Domitia Lucilla

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Domitia Lucilla, Lucilla or Domitia Calvilla (? - Died between 155-161) was a noble Roman woman who lived in the 2nd century.

Domitia was a daughter of Tullus Domitius Calvisius and Catilia, the daughter of Lucius Catilius Severus, twice consul and city prefect. She was a niece to Lucanus Domitius. Her father served as a consul in 109 and the date of the second consulship is unknown.

Her father and paternal uncle owned a tile and brick factory near Rome and was close to the river Tiber. The factory provided bricks to Rome’s most famous monuments including the Colosseum, Pantheon and the Market of Trajan. The factory sold bricks to France, Spain, North Africa and all over the Mediterranean.

Lucilla married Marcus Annius Verus, a praetor, who came from a wealthy senatorial family. Verus’ sister Faustina the Elder was a Roman Empress and married the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius. Verus was a nephew to Roman Empress Vibia Sabina and his maternal grandmother was Salonina Matidia (niece of Roman Emperor Trajan).

With Verus, they had two children, a son, the future Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (26 April 121) and a daughter Annia Cornificia Faustina (123-152). In 124, her husband died. Her children were raised by herself and they were adopted by her father-in-law. Marcus Aurelius would later inherit the tile and brick factory.

In Lucilla’s household, the future Roman Emperor Didius Julianus was educated there and through her support he was able to start his legal career. Domitia Lucilla was a lady of considerable wealth and influence. In the Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius he describes her as a ‘pious and generous’ person, who lived a simple life (1.3n). She spent her final years living with her son in Rome.

Roman Coinage of her can be seen at, [1]