The
gens Aemilia, originally written
Aimilia, was one of the most ancient
patrician houses at
Rome. The family was said to have originated in the reign of
Numa Pompilius, the second
King of Rome, and its members held the highest offices of the state, from the early decades of the
Republic to imperial times. The Aemilii were probably one of the
gentes maiores, the most important of the patrician families. Their name was associated with two major roads (the
Via Aemilia and the
Via Aemilia Scauri), an administrative region of Italy, and the
Basilica Aemilia at Rome.