Servaea gens


The gens Servaea was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned during the reign of Tiberius, from which time they presumably rose steadily through the imperial bureaucracy, attaining the consulship under Domitian. A number of inscriptions from the second century or later indicate some of them had settled in Africa, where one family of this gens became particularly illustrious under the Antonine and Severan dynasties.

Origin

The nomen Servaeus belongs to a class of gentilicia formed with the suffix , which was typical among families of Oscan or Umbrian derivation. The root resembles and may be cognate with the Latin praenomen Servius, meaning one who "keeps safe" or "preserves". In this case, Servaeus is most likely an Oscan or Umbrian cognate of the more common nomen Servilius. A few of the Servaei mentioned in inscriptions lived in central or southern Italy, and one family of this gens bore the surname Sabinus, suggesting that they were of Sabine origin.

Praenomina

The chief praenomen of the Servaei was Quintus, with Lucius and Gaius evidently being used for younger sons. All were among the most common names throughout Roman history. Other praenomina occur infrequently.

Branches and cognomina

The earliest of the Servaei to rise to prominence bore no surname. The first cognomen to appear among the family is Longinus, a diminutive of Longus, a surname originally designating someone who was tall; Servaeus Longinus may have acquired the surname as the son or grandson of a Servaeus Longus, or because he was moderately tall. The name does not seem to have been passed down to subsequent generations. Sabinus, borne by two soldiers, a father and son who served in Galatia during the early second century, probably indicated that the family claimed descent from the Sabines, an ancient people of central Italy, some of whom had migrated to Rome at the time of the city's legendary founding in the eighth century BC.
Innocens, borne by the two Servaei, perhaps father and son, who attained the consulship under Domitian and Trajan, indicated someone of blameless character, and belonged to a large class of surnames derived from a person's habits. The full nomenclature of the first Innocens is uncertain, but the second, who held office in AD 101, bore the polyonymous appellation of Gaius Sertorius Brocchus Quintus Servaeus Innocens, probably indicating that he was descended from the more illustrious house of the Sertorii through a female line. Given the high station that this family reached, it seems possible that the Servaei of Gigthis in Africa Proconsularis was descended from them.
This family seems to have come to prominence with Quintus Servaeus Macer during the reign of Antoninus Pius. His surname, Macer, designated someone who was notably lean, but the chief cognomen of this family seems to have been Fuscus, "dark", which would likely have referred to someone with dark brown hair. This alternated with Firmus, "strong" or "steadfast", and Felix, "happy" or "fortunate". The Servaei Fusci were of equestrian rank, and seem to have formed part of the nobility of Gigthis, where they served in the local senate, and at least one of them, Quintus Servaeus Fuscus Cornelianus, served in the Roman Senate and held a number of important positions throughout the Empire. Another family of colonial Servaei lived at Sufetula in Numidia, but it remains unclear whether or how they might have been related to the Fusci. Some of them bore the surname Potitianus, perhaps commemorating their descent from the ancient Potitia gens.

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