Editing Petronia gens

{{short description|Ancient Roman family}}
[[File:Augustus Denarius 84000963.jpg|thumb|[[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 [[Kings of Rome|Roman kings]], but few Petronii are mentioned in the time of the [[Roman Republic|Republic]].  They are frequently encountered under the [[Roman Empire|Empire]], holding numerous [[Roman consul|consulships]], and eventually obtaining the Empire itself during the brief reign of [[Petronius Maximus]] in AD 455.<ref>''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 215 ("[[s:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology/Petronia gens|Petronia Gens]]").</ref>

==Origin==
The Petronii were of [[Sabines|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]].<ref name="Eckhel Turpilianus">Eckhel, vol. v, p. 270 ''ff'', vol. vi., p. 99.</ref>  The nomen ''Petronius'' appears to be a patronymic surname derived from the [[Oscan language|Oscan]] [[praenomen]] ''Petro'' or ''Petrus'', the Oscan equivalent of the [[Latin]] ''Quartus'', fourth, and making ''Petronius'' cognate with a number of obscure Latin [[Nomen gentilicium|gentilicia]], such as ''[[Quartia gens|Quartius]]'' and ''[[Quartinia gens|Quartinius]]''.<ref>Petersen, "The Numerical Praenomina of the Romans", p. 353 and note 24.</ref>  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.<ref>Chase, pp. 118–120.</ref>

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

==Members==
{{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.<ref>Valerius Maximus, i. 1. § 13.</ref><ref>Dionysius, iv. 62.</ref>
* Gaius Petronius, one of the [[legatus|legates]] sent to [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]] in 156 BC, in order to study the conflict between [[Attalus II Philadelphus|Attalus]] of [[Pergamon]] and [[Prusias II of Bithynia|Prusias]] of [[Bithynia]].<ref>Polybius, xxxii. 26.</ref>
* Marcus Petronius Passer, mentioned in passing by [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]] in ''Rerum Rusticarum'', his treatise on agriculture.<ref>Varro, ''Rerum Rusticarum'', iii. 2. § 2.</ref>
* Petronius, a [[military tribune]] serving in the army of [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]], the [[First Triumvirate|triumvir]], in 55 BC.  Petronius was with Crassus when his commander was slain by the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]].<ref>Plutarch, "The Life of Crassus", 30, 31.</ref>
* Petronius, one of the conspirators in the assassination of [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]], was apprehended by [[Mark Antony|Marcus Antonius]] in [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia]], and put to death.<ref>Appian, ''Bellum Civile'', v. 4.</ref>
* [[Gaius Petronius]], governor of [[Egypt (Roman province)|Egypt]], ''circa'' 25 to 21 BC, fought against [[Amanirenas]] of [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]], also known as "Candace of Aethiopia", and took a number of towns.  A friend of [[Herod the Great|Herod]], Petronius supplied [[Judea (Roman province)|Judaea]] with grain during a famine.<ref>Cassius Dio, liv. 5.</ref><ref>Strabo, xvii. p. 820.</ref><ref>Josephus, ''Antiquitates Judaïcae'', xv. 9. § 2.</ref>
* Publius Petronius Turpilianus, ''[[triumvir monetalis]]'' in the time of [[Augustus]], is known from a number of remarkable coins.<ref name="Eckhel Turpilianus"/><ref>''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 1192 ("[[s:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology/Publius Petronius Turpilianus|Publius Petronius Turpilianus]]").</ref>
* Petronius,{{efn-lr|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 {{lang|grc|Μουσας}} in the original.}} 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.<ref>Dioscorides, ''De Materia Medica'', ''praef.'' vol. i, p. 2.</ref><ref>Pliny the Elder, xx. 32.</ref><ref>Galen, ''De Compositione Medicamentorum per Genera'', ii. 5, vol. xiii, p. 502, v. 11, p. 831.</ref>
* Marcus Petronius Heras, a physician mentioned in an inscription recorded by [[Jan Gruter]], perhaps the same person as the writer on pharmacy.<ref>{{CIL|5|6064}}.</ref>
* [[Publius Petronius]], [[Roman consul|consul]] ''suffectus'' in AD 19, serving from the Kalends of July to the end of the year.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annales'', iii. 49, vi. 45.</ref>
* [[Gaius Petronius (consul 25)|Gaius Petronius Umbrinus]], consul ''suffectus'' for the months of September to December, AD 25.<ref>''Fasti Arvalium'', {{AE|1987|163}}; 1991, 306; 1991, 307.</ref>
* [[Petronius (centurion)|Petronius]], the centurion charged with guarding the tomb of Jesus, in the non-canonical ''Gospel of Peter''.
* [[Publius Petronius|Publius Petronius (P. f.)]], succeeded [[Lucius Vitellius (consul 34)|Lucius Vitellius]] as governor of [[Roman Syria|Syria]] from AD 37 to 41, with orders to install a statue of [[Caligula]] in the [[Second Temple#Herod's Temple|Temple]] at [[Jerusalem]].  He was a [[legatus|legate ''pro praetore'']] under [[Claudius]].<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquitates Judaïcae'', xviii. 9. § 2, ''Bellum Judaïcum'', ii. 10.</ref><ref>Seneca the Younger, ''Apocolocyntosis''.</ref>
* Gaius Petronius Pontius Nigrinus, consul in AD 37, the year which saw the death of [[Tiberius]].<ref>Cassius Dio, lviii. 27.</ref><ref>Suetonius, "The Life of Tiberius", 73.</ref><ref>Tacitus, ''Annales'', vi. 45.</ref><ref>Gallivan, "The ''Fasti'' for the Reign of Gaius".</ref>
* [[Aulus Petronius Lurco]], consul ''suffectus'' in AD 58, serving from the Kalends of July to the end of the year.<ref>Gallivan, "The ''Fasti'' for the Reign of Nero", pp. 291, 309.</ref>
* [[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]]''.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annales'', xvi. 17–19.</ref><ref>Pliny the Elder, xxxvii. 2.</ref><ref>''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, pp. 215–218 ("[[s:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology/Gaius Petronius|Gaius Petronius]]").</ref>
* [[Publius Petronius Turpilianus|Publius Petronius (P. f.) Turpilianus]], consul in AD 61, and governor of [[Roman Britain|Britain]] from 61 to 63.  After the suppression of the [[Pisonian conspiracy]], he was among those to whom Nero awarded the [[Roman triumph#Imperial era|triumphal insignia]]; but Nero's favour caused [[Galba]] to have him put to death.<ref>Tacitus, ''Annales'', xiv. 29, 39, xv. 72, ''Agricola'', 16, ''Historiae'', i. 6, 37.</ref><ref>Plutarch, "The Life of Galba", 15.</ref>
* Publius Petronius Niger, consul ''suffectus'' for the months of May to August in AD 62.<ref>Eck, "Miscellanea Prosopographica", pp. 227 ''ff''.</ref>
* Titus Petronius Niger, consul ''suffectus'' for the months of July and August in AD 63.<ref>Gallivan, "The ''Fasti'' for the Reign of Nero", pp. 302, 303, 310.</ref>
* 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 Sea|Aegean]].<ref>Tacitus, ''Annales'', xv. 71.</ref>
* Marcus Petronius Umbrinus, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 81, probably for the months of September and October.<ref>{{CIL|6|2060}}.</ref><ref>Gallivan, "The ''Fasti'' for A.D. 70–96", pp. 189, 215.</ref>
* [[Titus Petronius Secundus]], [[praetorian prefect]] under [[Domitian]], joined the conspiracy that led to the emperor's assassination.<ref>Cassius Dio, lxvii. 15.</ref><ref>Eutropius, viii. 1.</ref>
* Petronius Quadratus, [[praefectus]] of [[Roman Egypt]] c. 126<ref>Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto", p. 284.</ref>
* Lucius Petronius Sabinus, consul ''suffectus'' for the months of September and October, AD 145.<ref name="Eck AP">Eck, "Die Fasti consulares der Regierungszeit des Antoninus Pius".</ref>
* [[Marcus Petronius Honoratus]], ''praefectus'' of Roman Egypt from 147 to 148.<ref>Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto", pp. 290–291.</ref>
* [[Marcus Petronius Mamertinus]], consul ''suffectus'' in AD 150.<ref name="Eck AP"/>
* [[Marcus Petronius Sura Mamertinus|Marcus Petronius M. f. Sura Mamertinus]], consul in AD 182.<ref name="Leunissen">Leunissen, ''Konsuln und Konsulare'', pp. 129–137.</ref>
* Marcus Petronius M. f. Sura Septimianus, brother of Sura Mamertinus, consul in AD 190.<ref name="Leunissen"/>
* Petronia M. f., sister of Marcus Petronius Sura Mamertinus, married the [[Roman Senate|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.<ref name="Leunissen"/>
* [[Lucius Petronius Taurus Volusianus]], consul in AD 261, {{lang|la|[[praefectus urbi]]}}, and praetorian prefect under the emperor [[Gallienus]].<ref name="Samuel 272">Samuel, ''Greek and Roman Chronology'', pp. 272 ''ff''.</ref>
* Petronius Annianus, consul in AD 314.
* [[Petronius Probianus]], consul in AD 322.<ref>{{CIL|6|1686}}.</ref>
* [[Petronius Probinus (consul 341)|Petronius Probinus]], consul in AD 341.<ref>{{CIL|9|10}}.</ref>
* [[Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus]], consul in AD 371.<ref>{{CIL|6|1752}}.</ref><ref>''ICUR'', 1, 1936, 2088.</ref>
* [[Anicius Petronius Probus]], consul in AD 406.<ref>''ICUR'', 1, 1358.</ref>
* [[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 489)|Petronius Probinus]], consul in AD 489.
* [[Rufius Petronius Nicomachus Cethegus]], consul in AD 504.

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|group=lower-roman}}

==See also==
* [[List of Roman gentes]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* [[Polybius]], ''[[The Histories (Polybius)|Historiae]]'' (The Histories).
* [[Marcus Terentius Varro]], ''Rerum Rusticarum'' (Rural Matters).
* [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities).
* [[Strabo]], ''[[Geographica]]''.
* [[Valerius Maximus]], ''Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium'' (Memorable Facts and Sayings).
* Lucius Annaeus Seneca ([[Seneca the Younger]]), ''[[Apocolocyntosis|Apocolocyntosis Divi Claudii]]'' (The Gourdification of the Divine Claudius).
* Gaius Plinius Secundus ([[Pliny the Elder]]), ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]'' (Natural History).
* [[Pedanius Dioscorides]], ''[[Materia Medica|De Materia Medica]]'' (On Medical Subjects).
* [[Josephus|Flavius Josephus]], ''[[Antiquities of the Jews|Antiquitates Judaïcae]]'' (Antiquities of the Jews), ''[[The Jewish War|Bellum Judaïcum]]'' (The Jewish War).
* [[Tacitus|Publius Cornelius Tacitus]], ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annales]]'', ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|Historiae]]'', ''[[Agricola (book)|De Vita et Moribus Iulii Agricolae]]'' (On the Life and Mores of Julius Agricola).
* [[Plutarch]]us, ''[[Parallel Lives|Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans]]''.
* [[Suetonius|Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus]], ''[[The Twelve Caesars|De Vita Caesarum]]'' (Lives of the Caesars, or The Twelve Caesars).
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* [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]], ''Breviarium Historiae Romanae'' (Abridgement of the History of Rome).
* ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', [[William Smith (lexicographer)|William Smith]], ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
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* [[Giovanni Battista de Rossi]], ''Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romanae Septimo Saeculo Antiquiores'' (Christian Inscriptions from Rome of the First Seven Centuries, abbreviated ''ICUR''), Vatican Library, Rome (1857–1861, 1888).
* René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''[[L'Année épigraphique]]'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present).
* George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897).
* Hans Petersen, "The Numeral Praenomina of the Romans", in ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'', vol. xciii, pp. 347–354 (1962).
* Alan E. Samuel, ''Greek and Roman Chronology: Calendars and Years in Classical Antiquity'', C. H. Beck, Munich (1972).
* Paul A. Gallivan, "Some Comments on the ''Fasti'' for the Reign of Nero", in ''[[Classical Quarterly]]'', vol. 24, pp. 290–311 (1974), "The ''Fasti'' for the Reign of Gaius", in ''[[Antichthon]]'', vol. 13, pp. 66–69 (1979), "The ''Fasti'' for A.D. 70–96", in ''Classical Quarterly'', vol. 31, pp. 186–220 (1981).
* [[Guido Bastianini]], "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/20180880 Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30<sup>a</sup> al 299<sup>p</sup>]" (List of the Prefects of Egypt from 30 BC to AD 299), in ''[[Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik]]'', vol. 17 (1975).
* Paul M. M. Leunissen, ''Konsuln und Konsulare in der Zeit von Commodus bis Severus Alexander'' (Consuls and Consulars from the Time of Commodus to Severus Alexander), Verlag Gieben, Amsterdam, (1989).
* [[Werner Eck]], "Miscellanea Prosopographica", in ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', vol. 42 (1981), "Die Fasti consulares der Regierungszeit des Antoninus Pius, eine Bestandsaufnahme seit Géza Alföldys Konsulat und Senatorenstand" (The Consular Fasti for the Reign of Antoninus Pius: an Inventory since Géza Alföldy's ''Konsulat und Senatorenstand''), in ''Studia Epigraphica in Memoriam Géza Alföldy'', Werner Eck, Bence Fehér, Péter Kovács, eds., Bonn, pp. 69–90 (2013).

[[Category:Petronii| ]]
[[Category:Roman gentes]]