Cossutia gens
Roman gens
The gens Cossutia was a minor plebeian family of equestrian rank of ancient Rome. Only a few members of this gens appear in history, but many others are known from epigraphy.
Origin
The Cossutii were evidently not of Latin origin. Chase suggests that their name is derived from the Volscian name Cossuties. This accords with recent scholarship; based on the various cognomina borne by members of this gens, Rawson concludes that they likely originated in the highlands of central Italy. Cicero mentions the tabernae, or wine-shops of Cossutius, a merchant near Caesena in Cisalpine Gaul, perhaps indicating that the Cossutii were an Umbrian family of that area.
Praenomina
The chief praenomina of the Cossutii were Gnaeus, Marcus, Gaius, Quintus, and Lucius, all of which were common throughout Roman history. A few of the Cossutii bore other common names, with several instances of Publius and Sextus known from epigraphy, and a few occurrences of Aulus, Decimus, Titus, and Servius.
Branches and cognomina
Besides the architect Decimus Cossutius, other Cossutii lived throughout the Greek world during the first and second centuries BC, including at Erythrae and in Eretria, and on the islands of Delos, Ios, Kos, and Paros, the latter of which was known for its marble. These Cossuti often worked in the stone industry, in which the family was involved in various capacities until at least the second century.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cossutia gens” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.