Alban people

The '''Albans''' were [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latins]] from the ancient city of [[Alba Longa]], southeast of [[Rome]]. Some of Rome's prominent [[patricians|patrician]] families such as the [[Julia gens|Julii]], [[Servilia gens|Servilii]], [[Quinctia gens|Quinctii]], [[Gegania gens|Geganii]], [[Curiatia gens|Curiatii]] and [[Cloelia gens|Cloelii]] were of Alban descent.<ref>[[Livy]], ''[[Ab urbe condita libri (Livy)|Ab urbe condita]]'', [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 1#28|1:28–30]]</ref>

==Origins== According to Roman mythology, [[Ascanius]], son of [[Trojan War]] hero [[Aeneas]], founded the Alban tribe when he settled in [[Alba Longa]] around 1152 BC.<ref>"Alba Longa." ''Oxford Classical Dictionary''. 2003 ed.</ref> Literary sources suggest the city's name is derived from the white ('''''alba''''') [[Pig|sow]] [[Aeneas]] saw when arriving in [[Latium]].<ref>"Alba Longa." A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. 1873 ed.</ref> [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus|Dionysus of Halicarnassus]] reports that:<ref>Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities'', II, 2.2</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=The Albans were a mixed nation composed of [[Pelasgians]], of [[Arcadia (region)#Arcadians|Arcadians]], of the [[Epeans]] who came from [[Elis]], and, last of all, of the [[Troy|Trojans]] who came into Italy with [[Aeneas]], the son of [[Anchises]] and [[Aphrodite]], after the taking of Troy. It is probable that a barbarian element also from among the neighbouring peoples or a remnant of the ancient inhabitants of the place was mixed with the Greek. But all these people, having lost their tribal designations, came to be called by one common name, [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latins]], after [[Latinus]], who had been king of this country.}}

Based on limited archaeological evidence, experts say the Alban tribe inhabited the long ridge between the modern-day [[Lake Albano]] and [[Monte Cavo]].<ref>"Alba Longa." ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography''. 1873 ed.</ref>

==Power in Latium== At its height, the Albans and the city of [[Alba Longa]] exerted great power and influence over [[Latium]]. In particular, literary sources such as [[Pliny the Elder]]’s ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]'' state that Alba Longa headed a league of city-states in Latium, possibly called '''''Prisci Latini'''''.<ref>[[John Bostock (physician)|Bostock, John]], [[Henry Thomas Riley]], ed. ''The Natural History of Pliny''. Vol 3. London, [[H. G. Bohn]]: 1855.</ref> Most of these sources tend to vary regarding the political structure of the alliance as well as Alba Longa's hegemonic role. Many historians say it is uncertain if the Albans exerted any sort of dominance since most of the surviving sources are biased.<ref name="Ashby, Thomas 1899">Ashby, Thomas. "Alba Longa." ''Journal of Philology'' 27.53 (1899): 37-44.</ref>

The ''Prisci Latini'' are the colonists sent out by the [[Latin kings of Alba Longa|Alban king]], [[Latinus Silvius]], who would be made to submit to Roman authority following the destruction of Alba Longa in the mid-7th century BC.<ref>Barthold Niebuhr ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=7D8GAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA198 The History of Rome, Volume 1]'' 1871 p.198-199, [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] ''Roman Antiquities'' III.34, [[Livy]] ''Ab urbe condita'' I.3</ref> Those colonists would be a part of 30 villages that would form the ''populi Albenses'' which may have been related to the 30 Latin villages of the same time in ancient Latium.

==Religious customs== However, Pliny and others generally agree that the communities of [[Latium]] gathered at [[Alba Longa]] for sacrificial rites. Every year in the spring, the tribes would congregate on ''Mons Albanus'' ([[Monte Cavo]]) to worship Iuppiter Latiaris. The festival was known as ''[[Feriae Latinae]]''.<ref>[[F. W. Walbank|Walbank, F. W.]], ed. ''The Cambridge Ancient History''. Vol. 7. Cambridge, Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1989</ref> The major custom in this ceremony was a great banquet, which required all attending cities to bring food, especially meat. These offerings were then divided among the attendants and owning some of the food signified membership within the league.<ref>Walbank, F. W., ed. ''The Cambridge Ancient History''. Vol. 7. Cambridge, Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1989</ref> Pliny lists 30 tribes participating in the ''Feriae Latinae''. This festival continued as an annual event through the imperial age of [[Rome]]. There is also evidence that leaders from the surrounding tribes of [[Latium]] met at a spring in [[Alba Longa]] known as ''Aqua Ferentia''.<ref name="ReferenceA">"Alba Longa." ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography''. 1873 ed.</ref> This supports the theory that the Albans were central figures in [[Latium]]. [[Alba Longa]] was also known for its wine and good stone quarries.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

==Downfall== The prosperity of the Alban people declined in the seventh century BC. [[Tullus Hostilius]] waged war against [[Alba Longa]] and ultimately devastated the city, sparing only the temples.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Historians attribute our lack of archaeological evidence to [[Tullus Hostilius]]’ campaign.<ref name="Ashby, Thomas 1899" /> Indeed, portions of the city wall's foundation are all that remain. After this victory, [[Rome]] assumed the command that had long been held by the Albans. Many from [[Alba Longa]] immigrated to [[Rome]] following the war and some of [[Rome]]’s most elite patrician families (including the [[Julii]]) trace their heritage back to [[Alba Longa]], which illustrates its importance in the history of Rome.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

==Roman gentes of Alban origin== * [[Cloelia gens]] * [[Curiatia gens]] * [[Gegania gens]] * [[Julia gens]] * [[Metilia gens]] * [[Memmia gens]] * [[Numitoria gens]] * [[Quinctia gens]] * [[Servilia gens]] * [[Tullia gens]]

== Prominent Romans of Alban ancestry == * [[Julius Caesar]], Roman military general, statesman, and writer * [[Cicero]], Roman lawyer, orator, philosopher, and statesman.

== References == {{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Italic peoples]] [[Category:Alba Longa]]