Salvia gens

The gens Salvia was a minor plebeian Roman family of the late Republic, which came to prominence under the early Empire.

The first of the family known to have held public office at Rome was Publius Salvius Aper, praetorian prefect in 2 BC.

About this time, the Salvii achieved equestrian rank, and thereafter held various positions in the Roman state for the next two centuries, before falling back into obscurity.

[1][2] The Salvii were doubtless of Sabellic origin, as their nomen is a patronymic surname derived from the common Oscan praenomen Salvius.

[3] They probably spread throughout Italy long before obtaining Roman citizenship; the emperor Otho was descended from an ancient and noble family of Ferentinum, in Etruria.