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Lucius Ceionius Commodus Verus Caesar


Preferred Parents:
Father: Lucius Ceionius Commodus , b. um 0073   d. nach 0106
Mother: Plautia Plautius The Elder of Rome, b. aproximadamente 0065 in Rome, Roma, Italy   d. 119

Family 1: Avida Plautia Nigrinus,    b. 105 in Faenza, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy   
  1. Lucius Ceionius Commodus Verus Roman Emperor, b. 15 DEC 130 in Rome, Rome, Lazio, Italy     d. 23 JAN 169 in Altinum, Italy, Roman Empire
  2. Caeonia Plantia de Rome, b. 135 in Rome, Roman Empire     d. in Rome, Roman Empire
Sources:
  1. Title: Wikiwand: Nerva–Antonine dynasty
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Nerva%E2%80%93Antonine_dynasty;
    Note: The Nerva–Antonine dynasty was a dynasty of seven Roman Emperors who ruled over the Roman Empire from 96 CE to 192 CE. These Emperors are Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Lucius Verus, Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus. The first five of them (excluding Lucius Verus) are commonly known as the "Five Good Emperors." The first five of the six successions within this dynasty were notable in that the reigning Emperor adopted the candidate of his choice to be his successor. Under Roman law, an adoption established a bond legally as strong as that of kinship. Because of this, all but the first and last of the Nerva–Antonine emperors are called Adoptive Emperors. The importance of official adoption in Roman society has often been considered as a conscious repudiation of the principle of dynastic inheritance and has been deemed one of the factors of the period's prosperity. However, this was not a new practice. It was common for patrician families to adopt, and Roman emperors had adopted heirs in the past: the Emperor Augustus had adopted Tiberius and the Emperor Claudius had adopted Nero. Julius Caesar, dictator perpetuo and considered to be instrumental in the transition from Republic to Empire, adopted Gaius Octavius, who would become Augustus, Rome's first emperor. Moreover, there was a family connection as Trajan adopted his first cousin once removed and great-nephew by marriage Hadrian, and Hadrian made his half-nephew by marriage and heir Antoninus Pius adopt both Hadrian's second cousin three times removed and half-great-nephew by marriage Marcus Aurelius, also Antoninus' nephew by marriage, and the son of his original planned successor, Lucius Verus. The naming by Marcus Aurelius of his son Commodus was considered to be an unfortunate choice and the beginning of the Empire's decline. With Commodus' murder in 192, the Nerva–Antonine dynasty came to an end; it was followed by a period of turbulence known as the Year of the Five Emperors. History Nerva–Trajan dynasty Nerva was the first of the dynasty. Though his reign was short, it saw a partial reconciliation between the army, Senate and commoners. Nerva adopted as his son the popular military leader Trajan. In turn, Hadrian succeeded Trajan; he had been the latter's heir presumptive and averred that he had been adopted by him on Trajan's deathbed. Antonine dynasty The Antonines are four Roman Emperors who ruled between 138 and 192: Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus and Commodus. In 138, after a long reign dedicated to the cultural unification and consolidation of the empire, the Emperor Hadrian named Antoninus Pius his son and heir, under the condition that he adopt both Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Hadrian died that same year, and Antoninus began a peaceful, benevolent reign. He adhered strictly to Roman traditions and institutions and shared his power with the Roman Senate. Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus succeeded Antoninus Pius in 161 upon that emperor's death, and co-ruled until Verus' death in 169. Marcus continued the Antonine legacy after Verus' death as an unpretentious and gifted administrator and leader. He died in 180 and was followed by his biological son, Commodus. Five Good Emperors The rulers commonly known as the "Five Good Emperors" were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. The term was coined by Niccolò Machiavelli in "The Discourses on Livy": "From the study of this history we may also learn how a good government is to be established; for while all the emperors who succeeded to the throne by birth, except Titus, were bad, all were good who succeeded by adoption, as in the case of the five from Nerva to Marcus. But as soon as the empire fell once more to the heirs by birth, its ruin recommenced." Machiavelli argued that these adopted emperors earned the respect of those around them through good governing: "Titus, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus, and Marcus had no need of praetorian cohorts, or of countless legions to guard them, but were defended by their own good lives, the good-will of their subjects, and the attachment of the senate." " Edward Gibbon wrote in "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" that their rule was a time when "the Roman Empire was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of wisdom and virtue." Gibbon believed that these benevolent monarchs and their moderate policies were unusual and contrasted with their more tyrannical and oppressive successors. Alternative hypothesis One hypothesis posits that adoptive succession is thought to have arisen because of a lack of biological heirs. All but the last of the adoptive emperors had no legitimate biological sons to succeed them. They were thus obliged to pick a successor somewhere else; as soon as the Emperor could look towards a biological son to succeed him, adoptive succession was set aside. The dynasty may be broken up into the Nerva–Trajan dynasty (also called the Ulpian dynasty after Trajan's "nomen gentile" 'Ulpius') and Antonine dynasty (after their common name Antoninus). The Jewish viewpoint The concept of "The Five Good Emperors" reflects the internal Roman point of view. As regards their treatment of Roman citizens, these five Emperors clearly seem better than other Emperors – specifically, better than Domitian who immediately preceded them and Commodus who immediately followed them – and this view was taken up by later Europeans, drawing on Roman historical sources. It is, however, not necessarily the point of view of provincials and of Rome's neighbors – particularly, of those targeted by one or more of these emperors in a war of conquest or in the suppression of a revolt. In many cases, such diverging points of view did not leave a record; for example, there is no surviving historical source recording the Dacians' opinion of Trajan, who conquered them. However, in the case of the Jews, who suffered greatly at the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt by Hadrian, there is an extensive rabbinic literature offering a very different perspective from that of Roman historiography. While the Roman view lumped Hadrian and Antoninus Pius together among the Five Good Emperors, Jews tended to contrast the Bad Hadrian with the Good Antoninus. When Jewish sources mention Hadrian it is always with the epitaph "may his bones be crushed" (Hebrew: שחיק עצמות‎, Aramaic: שחיק טמיא‎[7]), an expression never used with respect to even Vespasian or Titus, who destroyed the Second Temple; conversely, Antoninus Pius is positively remembered in the Jewish tradition, as having ameliorated the Jews' lot and abolished many of the harsh decrees which Hadrian had imposed on them. The Jewish viewpoint The concept of "The Five Good Emperors" reflects the internal Roman point of view. As regards their treatment of Roman citizens, these five Emperors clearly seem better than other Emperors – specifically, better than Domitian who immediately preceded them and Commodus who immediately followed them – and this view was taken up by later Europeans, drawing on Roman historical sources. It is, however, not necessarily the point of view of provincials and of Rome's neighbors – particularly, of those targeted by one or more of these emperors in a war of conquest or in the suppression of a revolt. Nerva–Antonine family tree [chart]
  2. Title: Wikiwand: Ceionia (gens)
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ceionia_(gens);
    Note: The gens Ceionia was a Roman family of imperial times. The first member of the gens to obtain the consulship was Lucius Ceionius Commodus in AD 78. The rise of this family culminated in the elevation of the emperor Lucius Aurelius Verus, born Lucius Ceionius Commodus, in AD 161. Origin The Ceionii were probably of Etruscan origin. Their nomen resembles other Etruscan names, such as "Cilnius," and the family does not appear in history before the first century. The historian Aelius Spartianus wrote that they came from Etruria, or perhaps from the town of Faventia, which was itself of Etruscan origin. Praenomina The praenomina used by the Ceionii were "Lucius," "Gaius," and "Marcus." Branches and cognomina The most illustrious family of the Ceionii bore the cognomen "Commodus," meaning "friendly, obliging," or "pleasant." The agnomen "Verus," meaning "true." was borne by some members of this family. Many other surnames occur, some of which were ordinary cognomina, such as "Rufus," meaning "red" or "reddish," or "Bassus," "stout." However, as with many families of imperial times, many surnames were acquired from other families to whom the Ceionii were related or otherwise politically connected. "Postumus," a surname belonging to the father of the emperor Albinus, is derived from the praenomen "Postumus," referring to a youngest child, although a popular false etymology derived it from "post humus," "after burial," meaning a child born after his father's death. In a letter referred to by the historian Julius Capitolinus, Ceionius Postumus claimed to be a descendant of the ancient patrician house of the Postumii, whose "nomen" was itself derived from the praenomen "Postumus." Ceionius named his son "Albinus," supposedly in reference both to the extraordinary whiteness of his skin, and to the noble family of the Postumii Albini; however, several other members of the gens also bore the surname "Albinus." Members This list includes abbreviated praenomina. Ceionii Commodi . Lucius Ceionius Commodus, consul in AD 78. . Lucius Ceionius (L. f.) Commodus, consul in AD 106. . Lucius Ceionius L. f. (L. n.) Commodus Verus, consul in AD 136, adopted by the emperor Hadrian as his heir. . Lucius Ceionius L. f. L. n. Commodus, better known as "Lucius Verus," adopted by the emperor Antoninus Pius; emperor with Marcus Aurelius from AD 161 to 169. . Ceionia L. f. L. n. Fabia, one of the sisters of Lucius Verus, was originally betrothed to Marcus Aurelius; the engagement was dissolved at the request of Antoninus Pius, and she married . Plautius Quintillus, consul in AD 159. . Ceionia L. f. L. n. Plautia, a sister of Lucius Verus, married Quintus Servilius Pudens, consul in AD 166. . Gaius Avidius Ceionius L. f. L. n. Commodus, the brother of Lucius Verus. Ceionii Albini . Ceionius Postumius, father of the emperor Albinus. . Decimus Clodius Ceionius Septimius Albinus, emperor from AD 196 to 197. . Ceionius Postumianus, a relative of the emperor Albinus, who helped him gain the attention of the Antonines. . Ceionius Albinus, a distinguished man, probably a relative of the emperor Albinus, put to death by Septimius Severus. . Ceionius Albinus, "praefectus urbi" under the emperor Valerian; his full name may have been Marcus Nummius Ceionius Annius Albinus. A Nummius Albinus was praefectus urbi in AD 256. . Gaius Caeionius Rufius Volusianus, "praefectus urbi" in AD 310 and 311, and from 313 to 315. . Ceionius Rufius Albinus, "praefectus urbi" from AD 335 to 337. . Gaius Ceionius Rufius Volusianus, praetorian prefect of Gaul in AD 354 and 355, proconsul of Africa, and "praefectus urbi" in 365. . Ceionius Rufius Albinus, "praefectus urbi" from AD 389 to 391. . Publius Ceionius Caecina Albinus, grandfather of Eustochius, Bishop of Tours during the mid-5th century. Others . Ceionius, "praefectus" of the camp under Publius Quinctilius Varus, took his own life after the disaster of Teutoburg Forest, in AD 9. . Marcus Ceionius Silvanus, consul in AD 156. . Marcia Aurelia Ceionia Demetrias, a freedwoman of the emperor Lucius Aurelius Verus; mistress of the emperor Commodus, in whose downfall she played a prominent part; she was later put to death by Didius Julianus. . Ceionius Virius Bassus, consul in AD 271, and a friend of the emperor Aurelian, to whom he wrote a letter respecting the destruction of Palmyra. . Ceionius Varus, "praefectus urbi" in AD 284 and 285. . Ceionius Julianus, "praefectus urbi" in AD 310 and 311, a friend of the historian Vopiscus.
  3. Title: Wikiwand: Antoninus Pius
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Antoninus_Pius;
    Note: Antoninus Pius (/ˌæntəˈnaɪnəs ˈpaɪəs/; Latin: "Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius"; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161), also known as Antoninus, was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was one of the Five Good Emperors in the Nerva–Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held various offices during the reign of emperor Hadrian, who adopted him as his son and successor shortly before his death. Antoninus acquired the cognomen Pius after his accession to the throne, either because he compelled the Senate to deify his adoptive father, or because he had saved senators sentenced to death by Hadrian in his later years. His reign is notable for the peaceful state of the Empire, with no major revolts or military incursions during this time, and for his governing without ever leaving Italy. A successful military campaign in southern Scotland early in his reign resulted in the construction of the Antonine Wall. Antoninus was an effective administrator, leaving his successors a large surplus in the treasury, expanding free access to drinking water throughout the Empire, encouraging legal conformity, and facilitating the enfranchisement of freed slaves. He died of illness in 161 and was succeeded by his adopted sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus as co-emperors. Early life Childhood and family Antoninus was born near Lanuvium (modern-day Lanuvio in Italy) to Titus Aurelius Fulvus, consul in 86, and Arria Fadilla. The Aurelii Fulvi were an Aurelian family settled in Nemausus (modern Nîmes). Titus Aurelius Fulvius was the son of a senator of the same name, who, as legate of Legio III Gallica, had supported Vespasian in his bid to the Imperial office and been rewarded with a suffect consulship, plus an ordinary one under Domitian in 85. The Aurelii Fulvii were therefore a relatively new senatorial family from Gallia Narbonensis whose rise to prominence was supported by the Flavians. The link between Antoninus' family and their home province explains the increasing importance of the post of Proconsul of Gallia Narbonensis during the late Second Century. Antoninus’ father had no other children and died shortly after his 89 ordinary consulship. Antoninus was raised by his maternal grandfather Gnaeus Arrius Antoninus, reputed by contemporaries to be a man of integrity and culture and a friend of Pliny the Younger. The Arrii Antonini were an older senatorial family from Italy, very influential during Nerva's reign. Arria Fadilla, Antoninus' mother, married afterwards Publius Julius Lupus, suffect consul in 98; from that marriage came two daughters, Arria Lupula and Julia Fadilla. Marriage and children Some time between 110 and 115, Antoninus married Annia Galeria Faustina the Elder. They are believed to have enjoyed a happy marriage. Faustina was the daughter of consul Marcus Annius Verus and Rupilia Faustina (a half-sister to the Empress Vibia Sabina). Faustina was a beautiful woman, and despite (basically unproven) rumors about her character, it is clear that Antoninus cared for her deeply. Faustina bore Antoninus four children, two sons and two daughters. They were: . Marcus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus (died before 138); his sepulchral inscription has been found at the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. . Marcus Galerius Aurelius Antoninus (died before 138); his sepulchral inscription has been found at the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. His name appears on a Greek Imperial coin. . Aurelia Fadilla (died in 135); she married Lucius Plautius Lamia Silvanus, consul 145. She appeared to have no children with her husband; and her sepulchral inscription has been found in Italy. . Annia Galeria Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger (between 125–130–175), a future Roman Empress, married her maternal cousin Marcus Aurelius in 146. When Faustina died in 141, Antoninus was greatly distressed. In honor of her memory, he asked the Senate to deify her as a goddess, and authorized the construction of a temple to be built in the Roman Forum in her name, with priestesses serving in her temple. He had various coins with her portrait struck in her honor. These coins were scripted ‘DIVA FAUSTINA’ and were elaborately decorated. He further created and founded a charity that he called "Puellae Faustinianae" or "Girls of Faustina," which assisted destitute girls of good family. Finally, Antoninus created a new "alimenta" (see Grain supply to the city of Rome). The emperor never remarried. Instead, he lived with Galena Lysistrata, one of Faustina's freed women. Concubinage was a form of female companionship sometimes chosen by powerful men in Ancient Rome, especially widowers like Vespasian, and Marcus Aurelius. Their union could not produce any legitimate offspring who could threaten any heirs, such as those of Antoninus. Also, as one could not have a wife and an official concubine (or two concubines) at the same time, Antoninus avoided being pressed into a marriage with a noblewoman from another family (later, Marcus Aurelius would also reject the advances of his former fiancée Ceionia Fabia, Lucius Verus's sister, on the grounds of protecting his children from a stepmother, and took a concubine instead). Favor with Hadrian Having filled the offices of quaestor and praetor with more than usual success, he obtained the consulship in 120. He was next appointed by the Emperor Hadrian as one of the four proconsuls to administer Italia, then greatly increased his reputation by his conduct as proconsul of Asia, probably during 134–135. He acquired much favor with Hadrian, who adopted him as his son and successor on 25 February 138, after the death of his first adopted son Lucius Aelius, on the condition that Antoninus would in turn adopt Marcus Annius Verus, the son of his wife's brother, and Lucius, son of Lucius Aelius, who afterwards became the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Emperor On his accession, Antoninus' name and style became "Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pontifex Maximus." One of his first acts as Emperor was to persuade the Senate to grant divine honors to Hadrian, which they had at first refused; his efforts to persuade the Senate to grant these honors is the most likely reason given for his title of "Pius" (dutiful in affection; compare "pietas"). Two other reasons for this title are that he would support his aged father-in-law with his hand at Senate meetings, and that he had saved those men that Hadrian, during his period of ill-health, had condemned to death. Immediately after Hadrian's death, Antoninus approached Marcus and requested that his marriage arrangements be amended: Marcus' betrothal to Ceionia Fabia would be annulled, and he would be betrothed to Faustina, Antoninus' daughter, instead. Faustina's betrothal to Ceionia's brother Lucius Commodus would also have to be annulled. Marcus consented to Antoninus' proposal. Antoninus built temples, theaters, and mausoleums, promoted the arts and sciences, and bestowed honours and financial rewards upon the teachers of rhetoric and philosophy. Antoninus made few initial changes when he became emperor, leaving intact as far as possible the arrangements instituted by Hadrian. Epigraphical and prosopographical research has revealed that Antoninus' imperial ruling team centered around a group of closely knit senatorial families, most of them members of the priestly congregation for the cult of Hadrian, the "sodales Hadrianales." According to the German historian H.G. Pflaum, prosopographical research of Antoninus' ruling team allows us to grasp the deeply conservative character of the ruling senatorial caste. A non-military reign There are no records of any military related acts in his time in which he participated. One modern scholar has written "It is almost certain not only that at no time in his life did he ever see, let alone command, a Roman army, but that, throughout the twenty-three years of his reign, he never went within five hundred miles of a legion." His reign was the most peaceful in the entire history of the Principate, notwithstanding the fact that there were several military disturbances throughout the Empire in his time. Such disturbances happened in Mauretania – where a senator was named as governor of Mauretania Tingitana in place of the usual equestrian procurator and cavalry reinforcements from Pannonia were brought in, towns such as Sala and Tipasa being fortified. Similar disturbances took place in Judea, and amongst the Brigantes in Britannia, none of them being considered serious. It was however in Britain that Antoninus decided to follow a new, more aggressive path, with the appointment of a new governor in 139, Quintus Lollius Urbicus,[30] a native of Numidia and previously governor of Germania Inferior. Under instructions from the emperor, Lollius undertook an invasion of southern Scotland, winning some significant victories, and constructing the Antonine Wall from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde. The wall, however, was soon gradually decommissioned during the mid-150s and eventually abandoned late during the reign (early 160s), for reasons that are still not quite clear. Antonine's Wall is mentioned in just one literary source, Antoninus' biography in the Historia Augusta. Pausanias makes a brief and confused mention of a war in Britain. In one inscription honoring Antoninus, erected by Legio II Augusta, which participated in the building of the Wall, a relief showing four naked prisoners, one of them beheaded, seems to stand for some actual warfare. Although Antonine's Wall was, in principle, much shorter and at first sight more defensible than Hadrian's Wall, the additional area that it enclosed within the Empire was barren, with the effect that supply lines to it were strained enough that the costs from maintaining the additional territory outweighed the benefits of doing so. It has been therefore speculated that the invasion of Lowland Scotland and the ..
  4. Title: Wikiwand: Hadrian
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hadrian;
    Note: Hadrian (/ˈheɪdriən/; Latin: "Publius Aelius Hadrianus Augustus"; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus in Italica, Hispania Baetica, into a Roman Italo-Hispanic family that settled in Spain from the Italian city of Atri in Picenum. His father was of senatorial rank and was a first cousin of Emperor Trajan. He married Trajan's grand-niece Vibia Sabina early in his career, before Trajan became emperor and possibly at the behest of Trajan's wife Pompeia Plotina. Plotina and Trajan's close friend and adviser Lucius Licinius Sura were well disposed towards Hadrian. When Trajan died, his widow claimed that he had nominated Hadrian as emperor immediately before his death. Rome's military and Senate approved Hadrian's succession, but four leading senators were unlawfully put to death soon after. They had opposed Hadrian or seemed to threaten his succession, and the senate held him responsible for it and never forgave him. He earned further disapproval among the elite by abandoning Trajan's expansionist policies and territorial gains in Mesopotamia, Assyria, Armenia, and parts of Dacia. Hadrian preferred to invest in the development of stable, defensible borders and the unification of the empire's disparate peoples. He is known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Britannia. Hadrian energetically pursued his own Imperial ideals and personal interests. He visited almost every province of the Empire, accompanied by an Imperial retinue of specialists and administrators. He encouraged military preparedness and discipline, and he fostered, designed, or personally subsidized various civil and religious institutions and building projects. In Rome itself, he rebuilt the Pantheon and constructed the vast Temple of Venus and Roma. In Egypt, he may have rebuilt the Serapeum of Alexandria. He was an ardent admirer of Greece and sought to make Athens the cultural capital of the Empire, so he ordered the construction of many opulent temples there. His intense relationship with Greek youth Antinous and Antinous' untimely death led Hadrian to establish a widespread cult late in his reign. He suppressed the Bar Kokhba revolt in Judaea, but his reign was otherwise peaceful. Hadrian's last years were marred by chronic illness. He saw the Bar Kokhba revolt as the failure of his panhellenic ideal. He executed two more senators for their alleged plots against him, and this provoked further resentment. His marriage to Vibia Sabina had been unhappy and childless; he adopted Antoninus Pius in 138 and nominated him as a successor, on the condition that Antoninus adopt Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus as his own heirs. Hadrian died the same year at Baiae, and Antoninus had him deified, despite opposition from the Senate. Edward Gibbon includes him among the Empire's "Five Good Emperors," a "benevolent dictator"; Hadrian's own senate found him remote and authoritarian. He has been described as enigmatic and contradictory, with a capacity for both great personal generosity and extreme cruelty and driven by insatiable curiosity, self-conceit, and ambition. Modern interest was revived largely thanks to Marguerite Yourcenar's novel "Mémoires d'Hadrien" (1951). Early life Hadrian was born on 24 January 76, probably in Italica (near modern Seville) in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica; one Roman biographer claims he was born at Rome. He was named Publius Aelius Hadrianus. His father was Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer, a senator of praetorian rank, born and raised in Italica but paternally linked, through many generations over several centuries, to a family from Hadria (modern Atri), an ancient town in Picenum. The family had settled in Italica soon after its founding by Scipio Africanus. Hadrian's mother was Domitia Paulina, daughter of a distinguished Hispano-Roman senatorial family from Gades (Cádiz). His only sibling was an elder sister, Aelia Domitia Paulina. Hadrian's great-nephew, Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator, from Barcino (Barcelona) would become Hadrian's colleague as co-consul in 118. As a senator, Hadrian's father would have spent much of his time in Rome. In terms of his later career, Hadrian's most significant family connection was to Trajan, hi,sfather's first cousin, who was also of senatorial stock, and had been born and raised in Italica. Hadrian and Trajan were both considered to be – in the words of Aurelius Victor – "aliens," people "from the outside" ("advenae"). Hadrian's parents died in 86, when he was ten years old. He and his sister became wards of Trajan and Publius Acilius Attianus (who later became Trajan's Praetorian prefect). Hadrian was physically active, and enjoyed hunting; when he was 14, Trajan called him to Rome and arranged his further education in subjects appropriate to a young Roman aristocrat. Hadrian's enthusiasm for Greek literature and culture earned him the nickname "Graeculus" ("Greekling"). Trajan married Paulina off to the three-times consul Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus; the couple had a daughter, Julia Serviana Paulina. Public service Hadrian's first official post in Rome was as a judge at the Inheritance court, one among many vigintivirate offices at the lowest level of the "cursus honorum" ("course of honors") that could lead to higher office and a senatorial career. He then served as a military tribune, first with the Legio II Adiutrix in 95, then with the Legio V Macedonica. During Hadrian's second stint as tribune, the frail and aged reigning emperor Nerva adopted Trajan as his heir; Hadrian was dispatched to give Trajan the news— or most probably was one of many emissaries charged with this same commission. Then he was transferred to Legio XXII Primigenia and a third tribunate. Hadrian's three tribunates gave him some career advantage. Most scions of the older senatorial families might serve one, or at most two military tribunates as a prerequisite to higher office. When Nerva died in 98, Hadrian is said to have hastened to Trajan, to inform him ahead of the official envoy sent by the governor, Hadrian's brother-in-law and rival Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus. In 101, Hadrian was back in Rome; he was elected quaestor, then "quaestor imperatoris Traiani," liaison officer between Emperor and the assembled Senate, to whom he read the Emperor's communiqués and speeches – which he possibly composed on the emperor's behalf. In his role as imperial ghostwriter, Hadrian took the place of the recently deceased Licinius Sura, Trajan's all-powerful friend and kingmaker. His next post was as ab actis senatus, keeping the Senate's records. During the First Dacian War, Hadrian took the field as a member of Trajan's personal entourage, but was excused from his military post to take office in Rome as Tribune of the Plebs, in 105. After the war, he was probably elected praetor. During the Second Dacian War, Hadrian was in Trajan's personal service again, but was released to serve as legate of Legio I Minervia, then as governor of Lower Pannonia in 107, tasked with "holding back the Sarmatians." Now in his mid-thirties, Hadrian traveled to Greece; he was granted Athenian citizenship and was appointed eponymous archon of Athens for a brief time (in 112). The Athenians awarded him a statue with an inscription in the Theater of Dionysus (IG II2 3286) offering a detailed account of his "cursus honorum" thus far. Thereafter no more is heard of him until Trajan's Parthian War. It is possible that he remained in Greece until his recall to the imperial retinue, when he joined Trajan's expedition against Parthia as a legate. When the governor of Syria was sent to deal with renewed troubles in Dacia, Hadrian was appointed his replacement, with independent command. Trajan became seriously ill, and took ship for Rome, while Hadrian remained in Syria, "de facto" general commander of the Eastern Roman army. Trajan got as far as the coastal city of Selinus, in Cilicia, and died there, on 8 August; he would be regarded as one of Rome's most admired, popular and best emperors. Relationship with Trajan and his family Around the time of his quaestorship, in 100 or 101, Hadrian had married Trajan's seventeen or eighteen-year-old grandniece, Vibia Sabina. Trajan himself seems to have been less than enthusiastic about the marriage, and with good reason, as the couple's relationship would prove to be scandalously poor. The marriage might have been arranged by Trajan's empress, Plotina. This highly cultured, influential woman shared many of Hadrian's values and interests, including the idea of the Roman Empire as a commonwealth with an underlying Hellenic culture. If Hadrian were to be appointed Trajan's successor, Plotina and her extended family could retain their social profile and political influence after Trajan's death. Hadrian could also count on the support of his mother-in-law, Salonina Matidia, who was daughter of Trajan's beloved sister Ulpia Marciana. When Ulpia Marciana died, in 112, Trajan had her deified, and made Salonina Matidia an Augusta. Hadrian's personal relationship with Trajan was complex, and may have been difficult. Hadrian seems to have sought influence over Trajan, or Trajan's decisions, through cultivation of the latter's boy favourites; this gave rise to some unexplained quarrel, around the time of Hadrian's marriage to Sabina. Late in Trajan's reign, Hadrian failed to achieve a senior consulship, being only suffect consul for 108; this gave him parity of status with other members of the senatorial nobility but no particular distinction befitting an heir designate. Had Trajan wished it, he could have promoted his protege to patrician rank and its privileges, which included opportunities for a fast track to consulship without prior experience as tribune; he chose not to. While Hadrian seems to have been granted the office of Tribune of the Plebs a year or so younger than was customary, he had to leave D..
  5. Title: Wikiwand: Caesar (title)
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Caesar_(title);
    Note: Caesar (English pl. Caesars; Latin pl. Caesares) is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator. The change from being a familial name to a title adopted by the Roman Emperors can be dated to about CE 68/69, the so-called "Year of the Four Emperors." [dubious] Sole Roman Emperor For political and personal reasons, Octavian chose to emphasize his relationship with Julius Caesar by styling himself simply "Imperator Caesar" (whereto the Roman Senate added the honorific "Augustus," "Majestic" or "Venerable," in 27 BC), without any of the other elements of his full name. His successor as emperor, his stepson Tiberius, also bore the name as a matter of course; born Tiberius Claudius Nero, he was adopted by Caesar Augustus on 26 June 4 AD, as "Tiberius Julius Caesar." The precedent was set: the Emperor designated his successor by adopting him and giving him the name "Caesar." The fourth Emperor, Claudius, was the first to assume the name "Caesar" upon accession, without having been adopted by the previous emperor; however, he was at least a member by blood of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, being the maternal great-nephew of Augustus on his mother's side, the nephew of Tiberius, and the uncle of Caligula. Claudius in turn adopted his stepson and grand-nephew Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, giving him the name "Caesar" in the traditional way; his stepson would rule as the Emperor Nero. The first emperor to assume the position and the name simultaneously without any real claim to either was the usurper Servius Sulpicius Galba, who took the imperial throne under the name "Servius Galba Imperator Caesar" following the death of the last of the Julio-Claudians, Nero, in 68. Galba helped solidify "Caesar" as the title of the designated heir by giving it to his own adopted heir, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus. Galba's reign did not last long and he was soon deposed by Marcus Otho. Otho did not at first use the title "Caesar" and occasionally used the title "Nero" as emperor, but later adopted the title "Caesar" as well. Otho was then defeated by Aulus Vitellius, who acceded with the name "Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Imperator Augustus." Vitellius did not adopt the cognomen "Caesar" as part of his name and may have intended to replace it with "Germanicus" (he bestowed the name "Germanicus" upon his own son that year). Nevertheless, Caesar had become such an integral part of the imperial dignity that its place was immediately restored by Titus Flavius Vespasianus ("Vespasian"), whose defeat of Vitellius in 69 put an end to the period of instability and began the Flavian dynasty. Vespasian's son, Titus Flavius Vespasianus became "Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus." Dynastic title By this point the status of "Caesar" had been regularized into that of a title given to the Emperor-designate (occasionally also with the honorific title "Princeps Iuventutis," "Prince of Youth") and retained by him upon accession to the throne (e.g., Marcus Ulpius Traianus became Marcus Cocceius Nerva's designated heir as Caesar Nerva Traianus in October 97 and acceded on 28 January 98 as "Imperator Caesar Nerva Traianus Augustus"). After some variation among the earliest emperors, the style of the Emperor-designate on coins was usually "Nobilissimus Caesar," "Most Noble Caesar" (abbreviated to NOB CAES, N CAES etc.), though Caesar (CAES) on its own was also used. Late Empire Crisis of the Third Century The popularity of using the title Caesar to designate heirs-apparent increased throughout the third century. Many of the soldier emperors during the Crisis of the Third Century attempted to strengthen their legitimacy by naming heirs, including Maximinus Thrax, Philip the Arab, Decius, Trebonianus Gallus and Gallienus. Some of these were promoted to the rank of Augustus within their father's lifetime, for example Philippus II. The same title would also be used in the Gallic Empire, which operated autonomously from the rest of the Roman Empire from 260 to 274, with the final Gallic emperor Tetricus I appointing his heir Tetricus II Caesar and his consular colleague for 274. Despite the best efforts of these emperors, however, the granting of this title does not seem to have made succession in this chaotic period any more stable. Almost all Caesars would be killed before or alongside their fathers, or at best outlive them for a matter of months, as in the case of Hostilian. The sole Caesar to successfully obtain the rank of Augustus and rule for some time in his own right was Gordian III, and even he was heavily controlled by his court. Tetrarchy On 1 March 293, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus established the Tetrarchy, a system of rule by two senior Emperors and two junior sub-Emperors. The two coequal senior emperors were styled identically to previous Emperors, as "Imperator Caesar NN. Pius Felix Invictus Augustus" (Elagabalus had introduced the use of "Pius Felix," "the Pious and Blessed," while Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" introduced the use of "Invictus," "the Unconquered") and were called the "Augusti," while the two junior sub-Emperors were styled identically to previous Emperors-designate, as "Nobilissimus Caesar." Likewise, the junior sub-Emperors retained the title "Caesar" upon accession to the senior position. "' The Tetrarchy was quickly abandoned as a system (though the four quarters of the empire survived as praetorian prefectures) in favour of two equal, territorial emperors, and the previous system of Emperors and Emperors-designate was restored, both in the Latin-speaking West and the Greek-speaking East. After the Tetrarchy The title of Caesar remained in use throughout the Constantinian period, with both Constantine I and his co-emperor and rival Licinius utilizing it to mark their heirs. In the case of Constantine, this meant that by the time he died, he had four Caesars: Constantius II, Constantine II, Constans and his nephew Dalmatius, with his eldest son Crispus having been executed in mysterious circumstances earlier in his reign. In the event, Constantine would be succeeded only by his three sons, with Dalmatius dying in the summer of 337 in similarly murky circumstances. Constantius II himself would nominate as Caesars his two cousins Constantius Gallus and Julian in succession in the 350s, although he first executed Gallus and then found himself at war with Julian before his own death. After Julian's revolt of 361, the title Caesar fell out of imperial fashion for some time, with emperors preferring simply to elevate their sons directly to the post of Augustus, as with Gratian. It would be revived only nearly three quarters of a century later when Theodosius II used it to mark his nephew Valentinian III before successfully installing him upon the western throne vacated by the boy's other uncle Honorius. Thereafter it would receive limited use in the Eastern Roman Empire, for example, in the designation of the future Leo II in the final months of his grandfather's life. Byzantine Empire "Caesar" or "Kaisar" (Καῖσαρ) was a senior court title in the Byzantine Empire. Originally, as in the late Roman Empire, it was used for a subordinate co-emperor or the heir apparent, and was first among the "awarded" dignities. From the reign of Theodosius I, however, most emperors chose to solidify the succession of their intended heirs by raising them to co-emperors. Hence the title was more frequently awarded to second- and third-born sons, or to close and influential relatives of the Emperor: thus for example Alexios Mosele was the son-in-law of Theophilos (ruled 829–842), Bardas was the uncle and chief minister of Michael III (r. 842–867), while Nikephoros II (r. 963–969) awarded the title to his father, Bardas Phokas. An exceptional case was the conferment of the dignity and its insignia to the Bulgarian khan Tervel by Justinian II (r. 685–695, 705–711) who had helped him regain his throne in 705. The title was awarded to the brother of Empress Maria of Alania, George II of Georgia in 1081. The office enjoyed extensive privileges, great prestige and power. When Alexios I Komnenos created the title of "sebastokrator," "kaisar" became third in importance, and fourth after Manuel I Komnenos created the title of "despot," which it remained until the end of the Empire. The feminine form was kaisarissa. It remained an office of great importance, usually awarded to imperial relations, as well as a few high-ranking and distinguished officials, and only rarely awarded to foreigners. According to the "Klētorologion" of 899, the Byzantine Caesar's insignia were a crown without a cross, and the ceremony of a Caesar's creation (in this case dating to Constantine V), is included in "De Ceremoniis" I.43. The title remained the highest in the imperial hierarchy until the introduction of the "sebastokratōr" (a composite derived from "sebastos" and "autokrator," the Greek equivalents of "Augustus" and "imperator") by Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) and later of "despotēs" by Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180). The title remained in existence through the last centuries of the Empire. In the Palaiologan period, it was held by prominent nobles like Alexios Strategopoulos, but from the 14th century, it was mostly awarded to rulers of the Balkans such as the princes of Vlachia, Serbia and Thessaly. In the late Byzantine hierarchy, as recorded in the mid-14th century "Book of Offices" of pseudo-Kodinos, the rank continued to come after the "sebastokratōr. Pseudo-Kodinos further records that the Caesar was equal in precedence to the "panhypersebastos," another creation of Alexios I, but that Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282) had raised his nephew Michael Tarchaneiotes to the rank of "protovestiarios" and decreed that to come after the "Caesar"; while under Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328) the "megas domestikos" was raised to the same eminence, when it was aw..
  6. Title: Wikiwand: Lucius Verus
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Lucius_Verus;
    Note: Lucius Verus (/ˈljuːʃəs ˈvɪərəs/; Latin: "Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus"; 15 December 130 – 23 January 169 AD) was the co-emperor of Rome with his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius from 161 until his own death in 169. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with Marcus Aurelius marked the first time that the Roman Empire was ruled by multiple emperors, an increasingly common occurrence in the later history of the Empire. The eldest son of Lucius Aelius Caesar, first adopted son and heir to Hadrian, Verus was born and educated in Rome where he held several political offices prior to taking the throne. After his biological father’s death in 138, he was adopted by Antoninus Pius, who was himself adopted by Hadrian. Hadrian died later that year, and Antoninus Pius succeeded to the throne. Antoninus Pius ruled until 161 and was succeeded by Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius. The majority of Verus’s reign was occupied by his direction of the war with Parthia which ended in Roman victory and some territorial gains. After initial involvement in the Marcomannic Wars, he fell ill and died in 169. He was deified by the Roman Senate as the Divine Verus ("Divus Verus"). Early life and career Lucius Verus was the first-born son to Avidia Plautia and Lucius Aelius Caesar, the first adopted son and heir of Emperor Hadrian (76–138). He was born and raised in Rome. Verus had another brother, Gaius Avidius Ceionius Commodus, and two sisters, Ceionia Fabia and Ceionia Plautia. His maternal grandparents were the senator Gaius Avidius Nigrinus and the unattested noblewoman Ignota Plautia. Although Hadrian was his adoptive paternal grandfather, his biological paternal grandparents were the consul Lucius Ceionius Commodus and either Aelia or Fundania Plautia. When his father died in early 138, Hadrian chose Antoninus Pius (86–161) as his successor. Antoninus was adopted by Hadrian on the condition that Verus and Hadrian’s great-nephew Marcus Aurelius be adopted by Antoninus as his sons and heirs. By this scheme, Verus, who was already Hadrian's adoptive grandson through his natural father, remained as such through his new father, Antoninus. The adoption of Marcus Aurelius was probably a suggestion of Antoninus himself, since Marcus was the nephew of Antoninus' wife. Immediately after Hadrian's death, Antoninus approached Marcus and requested that his marriage arrangements be amended: Marcus' betrothal to Ceionia Fabia would be annulled, and he would be betrothed to Faustina, Antoninus' daughter, instead. Faustina's betrothal to Ceionia's brother Lucius Commodus would also have to be annulled. Marcus consented to Antoninus' proposal. As a prince and future emperor, Verus received careful education from the famous "grammaticus" Marcus Cornelius Fronto. He was reported to have been an excellent student, fond of writing poetry and delivering speeches. Verus started his political career as a quaestor in 153, became consul in 154, and in 161 was consul again with Marcus Aurelius as his senior partner. Emperor Main article: Reign of Marcus Aurelius Accession of Lucius and Marcus, 161 Antoninus died on 7 March 161, and was succeeded by Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius bore deep affection for Antoninus, as evidenced by the first book of "Meditations." Although the senate planned to confirm Marcus alone, he refused to take office unless Lucius received equal powers. The senate accepted, granting Lucius the "imperium," the tribunician power, and the name Augustus. Marcus became, in official titulature, Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus; Lucius, forgoing his name Commodus and taking Marcus's family name, Verus, became Imperator Caesar Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus. It was the first time that Rome was ruled by two emperors. In spite of their nominal equality, Marcus held more "auctoritas," or authority, than Verus. He had been consul once more than Lucius, he had shared in Pius' administration, and he alone was "Pontifex maximus." It would have been clear to the public which emperor was the more senior. As the biographer wrote, "Verus obeyed Marcus...as a lieutenant obeys a proconsul or a governor obeys the emperor." Immediately after their senate confirmation, the emperors proceeded to the Castra Praetoria, the camp of the praetorian guard. Lucius addressed the assembled troops, which then acclaimed the pair as imperatores. Then, like every new emperor since Claudius, Lucius promised the troops a special donative. This donative, however, was twice the size of those past: 20,000 sesterces (5,000 denarii) per capita, more to officers. In return for this bounty, equivalent to several years' pay, the troops swore an oath to protect the emperors. The ceremony was perhaps not entirely necessary, given that Marcus' accession had been peaceful and unopposed, but it was good insurance against later military troubles. Pius' funeral ceremonies were, in the words of the biographer, "elaborate." If his funeral followed the pattern of past funerals, his body would have been incinerated on a pyre at the Campus Martius, while his spirit would rise to the gods' home in the heavens. Marcus and Lucius nominated their father for deification. In contrast to their behavior during Pius's campaign to deify Hadrian, the senate did not oppose the emperors' wishes. A flamen, or cultic priest, was appointed to minister the cult of the deified Pius, now Divus Antoninus. Pius's remains were laid to rest in Hadrian's mausoleum, beside the remains of Marcus's children and of Hadrian himself. The temple he had dedicated to his wife, Diva Faustina, became the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. It survives as the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. A "flamen," or cultic priest, was appointed to minister the cult of the deified Pius, now "Divus Antoninus." Pius' remains were laid to rest in Hadrian's mausoleum, beside the remains of Marcus's children and of Hadrian himself. The temple he had dedicated to his wife, Diva Faustina, became the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. It survives as the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. Early rule, 161–62 Soon after the emperors' accession, Marcus's eleven-year-old daughter, Annia Lucilla, was betrothed to Lucius (in spite of the fact that he was, formally, her uncle). At the ceremonies commemorating the event, new provisions were made for the support of poor children, along the lines of earlier imperial foundations. Marcus and Lucius proved popular with the people of Rome, who strongly approved of their "civiliter" (lacking pomp) behavior. The emperors permitted free speech, evinced by the fact that the comedy writer Marullus was able to criticize them without suffering retribution. At any other time, under any other emperor, he would have been executed. But it was a peaceful time, a forgiving time. And thus, as the biographer wrote, "No one missed the lenient ways of Pius." Fronto returned to his Roman townhouse at dawn on 28 March, having left his home in Cirta as soon as news of his pupils' accession reached him. He sent a note to the imperial freedman Charilas, asking if he could call on the emperors. Fronto would later explain that he had not dared to write the emperors directly. The tutor was immensely proud of his students. Reflecting on the speech he had written on taking his consulship in 143, when he had praised the young Marcus, Fronto was ebullient: "There was then an outstanding natural ability in you; there is now perfected excellence. There was then a crop of growing corn; there is now a ripe, gathered harvest. What I was hoping for then, I have now. The hope has become a reality." Fronto called on Marcus alone; neither thought to invite Lucius. Lucius was less esteemed by his tutor than his brother, as his interests were on a lower level. Lucius asked Fronto to adjudicate in a dispute he and his friend Calpurnius were having on the relative merits of two actors. Marcus told Fronto of his reading—Coelius and a little Cicero—and his family. His daughters were in Rome, with their great-great-aunt Matidia Minor; Marcus thought the evening air of the country was too cold for them. The emperors' early reign proceeded smoothly. Marcus was able to give himself wholly to philosophy and the pursuit of popular affection. Some minor troubles cropped up in the spring; there would be more later. In the spring of 162, the Tiber flooded over its banks, destroying much of Rome. It drowned many animals, leaving the city in famine. Marcus and Lucius gave the crisis their personal attention. In other times of famine, the emperors are said to have provided for the Italian communities out of the Roman granaries. War with Parthia, 161–66 Further information: Roman–Parthian War of 161–166 See also: Roman–Persian Wars Origins to Lucius's dispatch, 161–62 On his deathbed, Pius spoke of nothing but the state and the foreign kings who had wronged him. One of those kings, Vologases IV of Parthia, made his move in late summer or early autumn 161. Vologases entered the Kingdom of Armenia (then a Roman client state), expelled its king and installed his own—Pacorus, an Arsacid like himself. At the time of the invasion, the Governor of Syria was L. Attidius Cornelianus. Attidius had been retained as governor even though his term ended in 161, presumably to avoid giving the Parthians the chance to wrong-foot his replacement. The Governor of Cappadocia, the front-line in all Armenian conflicts, was Marcus Sedatius Severianus, a Gaul with much experience in military matters. But living in the east had a deleterious effect on his character. Severianus had fallen under the influence of Alexander of Abonoteichus, a self-proclaimed prophet who carried a snake named Glycon around with him, but was really only a confidence man. Alexander was father-in-law to the respected senator P. Mummius Sisenna Rutilianus, then-proconsul of Asia, and friends with many members of the east Roman elite. Alexande
  7. Title: Wikiwand: Etruria
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Etruria;
    Note: Etruria (/ɪˈtrʊəriə/; usually referred to in Greek source texts as Tyrrhenia Greek: Τυρρηνία) was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are labeled Etruscans. Their complex culture was centered on numerous city-states that rose during the Villanovan period in the ninth century BC, and they were very powerful during the Orientalizing Archaic periods. The Etruscans were a dominant culture in Italy by 650 BC, surpassing other ancient Italic peoples such as the Ligures, and their influence may be seen beyond Etruria's confines in the Po River Valley and Latium, as well as in Campania and through their contact with the Greek colonies in Southern Italy (including Sicily). Indeed, at some Etruscan tombs, such as those of the Tumulus di Montefortini at Comeana (see Carmignano) in Tuscany, physical evidence of trade has been found in the form of grave goods—fine faience ware cups are particularly notable examples. Such trade occurred either directly with Egypt or through intermediaries such as Greek or Phoenician sailors. Rome, buffered from Etruria by the Silva Ciminia, the Ciminian Forest, was influenced strongly by the Etruscans, with a series of Etruscan kings ruling at Rome until 509 BC when the last Etruscan king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was removed from power and the Roman Republic was established. The Etruscans are credited with influencing Rome's architecture and ritual practice; it was under the Etruscan kings that important structures such as the Capitolium, Cloaca Maxima, and Via Sacra were realized. The Etruscan civilization was responsible for much of the Greek culture imported into early Republican Rome, including the twelve Olympian gods, the growing of olives and grapes, the Latin alphabet (adapted from the Greek alphabet), and architecture like the arch, sewerage and drainage systems. Territorial subdivision of Etruria Etruria is usually divided into two main territories, called Northern Etruria and Southern Etruria, to which must be added the northernmost territories, called Etruria Padana, and the southernmost territories called Etruria Campana. . Northern Etruria. Much of modern Tuscany, from the Arno river to the north, the Apennines to the east, and the Albegna river to the south of Tuscany. Furthermore, the Etruscan territories up to Perugia in modern Umbria. . Southern Etruria. The most southern areas of Tuscany, all of northern and central Lazio to the gates of Rome. . Etruria Padana (Padanian Etruria). Territories in Emilia-Romagna and in the southern extremity of Lombardy, in northern Italy. . Etruria Campana (Campanian Etruria). Some territories in the Campania region of southern Italy. Roman Etruria In the Augustan organization of Italy, Etruria was the name of a region (Regio VII), whose borders were the Tiber, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Apuan Alps and the Apennines, roughly coincident with those of pre-Roman Etruria. Etruria in later times The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (which existed 1569–1801 and 1814–1859) styled itself in Latin as "Magnus Ducatus Etruriae" (Grand Duchy of Etruria). The name Etruria was also applied to the Kingdom of Etruria, an ephemeral client state of Napoleon I of France which replaced the Grand Duchy between 1801 and 1807. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H. Lawrence's "Sketches of Etruscan Places and other Italian essays." Cities Main article: Etruscan cities Latin and Italian names are given between parentheses: . Arritim (Arretium, Arezzo) . Atria (Adria) . Caisra (Caere, Cerveteri) . Clevsin (Clusium, Chiusi) . Curtun (Cortonium, Cortona) . Felathri (Volaterrae, Volterra) . Fufluna (Populonium, Populonia) . Parusia (Perusia, Perugia) . Tarchna (Volscian Anxur) (Tarracina, Terracina) . Tarchnal (Tarquinii, Tarquinia) . Veii (Veii, Veio) . Vetluna (Vetulonium, Vetulonia) . Vipsul (Faesulae, Fiesole) . Velch (Vulci, Volci) . Velzna (Volsiniia, Volsinii) There was a period between 600 BC and 500 BC, in which 12 Etruscan city-states formed a loose confederation known as the Etruscan League. Etruscan was the official language for meetings. When Etruria was conquered by the Roman Republic, Latin became the official language.
  8. Title: Wikiwand: Augustan History
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Augustan_History;
    Note: The "Augustan History" (Latin: "Historia Augusta") is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman Emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers of the period 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the similar work of Suetonius, "The Twelve Caesars," it presents itself as a compilation of works by six different authors (collectively known as the "Scriptores Historiae Augustae"), written during the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine I and addressed to those emperors or other important personages in Rome. The collection, as extant, comprises thirty biographies, most of which contain the life of a single emperor, while some include a group of two or more, grouped together merely because these emperors were either similar or contemporaneous. The true authorship of the work, its actual date, its reliability, and its purpose, have long been matters for controversy amongst historians and scholars, ever since Hermann Dessau in 1889 rejected both the date and the authorship as stated within the manuscript. Major problems include the nature of the sources it used, and how much of the content is pure fiction. For instance, the collection contains in all about 150 alleged documents, including 68 letters, 60 speeches and proposals to the people or the senate, and 20 senatorial decrees and acclamations. Virtually all of these are now considered to be fraudulent. By the second decade of the 21st century, the overall consensus supported the position that there was only a single author who was writing either at the end of the 4th century or the beginning of the 5th century, and who was interested in blending contemporary issues (political, religious and social) into the lives of the 3rd century emperors. There is further consensus that the author used the fictitious elements in the work to highlight references to other published works, such as to Cicero and Ammianus Marcellinus in a complex allegorical game. Despite these conundrums, it is the only continuous account in Latin for much of its period and is thus continually being re-evaluated, since modern historians are unwilling to abandon it as a unique source of possible information, despite its obvious untrustworthiness on many levels. Title and scope The name 'Historia Augusta" originated with Isaac Casaubon, who produced a critical edition in 1603, working from a complex manuscript tradition with a number of variant versions. The title as recorded on the "Codex Palatinus" manuscript (written in the 9th century) is "Vitae Diversorum Principum et Tyrannorum a Divo Hadriano usque ad Numerianum Diversis compositae" ("The Lives of various Emperors and Tyrants from the Divine Hadrian to Numerian by Various Authors"), and it is assumed that the work may have been originally called "de Vita Caesarum" or "Vitae Caesarum." How widely the work was circulated in late antiquity is unknown, but its earliest use was in a "Roman History" composed by Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus in 485. Lengthy citations from it are found in authors of the 6th and 9th centuries, including Sedulius Scottus who quoted parts of the "Marcus Aurelius," the "Maximini" and the "Aurelian" within his "Liber de Rectoribus Christianis," and the chief manuscripts also date from the 9th or 10th centuries. The six "Scriptores" – "Aelius Spartianus," "Julius Capitolinus," "Vulcacius Gallicanus," "Aelius Lampridius," "Trebellius Pollio," and "Flavius Vopiscus (of Syracuse)" – dedicate their biographies to Diocletian, Constantine and various private persons, and so ostensibly were all writing around the late 3rd and early 4th century. The first four "scriptores" are attached to the lives from Hadrian to Gordian III, while the final two are attached to the lives from Valerian to Numerian. The biographies cover the emperors from Hadrian to Carinus and Numerian. A section covering the reigns of Philip the Arab, Decius, Trebonianus Gallus, Aemilian and all but the end of the reign of Valerian is missing in all the manuscripts, and it has been argued that biographies of Nerva and Trajan have also been lost at the beginning of the work, which may suggest the compilation might have been a direct continuation of Suetonius' "The Twelve Caesars." It has been theorized that the mid-3rd-century lacuna might actually be a deliberate literary device of the author or authors, saving the labor of covering Emperors for whom little source material may have been available. Despite devoting whole books to ephemeral or in some cases non-existent usurpers, there are no independent biographies of the Emperors Quintillus and Florian, whose reigns are merely briefly noted towards the end of the biographies of their respective predecessors, Claudius Gothicus and Tacitus. For nearly 300 years after Casaubon's edition, though much of the "Augustan History" was treated with some scepticism, it was used by historians as an authentic source – Edward Gibbon used it extensively in the first volume of the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." However, "in modern times most scholars read the work as a piece of deliberate mystification written much later than its purported date, however the fundamentalist view still has distinguished support. (...) The "Historia Augusta" also, unfortunately, is the principal Latin source for a century of Roman history. The historian must make use of it, but only with extreme circumspection and caution." Textual transmission Existing manuscripts and witnesses of the "Augustan History" fall into three groups: 1. A manuscript of the first quarter of the ninth century, Vatican Pal. lat. 899 ("Codex Palatinus"), known as P, and its direct and indirect copies. P was written at Lorsch in Caroline minuscule. The text in this manuscript has several "lacunae" marked with dots indicating the missing letters, a confusion in the order of the biographies between "Verus" and "Alexander," and the transposition of several passages: two long ones which correspond to a quire of the original which became loose and was then inserted in a wrong place, and a similar transposition in Carus. P is also distinguished by a succession of six centuries of editorial corrections, beginning with the original scribe, and includes such worthies as Petrarch and Poggio Bracciolini; none of these editors betray any knowledge of any other witness. 2. A group of 15th-century manuscripts, designated as Σ. Not only are the lives rearranged in chronological order, but the corruptions present in P have been subjected to drastic emendations or omitted altogether. Beginning with Dr. Ernst Hohl, some have asserted that the improvements in the text come from a source independent of P. Although admitting that "this question still remains to be answered definitively," author Peter Marshall noted that research undertaken through to the 1980s had improved scholarly knowledge concerning the methods and abilities of early Italian humanists, and concludes by saying that "the Σ manuscripts nowhere provide readings which are beyond the powers of the humanists active at the time. 3. Three different sets of excerpts, one of which Theodor Mommsen suggested was possibly the work of Sedulius Scottus. How any are related to P is unclear. In Marshall's opinion, the best scholarly editions are those by H. Peter (Teubner, 2nd ed. 1884), & E. Hohl (Teubner, 1971, reissue of 1965 revised by Ch. Samberger & W. Seyfarth). A later version of the "Codex Palatinus" (possibly a version that was made for Petrarch in 1356) was the basis of the "editio princeps" of the "History," published in Milan in 1475. A subsequent printed version (the Aldine edition) was published at Venice in 1516, and this was followed closely by an edition edited by Desiderius Erasmus, and published by Johann Froben in Basel in 1518. The dating problem In 1776, Gibbon had observed that there was something wrong with the numbers and names of the imperial biographers, and that this had already been recognized by older historians who had written on that subject. A clear example was the referencing of the biographer 'Lampridius' (who was apparently writing his biographies after 324) by 'Vopiscus', who was meant to be writing his biographies in 305-6. Then in 1889, Hermann Dessau, who had become increasingly concerned by the large number of anachronistic terms, Vulgar Latin vocabulary, and especially the host of obviously false proper names in the work, proposed that the six authors were all fictitious personae, and that the work was in fact composed by a single author in the late 4th century, probably in the reign of Theodosius I. Among his supporting evidence was that the life of Septimius Severus appeared to have made use of a passage from the mid-4th-century historian Aurelius Victor, and that the life of Marcus Aurelius likewise uses material from Eutropius. In the decades following Dessau, many scholars argued to preserve at least some of the six "Scriptores" as distinct persons and in favor of the first-hand authenticity for the content. As early as 1890, Theodor Mommsen postulated a Theodosian 'editor' of the "Scriptores'" work, an idea that has resurfaced many times since Hermann Peter (editor of the "Augustan History" and of the "Historicorum Romanorum reliquiae") proposed a date of 330 for when the work was written, based upon an analysis of style and language. Others, such as Norman H. Baynes, abandoned the early 4th-century date but only advanced it as far as the reign of Julian the Apostate (useful for arguing the work was intended as pagan propaganda). In the 1960s and 1970s however Dessau's original arguments received powerful restatement and expansion from Sir Ronald Syme, who devoted three books to the subject and was prepared to date the writing of the work closely in the region of AD 395. Other recent studies also show much consistency of style, and most scholars now accept the theory of a single author of unknown identity, writing after 395. Al..
  9. Title: Wikipedia - Ceionius Gens
    Author: Marcus Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History. Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (Cassius Dio), Roman History. Herodianus, History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus. Acts of the Arval Brethren. Aelius Lampridius, Aelius Spartianus, Flavius Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Trebellius Pollio, and Vulcatius Gallicanus, Historia Augusta (Augustan History). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). Theodor Mommsen et alii, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated CIL), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present).
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceionia_gens#Ceionii_Commodi;
    Note: The gens Ceionia or Caeionia was an ancient Roman family of imperial times. The first member of the gens to obtain the consulship was Lucius Ceionius Commodus in AD 78. The rise of this family culminated in the elevation of the emperor Lucius Verus, born Lucius Ceionius Commodus, in AD 161.[1] Origin The Ceionii were probably of Etruscan origin. Their nomen resembles other Etruscan names, such as Cilnius, and the family does not appear in history before the first century. The historian Aelius Spartianus wrote that they came from Etruria, or perhaps from the town of Faventia, which was itself of Etruscan origin.[1][2] Praenomina The praenomina used by the Ceionii were Lucius, Gaius, and Marcus. Branches and cognomina The most illustrious family of the Ceionii bore the cognomen Commodus, meaning "friendly, obliging," or "pleasant." The agnomen Verus, meaning "true", was borne by some members of this family. Many other surnames occur, some of which were ordinary cognomina, such as Rufus, meaning "red" or "reddish," or Bassus, "stout".[3][4] However, as with many families of imperial times, many surnames were acquired from other families to whom the Ceionii were related or otherwise politically connected.[1] Postumus, a surname belonging to the father of the emperor Albinus, is derived from the praenomen Postumus, referring to a youngest child, although a popular false etymology derived it from post humus, "after burial", meaning a child born after his father's death.[5][4] In a letter referred to by the historian Julius Capitolinus, Ceionius Postumus claimed to be a descendant of the ancient patrician house of the Postumii, whose nomen was itself derived from the praenomen Postumus.[6] Ceionius named his son Albinus, supposedly in reference both to the extraordinary whiteness of his skin, and to the noble family of the Postumii Albini; however, several other members of the gens also bore the surname Albinus.[7][3] Ceionii Commodi Lucius Ceionius Commodus, consul in AD 78.[8][9] Lucius Ceionius (L. f.) Commodus, consul in AD 106.[10][11] Lucius Ceionius L. f. (L. n.) Commodus Verus, consul in AD 136, adopted by the emperor Hadrian as his heir.[12] Lucius Ceionius L. f. L. n. Commodus, better known as Lucius Verus, emperor with his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius from AD 161 to 169.[13][14][15] Ceionia L. f. L. n. Fabia, one of the sisters of Lucius Verus, was originally betrothed to Marcus Aurelius; the engagement was dissolved at the request of Antoninus Pius, and she married Plautius Quintillus, consul in AD 159.[16][17] Ceionia L. f. L. n. Plautia, a sister of Lucius Verus, married Quintus Servilius Pudens, consul in AD 166.[18][17] Gaius Avidius Ceionius L. f. L. n. Commodus, the brother of Lucius Verus.
    Page: article continues, the above is an excerpt
  10. Title: Wikiwand: Avidia Plautia
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sources: Cassio Dione e l'impero romano da Nerva ad Antonino Pio: alla luce dei nuovi by Guido Migliorati, 2003 – Italian Historical Secondary Source The Cambridge ancient history, Volume 11 By Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey, Dominic Rathbone Limited preview - Edition: 2 - Item notes: v. 11 – 2000 Plutarch's Sertorius: A Historical Commentary. C. Konrad Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994 Marcus Aurelius, by Anthony Richard Birley, Routledge, 2000 A dictionary of the Roman Empire By Matthew Bunson – 1995 http://www.roman-emperors.org/lverus.htm http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=2762. https://web.archive.org/web/20110720122702/http://ecatalogue.art.yale.edu/detail.htm?objectId=7368 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Aelius*.html#2.8 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Lucius_Verus*.html
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Avidia_Plautia;
    Note: Avidia Plautia (flourished 2nd century) was a well-connected noble Roman woman. She is among the lesser known members of the ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire. Plautia was the daughter of the well-connected Roman Senator Gaius Avidius Nigrinus and the surmised but undocumented Roman noble woman Ignota Plautia. The younger Plautia was born and raised in Faventia (modern Faenza, Italy). Her family was distinguished, wealthy and well-connected. Her family were friends of the Greek historian Plutarch, Roman Senator Pliny the Younger, Roman Emperor Trajan and his family. Her family had strong links to Greece, as her paternal grandfather Gaius Avidius Nigrinus had served at an unknown date during the reign of Roman Emperor Domitian (81-96) as Proconsul of Achaea, a position in which her great uncle Titus Avidius Quietus had also served. Her family may have been related to the consul Gaius Petronius Pontius Nigrinus, who had served his consulship at the time that the Roman Emperor Tiberius had died in 37. Plautia's father was executed in 118 on orders from the Roman Senate, because he was one of four senators involved in a failed plot to overthrow the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Sometime after her father’s execution, her mother Ignota Plautia may have married another Roman senator. Before 130 Plautia married the powerful Roman Senator Lucius Aelius Caesar. Aelius was adopted by Roman Emperor Hadrian in 136 as his first heir. Plautia bore Aelius two sons and two daughters who were: . Lucius Verus – born as Lucius Ceionius Commodus. He would rule as co-Roman Emperor with Marcus Aurelius from 161 until his death in 169. Lucius Verus would marry Lucilla, the second daughter of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger. . Gaius Avidius Ceionius Commodus – he is known from an inscription found in Rome. . Ceionia Fabia – she was 136 engaged to Marcus Aurelius. In 138, when Marcus Aurelius was adopted by Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius, Aurelius ended his engagement to Fabia. Aurelius became engaged to Antoninus Pius’ daughter Faustina the Younger, whom he later married. . Ceionia Plautia In early 138, Aelius died, and Hadrian had adopted Antoninus Pius as his second son and heir. On the condition that Antoninus Pius was adopted by Hadrian, Antoninus had to adopt Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius as his adopted sons. If Aelius had lived long enough to succeed Hadrian and rule as emperor, Plautia could have been an Empress of Rome. It is unknown whether Plautia remarried after the death of Aelius. Three existing portrait busts have been identified as Avidia Plautia because of physical similarities to the portrait busts of her son Lucius Verus. These busts have been dated to 136-138, when Aelius was the first adopted heir of Hadrian. When her son reigned as co-Roman Emperor with Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus dedicated two honorific inscriptions to his mother. These inscriptions have been found in Rome. The inscriptions honor her as the daughter of Gaius Avidius Nigrinus and the mother of Roman Emperor Lucius Verus. It is unknown whether Plautia lived long enough to see her son co-rule as emperor. Nerva–Antonine family tree
  11. Title: Wikiwand: Lucius Aelius
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Lucius_Aelius;
    Note: Lucius Aelius Caesar (January 13, 101 – January 1, 138) was the father of Emperor Lucius Verus. In 136, he was adopted by Hadrian and named heir to the throne. He died before Hadrian and thus never became emperor. After Lucius' death, he was replaced by Antoninus Pius, who succeeded Hadrian the same year. Life and family Aelius was born with the name Lucius Ceionius Commodus, and became Lucius Aelius Caesar upon his adoption as Hadrian's heir. He is often sometimes referred to as Lucius Aelius Verus, though this name is not attested outside the "Augustan History" and probably the result of a manuscript error. The young Lucius Ceionius Commodus was of the gens Ceionia. His father, also named Lucius Ceionius Commodus (the author of the Augustan History adds the cognomen Verus), was consul in 106, and his paternal grandfather, also of the same name, was consul in 78. His paternal ancestors were from Etruria, and were of consular rank. His mother was a surmised but otherwise undocumented Roman woman named Ignota Plautia. The Augustan History states that his maternal grandfather and his maternal ancestors were of consular rank. Before 130, the younger Lucius Commodus married Avidia Plautia, a well-connected Roman noblewoman who was the daughter of the senator Gaius Avidius Nigrinus. Plautia bore Lucius two sons and two daughters, who were: Before 130, the younger Lucius Commodus married Avidia Plautia, a well-connected Roman noblewoman who was the daughter of the senator Gaius Avidius Nigrinus. Plautia bore Lucius two sons and two daughters, who were: . Lucius Ceionius Commodus the Younger – He would become Lucius Verus, and would co-rule as Roman Emperor with Marcus Aurelius from 161 until his own death in 169. Verus would marry Lucilla, the second daughter of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger. . Gaius Avidius Ceionius Commodus – he is known from an inscription found in Rome. . Ceionia Fabia – at the time of Marcus Aurelius's adoption, she was betrothed, as part of the adoption conditions, to him. Shortly after Antoninus Pius' ascension, Pius came to Aurelius and asked him to end his engagement to Fabia, instead marrying Antoninus Pius’ daughter Faustina the Younger; Faustina had originally been planned by Hadrian to wed Lucius Verus. . Ceionia Plautia Heir to Hadrian For a long time, the emperor Hadrian had considered his brother-in-law Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus as his unofficial successor. As Hadrian's reign drew to a close, however, he changed his mind. Although the emperor certainly thought Servianus capable of ruling as an emperor after Hadrian's own death, Servianus, by now in his nineties, was clearly too old for the position. Hadrian's attentions turned to Servianus' grandson, Gnaeus Pedanius Fuscus Salinator II. Hadrian promoted the young Salinator, his great-nephew, gave him special status in his court, and groomed him as his heir. However, in late 136, Hadrian almost died from a haemorrhage. Convalescent in his villa at Tivoli, he decided to change his mind, and selected Lucius Ceionius Commodus as his new successor, adopting him as his son. The selection was done "invitis omnibus," "against the wishes of everyone"; in particular, Servianus and the young Salinator became very angry at Hadrian and wished to challenge him over the adoption. Even today, the rationale for Hadrian's sudden switch is still unclear. It is possible Salinator went so far as to attempt a coup against Hadrian in which Servianus was implicated. In order to avoid any potential conflict in the succession, Hadrian ordered the deaths of Salinator and Servianus. Although Lucius had no military experience, he had served as a senator, and had powerful political connections; however, he was in poor health. As part of his adoption, Lucius Ceionius Commodus took the name Lucius Aelius Caesar. Death After a year's stationing on the Danube frontier, Aelius returned to Rome to make an address to the senate on the first day of 138. The night before the speech, however, he grew ill, and died of a haemorrhage late the next day. On 24 January 138, Hadrian selected Aurelius Antoninus (September 19, 86 – March 7, 161) as his new successor. After a few days' consideration, Antoninus accepted. He was adopted on 25 February. As part of Hadrian's terms, Antoninus adopted both Lucius Aelius's son (properly called Lucius Ceionius Commodus the Younger) and Hadrian's great-nephew by marriage, Marcus Aurelius (April 26, 121 – March 17, 180). Marcus became M. Aelius Aurelius Verus; Lucius became L. Aelius Aurelius Commodus. At Hadrian's request, Antoninus' daughter Faustina was betrothed to Lucius. Marcus Aurelius later co-ruled with Lucius Verus as joint Roman Emperors, until Lucius Verus died in 169, after which Aurelius was sole ruler until his own death in 180. Sources The major sources for the life of Aelius are patchy and frequently unreliable. The most important group of sources, the biographies contained in the "Historia Augusta," claim to be written by a group of authors at the turn of the 4th century, but are in fact written by a single author (referred to here as "the biographer") from the later 4th century (c. 395). The later biographies and the biographies of subordinate emperors and usurpers are a tissue of lies and fiction, but the earlier biographies, derived primarily from now-lost earlier sources (Marius Maximus or Ignotus), are much more accurate. For Aelius, the biographies of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus and Lucius Verus are largely reliable, but that of Avidius Cassius, and even Lucius Aelius' own, is full of fiction. Some other literary sources provide specific detail: the writings of the physician Galen on the habits of the Antonine elite, the orations of Aelius Aristides on the temper of the times, and the constitutions preserved in the "Digest" and "Codex Justinianus" on Marcus' legal work. Inscriptions and coin finds supplement the literary sources. Nerva–Antonine family tree
  12. Title: Wikiwand: Western Roman Empire
    Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Western_Roman_Empire;
    Note: In historiography, the Western Roman Empire refers to the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used to describe the period from 395 to 476, where there were separate coequal courts dividing the governance of the empire in the Western and the Eastern provinces, with a distinct imperial succession in the separate courts. The terms Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are modern descriptions that describe political entities that were "de facto" independent; contemporary Romans did not consider the Empire to have been split into two separate empires but viewed it as a single polity governed by two separate imperial courts as an administrative expediency. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476, and the Western imperial court was formally dissolved in 480. The Eastern imperial court survived until 1453. Though the Empire had seen periods with more than one Emperor ruling jointly before, the view that it was impossible for a single emperor to govern the entire Empire was institutionalised to reforms to Roman law by emperor Diocletian following the disastrous civil wars and disintegrations of the Crisis of the Third Century. He introduced the system of the tetrarchy in 286, with two separate senior emperors titled "Augustus," one in the East and one in the West, each with an appointed "Caesar" (junior emperor and designated successor). Though the tetrarchic system would collapse in a matter of years, the East–West administrative division would endure in one form or another over the coming centuries. As such, the Western Roman Empire would exist intermittently in several periods between the 3rd and 5th centuries. Some emperors, such as Constantine I and Theodosius I, governed as the sole Augustus across the Roman Empire. On the death of Theodosius I in 395, he divided the empire between his two sons, with Honorius as his successor in the West, governing from Mediolanum, and Arcadius as his successor in the East, governing from Constantinople. In 476, after the Battle of Ravenna, the Roman Army in the West suffered defeat at the hands of Odoacer and his Germanic foederati. Odoacer forced the deposition of emperor Romulus Augustulus and became the first King of Italy. In 480, following the assassination of the previous Western emperor Julius Nepos, the Eastern emperor Zeno dissolved the Western court and proclaimed himself the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. The date of 476 was popularized by the 18th century British historian Edward Gibbon as a demarcating event for the end of the Western Empire and is sometimes used to mark the transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Odoacer's Italy, and other barbarian kingdoms, many of them representing former Western Roman allies that had been granted lands in return for military assistance, would maintain a pretence of Roman continuity through the continued use of the old Roman administrative systems and nominal subservience to the Eastern Roman court. In the 6th century, emperor Justinian I re-imposed direct Imperial rule on large parts of the former Western Roman Empire, including the prosperous regions of North Africa, the ancient Roman heartland of Italy and parts of Hispania. Political instability in the Eastern heartlands, combined with foreign invasions and religious differences, made efforts to retain control of these territories difficult and they were gradually lost for good. Though the Eastern Empire retained territories in the south of Italy until the eleventh century, the influence that the Empire had over Western Europe had diminished significantly. The papal coronation of the Frankish King Charlemagne as Roman Emperor in 800 marked a new imperial line that would evolve into the Holy Roman Empire, which presented a revival of the Imperial title in Western Europe but was in no meaningful sense an extension of Roman traditions or institutions. The Great Schism of 1054 between the churches of Rome and Constantinople further diminished any authority the Emperor in Constantinople could hope to exert in the west. Background Further information: History of the Roman Empire and First division of the Roman Empire As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the central government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given the vast extent of the Empire. News of invasion, revolt, natural disasters, or epidemic outbreak was carried by ship or mounted postal service, often requiring much time to reach Rome and for Rome's orders to be returned and acted upon. Therefore, provincial governors had de facto autonomy in the name of the Roman Republic. Governors had several duties, including the command of armies, handling the taxes of the province and serving as the province's chief judges. Prior to the establishment of the Empire, the territories of the Roman Republic had been divided in 43 BC among the members of the Second Triumvirate: Mark Antony, Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. Antony received the provinces in the East: Achaea, Macedonia and Epirus (roughly modern Greece, Albania and the coast of Croatia), Bithynia, Pontus and Asia (roughly modern Turkey), Syria, Cyprus, and Cyrenaica. These lands had previously been conquered by Alexander the Great; thus, much of the aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the major cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture, Greek often serving as the lingua franca. Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West: Italia (modern Italy), Gaul (modern France), Gallia Belgica (parts of modern Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), and Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal). These lands also included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in the coastal areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians were culturally dominant. Lepidus received the minor province of Africa (roughly modern Tunisia). Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia (modern Sicily) to his holdings. Upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire. The Empire featured many distinct cultures, all experienced a gradual "Romanization." While the predominantly Greek culture of the East and the predominantly Latin culture of the West functioned effectively as an integrated whole, political and military developments would ultimately realign the Empire along those cultural and linguistic lines. More often than not, Greek and Latin practices (and to some extent the languages themselves) would be combined in fields such as history (e.g., those by Cato the Elder), philosophy and rhetoric. Rebellions and political developments Minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered tribes or oppressed cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion. While this process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime. In a full-blown military campaign, the legions were far more numerous—as, for example, those led by Vespasian in the Great Jewish Revolt. To ensure a commander's loyalty, a pragmatic emperor might hold some members of the general's family hostage. To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis, Governor of Ostia, who were respectively the younger son and brother-in-law of Vespasian. Nero's rule was ended by a revolt of the Praetorian Guard, who had been bribed in the name of Galba. The Praetorian Guard, a figurative "sword of Damocles", was often perceived as being of dubious loyalty, primarily due its role in court intrigues and in overthrowing several emperors, including Pertinax and Aurelian. Following their example, the legions at the borders increasingly participated in civil wars. For instance, legions stationed in Egypt and the eastern provinces would see significant participation in the civil war of 218 between Emperor Macrinus and Elagabalus. As the Empire expanded, two key frontiers revealed themselves. In the West, behind the rivers Rhine and Danube, Germanic tribes were an important enemy. Augustus, the first emperor, had tried to conquer them but had pulled back after the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Whilst the Germanic tribes were formidable foes, the Parthian Empire in the East presented the greatest threat to the Empire. The Parthians were too remote and powerful to be conquered and there was a constant Parthian threat of invasion. The Parthians repelled several Roman invasions, and even after successful wars of conquest, such as those implemented by Trajan or Septimius Severus, the conquered territories were forsaken in attempts to ensure a lasting peace with the Parthians. The Parthian Empire would be succeeded by the Sasanian Empire, which continued hostilities with the Roman Empire. Controlling the western border of Rome was reasonably easy because it was relatively close to Rome itself and also because of the disunity among the Germans. However, controlling both frontiers simultaneously during wartime was difficult. If the emperor was near the border in the East, the chances were high that an ambitious general would rebel in the West and vice versa. This wartime opportunism plagued many ruling emperors and indeed paved the road to power for several future emperors. By the time of the Crisis of the Third Century, usurpation became a common method of succession: Philip the Arab, Trebonianus Gallus and Aemilianus were all usurping generals-turned-emperors whose rule would end with usurpation by another powerful general. Crisis of the Third Century Main article: Crisis of the Third Century With the assassination of the Emperor Alexander Severus on 18 March 235, the Roman Empire sank into a 50-year period of civil war, now known as the Crisis of the Third Century. The rise of the b..
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