Denarius of Gaius Norbanus, 83 BC. The obverse depicts
Venus, while the reverse features a prow-stem,
fasces,
caduceus, and an ear of wheat, an allusion to his father raising the siege of
Rhegium during the
Social War.[1]
The gens Norbana was a
plebeian family at
ancient Rome. Members of this
gens are first mentioned toward the beginning of the first century BC, and from then to the end of the second century AD they filled a number of
magistracies and other important posts, first in the late
Republic, and subsequently under the emperors.[2]
Origin
Because the great majority of Roman gentilicia end in -ius, many writers have supposed Norbanus to have been a
cognomen, perhaps belonging to a branch of the
Junia gens. In fact, it is itself a nomen gentilicium, belonging to a class of nomina derived from place-names, and ending in -anus.[2][3][4] Such names were common in families of
Umbrian origin, although less characteristic of
Latin gentes.[5] In the case of the Norbani, the name is likely derived from the town of
Norba, in
Latium, but, since none of the known members of the gens show any association with the town, it was perhaps an earlier, unknown ancestor who came from there, suggesting the family is of greater antiquity than the available records suggest.[6][7] For the first Norbani appearing in the late Republic,
Ronald Syme suggested an
Etruscan origin.[8]
Branches and cognomina
The primary surname of the Norbani is Flaccus, a common surname that translates as "flabby" or "flap-eared".[5][9] Other surnames include Balbus, a common name referring to one who stammers; this is also written as Bulbus, perhaps with an intentional change of meaning, since bulbus refers to an onion.[10][11]
Members
Aureus of Gaius Norbanus and Lucius Cestius, 43 BC. On the obverse is a bust of the
Cumaean Sibyl, while on the reverse
Cybele drives a
biga pulled by lions, perhaps alluding to Octavian's anticipated victory over
Brutus and
Cassius.
This list includes abbreviated
praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation.
Norbani Flacci
Gaius Norbanus, consul in 83 BC, during the
civil war between
Sulla and the followers of
Marius. He met Sulla in battle near
Capua, and was badly defeated. After a second defeat in 82, when Norbanus was
proconsul, he fled to
Rhodes, but upon learning that Sulla had demanded he be turned over to him, he took his own life.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
Lucius Annaeus Florus, Epitome de T. Livio Bellorum Omnium Annorum DCC (Epitome of Livy: All the Wars of Seven Hundred Years).
Appianus Alexandrinus (
Appian), Bellum Civile (The Civil War).
Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (
Cassius Dio), Roman History.
Aelius Lampridius, Aelius Spartianus, Flavius Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Trebellius Pollio, and Vulcatius Gallicanus, Historia Augusta (Augustan History).
Schulze, Wilhelm, Zur Geschichte lateinischer Eigennamen, in «Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Philologisch-Historische Klasse», new series, vol. V, no. 5, Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung (1933),
ISSN0931-2013.
James L. Franklin, Jr., "Pantomimists at Pompeii: Actius Anicetus and His Troupe", in The American Journal of Philology, vol. 108, No. 1, pp. 95–107 (1987).
Denarius of Gaius Norbanus, 83 BC. The obverse depicts
Venus, while the reverse features a prow-stem,
fasces,
caduceus, and an ear of wheat, an allusion to his father raising the siege of
Rhegium during the
Social War.[1]
The gens Norbana was a
plebeian family at
ancient Rome. Members of this
gens are first mentioned toward the beginning of the first century BC, and from then to the end of the second century AD they filled a number of
magistracies and other important posts, first in the late
Republic, and subsequently under the emperors.[2]
Origin
Because the great majority of Roman gentilicia end in -ius, many writers have supposed Norbanus to have been a
cognomen, perhaps belonging to a branch of the
Junia gens. In fact, it is itself a nomen gentilicium, belonging to a class of nomina derived from place-names, and ending in -anus.[2][3][4] Such names were common in families of
Umbrian origin, although less characteristic of
Latin gentes.[5] In the case of the Norbani, the name is likely derived from the town of
Norba, in
Latium, but, since none of the known members of the gens show any association with the town, it was perhaps an earlier, unknown ancestor who came from there, suggesting the family is of greater antiquity than the available records suggest.[6][7] For the first Norbani appearing in the late Republic,
Ronald Syme suggested an
Etruscan origin.[8]
Branches and cognomina
The primary surname of the Norbani is Flaccus, a common surname that translates as "flabby" or "flap-eared".[5][9] Other surnames include Balbus, a common name referring to one who stammers; this is also written as Bulbus, perhaps with an intentional change of meaning, since bulbus refers to an onion.[10][11]
Members
Aureus of Gaius Norbanus and Lucius Cestius, 43 BC. On the obverse is a bust of the
Cumaean Sibyl, while on the reverse
Cybele drives a
biga pulled by lions, perhaps alluding to Octavian's anticipated victory over
Brutus and
Cassius.
This list includes abbreviated
praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see
filiation.
Norbani Flacci
Gaius Norbanus, consul in 83 BC, during the
civil war between
Sulla and the followers of
Marius. He met Sulla in battle near
Capua, and was badly defeated. After a second defeat in 82, when Norbanus was
proconsul, he fled to
Rhodes, but upon learning that Sulla had demanded he be turned over to him, he took his own life.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
Lucius Annaeus Florus, Epitome de T. Livio Bellorum Omnium Annorum DCC (Epitome of Livy: All the Wars of Seven Hundred Years).
Appianus Alexandrinus (
Appian), Bellum Civile (The Civil War).
Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (
Cassius Dio), Roman History.
Aelius Lampridius, Aelius Spartianus, Flavius Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Trebellius Pollio, and Vulcatius Gallicanus, Historia Augusta (Augustan History).
Schulze, Wilhelm, Zur Geschichte lateinischer Eigennamen, in «Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Philologisch-Historische Klasse», new series, vol. V, no. 5, Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung (1933),
ISSN0931-2013.
James L. Franklin, Jr., "Pantomimists at Pompeii: Actius Anicetus and His Troupe", in The American Journal of Philology, vol. 108, No. 1, pp. 95–107 (1987).