Aulia gens
Introduction The '''gens Aulia''' was a Roman family during the period of the Republic. The gens was probably plebeian, but only a few members are known to history. The most illustrious of the family was Quintus Aulius Cerretanus, who obtained the consulship twice, in 323 and 319 BC, during the Second Samnite War.
Origin The nomen ''Aulius'' is a patronymic surname, derived from the praenomen ''Aulus'', just as ''Sextius'' was derived from ''Sextus, Marcius'' from ''Marcus'', and ''Quinctius'' from ''Quintus''. Although there were Aulii at Rome in the fourth century BC, the gens may have been spread throughout Latium, as one of them was prefect of the allies during the Second Punic War. The surname ''Cerretanus'' may point to an Etruscan origin, and at least some scholars believe that the praenomen ''Aulus'' is itself Etruscan, although in historical times the name was among the most common of Roman praenomina.
Praenomina The most famous member of the Aulii bore the praenomen ''Quintus'', as did his father and grandfather. However, the 315 BC entry in the Fasti Capitolini for the consular Aulius preserves the enigmatic filiation "Ai. n.", which meaning has not been explained, as no known praenomen can be shortened as such. Attilio Degrassi, Robert Broughton and others have therefore considered that there were two homonymous men with a different grandfather active at the end of the 4th century BC. Stephen Oakley nevertheless writes that this unique occurrence is a proof of the praenomen's authenticity, and that there was only one Aulius at the time.A later Aulius was named ''Manius''. Although no members by the name are known, the ancestor of the gens must have been called ''Aulus''.
Branches and cognomina The only cognomen associated with any of the Aulii is ''Cerretanus''. This surname seems to belong to a class of names derived from various peoples, in this case a tribe known as the ''Cerretani''; but the only Cerretani known from historical times were an Iberian tribe. In this instance, ''Cerretanus'' seems more likely to be an orthographic variant of ''Caeretanus'', referring to an inhabitant of the Etruscan city of Caere, or perhaps someone who had lived along the river Caeretanus, the modern Vaccina, which flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea below Caere.
Members * Quintus Aulius, grandfather of the consul of 323 and 319 BC. * Quintus Aulius Q. f., father of the consul of 323 and 319 BC. * Quintus Aulius Q. f. Q. n. (or Ai. n) Cerretanus, consul in 323 and 319 BC, during the Second Samnite War. He triumphed over the Frentani in the latter year, and in 315 was magister equitum to the dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus. Engaging the enemy without first obtaining the dictator's permission, he slew the Samnite general, before falling in battle. * Manius Aulius, prefect of the allied soldiers under the command of Marcus Claudius Marcellus in 208 BC, during the Second Punic War, was slain in the battle against Hannibal.
See also * List of Roman gentes
References
Bibliography * Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica'' (Library of History). * Titus Livius (Livy), ''History of Rome''. * ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). * George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. VIII (1897). * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association (1952). * Attilio Degrassi, ''Fasti Capitolini recensuit, praefatus est, indicibus instruxit'', Turin, 1954. * Stephen P. Oakley, ''A Commentary on Livy: Books VI–X, Volume II, Books VI-VIII'', Oxford University Press, 1998.