Marcia Fumilla, Wife of Emperor Titus Verpasian

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Marcia Furnilla hailed from a respected and illustrious family, tracing her lineage back to the gens Marcia, whose plebeian status was rooted in their claimed descent from Roman King Ancus Marcius. As the daughter of Roman Senator Quintus Marcius Barea Sura and Antonia Furnilla, she boasted a distinguished ancestry. Her sister, Marcia, would go on to become the mother of Ulpia Marciana and future Roman Emperor Trajan. The connections within her family were impressive: her father was close friends with future Roman Emperor Vespasian, while her paternal uncle, Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus, held a seat in the Senate. Her paternal cousin, Marcia Servilia Sorana, was a noblewoman of distinction. Furnilla's ancestors had made significant contributions to Rome's governance. Her paternal grandfather, Quintus Marcius Barea, served as Sufect consul in 26 and twice governed the Africa Province as Proconsul. On her mother's side, Aulus Antonius Rufus, a Sufect consul either in 44 or 45, might have been her maternal grandfather. Born and raised in Rome, Marcia Furnilla would eventually marry Titus, who had recently lost his first wife. The arranged marriage between Titus and Furnilla was influential in promoting his political career. As Suetonius described Furnilla, she was a woman of considerable social standing. On September 17, 64, Furnilla gave birth to a daughter with Titus, Flavia Julia Titi or Julia Flavia, in Rome. Like her husband's first marriage, this union was short-lived. The connection between Furnilla's family and the opponents of Roman Emperor Nero led to their disfavor after the Pisonian conspiracy failed in 65. Not wanting to be associated with potential plotters, Titus ended his marriage to Furnilla but continued to care for their daughter. Furnilla's fate following her separation from Titus remains unknown. After her passing, she was laid to rest alongside her mother in the mausoleum of Gaius Sulpicius Platorinus and his sister Sulpicia Platorina, a magistrate at the time of Rome's first Emperor Augustus, in Rome.