Appius Annius Atilius Bradua

Appius Annius Atilius Bradua[1][2] was a Senator of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century.

Annius Bradua was born and raised in an aristocratic family of consular rank and was a member of the gens Annia. He was a member of the venerable family of the Annii Regilli.[3] Regilli means 'Little Queen'.[3]

His father was Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus. Annius Gallus was a distinguished Senator and one of the serving consuls in the year 139 and his mother was Atilia Caucidia Tertulla.[1][2] His sister, Appia Annia Regilla Atilia Caucidia Tertulla, otherwise known as Aspasia Annia Regilla, married the prominent Greek Herodes Atticus.[1][4]

The paternal grandparents of Annius Bradua were the Senator Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus and his unnamed wife,[4] while his maternal grandparents were the Senator and Governor Marcus Appius Bradua and Caucidia Tertulla.[1][5] His mother’s brother was Marcus Atilius Metilius Bradua Caucidius Tertullus…Bassus.[6][7] His uncle served as a polyonymous Proconsul of the Africa Province under the Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161).[7] His grandfathers were both consular colleagues in the year 108.[4]

Through his paternal grandfather, Annius Bradua was related to the Senator Marcus Annius Verus, who was a brother-in-law of Hadrian and father of Antoninus Pius' wife Faustina the Elder,[3] who was, in turn, the mother of the Empress Faustina the Younger and aunt of Marcus Aurelius.[3]

In the year 160, Annius Bradua served as an ordinary consul,[2] during which time, his sister, eight months pregnant with her sixth child, was kicked to death in the abdomen by a freedman of Herodes Atticus named Alcimedon. Annius Bradua brought charges in Rome against his brother-in-law, alleging that he had been responsible for her death; however, Herodes Atticus was exonerated of the charge by Marcus Aurelius, his student, who would become emperor the following year.

References

1. Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity
2. Birley, The Roman government of Britain p. 114
3. Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity p. 14
4. Birley, The Roman government of Britain p. 112
5. Birley, The Roman government of Britain p. 112-114
6. Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity p.15
7. Birley, The Roman government of Britain p. 113-114

Sources

• http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/women_civicdonors.html
• A. R. Birley, The Roman Government of Britain, Oxford University Press, 2005
• S. B. Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity, Harvard University Press, 2007