Ceionius

Ceionius (plural Ceionii , also Caeionius ) was the gentile name of a Roman family that produced a number of important personalities during the imperial period , especially in late antiquity , including the emperor Lucius Verus (originally Lucius Ceionius Commodus ).

The family name is probably Etruscan ; Ancient sources also state that the family came from Etruria . The first known bearer of the name is an officer of Varus mentioned by Velleius Paterculus in 9 AD, Ceionius . At the end of the 1st century, members of the Ceionii Commodi branch of the family achieved high dignity for the first time. Lucius Ceionius Commodus held the consulate in 78 , his son of the same name was consul of 106. His son of the same name was chosen by Emperor Hadrian by adoption under the name Lucius Aelius Caesar to be his imperial successor (see adoptive emperor ). Since Aelius Caesar died before Hadrian, it was only his son who became Roman emperor under the name Lucius Verus Aurelius Augustus . They were considered so important that the Historia Augusta , a rather unreliable late antique source, which Ceionii derived from Emperor Clodius Albinus .

Family tree of the late antique Ceionii after Otto Seeck in Paulys Realencyclopädie der Classischen Antiquity

The Ceionii also played an important role in late antiquity . Three branches of the family can be distinguished, which go back to three politicians who were active at the beginning of the 4th century: Gaius Ceionius Rufius Volusianus (consul 311 and 314), Rufius Volusianus (city prefect 310/311) and Ceionius Iulianus Camenius (city prefect 333/334). The first two branches (the descendants of the two Rufii Volusiani) alternated the cognomen Albinus and Volusianus in each generation ; in the latter (the descendants of Ceionius Iulianus Camenius) the name Iulianus can be found throughout . Most male Ceionii stayed with or returned to the old Roman religion even after the Christianization of the Roman Empire in the 4th century ( Constantinian turn ) . In contrast, women from the family were often Christian.

Members of the family were:

• Ceionius (Praefectus castrorum) , Officer under Varus , at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest involved
• Lucius Ceionius Commodus (consul 78) , Roman politician and senator
• Lucius Ceionius Commodus (Consul 106) , Roman politician and senator
• Lucius Ceionius Commodus, maiden name of Lucius Aelius Caesar († 138), adopted by Emperor Hadrian
• Lucius Ceionius Commodus, former name of Lucius Verus (130–169), Roman emperor
• Marcus Ceionius Silvanus , Roman consul 153
• Gaius Ceionius Rufius Volusianus , Roman consul 311 and 314; Praetorian Prefect
• Ceionius Rufius Albinus (Consul 335) (* 303), Roman civil servant, consul 335 and city prefect 335 to 337
• Ceionius Rufius Albinus (city prefect) , Roman civil servant, city prefect 389 to 391
• Ceionius Iulianus Camenius (City Prefect 333/334)

literature

• Paul von Rohden : Ceionius . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 2, Stuttgart 1899, column 1828 (with systematic recording of the bearers of the name under Ceionius 1 ff.).
• Otto Seeck : Ceionius 17ff. . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 2, Stuttgart 1899, Sp. 1858 f. (to the Ceionians of late antiquity).

Remarks

1. ↑ Historia Augusta , Vita Aelii Veri 1.9; Hel. 2, 8.
2. ↑ Velleius Paterculus, Historia Romana 2,119,4; Paul von Rohden : Ceionius 1 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 2, Stuttgart 1899, Sp. 1828.
3. ↑ A family tree of the Ceionii Commodi can be found in Paul von Rohden: Ceionius 7 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 2, Stuttgart 1899, Sp. 1829-1832, here Sp. 1829.
4. ↑ Historia Augusta, Albinus 4; 10.6; 12.8; 13.5.
5. ↑ See on this division Otto Seeck : Ceionius 17ff. . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 2, Stuttgart 1899, Sp. 1858 f.