Thegens Turcia was an obscureplebeian family atancient Rome. Few members of thisgens appear in history, but a number are known from inscriptions, which indicate that the Turcii first came to prominence in the time ofAugustus. After a period of relative unimportance, they repeatedly attained the highest offices of the Roman state from the third to the fifth century, holding severalconsulships.
The mainpraenomina of the Turcii wereLucius,Gaius, andPublius, each of which was common throughout Roman history. One of the earliest known members of this gens bore the more distinctive praenomenNumerius, which was relatively uncommon at Rome, although more widespread in the countryside, and inOscan-speaking regions of Italy.
The only distinct family of the Turcii bore thecognomenApronianus, indicating descent from theApronia gens. The Turcii Aproniani were already ofsenatorial rank by the third century,[1] and repeatedly held high office through and beyond the end of theWestern Empire.[2][3][4]
This list includes abbreviatedpraenomina. For an explanation of this practice, seefiliation.
Numerius Turcius C. f., a man ofpraetorian rank, named in an inscription fromAuximum inPicenum, dating from theAugustan era, along with his wife, the freedwoman Cocceia Italia, and his son, Gaius Turcius Rufus.[5]
Gaius Turcius N. f. C. n. Rufus, the son of Numerius Turcius and the freedwoman Cocceia Italia, named in an Augustan-era inscription from Auximum.[5]
Gaius Turcius Crescens, dedicated a first-century tomb atPuteoli inCampania for hispatron, Gaius Sempronius Gallus.[6]
Lucius Turcius L. l. Rufus, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome, dating to AD 136.[7]
Turcia Procla, buried at Rome in a tomb built by her husband, Aulus Atinius Mercurius, dating from the reign ofTrajan.[8]
Publius Turcius P. f. Severus, one of theduumvirs andciratores of the city ofInteramna Lirenas inLatium, commemorated in a second-century inscription as patron of thecolony ofCasinum, also in Latium.[9]
Lucius Turcius Apronianus, asenator, buried in a third-century tomb atSulmo inSabinum.[1]
Lucius Turcius Faesasius Apronianus,consul in an uncertain year during the middle of the third century, was honored along with his wife, Aemilia Callista, by a decree of thedecurions ofAufidena inSamnium, recorded in an inscription dating between AD 250 and 280.[2][10]
Turcia Marcella, a woman ofsenatorial rank, and the daughter of a consul, was the wife of Tussus,[i] adecurion atCasilinum in Campania during the third or fourth century. She was perhaps a daughter of Lucius Turcius Faesasius Apronianus and sister to Lucius Turcius Secundus.[13][14][15]
Turcia Sabina, buried at Rome, along with her husband, Venuleius Charitonianus, in a tomb dating from the end of the third century, or the first quarter of the fourth.[16]
Lucius Turcius Apronianus,praefectus urbi from July to October in AD 339.[3]
Turcius Istafanius, built a fourth-century tomb at Rome for his wife, Aurelia Irena.[17]
Lucius Turcius L. f. Apronianus Asterius, followed in his father's footsteps, serving aspraefectus urbi at some point between AD 362 and 364. He was the father of Lucius Turcius Secundus Apronianus.[18][3]
Lucius Turcius L. f. L. n. Secundus Asterius, ascorrector Flaminiae et Piceni during the middle of the fourth century, added a colonnade above the arch of Augustus atFanum Fortunae inUmbria, and rebuilt a bridge atTibur inLatium. He wasconsul in an uncertain year. His wife was Julia Paterna Eunomia.[3][19][20]
Lucius Turcius Eutyches, dedicated a fourth- or fifth-century tomb at Rome for himself and his wife, Ostilia Vera.[21]
Turcius Secundus,vir clarissimus during the late fourth century, probably a son of Lucius Turcius Secundus Asterius and Julia Paterna Eunomia. He might have been the first of his family to convert to Christianity. His wife Proiecta was a daughter of Florus,praefectus praetorio Orientis in 381-83.[22][23]
Turcius Apronianus, Roman senator during the late fourth and early fifth centuries, probably a son of Lucius Turcius Secundus Asterius and Julia Paterna Eunomia. He was married to Avita, daughter of Placidus Severus and Antonia Marcianilla and maternal niece ofMelania the Elder. He converted to Christianity in 405 under influence of Melania. He was an acquaintance ofPaulinus of Nola and also ofRufinus of Aquileia, who possibly dedicated the translation ofOrigen to him.[24][25]
Lucia Turcia, buried at Volsinii, in a tomb dedicated by one or more of her children.[29]
Gaius Turcius, dedicated a tomb at Rome for Munatia, possibly his wife, and their family.[30]
Turcia Attica, buried atGrumentum inLucania, in a tomb dedicated by her husband, Lucius Turcius Daphnus, a priest ofMercury.[31]
Lucius Turcius Daphnus,[ii] a priest of Mercury, dedicated a tomb at Grumentum for his wife, Turcia Attica.[31]
Gaius Turcius C. f. Nebrus, had beenaedile,quaestor,duumvir, andpraetor. He was buried at Grumentum with a monument from his mother, the freedwoman Allidia Nebris.[32]
^This reading is uncertain, as no other definite examples of "Tussus" or "Tussius" are known. Authors of Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire and Christian Settipani prefer to read his name as Tussidius.[11][12]
Inscriptiones Christianae Urbis Romae, New Series, Rome (1922).
La Carte Archéologique de la Gaule (Archaeological Map of Gaul, abbreviatedCAG), Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1931–present).
Heikki Solin,Epigraphische Untersuchungen in Roma und Umgebung (Epigraphic Investigations in Rome and its Surroundings), Helsinki (1975).
Pietro Tamburini, ed.,Un museo e il suo territorio: Il Museo territoriale del lago di Bolsena, Band 2: Dal periodo romano all'era moderna (A Museum and its Territory: the Territorial Museum of Lake Bolsena, Part 2: from the Roman Period to the Modern Era), Bolsena (2001).
Heikki Solin, "Sulla storia costituzionale e amministrativa della Casinum romana" (On the Constitutional and Administrative History of Roman Casinum), inLe epigrafi della valle di Comina, Atti del nono convegno (The Epigraphy of the Valley of Cominio: Proceedings of the Ninth Conference), Heikki Solin, ed., San Donato Val di Comino, pp. 105–117 (2013).
Christian Settipani.Continuité gentilice et continuité sénatoriale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale (2000).
