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Rabirius
The gens Rabiria was a minor plebeian family at Ancient Rome. Although of senatorial rank, few members of this gens appear in history, and the only one known to have held any of the higher offices of the Roman state was Gaius Rabirius Postumus, who was praetor ''circa'' 48 or 47 BC. Origin The great majority of Rabirii known from inscriptions lived in Italy, and a large family of this name seems to have lived at Tusculum, an ancient city of Latium not far from Rome. Another of the Rabirii bears the cognomen ''Tiburtinus'', indicating that he or his ancestors probably came from Tibur, another city of northern Latium, not far from Rome and Tusculum, and strongly suggesting that the Rabirii were Latins. Praenomina The chief praenomina of the Rabirii are ''Gaius'' and '' Publius'', both of which were among the most common names throughout Roman history. Other praenomina appear sporadically, including '' Gnaeus'', ''Lucius'', '' Marcus'', '' Numerius'', ''Quintus'', and ''Sextus''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rabirius (Epicurean)
Rabirius was a 1st-century BC Epicurean associated with Amafinius and Catius as one of the early popularizers of the philosophy in Italy. Their works on Epicureanism were the earliest philosophical treatises written in Latin. Other than Lucretius, Amafinius and Rabirius are the only Roman Epicurean writers named by Cicero. In his '' Academica'', Cicero criticizes Amafinius and Rabirius from an elitist perspective for their unsophisticated prose style, and says that in their efforts to introduce philosophy to common people they end up saying nothing. He concludes indignantly: "they think there is no art of speechmaking or composition." Although Cicero in his writings is mostly hostile toward Epicureanism, his dear friend Atticus was an Epicurean, and this remark, occurring within a dialogue, is attributed to the interlocutor Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaius Rabirius (senator)
Gaius Rabirius was a Roman senator who was involved in the death of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus in 100 BC. Titus Labienus, a Tribune of the Plebs whose uncle had lost his life among the followers of Saturninus on that occasion, was urged by fellow Senator and patron Julius Caesar to accuse Rabirius of participating in the murder. Caesar's real objective was to warn the Senate against interference by force with popular movements, to uphold the sovereignty of the people and the inviolability of the person of the tribunes, at the time of the conspiracy of Lucius Sergius Catilina. The obsolete accusation of ''perduellio'' was revived, and the case was heard before Caesar and his cousin Lucius Julius Caesar as commissioners specially appointed (''duumviri perduellionis''). Rabirius was condemned, and the people, to whom the accused had exercised the right of appeal, were on the point of ratifying the decision, when Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer pulled down the military flag from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaius Rabirius Postumus
Gaius Rabirius Postumus was a Roman banking, Roman banker. He is notable for having been defended by Cicero (54 BC) in the extant speech ''Pro Rabirio Postumo'', when charged with extortion in Egypt and complicity with Aulus Gabinius. Rabirius was a member of the equites order who lent a very large sum of money to Ptolemy XII Auletes, king of Egypt. Afterwards, Auletes, in lieu of repaying the money, appointed Rabirius as his finance minister (dioiketes) and gave him license to recoup his debts by collecting taxes from the Egyptian subjects. After one year, the Alexandrian people, exasperated by Rabirius' exactions, rioted, and Auletes had Rabirius imprisoned. The latter escaped to Rome, where he was accused by the Senate of Rome. He was defended by Cicero and acquitted on a technicality. See also * Gaius Rabirius (senator) * Rabiria gens References *Marcus Tullius Cicero ''Cicero's Speech Pro Rabirio Postumo.'' Oxford University Press, 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabirius Postumus, G ... [...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] |
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer (before 103 BC or c. 100 BC – 59 BC), a member of the powerful Caecilius Metellus family (plebeian nobility, not patrician) who were at their zenith during Celer's lifetime. A son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos, or, according to some, the son of tribune Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer while the latter is the son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos, was an ancient Roman statesman and general during the First Century BC. He became consul in 60 BC and previously he held the offices of praetor (63 BC) and augur. During the Third Mithridatic War (73-63 BC) against Mithridates VI of Pontus and Tigranes the Great of Armenia, Metellus Celer was a lieutenant (legate) of Pompey during his eastern campaigns (66-63 BC). In the winter of 66 BC Oroeses, king of the Caucasian Albanians attacked the forces of Pompey while they were celebrating the festival of the Saturnalia in their winter quarters in Lesser Armenia. Pompey had split his army into th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire. His extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy and politics, and he is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and served as consul in 63 BC. His influence on the Latin language was immense. He wrote more than three-quarters of extant Latin literature that is known to have existed in his lifetime, and it has been said that subsequent prose was either a reaction against or a return to his style, not only in Latin but in European languages up to the 19th century. Cicero introduced into Latin the arguments of the chief schools of Hellenistic philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perduellio
In the early days of Ancient Rome, ''perduellio'' () was the term for the capital offense of high treason, although it was not well defined. The form of action on this charge changed over the course of the Roman republic. The word later became just an intensifier for the more common treason charge (''maiestas''). It was set down plainly in the Law of the Twelve Tables as follows: The Law of the Twelve Tables orders that he who has stirred up an enemy or who has handed over a citizen to the enemy is to be punished capitally. (Marcianus, D. 48, 4, 3). Under the terms of this law, those convicted of ''perduellio'' were subject to death either by being hanged from the ''arbor infelix'' (a tree deemed to be unfortunate) or by being thrown from the Tarpeian Rock. Their families were not allowed to mourn them and their houses were razed. History As the concept of national sovereignty took hold in Rome, ''perduellio'' also came to mean an offense which “injured or brought into danger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Numerius (praenomen)
Numerius ( , ) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, usually abbreviated N. The name was never especially common, but was used throughout the period of the Roman Republic, and into imperial times. The feminine form is Numeria.Kajava, ''Roman Female Praenomina'', p. 49, 110 ''ff'', 119. The praenomen also gave rise to the patronymic gens Numeria.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. II, p. 1214 (" Numerius"). Although ''Numerius'' was occasionally used by patrician gentes, such as the Furii and the Valerii, the only patrician family to use the name regularly was the gens Fabia. Festus relates the story of how ''Numerius'' was introduced to the family after a survivor of the Battle of the Cremera married a daughter of Numerius Otacilius of Maleventum.Chase, p. 138. The name was used more widely amongst the plebeians and in the countryside, and was relatively common in southern Italy. In Roman law, the name ''Numerius Negidius'' was used to refer to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caesar's Civil War
Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was one of the last politico-military conflicts of the Roman Republic before its reorganization into the Roman Empire. It began as a series of political and military confrontations between Gaius Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Before the war, Caesar had led an invasion of Gaul for almost ten years. A build-up of tensions starting in late 49 BC, with both Caesar and Pompey refusing to back down led, however, to the outbreak of civil war. Eventually, Pompey and his allies induced the Senate to demand Caesar give up his provinces and armies. Caesar refused and instead marched on Rome. The war was a four-year-long politico-military struggle, fought in Italy, Illyria, Greece, Egypt, Africa, and Hispania. Pompey defeated Caesar in 48 BC at the Battle of Dyrrhachium, but was himself defeated decisively at the Battle of Pharsalus. Many former Pompeians, including Marcus Junius Brutus and Cicero, surrendered after the battle, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed the First Triumvirate, an informal political alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power as were opposed by the within the Roman Senate, among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar rose to become one of the most powerful politicians in the Roman Republic through a string of military victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, which greatly extended Roman territory. During this time he both invaded Britain and built a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Publican
In antiquity, publicans (Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw public building projects. In addition, they served as tax collectors for the Roman Republic (and later the Roman Empire), farming the taxes of the Roman provinces, and bidding on contracts (from the Senate in Rome) for the collection of various types of taxes. Importantly, this role as tax collectors was not emphasized until late into the history of the Republic (c. 1st century BC). The publicans were usually of the class of equites. During the republican era, civil service, which was the size of modern middle-sized city governments, dealt with organising public policy for nearly thirty million people. The solution for the day-to-day operation of public administration was the extensive use of privat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
