|
Lentulus Spinther
Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther ( – 47 BC) was a Roman politician and general. Hailing from the patrician family of the Cornelii, he helped suppress the Catilinarian conspiracy during his term as curule aedile in 63 BC and later served as consul in 57 BC. Denied the opportunity to invade Egypt the following year, he nevertheless won some victories in his province of Cilicia and celebrated a triumph over it in 51 BC. In the run up to Caesar's civil war, he sided with Pompey and the senate. Captured by Caesar and pardoned at Corfinium in the opening months of the war, he made his way to Greece to join Pompey's forces. He is last attested to in early 47 BC. Early career Spinther belonged to the famous patrician gens Cornelia. He was the son of a homonymous father and received the cognomen "Spinther" supposedly from his resemblance of an actor by that name. Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus, who served as one of the consuls in the year 49 BC, was his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrician (ancient Rome)
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 BC). By the time of the late Republic and Empire, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance. The social structure of Ancient Rome revolved around the distinction between the patricians and the plebeians. The status of patricians gave them more political power than the plebeians. The relationship between the patricians and the plebeians eventually caused the Conflict of the Orders. This time period resulted in changing the social structure of Ancient Rome. After the Western Empire fell, the term "patrician" continued as a high honorary title in the Eastern Empire. In the Holy Roman Empire and in many medieval Italian republics, medieval patrician classes were once again formal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Crawford (historian)
Michael Hewson Crawford, (born 7 December 1939) is a British ancient historian and numismatist. Having taught at Christ's College, Cambridge and the University of Cambridge, he was Professor of Ancient History at University College London from 1986 until he retired in 2005. Early life Crawford was born in Twickenham on 7 December 1939. He was educated at St Paul's School, Oriel College, Oxford (BA, MA), and the British School at Rome. Academic career In 1964, Crawford was elected a research fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. From 1969 until 1986 he was Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, and University Lecturer in Ancient History in the University of Cambridge. He was Professor of Ancient History at University College London from 1986 until 2005, becoming emeritus professor on his retirement. He continued to undertake some teaching in the Department of History and works on Projet Volterra. In 1964/65, Crawford was Eliza Procter Visiting Fellow at Princeton University. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Publius Servilius Isauricus
Publius Servilius Isauricus was a Roman senator who served as consul in 48 BC together with Julius Caesar. He is generally regarded as a puppet of Caesar, having a long friendship with the Dictator. Biography Early life He was the son of Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus. Career In 54 BC, Isauricus was praetor. As praetor he opposed Gaius Pomptinus in his endeavour to obtain a triumph. At the start of the civil war, Isauricus defected from the optimates to Caesar. Caesar made him his colleague as consul for 48 BC. Caesar soon left Rome to fight Pompey in Greece and left Isauricus in command of the city. In March 48, praetor Marcus Caelius Rufus began talking of abolishing all debt in the city, as even the upper classes had begun to feel the pressure of shortage of money; even Cicero's wife Terentia was forced to sell most of her jewelry. Caelius, however, had no jurisdiction on the standing of debts, his only magistracy being in the administration of foreigners in Rome; instead, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sibylline Books
The ''Sibylline Books'' ( la, Libri Sibyllini) were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameters, that, according to tradition, were purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, and were consulted at momentous crises through the history of the Republic and the Empire. Only fragments have survived, the rest being lost or deliberately destroyed. The ''Sibylline Books'' should not be confused with the so-called '' Sibylline Oracles'', twelve books of prophecies thought to be of Judaeo-Christian origin. History left, Michelangelo's rendering of the Erythraean Sibyl ">Erythraean_Sibyl.html" ;"title="Michelangelo's rendering of the Erythraean Sibyl">Michelangelo's rendering of the Erythraean Sibyl According to the Roman tradition, the oldest collection of Sibylline books appears to have been made about the time of Solon and Cyrus the Great, Cyrus at Gergis, Troad, Gergis on Mount Ida (Turkey), Mount Ida in the Troad; it was attributed to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ptolemy XII Auletes
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus Philopator Philadelphus ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Νέος Διόνυσος Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλάδελφος, Ptolemaios Neos Dionysos Philopatōr Philadelphos; – 51 BC) was a pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt who ruled from 80 to 58 BC and then again from 55 BC until his death in 51 BC. He was commonly known as Auletes (, "the Flautist"), referring to his love of playing the flute in Dionysian festivals. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, he was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. writes about Ptolemy I Soter: "The Ptolemaic dynasty, of which Cleopatra was the last representative, was founded at the end of the fourth century BC. The Ptolemies were not of Egyptian extraction, but stemmed from Ptolemy Soter, a Macedonian Greek in the entourage of Alexander the Great."For additional sources that describe the Ptolemaic dynasty as " Macedonian Greek", pleas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Cyprus
Roman Cyprus was a small senatorial province within the Roman Empire. While it was a small province, it possessed several well known religious sanctuaries and figured prominently in Eastern Mediterranean trade, particularly the production and trade of Cypriot copper. The island of Cyprus was situated at a strategically important position along Eastern Mediterranean trade routes, and had been controlled by various imperial powers throughout the first millennium BC. including: the Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Macedonians, and eventually the Romans. Cyprus was annexed by the Romans in 58 BC, but turbulence and civil war in Roman politics did not establish firm rule in Cyprus until 31 BC when Roman political struggles ended by Battle of Actium, and after about a decade, Cyprus was assigned a status of senatorial province in 22 BC. From then on to the 7th century Cyprus was controlled by the Romans. Cyprus officially became part of the Eastern Roman Empire in 293 AD. Under Roman r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proconsul
A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ''imperium'', could be exercised constitutionally only by a consul. There were two consuls at a time, each elected to a one-year term. They could not normally serve two terms in a row. If a military campaign was in progress at the end of a consul's term, the consul in command might have his command prorogued, allowing him to continue in command. This custom allowed for continuity of command despite the high turnover of consuls. In the Roman Empire, proconsul was a title held by a civil governor and did not imply military command. In modern times, various officials with notable delegated authority have been referred to as proconsuls. Studies of leadership typically divide leaders into policymakers and subordinate administrators. The proconsu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comitia Centuriata
The Centuriate Assembly (Latin: ''comitia centuriata'') of the Roman Republic was one of the three voting assemblies in the Roman constitution. It was named the Centuriate Assembly as it originally divided Roman citizens into groups of one hundred men by classes. The centuries initially reflected military status, but were later based on the wealth of their members. The centuries gathered into the Centuriate Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The majority of votes in any century decided how that century voted. Each century received one vote, regardless of how many electors each Century held. Once a majority of centuries voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting ended, and the matter was decided.Taylor, 40 Only the Centuriate Assembly could declare war or elect the highest-ranking Roman magistrates: consuls, praetors and censors.Abbott, 257 The Centuriate Assembly could also pass a law that granted constitutional command authority, or "Imperium", to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC). It survived the overthrow of the Roman monarchy in 509 BC; the fall of the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC; the division of the Roman Empire in AD 395; and the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476; Justinian's attempted reconquest of the west in the 6th century, and lasted well into the Eastern Roman Empire's history. During the days of the Roman Kingdom, most of the time the Senate was little more than an advisory council to the king, but it also elected new Roman kings. The last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was overthrown following a coup d'état led by Lucius Junius Brutus, who founded the Roman Republic. During the early Republic, the Senate was politically weak, while the various executive magistr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos (consul 57 BC)
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos ( – 55 BC) was an ancient Roman politician during the Late Republic. He was a son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos and served as tribune of the plebs in 62 BC, consul in 57 BC, and the governor of Hispania Citerior from 56–55 BC. Early in his career, Nepos served under Pompey during the war against the pirates and the Third Mithridatic War. Returning to Rome in 63 BC, he served as a Pompeian ally in the plebeian tribunate. But after Pompey broke with his family on his return to Italy in 62 BC, Nepos became one of Pompey's opponents, especially after the formation of the so-called First Triumvirate in 59 BC. Elected against the wishes of the triumvirs in 57 BC to a consulship, he supported his cousin Clodius against Pompey's ally Milo and opposed Pompey's attempts to secure another military command, but regardless supported the recall of Cicero from exile. Early career Nepos' first recorded publi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hispania Citerior
Hispania Citerior (English: "Hither Iberia", or "Nearer Iberia") was a Roman province in Hispania during the Roman Republic. It was on the eastern coast of Iberia down to the town of Cartago Nova, today's Cartagena in the autonomous community of Murcia, Spain. It roughly covered today's Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia and Valencia. Further south was the Roman province of Hispania Ulterior ("Further Iberia"), named as such because it was further away from Rome. The two provinces were established in 197 BC, four years after the end of the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). During this war Scipio Africanus defeated the Carthaginians at the Battle of Ilipa (near Seville) in 206 BC. This led to the Romans taking over the Carthaginian possessions in southern Spain and on the east coast up to the River Ebro. Several governors of Hispania Citerior commanded wars against the Celtiberians who lived to the west of this province. In the late first century BC Augustus reorganised ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontiff
A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in Roman Catholic ecclesiastical usage, to bishops, especially the Pope, who is sometimes referred to as the Roman Pontiff or the Supreme Pontiff. Etymology The English term derives through Old French ''pontif'' from Latin ''pontifex'', a word commonly held to come from the Latin root words ''pons'', ''pont-'' (bridge) + ''facere'' (to do, to make), and so to have the literal meaning of "bridge-builder", presumably between mankind and the deity/deities. The role of bridges in ancient religions, associated with resurrection, redemption and the Judgement Day is already well known. Uncertainty prevailing, this may be only a folk etymology, but it may also recall ancient tasks and magic rites asso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
