Denarius of Quintus Nasidius, circa 43 BC. The obverse depicts Pompeius Magnus, but bears the name of Neptune, with a dolphin and trident.
The gens Nasidia was an obscure plebeian family at Rome. The gens is best known from Quintus Nasidius, one of the admirals of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus during the Civil War. Although none of the Nasidii are known to have held any of the higher offices of the Roman state, a number are known from inscriptions. A coin of this gens depicts the head of Pompeius and a trident on the obverse, and on the reverse a ship, with the inscription Q. Nasidius.[1]
Origin
The nomenNasidius belong to a class of gentilicia formed with the suffix -idius, which originally developed from surnames ending in -idus, but later came to be viewed as a regular means of forming nomina. It implies the existence of a cognomen Nasidus, but may perhaps be from the more regular Naso, originally signifying someone with a prominent nose.[2] The nomen Nasidienus may, in turn, have been formed from Nasidius or a similar name.[3]
Praenomina
The only praenomina associated with the Nasidii are Quintus, Marcus, Lucius, and Gaius, all of which were very common throughout Roman history.
Branches and cognomina
A large family of Nasidii appears to have settled in Africa Proconsularis and Numidia, and in particular the colony at Castellum Elefantum in Numidia. For convenience they have been grouped together below.
Members
This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.
Quintus Nasidius,[i] an admiral under Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus during the Civil War. He was defeated in the second of two naval battles of Massilia - today Marseille by Caesar's admiral Brutus Decimus. He fled to the Spanish coast, and went further to Africa. He then served under Pompeius' son, Sextus, but eventually went over to Marcus Antonius. He commanded part of the triumvir's fleet, and was defeated by Agrippa off the coast of Patras in 31 BC.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Quintus Nasidius Severus, mentioned in a funerary inscription from Nicomedia.[10]