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Paulus Catena
Paulus Catena ('the Chain' or 'the Fetter') (''Floruit, fl.'' 350s, d. 361/2) was a senior Roman Empire, Roman public official who served as an investigator and Civil law notary, notary for Constantius II during the mid-fourth century.Seeck 1906, p. 233 He is principally known through the writings of Ammianus Marcellinus, though he is also present in the works of Libanius and Julian (emperor), Julian the Apostate. Marcellinus describes him as infamously cruel, and a skilled fabricator of false accusations.Ammianus Marcellinus ''Res Gestae'', XIV.V.§6-9, XV.III.§3-4, XV.VI.§1-4, XIX.XII.§1-16, XXII.III.§11 Biography Background, Reputation, and General Character Little is known of Paulus' personal life or background. He was a native of Spain and Ammianus Marcellinus, Marcellinus reports that he had a "smooth countenance." Before obtaining his position as an imperial aid, he was a steward of the emperor's table. The exact office he held while in the emperor's service is unclear: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cognomen
A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary ''cognomina'' were used to augment the second name, the ''nomen gentilicium'' (the family name, or clan name), in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings. Roman names Because of the limited nature of the Latin '' praenomen'', the ''cognomen'' developed to distinguish branches of the family from one another, and occasionally, to highlight an individual's achievement, typically in warfare. One example of this is Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, whose cognomen ''Magnus'' was earned after his military victories under Sulla's dictatorship. The ''cognomen'' was a form of distinguishing people who accomplished important feats, and those who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flavius Martinus
Flavius Martinus was a vicarius of Roman Britain c. 353 under Constantius II. He tried to control the violent recriminations following the defeat of Magnentius. Martinus tried to rein in the vengeance of Constantius' notary Paulus Catena who had been sent to Britain to ruthlessly hunt down opponents to the emperor. Faced with Paul's refusal to release even those suspects who had been proved innocent, Martinus threatened resignation but this only resulted in accusations being made at him directly as well. In desperation, Martinus attacked Paulus with a sword. The attack was unsuccessful and he committed suicide. Ammianus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gestae ... praises Martinus for his bravery in seeking to protect the innocent during the atmosphere of fear and oppressio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalcedon Tribunal
Shortly after the death of Roman emperor Constantius II, his successor Julian held a tribunal at the city of Chalcedon, which was then a suburb of Constantinople. Saturninius Secundus Salutius, who was raised to the rank of Praetorian Prefect was given the chief oversight and with him were associated Claudius Mamertinus (another civilian), and four military commanders, Arbitio, Agilo, Nevitta and Jovinus. The first two were ex-officers of Constantius, while the other two had served with Julian. At this tribunal a large part of Constantius's ministers were brought to trial. In charge of the daily inquisitions was Arbitio, "while the others were present merely for show" according to historian Ammianus Marcellinus. Palladius, Taurus, Euagrius, Saturninus and Cyrinus are known to have been exiled. Florentius, Ursulus and Eusebius were condemned to death. Apodemius and Paulus Catena were even burned alive. Another Florentius was imprisoned on a Dalmatian island. Constantius II died ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Of Cappadocia
George of Cappadocia (Greek: Γεώργιος ό Καππάδοκης) died 24 December 361) was the intruding Arian bishop of Alexandria from 356 until his martyrdom. George was born, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, at Epiphania in Cilicia, and, if so, must have been Cappadocian only by descent. (The name "of Cappadocia" by which he is commonly known comes from Athan. Ep. ad Episc. 7.) Gregory Nazianzen describes him as not purely free-born, and as "unlearned," but he undoubtedly collected a library which Julian, no bad judge, describes as "very large and ample," richly stored with philosophical, rhetorical, and historical authors, and with various works of "Galilean" or Christian theology. In February 356, after Athanasius had retired from Alexandria in consequence of the attack on his church, which all but ended in his seizure, he heard that George was to be intruded into his throne, as Gregory had been sixteen years previously. George arrived in Alexandria, escorted by so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aristophanes Of Corinth
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete. These provide the most valuable examples of a genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy and are used to define it, along with fragments from dozens of lost plays by Aristophanes and his contemporaries. Also known as "The Father of Comedy" and "the Prince of Ancient Comedy", Aristophanes has been said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more convincingly than any other author. His powers of ridicule were feared and acknowledged by influential contemporaries; Plato singled out Aristophanes' play ''The Clouds'' as slander that contributed to the trial and subsequent condemning to death of Socrates, although other satirical playwrights had also caricatured the philosopher. Aristophanes' second play, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beit She'an
Beit She'an ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), is a town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is believed to be one of the oldest cities in the region. It has played an important role in history due to its geographical location at the junction of the Jordan River, Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley. The town's ancient tell contains remains beginning in the Chalcolithic, Chalcolithic period. It served as an New Kingdom of Egypt, Egyptian administrative center during the Late Bronze Age. During the Hellenistic period, the settlement was known as Scythopolis (Ancient Greek: ''Σκυθόπολις''). After the region came under Roman Empire, Roman rule, Scythopolis gained imperial free status and was the leading city of the Decapolis. Later, under Byzantine rule, it served as the capital of Palaestina Sec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ''oracle'' comes from the Latin verb ''ōrāre'', "to speak" and properly refers to the priest or priestess uttering the prediction. In extended use, ''oracle'' may also refer to the ''site of the oracle'', and to the oracular utterances themselves, called ''khrēsmē'' 'tresme' (χρησμοί) in Greek. Oracles were thought to be portals through which the gods spoke directly to people. In this sense, they were different from seers (''manteis'', μάντεις) who interpreted signs sent by the gods through bird signs, animal entrails, and other various methods.Flower, Michael Attyah. ''The Seer in Ancient Greece.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. The most important oracles of Greek antiquity were Pythia (priestess to Apoll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domitius Modestus
Domitius Modestus (''floruit'' 358–377) was a politician of the Roman Empire. He held appointments under the emperors Constantius II, Julian, and Valens, and was consul in 372. Previously a pagan, he converted to Arianism under Valens, and was sent by Valens to mediate between the Arian and Nicene factions with Basil of Caesarea. Life Of Arab origin, Modestus was ''comes Orientis'' from 358 to 362, succeeding to Nebridius and serving under the Emperors Constantius II and Julian. In 359 he was the president of a commission at Scythopolis, and in this office he judged with cruelty the defendants. While he was in Antioch, Julian appointed Modestus as ''praefectus urbi'' of Constantinople, an office he held from 362 to 363. Under Emperor Valens he was Praetorian prefect of the East (369-377) and consul in 372. During his office as Praetorian prefect he completed the building of the ''Cisterna Modestiaca'' (a cistern identified with Sarrâdshchane), whose building was begun b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comes Orientis
The Diocese of the East ( la, Dioecesis Orientis; el, ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. During late Antiquity, it was one of the major commercial, agricultural, religious and intellectual areas of the empire, and its strategic location facing the Sassanid Empire and the unruly desert tribes gave it exceptional military importance. History The capital of the diocese was at Antioch, and its governor had the special title of ''comes Orientis'' ("Count of the East", of the rank ''vir spectabilis'' and later ''vir gloriosus ''Vir gloriosus'' (Latin for "glorious man", gr, ἔνδοξος, ''endoxos'') or ''gloriosissimus'' ("most glorious", gr, ἐνδοξότατος, ''endoxotatos'') was the highest rank available to the senatorial aristocracy of the East Roman or ...'') instead of the ordinary "''vicarius''". The diocese was established after the reforms of Diocletian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otto Seeck
Otto Karl Seeck (2 February 1850 – 29 June 1921) was a German classical historian who is perhaps best known for his work on the decline of the ancient world. He was born in Riga. He first began studying chemistry at the University of Dorpat but transferred to the University of Berlin to study classical history under Theodor Mommsen. Seeck earned his doctorate from the University of Berlin in 1872 after writing his thesis on the ''Notitia Dignitatum'', a document enumerating the roles and responsibilities of administrative officials of the later Roman empire c. 400 AD. He habilitated under Mommsen in Berlin in 1877 and, with the help of Mommsen, secured a post at the University of Greifswald in 1881, where he taught Roman History and Archaeology. There he met Karl Julius Beloch. In 1907 he went to the University of Münster where he continued teaching and writing. Seeck wrote many influential works on late antiquity and social Darwinism. He was widely published in such academi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1992. p. 73. . The etymologically related English term "county" denoted the territories associated with the countship. Definition The word ''count'' came into English from the French ''comte'', itself from Latin ''comes''—in its accusative ''comitem''—meaning “companion”, and later “companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor”. The adjective form of the word is "comital". The British and Irish equivalent is an earl (whose wife is a "countess", for lack of an English term). In the late Roman Empire, the Latin title ''comes'' denoted the high rank of various courtiers and provincial officials, either military or administrative: before Anthemius became emperor in the West in 467, he was a military ''comes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silvanus (magister Peditum)
Silvanus (died 7 September 355) was a Roman general of Frankish descent, usurper in Gaul against Emperor Constantius II for 28 days in AD 355. Origin and career Silvanus was born in Gaul, the son of Bonitus, a Laetic Frankish general who had supported Constantine I in the civil war against Licinius. Like so many other Franks of his times, and like his father before him, he was a loyal and thoroughly romanized "barbarian" in the military service of the Empire. By AD 351, he held the rank of tribune and was one of the senior officers who defected to Emperor Constantius II at the Battle of Mursa Major, after initially supporting the usurper Magnentius. An able soldier, Silvanus was eventually promoted to the rank of ''magister peditum per Gallias'', a crucial post, then in AD 352–353, Constantius personally entrusted him with the difficult task of driving the Alamanni tribesmen raiding and looting in Gaul back beyond the Rhine, and restoring the fast eroding Roman authority in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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