so-called "Julio-Claudian dynasty", Suetonius took care to mention both the good and wicked deeds attributed to members of the family.
The patrician Claudii were noted for their pride and arrogance, and intense hatred of the commonalty. In his History of Rome, Niebuhr writes,
That house during the course of centuries produced several very eminent, few great men; hardly a single noble-minded one. In all ages it distinguished itself alike by a spirit of haughty defiance, by disdain for the laws, and iron hardness of heart.
During the Republic, no patrician Claudius adopted a member of another gens; the emperor Claudius was the first who broke this custom, by adopting Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, later known as the emperor Nero.
Contents
Origin
According to legend, the first of the Claudii was a Sabine, by the name of Attius Clausus, who came to Rome with his retainers in 504 BC, the sixth year of the Republic. At this time, the fledgling Republic was engaged in regular warfare with the Sabines, and Clausus is said to have been the leader of a faction seeking to end the conflict. When his efforts failed, he defected to the Romans, bringing with him no fewer than five hundred men able to bear arms, according to Dionysius.
Clausus, who exchanged his Sabine name for the Latin Appius Claudius, was enrolled among the patricians, and given a seat in the Senate, quickly becoming one of its most influential members. His descendants were granted a burial site at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, and his followers allotted land on the far side of the Anio, where they formed the core of what became the "Old Claudian" tribe.
The emperor Claudius is said to have referred to these traditions in a speech made before the senate, in which he argued in favor of admitting Gauls to that body. "My ancestors, the most ancient of whom was made at once a citizen and a noble of Rome, encourage me to govern by the same policy of transferring to this city all conspicuous merit, wherever found." By imperial times, the influence of the Claudii was so great that the poet Virgil flattered them by a deliberate anachronism. In his Aeneid, he makes Attius Clausus a contemporary of Aeneas, to whose side he rallies with a host of quirites, or spearmen.
The nomen Claudius, originally Clausus, is usually said to be derived from the Latin adjective claudus, meaning "lame". As a cognomen, Claudus is occasionally found in other gentes. However, since there is no tradition that any of the early Claudii were lame, the nomen might refer to some ancestor of Attius Clausus. It could also have been metaphorical, or ironic, and the possibility remains that this derivation is erroneous. The change from Clausus to Claudius, and its common by-form, Clodius, involves the alternation of "o" and "au", which seems to have been common in words of Sabine origin. The alternation of "s" and "d" occurs in words borrowed from Greek: Latin rosa from Greek rhodon; but in this instance clausus or *closus is a Sabine word becoming clod- in Latin. The name could have come from Greek settlers in Latium, but there is no evidence in favor of this hypothesis.
Praenomina
The early Claudii favored the praenomina Appius, Gaius, and Publius. These names were used by the patrician Claudii throughout their history. Tiberius was used by the family of the Claudii Nerones, while Marcus, although used occasionally by the earliest patrician Claudii, was favored by the plebeian branches of the family. According to Suetonius, the gens avoided the praenomen Lucius because two early members with this name had brought dishonor upon the family, one having been convicted of highway robbery, and the other of murder. However, the name was used by at least one branch of the Claudii in the final century of the Republic, including one who, as Rex Sacrorum, was certainly patrician. To these names, the plebeian Claudii added Quintus and Sextus, though Elizabeth Rawson has argued that Quintus was acceptable among the Pulchri as well.
The praenomen Appius is often said to have been unique to the Claudii, and nothing more than a Latinization of the Sabine Attius. But in fact there are other figures in Roman history named "Appius", and in later times the name was used by plebeian families such as the Junii and the Annii. Thus, it seems more accurate to say that the Claudii were the only patrician family at Rome known to have used Appius. As for its Sabine equivalent, Attius has been the subject of much discussion by philologists. The form Attus is mentioned by Valerius Maximus, who connected it with the bucolic Greek name Atys. Braasch translated it as Väterchen, "little father," and connected it with a series of childhood parental names: "atta, tata, acca," and the like, becoming such names as Tatius (also Sabine) and Atilius.
During the late Republic and early Empire, the Claudii Nerones, who gave rise to the Imperial family, adopted the praenomen Decimus, seldom used by any patrician family. Subsequently they began to exchange traditional praenomina for names that first entered the family as cognomina, such as Nero, Drusus, and Germanicus.
Branches and cognomina
The patrician Claudii bore various surnames, including Caecus, Caudex, Centho, Crassus, Nero, Pulcher, Regillensis, and Sabinus. The latter two, though applicable to all of the gens, were seldom used when there was a more definite cognomen. A few of the patrician Claudii are mentioned without any surname. The surnames of the plebeian Claudii were Asellus, Canina, Centumalus, Cicero, Flamen, Glaber, and Marcellus.
The earliest Claudii bore the surname Sabinus, a common surname usually referring to a Sabine, or someone of Sabine descent, which according to all tradition, the Claudii were. This cognomen was first adopted by Appius Claudius, the founder of the gens, and was retained by his descendants, until it was replaced by Crassus.
Regillensis or Inregillensis, a surname of the earliest Claudii, is said to be derived from the town of Regillum, a Sabine settlement, where Appius Claudius lived with his family and retainers before coming to Rome. Its exact location is unknown, but it must have been in the vicinity of Lake Regillus, where one of the most important battles in the early history of the Roman Republic was fought. The same cognomen was borne by a family of the Postumii, although in this instance the surname is supposed to have been derived from the Battle of Lake Regillus, in which the victorious Roman general was the dictator Aulus Postumius Albus.
Crassus, sometimes given as the diminutive Crassinus, was a common surname usually translated as "thick, solid", or "dull". This cognomen succeeded that of Sabinus as the surname of the main family of the Claudia gens. It was borne by members of the family from the fifth to the third century BC. The other main families of the patrician Claudii were descended from Appius Claudius Caecus, the last recorded member of the Claudii Crassi, who gave a different cognomen to each of his four sons: Russus (or Rufus), Pulcher, Cento or Centho, and Nero.
Pulcher, the surname of the next major branch of the Claudia gens, means beautiful, although it may be that the cognomen was given ironically. The Claudii Pulchri were an extensive family, which supplied the Republic with several consuls, and survived into imperial times.
The other main branch of the patrician Claudii bore the surname Nero, originally a Sabine praenomen described as meaning, fortis ac strenuus, which roughly translated is "strong and sturdy." It may be the same as the Umbrian praenomen Nerius. This family was distinguished throughout the latter Republic, and gave rise to several of the early emperors, including Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero. An oddity of the names by which these emperors are known today is that several of their ancestors bore the name Tiberius Claudius Nero; of three emperors belonging to the same family, one is known by a praenomen, one by a nomen, and one by a cognomen. Some members of the imperial family adopted the fashion of wearing their hair short at the sides and front but long in the back, over the nape of the neck. Describing the appearance of Tiberius, Suetonius calls it a family trait. This style visible on some busts of Tiberius and Caligula, his grandnephew and successor.
Members
This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.
Claudii Sabini et Crassi
Marcus Clausus, the father of Appius Claudius.
Appius Claudius M. f. Sabinus Regillensis, consul in 495 BC. Born Attius Clausus, a Sabine; brought his family and retainers to Rome in 504 BC, and was admitted to the patriciate.
Appius Claudius Ap. f. M. n. Sabinus Regillensis, consul in 471 BC, he was sent against the Aequi and Volsci, but his own soldiers revolted, and were punished with decimation. He fiercely opposed the agrarian law first brought forward by Spurius Cassius Vecellinus, and was brought to trial, but took his own life.
Gaius Claudius Ap. f. M. n. Sabinus Regillensis, consul in 460 BC, the year that Appius Herdonius seized the Capitol. He was a staunch opponent of various laws and reforms favoring the plebeians.
Appius Claudius Ap. f. Ap. n. Crassus, consul in 451 BC, he became head of the college of decemvirs, holding office until 449, when he was imprisoned for his actions as decemvir, and either killed himself or was put to death.
Appius Claudius Ap. f. Ap. n. Crassus, consular tribune in 424 BC, said by Livy to have been violently opposed to the plebeians and their tribunes.
Publius Claudius Ap. f. Ap. n. Crassus, the younger son of the decemvir.
Appius Claudius P. f. Ap. n. Crassus Regillensis, consular tribune in 403 BC, during the siege of Veii. He proposed a law allowing one of the tribunes of the plebs to halt the proceedings of the others.
Appius Claudius P. f. Ap. n. Crassus Regillensis, opposed the Licinian Rogations, opening the consulship to the plebeians. In 362 BC, he was appointed dictator to conduct the war against the Hernici. Consul in 349, he died at the commencement of his year of office.
Gaius Claudius (Ap. f. P. n.) Regillensis, nominated dictator in 337 BC, but immediately resigned after the augurs pronounced the appointment invalid.
Claudii Pulchri
Publius Claudius Ap. f. C. n. Pulcher, the second son of Appius Claudius Caecus, consul in 249 BC; ignoring the auguries, he attacked the Carthaginian fleet at Drepana, and was entirely defeated. Recalled to Rome, he nominated Marcus Claudius Glicia, the son of a freedman, as dictator. He was subsequently impeached and fined.
Appius Claudius P. f. Ap. n. Pulcher, consul in 212 BC, during the Second Punic War; with his colleague laid siege to Capua. His command was prolonged after his year of office, and he was mortally wounded in battle with Hannibal.
Quinta Claudia P. f. Ap. n., freed a grounded ship bringing the image of Cybele to Rome.
Claudia P. f. Ap. n., married Pacuvius Calavius of Capua.
Appius Claudius Ap. f. P. n. Pulcher, consul in 185 BC.
Publius Claudius Ap. f. P. n. Pulcher, consul in 184 BC.
Gaius Claudius Ap. f. P. n. Pulcher, consul in 177 BC, received Istria as his province; he was censor in 169.
Appius Claudius Ap. f. Ap. n. Pulcher, consul in 143 BC, and censor in 136. He defeated the Salassi, but was refused a triumph by the senate, and triumphed at his own expense.
Gaius Claudius Pulcher, consul in 130 BC, reported to the senate about the disturbances excited by Gaius Papirius Carbo.
Gaius Claudius Pulcher, probably the elder son of Gaius Claudius Pulcher, consul in 130 BC.
Appius Claudius Pulcher, probably the younger son of Gaius Claudius Pulcher, consul in 130 BC.
Appius Claudius Ap. f. Ap. n. Pulcher, son of the consul of 143 BC, in 107 he participated in the discussions respecting the agrarian law of Spurius Thorius.
Claudii Centhones
Gaius Claudius Ap. f. C. n. Centho, the third son of Appius Claudius Caecus, he was consul in 240 BC, and dictator in 213.
Gaius Claudius (C. f. Ap. n.) Centho, probably the father of the brothers Gaius and Appius.
Gaius Claudius (C. f. C. n.) Centho, served under the consul Publius Sulpicius Galba in 200 BC, during the war with Philip. He successfully raised the siege of Athens, compelling Philip to take the field.
Appius Claudius (C. f. C. n.) Centho, praetor in 175 BC, received Hispania Citerior as his province; he defeated the Celtiberi, and received an ovation.
Claudii Nerones
Tiberius Claudius Ap. f. C. n. Nero, the fourth son of Appius Claudius Caecus.
Tiberius Claudius Ti. f. (Ap. n.) Nero, father of the consul of 207 BC.
Publius Claudius Ti. f. (Ap. n.) Nero, father of the consul of 202 BC.
Gaius Claudius Ti. f. Ti. n. Nero, consul in 207 BC; with his colleague, triumphed over Hasdrubal at the Battle of the Metaurus. He was censor in 204.
Tiberius Claudius P. f. Ti. n. Nero, consul in 202 BC, had Africa as his province; but his fleet was delayed by storms, and he was forced to winter in Sardinia until the expiration of his year of office.
Appius Claudius Nero, praetor in 195 BC, obtained Hispania Ulterior as his province; in 189 he was one of ten envoys sent into Asia, in order to settle affairs.
Tiberius Claudius (Ti. f. Ti. n.) Nero, praetor in 181 BC, obtained the province of Sicily.
Tiberius Claudius Nero, praetor in 178 and 167 BC.
Publius Claudius Nero, officer in 125 BC.
Gaius Claudius P. f. Nero, proconsul of Asia in 79 BC.
Appius Claudius Nero, great-great grandfather of emperor Tiberius.
Tiberius Claudius Ap. f. Nero, great-grandfather of emperor Tiberius.
Tiberius Claudius Ti. f. Ap. n. Nero, grandfather of the emperor Tiberius, was praetor about 67 BC, the year in which he served under Pompeius during the War against the Pirates. Four years later, he recommended that the conspirators of Catiline be held until the plot was suppressed, and the facts were known.
Claudii Marcelli
Gaius Claudius (Marcellus), grandfather of Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the consul of 331 BC.
Gaius Claudius C. f. (Marcellus), the father of Marcus Claudius Marcellus.
Marcus Claudius C. f. C. n. Marcellus, consul in 331 BC; he was appointed dictator in order to hold the elections in 327, but was prevented from doing so by the augurs, who apparently objected to a plebeian dictator.
Marcus Claudius (M. f. C. n) Marcellus, consul in 287 BC.
Marcus Claudius M. f. (M. n.) Marcellus, father of the consul of 222 BC.
Marcus Claudius M. f. M. n. Marcellus, consul in 222, 215, 214, 210, and 208 BC, the great hero of the Second Punic War.
Marcus Claudius Marcellus, plebeian aedile in 216 BC.
Marcus Claudius M. f. M. n. Marcellus, praetor in 198 BC, was assigned the province of Sicily. As consul in 196, he triumphed over the Boii and Ligures.
Marcus Claudius M. f. M. n. Marcellus, praetor urbanus in 188 BC, and consul in 183.
Marcus Claudius Marcellus, praetor in 185 BC.
Marcus Claudius Marcellus, tribune of the plebs in 171 BC.
Marcus Claudius M. f. M. n. Marcellus, consul in 166, 155, and 152 BC; triumphed over the Alpine Gauls and the Ligures.
Marcus Claudius M. f. M. n. Marcellus, son of the consul of 166 BC.
Claudii Caninae
Gaius Claudius Canina, grandfather of Gaius Claudius Canina, the consul of 285 BC.
Marcus Claudius C. f. Canina, the father of Gaius Claudius Canina.
Gaius Claudius M. f. C. n. Canina, consul in 285 and 273 BC.
Claudii Aselli
Tiberius Claudius Asellus, a military tribune under Gaius Claudius Nero, the consul in 207 BC, during the Second Punic War; the following year he was praetor, and obtained Sardinia as his province. He was tribune of the plebs in 204.
Tiberius Claudius Asellus, an eques who was deprived of his horse and reduced to the condition of an aerarian by the censor Scipio Aemilianus in 142 BC; he was subsequently restored by Scipio's colleague, Lucius Mummius, and as tribune of the plebs in 140 he accused Scipio.
Claudii Pompeiani
Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, consul in AD 173, and probably consul suffectus in 176; he married Lucilla, the daughter of Marcus Aurelius.
Claudius Quintianus Pompeianus, a young senator, and the son-in-law of Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus and Lucilla; persuaded by Lucilla to attempt to kill her brother, the emperor Commodus, he failed and was put to death.
Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pompeianus, consul in AD 209, perhaps the son of Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus.
Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus Quintianus, consul suffectus in AD 212, perhaps the son of Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus.
Claudius Pompeianus, consul in AD 231.
Lucius Tiberius Claudius Aurelius Quintianus (Pompeianus), triumvir monetalis circa AD 222, and a candidate for quaestor in 228; he was praetor in 233, and consul in 235.
Clodius Pompeianus, consul in AD 241, with the emperor Gordianus III. In 244, he was curator aedium sacrarum.
Others
Gaius Claudius Cicero, in some manuscripts of Livy, tribune of the plebs in 454 BC; he prosecuted Titus Romilius, the consul of the preceding year, for selling the spoils of the war with the Aequi without the permission of the soldiers. In other manuscripts his nomen is Calvius.
Gaius Claudius Hortator, appointed magister equitum by the dictator Gaius Claudius Crassus in 337 BC.
Marcus Claudius C. f. Glicia, the son of a freedman, was nominated dictator by Publius Claudius Pulcher, following the Battle of Drepana in 249 BC. Glicia's appointment was immediately superseded, but nonetheless recorded in the Fasti consulares. In 236 he was legate to the consul Gaius Licinius Varus, but punished for entering into an unauthorized treaty with the Corsi.
Quintus Claudius, tribune of the plebs in 218 BC; probably the same person as Quintus Claudius Flamen, praetor in 208.
Quintus Claudius Flamen, praetor in 208 BC, and subsequently propraetor in the territory of the Sallentini and Tarentum, during the Second Punic War.
Lucius Claudius, praetor in 174 BC, assigned the province of Sicily.
Quintus Claudius Ap. f., a senator in 129 BC.
Tiberius Claudius Centumalus, sued for fraud involving the sale of property to Publius Calpurnius Lanarius; judgment against Claudius was given by Marcus Porcius Cato, the father of Cato Uticensis.
Gaius Claudius C. f. Glaber, praetor in 73 BC, was defeated by Spartacus. He might have been related to the Claudii Marcelli, as he belonged to the tribus Arniensis, like Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the aedile of 91.
Lucius Claudius L. f., a senator in 73 BC, perhaps the father and predecessor of Lucius Claudius, the Rex Sacrorum.