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Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus PLAUTIUS


Preferred Parents:
Father: Marcus Plautius Silvanus Consul 2BC, b. 0035 avanti Cristo in Roma, Lazio, Italia   d. in Tivoli, Roma, Lazio, Italy
Mother: Aelia Silvanus Lamia, b. ABT 15 BC in Rome, Lazio, Italy   d. 54 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy

Family 2: MRS TIBERIUS PLAUTIUS SILVANUS AELIANUS PLAUTIUS,    b. in Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy    d. 91 in Roma, Roma, Lazio, Italy
  1. Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus , b. 50     d. 90
  2. Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus, b. BEF 205 in Roman Empire     d. BEF 281 in Roman Empire
Sources:
  1. Title: Wikiwand: Ancient Rome
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ancient_Rome;
    Note: In historiography, ancient Rome is Roman civilization from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, encompassing the Roman Kingdom (753 BC–509 BC), Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and Roman Empire (27 BC–476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. The civilization began as an Italic settlement in the Italian Peninsula, traditionally dated to 753 BC, that grew into the city of Rome and which subsequently gave its name to the empire over which it ruled and to the widespread civilization the empire developed. The Roman Empire expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world, still ruled from the city, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants (roughly 20% of the world's population at the time) covering 5.0 million square kilometers at its height in AD 117. In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a elective monarchy to a democratic classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic semi-elective military dictatorship during the Empire. Through conquest, cultural, and linguistic assimilation, at its height it controlled the North African coast, Egypt, Southern Europe, and most of Western Europe, the Balkans, Crimea and much of the Middle East, including Anatolia, Levant and parts of Mesopotamia and Arabia. It is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilization has contributed to modern language, religion, society, technology, law, politics, government, warfare, art, literature, architecture and engineering. Rome professionalized and expanded its military and created a system of government called "res publica," the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. It achieved impressive technological and architectural feats, such as the construction of an extensive system of aqueducts and roads, as well as the construction of large monuments, palaces, and public facilities. The Punic Wars with Carthage were decisive in establishing Rome as a world power. In this series of wars, Rome gained control of the strategic islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily; took Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal); and destroyed the city of Carthage in 146 BC, giving Rome supremacy in the Mediterranean. By the end of the Republic (27 BC), Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond: its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia and from the mouth of the Rhine to North Africa. The Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus. Seven-hundred and twenty-one years of Roman–Persian Wars started in 92 BC with the first struggle against Parthia. It would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak. It stretched from the entire Mediterranean Basin to the beaches of the North Sea in the north, to the shores of the Red and Caspian Seas in the East. Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor.[7][8][9] Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would temporarily divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century before some stability was restored in the Dominate phase of imperial rule. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the western part of the empire broke up into independent "barbarian" kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of universal history from the pre-medieval "Dark Ages" of Europe. The eastern part of the empire endured through the 5th century and remained a power through the middle ages until its fall in 1453 AD. Although the citizens of the empire made no distinction, the empire is most commonly referred to as the "Byzantine Empire" by modern historians to differentiate between the state in antiquity and the state during the Middle Ages. Founding myth Main article: Founding of Rome According to the founding myth of Rome, the city was founded on 21 April 753 BC on the banks of the river Tiber in central Italy, by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who descended from the Trojan prince Aeneas, and who were grandsons of the Latin King Numitor of Alba Longa. King Numitor was deposed by his brother, Amulius, while Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, gave birth to the twins. Since Rhea Silvia had been raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, so he ordered them to be drowned. A she-wolf (or a shepherd's wife in some accounts) saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. The twins then founded their own city, but Romulus killed Remus in a quarrel over the location of the Roman Kingdom, though some sources state the quarrel was about who was going to rule or give his name to the city. Romulus became the source of the city's name. In order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem, in that Rome came to have a large male population but was bereft of women. Romulus visited neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables he was refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins with the Sabines. Another legend, recorded by Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus, says that Prince Aeneas led a group of Trojans on a sea voyage to found a new Troy, since the original was destroyed at the end of the Trojan War. After a long time in rough seas, they landed on the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, but the women who were traveling with them did not want to leave. One woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent their leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they soon realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships. The Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the "Aeneid," where the Trojan prince Aeneas is destined by the gods to found a new Troy. In the epic, the women also refuse to go back to the sea, but they were not left on the Tiber. After reaching Italy, Aeneas, who wanted to marry Lavinia, was forced to wage war with her former suitor, Turnus. According to the poem, the Alban kings were descended from Aeneas, and thus Romulus, the founder of Rome, was his descendant. Kingdom Main article: Roman Kingdom The city of Rome grew from settlements around a ford on the river Tiber, a crossroads of traffic and trade. According to archaeological evidence, the village of Rome was probably founded some time in the 8th century BC, though it may go back as far as the 10th century BC, by members of the Latin tribe of Italy, on the top of the Palatine Hill. The Etruscans, who had previously settled to the north in Etruria, seem to have established political control in the region by the late 7th century BC, forming an aristocratic and monarchical elite. The Etruscans apparently lost power by the late 6th century BC, and at this point, the original Latin and Sabine tribes reinvented their government by creating a republic, with much greater restraints on the ability of rulers to exercise power.[20] Roman tradition and archaeological evidence point to a complex within the Forum Romanum as the seat of power for the king and the beginnings of the religious center there as well. Numa Pompilius the second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus, began Rome's building projects with his royal palace the Regia and the complex of the Vestal virgins. Republic Main article: Roman Republic According to tradition and later writers such as Livy, the Roman Republic was established around 509 BC, when the last of the seven kings of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was deposed by Lucius Junius Brutus and a system based on annually elected magistrates and various representative assemblies was established. A constitution set a series of checks and balances, and a separation of powers. The most important magistrates were the two consuls, who together exercised executive authority such as imperium, or military command. The consuls had to work with the senate, which was initially an advisory council of the ranking nobility, or patricians, but grew in size and power. Other magistrates of the Republic include tribunes, quaestors, aediles, praetors and censors. The magistracies were originally restricted to patricians, but were later opened to common people, or plebeians. Republican voting assemblies included the "comitia centuriata" (centuriate assembly), which voted on matters of war and peace and elected men to the most important offices, and the "comitia tributa" (tribal assembly), which elected less important offices. In the 4th century BC, Rome had come under attack by the Gauls, who now extended their power in the Italian peninsula beyond the Po Valley and through Etruria. On 16 July 390 BC, a Gallic army under the leadership of tribal chieftain Brennus, met the Romans on the banks of the Allia River ten miles north of Rome. Brennus defeated the Romans, and the Gauls marched to Rome. Most Romans had fled the city, but some barricaded themselves upon the Capitoline Hill for a last stand. The Gauls looted and burned the city, then laid siege to the Capitoline Hill. The siege lasted seven months. The Gauls then agreed to give the Romans peace in exchange for 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of ..
  2. Title: The ERC project "Judaism and Rome": Tombstone of the governor of Moesia (CIL XIV, 3608)
    Author: Typology (Honorific / Funerary / etc.): Funerary/Elogium Original Location/Place: Tomb of the Plautii, via Valeria, Ponte Lucano, near Tivoli. Actual Location (Collection/Museum): in loco. Date: 74 CE to 79 CE Physical Characteristics: Marble plaque, set up outside the tomb. The inscription is within a deep frame. Damage to the top right hand corner and the left middle side has resulted in the loss of some lettering. Material: Marble. Measurements: Height: 36 cm Width: 22 cm Language: Latin Category: Roman Publications: CIL XIV, 3608 EDR129948
    Note: Commentary: This inscription, from the tomb of the prestigious "gens Plautia," records the career and achievements of Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus, one of the most successful military generals of the early principate. It is an important source for our understanding of Roman expansion in the Danubian region, and the interaction that took place between Rome and the ‘barbarian’ tribes. It was a particularly difficult region for Rome to manage and involved confrontation with – and sometimes resettlement of – different ‘barbarian’ populations. The inscription opens with a brief description of the "cursus honorum" of the man the plaque was commissioned to commemorate, Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus, He had held a number of impressive positions under the leadership of five different emperors; P. Conole and Robert Milns suggested a chronology that proposed he was quaestor, legate of the Fifth legion in Germany and Urban Praetor under Tiberius ("quaestori Tiberi Caesaris / legato legionis V in Germania / praetori urbano"), a legate and companion of emperor Claudius during the conquest of Britain ("legato et comiti Claudi / Caesaris in Brittannia"), as well as consul and "pro consule Asiae" (proconsul of Asia), before becoming legate with ‘propraetorian power’ in Moesia under Nero "(legatus propraetore Moesiae"). The inscription culminates (in line 36) with his promotion to the position of Urban Prefect ("praefectura urbis") under the emperor Vespasian (see Conole and Milns, "Neronian Frontier Policy in the Balkans," p. 183, for a full chronology). It was clearly a very successful and prestigious military career, which saw him awarded some of the most esteemed roles in Roman administration and brought him into close contact with the governing emperors on more than one occasion. The inscription has received a lot of attention for the detailed description that it provides of Ti. Plautius’ military activity in the Danubian region, particularly during the long years of his legateship in Moesia, in c. 60-67 CE (for the different interpretations for the dates of his legateship see Pippidi, “Tiberius Plautius Aelianus”, p. 287-328; Zawadski, “La légation de Ti. Plautius Silvanus Aelianus”, p. 60; Heil, "Die orientalische Außenpolitik," p. 29). Numerous studies have sought to reconstruct the different movements of the Roman army in this period and have tried to establish what Rome’s aims were in terms of conquest and expansion, as well as the movements of the different tribes of ‘barbarians’ with whom they were dealing. A full investigation of Rome’s military strategy does not fit the purpose of this discussion, but it is clear that the situation on the Danubian frontier was particularly difficult for Rome to manage. Augustus had attempted to expel various ‘barbarian’ populations, but had realized that it was not possible for Rome – militarily or logistically – to restrict or administer the movement of peoples in and out of Roman-held territory. As Roger Batty has suggested, by the later Augustan period a “fresh answer emerged: Rome could defeat them, and drive them off away from Roman territory or into slavery; or, Rome could channel them profitably into fresh areas and fresh identities” (Batty, "Rome and the Nomads," p. 404; for further discussion of Rome’s activities in this region during the first century CE, see Batty, "Rome and the Nomads"; Mócsy, "Pannonia and Upper Moesia," p. 36-52; Wilkes, “The Danubian and Balkan provinces,” p. 545-585). This certainly appears to be the case in Ti. Plautius’ actions in the 60s CE; the inscription details that: ‘he led across (the Danube) more than 100,000 of the multitude of the Transdanubian peoples to make them pay tribute, along with their wives and children, their leaders or their kings’ ("in qua plura quam centum millia / ex numero Transdanuvianorum / ad praestanda tributa cum coniugibus / ac liberis et principibus aut regibus suis / transduxit"). Although certainly large in number, this movement of peoples was not completely unprecedented; in 38 BCE Agrippa had resettled a large number of the Ubii tribe in Germany (Tacitus, "Annals," 12.27.1; 13.57.4), and Strabo’s "Geography" (7.3.10) relates how the consul of 4 CE, Aelius Catus, transported more than 50,000 of the Getae (a tribe from the lower regions of the Danube) across the Danube and settled them in Thrace. Ti. Plautius’ actions in Moesia therefore appear to have involved the forced movement of 100,000 individuals, including women and children, into Roman territory where they were settled but also committed to paying ‘tribute’ – a form of taxation – to the Roman administration. He also intervened militarily in a Sarmatian dispute ("motum orientalem Sarmatarum / compressit), ordered a number of ‘unknown or hostile kings’ ("ignotos aut…infensos reges") to “honor the military standards of the Roman people,” and in lines 18-20, both returned and accepted hostages from the Dacian, Bastarnae and Rhoxolani tribes, in a process that is described by most translators of the text as a military ‘policy’ across the Balkan region. However, there is no sense of the English ‘policy’ in the Latin text, which merely states that "per quem" – "through this" – he was able to strengthen and extend the peace of the province ("pacem / provinciae et confirmavit et protulit"). Two factors are worthy of note here. Firstly, there is an overt reference to the Augustan presentation of expansion and conquest; Ti. Plautius acts in the name of the ‘populus Romanus’ when he forces the unknown and hostile kings to pay their respects on the border of the Danube to the Roman standards. The kings are presented as being hostile directly towards the "populus Romanus," which is represented here by the Roman army, to whom these ‘enemies’ must demonstrate respect under the watchful eye of the general, Tiberius Plautius. This rhetoric calls to mind the statements of the "Res Gestae Divi Augusti," in which Augustus himself describes acts of diplomacy arranged and held by himself with enemy nations, rather than leaving them to the traditional roles of the foreign envoys and the Roman Senate (see "Res Gestae," 26.4; 29.2; 32.2; Cooley, "Res Gestae," p. 4). The Augustan rhetoric is again alluded to in lines 25-6, in which he claims to have solved the grain shortage of the ‘Roman people’ by using the supply of his own province in Moesia ("ex ea provincia magno tritici modo / annonam populi Romani adlevavit"), following the practice described by Augustus in chapter 5 of the "Res Gestae." Secondly, there is nothing in the Latin to suggest an established frontier ‘policy’ from Plautius’s actions in the Balkan region; Roger Batty has cautioned again interpreting the actions described in this elogium as evidence for an imperial scheme, preferring instead to focus on the fragile nature of Rome’s presence in the years immediately before and after Plautius’s governorship (Batty, "Rome and the Nomads," p. 407). The Sarmatian and Rholoxani tribes in particular continued to cause problems, crossing the Danube especially at the lower stretches of the river, with both Tacitus and Josephus describing their movements in and out of Roman territory in 68-69 CE (Tacitus, "Histories," I.79; III.24; Josephus, "Jewish War," VII.89-95). This was in part due to the sudden removal of a large number of Roman soldiers, who had been redirected to deal with the confusion of the civil war period of 69 CE and immediately afterwards (Mócsy, "Pannonia and Upper Moesia," p. 41). It may be that the inscription was set up at a time when these troubles were still not fully settled, and at which it was thought politically prudent to celebrate the achievements of Ti. Plautius, who had managed the region more successfully than many before or after him (Batty, "Rome and the Nomads," p. 407). Roger Batty has suggested that there should be more careful consideration of who the people that Plautius claimed to move were; in the inscription they are described as "ex numero Transdanuvianorum" (a multitude of Transdanubians) who do not appear to have belonged to a particular tribe per se, but rather already moving as a group and possibly as refugees from tribal wars in which Rome had not played a part ("Rome and the Nomads," p. 407). If that were the case, then Ti. Plautius’ actions were rather reactive than proactive, resettling people already moving in numbers possibly beyond the administrative control of the forces based on the frontier, and taking advantage of Rome’s relatively ‘neutral’ position in the disagreements between the different tribes to broker deals and settlements among the various factions (Batty, "Rome and the Nomads," p. 407). Although the funerary elogium for Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus presents his activity in Moesia in such a way that has led to discussions of ‘policy’ and imperial strategy, it is entirely possible that the issue of migration was one that had been set in motion before the Roman presence was fully established in the Danubian region, and which owed its origin to issues and disputes, as well as independent movement, outside of Roman territory. The Danubian region was, therefore, rather a buffer zone in which Rome had some influence, but over which rarely ever had complete control, even if certain evidence – such as this inscription – appears to claim to the contrary irrespective of how it originated, Ti. Plautius management of the situation in Moesia was certainly impressive, and it no doubt suited the Roman narrative to utilize his tenure as governor as an example of Rome’s pragmatic and civilising presence in barbarian territory. Indeed, his successful management of a difficult region appears to have aroused the jealousy of the emperor Nero, who in the aftermath of the Pisonian conspiracy was perhaps even more nervous of the opposition he faced amongst the governing class and the provincial armies (Conole and Milns, "Neronian Frontier Policy in the..
  3. Title: JUSTOR > Historia > Neronian Frontier Policy in the Balkans: The Career of Ti. Plautius Silvanus
    Author: JOURNAL ARTICLE Neronian Frontier Policy in the Balkans: The Career of Ti. Plautius Silvanus P. Conole and R. D. Milns
    Publication: Name: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4435843?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Aba8e189fbe29f38e43d59795d8fc09ad&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents;
    Note: Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte Bd. 32, H. 2 (2nd Qtr., 1983), pp. 183-200 (18 pages) Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag
  4. Title: Wikiwand: Legatus
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Legatus;
    Note: A "legatus" (anglicized as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer in command of a legion. From the times of the Roman Republic, legates received large shares of the military's rewards at the end of a successful campaign. This made the position a lucrative one, so it could often attract even distinguished consuls or other high-ranking political figures within Roman politics (e.g., the consul Lucius Julius Caesar volunteered late in the Gallic Wars as a legate under his first cousin once removed, Gaius Julius Caesar). Overview A legatus held full power over his legion. "Consul Militaris" held control of all legions under the Emperor, who held entire control of Rome during the time of the Roman Empire. After the Roman Republic, all control from the Senate shifted to the Emperor, making him the most powerful person in Rome. The Legatus Legionis would delegate duties to his command staff, who would then carry out his orders. A legatus was one of the most respected military ranks in Rome. The men who filled the office of legate were drawn from among the senatorial class of Rome. There were two main positions; the "legatus legionis" was an ex-praetor given command of one of Rome's elite legions, while the "legatus pro praetore" was an ex-consul given the governorship of a Roman province, with the magisterial powers of a praetor, which in some cases included command of four or more legions. A legatus was entitled to twelve lictors, who carried out punishments with fasces (bundled rods). By the time of the Roman Republic, the term "legatus" was applied to those holding delegated authority (usually a consul or proconsul). Julius Caesar made wide use of the title throughout the Gallic Wars. From Augustus, the emperor gave the title of "legatus legionis" to senior commanders (former military tribunes) of a legion, except in Egypt and Mesopotamia, where the legions were commanded by a praefectus legionis of an equestrian rank. The "legatus legionis" was under the supreme command of a Legatus Augusti pro praetore of senatorial rank. If the province was defended by a single legion, the Legatus Augusti pro praetor was also in direct command of the legion. This post was generally appointed by the emperor. The person chosen for this rank was a former tribune, and although the emperor Augustus set a maximum term of command of two years for a legatus, subsequent emperors extended the tenure to three or four years (although the incumbent could serve for a much longer period). In a province with only one legion, the legatus served as the provincial governor, while in provinces with multiple legions each legion had a legatus and a separate provincial governor who had overall command. The legatus could be distinguished in the field by his elaborate helmet and body armor, as well as a scarlet "paludamentum" (cloak) and "cincticulus" (a waist-band tied around the waist in a bow). A legatus legionis could order capital punishment. The senatorial legatus legionis was removed from the Roman army by Gallienus, who preferred to entrust the command of a legionary unit to a leader chosen from within the equestrian order who had a long military career. Diplomatic "legatus" "Legatus" also was a term for an ambassador of the Roman Republic who was appointed by the senate for a mission ("legatio") to a foreign nation, as well as for ambassadors who came to Rome from other countries. This is the sense of the word that survives in the phrase Papal legate.
  5. Title: Wikiwand: Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Tiberius_Plautius_Silvanus_Aelianus;
    Note: Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus was a Roman patrician who twice served as consul, in 45 and 74 AD. He was the adopted nephew of Plautia Urgulanilla, first wife of the emperor Claudius. It is known he offered up the prayer as pontifex when the first stone of the new Capitol was laid in 70 AD. In some ancient sources he is referred to as Plautius Aelianus, but we learn from an inscription that his full name was Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus, and that he held many important military commands. Under Nero he served as the legate of Moesia from 61 to 66 AD, and ruled the province with a "massive scorched earth policy," and from which he is said to have sent shipments of Moesian wheat to alleviate the food supply of the Roman people, possibly in crisis due to the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. Later, he was sent to Hispania, which at the time lacked a provincial governor. However in 69 AD the emperor Vespasian wished to appoint Aelianus Urban prefect of Rome in place of his murdered brother, Sabinus. As we know from his funerary inscription, Aelianus was in fact recalled to the city, where Vespasian proposed he receive a triumph for his service in Moesia, a gesture implicitly indicting the ungenerous nature of Nero's rule. The senate ultimately voted to approve Vespasian's proposal. Around 60 AD, Aelianus had brought across the Danube in Moesia "more than 100,000 Transdanubians along with their wives children chiefs or kings (and settled) to pay tribute."
  6. Title: Wikiwand: Great Fire of Rome
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Great_Fire_of_Rome;
    Note: The Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire that occurred in July of 64 AD. The fire began in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus, on the night of July 19. After six days the fire was brought under control, and before the damage could be measured, the fire reignited and burned for another three days. In the aftermath of the fire, two thirds of Rome had been destroyed. According to Tacitus and later Christian tradition, Emperor Nero blamed the devastation on the Christian community in the city, initiating the empire's first persecution against the Christians. Historians Brent Shaw, a Princeton classicist, and Richard Carrier have cast doubt on the traditional view that Nero blamed the Christians for the fire. Background Nero
  7. Title: Wikiwand: Moesia
    Note: Moesheia (/ˈmiːʃə, -siə, -ʒə/; Latin: "Moesia," Greek: "Μοισία," romanized: "Moisía") was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. It included most of the territory of modern-day Central Serbia, Kosovo and the northern parts of the modern North Macedonia (Moesia Superior), Northern Bulgaria and Romanian Dobrudja (Moesia Inferior). Geography In ancient geographical sources, Moesia was bounded to the south by the Haemus (Balkans) and Scardus (Šar) mountains, to the west by the Drinus (Drina) river, on the north by the Donaris (Danube) and on the east by the Euxine (Black Sea). History The region was inhabited chiefly by Thracians, Dacians (Thraco-Dacians), Illyrian and Thraco-Illyrian peoples. The name of the region comes from Moesi, Thraco-Dacian peoples who lived there before the Roman conquest. Parts of Moesia belonged to the polity of Burebista, a Getae king who established his rule over a large part of the northern Balkans between 82 BC and 44 BC. He led plunder and conquest raids across Central and Southeastern Europe, subjugating most of the neighboring tribes. After his assassination in an inside plot, the empire was divided into several smaller states. In 75 BC, C. Scribonius Curio, proconsul of Macedonia, took an army as far as the Danube and gained a victory over the inhabitants, who were finally subdued by M. Licinius Crassus, grandson of the triumvir and later also proconsul of Macedonia during the reign of Augustus c. 29 BC. The region, however, was not organized as a province until the last years of Augustus' reign; in 6 AD, mention is made of its governor, Caecina Severus (Cassius Dio lv. 29). As a province, Moesia was under an imperial consular legate (who probably also had control of Achaea and Macedonia). In 86 AD the Dacian king Duras ordered his troops to attack Roman Moesia. After this attack, the Roman emperor Domitian personally arrived in Moesia and reorganized it in 87 AD into two provinces, divided by the river Cebrus (Ciabrus): to the west Moesia Superior - Upper Moesia, (meaning up river) and to the east Moesia Inferior - Lower Moesia (also called Ripa Thracia), (from the Danube river's mouth and then upstream). Each was governed by an imperial consular legate and a procurator. The chief towns of Upper Moesia in the Principate were: Singidunum (Belgrade), Viminacium (sometimes called municipium Aelium; modern Kostolac), Remesiana (Bela Palanka), Bononia (Vidin), Ratiaria (Archar) and Skupi (modern Skopje); of Lower Moesia: Oescus (colonia Ulpia, Gigen), Novae (near Svishtov, the chief seat of Theodoric the Great), Nicopolis ad Istrum (Nikup; really near the river Yantra), Marcianopolis (Devnya), Odessus (Varna) and Tomis (Constanţa; to which the poet Ovid was banished). The last two were Greek towns which formed a pentapolis with Istros, Mesembria (Nessebar) and Apollonia (Sozopol). From Moesia, Domitian began planning future campaigns into Dacia and by 87 he started a strong offensive against Dacia, ordering General Cornelius Fuscus to attack. Therefore, in the summer of 87, Fuscus led five or six legions across the Danube. The campaign against the Dacians ended without a decisive outcome, and Decebalus, the Dacian King, had brazenly flouted the terms of the peace (89 AD) which had been agreed on at the war's end. Emperor Trajan later arrived in Moesia, and he launched his first military campaign into the Dacian Kingdom c. March–May 101, crossing to the northern bank of the Danube River and defeating the Dacian army near Tapae, a mountain pass in the Carpathians (see Second Battle of Tapae). Trajan's troops were mauled in the encounter, however, and he put off further campaigning for the year to heal troops, reinforce, and regroup. During the following winter, King Decebalus launched a counter-attack across the Danube further downstream, but this was repulsed. Trajan's army advanced further into Dacian territory and forced King Decebalus to submit to him a year later. Trajan returned to Rome in triumph and was granted the title "Dacicus." The victory was celebrated by the Tropaeum Traiani. However, Decebalus in 105 undertook an invasion against Roman territory by attempting to stir up some of the tribes north of the river against the empire. Trajan took to the field again and after building with the design of Apollodorus of Damascus his massive bridge over the Danube, he conquered part of Dacia in 106 (see also Second Dacian War). Sometime around 272, at the Moesian city of Naissus or Nissa (modern Niš in Serbia), future emperor Constantine I was born. After the abandonment of Roman Dacia to the Goths by Aurelian (270–275) and the transfer of the Roman citizens from the former province to the south of the Danube, the central portion of Moesia took the name of "Dacia Aureliana" (later divided into "Dacia Ripensis" and "Dacia Mediterranea"). During administrative reforms of Emperor Diocletian (284-305), both of the Moesian provinces were reorganized. Moesia Superior was divided in two, northern part forming the province of Moesia Prima including cities Viminacium and Singidunum, while the southern part was organised as the new province of Dardania with cities Scupi and Ulpiana. At the same time, Moesia Inferior was divided into Moesia Secunda and Scythia Minor. Moesia Secunda's main cities included Marcianopolis (Devnya), Odessus (Varna), Nicopolis (Nikopol), Abrittus (Razgrad), Durostorum (Silistra), Transmarisca (Tutrakan), Sexaginta Prista (Ruse) and Novae (Svishtov), all in Bulgaria today. As a frontier province, Moesia was strengthened by stations and fortresses erected along the southern bank of the Danube, and a wall was built from Axiopolis to Tomi as a protection against the Scythians and Sarmatians. The garrison of Moesia Secunda included Legio I Italica and Legio XI Claudia, as well as independent infantry units, cavalry units, and river flotillas. The Notitia Dignitatum lists its units and their bases as of the 390s CE. Units in Scythia Minor included Legio I Iovia and Legio II Herculia. After 238 AD, Moesia was frequently invaded or raided by the Dacian Carpi, and the East Germanic tribe of the Goths, who invaded Moesia in 250. Hard-pressed by the Huns, the Goths again crossed the Danube during the reign of Valens (376) and with his permission settled in Moesia. After they settled, quarrels soon took place, and the Goths under Fritigern defeated Valens in a great battle near Adrianople. These Goths are known as Moeso-Goths, for whom Ulfilas made the Gothic translation of the Bible. The Slavs allied with the Avars invaded and destroyed much of Moesia in 583-587 in the Avar–Byzantine wars. Moesia was settled by Slavs during the 7th century. Bulgars, arriving from Old Great Bulgaria, conquered Lower Moesia by the end of the 7th century. During the 8th century the Byzantine Empire lost also Upper Moesian territory to the First Bulgarian Empire.
  8. Title: Wikiwand: Roman Empire
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Roman_Empire;
    Note: The Roman Empire (Latin: "Imperium Rōmānum," Classical Latin: [ɪmˈpɛrɪ.ũː roːˈmaːnũː]; Koinē Greek: Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, romanized: "Basileía tōn Rhōmaíōn") was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome, consisting of large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean sea in Europe, North Africa and West Asia ruled by emperors. From the accession of Caesar Augustus to the military anarchy of the third century, it was a principate with Italy as metropole of the provinces and its city of Rome as sole capital (27 BC – 286 AD). The Roman Empire was then ruled by multiple emperors and divided into a Western Roman Empire, based in Milan and later Ravenna, and an Eastern Roman Empire, based in Nicomedia and later Constantinople. Rome remained the nominal capital of both parts until 476 AD, when it sent the imperial insignia to Constantinople (Byzantium in Ancient Greek) following the capture of Ravenna by the barbarians of Odoacer and the subsequent deposition of Romulus Augustus. The fall of the Western Roman Empire to Germanic kings, along with the hellenization of the Eastern Roman Empire into the Byzantine Empire, is conventionally used to mark the end of Ancient Rome and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The previous Roman Republic, which had replaced Rome's monarchy in the 6th century BC, became severely destabilized in a series of civil wars and political conflict. In the mid-1st century BC Julius Caesar was appointed as perpetual dictator and then assassinated in 44 BC. Civil wars and proscriptions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesar's adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. The following year Octavian conquered Ptolemaic Egypt, ending the Hellenistic period that had begun with the conquests of Alexander the Great of Macedon in the 4th century BC. Octavian's power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power and the new title Augustus, effectively making him the first emperor. The first two centuries of the Empire were a period of unprecedented stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana ("Roman Peace"). It reached its greatest territorial expanse during the reign of Trajan (98–117 AD). A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus. In the 3rd century, the Empire underwent a crisis that threatened its existence, but was reunified under Aurelian. In an effort to stabilize the Empire, Diocletian set up two different imperial courts in the Greek East and Latin West. Christians rose to power in the 4th century following the Edict of Milan in 313 and the Edict of Thessalonica in 380. Shortly after, the Migration Period involving large invasions by Germanic peoples and the Huns of Attila led to the decline of the Western Roman Empire. With the fall of Ravenna to the Germanic Herulians and the deposition of Romulus Augustulus in 476 AD by Odoacer, the Western Roman Empire finally collapsed and it was formally abolished by emperor Zeno in 480 AD. The Eastern Roman Empire, known in the post-Roman West as the Byzantine Empire, collapsed when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks of Mehmed II in 1453. Due to the Roman Empire's vast extent and long endurance, the institutions and culture of Rome had a profound and lasting influence on the development of language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of government in the territory it governed, particularly Europe. The Latin language of the Romans evolved into the Romance languages of the medieval and modern world, while Medieval Greek became the language of the Eastern Roman Empire. Its adoption of Christianity led to the formation of Christendom during the Middle Ages. Greek and Roman art had a profound impact on the late medieval Italian Renaissance, while Rome's republican institutions influenced the political development of later republics such as the United States and France. The corpus of Roman law has its descendants in many legal systems of the world today, such as the Napoleonic Code. Rome's architectural tradition served as the basis for Neoclassical architecture. History Main article: History of the Roman Empire See also: Campaign history of the Roman military and Roman Kingdom Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, though it did not expand outside the Italian peninsula until the 3rd century BC. Then, it was an "empire" long before it had an emperor. The Roman Republic was not a nation-state in the modern sense, but a network of towns left to rule themselves (though with varying degrees of independence from the Roman Senate) and provinces administered by military commanders. It was ruled, not by emperors, but by annually elected magistrates (Roman Consuls above all) in conjunction with the Senate. For various reasons, the 1st century BC was a time of political and military upheaval, which ultimately led to rule by emperors. The consuls' military power rested in the Roman legal concept of "imperium," which literally means "command" (though typically in a military sense). Occasionally, successful consuls were given the honorary title "imperator" (commander), and this is the origin of the word "emperor" (and "empire") since this title (among others) was always bestowed to the early emperors upon their accession. Rome suffered a long series of internal conflicts, conspiracies and civil wars from the late second century BC onward, while greatly extending its power beyond Italy. This was the period of the Crisis of the Roman Republic. Towards the end of this era, in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was briefly perpetual dictator before being assassinated. The faction of his assassins was driven from Rome and defeated at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC by an army led by Mark Antony and Caesar's adopted son Octavian. Antony and Octavian's division of the Roman world between themselves did not last and Octavian's forces defeated those of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, ending the Final War of the Roman Republic. In 27 BC the Senate and People of Rome made Octavian "princeps" ("first citizen") with proconsular "imperium," thus beginning the Principate (the first epoch of Roman imperial history, usually dated from 27 BC to 284 AD), and gave him the name "Augustus" ("the venerated"). Though the old constitutional machinery remained in place, Augustus came to predominate it. Although the republic stood in name, contemporaries of Augustus knew it was just a veil and that Augustus had all meaningful authority in Rome. Since his rule ended a century of civil wars and began an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity, he was so loved that he came to hold the power of a monarch "de facto" if not de jure. During the years of his rule, a new constitutional order emerged (in part organically and in part by design), so that, upon his death, this new constitutional order operated as before when Tiberius was accepted as the new emperor. The 200 years that began with Augustus's rule is traditionally regarded as the "Pax Romana" ("Roman Peace"). During this period, the cohesion of the empire was furthered by a degree of social stability and economic prosperity that Rome had never before experienced. Uprisings in the provinces were infrequent, but put down "mercilessly and swiftly" when they occurred. The success of Augustus in establishing principles of dynastic succession was limited by his outliving a number of talented potential heirs. The Julio-Claudian dynasty lasted for four more emperors—Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero—before it yielded in 69 AD to the strife-torn Year of Four Emperors, from which Vespasian emerged as victor. Vespasian became the founder of the brief Flavian dynasty, to be followed by the Nerva–Antonine dynasty which produced the "Five Good Emperors": Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and the philosophically-inclined Marcus Aurelius. Fall in the West and survival in the East Main article: Fall of the Western Roman Empire See also: Barbarian kingdoms and Byzantine Empire In the view of the Greek historian Dio Cassius, a contemporary observer, the accession of the emperor Commodus in 180 AD marked the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron"—a famous comment which has led some historians, notably Edward Gibbon, to take Commodus' reign as the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. In 212, during the reign of Caracalla, Roman citizenship was granted to all freeborn inhabitants of the empire. But despite this gesture of universality, the Severan dynasty was tumultuous—an emperor's reign was ended routinely by his murder or execution—and, following its collapse, the Roman Empire was engulfed by the Crisis of the Third Century, a period of invasions, civil strife, economic disorder, and plague. In defining historical epochs, this crisis is sometimes viewed as marking the transition from Classical Antiquity to Late Antiquity. Aurelian (reigned 270–275) brought the empire back from the brink and stabilized it. Diocletian completed the work of fully restoring the empire, but declined the role of "princeps" and became the first emperor to be addressed regularly as "domine," "master" or "lord." Diocletian's reign also brought the empire's most concerted effort against the perceived threat of Christianity, the "Great Persecution." Diocletian divided the empire into four regions, each ruled by a separate emperor, the Tetrarchy. Confident that he fixed the disorders that were plaguing Rome, he abdicated along with his co-emperor, and the Tetrarchy soon collapsed. Order was eventually restored by Constantine the Great, who became the first emperor to convert to Christianity, and who established Constantinople as the new capital of the eastern empire. During the decades of the Constantinian and Valentinian dynasties, the empire was divided along an east-west axis, with dual power centers in Constantinopl..
  9. Title: "The Origin of Empire: Rome from the Republic to Hadrian," by David Potter
    Author: Harvard University Press, Jul 1, 2019
    Publication: Name: https://books.google.com/books?id=oG-cDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT386&lpg=PT386&dq=Tiberius+Plautius+Silvanus+Aelianus&source=bl&ots=w0ZqZi0uLz&sig=ACfU3U0vPKmdAYNRAnxlvIXwKgv6HkAD8A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj9jvHE8bHmAhVKqlkKHQyeCLQ4FBDoATASegQIFBAB#v=onepage&q=Tiberius%20Plautius%20Silvanus%20Aelianus&f=false;
    Note: Starting with the Roman army’s first foray beyond its borders and ending with Hadrian’s death (138 CE), David Potter’s panorama of the early Empire recounts the wars, leaders and social transformations that lay the foundations of imperial success. As today’s parallels reveal, the Romans have much to teach us about power, governance and leadership.
  10. Title: Wikiwand: Pontiff
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pontiff;
    Note: A pontiff (from Latin "pontifex") was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs. The term "pontiff" was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in Roman Catholic ecclesiastical usage, to a bishop and more particularly to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope or "Roman Pontiff." Etymology The English term derives through Old French "pontif" from Latin "pontifex," a word commonly held to come from the Latin root words "pons" (bridge) + "facere" (to do, to make), and so to have the literal meaning of "bridge-builder," presumably between mankind and the deity/deities. The role of bridges in ancient religions, associated with resurrection, redemption and the Judgement Day is already too well known. Uncertainty prevailing, this may be only a folk etymology, but it may also recall ancient tasks and magic rites associated with bridges. Ancient Rome Main article: College of Pontiffs There were four chief colleges of priests in ancient Rome, the most illustrious of which was that of the "pontifices." The others were those of the "augures," the "quindecimviri sacris faciundis," and the "epulones." The same person could be a member of more than one of these groups. Including the "pontifex maximus," who was president of the college, there were originally three or five "pontifices," but the number increased over the centuries, finally becoming 16 under Julius Caesar. By the third century B.C., the pontiffs had assumed control of the state religious system. Catholicism The word "pontiff," though now most often used in relation to a Pope, technically refers to any bishop. The phrase "Roman Pontiff" is not tautological, but means "Bishop of Rome," as "Alexandrian Pontiff" means Bishop of Alexandria. In the same way, the adjective "pontifical" does not refer exclusively to the Pope: a Pontifical Mass is a Mass celebrated by a bishop, not necessarily by a pope. From the adjective have been formed the nouns "the Pontifical" (the liturgical book containing the prayers and ceremonies for rites used by a bishop) and "pontificals" (the insignia of his order that a bishop uses when celebrating Pontifical Mass, not papal insignia, such as the papal tiara). Furtheron, while the pontificals primarily belong to bishops (as the name implies), they have also been granted by Papal favour or legally established Church custom to certain presbyters (e. g., abbots), and so (say) an abbot who (say) confers the Sacrament of Confirmation as extraordinary distributor, celebrating a Pontifical Mass at the occasion, might also be referred to as "the pontiff" (that is, celebrant of the Pontifical Mass) in this respect. Other religions Inspiration for the Christian use of the name "pontiff" for a bishop could be found in the use of the same word (in Latin, "pontifex," not "pontifex maximus") for the Jewish High Priest in the Vulgate Latin translation of the Scriptures, where it appears 59 times. For example, in the Vulgate Mark 15:11, "pontifices" (plural) is the Latin term used for "The Chief Priests," and in the Letter to the Hebrews "pontifex" (singular) is repeatedly used with reference to the Jewish High Priest and analogously to Jesus as the High Priest of Christians. The word has been employed in English also for caliphs (Islam) and swamis and jagadgurus (Hinduism).
  11. Title: Wikiwand: Roman consul
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Roman_consul;
    Note: A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic (509 to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the highest level of the "cursus honorum" (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspired). Each year, the citizens of Rome elected two consuls to serve jointly for a one-year term. The consuls alternated in holding imperium each month when both were in Rome and a consul's "imperium" extended over Rome and all its provinces. However, after the establishment of the Empire (27 BC), the consuls became mere symbolic representatives of Rome's republican heritage and held very little power and authority, with the Emperor acting as the supreme authority. History Under the Republic After the legendary expulsion of the last Etruscan King, Tarquin the Proud, a harsh ruler at the end of the Roman Kingdom, most of the powers and authority of the king were ostensibly given to the newly instituted consulship. This change in leadership came about when the king's son, Sextus Tarquinius, raped the wives and daughters of powerful Roman nobles. A group of nobles led by Lucius Junius Brutus, with the support of the Roman Army, expelled Tarquinius and his family from Rome in 509 BC. Originally, consuls were called praetors ("leader"), referring to their duties as the chief military commanders. By at least 300 BC the title of Consul became commonly used. Ancient writers usually derive the title "consul" from the Latin verb "consulere," "to take counsel," but this is most likely a later gloss of the term, which probably derives—in view of the joint nature of the office—from "con-" and "sal-," "get together" or from "con-" and "sell-/sedl-," "sit down together with" or "next to." In Greek, the title was originally rendered as στρατηγὸς ὕπατος, "strategos hypatos" ("the supreme general"), and later simply as ὕπατος. The consul was believed by the Romans to date back to the traditional establishment of the Republic in 509 BC, but the succession of consuls was not continuous in the 5th century BC. During the 440s, the office was quite often replaced with the establishment of the Consular Tribunes, who were elected whenever the military needs of the state were significant enough to warrant the election of more than the two usual consuls. These remained in place until the office was abolished in 367/366 BC and the consulship was reintroduced. Consuls had extensive powers in peacetime (administrative, legislative and judicial), and in wartime often held the highest military command. Additional religious duties included certain rites which, as a sign of their formal importance, could only be carried out by the highest state officials. Consuls also read auguries, an essential step before leading armies into the field. Two consuls were elected each year, serving together, each with veto power over the other's actions, a normal principle for magistracies. It is thought that originally only patricians were eligible for the consulship. Consuls were elected by the Comitia Centuriata, which had an aristocratic bias in its voting structure which only increased over the years from its foundation. However, they formally assumed powers only after the ratification of their election in the older Comitia Curiata, which granted the consuls their imperium by enacting a law, the "lex curiata de imperio." If a consul died during his term (not uncommon when consuls were in the forefront of battle) or was removed from office, another would be elected by the Comitia Centuriata to serve the remainder of the term as "consul suffectus" ("suffect consul"). A consul elected to start the year - called a "consul ordinarius" "(ordinary consul") - held more prestige than a suffect consul, partly because the year would be named for ordinary consuls (see consular dating). According to tradition, the consulship was initially reserved for patricians and only in 367 BC did plebeians win the right to stand for this supreme office, when the Lex Licinia Sextia provided that at least one consul each year should be plebeian. The first plebeian consul, Lucius Sextius, was elected the following year. Nevertheless, the office remained largely in the hands of a few families as, according to Gelzer, only fifteen "novi homines" - "new men" with no consular background - were elected to the consulship until the election of Cicero in 63 BC. Modern historians have questioned the traditional account of plebeian emancipation during the early Republic (see Conflict of the Orders), noting for instance that about thirty percent of the consuls prior to Sextius had plebeian, not patrician, names. It is possible that only the chronology has been distorted, but it seems that one of the first consuls, Lucius Junius Brutus, came from a plebeian family. Another possible explanation is that during the 5th century social struggles, the office of consul was gradually monopolized by a patrician elite. During times of war, the primary qualification for consul was military skill and reputation, but at all times the selection was politically charged. With the passage of time, the consulship became the normal endpoint of the "cursus honorum," the sequence of offices pursued by the ambitious Roman who chose to pursue political power and influence. When Lucius Cornelius Sulla regulated the "cursus" by law, the minimum age of election to consul became, in effect, 41 years of age. Beginning in the late Republic, after finishing a consular year, a former consul would usually serve a lucrative term as a proconsul, the Roman Governor of one of the (senatorial) provinces. The most commonly chosen province for the proconsulship was Cisalpine Gaul. Under the Empire Although throughout the early years of the Principate, the consuls were still formally elected by the Comitia Centuriata, they were in fact nominated by the princeps. As the years progressed, the distinction between the Comitia Centuriata and the Comitia Tributa (which elected the lower magisterial positions) appears to have disappeared, and so for the purposes of the consular elections, there came to be just a single "assembly of the people" which elected all the magisterial positions of the state, while the consuls continued to be nominated by the princeps. The imperial consulate during the period of the High Empire (until the 3rd century) was an important position, albeit as the method through which the Roman aristocracy could progress through to the higher levels of imperial administration – only former consuls could become consular legates, the proconsuls of Africa and Asia, or the urban prefect of Rome. It was a post that would be occupied by a man halfway through his career, in his early thirties for a patrician, or in his early forties for most others. Emperors frequently appointed themselves, or their protégés or relatives, consuls, even without regard to the age requirements. For example, Emperor Honorius was given the consulship at birth. Cassius Dio states that Caligula intended to make his horse Incitatus consul, but was assassinated before he could do so. The need for a pool of men to fill the consular positions forced Augustus to remodel the suffect consulate, allowing more than the two elected for the ordinary consulate. During the reigns of the Julio-Claudians, the ordinary consuls who began the year usually relinquished their office mid-year, with the election for the suffect consuls occurring at the same time as that for the ordinary consuls. During reigns of the Flavian and Antonine emperors, the ordinary consuls tended to resign after a period of four months, and the elections were moved to 12 January of the year in which they were to hold office. Election of the consuls were transferred to the Senate during the Flavian or Antonine periods, although through to the 3rd century, the people were still called on to ratify the Senate's selections. The proliferation of suffect consuls through this process, and the allocation of this office to "homines novi" tended, over time, to devalue the office. However, the high regard placed upon the ordinary consulate remained intact, as it was one of the few offices that one could share with the emperor, and during this period it was filled mostly by patricians or by individuals who had consular ancestors. If they were especially skilled or valued, they may even have achieved a second (or rarely, a third) consulate. Prior to achieving the consulate, these individuals already had a significant career behind them, and would expect to continue serving the state, filling in the post upon which the state functioned. Consequently, holding the ordinary consulship was a great honor and the office was the major symbol of the still relatively republican constitution. Probably as part of seeking formal legitimacy, the break-away Gallic Empire had its own pairs of consuls during its existence (260–274). The list of consuls for this state is incomplete, drawn from inscriptions and coins. By the end of the 3rd century, much had changed. The loss of many pre-consular functions and the gradual encroachment of the equites into the traditional senatorial administrative and military functions, meant that senatorial careers virtually vanished prior to their appointment as consuls. This had the effect of seeing a suffect consulship granted at an earlier age, to the point that by the 4th century, it was being held by men in their early twenties, and possibly younger, without the significant political careers behind them that was normal previously. As time progressed, second consulates, usually ordinary, became far more common than had been the case during the first two centuries, while the first consulship was usually a suffect consulate. Also, the consulate during this period was no longer just the province of senators – the automatic awarding of a suffect consulship to the equestrian praetorian prefects (who were given the "ornamenta consularia" upon a..
  12. Title: Wikiwand: Vespasian
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vespasian;
    Note: Vespasian (/vɛˈspeɪʒ(i)ən, -ziən/; Latin: "Titus Flavius Vespasianus"; 17 November 9 – 24 June 79 AD) was Roman emperor from 69–79, the fourth, and last, in the Year of the Four Emperors. He founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empire for 27 years. Vespasian was the first emperor who hailed from an equestrian family, and only rose into the senatorial rank as the first member of his family later in his lifetime. Vespasian's renown came from his military success; he was legate of Legio II Augusta during the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 and subjugated Judaea during the Jewish rebellion of 66. While Vespasian besieged Jerusalem during the Jewish rebellion, emperor Nero committed suicide and plunged Rome into a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. After Galba and Otho perished in quick succession, Vitellius became emperor in April 69. The Roman legions of Roman Egypt and Judaea reacted by declaring Vespasian, their commander, emperor on 1 July 69. In his bid for imperial power, Vespasian joined forces with Mucianus, the governor of Syria, and Primus, a general in Pannonia, leaving his son Titus to command the besieging forces at Jerusalem. Primus and Mucianus led the Flavian forces against Vitellius, while Vespasian took control of Egypt. On 20 December 69, Vitellius was defeated, and the following day Vespasian was declared emperor by the Senate. Little information survives about the government during Vespasian's ten-year rule. He reformed the financial system of Rome after the campaign against Judaea ended successfully, and initiated several ambitious construction projects, including the building of the Flavian Amphitheatre, better known today as the Roman Colosseum. Through his general Agricola, Vespasian increased imperial expansion in Britain. After his death in 79, he was succeeded by his eldest son Titus, thus becoming the first Roman emperor to be directly succeeded by his own natural son and establishing the Flavian dynasty. Family Vespasian was born in a village north-east of Rome called Falacrinae. His family was relatively undistinguished and lacking in pedigree. His paternal grandfather, Titus Flavius Petro, became the first to distinguish himself, rising to the rank of centurion and fighting at Pharsalus for Pompey in 48 BC. Subsequently, he became a debt collector. Petro's son, Titus Flavius Sabinus, worked as a customs official in the province of Asia and became a moneylender on a small scale among the Helvetii. He gained a reputation as a scrupulous and honest "tax-farmer." Sabinus married up in status, to Vespasia Polla, whose father had risen to the rank of prefect of the camp and whose brother became a Senator. Sabinus and Vespasia had three children, the eldest of whom, a girl, died in infancy. The elder boy, Titus Flavius Sabinus, entered public life and pursued the "cursus honorum." He served in the army as a military tribune in Thrace in 36. The following year he was elected quaestor and served in Creta et Cyrenaica. He rose through the ranks of Roman public office, being elected aedile on his second attempt in 39 and praetor on his first attempt in 40, taking the opportunity to ingratiate himself with the Emperor Caligula. The younger boy, Vespasian, seemed far less likely to be successful, initially not wishing to pursue high public office. He followed in his brother's footsteps when driven to it by his mother's taunting. During this period he married Flavia Domitilla, the daughter of Flavius Liberalis from Ferentium and formerly the mistress of Statilius Capella, a Roman equestrian from Sabratha in Africa. They had two sons, Titus Flavius Vespasianus (born 39) and Titus Flavius Domitianus (born 51), and a daughter, Domitilla (born c. 45). His wife Domitilla and his daughter Domitilla both died before Vespasian became Emperor in 69. After the death of his wife, Vespasian's long-standing mistress, Antonia Caenis, became his wife in all but formal status, a relationship that continued until she died in 75. Military and political career Early career In preparation for a praetorship, Vespasian needed two periods of service in the minor magistracies, one military and the other public. Vespasian served in the military in Thracia for about three years. On his return to Rome in about 30 AD, he obtained a post in the vigintivirate, the minor magistracies, most probably in one of the posts in charge of street cleaning. His early performance was so unsuccessful that Emperor Caligula reportedly stuffed handfuls of muck down his toga to correct the uncleaned Roman streets, formally his responsibility. During the period of the ascendancy of Sejanus, there is no record of Vespasian's significant activity in political events. After completion of a term in the vigintivirate, Vespasian was entitled to stand for election as quaestor; a senatorial office. But his lack of political or family influence meant that Vespasian served as quaestor in one of the provincial posts in Crete, rather than as assistant to important men in Rome. Next he needed to gain a praetorship, carrying the "Imperium," but non-patricians and the less well-connected had to serve in at least one intermediary post as an "aedile" or tribune. Vespasian failed at his first attempt to gain an aedileship but was successful in his second attempt, becoming an aedile in 38. Despite his lack of significant family connections or success in office, he achieved praetorship in either 39 or 40, at the youngest age permitted (30), during a period of political upheaval in the organization of elections. His long-standing relationship with freed-woman Antonia Caenis, confidential secretary to Antonia Minor (the Emperor's grandmother) and part of the circle of courtiers and servants around the Emperor, may have contributed to his success. Invasion of Britannia (43) Upon the accession of Claudius as emperor in 41, Vespasian was appointed legate of Legio II "Augusta," stationed in Germania, thanks to the influence of the Imperial freedman Narcissus. In 43, Vespasian and the II Augusta participated in the Roman invasion of Britain, and he distinguished himself under the overall command of Aulus Plautius. After participating in crucial early battles on the rivers Medway and Thames, he was sent to reduce the southwest, penetrating through the modern counties of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall with the probable objectives of securing the south coast ports and harbors along with the tin mines of Cornwall and the silver and lead mines of Somerset. Vespasian marched from Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester) to subdue the hostile Durotriges and Dumnonii tribes, captured twenty "oppida" (towns, or more probably hill forts, including Hod Hill and Maiden Castle in Dorset). He also invaded Vectis (now the Isle of Wight), finally setting up a fortress and legionary headquarters at Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter). During this time he injured himself and had not fully recovered until he went to Egypt. These successes earned him triumphal regalia ("ornamenta triumphalia") on his return to Rome. Later political career (51–66) His success as the legate of a legion earned him a consulship in 51, after which he retired from public life, having incurred the enmity of Claudius' wife, Agrippina. He came out of retirement in 63 when he was sent as governor to Africa Province. According to Tacitus (ii.97), his rule was "infamous and odious" but according to Suetonius (Vesp. 4), he was "upright and, highly honorable." On one occasion, Suetonius writes, Vespasian was pelted with turnips. Vespasian used his time in North Africa wisely. Usually, governorships were seen by ex-consuls as opportunities to extort huge amounts of money to regain the wealth they had spent on their previous political campaigns. Corruption was so rife that it was almost expected that a governor would come back from these appointments with his pockets full. However, Vespasian used his time in North Africa making friends instead of money, something that would be far more valuable in the years to come. During his time in North Africa, he found himself in financial difficulties and was forced to mortgage his estates to his brother. To revive his fortunes he turned to the mule trade and gained the nickname "mulio" (muleteer). Returning from Africa, Vespasian toured Greece in Nero's retinue, but lost Imperial favor after paying insufficient attention (some sources suggest he fell asleep) during one of the Emperor's recitals on the lyre, and found himself in the political wilderness. Great Jewish Revolt (66–69) Main article: First Jewish–Roman War In 66 AD, Vespasian was appointed to suppress the Jewish revolt underway in Judea. The fighting there had killed the previous governor and routed Cestius Gallus, the governor of Syria, when he tried to restore order. Two legions, with eight cavalry squadrons and ten auxiliary cohorts, were therefore dispatched under the command of Vespasian while his elder son, Titus, arrived from Alexandria with another. During this time he became the patron of Flavius Josephus, a Jewish resistance leader captured at the Siege of Yodfat, who would later write his people's history in Greek. Ultimately, thousands of Jews were killed and the Romans destroyed many towns in re-establishing control over Judea; they also took Jerusalem in 70. Vespasian is remembered by Josephus, in his "Antiquities of the Jews," as a fair and humane official, in contrast with the notorious Herod Agrippa II whom Josephus goes to great lengths to demonize. While under the emperor's patronage, Josephus wrote that after the Roman Legio X Fretensis, accompanied by Vespasian, destroyed Jericho on 21 June 68, Vespasian took a group of Jews who could not swim (possibly Essenes from Qumran), fettered them, and threw them into the Dead Sea to test the sea's legendary buoyancy. Indeed, the captives bobbed up to the surface after being thrown in the water f..
  13. Title: Wikiwand: Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul AD 47)
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Titus_Flavius_Sabinus_(consul_AD_47);
    Note: Titus Flavius T. f. T. n. Sabinus (d. December 20, AD 69) was a Roman politician and soldier. A native of Reate, he was the elder son of Titus Flavius Sabinus and Vespasia Polla, and brother of the Emperor Vespasian. Career Sabinus is first mentioned in the reign of Claudius, in AD 45, when he served as a legate under Aulus Plautius in Britain, along with his brother, Vespasian. He afterwards governed Moesia for seven years. Sabinus was consul "suffectus" with Gnaeus Hosidius Geta in AD 47, and was "praefectus urbi" for the last eleven years of Nero's reign. Upon the ascension of Galba in the year 68, he was replaced as urban prefect by Aulus Ducenius Geminus. However, with the death of Galba, and ascension of Otho in January of 69, Sabinus was reinstated. Sabinus may have been part of the Pisonian conspiracy against Nero, but if so he was never arrested. Sabinus was an important supporter of his brother; when Vespasian found himself in financial difficulties while governor of Africa, Sabinus lent him the money to continue, and while Vespasian was governor of Judaea Sabinus was a vital source of information on events in Rome. After the death of Otho, Sabinus directed the urban cohorts to swear allegiance to Vitellius, evidently an attempt to preclude further bloodshed. At the same time, the consul Titus Flavius Sabinus, probably Sabinus' nephew, directed his troops in northern Italy to submit to the generals of Vitellius. Sabinus continued to retain the dignity of "praefectus urbi" under Vitellius. Soon afterward, the legions in the East declared for Vespasian, who then advanced toward Rome, supported by Marcus Antonius Primus. After Vitellius' troops were defeated, the emperor, despairing of success, offered to surrender the empire into the hands of Sabinus, until his brother arrived. However, Vitellius' German soldiers refused this arrangement, and Sabinus was besieged in the Capitol, together with his family. The capitol was burnt by Vitellius' forces, and in the confusion Sabinus' family made their escape, but Sabinus himself was captured and dragged before the emperor, who attempted in vain to save him from the fury of the soldiers. Sabinus was brutally murdered, and his remains thrown to a place where the corpses of malefactors were taken. When the generals of Vespasian obtained possession of the city, Sabinus was interred with the honour of a censor's funeral. Family Sabinus' wife is not clearly identified in any ancient sources. Some scholars of early Christianity have asserted that she was Plautia or Plautilla, the daughter of Aulus Plautius and Pomponia Graecina, possibly an early Christian convert, and that the Plautilla who traditionally lent her veil to Saint Paul was Sabinus' daughter. An alternative identification of Sabinus' wife has been proposed by Christian Settipani, who suggests that she was a sister of Marcus Arrecinus Clemens. An inscription attests to a daughter for Sabinus: Flavia Sabina, who was the wife of Lucius Caesennius Paetus consul in 61. Gavin Townend has identified two sons for Sabinus: Titus Flavius Sabinus and Gnaeus Arulenus Caelius Sabinus, both suffect consuls in the year 69, a thesis that has come to be accepted by other scholars. Character Tacitus describes Sabinus as being fair-minded and honest, though prone to be overly gregarious. His failure to hold the well-fortified capitol during the final days of the civil war is attributed to his moderation, lack of enterprise and reluctance to take Roman lives.
  14. Title: Wikiwand: Plautia Urgulanilla
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia References: ^ Suetonius, "The Diefied Claudius," ch. 26-27 ^ Tacitus, "Annals of Imperial Rome" IV.22.3 ^ Tacitus, "Annals of Imperial Rome" IV.22.3 ^ Ronald Syme, "Augustan Aristocracy" 1989, p. 418 ^ Tacitus, "Annals of Imperial Rome," Bk. 2, Ch. 34. ^ Lily Ross Taylor, "Trebula Suffenas and the Plautii Silvani," Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Vol 24 (1956), pg 24 ^ Dio, "The Roman Histories" Bk 56, ch 17. ^ Lily Ross Taylor, "Trebula Suffenas and the Plautii Silvani," Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Vol 24 (1956), pg 24 ^ "CIL XIV," 3606 ^ "CIL XIV," 3606 ^ "CIL XIV," 3607 ^ "Nero: The End of a Dynasty," Miriam Tamara Griffin, Psychology Press, 2000, Pg. 194. ^ Suetonius. Claud. 27.
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Plautia_Urgulanilla;
    Note: Plautia Urgulanilla was the first wife of the future Roman Emperor Claudius. They were married circa AD 9, when he was 18 years old. Suetonius writes that they were divorced in AD 24 on grounds of 'her scandalous love affairs and the suspicion of murder.' Collusion in the Murder of Apronia The murder in which Ugulanilla is supposed to have participated was that of her sister-in-law, Apronia, who was the second wife of Urgulanilla's brother, Marcus Plautius Silvanus. However, in none of the existing ancient writings is it made clear how she was involved, and the details provided by Tacitus seem to imply she could not have been personally involved at all. Plautius Silvanus was first married to Fabia Numantina; however, at some time before AD 24, they had divorced, and he had married Apronia, a daughter of Lucius Apronius. In the year AD 24, Plautius Silvanus was accused of murdering Apronia "for reasons not ascertained," by throwing her out of a window in that year. Silvanus' responded by claiming that he was asleep when the event had occurred, and was totally unaware of the circumstances leading to her death, saying that she had perhaps committed suicide. The murder was investigated by the Emperor Tiberius who, having investigated the couple's bedroom, discovered proof of a scuffle, and therefore referred the case to the Senate for trial, thus implying that he believed Silvanus to be guilty. However, Silvanus' grandmother, Urgulania, sent him a dagger, encouraging him to commit suicide, which he duly did. Shortly after the murder of Apronia, Fabia Numantina was "charged with having caused her husband's insanity by magical incantations and potions," but was acquitted. Family Urgulanilla was a member of the Plautia (gens). Her grandmother was Urgulania, who Urgulanilla was named after; she was a close friend of the Empress Livia Drusilla. Her father was Marcus Plautius Silvanus, the consul for the year 2 BC, and a decorated general, honored with triumphal ornaments for his successes in the Bellum Batonianum or Great Illyrian Revolt in AD 12. Her mother was Lartia, whose family remains unknown. Urgulanilla had three attested siblings: . Marcus Plautius Silvanus, mentioned above. It is probable that it was he who adopted was twice consul in AD 45 and AD 74 Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus. . Aulus Plautius Urgulanius. Died at the age of nine. . Publius Plautius Pulcher. Friend and companion of his nephew Claudius Drusus. Quaestor to Tiberius, and augur; governor of Sicilia. He was made a patrician by Claudius. Urgulanilla had two attested children: . A son with Claudius, named Claudius Drusus, whose betrothal to a daughter of Sejanus instilled great expectations in the prefect, left unfulfilled when Drusus died in early childhood. . A daughter, Claudia, who was born five months after her divorce from Claudius. As Claudia was widely believed to be the illegitimate daughter of the freedman Boter, Claudius repudiated the child and he had her laid at Urgulanilla's doorstep. In fiction Urgulanilla appears as a significant character in Robert Graves' "I, Claudius." Urgulanilla is a tremendous and bulky woman with a resemblance to Tiberius (who may possibly be her father). She utterly despises Claudius but is relatively ignorant and benign to her husband. She also bears a strong affection (implied, through the use of the stereotypes of the time, to be lesbian in nature) for her sister-in-law Fabia Numantina, which causes her to kill her brother's second wife, Apronia. Claudius apathetically divorces Urgulanilla following this suspicion of murder and the revelation that his wife has a child with her slave. While ordered to execute the child Claudius spares it by substituting the baby with a stillborn child to display for repudiation. Urgulanilla later gives Claudius several gifts in her will (before his rise to Emperor) and insists that Claudius is not an idiot. Comparatively Urgulanilla proves to be Claudius' best wife as she leaves Claudius on his own and is not openly cruel or manipulative to him.
  15. Title: Wikiwand: Gens
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Gens;
    Note: In ancient Rome, a gens (/ˈɡɛns/ or /ˈdʒɛnz/), plural gentes, was a family consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a "stirps" (plural "stirpes"). The "gens" was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italia during the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC). Much of individuals' social standing depended on the gens to which they belonged. Certain gentes were classified as patrician, others as plebeian; some had both patrician and plebeian branches. The importance of membership in a gens declined considerably in imperial times. Origins The word "gens: is sometimes translated as "race", or "nation", meaning a people descended from a common ancestor (rather than sharing a common physical trait). It can also be translated as "clan," "kin," or "tribe," although the word "tribus" has a separate and distinct meaning in Roman culture. A gens could be as small as a single family, or could include hundreds of individuals. According to tradition, in 479 BC the gens Fabia alone were able to field a militia consisting of three hundred and six men of fighting age. The concept of the gens was not uniquely Roman, but was shared with communities throughout Italy, including those who spoke Italic languages such as Latin, Oscan, and Umbrian as well as the Etruscans. All of these peoples were eventually absorbed into the sphere of Roman culture. The oldest gentes were said to have originated before the foundation of Rome (traditionally 753 BC), and claimed descent from mythological personages as far back as the time of the Trojan War (traditionally ended 1184 BC). However, the establishment of the gens cannot long predate the adoption of hereditary surnames. The "nomen gentilicium," or "gentile name," was its distinguishing feature, for a Roman citizen's nomen indicated his membership in a gens. The nomen could be derived from any number of things, such as the name of an ancestor, a person's occupation, physical appearance, behavior, or characteristics, or town of origin. Because some of these things were fairly common, it was possible for unrelated families to bear the same nomen, and over time to become confused. Persons could be adopted into a gens and acquire its nomen. A "libertus," or "freedman," usually assumed the nomen (and sometimes also the praenomen) of the person who had manumitted him, and a naturalized citizen usually took the name of the patron who granted his citizenship. Freedmen and newly enfranchised citizens were not technically part of the gentes whose names they shared, but within a few generations it often became impossible to distinguish their descendants from the original members. In practice this meant that a gens could acquire new members and even new branches, either by design or by accident. Stirpes Different branches or "stirpes" of a gens were usually distinguished by their cognomina, additional surnames following the nomen, which could be either personal or hereditary. Some particularly large stirpes themselves became divided into multiple branches, distinguished by additional cognomina. Praenomina Most gentes regularly employed a limited number of personal names, or praenomina, the selection of which helped to distinguish members of one gens from another. Sometimes different branches of a gens would vary in their names of choice. The most conservative gentes would sometimes limit themselves to three or four praenomina, while others made regular use of six or seven. There were two main reasons for this limited selection: first, it was traditional to pass down family names from one generation to the next; such names were always preferred. Second, most patrician families limited themselves to a small number of names as a way of distinguishing themselves from the plebeians, who often employed a wider variety of names, including some that were seldom used by the patricians. However, several of the oldest and most noble patrician houses frequently used rare and unusual praenomina. Certain families also deliberately avoided particular praenomina. In at least some cases, this was because of traditions concerning disgraced or dishonored members of the gens bearing a particular name. For example, the gens Junia carefully avoided the praenomina "Titus" and "Tiberius" after two members with these names were executed for treason. A similar instance supposedly led the assembly of the gens Manlia to forbid its members from bearing the praenomen "Marcus," although this prohibition does not seem to have been strictly observed. Social function of the gens In theory, each gens functioned as a state within a state, governed by its own elders and assemblies, following its own customs, and carrying out its own religious rites. Certain cults were traditionally associated with specific gentes. The gentile assemblies had the responsibility of adoption and guardianship for their members. If a member of a gens died intestate and without immediate family, his property was distributed to the rest of the gens. The decisions of a gens were theoretically binding on all of its members. However, no public enactment is recorded as having been passed by the assembly of a gens. As a group, the gentes had considerable influence on the development of Roman law and religious practices, but comparatively little influence on the political and constitutional history of Rome. Patrician and plebeian gentes Certain gentes were considered patrician, and others plebeian. According to tradition, the patricians were descended from the "city fathers," or patres; that is, the heads of family at the time of its foundation by Romulus, the first King of Rome. Other noble families which came to Rome during the time of the kings were also admitted to the patriciate, including several who emigrated from Alba Longa after that city was destroyed by Tullus Hostilius. The last known instance of a gens being admitted to the patriciate prior to the 1st century BC was when the Claudii were added to the ranks of the patricians after coming to Rome in 504 BC, five years after the establishment of the Republic. Numerous sources describe two classes among the patrician gentes, known as the "gentes maiores," or major gentes, and the "gentes minores," or minor gentes. No definite information has survived concerning which families were numbered amongst the gentes maiores, or even how many there were. However, they almost certainly included the Aemilii, Claudii, Cornelii, Fabii, Manlii, and Valerii. Nor is it certain whether this distinction was of any practical importance, although it has been suggested that the "princeps senatus," or speaker of the Senate, was usually chosen from their number. For the first several decades of the Republic, it is not entirely certain which gentes were considered patrician and which plebeian. However, a series of laws promulgated in 451 and 450 BC as the Twel"ve Tables attempted to codify a rigid distinction between the classes, formally excluding the plebeians from holding any of the major magistracies from that time until the passage of the Lex Licinia Sextia" in 367 BC. The law forbidding the intermarriage of patricians and plebeians was repealed after only a few years, by the "Lex Canuleia" in 445 BC. Despite the formal reconciliation of the orders in 367, the patrician houses, which as time passed represented a smaller and smaller percentage of the Roman populace, continued to hold on to as much power as possible, resulting in frequent conflict between the orders over the next two centuries. Certain patrician families regularly opposed the sharing of power with the plebeians, while others favored it, and some were divided. Many gentes included both patrician and plebeian branches. These may have arisen through adoption or manumission, or when two unrelated families bearing the same nomen became confused. It may also be that individual members of a gens voluntarily left or were expelled from the patriciate, along with their descendants. In some cases, gentes that must originally have been patrician, or which were so regarded during the early Republic, were later known only by their plebeian descendants. By the first century BC, the practical distinction between the patricians and the plebeians was minimal. Nonetheless, with the rise of imperial authority, several plebeian gentes were raised to the patriciate, replacing older patrician families that had faded into obscurity, and were no longer represented in the Roman senate. Although both the concept of the gens and of the patriciate survived well into imperial times, both gradually lost most of their significance. In the final centuries of the Western Empire, "patricius" was used primarily as an individual title, rather than a class to which an entire family belonged.
  16. Title: Wikiwand: Claudius
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Claudius;
    Note: Claudius (/ˈklɔːdiəs/ KLAW-dee-əs; Latin: "Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus"; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was a Roman emperor from AD 41 to 54. Born to Drusus and Antonia Minor at Lugdunum in Roman Gaul, where his father was stationed as a military legate, he was the first Roman emperor to be born outside Italy. Nonetheless, Claudius was an Italic of Sabine origins and a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Because he was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, his family ostracized him and excluded him from public office until his consulship, shared with his nephew Caligula in 37. Claudius's infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges of Tiberius's and Caligula's reigns; potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to his being declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last man of his family. Despite his lack of experience, Claudius proved to be an able and efficient administrator. He expanded the imperial bureaucracy to include freedmen, and helped to restore the empire's finances after the excess of Caligula's reign. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing many new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the Empire. During his reign the Empire started its successful conquest of Britain. Having a personal interest in law, he presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day. He was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, particularly by elements of the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position; this resulted in the deaths of many senators. These events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers, though more recent historians have revised this opinion. Many authors contend that he was murdered by his own wife. After his death in 54 (at the age of 63), his grand-nephew, step-son, and adopted son Nero succeeded him as emperor. His 13-year reign (slightly longer than Nero's) would not be surpassed by any successors until that of Domitian, who reigned for 15 years. He was a descendant of the Octavii Rufi (through Gaius Octavius), Julii Caesares (through Julia Minor and Julia Antonia), and the Claudii Nerones (through Nero Claudius Drusus). He was a step-grandson (through his father Drusus) and great-nephew (through his mother Antonia Minor) of Augustus. He was a nephew of Tiberius through his father, Tiberius's brother. Through his brother Germanicus, Claudius was an uncle of Caligula and a great uncle of Nero. Through his mother Antonia Minor he was a grandson of Mark Antony. Family and early life Claudius was born on 1 August 10 BC at Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France). He had two older siblings, Germanicus and Livilla. His mother, Antonia, may have had two other children who died young. His maternal grandparents were Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, Augustus' sister, and he was therefore the great-great grandnephew of Gaius Julius Caesar. His paternal grandparents were Livia, Augustus' third wife, and Tiberius Claudius Nero. During his reign, Claudius revived the rumor that his father Drusus was actually the illegitimate son of Augustus, to give the appearance that Augustus was Claudius' paternal grandfather. In 9 BC, his father Drusus unexpectedly died on campaign in Germania, possibly from illness. Claudius was then left to be raised by his mother, who never remarried. When Claudius' disability became evident, the relationship with his family turned sour. Antonia referred to him as a monster, and used him as a standard for stupidity. She seems to have passed her son off to his grandmother Livia for a number of years. Livia was a little kinder, but nevertheless often sent him short, angry letters of reproof. He was put under the care of a "former mule-driver" to keep him disciplined, under the logic that his condition was due to laziness and a lack of will-power. However, by the time he reached his teenage years his symptoms apparently waned and his family took some notice of his scholarly interests. In AD 7, Livy was hired to tutor him in history, with the assistance of Sulpicius Flavus. He spent a lot of his time with the latter and the philosopher Athenodorus. Augustus, according to a letter, was surprised at the clarity of Claudius' oratory. Expectations about his future began to increase. Public life His work as a budding historian damaged his prospects for advancement in public life. According to Vincent Scramuzza and others, Claudius began work on a history of the Civil Wars that was either too truthful or too critical of Octavian—then reigning as Augustus Caesar. In either case, it was far too early for such an account, and may have only served to remind Augustus that Claudius was Antony's descendant. His mother and grandmother quickly put a stop to it, and this may have convinced them that Claudius was not fit for public office. He could not be trusted to toe the existing party line. When he returned to the narrative later in life, Claudius skipped over the wars of the Second Triumvirate altogether. But the damage was done, and his family pushed him into the background. When the Arch of Pavia was erected to honor the Imperial clan in 8 AD, Claudius' name (now Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus after his elevation to paterfamilias of Claudii Nerones on the adoption of his brother) was inscribed on the edge—past the deceased princes, Gaius and Lucius, and Germanicus' children. There is some speculation that the inscription was added by Claudius himself decades later, and that he originally did not appear at all. When Augustus died in AD 14, Claudius—then aged 23—appealed to his uncle Tiberius to allow him to begin the "cursus honorum." Tiberius, the new Emperor, responded by granting Claudius consular ornaments. Claudius requested office once more and was snubbed. Since the new Emperor was no more generous than the old, Claudius gave up hope of public office and retired to a scholarly, private life. Despite the disdain of the Imperial family, it seems that from very early on the general public respected Claudius. At Augustus' death, the "equites," or knights, chose Claudius to head their delegation. When his house burned down, the Senate demanded it be rebuilt at public expense. They also requested that Claudius be allowed to debate in the Senate. Tiberius turned down both motions, but the sentiment remained. During the period immediately after the death of Tiberius' son, Drusus, Claudius was pushed by some quarters as a potential heir. This again suggests the political nature of his exclusion from public life. However, as this was also the period during which the power and terror of the commander of the Praetorian Guard, Sejanus, was at its peak, Claudius chose to downplay this possibility. After the death of Tiberius, the new emperor Caligula (the son of Claudius' brother Germanicus) recognized Claudius to be of some use. He appointed Claudius his co-consul in 37 in order to emphasize the memory of Caligula's deceased father Germanicus. Despite this, Caligula relentlessly tormented his uncle: playing practical jokes, charging him enormous sums of money, humiliating him before the Senate, and the like. According to Cassius Dio Claudius became very sickly and thin by the end of Caligula's reign, most likely due to stress. A possible surviving portrait of Claudius from this period may support this. Assassination of Caligula (AD 41) On 24 January 41, Caligula was assassinated in a broad-based conspiracy involving the Praetorian commander Cassius Chaerea and several senators. There is no evidence that Claudius had a direct hand in the assassination, although it has been argued that he knew about the plot—particularly since he left the scene of the crime shortly before his nephew was murdered. However, after the deaths of Caligula's wife and daughter, it became apparent that Cassius intended to go beyond the terms of the conspiracy and wipe out the Imperial family. In the chaos following the murder, Claudius witnessed the German guard cut down several uninvolved noblemen, including many of his friends. He fled to the palace to hide. According to tradition, a Praetorian named Gratus found him hiding behind a curtain and suddenly declared him "princeps." A section of the guard may have planned in advance to seek out Claudius, perhaps with his approval. They reassured him that they were not one of the battalions looking for revenge. He was spirited away to the Praetorian camp and put under their protection. The Senate quickly met and began debating a change of government, but this eventually devolved into an argument over which of them would be the new princeps. When they heard of the Praetorians' claim, they demanded that Claudius be delivered to them for approval, but he refused, sensing the danger that would come with complying. Some historians, particularly Josephus, claim that Claudius was directed in his actions by the Judaean King Herod Agrippa. However, an earlier version of events by the same ancient author downplays Agrippa's role so it remains uncertain. Eventually the Senate was forced to give in and, in return, Claudius pardoned nearly all the assassins. As Emperor Claudius took several steps to legitimize his rule against potential usurpers, most of them emphasizing his place within the Julio-Claudian family. He adopted the name "Caesar" as a cognomen, as the name still carried great weight with the populace. In order to do so, he dropped the cognomen "Nero" which he had adopted as "paterfamilias" of the Claudii Nerones when his brother Germanicus was adopted out. As Pharaoh of Egypt, Claudius adopted the royal titulary "Tiberios Klaudios, Autokrator Heqaheqau Meryasetptah, Kanakht Djediakhshuemakhet" ("Tiberius Claudius, Emperor and ruler of rulers, beloved of Isis and Ptah, the strong bull of the stable moon on the horizon"). While Claudius had never been for..
  17. Title: Wikiwand: Patrician (ancient Rome)
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Patrician_(ancient_Rome);
    Note: The patricians (from Latin: "patricius") were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 BC), and by the time of the late Republic and Empire, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance. After the Western Empire fell, it remained a high honorary title in the Byzantine Empire. Medieval patrician classes were once again formally defined groups of leading Grand Burgher families in the Holy Roman Empire and in many medieval Italian republics, such as Venice and Genoa, and subsequently "patrician" became a vague term used for aristocrats and the higher bourgeoisie in many countries. Origin According to Livy, the first 100 men appointed as senators by Romulus were referred to as "fathers" (Latin "patres"), and the descendants of those men became the patrician class. According to other opinions, the patricians ("patricii") were those who could point to fathers, i.e. those who were members of the clans ("gentes") whose members originally comprised the whole citizen body. Other noble families which came to Rome during the time of the kings were also admitted to the patriciate, including several who emigrated from Alba Longa after that city was destroyed by Tullus Hostilius. The last known instance of a gens being admitted to the patriciate prior to the 1st century BC was when the Claudii were added to the ranks of the patricians after coming to Rome in 504 BC, five years after the establishment of the Republic. The patricians were distinct from the plebeians because they had wider political influence, at least in the times of the early Republic. During the middle and late Republic, as this influence gradually eroded, plebeians were granted equal rights in most areas, and even greater in some. For example, only plebeians could serve as the Tribune of the Plebs. There were quotas for official offices. One of the two consulships was reserved for plebeians. Although being a patrician remained prestigious, it was of minimal practical importance. With the exception of some religious offices which were devoid of political power, plebeians were able to stand for all of the offices that were open to patricians. Plebeians of the senatorial class were no less wealthy than patricians at the height of the republic. Originally Patrician, Publius Clodius Pulcher willingly got himself adopted into Plebeian family in order to be able to become the Tribune of the Plebs. Roman Republic and Empire Status Patricians historically had more privileges and rights than plebeians. At the beginning of the Republic, patricians were better represented in the Roman assemblies, only patricians could hold high political offices, such as dictator, consul, censor, and all priesthoods (such as Pontifex Maximus) were closed to non-patricians. There was a belief that patricians communicated better with the Roman gods, so they alone could perform the sacred rites and take the auspices. This view had political consequences, since in the beginning of the year or before a military campaign, Roman magistrates used to consult the gods. Livy reports that the first admission of plebeians into a priestly college happened in 300 BC with the passage of the Lex Ogulnia, when the college of Augurs raised their number from four to nine. After that, plebeians were accepted into the other religious colleges, and by the end of the Republic, only priesthoods with limited political importance, such as the Salii, the Flamines, and the Rex Sacrorum were filled exclusively by patricians. Very few plebeian names appear in lists of Roman magistrates during the early Republic. Two laws passed during the fourth century BC began the gradual opening of magistrates to the plebeians: the Lex Licinia Sextia of 367 BC, which established the right of plebeians to hold the consulship; and the Genucian Law of 342 BC, which required that at least one of the consuls be a plebeian (although this law was frequently violated for several decades). Many of the ancient patrician gentes whose members appear in the founding legends of Rome disappeared as Rome acquired its empire, and new plebeian families rose to prominence. A number of patrician families such as the Horatii, Lucretii, Verginii and Menenii rarely appear in positions of importance during the later republic. Many old families had both patrician and plebeian branches, of which the patrician lines frequently faded into obscurity, and were eclipsed by their plebeian namesakes. The decline accelerated toward the end of the Republic, principally because of the civil wars, from the Social War to the proscriptions of the Triumvirs, which took a heavy toll on them. As a result, several illustrious patrician houses were on the verge of extinction during the 1st century BC, sometimes only surviving through adoptions, such as: . Julii Caesares . Manlii Torquatii . Papirii Masones . Postumii Albini . Servilii Caepiones However, large gentes with multiple "stirpes" seem to have coped better; the Aemilii, Claudii, Cornelii, Fabii, Sulpicii, and Valerii all continued to thrive under the Principate. Patricians vs. plebeians The distinction between patricians and plebeians in Ancient Rome was based purely on birth. Although modern writers often portray patricians as rich and powerful families who managed to secure power over the less-fortunate plebeian families, plebeians and patricians among the senatorial class were equally wealthy. As civil rights for plebeians increased during the middle and late Roman Republic, many plebeian families had attained wealth and power while some traditionally patrician families had fallen into poverty and obscurity. Patrician families The following gentes were regarded as patrician, although they may have had plebeian members or branches. . Aebutia . Aemilia . Aquillia . Atilia . Claudia . Cloelia . Cornelia . Curtia . Fabia . Foslia . Furia . Gegania . Genucia . Herminia . Horatia . Julia . Lartia . Lucretia . Manlia . Menenia . Metilia Minucia . Mucia . Nautia . Numicia . Papiria . Pinaria . Pollia . Postumia . Potitia . Quinctia . Quinctilia . Romilia . Sempronia . Sergia . Servilia . Sestia . Siccia . Sulpicia . Tarpeia . Tarquinia . Tarquitia . Tullia . Valeria . Verginia . Veturia . Vitellia . Volumnia A number of other "gentes" originally belonged to the patricians but were known chiefly for their plebeian branches. . Antonia . Cassia . Cominia . Curiatia . Hostilia . Junia . Marcia Gentes maiores et minores Among the patricians, certain families were known as the "gentes maiores," the greatest or perhaps the most noble houses. The other patrician families were called the "gentes minores." Whether this distinction had any legal significance is not known, but it has been suggested that the "princeps senatus," or Speaker of the Senate, was traditionally chosen from the gentes maiores. No list of the gentes maiores has been discovered, and even their number is entirely unknown. It has been suggested that the Aemilii, Claudii, Cornelii, Fabii, Manlii, and Valerii were among them. The "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology" suggests that the gentes maiores consisted of families that settled at Rome in the time of Romulus, or at least before the destruction of Alba Longa. The noble Alban families that settled in Rome in the time of Tullus Hostilius then formed the nucleus of the gentes minores. These included the Julii, Tulii, Servilii, Quinctii, Geganii, Curtii, and Cloelii. However, "Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities" suggests that the Alban families were also included among the gentes maiores, and that the gentes minores consisted of the families admitted to the patriciate under the Tarquins and in the early years of the Republic. In any case, the distinction cannot have been based entirely on priority, because the Claudii did not arrive at Rome until after the expulsion of the kings. Late Roman and Byzantine periods Patrician status still carried a degree of prestige at the time of the early Roman Empire, and Roman emperors routinely elevated their supporters to the patrician caste en masse. This prestige gradually declined further, and by the end of the 3rd-century crisis patrician status, as it had been known in the Republic, ceased to have meaning in everyday life. The emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) reintroduced the term as the empire's senior honorific title, not tied to any specific administrative position, and from the first limited to a very small number of holders. The historian Zosimus states that in Constantine's time, the holders of the title ranked even above the praetorian prefects. In the late Western Roman Empire, the title was sparingly used and retained its high prestige, being awarded, especially in the 5th century, to the powerful "magistri militum" who dominated the state, such as Stilicho, Constantius III, Flavius Aetius, Comes Bonifacius, and Ricimer. The eastern emperor Zeno (r. 474–491) granted it to Odoacer to legitimize the latter's rule in Italy after his overthrow of the rebellious "magister militum" Orestes and his son Romulus Augustulus in 476. In the Eastern Empire, Theodosius II (r. 408–450) barred eunuchs from holding it, although this restriction had been overturned by the 6th century. Under Justinian I (r. 527-565), the title proliferated and was consequently somewhat devalued, as the emperor opened it up to all those above "illustris" rank, i.e. the majority of the Senate. In the 8th century, the title was further lowered in the court order of precedence, coming after the "magistros" and the "anthypatos." However it remained one of the highest in the imperial hierarchy until the 11th century, being awarded to the most important "strategoi" (provincial governors and generals) of the Empire. In the court hierarchy, the eunuch p..
  18. Title: Wikiwand: Nero
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Nero;
    Note: Nero (/ˈnɪəroʊ/ NEER-oh; Latin: "Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus"; 15 December 37 – 9 June 68 AD) was the last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius and became Claudius' heir and successor. Like Claudius, Nero became emperor with the consent of the Praetorian Guard. Nero's mother, Agrippina the Younger, was likely implicated in Claudius' death and Nero's nomination as emperor. She dominated Nero's early life and decisions until he cast her off, and five years into his reign, he had her killed. During the early years of his reign, Nero was content to be guided by his mother, his tutor Lucius Annaeus Seneca, and his Praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus. As time passed, he started to play a more active and independent role in government and foreign policy. During his reign, the redoubtable general Corbulo conducted a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire. His general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a major revolt in Britain, led by the Iceni Queen Boudica. The Bosporan Kingdom was briefly annexed to the empire, and the First Jewish–Roman War began. According to Talmudic sources, Nero converted to Judaism. Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade and the cultural life of the empire, ordering theatres built and promoting athletic games. He made public appearances as an actor, poet, musician and charioteer. In the eyes of traditionalists, this undermined the dignity and authority of his person, status, and office. His extravagant, empire-wide program of public and private works was funded by a rise in taxes that was much resented by the upper classes. In contrast, his populist style of rule remained very popular among the lower classes of Rome and the provinces until his death and beyond. Various plots against his life were revealed; the ringleaders, most of them Nero's own courtiers, were executed. In 68 AD Vindex, governor of the Gaulish territory Gallia Lugdunensis, rebelled. He was supported by Galba, the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis. Vindex's revolt failed in its immediate aim, but Nero fled Rome when Rome's discontented civil and military authorities chose Galba as emperor. He committed suicide on June 9, 68 AD, when he learned that he had been tried in absentia and condemned to death as a public enemy, making him the first Roman Emperor to commit suicide. His death ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty, sparking a brief period of civil wars known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Nero's rule is usually associated with tyranny and extravagance. Most Roman sources, such as Suetonius and Cassius Dio, offer overwhelmingly negative assessments of his personality and reign; Tacitus claims that the Roman people thought him compulsive and corrupt. Suetonius tells that many Romans believed that the Great Fire of Rome was instigated by Nero to clear the way for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. According to Tacitus he was said to have seized Christians as scapegoats for the fire and burned them alive, seemingly motivated not by public justice but by personal cruelty. Some modern historians question the reliability of the ancient sources on Nero's tyrannical acts. A few sources paint Nero in a more favorable light. There is evidence of his popularity among the Roman commoners, especially in the eastern provinces of the Empire, where a popular legend arose that Nero had not died and would return. At least three leaders of short-lived, failed rebellions presented themselves as "Nero reborn" to enlist popular support. Early life Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December 37 ad in Antium. He was the only son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger. His maternal grandparents were Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder; his mother, Caligula's sister. He was Augustus' great-great grandson, descended from the first Emperor's only daughter, Julia. The ancient biographer Suetonius, who was critical of Nero's ancestors, wrote that Augustus had reproached Nero's grandfather for his unseemly enjoyment of violent gladiator games. According to Jürgen Malitz, Suetonius tells that Nero's father was known to be "irascible and brutal," and that both "enjoyed chariot races and theater performances to a degree not befitting their position." Nero's father, Domitius, died in 40. A few years before his death, Domitius had been involved in a political scandal that, according to Malitz, "could have cost him his life if Tiberius had not died in the year 37." In the previous year, Nero's mother Agrippina had been caught up in a scandal of her own. Caligula's beloved sister Drusilla had recently died and Caligula began to feel threatened by his brother-in-law Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. Agrippina, suspected of adultery with her brother-in-law, was forced to carry the funerary urn after Lepidus' execution. Caligula then banished his two surviving sisters, Agrippina and Julia Livilla, to a remote island in the Mediterranean Sea. According to "The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome," Agrippina was exiled for plotting to overthrow Caligula. Nero's inheritance was taken from him and he was sent to live with his paternal aunt Domitia Lepida, the mother of Claudius' third wife Valeria Messalina. Caligula's reign lasted from 37 until 41. He died from multiple stab wounds in January of 41 after being ambushed by his own Praetorian Guard on the Palatine Hill. Claudius succeeded Caligula as Emperor. Agrippina married Claudius in 49 ad and became his fourth wife. By February 49, she had persuaded Claudius to adopt her son Nero. After Nero's adoption, "Claudius" became part of his name: Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. Claudius had gold coins issued to mark the adoption. Classics professor Josiah Osgood has written that "the coins, through their distribution and imagery alike, showed that a new Leader was in the making." David Shotter noted that, despite events in Rome, Nero's step-brother Britannicus was more prominent in provincial coinages during the early 50s. Nero officially formally entered public life as an adult in 51 ad—he was around 14 years old. When he turned 16, Nero married Claudius' daughter (his own step-sister), Claudia Octavia. Between the years 51 ad and 53 ad, he gave several speeches on behalf of various communities including the Ilians; the Apameans, requesting a five-year tax reprieve after an earthquake; and the northern colony of Bologna, after their settlement suffered a devastating fire. Claudius died in 54 AD; many ancient historians claim that he was poisoned by Agrippina. Shotter has written that "Claudius' death in 54 ad has usually been regarded as an event hastened by Agrippina because of signs that Claudius was showing a renewed affection for his natural son," but he notes that among ancient sources Josephus was uniquely reserved in describing the poisoning as a rumor. Contemporary sources differ in their accounts. Tacitus says that Locusta prepared the poison, which was served to the Emperor by his food taster Halotus. Tacitus also writes that Agrippina arranged for Claudius' doctor Xenophon to administer poison, in the event that the Emperor survived. Suetonius differs in some details, but also implicates Halotus and Agrippina. Like Tacitus, Cassius Dio writes that the poison was prepared by Locusta, but in Dio's account it is administered by Agrippina instead of Halotus. In Apocolocyntosis, Seneca the Younger does not mention mushrooms at all. Agrippina's involvement in Claudius' death is not accepted by all modern scholars. Before Claudius' death, Agrippina had maneuvered to remove Britannicus' tutors and replace them with tutors that she had selected. She was also able to convince Claudius to replace with a single commander, Burrus, two prefects of the Praetorian guard who were suspected of supporting Brittanicus.[16]:13 Since Agrippina had replaced the guard officers with men loyal to her, Nero was able to assume power without incident. Nero's reign (54 AD–68 AD) Most of what we know about Nero's reign comes from three ancient writers: Tacitus, Suetonius, and Greek historian Cassius Dio. According to ancient historians, Nero's construction projects were overly extravagant and the large number of expenditures under Nero left Italy "thoroughly exhausted by contributions of money" with "the provinces ruined." Modern historians, though, note that the period was riddled with deflation and that it is likely that Nero's spending came in the form of public-works projects and charity intended to ease economic troubles. Early reign Nero became emperor in 54 ad, aged sixteen years. This made him the youngest sole emperor until Elagabalus, who became emperor aged 14 in 218. The first five years of Nero's reign were described as "Quinquennium Neronis" by Trajan; the interpretation of the phrase is a matter of dispute among scholars. As Pharaoh of Egypt, Nero adopted the royal titulary "Autokrator Neron Heqaheqau Meryasetptah Tjemaahuikhasut Wernakhtubaqet Heqaheqau Setepennenu Merur" ("Emperor Nero, Ruler of rulers, chosen by Ptah, beloved of Isis, the sturdy-armed one who struck the foreign lands, victorious for Egypt, ruler of rulers, chosen of Nun who loves him"). Nero's tutor, Seneca, prepared Nero's first speech before the Senate. During this speech, Nero spoke about "eliminating the ills of the previous regime." H.H. Scullard writes that "he promised to follow the Augustan model in his principate, to end all secret trials "intra cubiculum," to have done with the corruption of court favorites and freedmen, and above all to respect the privileges of the Senate and individual Senators." His respect of the Senatorial autonomy, which distinguished him from Caligula and Claudius, was generally well received by the Roman Senate. Jürgen Malitz writes that ancient sources do not provide any clear evidence to evaluate the extent of Nero's personal involvement in politic..
  19. Title: Wikiwand: Hispania
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hispania;
    Note: Hispania (/hɪˈspæniə, -ˈspeɪn-/ "hih-SPA(Y)N-ee-ə," Latin: [hɪsˈpaːnɪ.a]) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces, Baetica and Lusitania, while Hispania Citerior was renamed Hispania Tarraconensis. Subsequently, the western part of Tarraconensis was split off, first as Hispania Nova, later renamed "Callaecia" (or Gallaecia, whence modern Galicia). From Diocletian's Tetrarchy (AD 284) onwards, the south of remaining Tarraconensis was again split off as Carthaginensis, and probably then too the Balearic Islands and all the resulting provinces formed one civil diocese under the vicarius for the Hispaniae (that is, the Celtic provinces). The name Hispania was also used in the period of Visigothic rule. The modern place names Spain and Hispaniola are both derived from "Hispania." Etymology The origin of the word "Hispania" is much disputed. The evidence for the various speculations is based merely upon what are at best mere resemblances, likely to be accidental, and suspect supporting evidence. The most commonly held theory holds it to be of Punic origin, from the Phoenician language of colonizing Carthage. Specifically, it may derive from a Punic cognate "ī shāpān of Hebrew ī shāfān" ("אׅי שָׁפָן") meaning "island of the hyrax," referring to the European rabbit (Phoenician-Punic and Hebrew are both Canaanite languages and therefore closely related to each other). Some Roman coins of the Emperor Hadrian, born in Hispania, depict Hispania and a rabbit. Others derive the word from Phoenician span, meaning "hidden," and make it indicate "a hidden," that is, "a remote," or "far-distant land." Other far-fetched theories have been proposed. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania of Iberian origin and derived it from the pre-Roman name for Seville, "Hispalis." This was revived for instance by the etymologist Eric Partridge (in his work "Origins") who felt that this might strongly hint at an ancient name for the country of "Hispa," presumably an Iberian or Celtic root whose meaning is now lost. "Hispalis" may alternatively derive from "Heliopolis" (Greek for "city of the sun"). However, according to modern research by Manuel Pellicer Catalán, the name derives from Phoenician spal "lowland," rendering the above explanations of "Hispania" highly unlikely. Occasionally Hispania was called "Hesperia ultima," "farthest western land" by Roman writers since the name Hesperia "western land" had already been used by the Greeks to refer to the Italian peninsula. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Jesuits scholars like Larramendi and José Francisco de Isla tied the name to the Basque word "ezpain," "lip," but also "border," "edge," thus meaning the farthest area or place. During Antiquity and Middle Ages, the literary texts derive the term Hispania from an eponymous hero named "Hispan," who is mentioned for the first time in the work of the Roman historian Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus, in the 1st century BC. Although "Hispania" is the Latin root for the modern name "Spain," substituting "Spanish" for "Hispanicus" or "Hispanic," or "Spain" for "Hispania," should be done carefully and taking into account the correct context. "The Estoria de España" ("The History of Spain") written on the initiative of Alfonso X of Castile "El Sabio" ("the Wise"), between 1260 and 1274, during the Reconquest of Spain, is believed to be the first extended history of Spain in Old Spanish using the words "España" ("Spain") and "Españoles"("Spaniards") to refer to Medieval Hispania. The use of Latin "Hispania," Castilian "España," Catalan "Espanya" and French "Espaigne," between others, to refer to Roman Hispania or Visigothic Hispania was common throughout all the Late Middle Ages. A document dated 1292 mentions the names of foreigners from Medieval Spain as "Gracien d'Espaigne." Latin expressions using "Hispania" or "Hispaniae" like "omnes reges Hispaniae" are used often in the Middle Ages at the same time as the emerging Spain Romance languages during the Reconquista use the Romance version interchangeably. In James Ist's "Chronicle Llibre dels fets," written between 1208 and 1276, there are many instances of this: when it talks about the different Kings, "los V regnes de Espanya" ("The 5 Kingdoms of Spain"); when it talks about a military fort built by the Christians saying that it is "de los meylors de Espanya" ("from the best of Spain"); when it declared that Catalonia, one of the integral parts of the Crown of Aragon, is "lo meylor Regne Despanya, el pus honrat, el pus noble" ("the best kingdom of Spain, the most honest, the most noble"); when it talks about the conflict that has existed for long "entre los sarrains e los chrestians, en Espanya" ("between Saracens and Christians, in Spain"). Since the borders of modern Spain do not coincide with those of the Roman province of Hispania or of the Visigothic Kingdom, it is important to understand the context of medieval Spain versus modern Spain. The Latin term "Hispania," often used during Antiquity and the Low Middle Ages as a geographical name, starts to be used also with political connotations, as shown in the expression "laus Hispaniae," "Praise to Hispania," to describe the history of the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula of Isidore of Seville's "Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum." "You are, Oh Spain, holy and always happy mother of princes and peoples, the most beautiful of all the lands that extend far from the West to India. You, by right, are now the queen of all provinces, from whom the lights are given not only the sunset, but also the East. You are the honor and ornament of the orb and the most illustrious portion of the Earth ... And for this reason, long ago, the golden Rome desired you." In modern history, "Spain" and "Spanish" have become increasingly associated with the Kingdom of Spain alone, although this process took several centuries. After the union of the central peninsular Kingdom of Castile with the eastern peninsular Kingdom of Aragon in the 15th century under the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, only Navarra and Portugal were left to complete the whole Peninsula under one Monarchy. Navarre followed soon after in 1512, and Portugal in 1580. During this time, the concept of Spain was still unchanged. The King of Portugal would protest energetically when during a public act King Fernando talked about the "Crown of Spain." This sentiment was also shared by the Portuguese people, as shown by who is considered Portugal's and Portuguese language's greatest poet, Luís de Camões, when in 1572 he defined the Portuguese people as "Uma gente fortíssima de Espanha" ("A very strong people of Spain"). It was after the independence of Portugal in 1640 when the concept of Spain started to shift and be applied to all the Peninsula except Portugal. Even so, Portugal would still complain when the terms "Crown of Spain" or "Monarchy of Spain" were still used in the 18th century with the Treaty of Utrecht. Pre-Roman history Main articles: Prehistoric Iberia and Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula The Iberian peninsula has long been inhabited, first by early hominids such as "Homo erectus," "Homo heidelbergensis" and "Homo antecessor." In the Paleolithic period, the Neanderthals entered Iberia and eventually took refuge from the advancing migrations of modern humans. In the 40th millennium BC, during the Upper Paleolithic and the last ice age, the first large settlement of Europe by modern humans occurred. These were nomadic hunter-gatherers originating on the steppes of Central Asia. When the last Ice Age reached its maximum extent, during the 30th millennium BC, these modern humans took refuge in Southern Europe, namely in Iberia, after retreating through Southern France. In the millennia that followed, the Neanderthals became extinct and local modern human cultures thrived, producing pre-historic art such as that found in L'Arbreda Cave and in the Côa Valley. In the Mesolithic period, beginning in the 10th millennium BC, the Allerød Oscillation occurred. This was an interstadial deglaciation that lessened the harsh conditions of the Ice Age. The populations sheltered in Iberian Peninsula (descendants of the Cro-Magnon) migrated and recolonized all of Western Europe. In this period one finds the Azilian culture in Southern France and Northern Iberia (to the mouth of the Douro river), as well as the Muge Culture in the Tagus valley. The Neolithic brought changes to the human landscape of Iberia (from the 5th millennium BC onwards), with the development of agriculture and the beginning of the European Megalith Culture. This spread to most of Europe and had one of its oldest and main centers in the territory of modern Portugal, as well as the Chalcolithic and Beaker cultures. During the 1st millennium BC, in the Bronze Age, the first wave of migrations into Iberia of speakers of Indo-European languages occurred. These were later (7th and 5th centuries BC) followed by others that can be identified as Celts. Eventually urban cultures developed in southern Iberia, such as Tartessos, influenced by the Phoenician colonization of coastal Mediterranean Iberia, with strong competition from the Greek colonization. These two processes defined Iberia's cultural landscape – Mediterranean towards the southeast and Continental in the northwest. Languages Main article: Languages of Iberia Latin was the official language of Hispania during the Rome's more than 600 years of rule, and by the empire's end in Hispania around 460 AD, all the original Iberian languages, except the ancestor of modern Basque, were extinct. Even after the fall of Rome and the invasion of the Germanic Visigoths and Suebi, Latin was spoken by nearly all of the population, but in its common form known as Vulgar La..
  20. Title: Wikiwand: Praefectus urbi
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Praefectus_urbi;
    Note: The "praefectus urbanus," also called "praefectus urbi" or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, and held high importance in late Antiquity. The office survived the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, and the last urban prefect of Rome, named Iohannes, is attested in 599. In the East, in Constantinople, the office survived until the 13th century. Kingly period According to Roman tradition, in 753 BC when Romulus founded the city of Rome and instituted the monarchy, he also created the office of "custos urbis" (guardian of the city) to serve as the king's chief lieutenant. Appointed by the king to serve for life, the "custos urbis" served concurrently as the "Princeps Senatus." As the second highest office of state, the "custos urbis" was the king's personal representative. In the absence of the king from the city, the "custos urbis" exercised all of his powers, which included the powers of convoking the Senate, the popular assemblies and the exercise of force in the event of an emergency. However, the imperium he possessed was only valid within the walls of Rome. Under the kings, only three men held the position. The first king Romulus appointed Denter Romulius to serve as the first "custos urbis," the third king Tullus Hostilius appointed Numa Marcius, and the seventh king Tarquinius Superbus appointed Spurius Lucretius. Republican period After the expulsion of Tarquinius Superbus in 510 BC and the formation of the Republic in 509 BC, the office of "custos urbis" remained unaltered: having power only within the actual city of Rome and a life term appointed by the consuls. The "custos urbis" exercised within the city all the powers of the Consuls if they were absent from Rome. These powers included: convoking the Senate and "Comitia Curiata," and, in times of war, levying and commanding legions. The first major change to the office occurred in 487 BC, when the office became an elective magistracy, elected by the "Comitia Curiata." The office was only open to former consuls. Around 450 BC, with the coming of the Decemvirs, the office of the "custos urbis" was renamed the "praefectus urbi" (Prefect of the City of Rome), and was stripped of most of its powers and responsibilities, becoming a merely ceremonial post. Most of the office's powers and responsibilities had been transferred to the urban praetor ("praetor urbanus"). The "praefectus urbi" was appointed each year for the sole purpose of allowing the Consuls to celebrate the Latin Festival, which required them to leave Rome. The "praefectus urbi" no longer held the power to convoke the Senate, or the right of speaking in it, and was appointed by the Consuls instead of being elected. Imperial period Rome See also: List of urban prefects of Rome When the first Roman Emperor, Augustus (reigned 27 BC – 14 AD), transformed the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire in 27 BC, he reformed the office of Prefect at the suggestion of his minister and friend Maecenas. Again elevated into a magistracy, Augustus granted the "praefectus urbi" all the powers needed to maintain order within the city. The office's powers also extended beyond Rome itself to the ports of Ostia and the Portus Romanus, as well as a zone of one hundred Roman miles (c. 140 km) around the city. Acting as a quasi-mayor of Rome, the Prefect was the superintendent of all guilds and corporations ("collegia"), held the responsibility (via the "praefectus annonae") of the city's provision with grain from overseas, the oversight of the officials responsible for the drainage of the Tiber and the maintenance of the city's sewers and water supply system, as well as its monuments. The provisioning of the city's large population with the grain dole was especially important; when the Prefect failed to secure adequate supplies, riots often broke out. To enable the Prefect to exercise his authority, the "cohortes urbanae," Rome's police force, and the nightwatchmen ("vigiles") under their prefect ("praefectus vigilum"), were placed under his command. The Prefect also had the duty of publishing the laws promulgated by the Emperor, and as such acquired a legal jurisdiction. This extended to legal cases between slaves and their masters, patrons and their freedmen, and over sons who had violated the "pietas" towards their parents. Gradually, the judicial powers of the Prefect expanded, as the Prefect's office began to re-assume its old powers from the "praetor urbanus." Eventually there was no appeal from the Prefect's sentencing, except to that of the Roman Emperor, unlike the sentencing of other officials. Even the governors of the Roman provinces were subject to the Prefect's jurisdiction. The Prefect also possessed judicial powers over criminal matters. Originally these powers were exercised in conjunction with those of the quaestors, but by the 3rd century, they were exercised alone. In late Antiquity, the office gained in effective power, as the imperial court was removed from the city, meaning that the prefects were no longer under the emperor's direct supervision. The office was usually held by leading members of Italy's senatorial aristocracy, who remained largely pagan even after Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity. Over the following thirty years, Christian holders were few. In such a capacity, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus played a prominent role in the controversy over the Altar of Victory in the late 4th century. The urban prefecture survived the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and remained active under the Ostrogothic Kingdom and well after the Byzantine reconquest. The last mention of the Roman urban prefect occurs as late as 879. Constantinople See also: List of urban prefects of Constantinople When the Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) named Constantinople the capital of the Roman Empire, he also established a proconsul to oversee the city. In the late 350s, Constantius II (r. 337–361) expanded the city's Senate and set it as equal to that of Rome. Correspondingly, on 11 September or 11 December 359, Constantinople was also granted an urban prefect, commonly called in English the Eparch from his Greek title ("ὁ ἔπαρχος τῆς πόλεως," "ho eparchos tēs poleōs"). The prefect was one of the emperor's chief lieutenants: like his Roman counterpart, the Constantinopolitan prefect was a member of the highest senatorial class, the "illustres," and came immediately after the praetorian prefects in the imperial hierarchy. As such, the office possessed great prestige and extensive authority, and was one of the few high state offices which could not be occupied by a eunuch. The prefect was also the formal head of the Senate, presiding over its meetings. Hence, the prefect's nomination had to be formally ratified by the Senate, and unlike the other senior administrative positions of the state (praetorian prefects and diocesan vicars) with their military connotations, the office's ancient and purely civilian origins were emphasized by the prefect's wearing of the "toga" as a ceremonial garb. The prefect was solely responsible for the administration of the city of Constantinople and its immediate area. His tasks were manifold, ranging from the maintenance of order to the regulation and supervision of all guilds, corporations and public institutions. The city police, the ταξιῶται ("taxiōtai"), came under the prefect's authority, and the city jail was located at the basement of his official residence, the "praetorium," located before the Forum of Constantine. As with the Prefect of Rome, the night watch came under a subordinate prefect, the νυκτέπαρχος ("nykteparchos," "night prefect"). In the 530s, however, some authority for the policing and regulation of the city passed to two new offices, created by Justinian I (r. 527–565). In 535 the "praitōr" of the "demoi" (πραίτωρ τῶν δήμων; "praetor plebis" in Latin), who commanded 20 soldiers and 30 firemen, was put in charge of policing and firefighting, while in 539, the office of the "quaesitor" (κοιαισίτωρ) was established and tasked with limiting the uncontrolled immigration to the city from the provinces, with supervising public mores, and with persecuting sexual offenders and heretics. In the middle Byzantine period (7th–12th centuries), the prefect was regarded as the supreme judge in the capital, after the emperor himself. His role in the economical life of the city was also of principal importance. The 10th-century "Book of the Prefect" stipulates the various rules for the various guilds that fell under the prefect's authority. The prefect was also responsible for the appointment of the teachers to the University of Constantinople, and for the distribution of the grain dole to the city. According to the late 9th-century "Klētorologion," his two principal aides were the "symponos" and the "logothetēs tou praitōriou." In addition, there were the heads (γειτονιάρχαι, "geitoniarchai," the old "curatores regionum") and judges ("kritai") of the city's districts (Latin "regiones," in Greek ρεγεῶναι, "regeōnai"), the "parathalassitēs" (παραθαλασσίτης), an official responsible for the capital's seashore and ports, as well as their tolls, and several inspectors ("epoptai"), the heads of the guilds ("exarchoi") and the "boullōtai," whose function was to check and append the seal of the eparch on weights and scales as well as merchandise. The office continued until the early 13th century with its functions and authority relatively intact, and may possibly have survived into the Latin Empire following the capture of the city in the Fourth Crusade in 1204, being equated in Latin with the "castellanus" of the city. After the reconquest of the city by the Byzantines, however, the office of the Eparch was replaced throughout the Palaiologan period (1261–1453) by several "kephalatikeuontes" (sing. "kepha..
  21. Title: Wikiwand: Roman triumph
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Roman_triumph;
    Note: The Roman triumph ("triumphus") was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the success of a military commander who had led Roman forces to victory in the service of the state or, originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. On the day of his triumph, the general wore a crown of laurel and the all-purple, gold-embroidered triumphal toga picta ("painted" toga), regalia that identified him as near-divine or near-kingly, and even was known to paint his face red. He rode in a four-horse chariot through the streets of Rome in unarmed procession with his army, captives, and the spoils of his war. At Jupiter's temple on the Capitoline Hill, he offered sacrifice and the tokens of his victory to the god Jupiter. Republican morality required that, despite these extraordinary honours, the general conduct himself with dignified humility, as a mortal citizen who triumphed on behalf of Rome's Senate, people, and gods. Inevitably, the triumph offered extraordinary opportunities for self-publicity, besides its religious and military dimensions. Most Roman festivals were calendar fixtures, while the tradition and law which reserved a triumph to extraordinary victory ensured that its celebration, procession, attendant feasting, and public games promoted the general's status and achievement. By the Late Republican era, triumphs were drawn out and extravagant, motivated by increasing competition among the military-political adventurers who ran Rome's nascent empire, in some cases prolonged by several days of public games and entertainments. From the Principate onwards, the triumph reflected the Imperial order and the pre-eminence of the Imperial family. The triumph was consciously imitated by medieval and later states in the royal entry and other ceremonial events. Background and ceremonies The "vir triumphalis" In Republican Rome, truly exceptional military achievement merited the highest possible honours, which connected the vir triumphalis ("man of triumph", later known as a triumphator) to Rome's mythical and semi-mythical past. In effect, the general was close to being "king for a day," and possibly close to divinity. He wore the regalia traditionally associated both with the ancient Roman monarchy and with the statue of Jupiter Capitolinus: the purple and gold "toga picta," laurel crown, red boots and, again possibly, the red-painted face of Rome's supreme deity. He was drawn in procession through the city in a four-horse chariot, under the gaze of his peers and an applauding crowd, to the temple of Capitoline Jupiter. The spoils and captives of his victory led the way; his armies followed behind. Once at the Capitoline temple, he sacrificed two white oxen to Jupiter and laid tokens of his victory at Jupiter's feet, dedicating his victory to the Roman Senate, people, and gods. Triumphs were tied to no particular day, season, or religious festival of the Roman calendar. Most seem to have been celebrated at the earliest practicable opportunity, probably on days that were deemed auspicious for the occasion. Tradition required that, for the duration of a triumph, every temple was open. The ceremony was thus, in some sense, shared by the whole community of Roman gods, but overlaps were inevitable with specific festivals and anniversaries. Some may have been coincidental; others were designed. For example, March 1, the festival and "dies natalis" of the war god Mars, was the traditional anniversary of the first triumph by Publicola (504 BCE), of six other Republican triumphs, and of the very first Roman triumph by Romulus Pompey postponed his third and most magnificent triumph for several months to make it coincide with his own "dies natalis" (birthday). Religious dimensions aside, the focus of the triumph was the general himself. The ceremony promoted him – however temporarily – above every mortal Roman. This was an opportunity granted to very few. From the time of Scipio Africanus, the triumphal general was linked (at least for historians during the Principate) to Alexander and the demi-god Hercules, who had labored selflessly for the benefit of all mankind. His sumptuous triumphal chariot was bedecked with charms against the possible envy ("invidia") and malice of onlookers. In some accounts, a companion or public slave would remind him from time to time of his own mortality (a "memento mori"). The procession Rome's earliest "triumphs" were probably simple victory parades, celebrating the return of a victorious general and his army to the city, along with the fruits of his victory, and ending with some form of dedication to the gods. This is probably so for the earliest legendary and later semi-legendary triumphs of Rome's regal era, when the king functioned as Rome's highest magistrate and war-leader. As Rome's population, power, influence, and territory increased, so did the scale, length, variety, and extravagance of its triumphal processions. The procession ("pompa") mustered in the open space of the Campus Martius (Field of Mars) probably well before first light. From there, all unforeseen delays and accidents aside, it would have managed a slow walking pace at best, punctuated by various planned stops en route to its final destination of the Capitoline temple, a distance of just under 4 km (2.48 mi). Triumphal processions were notoriously long and slow; the longest could last for two or three days, and possibly more, and some may have been of greater length than the route itself. Some ancient and modern sources suggest a fairly standard processional order. First came the captive leaders, allies, and soldiers (and sometimes their families) usually walking in chains; some were destined for execution or further display. Their captured weapons, armor, gold, silver, statuary, and curious or exotic treasures were carted behind them, along with paintings, tableaux, and models depicting significant places and episodes of the war. Next in line, all on foot, came Rome's senators and magistrates, followed by the general's lictors in their red war-robes, their fasces wreathed in laurel, then the general in his four-horse chariot. A companion, or a public slave, might share the chariot with him or, in some cases, his youngest children. His officers and elder sons rode horseback nearby. His unarmed soldiers followed in togas and laurel crowns, chanting "io triumphe!" and singing ribald songs at their general's expense. Somewhere in the procession, two flawless white oxen were led for the sacrifice to Jupiter, garland-decked and with gilded horns. All this was done to the accompaniment of music, clouds of incense, and the strewing of flowers. Almost nothing is known of the procession's infrastructure and management. Its doubtless enormous cost was defrayed in part by the state but mostly by the general's loot, which most ancient sources dwell on in great detail and unlikely superlatives. Once disposed, this portable wealth injected huge sums into the Roman economy; the amount brought in by Octavian's triumph over Egypt triggered a fall in interest rates and a sharp rise in land prices. No ancient source addresses the logistics of the procession: where the soldiers and captives, in a procession of several days, could have slept and eaten, or where these several thousands plus the spectators could have been stationed for the final ceremony at the Capitoline temple. The route The following schematic is for the route taken by "some, or many" triumphs, and is based on standard modern reconstructions. Any original or traditional route would have been diverted to some extent by the city's many redevelopments and re-building, or sometimes by choice. The starting place (the Campus Martius) lay outside the city's sacred boundary ("pomerium"), bordering the eastern bank of the Tiber. The procession entered the city through a "Porta Triumphalis" (Triumphal Gate), and crossed the "pomerium," where the general surrendered his command to the senate and magistrates. It continued through the site of the Circus Flaminius, skirting the southern base of the Capitoline Hill and the "Velabrum," along a "Via Triumphalis" (Triumphal Way) towards the "Circus Maximus," perhaps dropping off any prisoners destined for execution at the Tullianum. It entered the "Via Sacra," then the Forum. Finally, it ascended the Capitoline Hill to the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Once the sacrifice and dedications were completed, the procession and spectators dispersed to banquets, games, and other entertainments sponsored by the triumphing general. Banquets, games, and entertainments In most triumphs, the general funded any post-procession banquets from his share of the loot. There were feasts for the people and separate, much richer feasts for the elite; some went on for most of the night. Dionysus offers a contrast to the lavish triumphal banquets of his time by giving Romulus's triumph the most primitive possible "banquet" – ordinary Romans setting up food-tables as a "welcome home," and the returning troops taking swigs and bites as they marched by. He recreates the first Republican triumphal banquet along the same lines. Varro claims that his aunt earned 20,000 sesterces by supplying 5,000 thrushes for Caecilius Metellus's triumph of 71 BCE. Some triumphs included ludi as fulfillment of the general's vow to a god or goddess, made before battle or during its heat, in return for their help in securing victory. In the Republic, they were paid for by the triumphing general. Marcus Fulvius Nobilior vowed "ludi "in return for victory over the Aetolian League and paid for ten days of games at his triumph. Commemoration Most Romans would never have seen a triumph, but its symbolism permeated Roman imagination and material culture. Triumphal generals minted and circulated high value coins to propagate their triumphal fame and generosity empire-wide. Pompey's issues for his th..
  22. Title: "Great Walls and Linear Barriers," by Peter Spring
    Author: Pen and Sword, Feb 28, 2015
    Publication: Name: https://books.google.com/books?id=OfmxBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA346&lpg=PA346&dq=Tiberius+Plautius+Silvanus+Aelianus&source=bl&ots=mnyNku87pJ&sig=ACfU3U2PZ5pxzC1ARFBJl1Na7Lr9TYIVbA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj9jvHE8bHmAhVKqlkKHQyeCLQ4FBDoATAQegQIEhAB#v=onepage&q=Tiberius%20Plautius%20Silvanus%20Aelianus&f=false;
    Note: Everyone has heard of the Great Wall of China and knows of Hadrian's Wall and the other barriers lining stretches of Rome's imperial frontiers. But Peter Spring's original new study demonstrates that far from being exceptional, the building of walls and other linear defenses was commonplace among the peoples and states of pre-modern era. He finds examples virtually all across the globe and analyses their forms and strategic functions. He finds patterns for their distribution, an important recurrent theme being the divide between settled agriculture and nomads. The author argues that it is mistaken to view such undertakings as necessarily purely defensive measures that might be evidence of insecurity or a 'maginot line mentality', as they were in fact often about aggressive assertion of control over a region or strategic routes. This original and thought-provoking study brings new light and insight to a fascinating and neglected aspect of human political and military history. It The clear text is supported by numerous, specially drawn maps and photographs.
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