Balbi

Balbi (or Balbis or Balby) may refer to:

People of the Acilii Balbi

Surname: Balbi Balbi or in Latin, Balbus is one of the few surnames that has remained unchanged over the centuries. Its origin is possibly derived from the word baal, meaning owner or master and was also the name of an important Phoenician deity, Baal. In an attempt to secure the protection of the god Baal for their children, there was a preference among Phoenicians to use names compounded with that of the deity. Another theory about the origin of the Balbi surname holds that in later centuries when the Romans encountered members of the Phoenician family they called them balbus, or stutterers because of the nature of the foreign language they spoke. A very early reference to the Balbi surname was in the Phoenician civilization around 2500 B.C. The next historical reference to the surname relates to the Phoenician city of Gades, now Cadiz, Spain. By 1000 B.C. some of the Phoenician Balbis had settled in Gades. They were very wealthy and were said to have owned it.

Famous Balbis during the era of the Roman Empire: Marcus Atius Balbus was Caesar Augustus' grandfather. Julius Caesar's youngest sister Julia (101 B.C. - 51 B.C.) married Balbus, a praetor and commissioner who came from a senatorial family. They had three daughters: Atia Balba Prima, Atia Balba Caesonia and Atia Balba Tertia. Their middle daughter, Atia Balba Caesonia (85 BC-43 BC) and her husband Gaius Octavius had a son named Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, or as he later became to be known, Caesar Augustus. Since Julius Caesar did not have a son, he named his grand-nephew, Octavius as his successor. In 62 B.C. Marcus Atius Balbus was a praetor which was one of eighteen magistrates with judicial functions. He was appointed governor of Sardinia. A coin was minted in his honor. On the front is the head of Sardus, the father or mythical ancestor of the island, and on the back is the head of Balbus. In 59 B.C. Balbus was appointed one of the vigintiviri under the Julian law for the division of the land in Campania. The term vigintiviri refers to an individual who was appointed to oversee the process of founding a colony.

Lucius Cornelius Balbus was another very famous Balbi. He was born to a family of nobility in Gades, now Cadiz. He and Julius Caesar became acquainted when Caesar's troops were fighting in France and Spain. Balbus assisted Caesar in this endeavor. He was granted Roman citizenship along with his brother P. Cornelius Balbus and his brother's sons. P. Cornelius Balbus died shortly thereafter. At the conclusion of the war in 72 B. C. Caesar brought Balbus back to Rome where he became a powerful ally. His reported tremendous wealth earned him the friendship of Pompey from whom he received Roman citizenship. Balbus lived in Rome as a friend of Pompey and especially Caesar, whose interests he increasingly attended, ultimately becoming the manager and steward of Caesar's affairs in Rome. In 56 B.C. he was prosecuted for receiving his citizenship illegally. Pompey and Crassus both testified upon his behalf, and Cicero delivered one of his finest speeches, resulting in full acquittal. When civil war erupted, Balbus remained outwardly neutral, although he was Caesar's representative in personal matters. After Julius Caesar's death in 44 B. C. Balbus gave his support to Octavian as Caesar's heir, and was rewarded for this by his election to the consulship, becoming Rome's first foreign-born consul in 40 BC. Wealthy beyond all others, in his will he left 25 denarii to each citizen of Rome. A coin was minted in his honor. On the front is the head of Caesar Augustus and on the reverse is the inscription BALBVS Pro. Per. Balbus was the author of a diary of the most remarkable occurrences in his and Caesar's life. Unfortunately this document has not been found.

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