Sanquinia gens

The gens Sanquinia[i] was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome, which rose out of obscurity in imperial times to attain the highest offices of the Roman state.

Members of this gens are first mentioned in the time of Augustus, and Quintus Sanquinius Maximus held the consulship under Tiberius and Caligula.

[1] Ronald Syme described the gens as Etruscan, thanks to an inscription found in Etruria.

[2] There may only have been a single family of the Sanquinii, as all of those occurring in history come from the same time and place, and only one other is added from inscriptions anywhere else.

The only attested surname, Maximus, seems to have been a personal cognomen, and was probably given to the consul Sanquinius either because he was the eldest brother in his family, or because he was the most illustrious of the Sanquinii.

Denarius of Quintus Sanquinius, 17 BC. The obverse depicts the head of Caesar , with his comet above. On the reverse is the herald of the Secular Games , holding a shield and a winged caduceus .