The gens Sertoria was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens appear in history, the most illustrious of whom was the Roman general Quintus Sertorius, who defied the dictator Sulla and his allies for a decade after the populares were driven from power in Rome.[1]

Origin

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The nomen Sertorius is a patronymic surname, derived from the rare praenomen Sertor. Chase suggests that it was the equivalent of servator, meaning "one who protects" or "preserves".[2][3]

Praenomina

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The Sertorii used a variety of common praenomina, including Gaius, Gnaeus, Lucius, Publius, Quintus, and Titus.

Branches and cognomina

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The Sertorii of the Republic were not divided into distinct families. The general Sertorius was born at Nursia, in Sabinum, where his family had lived for several generations. In imperial times there was a family bearing the cognomen Brocchus, originally referring to someone with prominent teeth.[4][5]

Members

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

Sertorii Brocchi

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  • Gaius Sertorius Brocchus, proconsul of an uncertain province during the reign of Claudius.[9]
  • Gaius Sertorius Brocchus Quintus Servaeus Innocens, consul suffectus in AD 101.[11]
  • Gnaeus Sertorius C. f. Brocchus Aquilius Agricola Pedanius Fuscus Salinator Julius Servianus, named in an inscription from Doclea in Dalmatia.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology, vol. III, pp. 789–792 ("Quintus Sertorius").
  2. ^ Liber de Praenominibus.
  3. ^ Chase, pp. 142, 143.
  4. ^ Chase, p. 109.
  5. ^ Dictionary of Greek & Roman Biography & Mythology, vol. I, p. 506 ("Brocchus").
  6. ^ Plutarch, "The Life of Sertorius", passim.
  7. ^ Pliny the Younger, Epistulae, v. 1.
  8. ^ Juvenal, Satirae, vi. 142.
  9. ^ a b c d PIR, vol. III, pp. 223, 224.
  10. ^ Spaul, "Governors of Tingitana", p. 248.
  11. ^ Fasti Ostienses, CIL XIV, 244.

Bibliography

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