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Ovidia Gens
The gens Ovidia was a plebs, plebeian family of ancient Rome. Only a few members of this gens are mentioned in history, of whom the most famous is unquestionably the poet Ovid, Publius Ovidius Naso, but others are known from inscriptions. Origin In his ''Tristia'', Ovid explains that he was descended from an ancient family of equites, equestrian rank, but only moderate wealth. He was born at Sulmona, Sulmo, in the country of the Paeligni, an Oscan language, Oscan-speaking people of central Italy, related to the Sabines and Samnites.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 68 ("Publius Ovidius Naso"). The Roman naming conventions#nomen, nomen ''Ovidius'' would seem to belong to a class of gentilicia formed from other names using the common name-forming suffix ''-idius'', in which case it might be a patronymic surname based on the Oscan praenomen ''Ovius''. Alternatively, the name might have been derived from a cognomen ''Ovis'', referring to a sheep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plebs
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizenship, Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the group and the term are unclear, but may be related to the Greek, ''plēthos'', meaning masses. In Latin, the word is a grammatical number, singular collective noun, and its genitive is . Plebeians were not a monolithic social class. Those who resided in the city and were part of the four urban tribes are sometimes called the , while those who lived in the country and were part of the 31 smaller rural tribes are sometimes differentiated by using the label . (List of Roman tribes) In ancient Rome In the annalistic tradition of Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Dionysius, the distinction between patricians and plebeians was as old as Rome itself, instituted by Romulus' a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaius (praenomen)
Gaius () is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, and was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The feminine form is Gaia.Chase, pp. 174–176. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Gavia. The name was regularly abbreviated C., based on the original spelling, Caius, which dates from the period before the letters "C" and "G" were differentiated. Inverted, Ɔ. stood for the feminine, Gaia.''Liber de Praenominibus''.Quintilian, ''Institutes'', i. 7. § 28. Throughout Roman history, Gaius was generally the second-most common praenomen, following only ''Lucius''. Although many prominent families did not use it at all, it was so widely distributed amongst all social classes that ''Gaius'' became a generic name for any man, and ''Gaia'' for any woman. A familiar Roman wedding ceremony included the words, spoken by the bride, ''ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia'' ("as you are Gaius, I am Gaia"), to which the bridegroom r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geta (emperor)
Publius Septimius Geta ( ; 7 March 189 – 19/26 December 211) was Roman emperor with his father Septimius Severus and older brother Caracalla from 209, when he was named ''Augustus'' like his brother, who had held the title from 198. Severus died in 211, and although he intended for his sons to rule together, they proved incapable of sharing power, culminating with the murder of Geta in December of that year. Early life Geta was the younger son of Septimius Severus by his second wife Julia Domna. He was born on 7 March in either Rome or Mediolanum, at a time when his father was only a provincial governor at the service of Emperor Commodus. In 198, Geta was raised to ''Caesar''. Septimius Severus gave him the title of ''augustus'' in late 209. During the campaign against the Britons in the early 3rd century AD, imperial propaganda promoted the image of a happy family that shared the responsibilities of rule. Geta's brother Caracalla acted as Severus' second-in-command, and ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caledonia
Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the part of Great Britain () that lies north of the River Forth, which includes most of the land area of Scotland. Today, it is used as a romantic or poetic name for all of Scotland. During the Roman Empire's occupation of Scotland, the area they called Caledonia was physically separated from the rest of the island by the Antonine Wall. The Romans several times invaded and occupied it, but unlike the rest of the island, it remained outside the administration of Roman Britain. Latin historians, including Tacitus and Cassius Dio, referred to the territory north of the River Forth as "Caledonia", and described it as inhabited by the Maeatae and the Caledonians (). Other ancient authors, however, used the adjective "Caledonian" more generally to describe anything pertaining to inland or northern Britain. The name is probably derived from a word in one of the Gallo-Brittonic languages. History Etymology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68. He was adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius at the age of 13 and succeeded him on the throne. Nero was popular with the members of his Praetorian Guard and lower-class commoners in Rome and its provinces, but he was deeply resented by the Roman aristocracy. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. After being declared a public enemy by the Roman Senate, he committed suicide at age 30. Nero was born at Antium in AD 37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, a great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus. When Nero was two years old, his father died. His mother married the emperor Claudius, who eventually adopted Nero as his heir; when Cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mentana
Mentana is a town and ''comune'', former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. It is located north-east of Rome and has a population of about 23,000. History Mentana's name in ancient times was ''Nomentum'', to which the Via Nomentana led from Rome. According to Livy, the town was part of the Latin League, which went to war with Rome during the reign of Rome's king Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. Nomentum was one of a number of towns captured by Tarquinius. It was a Latin town, but was considered by some to be Sabine, and, like Fidenae and Ficulea, was excluded from the first region by Augustus, who made the Anio river its northern boundary. The city was part of the League defeated by Rome in the Battle of Lake Regillus, and was captured definitively in 338 BC. Subsequently, ''Nomentum'' received the ''civitas sine suffragio''; in its municipal constitution the chief magistrate even in imperial times bore the titl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. In these short, witty poems he cheerfully satirises city life and the scandalous activities of his acquaintances, and romanticises his provincial upbringing. He wrote a total of 1,561 epigrams, of which 1,235 are in elegiac couplets. Martial has been called the greatest Latin epigrammatist, and is considered the creator of the modern epigram. Early life Knowledge of his origins and early life are derived almost entirely from his works, which can be more or less dated according to the well-known events to which they refer. In Book X of his ''Epigrams'', composed between 95 and 98, he mentions celebrating his fifty-seventh birthday; hence he was born during March 38, 39, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Principate, which is the first phase of the Roman Empire, and Augustus is considered one of the greatest leaders in human history. The reign of Augustus initiated an imperial cult as well as an era associated with imperial peace, the ''Pax Romana'' or ''Pax Augusta''. The Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries despite continuous wars of imperial expansion on the empire's frontiers and the year-long civil war known as the "Year of the Four Emperors" over the imperial succession. Originally named Gaius Octavius, he was born into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian ''gens'' Octavia. His maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was named in Caesar' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decemviri Stlitibus Judicandis
The ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis'' was a civil court of ancient origin, traditionally attributed to Servius Tullius, which originally dealt with cases concerning whether an individual was free. History Originally these decemvirs were a jury of ten men, serving under the presidency of a magistrate, but later this court became the magistratus minores, or lower judiciary of the Roman Republic, and was included among the ''vigintisexviri'', or twenty-six magistrates elected by the ''comitia tributa''. According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, Augustus assigned the presidency of the court of the ''centumviri'' to the ''decemviri stlitibus judicandis''. In imperial times, the decemvirs also had jurisdiction in capital crimes.Suetonius, "The Life of Augustus", 36. Footnotes References Bibliography * Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, ''De Vita Caesarum'' (Lives of the Caesars, or The Twelve Caesars). * Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centumviral Court
The centumviral court (''centumviri'') was the chancery court (court of equity) of ancient Rome. It was a court of justice dealing with private law (what is referred to in common law systems as civil law). Evolution The term ''centumviri'' literally means "100 men"; this was the original number of members from which pool the court was selected. The number of men of which the court consisted is not known. In the Republic, the number increased to 105 and later still, during the Empire, to 180. The antiquity of the court is attested by the symbol and formula used in its procedure, the lance ( la, hasta, link=no) as the sign of true ownership, the oath or wager ( la, sacramentum, link=no), the ancient formula for recovery of property or assertion of liberty. During the Empire, four courts were usually chosen from the pool, although the entire membership might sit in unusual cases. The ''Decemviri'' (ten men) presided over the court from the Augustan period. Membership of this counc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triumvirate
A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are notionally equal, the actual distribution of power may vary. The term can also be used to describe a state with three different military leaders who all claim to be the sole leader. Pre-Modern triumvirates Biblical In the Bible triumvirates occurred at some notable events in both the Old Testament and New Testament. In the Book of Exodus Moses, his brother Aaron and, according to some views their nephew or brother-in-law, Hur acted this way during the Battle of Rephidim against the Amalekites. Later, when Moses was away on Mount Sinai Aaron and Hur were left in charge of all the Israelites. In the Gospels as a leading trio among the Twelve Apostles at three particular occasions during public ministry of Jesus acted Peter, James, son of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titus (praenomen)
Titus ( , ) is a Latin ''praenomen'', or personal name, and was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. For most of Roman history, Titus was the sixth most common praenomen, following ''Lucius, Gaius, Marcus, Publius'', and ''Quintus''. While not used by every family, it was widely used by all social classes including both patricians and plebeians and was a favorite of many families and gave rise to the patronymic '' gens Titia''. It was regularly abbreviated T. and the feminine form was ''Tita'' or ''Titia''. The name survived the Roman Empire, and has continued to be used, in various forms, into modern times. Origin and meaning The original meaning of Titus is obscure, but it was widely believed to have come to Rome during the time of Romulus, the founder and first king of Rome. Early in his reign, a war with the Sabines ended with the migration of a great many Sabine families to Rome, and Titus Tatius, king of the Sabine town of Cures, becoming co-regent with Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
