The gens Postumia was a noble patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, the Postumii frequently occupied the chief magistracies of the Roman state, beginning with Publius Postumius Tubertus, consul in 505 BC, the fifth year of the Republic. Although like much of the old Roman aristocracy, the Postumii faded for a time into obscurity under the Empire, individuals bearing the name of Postumius again filled a number of important offices from the second century AD to the end of the Western Empire.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, p. 510 ("Postumia Gens").
Origin The nomen Postumius is a patronymic surname, derived from the praenomen Postumus. That name is derived from the Latin adjective, postremus, meaning "last" or "hindmost," originally indicating a last-born or youngest child. However, its meaning has long been confounded with that of posthumous, indicating a child born after the death of the father; this misunderstanding is fostered by the fact that a posthumous child is also necessarily the youngest.Chase, pp. 111, 131, 150.
Praenomina The most prominent families of the Postumii during the early Republic favored the praenomina Aulus, Spurius, and Lucius, with Marcus, Publius, and Quintus receiving lesser use. Other names are occasionally found toward the end of the Republic, including Gaius, Gnaeus, and Titus.
Branches and cognomina The earliest family of the Postumii to occur in history bore the cognomen Tubertus, derived from tuber, a lump or swelling. But by far the greatest family of the Postumii bore the surname Albus, white, which in later generations became Albinus, whitish. This family flourished from the beginning of the Republic down to its end, in the first century BC, and for a century all of its members bore the agnomen Regillensis, in memory of the Battle of Lake Regillus, where the Roman dictator Aulus Postumius Albus won everlasting renown by defeating the Latin League, led by Octavius Mamilius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome, and securing the future of the Republic.Chase, pp. 109, 110.Niebuhr, History of Rome, vol. i, p. 556.
In the later Republic other surnames are found among the Postumii, including Megellus; Pyrgensis, from the Etruscan city of Pyrgi; Tempsanus, from Temesa, a city of Magna Graecia; and Tympanus, from tympanum, a drum. A few of Postumii without cognomina are known from various sources.Chase, pp. 113, 114.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. tympanum.
Members
Postumii Tuberti Quintus Postumius Tubertus, father of Publius Postumius Tubertus, consul in 505 and 503 BC. Publius Postumius Q. f. Tubertus, consul in 505 BC, together with Marcus Valerius Volusus. They defeated the Sabines near Tibur, and received a triumph. Consul again in 503 BC, he defeated either the Aurunci or the Sabines, and received either a second triumph or the first ovation. He was one of the senate's ambassadors to the plebeians at the time of the first secession.Livy, ii. 16.Dionysius, v. 37–39, 44–47, vi. 69.Plutarch, "The Life of Publicola", 20.Zonaras, vii. 13.Pliny the Elder, xv. 29.Cicero, De Legibus, ii. 23. Aulus Postumius Tubertus, nominated magister equitum in 434 BC, by the dictator Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus; Tubertus himself was dictator in 431, and won a great victory over the Aequi and Volsci at Mount Algidus, for which he was granted a triumph.Livy, iv. 23, 26–29.Diodorus Siculus, xii. 26.Ovid, Fasti, vi. 721, ff.Plutarch, "The Life of Camillus", 2.Valerius Maximus, ii. 7. § 6.Gellius, xvii. 21.Niebuhr, History of Rome, vol. ii, pp. 452 ff.
Postumii Albi et Albini
Aulus Postumius P. f. Albus Regillensis, nominated dictator in 498 BC, he led the Roman forces against the Latin League at the Battle of Lake Regillus. He was consul in 496.Livy, ii. 19–21.Dionysius, vi. 2. ff.Valerius Maximus, i. 8. § 1.Cicero, De Natura Deorum, ii. 2, iii. 5. Spurius Postumius A. f. P. n. Albus Regillensis, consul in 466 BC, and subsequently one of the ambassadors sent to study Greek law. He was a member of the first decemvirate in 451. As a legate in 446, he commanded the center of the Roman line in an important victory over the Aequi and Volsci.Livy, iii. 2, 31, 33, 70.Dionysius, ix. 60, x. 52, 56.Fasti Capitolini, ; 1904, 114; ; 1940, 59, 60. Aulus Postumius A. f. P. n. Albus Regillensis, consul in 464 BC, fought against the Aequi. On a subsequent occasion he was sent as an ambassador to the Aequi, but was treated with contempt.Livy, iii. 4, 5, 25.Dionysius, ix. 62, 65. Spurius Postumius S. f. A. n. Albus Regillensis, consular tribune in 432 BC.Livy, iv. 25, 27. Publius Postumius A. f. A. n. Albinus Regillensis, consular tribune in 414 BC, was killed in a mutiny after refusing to distribute the spoils of the town of Bolae, which the soldiers had been promised.Livy, iv. 49, 50. Marcus Postumius A. f. A. n. Albinus Regillensis, censor in 403 BC, imposed a fine on men who did not marry before they were elderly.Valerius Maximus, ii. 9. § 1.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, s. v. uxorium. Aulus Postumius Albinus Regillensis, consular tribune in 397 BC, intercepted a raiding party from Tarquinii, with a force made entirely of volunteers, as the tribunes of the plebs had prevented the regular levy.Livy, v. 16. Spurius Postumius Albinus Regillensis, consular tribune in 394 BC, fought against the Aequi, whom he defeated after an initial setback.Livy, v. 26, 28. Spurius Postumius Albinus Caudinus, consul in 334 BC, censor in 332, and magister equitum in 327. Consul for the second time in 321, during the Second Samnite War, he and his colleague were trapped at the Battle of the Caudine Forks, and their entire army forced to go under the yoke.Livy, viii. 16, 17, 23, ix. 1–10.Appian, Bellum Samniticum, 2–6.Cicero, De Officiis, iii. 30, Cato, 12. Lucius Postumius L. f. Albinus, became Rex Sacrorum circa 275 BC.Pliny the Elder, xi. 186. Aulus Postumius L. f. L. n. Albinus, father of Aulus Postumius Albinus, the consul of 242 BC. Aulus Postumius A. f. L. n. Albinus, consul in 242 BC, the final year of the First Punic War. The Pontifex Maximus forbade him to leave Rome in order to participate in the war, on the grounds that he was the Flamen Martialis. He was censor in 234.Livy, Epitome, 19, xxiii. 13.Eutropius, ii. 27.Valerius Maximus, i. 1. § 2. Lucius Postumius A. f. A. n. Albinus, consul in 234 and 229 BC, fought against the Illyrians. He was praetor in 216, during the Second Punic War, and assigned the province of Cisalpine Gaul. He was elected consul for the third time in 215, but slain by the Boii before entering into office.Livy, xxii. 35, xxiii. 24.Polybius, iii. 106, 118.Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestiones, i. 37. Spurius Postumius L. f. A. n. Albinus, consul in 186 BC, the year that the senate took action to prohibit the worship of Bacchus at Rome, following a general panic over the secret and allegedly terrible rites.Livy, xxxvii. 47, 50, xxxix. 6, 11, ff, xl. 42.Valerius Maximus, vi. 3. § 7.Pliny the Elder, xxxiii. 10.Cicero, Cato, 3.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, p. 344. Aulus Postumius A. f. A. n. Albinus Luscus, consul in 180 BC, fought against the Ligurians. As censor in 174 BC, he and his colleague expelled nine members of the senate, and degraded a number of equites. He was sent on a number of diplomatic missions, and was one of the commissioners sent to assist Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus restore order to Macedonia in 168.Livy, xxxix. 7, 23, xl. 35, 41, xli. 32, xlii. 10, 35, xiv. 17.Polybius, xxvi. 9. Spurius Postumius A. f. A. n. Albinus Paullulus, praetor in 183 BC, was assigned the province of Sicily. He was consul in 174.Livy, xxxix. 45, xli. 26, xlii. 2. Lucius Postumius A. f. A. n. Albinus, praetor in 180 BC, was assigned the province of Hispania Ulterior, where he defeated the Vaccei and Lusitani, and received a triumph. Consul in 173 BC, he restored the Floralia, and dealt with land disputes in Campania. He served under Aemilius Paullus during the Third Macedonian War.Livy, xl. 35, 44, 47, 48, 50, xli. 3, 11, 33, xlii. 1, 9, 35, xliii. 16, xliv. 41, xlv. 27.Ovid, Fasti, v. 329. Lucius Postumius Sp. f. L. n. Albinus, as curule aedile in 161 BC, gave the Megalesia. He was consul in 154, but died shortly after leaving Rome. A rumour circulated that he had been poisoned by his wife.Obsequens, 76.Valerius Maximus, vi. 3. § 8. Aulus Postumius A. f. A. n. Albinus, served under Aemilius Paullus in 168 BC, he was given custody of Perseus. As consul in 151, he was imprisoned by the tribunes of the plebs for pursuing the levy with too much vigor. Later an ambassador to Greece, where he was well received, he wrote extensively in Greek, including a history of Rome, which was poorly regarded by other writers.Cicero, Academica Priora, ii. 45, Epistulae ad Atticum, xiii. 30, 32, Brutus, 21.Polybius, xxxiii. 1, 11, xxv. 3, xl. 6.Livy, xlv. 4, 28, Epitome, 48.Orosius, iv. 21. Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus, a rhetorician whom Cicero describes in Brutus, as the author of many extant orations. He was consul in 148 BC, and during his year of office, much of the city was destroyed in a great fire.Cicero, Brutus, c. 25.Obsequens, 78. Lucius Postumius (L. f. Sp. n.) Albinus, triumvir monetalis in 131 BC. Spurius Postumius (Sp. f.) Albinus, consul in 110 BC, had command of the war against Jugurtha, but took no offensive action, either through indecision, susceptibility to the deceptions of the Numidian king, or, some alleged, bribery. He was subsequently condemned by the lex Mamilia, a law punishing those who had aided Jugurtha.Sallust, Bellum Jugurthinum, 35, 36, 39, 44.Orosius, iv. 15.Eutropius, iv. 26.Cicero, Brutus, 34. Aulus Postumius (Sp. f.) Albinus, legate under his brother, the consul Spurius, during the Jugurthine war, he was lured into an ambush and defeated by Jugurtha, and forced to submit. He was consul in 99 BC, and ten years later commander of a Roman fleet during the Social War, in the course of which he was murdered by his own men.Sallust, Bellum Jugurthinum, 36–38.Obsequens, 106.Cicero, Brutus, § 35 s. 135, Post Reditum in Quirites, 11.Livy, Epitome, 75.Pliny the Elder, viii. 7.Plutarch, "The Life of Sulla", 6. Aulus Postumius Sp. f. Sp. n. Albinus, son of Spurius, the consul of 110, was in the late 90s BC. He is likely the 'Albinus' who fell at the Battle of the Colline Gate against Sulla.Appian, Bellum Civile, i. 93.Salmon, p. 385 n. 5. Aulus Postumius A. f. Sp. n. Albinus, in 81 BC, was a grandson of Spurius, the consul of 110. Postumia, wife of Servius Sulpicius Rufus. Aulus Postumius Albinus, placed in command of Sicily by Caesar in 48 BC.Appian, Bellum Civile, ii. 48. Decimus Junius (D. f. D. n.) Brutus Albinus, a descendant of the Junii Bruti, was adopted by an unknown Aulus Postumius Albinus. Caesar placed him in command of his fleet during the Civil War, but Brutus would become one of his assassins.
Postumii Megelli Lucius Postumius S. f. (Megellus), father of Lucius Postumius Megellus, consul in 305, 294, and 291 BC. Lucius Postumius L. f. S. n. Megellus, consul in 305 BC, during the Second Samnite War, captured a number of towns from the Samnites. Consul for the second time in 294, during the Third Samnite War, he defeated the Samnites and the Etruscans, and received a triumph. In his third consulship, BC 291, he captured Cominium, but made a number of enemies through his conduct, and was fined a previously unheard-of 500,000 asses.Livy, ix. 44, x. 26, 27, 32–34, 36, 37, 47, Epitome xi.Diodorus Siculus, xx. 90.Dionysius, xvi. 15–18.Frontinus, Strategemata, i. 8. § 3.