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Scandal Takes A Holiday
''Scandal Takes a Holiday'' is a 2004 historical mystery crime novel by Lindsey Davis and the 16th book of the Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries series. Set in Ostia Antica during AD 76, the novel stars Marcus Didius Falco, informer and imperial agent. The title refers to the "holiday" taken by Infamia, gossip columnist of the ''Daily Gazette''. Plot summary A long and complicated case awaits Falco and Lucius Petronius Longinus (or Petro' for short) on the streets of the port town of Ostia, accompanied by Maia, Helena and Falco's daughters — Albia, Julia and Favonia. Petro' is on the lookout for Balbinus Florius, a dangerous mobster last seen in Britain, while Falco is on the lookout for a missing gossip columnist named Diocles, an Imperial freedman known by the pen name of "Infamia" (Latin: "scandal", "calumny"). A young boy named Zeno approaches Petro', and tells him that "his mother won't wake up". Zeno's mother is found unconscious and drooling, and Maia is sent to nurse he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lindsey Davis
Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award. Life and career Davis was born in Birmingham and after taking a degree in English literature at Oxford University ( Lady Margaret Hall), she became a civil servant for 13 years. When a romantic novel she had written was runner up for the 1985 ''Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize'', she decided to become a writer, at first writing romantic serials for the UK women's magazine ''Woman's Realm''. Her dedication of the book '' Rebels and Traitors'' (2009) reads: "For Richard / dearest and closest of friends / your favourite book / in memory", and the author's website relates: "I am still getting used to life without my dear Richard. For those of you who haven't seen this before, he died in October 008" The author says in her publisher's newsletter: "The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vigiles
The ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' ("cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. History The ''Triumviri Nocturni'' (meaning ''three men of the night'') were the first men, being privately owned slaves, organized into a group that combated the common problems of fire and conflagrations in Rome. The privately operated system became ineffective, so in the interest of keeping himself and Rome safe, Augustus instituted a new public firefighting force called the ''Vigiles''. Augustus modelled the new firefighters after the fire brigade of Alexandria, Egypt. The Vigiles were also known by their nickname ''Spartoli'' or "little bucket fellows" which was given to them because of the buckets they carried water in, which were made of rope sealed with pitch. In AD 6, Augustus levied a 4% tax on the sale of slaves and used the proceeds to set up the new force. The first Vigiles units were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Didius Falco Novels
Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârlău Commune, Covasna County, Romania * Marcus, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Marcus, Iowa, a city * Marcus, South Dakota, an unincorporated community * Marcus, Washington, a town * Marcus Island, Japan, also known as Minami-Tori-shima * Mărcuș River, Romania * Marcus Township, Cherokee County, Iowa Other uses * Markus, a beetle genus in family Cantharidae * ''Marcus'' (album), 2008 album by Marcus Miller * Marcus (comedian), finalist on ''Last Comic Standing'' season 6 * Marcus Amphitheater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin * Marcus Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin * Marcus & Co., American jewelry retailer * Marcus by Goldman Sachs, an online bank * USS ''Marcus'' (DD-321), a US Navy destroyer (1919-1935) See also * Marcos (disambiguat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2004 British Novels
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest composite number, its proper divisors being and . Four is the sum and product of two with itself: 2 + 2 = 4 = 2 x 2, the only number b such that a + a = b = a x a, which also makes four the smallest squared prime number p^. In Knuth's up-arrow notation, , and so forth, for any number of up arrows. By consequence, four is the only square one more than a prime number, specifically three. The sum of the first four prime numbers two + three + five + seven is the only sum of four consecutive prime numbers that yields an odd prime number, seventeen, which is the fourth super-prime. Four lies between the first proper pair of twin primes, three and five, which are the first two Fermat primes, like seventeen, which is the third. On the oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolidation of the empire generated political stability and a vast Roman building program. Vespasian was the first emperor from an equestrian family and only rose later in his lifetime into the senatorial rank as the first member of his family to do so. Vespasian's renown came from his military success; he was legate of Legio II Augusta during the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 and subjugated Judaea during the Jewish rebellion of 66. While Vespasian besieged Jerusalem during the Jewish rebellion, emperor Nero committed suicide and plunged Rome into a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. After Galba and Otho perished in quick succession, Vitellius became emperor in Apri ... [...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] |
Liburna
A liburna was a type of small galley used for raiding and patrols. It was originally used by the Liburnians, a pirate tribe from Dalmatia, and later used by the Roman navy.. History A stone tablet (''Stele di Novilara'') found near ancient Pisaurum (now Pesaro) shows a liburna in the scene of a naval battle. Dated to the fifth or sixth century BCE, the image possibly depicts an imaginary battle between the Liburnian and Picene fleets. The liburna was presented as light type of the ship with one row of oars, one mast, one sail, and prow twisted outwards. Under the prow there was a rostrum made for striking the enemy ships under the sea. By its original form, the liburna was similar to the ancient Greek penteconter. It had one bench with 25 oars on each side, while in the late Roman Republic, it was equipped with two banks of oars (a bireme), remaining faster, lighter, and more agile than triremes. The liburna design was adopted by the Romans and became a key part of the Roman na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom until it was re-conquered in 540 by the Byzantine Empire. Afterwards, the city formed the centre of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until the last exarch was executed by the Lombards in 751. Although it is an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. It is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, with eight buildings comprising the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna". History The origin of the name ''Ravenna'' is unclear. Some have speculated that "Ravenna" is related to "Rasenna" (or "Rasna"), the term that the Etruscan civilization, Etruscans used for themselves, but there is no agreement on this point. Ancien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Navy
The naval forces of the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman state ( la, Classis, lit=fleet) were instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans remained a primarily land-based people and relied partially on their more nautically inclined subjects, such as the Greeks and the Egyptians, to build their ships. Because of that, the navy was never completely embraced by the Roman state, and deemed somewhat "un-Roman". In antiquity, navies and trading fleets did not have the logistical autonomy that modern ships and fleets possess, and unlike modern naval forces, the Roman navy even at its height never existed as an autonomous service but operated as an adjunct to the Roman army. During the course of the First Punic War, the Roman navy was massively expanded and played a vital role in the Roman victory and the Roman Republic's eventual ascension to hegemony in the Mediterranean Sea. In th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilicia plain. The region includes the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye, along with parts of Hatay and Antalya. Geography Cilicia is extended along the Mediterranean coast east from Pamphylia to the Nur Mountains, which separates it from Syria. North and east of Cilicia lie the rugged Taurus Mountains that separate it from the high central plateau of Anatolia, which are pierced by a narrow gorge called in antiquity the Cilician Gates. Ancient Cilicia was naturally divided into Cilicia Trachea and Cilicia Pedias by the Limonlu River. Salamis, the city on the east coast of Cyprus, was included in its administrative jurisdiction. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Didius Falco
Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award. Life and career Davis was born in Birmingham and after taking a degree in English literature at Oxford University (Lady Margaret Hall), she became a civil servant for 13 years. When a romantic novel she had written was runner up for the 1985 ''Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize'', she decided to become a writer, at first writing romantic serials for the UK women's magazine ''Woman's Realm''. Her dedication of the book '' Rebels and Traitors'' (2009) reads: "For Richard / dearest and closest of friends / your favourite book / in memory", and the author's website relates: "I am still getting used to life without my dear Richard. For those of you who haven't seen this before, he died in October 008" The author says in her publisher's newsletter: "The gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portus
Portus was a large artificial harbour of Ancient Rome. Sited on the north bank of the north mouth of the Tiber, on the Tyrrhenian coast, it was established by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the nearby port of Ostia. The archaeological remains of the harbour are near the modern-day Italian village of Porto within the Comune of Fiumicino, just south of Rome in Lazio (ancient Latium). Ancient Portus Claudian phase Rome's original harbour was Ostia. Claudius constructed the first harbour on the Portus site, north of Ostia, enclosing an area of 250 hectares (617 acres), with two long curving moles projecting into the sea, and an artificial island, bearing a lighthouse, in the centre of the space between them. The foundation of this lighthouse was provided by filling one of the massive obelisk ships, used to transport an obelisk from Egypt to adorn the spina of Vatican Circus, built during the reign of Caligula. The harbour thus opened directly to the sea on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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