The gens Flavia was a plebeian family of ancient Rome. Its members are first mentioned during the last three centuries of the Republic. The first of the Flavii to achieve prominence was Marcus Flavius, tribune of the plebs in 327 and 323 BC; however, no Flavius attained the consulship until Gaius Flavius Fimbria in 104 BC. The gens became illustrious during the first century AD, when the family of the Flavii Sabini claimed the imperial dignity.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, p. 169 ("Flavia Gens").
Under the Empire, the number of persons bearing this nomen becomes very large, perhaps due to the great number of freedmen under the Flavian dynasty of emperors. It was a common practice for freedmen to assume the nomina of their patrons, and so countless persons who obtained the Roman franchise under the Flavian emperors adopted the name Flavius, which was then handed down to their descendants. Freedmen under the Constantinian dynasty, whose members were also called Flavius, also adopted it, as did individuals who entered government service during their rule, often replacing their original nomina with the dynastic Flavius.Salway, "What's in a Name?", pp. 137–140.
The vast majority of persons named Flavius during the later Empire could not have been descended from the Flavia gens; and indeed, the distinction between nomina and cognomina was all but lost, so that in many cases one cannot even determine with certainty whether it is a nomen or a cognomen. However, because it is impossible to determine which of these persons used Flavius as a gentile name, they have been listed below.Salway, "What's in a Name?", p. 141.
Origin The Flavii of the Republic claimed Sabine ancestry, and may have been related to the Flavii who lived at Reate during the first century AD, from whom the emperor Vespasian descended; but the gentilicium is also found in other parts of Italy, such as Etruria and Lucania. The nomen Flavius is of Latin origin, and is derived from the surname Flavus, used by a number of gentes, and meaning "golden" or "golden-brown". It probably referred to the blond hair possessed by an early member of the family.Chase, pp. 110, 130.Cassell's Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. flavus.
Later use During the later period of the Empire, the name Flavius frequently descended from one emperor to another, beginning with Constantius Chlorus, the father of Constantine the Great.Rösch, Onoma Basileias, pp. 49, 50. The name became so ubiquitous that it was sometimes treated as a praenomen, to the extent of being regularly abbreviated Fl., and it is even described as a praenomen in some sources, although it was never truly used as a personal name, and from the time of Honorius it appears chiefly in letters. It once again became a regular part of the nomenclature of the eastern emperors from Justinian I through the reign of Constantine IV, and appearing as late as the reign of Leo VI in the tenth century.Lenski, Failure of Empire, p. 51.Lingenthal, Jus Graeco-Romanum, part III, p. 67. After the name fell into disuse among the Byzantine emperors, it was used as a title of legitimacy among the barbarian rulers of former Roman provinces, such as Visigothic Spain and the kings of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of the Lombards.Bussell, The Roman Empire, pp. xi, xiii, xiv.Memorias de La Real Academia de la Historia, p. 583.
From the fourth century AD onwards, the name is widespread among non-emperors as a mark of dignity. It is widespread in epigraphy from Germania. In Egypt, where the evidence is best, it was part of the full name of all Imperial officials, all provincial officials, the highest civic officials, and most soldiers. This usage appears shortly after Constantine gained control of the province in 324 AD. Between 287 and 326 AD, Egyptians had used Valerius (the nomen of Constantine's predecessors) in a similar way. People not entitled to "Flavius" bore the nomen Aurelius or no nomen. Initially, people sometimes used the name Flavius alongside another nomen that they were entitled to (e.g. Julius, Aelius), but these other nomina died out over the fifth century. In the fourth century, the name was not inherited by children or wives of the "Flavius", but from the fifth century higher-ranking holders sometimes passed the name to their descendants. After the Arab conquest of Egypt in 646, the use of "Flavius" was less consistent and after some time it died out.
In modern use, Flavius is a personal name, and widely used in romance languages, including Italian and Spanish Flavio (fem. Flavia), French Flavien (fem. Flavie), Portuguese Flávio (fem. Flávia), and Romanian Flavius or Flaviu (fem. Flavia).
Praenomina The early Flavii used the praenomina Marcus, Quintus, Gaius, and Lucius. Of these, only Gaius and Lucius are known from the family of the Fimbriae. The name Gnaeus occurs once, but as the son of a freedman of the family, and thus does not seem to be representative of the gens. The Flavii Sabini appear to have restricted themselves to the praenomen Titus alone, and distinguished their sons by the use of different surnames, usually by giving the younger sons surnames derived from their maternal ancestors.
Branches and cognomina The Flavii of the Republic used the cognomina Fimbria, Gallus, Lucanus, and Pusio. Only the Fimbriae, whose surname refers to a fringe or border, represented a distinct family.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. II, pp. 150, 151 ("Fimbria").New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. fimbria. Gallus and Lucanus belong to a class of surnames derived from places of origin or association, referring to Gaul and Lucania, respectively, although Gallus, a very common surname, could also refer to a cockerel.Chase, pp. 113, 114.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. gallus. Pusio was originally a nickname indicating a little boy, and would have been bestowed on someone small or youthful.New College Latin & English Dictionary, s. v. pusio.
The Flavii Sabini, whose surname indicates Sabine ancestry, rose to prominence under the Empire. They were descended from Titus Flavius Petro, a soldier from Reate who fought under Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Within two generations they had attained such respectability that two of his grandsons held the consulship in consecutive years, AD 51 and 52; the younger of these marched to Rome at the head of an army in the year of the four emperors, AD 69, and claimed the imperial dignity as the emperor Vespasian. However, within less than thirty years, the family was largely destroyed through the workings of Vespasian's son, the emperor Domitian.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, pp. 689, 690 ("Flavius Sabinus"). The Flavii Titiani may be descended from the Flavii Sabini through the consul Titus Flavius Clemens, a nephew of Vespasian; the first of this branch, Titus Flavius Titianus, who was governor of Egypt from AD 126 to 133, may have been his son.
A family of the Flavii bearing the surname Valens lived at Hatria, and from there migrated to Rome in imperial times, where two of them served as prefects of different cohorts.Sorricchio, Hatria, p. 309.
Members
Marcus Flavius, tribune of the plebs in BC 327 and 323.Livy, viii. 22, 27.Valerius Maximus, ix. 10. § 1. Gnaeus Flavius, the son of a freedman, he was secretary to Appius Claudius Caecus, and served as aedile in 304 BC. Flavius, or Flavius Lucanus, a Lucanian, who went over to Mago during the Second Punic War, and delivered the proconsul Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, in return for the promise that the Lucanians should be free and retain their own constitution.Livy, xxv. 16.Appian, Bellum Hannibalicum, 35.Valerius Maximus, v. 1. ext. § 6. Quintus Flavius, an augur who, according to Valerius Maximus, was accused by the aedile Gaius Valerius (perhaps the same who was curule aedile in BC 199). When fourteen tribes had already voted against Flavius, who again asserted his innocence, Valerius declared that he did not care whether the man was guilty or innocent, provided he secured his punishment; and the people, indignant at such conduct, acquitted Flavius.Valerius Maximus, viii. 1. § 7.Livy, xxxi. 50, xxxii. 50. Quintus Flavius, of Tarquinii, murdered the slave Panurgus, who belonged to Gaius Fannius Chaerea, and who was to be trained as an actor by Quintus Roscius, the celebrated comedian.Cicero, Pro Quinto Roscio Comoedo, 11. Lucius Flavius, an eques, who gave evidence against Verres in BC 70. He probably lived in Sicily, and was engaged in mercantile pursuits. He appears to be the same Lucius Flavius who is mentioned as procurator (that is, the agent or steward) of Gaius Matrinius in Sicily.Cicero, In Verrem, i. 5, v. 7, 59. Gaius Flavius, brother of Lucius, and likewise an eques, whom Cicero recommended in BC 46 to Manius Acilius, praetor of Sicily, as an intimate friend of Cicero's late son-in-law, Gaius Calpurnius Piso Frugi.Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares, xiii. 31. Gaius Flavius Pusio, is mentioned by Cicero as one of the equites who opposed the tribune Marcus Drusus.Cicero, Pro Cluentio, 56. Lucius Flavius, praetor in BC 58, and a supporter of Pompeius. He was plebeian tribune in 60 BC and failed in passing a land reform programme for Pompey's veterans. He was also a friend of both Cicero and Caesar, and may have been the same Flavius whom Caesar entrusted with one legion and the province of Sicily in BC 49.Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, i. 18, 19, ii. 1, x. 1; Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem, i. 2.Asconius Pedianus, In Ciceronis Pro Milone, p. 47 (ed. Orelli).Cassius Dio, xxxvii. 50, xxxviii. 50.Broughton, vol. II, p. 184. Gaius Flavius, an eques of Asta, a Roman colony in Spain. He and other equites, who had belonged to the party of Pompeius, went over to Caesar in BC 45. It is uncertain whether he is the same Gaius Flavius who is mentioned among the enemies of Octavian, and who was put to death in BC 40, after the taking of Perusia.Caesar, De Bello Hispaniensis, 26.Appian, Bellum Civile, v. 49. Gaius Flavius, a friend of Brutus, whom he accompanied to Philippi in the capacity of praefectus fabrum. Flavius fell in the Battle of Philippi, and Brutus lamented over his death.Cornelius Nepos, The Life of Atticus, 8.Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, xii. 17.Pseudo-Brutus, Epistulae ad Ciceronem, i. 6, 17.Plutarch, "The Life of Brutus", 51. Flavius Gallus, a military tribune serving under Marcus Antonius in his unfortunate campaign against the Parthians in BC 36. During Antonius' retreat, Gallus made an inconsiderate attack upon the enemy, for which he paid with his life.Plutarch, "The Life of Marcus Antonius", 42, 43.
Flavii Fimbriae Gaius Flavius Fimbria, the father of Gaius Flavius Fimbria, the consul of 104 BC. Gaius Flavius C. f. Fimbria, consul in 104 BC; acquitted of extortion, despite significant evidence. With other consulars, took up arms against the revolt of Saturninus in 100. A clever jurist and powerful orator, his reputation had faded by Cicero's time, when his speeches were scarcely to be found. Gaius Flavius C. f. C. n. Fimbria, a violent partisan of Gaius Marius, at whose funeral he tried to kill Quintus Mucius Scaevola, the Pontifex Maximus. Sent to Asia in an expedition against Mithridates and Sulla, Fimbria led a mutiny against the consul Valerius Flaccus, whom he murdered, taking command of the army. With much savagery, he subdued much of Asia, but when his men went over to Sulla, he took his own life.Broughton, vol. II, pp. 50, 53, 56, 59, vol. III, p. 92. Flavius C. f. C. n. Fimbria, brother of Gaius, was likewise in the service of the Marian party in the war against Sulla, 82 BC, and was legate to Gaius Norbanus. He and other officers of the party of Carbo were invited to a banquet by Publius Albinovanus, and then treacherously murdered.Appian, Bellum Civile, i. 91.