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Lex Manciana
The ''Lex Manciana'' is a Roman law dealing with tenancy agreements of imperial estates in Roman North Africa. Location The Imperial estates in question are all from the Bagradas Valley region of Africa Proconsularis (modern day Tunisia, around c.50 km west of the ancient city of Carthage. The inscription from Henchir-Mettich (c. AD 116-117 ) consists in an adaptation of the ''Lex Manciana'' for the ''fundus Villa Magna Variana''. Two additional inscriptions dealing with a similar subject matter, also in the same region, are known from Ain-elDjemala (Hadrianic period) and Ain Wassel c. AD 198-209). Inscription The inscription from Henchir Mettich details the tenancy agreement for '' coloni'' tenant farmers on the ''Fundus Villae Magnae Variane'' (an Imperial estate). The content of the translationKehoe, D, 1988, ''Econonmics of Agriculture on Roman Imperial Estates in North Africa'', Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht runs as follows: 1. Preamble – Identifies Licinius ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Estate (Roman)
An imperial estate (''patrimonium'' or ''res privata'') in the Roman Empire was the "personal property of members of the imperial family, as distinct from property belonging to the Roman state" (''ager publicus''). On the Emperor's death these properties passed to his successor, and not to his private heirs. Imperial estates were not only farming estates, or ''latifundia'', but also pastures (''saltus'') and mines (''metalla''). Management of imperial estates within a province was the responsibility of a procurator who, in turn, reported to the ''procurator patrimonii'' in Rome. The procurator leased the estate to a ''conductor'', a contractor or administrator. On small estates the conductor might farm the land himself. On larger tracts the conductor sub-let the land to '' coloni'', tenant-farmers. Coloni were free men, and not bound to the land like later serfs. The coloni paid the conductor in shares of their crops, and were also obliged to perform other services a few days a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equite
The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian order was known as an ''eques'' (). Description During the Roman kingdom and the first century of the Roman Republic, legionary cavalry was recruited exclusively from the ranks of the patricians, who were expected to provide six '' centuriae'' of cavalry (300 horses for each consular legion). Around 400BC, 12 more ''centuriae'' of cavalry were established and these included non-patricians (plebeians). Around 300 BC the Samnite Wars obliged Rome to double the normal annual military levy from two to four legions, doubling the cavalry levy from 600 to 1,200 horses. Legionary cavalry started to recruit wealthier citizens from outside the 18 ''centuriae''. These new recruits came from the first class of commoners in the Centuriate Assembly org ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Agriculture
Roman agriculture describes the farming practices of ancient Rome, during a period of over 1000 years. From humble beginnings, the Roman Republic (509 BC to 27 BC) and the Roman Empire (27 BC to 476 AD) expanded to rule much of Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East and thus comprised many agricultural environments of which the Mediterranean climate of dry, hot summers and cool, rainy winter was the most common. Within the Mediterranean area, a triad of crops were most important: grains, olives, and grapes. The great majority of the people ruled by Rome were engaged in agriculture. From a beginning of small, largely self-sufficient landowners, rural society became dominated by latifundium, large estates owned by the wealthy and utilizing mostly slave labor. The growth in the urban population, especially of the city of Rome, required the development of commercial markets and long-distance trade in agricultural products, especially grain, to supply the people in the cities wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colonii
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' (or "mother country"). This administrative colonial separation makes colonies neither incorporated territories nor client states. Some colonies have been organized either as dependent territories that are not sufficiently self-governed, or as self-governed colonies controlled by colonial settlers. The term colony originates from the ancient Roman '' colonia'', a type of Roman settlement. Derived from ''colon-us'' (farmer, cultivator, planter, or settler), it carries with it the sense of 'farm' and 'landed estate'. Furthermore the term was used to refer to the older Greek ''apoikia'' (), which were overseas settlements by ancient Greek city-states. The city that founded such a settlement became known as its ''metropolis'' ("mother-city ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hectares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is about and one hectare contains about . In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the ''are'' was defined as 100 square metres, or one square decametre, and the hectare ("hecto-" + "are") was thus 100 ''ares'' or km2 (10,000 square metres). When the metric system was further rationalised in 1960, resulting in the International System of Units (), the ''are'' was not included as a recognised unit. The hectare, however, remains as a non-SI unit accepted for use with the SI and whose use is "expected to continue indefinitely". Though the dekare/decare daa (1,000 m2) and are (100 m2) are not officially "accepted for use", they are still used in some contexts. Description The hectare (), although not a unit of SI, is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
As (coin)
The ' (plural '), occasionally ''assarius'' (plural ''assarii'', rendered into Greek as , ''assárion'') was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. Republican era coinage The Romans replaced the usage of Greek coins, first by bronze ingots, then by disks known as the aes rude. The system thus named ''as'' was introduced in ca. 280 BC as a large cast bronze coin during the Roman Republic. The following fractions of the were also produced: the (), (), (), (), (), (), (, also a common weight unit), and (), as well as multiples of the ''as'', the (2), (2), and (3) After the ''as'' had been issued as a cast coin for about seventy years, and its weight had been reduced in several stages, a ''as'' was introduced (meaning that it weighed one-sixth of a pound). At about the same time a silver coin, the denarius, was also introduced. Earlier Roman silver coins had been struck on the Greek weight standards that facilitated their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'Montra', dwarf olive, or little olive. The species is cultivated in all the countries of the Mediterranean, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and South Africa. ''Olea europaea'' is the type species for the genus ''Olea''. The olive's fruit, also called an "olive", is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil; it is one of the core ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine. The tree and its fruit give their name to the plant family, which also includes species such as lilac, jasmine, forsythia, and the true ash tree. Thousands of cultivars of the olive tree are known. Olive cultivars may be used primarily for oil, eating, or both. Olives cultivated for consumption ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Figs
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world, both for its fruit and as an ornamental plant.''The Fig: its History, Culture, and Curing'', Gustavus A. Eisen, Washington, Govt. print. off., 1901 ''Ficus carica'' is the type species of the genus ''Ficus'', containing over 800 tropical and subtropical plant species. A fig plant is a small deciduous tree or large shrub growing up to tall, with smooth white bark. Its large leaves have three to five deep lobes. Its fruit (referred to as syconium, a type of multiple fruit) is tear-shaped, long, with a green skin that may ripen toward purple or brown, and sweet soft reddish flesh containing numerous crunchy seeds. The milky sap of the green parts is an irritant to human skin. In the Northern Hemisphere, fresh figs are in season from l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Procurator (Roman)
Procurator (plural: ''Procuratores'') was a title of certain officials (not magistrates) in ancient Rome who were in charge of the financial affairs of a province, or imperial governor of a minor province. Fiscal officers A fiscal procurator (''procurator Augusti'') was the chief financial officer of a province during the Principate (30 BC – AD 284). A fiscal procurator worked alongside the ''legatus Augusti pro praetore'' (imperial governor) of his province but was not subordinate to him, reporting directly to the emperor. The governor headed the civil and judicial administration of the province and was the commander-in-chief of all military units deployed there. The procurator, with his own staff and agents, was in charge of the province's financial affairs, including the following primary responsibilities: *the collection of taxes, especially the land tax (''tributum soli''), poll tax (''tributum capitis''), and the ''portorium'', an imperial duty on the carriage of goods o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over one of the greatest military expansions in Roman history and led the empire to attain its greatest territorial extent by the time of his death. He is also known for his philanthropic rule, overseeing extensive public building programs and implementing social welfare policies, which earned him his enduring reputation as the second of the Five Good Emperors who presided over an era of peace within the Empire and prosperity in the Mediterranean world. Trajan was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in present-day Spain, a small Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in the province of Hispania Baetica. He came from a branch of the gens Ulpia, the ''Ulpi Traiani'', that originated in the Umbrian town of Tuder. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedman
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self-purchase. A fugitive slave is a person who escaped enslavement by fleeing. Ancient Rome Rome differed from Greek city-states in allowing freed slaves to become plebeian citizens. The act of freeing a slave was called ''manumissio'', from ''manus'', "hand" (in the sense of holding or possessing something), and ''missio'', the act of releasing. After manumission, a slave who had belonged to a Roman citizen enjoyed not only passive freedom from ownership, but active political freedom ''(libertas)'', including the right to vote. A slave who had acquired ''libertas'' was known as a ''libertus'' ("freed person", feminine ''liberta'') in relation to his former master, who was called his or her patron ''( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colonus (person)
In the late Roman Empire and the Early Middle Ages a ''colonus'' (plural: ''coloni'') was a tenant farmer. Known collectively as the "colonate", these farmers operated as sharecroppers, paying landowners with a portion of their crops in exchange for use of their farmlands. The ''colonis tenant-landlord relationship eventually degraded into one of debt and dependence. As a result, the ''colonus'' system became a new type of land tenancy, placing the occupants in a state between freedom and slavery. The ''colonus'' system can be considered a predecessor of European feudal serfdom. History In Italy, much of the agricultural land was leased to tenants. There was a concept in place that allowed the tenants to have tenure on the land, even though they were not the owners. Tax liabilities went with the sales of a land plot, but most of the taxed public land in Italy was leased rather than owned. Therefore, many of the taxes were imposed upon the tenants rather than the land owner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
