Sunday, July 09, 2006

B

¤ BAALBEK City in the province of Syria, near the cities of Tyre and Berytus, that boasted one of the Empire's finest temple precincts and public buildings. In existence since before the 6th century B.C., when the first great temple structures were built, Baalbek figured in the stabilizing of the frontiers during the early years of the reign of AUGUSTUS (ruled 27 B.C.-14 A.D.). Marcus AGRIPPA reorganized the East and chose Baalbek and Berytus as two important Roman colonies. Henceforth Baalbek was a thoroughly Roman city in the midst of Syria, and its name was changed eventually to Heliopolis. Not only did Baalbek serve Roman interests in Syria, it also helped maintain a buffer against PARTHIA and PERSIA, a difficult task as the imperial frontier became weak.
The new colonists brought their new gods, and the result was a spectacular series of buildings erected between the 1st and 3rd centuries A.D. Collectively, the edifices were called the Sanctuary of Jupiter. The Temple of Jupiter dominated the complex. Nearby rose the Temple of Bacchus, constructed in the 2nd century, which survives in remarkably good shape and so offers excellent archaeological and artistic details from the period. Known as Bacchius's temple, but most likely the Temple of Venus Atargatis, it was heavily decorated and supported by Corinthian columns.
¤ BACCHUS Roman god of wine, a conversion of the Greek god Dionysus, the son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Semele. He was considered boisterous, and his festival, the wild, orgiastic Bacchanalia, was suppressed in 186 B.C. Bacchus remained popular into the Empire, and his impersonation was attempted by Emperor GAIUS CALIGULA. Around 211 A.D., Emperor Septimius SEVERUS constructed a temple at Rome in Bacchus's honor. The city of Baalbek also contained a temple, known as Bacchus' temple, erected between the 1st and 3rd centuries. See also GODS AND GODDESSES OF ROME.
¤ BAETICA The name used by the Romans for the region of Andalusia in Spain. See also HISPANIA.
¤ BAGAUDAE The name given to a tribe (really a loose group of peasants) in Gaul during the late 3rd century A.D. Crushed under the weight of the imperial tax system and disenfranchised by the barbarian invasions, many Gallic farmers and peasants banded together to form brigand communities. In 286 they put forth two leaders, AMANDUS AND AELIAN, as imperial aspirants. Emperor Diocletian, testing out his new form of government through trusted aides, sent his colleague MAXIMIAN to Gaul to crush the rebellion. Swiftly, but mercifully, the Bagaudae were eliminated and their leaders faded. See also GALLIA.
¤ BAIAE Town in the Campania district of Italy; on a beautiful bay near Naples, just across from the city of Puteoli. The region was one of the most lovely in Italy, with natural springs and baths in abundance. For centuries the elite of Rome, including senators and emperors, built homes, estates and palaces along the water. Baiae gained increased notoriety during the reign of NERO (54-69 A.D.), who spent much time at the villa of Gaius Calpurnius PISO, who became the center of the famed PISONIAN CONSPIRACY. It was proposed that Nero be murdered there but Piso refused. In 138 A.D. Emperor HADRIAN, his health deteriorating, left Rome and travelled to Baiae where he died on July 10. SEVERUS ALEXANDER was fond of the town, building a palace and a pool for his use as well as many public works of which most have been lost to the sea. See also BAULI.
¤ BALBILLUS, TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS (fl. mid-lst century A.D.) Astrologer for the emperors CLAUDIUS, NERO and VESPASIAN; probably the son of THRASYLLUS, for so many years the astrologer for TIBERIUS, from whom he learned his trade. He was a friend of Claudius, travelling with him to Britannia. A political career followed, including a procuratorship in Asia and a prefecture in Egypt. During the reign of Nero, Balbillus became an astrological advisor to the emperor and his mother. When a comet passed across the sky, in either 60 or 64, signalling the death of a great personage, Balbillus tried to calm Nero's fears by noting that the usual solution was to murder prominent citizens and thus appease the gods. Nero agreed, killing many nobles. Balbillus died in the late 1st century A.D. He was also known as BARBILLUS. See also ASTROLOGY.
¤ BALBINUS See PUPIENUS AND BALBINUS.
¤ BALBUS, LUCIUS CORNELIUS (1) (fl. mid-lst century B.C.) A valuable and powerful ally of Julius CAESAR in Rome, eventually serving AUGUSTUS' cause in the capital as well. Of Spanish descent, he came from Gades; his reportedly tremendous wealth earned him the friendship of POMPEY THE GREAT from whom he received Roman citizenship in 72 B.C. Henceforth Balbus lived in Rome as a friend of Pompey and especially Caesar, whose interests he increasingly managed. These relationships proved invaluable in 56, when he was prosecuted for receiving his citizenship illegally. Pompey and Crassus both testified upon his behalf, and Cicero delivered one of his finest extant speeches, resulting in full acquittal. When the Civil War erupted, Balbus remained outwardly neutral, although he was Caesar's representative in personal matters; he joined Gaius Oppius, especially after the battle of PHARSALUS in 48, as a powerful political figure. Caesar's death in 44 diminished his influence, but as an agent of Octavian (AUGUSTUS), he served the consulship in 40 B.C.
¤ BALBUS, LUCIUS CORNELIUS (2) (fl. late 1st century B.C.) A nephew of Lucius Cornelius BALBUS (1); gained more power under AUGUSTUS than his uncle and returned to his home in Gades and rebuilt it. Like his relatives, he gained Roman citizenship and worked actively for Caesar in the Civil War (49-45 B.C.). He held the rank of proquaestor in Spain (HISPANIA) and was later a consul under Augustus. In 21 B.C., he received his greatest opportunity when he was named proconsul in Africa. In 19 B.C., he fought and defeated the African tribes of the Garamantes and had the distinction of being the last general to receive a TRIUMPH in Rome - who was not a member of the Imperial House. Making the most of his victory, Balbus built a theater in Rome, dedicated in 13 B.C.
¤ BALLISTA (fl. mid-3rd century A.D.) Praetorian prefect (260-261 A.D.) of Emperor VALERIAN and the usurper MACRIANUS; not only a victorious general against the Persians but a kingmaker as well. In 260 Valerian was defeated and captured by SHAPUR I, king of Persia, throwing the imperial succession into chaos. Ballista, one of Rome's most successful soldiers, proposed that FULVIUS MACRIANUS, another general, and his sons should take the throne. Despite throwing his considerable military skills behind Fulvius' sons Macrianus and the younger Quietus, defeat could not be averted at the hands of ODAENATH, king of Palmyra, in 261. Both Macrianus and Quietus were killed. There is some question as to Ballista's fate. According to the dubious Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Ballista may have been pardoned or settled on land in the Antioch area. More likely he was executed.
¤ BARBIA ORBIANA (d. after 227 A.D.) Empress from 225 to 226 A.D. and the wife of Severus Alexander. Sallustia Barbia Orbiana was probably the daughter of the nobleman Seius Sallustius Barbius. In 225 Julia Mamaea, the mother of Severus Alexander, arranged for her son to marry Orbiana. Ever jealous of sharing her power or her control with her son, Mamaea treated her daughter-in-law cruelly and persecuted Orbiana's father. Although Severus Alexander opposed his mother's actions, Mamaea eventually had Macrinus put to death and compelled her son to divorce Orbiana. The empress was sent to Africa in 227, where she lived in exile.
¤ BARBILLUS See BALBILLUS, TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS.
¤ BAR COCHBA, SIMON (d. 135 A.D.) The leader of a Jewish revolt in 132-135 A.D. After visiting Palestine in 130, HADRIAN desired to erect temples to Jupiter and Zeus and planned to place a Roman colony, Aelia Capitolina, on the site of JERUSALEM'S destroyed walls and streets. Fulfilling the prophecy in the Book of Numbers, Simon son of Cosba (or Kosba) declared himself leader of the resultant uprising, taking the promised name Bar Cochba or "Son of Star." Using guerrilla tactics, Bar Cochba's warriors defeated sizable Roman detachments and then disappeared into the hills. Hadrian sent JULIUS SEVERUS to Palestine with a large army; according to Dio, 50 outposts and 985 villages were destroyed. The rebels were driven into caves and, from his base at Engeddi, Bar Cochba wrote of their sinking morale. As the Romans closed in, the Jews retreated to the Dead Sea caves and to Bethar. It was in Bethar that the last battle was fought, and Simon Bar Cochba was killed. So ended the revolt, but Judaea was devastated. Severus was given a triumph by Hadrian. Accounts of the revolt were made by Dio, and Eusebius in the Ecclesiastical History noted the letters of the teacher Basilades referring to Bar Cochba. In letters recently unearthed in the Dead Sea caves, Bar Cochba is called Prince of Israel, a title also used on coinage he issued.
¤ BARDASANES OF EDESSA (154-222 A.D.) A heretic from Armenia, Bardasanes denied the resurrection of Christ, and the resurrection of the body after death. He wrote the Book of the Laws of the Nations in defense of his anti-GNOSTICISM.
¤ BARGOIA, SIMON (d. 70 A.D.) Also called Simon Bar Giora; leader of the Jewish revolt put down by TITUS in 70. Defending the Great Temple of JERUSALEM from the besieging Romans, many of the rebels, including Bargoia, were captured. As he was the leader, only he was chosen for execution by Titus.
¤ BASIL THE GREAT ("St. Basil") (330-379 A.D.) Bishop of Cappadocia; one of the leading champions of Christian Orthodoxy and an important influence in the development of Eastern monasticism. Born to a wealthy Caesarean family, he studied at CONSTANTINOPLE and in ATHENS, was baptized around 356 and by 358, at his sister's urging, became an ascetic and wrote rules of monastic life that remain into the 20th century - work in the fields supplemented by prayers. In 370 Basil was appointed bishop of Caesarea where he wrote extensively for the last nine years of his life and exercised influence at the imperial court of VALENS. Together with his younger brother, St. GREGORY OF NYSSA, and St. GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS, St. Basil fought the spread of ARIANISM within the church.
¤ BASILICA Roman structure with architecture similar to the Greek stoa. The basilica was a large, heavily decorated meeting place or public center, used for various purposes. Basilicas served most often to house the meetings of governmental groups or commissions. In the Western Empire, virtually all major structures were erected to accompany the edifices of a FORUM. Architecturally most basilicas, even those in the outer provinces, shared a number of characteristics: ornate columns, open areas fronting the forums of which they were an integral part, and spaces within that were designed to provide not only room but also air. In the Empire, four of the most important basilicas were the Aemilia, Julia, Maxentius and Ulpia.
¤ BASILICA AEMILIA The basilica in the FORUM ROMANUM that was rebuilt in 14 B.C. by Augustus. It was located across from its sister building, the BASILICA JULIA, and was surrounded by the Temple of Antoninus and the CURIA JULIA. Built before the time of Julius Caesar, the basilica was repaired with elaborate artifices and opulence during the Augustan Age. It was damaged in 12 B.C. from the ravages of the same fire that burned the Julia but was not repaired until 22 A.D., by Emperor Tiberius. There was a special chapel, called sacrarium, within the basilica, in honor of Gaius and Lucius, the grandsons of Augustus. In his Natural History, PLINY THE ELDER wrote of its beauty.
¤ BASILICA JULIA Begun by Julius CAESAR in 54 B.C., the Basilica Julia was finished by Augustus early in his reign. In the space once occupied by the Basilica Sempronia, built in 170 B.C., the new edifice was part of the great FORUM ROMANUM, parallel to the Rostra and surrounded by the TEMPLE OF SATURN and TEMPLE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. In 12 B.C. it was damaged by a fire. Augustus dedicated the new marble works and additions to his designated heirs, his grandsons Gaius and Lucius, but the use of the name Julia continued. Another fire in 283 A. D. caused more destruction, but DIOCLETIAN had the basilica repaired. Originally, the basilica housed the board of the centumviri; the 180 court members worked in a building over 110 feet long and 53 feet wide.
¤ BASILICA MAXENTIA A massive project undertaken during the reign of the usurper MAXENTIUS (306-312 A.D.); the last great architectural endeavor of Classical Rome. Maxentius, who ruled for six war-plagued years, desired a structure radically different from the Roman basilicas. Also called the Basilica Nova, the structure rested on the Velian Hill and relied upon the baths of the period for inspiration, rather than the other basilicas. Thus there were three vaults in the structure, and the nave was triple vaulted as well. Eight Corinthian columns supported the vaults. Maxentius died before the building was complete, and Constantine alterd the original design by having the entrance front the Sacred Way. He also placed an immense statue of himself, carved from stone, in the apse. This basilica measured 92 feet in length and was 27 feet wide.
¤ BASILICA ULPIA Constructed during the reign of TRAJAN (98-117 A.D.), this basilica was larger than any other structure of its rime and influenced later Christian architecture. The basilica relied upon two rows of columns and contained a central nave, with two apses. The high roof, made of timber, allowed windows with clerestory lighting. Later Christian basilicas, especially those constructed in the time of Constantine the Great (306-337 A.D.), copied the plans of this monument. In LEPCIS MAGNA, the Basilica Severiana followed the basic theme, proving that such constructions were not only possible outside of Italy but also could be achieved with great sophistication.
¤ BASILISCUS (fl. 5th century A.D.) Usurper in the Eastern Empire who ruled from 475 to 476 A.D.; brother of the Empress Verina, wife of LEO I. In 468, Verina convinced her husband to appoint Basiliscus commander of the large fleet setting sail from CONSTANTINOPLE against the Vandal kingdom of GEISERIC in Africa. With 1,113 ships and over 100,000 men, Basiliscus sailed to Africa, forming the main blow of a three-pronged attack from Constantinople, Egypt and Italy. CARTHAGE might have fallen but Basiliscus failed to follow up on initial successes, and Geiseric mustered a fleet of fire ships and put the galleys of Constantinople to rout. Returning to the capital, the failed commander hid in the Church of St. Sophia and then returned to Heraclea. When Leo died in 474, Verina adamantly opposed the rightful successor, ZENO, and enlisted her brother's aid in usurping the throne for PATRICIUS, an Isaurian master of the palace and her lover. Instead, Basiliscus seized control himself. Zeno fled the city as Basiliscus elevated his wife Zenonis to the rank of Augusta and his son to that of Augustus. Patricius was killed.
Upon Zeno's departure, however, rioting began in Constantinople, and fire destroyed the Basilica of Julian and the Palace of Lausus. The situation grew more serious as the emperor turned away from Orthodoxy and various ministers of the city urged Zeno's return. Zeno thus set out from his hiding place among his native Isaurians and entered the city amid the support of the state officers. Basiliscus, his wife and children, were exiled to Cucusus in Cappadocia and there starved to death.
¤ BASSUS, BETILINUS (d. 40 A.D.) A victim of Emperor GAIUS CALIGULA, for some real or imagined offense, epitomizing the cruelties of Caligula's reign. In 40 A.D., Bassus was ordered executed by imperial decree, and his father Capito was compelled by Caligula to watch the event. When Capito asked to close his eyes, he too was condemned to death. Knowing that he would perish, Capito stated that he was part of a conspiracy, and promised to disclose his accomplices. Having already murdered others for plotting against him, the emperor listened as Capito named all of the courtiers who had most abetted Caligula in his crimes. Capito thus died knowing that he had sown discord in the court. Within a year, Caligula was a victim of assassination by the PRAETORIAN GUARD.
¤ BASSUS, JUNIUS (fl. 4th century A.D.) Prefect of the PRAETORIAN GUARD under Constantine from 318 to 331 and consul in 331. He was responsible for the construction of a basilica in Rome on the Esquiline Hill and may have been a Christian.
¤ BASSUS, QUINTUS CAECILIUS (fl. 1st century B.C.) An officer of POMPEY THE GREAT during the CIVIL WAR (49-45 B.C.), Bassus took part in the battle of PHARSALUS in 48, which forced him to flee for safety. When a rumor of Caesar's defeat in Africa caused a mutiny, a large portion of the Caesarian forces joined Bassus in Syria. Antistius Vetus, a legate of Julius Caesar, besieged Bassus at Apamea during 45, but with the help of the Parthians the mutineers survived. Eventually CRASSUS arrived in Syria and the soldiers in Apamea joined him, while Bassus escaped into anonymity.
¤ BASSUS THEOTECHNIS, JUNIUS (317-359 A.D.) Son of Junius BASSUS. While his father served as Praetorian prefect, Theotechnis became prefect of Rome in 359, but died soon after. In death he acquired his greatest fame, for his sarcophagus is one of the finest examples of Roman Christian art. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, the year of his death was 358 but he probably died in 359. PRUDENTIUS noted that he was the first Christian in his family (suggesting that his father was not a Christian himself).
¤ BATAVI A people of Germanic or of Celtic origin, the Batavi lived along the Rhine River in an island-like territory formed by the Rhine, the Waal and the Maas and known to contemporaries as Insula Batavorum. Related to the hostile Germanic tribe of the CHATTI, the Batavi joined the Romans as allies around the 1st century A.D. In 12 B.C. they aided Drusus in his campaign in Germany and in 16 A.D. assisted GERMANICUS in his seeking of revenge for the loss of Roman legions in 9 A.D. (in which the Batavi played no part). The historian TACITUS spoke of the reckless courage of their chief Chariovalda who dashed across the Weser with his warriors to attack the Germans. The awaiting CHERUSCI severely mauled the Batavi and Chariovalda was killed. Roman cavalry rode to their rescue, after which their loyalty was unquestioned. By 69 A.D., they not only composed auxiliary formations in the Roman legions but were also a horse guard and a personal bodyguard to emperors. A Batavian unit played a critical role in the first battle of BEDRIACUM (69 A.D.). Their obedience ended in 69, for the Batavian CIVILIS used his command of Vespasian's supporters on the lower Rhine to launch what became a massive, Batavian-led revolt. Caught in the ambitions of Civilis, the Batavi fought valiantly but were crushed finally by the Emperor Vespasian's legate Petilius CEREALIS around 70. Thereafter the position of the tribe was greatly weakened, and its importance to Rome decreased. The Batavi were eclipsed completely by the arrival of new peoples from the East.
¤ BATH See AQUAE (SULIS).
¤ BATHS The baths of the Roman Empire were one of the most common types of building and came to represent luxury, community, recreation and, in the provinces, an association with Rome. Any city aspiring to greatness would have possessed baths (or thermae). The baths first appeared in the Italian region of Campania, and the best preserved examples of the early types are in POMPEII. There the Stabian Baths of the 1st century B.C. were used, although they tended to be darker, smaller and more primitive than their later imperial counterparts.
Any large bath consisted of a number of rooms: the apodyterium (the changing room), frigidarium (cold room), tepidarium (warm room), caldarium (hot room), laconicum (dry sweating room) and an area for swimming, a natatio. Heat was provided to the caldarium from braziers or with ducts and hypocausts or underfloor heating. The better the bath, the more luxuries and amenities would be provided. The caldarium might be supplied with a schola labri, a basin of cold water, for example. Other additions were libraries, private suites (in public baths), gardens and especially a gymnasium with an exercise area, the palestra.
It is not surprising, then, that baths were popular centers of local activity. Nowhere was this more true than in Rome itself. Marcus AGRIPPA, around 20 B.C., constructed the first major baths in the city, in the area of the Campus Martius. The baths that bore his name stood until 80 A.D. when they were consumed in the fire that destroyed much of the Campus Martius. The GOLDEN HOUSE OF NERO was described by SUETONIUS as having running sea water and sulphur water. Perhaps based on the Golden House, TITUS constructed a large series of rooms that included a bath with all of the essential elements plus two palaestrae, although it lacked a natatio. The much larger Baths of Trajan were begun in 104 A.D. and took five years to complete under the architect APOLLODORUS. He brilliantly placed the frigidarium in an elevated middle position, allowing everything else to revolve around it, including the extensive natatio. These baths, situated on the Esquiline and utilizing much of the Golden House, were the largest structure yet built and remained so until CARACALLA'S reign.
The vast Baths of Caracalla, completed by his successors, represented the height of bath architecture. There were libraries, gardens, gymnasiums and cisterns. The natatio was large and positioned to maximize the sky overhead; further, screens and walls semi-enclosed its area. Vaster in size was the frigidarium, which was supported by cross vaults and surrounded by small pools. The caldarium was moved away from the interior of the baths and set in its own position with a magnificent dome, some 35 meters high. Caracalla's Baths remained in excellent condition for centuries and have preserved even into the 20th century their scale and ambition.
DIOCLETIAN was next to order new baths for Rome, finishing in 306 the work begun by MAXIMIAN in 298. They resembled Caracalla's baths but were simpler in design, though they were certainly well built, for they stand today.
The provinces and cities of the Empire adapted these designs. In Africa, in LEPCIS MAGNA and CARTHAGE baths were erected. Lepcis Magna offered both Hadrianic Baths and smaller Hunting Baths of the late 2nd century A.D. Carthage boasted the extensive Antonine Baths (mid-2nd century A.D.) near the ocean, pointing to the economic success of both city and province. Tivoli, the resort of Hadrian, possessed two thermae, a small and a large. The Small Baths were probably the emperor's personal area and were a twisting amalgam of shapes and sizes. The large Baths were very conventional, with cross vaults over the frigidarium.
¤ BATHYLLUS (fl. early 1st century A.D.) Pantomime actor from Alexandria. Bathyllus was the freedman of Gaius MAECENAS, who was his patron and most ardent admirer. Through his influence, Bathyllus became, with Pylades, one of the leading actors of his time.
¤ BATO (1) (d. 9 A.D.) Chief of the Breucian tribes of PANNONIA. In 6 A.D. he used the departure of the governor of ILLYRICUM and Pannonia, Valerius Mesallinus, who meant to aid Tiberius in his German campaign, as a suitable time to lead his people in a revolt. The Breucians marched against Sirmium but were severely checked by Caecina Severus, governor of Moesia, who had moved swiftly to defend Dlyricum and Pannonia. Defeated but not broken, Bato the Breucian allied himself to Bato the Dalmatian, and their combined armies took refuge in the mountainous territory of Pannonia. The two Batos were again defeated, this time by King Rhoemetalces of Thrace, but again survived annihilation. Using guerrilla tactics they ravaged Illyricum and even broke into MACEDONIA. Germanicus was dispatched by Augustus to the Danube frontier. But victory still eluded Rome, and Bato the Breucian was undone only because of the suspicion of his ally. Bato the Dalmatian disliked the Breucian's taking of hostages from the tribes, trapped him and put him to death.
¤ BATO (2) (fl. early 1st century A.D.) Chief of the Dalmatians who led a major revolt in ILLYRICUM and PANNONIA. In 6 A.D., reluctantly assembling his warriors for use by the Romans in Tiberius's campaign against the Germans, Bato decided instead that he had enough troops to rebel, especially in the absence of the governor Valerius Messallinus, who was away with Tiberius. The Dalmatians marched on the city of Salonae but Bato was wounded. He dispatched a column to the coast, threatening Tiberius' communications with Italy. Mesallinus marched to give battle; although outnumbering the Romans, Bato was defeated.
An alliance was formed shortly thereafter with Bato the Breucian (see BATO [1]). After receiving another blow at the hands of Rhoemetalces of Thrace, the allies nevertheless ravaged Illyricum and threatened Greece via Macedonia. Sometime in 8 A.D. Bato the Dalmatian fell out with Bato the Breucian and had him killed, whereupon the Breucians broke the alliance and were easily conquered by Caecina Severus, governor of Moesia. Bato fled into Pannonia. Tiberius and Germanicus besieged him at Andetrium, a fortress near Salonae. Seeing his garrison reduced, Bato fled but eventually surrendered after receiving a pledge of his safety. Tiberius asked him why he had revolted, and his answer cut to the heart of a problem underlying the imperial system of provincial government: Rome, he said, sent as protectors of its flocks, not dogs or even shepherds, but wolves.
¤ BAULI A small community near the towns of BALAE and Misenum; composed of the estates of the most powerful figures in Rome. Like Baiae, the area was for centuries a retreat for senators and emperors. This, and its location directly across the bay from Puteoli in Campania, made Bauli susceptible to the bizarre plans of GAIUS CALIGULA.
The astrologer THRASYLLUS, servant of Tiberius, once prophesied that Gaius had as much chance of becoming emperor as he did of riding dryshod across the Gulf of Baiae between Puteoli and Bauli. To prove the prediction false, Caligula ordered in 39 A.D. a bridge of boats be thrown across the bay. Every boat in Italy was commissioned, causing starvation and food shortages, and other boats were built on the spot. A massive project, the historian Dio reported that there were rooms, resting places and running water on the bridge. Dressed like Alexander the Great, Caligula for days paraded his friends and his Praetorian Guard from shore to shore as he rode in a chariot, with Darius, a prince of the Arsacids, at his side.
¤ BAUTO (d. c. 388 A.D.) MAGISTER MILITUM under Emperor Valentinian II, Bauto was one of the first and most powerful generals of the Late Empire. He both interfered in imperial policies and directed their course through his daughter, Aelia EUDOXIA, who became the wife of Eastern Emperor Arcadius.
According to Zosimus, Bauto, a Frank, was sent by Gratian, the emperor of the West, to aid Theodosius on the Balkan and Danube frontiers after the disastrous battle of ADRIANOPLE in 378 A.D. As a general he was valued by Valentinian II, who brought him back to defend Italy against the attack of the usurper Magnus MAXIMUS. Henceforth, Bauto influenced Valentinian's policy in the West, working as an ally or as a neutral with AMBROSE, the bishop of Milan. He achieved the consulship in 385, serving with Arcadius, who married his daughter in 395. His control over Valentinian ended, however, around 388, and it can be assumed that he died in that year. His wife was probably a Roman, and his daughter was given a Roman education.
¤ BEDRIACUM A town in northern Italy, located on the Via Postuma, between the cities of Cremona and Verona. In 69 A.D. it was the site of two major battles. The first confrontation was on April 15; it brought to an end the brief reign of Emperor OTHO, at the hands of the army of VITELLIUS. Otho had begun his reign with the assassination of Galba but discovered immediately that the German legions were in revolt, having declared their commander, Vitellius, emperor of Rome. Two legates, Aulus CAECINA ALIENUS of the IV Legion and Fabius VALENS of the I Legion at Bonn, assumed control of Vitellius' army and set out for Rome with approximately 70,000 men.
In Rome, Otho cultivated popular support and garnered the oaths of legions in Pannonia, Dalmatia and Moesia, and that of the commander VESPASIAN in Judaea, but could not muster more than 25,000 men for the campaign. Although additional legions were marching to his aid, the bulk of his troops were from the reliable PRAETORIAN GUARD. His generals included the aged Marius Celsus, the Praetorian Prefect Licinius Proculus, Suetonius Paulinus and Annius Gallus. Vitellius' legions breached the Alps and fought several inconclusive skirmishes in northern Italy with the Othonians. The first large battle took place at PLACENTIA, between Caecina and several contingents of Otho's Praetorians. Although outnumbering the Othonians, the veterans of Germany did not fare well.
By April, Otho was reinforced by the first troops from the Danube legions. Paulinus, Celsus and Gallus called for patience. Victory could be won with additional forces. But Proculus and his brother, who possessed Otho's ear, counseled bold action, citing Otho's military genius. As Tacitus noted: "Such was the language of flattery. They made their position palatable, and no man presumed to administer an antidote." Battle would be given. Otho commanded his army from the town of Brixellum, some miles from Bedriacum, while his legions grew despondent and fatigued.
Otho's generals entered the contest with the I Adjutrix, the XII Pannonian, gladiators and the Praetorian Guard in the center position. The XIV Legion from Britain stood as a reserve. They were opposed by the XXI Legion, the V Alaudae, the cohorts of Batavians and the I Italian, which faced the Praetorians directly.
The I Adjutrix plowed into the XXI, and the Vitellians lost their eagle. Recovering quickly, the German veterans launched a brutal counterattack, and the Othonian I Adjutrix broke apart, its young cohorts disintegrating. Vitellius' other legion, the Alaudae, routed the XII Pannonian, and then put the XIV from Britian to flight as well. Only the Praetorians refused to yield ground, bloodily dueling the I Italian Legion to a standstill. The Batavians, however, tipped the scales against them, finishing the rout of Otho's wings. Facing retreat or total annihilation, the Praetorians withdrew.
The next morning Otho's camp at Bedriacum lay open to Valens and Caecina. The Praetorians pulled back to Brixellum to be with the emperor. Otho killed himself at dawn on April 17, 69. Vitellius marched to Rome to become emperor. His reign would not last much longer than Otho's, however, for Vespasian was also on his way to Rome and would claim the throne for himself. Accounts of the battle were written by Tacitus, Suetonius, Dio and Josephus.
A second military engagement was fought at Bedriacum - actually at Cremona, some miles distant - on October 27, 69 A.D., between the legions of Emperor VITELLIUS and the army of Antonius PRIMUS, who represented the cause of VESPASIAN. After crushing the Othonians in April, Vitellius had proceeded to Rome and there humiliated the Praetorian Guard by replacing it with new members; incensed the Danube Legions with cruel treatment; refused to allow the dead at Bedriacum to be buried; and then demonstrated a pernicious avarice and gluttony. The discontented legions chose Vespasian, general of the legions in JUDAEA, to remove Vitellius from power.
Titus, Vespasian's son, Mucianus, the governor of Syria, and Tiberius Julius Alexander, the prefect of Egypt, urged Vespasian to accept the throne. The balance of the legions joined in his crusade. Tiberius Alexander administered the oath of allegiance to the troops on July 1, and plans were begun for a march on Rome.
Meanwhile, Antonius Primus, the legate on the Danube, and Cornelius FUSCUS, the procurator of Pannonia, stirred up the Danubian Legions and were soon joined by the disbanded Praetorian Guards, by now a ferocious enemy of Vitellius. These three western legions set out for Italy, even before Vespasian's eastern legions could begin their march. Vitellius sent his legate, Alienus Caecina, with six legions to the north to confront Primus. Intending to defect to Vespasian, Caecina ignored orders from Rome and dispatched the bulk of his forces to Cremona, while a large detachment moved to Hostilia, a city on the Po River. Primus moved southward across the Alps, investing Verona and using it as the center of his operations - unaware that Vespasian had ordered that no troops cross the great mountains, preferring to leave the war to the hard-marching Mucianus. Letters from Caecina to Primus set the groundwork for betrayal, and Caecina, with the backing of the fleet in the Adriatic, proposed to his legions that they join the Flavian cause. His plans were dashed when his own soldiers placed him in chains. From Cremona the legions marched out to give battle to the waiting Primus.
The now-leaderless Vitellians formed up from right to left, cavalry and auxiliaries, XXII, XVI, I, V, and IV Legions, with more auxiliaries and cavalry. The British Legions, the IX, II and XX, stood in reserve. Opposite them, near the crossroads of the Via Postuma, were Primus' legions, from right to left: cavalry, auxiliary cohorts, the III, VIII, XIII, VII Galbiana, and VII Claudia, with more auxiliaries and cavalry. The Praetorians formed a powerful reserve.
Altogether, 100,000 men stood poised for death. The Vitellians were numerically superior, but, as Tacitus noted, the soldiers of the emperor had grown soft during their days in Rome. Tacitus wrote that "The battle lasted through the night with great slaughter on both sides, and alternate success." The eagles were lost, retaken and lost again. The dead piled up on the field. Slowly the Vitellians gained the edge but then lost it as Primus threw in the fanatical cohorts of the Guard. A rout was started, but then prevented, as the Vitellians dragged up siege engines and opened fire with great effect on the Flavians. Two soldiers saved the battle by cutting the ropes on the engines. Nature then turned on Vitellius as the moon rose high in the sky, shining on his soldiers' faces and shrouding Primus' legions. According to Tacitus, Primus exhorted the Praetorians: "Now is your time to conquer, or renounce the name of soldiers." At dawn the Flavian legions from Syria cheered the new day. The Vitellians, knowing nothing of this tradition from Syria, believed reinforcements had arrived and fled the scene. Cremona was pillaged, looted and burned to the ground. Vitellius, in Rome, could only wait the arrival of Primus, Mucianus and Vespasian, the next emperor of the Roman Empire. Accounts of the battle were written by Tacitus, Suetonius, Dio, Josephus and Plutarch.
¤ BELGAE A people, probably of German extraction, living in GALLIA Belgica, the most northern area of Gaul, near the Rhine, the North Sea and the Sequani. Because of their location they not only fought with the BATAVI but, at the time of Caesar's GALLIC WARS, were also the most "uncivilized" Gallic people. They were reportedly hard, cruel and vicious in battle, the hardest to subdue, and even extended their influence into Britain. The Belgae penetrated the southeastern coast of Britain in the early 1st century B.C. and intervened there in subsequent years, although direct control was not possible. These ties remained until Julius Caesar destroyed the Belgae on the continent and thus put an end to their holdings in Britain.
¤ BELGICA See GALLIA.
¤ BELLONA A goddess of the Roman pantheon, generally associated with war. Her temple stood in the Campus Martius and formed a relationship with the god Mars, her temple resting near his altar. She was later associated with the Cappadocian goddess Ma.
¤ BENEVENTUM Town in the south-central region of Samnium in Italy, along the Appian Way. Beneventum was one of the oldest towns in Italy, but for many years was called Maleventum, because of its bad air. During the Empire it saw heavy traffic bound to and from southern Italy and thus depended upon good roads. Nerva planned to improve the roads, but it was not until Trajan's era that serious work was accomplished. The emperor completely rebuilt the circuit from Beneventum to Brundisium. In gratitude, the stretch was renamed the Via Traiana and the famed Arch of Trajan (see ARCHES) was constructed in 117 A.D. to mark the start of the road. A temple dedicated to Isis, the patron of Beneventum, was built during the reign of Domitian.
¤ BERENICE
Berenice, from a bust of the Jewish Princess
BERENICE (b. 28 A.D.) Jewish princess; the daughter of Agrippa I and a sister of King Agrippa II of Judaea. Berenice was first married to the brother of Tiberius Julius Alexander, the prefect of Egypt, and then, in 46 A.D., to her uncle Herod of Chalcis, a minor prince by whom she had two sons. Herod died in 48, and she moved back with her brother Agrippa, sharing in the rule of Judaea. In 50, she also ruled Chalcis, when Emperor Claudius granted Agrippa control of the region too.
Her relations with the populace of Judaea were never good. Rumors abounded that she carried on incestuously with her brother. A marriage to a Cilician priest-king, sometime around 54, neither lasted nor improved her standing with the Jews. In 67, Titus arrived in the province and fell in love with her, an affair that lasted for years.
When Agrippa visited Rome in 75, he brought Berenice with him, and she moved into the palace, living openly with Titus. According to various sources, she expected to marry Titus one day. The Romans took little pleasure in the thought of another Eastern princess involved in the imperial politics; with the name "Cleopatra" floating through the city, Titus was compelled to send Berenice away.
¤ BERYTUS City in Phoenicia (later Syria), long prosperous under the Seleucid kings and the Roman Empire. In 32 B.C., Berytus played a role in the Civil War between Octavian (later Emperor AUGUSTUS) and Antony and Cleopatra, by revolting against the Egyptian queen. It declared its independence and issued its own coinage. As part of Augustus' reorganization of the East, Marcus Agrippa settled veterans in the area, converting Berytus into a Roman colony. This transformation in 16 B.C. not only helped establish the city as part of the Empire, but also provided the colony with territory stretching all the way to Baalbek. Berytus was located on the major trade routes traversing Syria and drew the attention of others, such as Agrippa I of Judaea, who gave the people art works and an amphitheater. Romanization was complete by the 2nd century, and, aside from the textiles for which the entire province was famed, Berytus' reputation increasingly depended upon its school of law. Students from all over the Empire traveled to the city to be instructed in law, and Berytus greatly influenced Roman legal development. Courses were given in Latin, not Greek. As a center for higher learning, the city remained integral to imperial education until at least the 5th century.
¤ BETRIACUM See BEDRIACUM.
¤ BIBRACTE Capital of the powerful Gallic tribe, the Aedui, Bibracte was situated on a hill (now Mount Beuvray in east-central France) in Gallia Lugdunensis. A battle was fought there in July of 58 B.C., between Julius CAESAR and the migrating Helvetians. After defeating the Helvetians at the battle of ARAR, Caesar took up a defensive position in the face of an enemy counteroffensive. He had at his disposal some 30,000 legionnaires, 2,000 Gallic auxiliaries and about 4,000 cavalry. Although the Helvetians had some 70,000 warriors, their attack was a disaster. Caesar's legions stood firm and then shattered the increasingly confused barbarians. An all-out Roman assault ensued, driving the Helvetians back into their camp, where their women and children became entangled in the massacre. Over 120,000 Helvetians died on the site, and those who survived retreated into their homelands. The site was abandoned after the Gallic Wars in favor of AUGUSTODONUM.
¤ BIBULUS, LUCIUS CALPURNIUS (d. 32 or 31 B.C.) Son of Marcus Calpurnius BIBULUS and Porcia; followed in his father's footsteps, espousing anti-Caesarian beliefs and joining his father-in-law, Marcus Brutus, against Marc ANTONY at the battle of PHILIPPI in 42 B.C. Although proscribed and eventually captured by Antony, he entered his service and over time reached an accord with the general. As Antony's lieutenant, Bibulus acted as a messenger between the triumvir and his comrade Octavian (see AUGUSTUS) and then looked after his own affairs in Syria, where he died. Bibulus was noted for a history of Marcus Brutus and was a prose writer in the last Republican period.
¤ BIBULUS, MARCUS CALPURNIUS (d. 48 B.C.) Roman politician in the late Republic. Bibulus was one of Julius Caesar's early partners and served with him in the aedileship (65 B.C.), praetorship (62 B.C.) and the consulship (59 B.C.). He believed in the aristocratic party and looked disapprovingly on the growing powers of the FIRST TRIUMVIRATE. He was forced by violence to abandon his intentions of blocking Caesar's agrarian laws, and thereafter withdrew from all public or political activities and fought Caesar's legislation by viewing the stars for omens. His absence, it was said humorously, created the consulship of Julius and Caesar.
In 52 B.C.. Bibulus took up the cause of Pompey, proposing him for the consulship. As the Civil Wars erupted, he first governed Syria for Pompey and then commanded the Adriatic fleet, where he worked himself to death. He was married to Porcia, who gave him a son, Lucius Calpurnius BIBULUS. Dio noted that so great an admiral was Bibulus that Antony had not dared to sail from Brundisium.
¤ BITHYNIA Roman province in ASIA MINOR, bordered by ASIA, Galatia and the Black Sea. Bithynia was a pivotal territory in the Empire, for it served as the geographical, economic and cultural bridge over the Bosporus for East and West. Its importance, moreover, increased as imperial power shifted eastward in the 4th century A.D.
In 74 B.C., Nicomedes IV, a Mithridaric king, bequeathed to Rome his kingdom along the Black Sea, and when Augustus established the Empire, Bithynia was classified as a senatorial province, under a PROCONSUL. Bithynia shared in the development of economic wealth that characterized the entire region of Asia Minor. Located on direct trade routes, the communities benefited from a local economy based on agriculture, timber and iron. Its major tities included such metropolises as NICOMEDIA, NICAEA and Prusa. It was governed as a senatorial province, with the seat at Nicomedia on the Black Sea, though the Nicaeans repeatedly tried to gain that advantage.
Beginning with Trajan, special legates, based in Nicomedia, were appointed to aid in the administration of Bithynia, rooting out corruption among civil servants, auditing city accounts and suppressing political movements and Christianity. Bithynia's political environment is understood more clearly than virtually any other province because of the writings of PLINY THE YOUNGER, who served as the first legate from 109 A.D. Pliny constantly communicated with Rome, especially with Trajan, and proposed building a canal for Nicomedia, along the coast, and a series of aqueducts, though neither project was ever completed. The legates in Bithynia exercised greater imperial control and were given the right to examine the accounts of the free cities of Anisus and CHALCEDON, a temporary but significant authority. Marcus Aurelius finally redesignated Bithynia as an imperial province. Another famous Bithynian politician was the philosopher Dio Chrysostom (DIO COCCEIANUS), who represented his native Prusa in a delegation to Trajan at his accession in 98 A.D. He requested from the emperor the right to a larger city council, permission to redevelop the city and a waiver on taxes, which was denied, not surprisingly.
Bithynia was not immune to the decline of imperial power in the 3rd century. Starting in 256 A.D., a terrible seaborne invasion of GOTHS devastated much of the province. Chalcedon, Nicomedia, Prusa and Nicaea were all captured and plundered. By the late 3rd century, Diocletian rejected the Roman establishment and made Nicomedia his capital for a time. Constantine the Great, however, was most responsible for Bithynia's role in the Eastern Empire. He created CONSTANTINOPLE and favored Nicaea, where he held the great council in 325 A.D.
Nicaea was the appropriate location for a Christian council. Bithynia was the gateway for Christianity into Europe, and Pliny had written of the new sect in his province. Its popularity increased, and with Constantine was legitimized. During the era of the Christian Empire, the Bithynian bishops were involved with the Arian heresy (see ARIANISM). Because of the territorial grants made by Nicomedes, the province was also known as Bithynia-Pontus. Of note is the terrible earthquake that flattened Nicomedia on August 24, 358 A.D Under the Late Empire, Bithynia was part of the Eastern provinces and was spared some of the ravages that befell the West.
¤ BLACK SEA Body of water that washes what were the northern shores of the province of BITHYNIA and the rest of Asia Minor, and the Caucusus, Thrace, Moesia and Scythia. The Black Sea was of considerable importance to the Romans because of its location and because of the economic activity centered upon it.
Seaborne goods ranging from cloths to wine and agricultural products crossed the Black Sea. The most important was grain from the kingdom of the BOSPORUS, whose fields in southern Russia supplied Bithynia and Asia. Roman fleets also scoured the Black Sea in search of pirates. The fleet operating out of NICOMEDIA was effective and increased the influence of the Empire along the northern coasts. Determined military alertness was essential, given the presence of the hostile SARMATIANS and Scythians. By the 3rd century, with the arrival of the GOTHS, Rome's domination was seriously opposed. Starting in 254, the Bosporus nations were compelled to supply ships to the Goths, and the barbarians swept over the Black Sea and pillaged Asia Minor. ARRIAN wrote Circumnavigation of the Black Sea; the Latin name for the sea was Pontus Euxinus (a Latin transliteration of the Greek, meaning "hospitable sea").
¤ BLAESUS, QUINTUS JUNIUS (d. 31 A.D.) General and governor of Pannonia and Africa, whose military career of successes and failures was ended by association with his nephew, the Praetorian Prefect SEJANUS. Blaesus was the governor of Pannonia in 14 A.D., a very important frontier post, but when Emperor Augustus died, his three legions, the VIII Augustus, IX Hispania and XV Apollinaris, mutinied. Under the urgings of a soldier Percennius, the troops erupted, demanded better service conditions, tried to kill Blaesus and tortured his slaves. Blaesus sent envoys to the new Emperor Tiberius, informing him that the frontier was now virtually defenseless. Drusus, Tiberius' son, arrived with several cohorts of the Praetorian Guard, and only by the good fortune of a lunar eclipse was order restored. Blaesus had lost control of his legions, but by 21 A.D. was supported by the powerful political arm of his nephew, Sejanus. He became proconsul of Africa in 21, where he conducted himself well; and his command was extended. He soon after achieved his greatest success, defeating the famed African pirate TACFARINAS. In 22, Tiberius granted him the title of IMPERA-TOR. When Sejanus fell from power, however, Blaesus was one of the first on Tiberius' long list of victims. In 31, Blaesus was killed, and his two sons committed suicide.
¤ BONA DEA Roman goddess worshiped in festivals attended exclusively, with one famous exception, by women. She was traditionally the wife or daughter of Faunus, hence her other name, Fauna, and her role as the patroness of chastity. The VESTAL VIRGINS conducted her festival on the 1st of May, always in the home of the chief consul or praetor, with his wife presiding. A sow was sacrificed to her. It was long a tradition that no male was allowed at the sacrifices, made on behalf of the Roman people. On one occasion this custom was violated. In 62 B.C., CLODIUS PULCHER entered the house of Caesar dressed as a woman and thus committed a great outrage against the tradition and the religious ideals of the nation.
¤ BONIFACE (fl. early 5th century A.D.) Also Bonifatius, a MAGISTER MILITUM in Africa. In 421, Boniface was assigned the task of aiding the general and come domesticorum, CASTINUS, in his campaigns against the VANDALS in Spain. Already a noted soldier, Boniface quarreled immediately with Castinus and departed for Africa. Castinus' subsequent defeat was blamed on Boniface and the influence of the empress, Galla Placidia, wife of Emperor Constantius III. When the powerful Honorius exiled Placidia in 422, Boniface sent Placidia money and in 423-425 defended Africa loyally for her and her son, Valentinian III, against the usurper John. John's defeat simply opened the door for the more cunning magister militum, AETIUS.
By 427, Boniface was strengthening his own hold over Africa. He was a close friend of St. AUGUSTINE but isolated himself politically with a marriage to an Arian woman named Pelagia. Under the influence of the magister utriusque militiae Felix, Galla Placidia recalled Boniface to Ravenna. He refused and then defeated the armies sent to subdue him. In an effort to strengthen his position, he invited the Vandals to invade. In 429, GEISERIC, the Vandal king, led the entire Vandal nation across the Mediterranean. Galla Placidia sought Boniface's support through an intermediary named Darius, and Boniface once more represented imperial interests but was soundly defeated by the Vandals and besieged for a year at HIPPO in Africa in 431. The city was sacked and effective resistance in Africa collapsed. Galla Placidia welcomed Boniface, and, faced with two great generals, she removed Aetius and elevated her favorite to the patricianate. Outraged, Aetius gathered an army and stormed over the Alps. At Arminium the two met, and Aetius was defeated. Though victorious, Boniface was wounded and died three months later. Aetius left Italy, gained the alliance of RUGILA, the king of the Huns, and returned to negotiate with Galla Placidia. Boniface's wife was compelled to marry Aetius and thus to deliver up the army of Boniface to him.
¤ BOSPORUS KINGDOM Domain located on the north shore of the Black Sea and one of the most important buffer states for Rome. The Bosporus kingdom controlled the region opposite Asia Minor and was closely connected to PONTUS, which it once ruled. The kingdom was of interest to the Romans for several reasons. The fields of the Ukraine and southern Russia (Crimea), though populated by the nomadic SARMATIANS, provided the bulk of the agricultural resources for Asia Minor. More important were the geopolitical realities of the Black Sea area. The Bosporus buffered the Roman provinces from potential invaisons by the Sarmatians and the SCYTHIANS, who inhabited all of the Crimea and much of the Steppes. Parthian expansion was also checked there.
After the battle of ZELA in 47 B.C., Asander, the slayer of Mithridates of Pergamum, gained the throne and ruled for the next 30 years. In 17 B.C., Emperor Augustus desired greater control and assigned to AGRIPPA the task of finding a reliable king. Agrippa compelled Dynamis, the daughter of Pharnaces, who was defeated by Caesar at Zela, to marry Polemo of Pontus. The marriage proved unsuccessful, and Polemo was ousted in favor of Dynamis and her new husband, the Sarma tian Aspurgus.
After Emperor GAIUS CALIGULA gave the Bosporus lands to Polemo II of Pontus, Emperor Claudius, in 39 A.D., decided upon one of Aspurgus' two sons, Mithridates (the other was Cotys). Mithridates, however, had to share his rule with a Thracian stepmother, Gepaepyris (the natural mother of Cotys). Cotys alerted Claudius in 44 or 45 A.D. that Mithridates planned rebellion. Didius Gallus, the governor of Moesia, removed Mithridates and installed his brother on the throne. Mithridates, however, found Sarmatian allies but was defeated in battle and sent to Rome.
By 62 A.D., the coinage of Cotys ceased being issued, an indication of the loss of independence. Nero, planning to conquer the Sarmatians, annexed the kingdom. Cotys was dead, deposed or reduced to a figurehead. Roman occupation of the region lasted until Nero's fall in 68 A.D., and Cotys's son Rhescuporis regained a client status. Semi-independent once more, the Bosporus continued its trade with Asia Minor, despite the arrival in the 1st century A.D. of the ALANS. Although the Scythians were aggressive and threatening, relations with the Sarmatians were so favorable that by the 2nd century a Sarmatian influence dominated the kingdom.
¤ BOUDICCA (d. 61 A.D.) Also called Boadaecia or Boadecia; leader of one of the most famous and bloody revolts ever mounted against Rome. Boudicca was ruler of the powerful tribe, the ICENI, with her husband PRASUTAGUS. They reigned in an area north of Cambridge and Colchester, in what is now Norfolk and Sussex in Britain. In 61 A.D. Prasutagus died and left his kingdom to Emperor Nero, believing that client status would assure its survival. The imperial response was, according to Tacitus, appalling: Roman legionnaires plunderd the realm, flogged the queen and ravished her daughters. CATUS, the procurator of Britain, fomented the revolt further by demanding funds back from the Iceni, given by the Romans in the past as gifts. SENECA also called for the return of 40 million sesterces he had forced the Britons to accept as a loan.
Boudicca gathered her warriors and with the blessings of her DRUIDS called for a war against Rome. While the legate of the local legions, SUETONIUS PAULINUS, was away on a campaign to subjugate the Druids on Anglesey Island, the queen's force grew to some 120,000 men.
The strength of Boudicca's attack was compounded by surprise. Suetonius had made no preparations for a revolt. CAMULODUNUM (Colchester), the center of Roman administration, was undefended as Boudicca stormed it easily, burning it to the ground. The Iceni collided with the legions of Petillius CEREALIS, and the cohorts were destroyed, retreating to LINDUM; Catus fled to Gaul. When Paulinus received word of the rebellion and returned, Boudicca was threatening Lincoln, and more importantly, LONDINIUM (London). Paulinus was forced to abandon London; the city fell to Iceni, and its inhabitants were massacred. Verulamium was captured next, while the Romans regrouped for war.
Suetonius had assembled his troops near Verulamium (St. Alban's), where he awaited the Iceni. With their wives and children in nearby wagons to watch, the warriors of Boudicca swept forward, screaming as they came to grips with the enemy. The Romans held firm, however, and then counterattacked, smashing the Briton forces. Boudicca's troops broke but were hemmed in by their own wagons, and men, women and children were thus annihilated by the vengeful cohorts. Tacitus put the number of Iceni dead at 80,000, a suspicious number. The losses were unquestionably high, however, and Boudicca's power was crushed. Rather than face Roman retaliation, she retuned to her home and committed suicide.
Boudicca reportedly wiped out 70,000 colonists and townsfolk, ending imperial policies of colonization without fortifications. Dio described Boudicca in some detail, stating:
-> In stature she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace; and she wore a tunic of diverse colours over which a thick mantle was fashioned with a brooch. <- ¤ BRIGANTES The most populous and powerful tribe in Britain until the era of Emperor VESPASIAN (69-79 A.D.). Brigantian influence stretched from the River Tyne to the Trent, and included such cities as Isurium (Aldborough), Olicana (Ilkley), Mancunium (Manchester) and the legionary fort at EBURACUM (York). Not one specific people like the CELTS, the Brigantes were actually a confederation of tribes acting in mutual coopertion. The Romans first encountered the Brigantes during the era of P. Ostorius SCAPULA, in 50 A.D., when they joined the ICENI in an assault. The Brigantes were driven off, and circa 51 the queen of the Brigantes, Cartimandua, signed a treaty with Emperor Claudius, bringing a short-lived peace. When the queen parted violently from her husband Venutius, civil war resulted in his exile. A counterattack threw her off the throne. Remembering that she had handed over the British rebel, Caratacus, Claudius supported her cause. She was reinstated by the Roman army and ruled over a divided people. In 68, Venutius, who had reconciled with Cartimandua, was again ousted from the palace, and Vespasian intervened. CEREALIS led the campaign to establish Roman domination in 71, driving the Brigantes northward and establishing superiority all the way to Eburacum. His work was carried on by AGRICOLA, who pacified the region and established roads and forts. The Brigantes had not surrendered, however, and in 138, the WALL OF HADRIAN was breached and they attacked Roman areas. The new governor, LOLLIUS URBICUS, beat the tribes back beyond the wall and then established a new perimeter of defense, the WALL OF ANTONINUS, farther north. The tribes attacked again in 154, and the Antonine Wall did not stem their invasion. Legions from Germany were dispatched to the scene to restore order. By this time, however, the strength of the Brigantes had been sapped. ¤ BRITAIN See BRITANNIA (1). ¤ BRITANNIA (1) The British Isles, also called Albion; the focus of numerous Roman invasions and colonization. Roman Rule Map - The Roman Conquest of Britain, 54 B.C. - 100 A.D. Britannia (or Britain) was originally known as Insulae Britannicae and contained several cultures of interest, the most important being that of the CELTS, transplanted from Gaul (see GALLIA). Celtic society was isolated by the now-English Channel in many respects. Thus DRUIDISM, a cornerstone in the life of the Celts, developed more richly than in Gaul and was far more powerful. It was only in the 1st century B.C. that new waves of people crossed the water and attempted to establish themselves in Britain. The BELGAE took over much of the countryside in the southwest, while maintaining strong ties with their homeland in Gallia Belgica. In 55 B.C., as a sidebar campaign to his GALLIC WARS, Julius CAESAR crossed the Channel. Sailing with two legions, he landed at Dover on August 26 and moved on to Kent. Fierce battles ensued with the local inhabitants. Victory was delayed because of further uprisings and a storm that wrecked many of the Roman transports. After putting down the last of the Kentish tribes, Caesar left Britannia in September. The following year, in July, the Romans began a second invasion. This time 600 transports, five legions and around 2,000 Gallic horsemen arrived in Kent to discover no unified oppostion from the local tribes. A quick advance could have concretized Caesar's position, but another storm wrecked many of his ships and allowed time for the chieftain CASSIVELLAUNUS and his chariot-driving Belgae near the Thames to organize. The chieftain was beaten in a pitched battle. Mandubracius, leader of an oppressed tribe, the Trinovantes, then joined Caesar's cause. These tribesmen helped the legions subdue Cassivellaunus and shared in the subsequent treaty. Because the Gallic peoples, in his absence, had started another revolt, Caesar retreated to Kent and set sail from Britain for the last time. Caesar had done little to convince the Britons of Roman supremacy in arms. Cassivellaunus probably never paid his promised tribute, and no doubt conquered the Trinovantes. A strong kingdom was established in southern Britannia, centered at Lexden near CAMULODUNUM (Colchester), under Cassivellaunus and his son Tasciovanus. They were joined by the Gallic chief COMMIUS, who had fled Gallia Belgica during Caesar's war against VERCINGETORIX (52 B.C.). An extensive Belgian influence was consequently felt throughout the island's southern domains. By Augustus's era, CUNOBELLINUS, son of Tasciovanus, ruled much of the isles, coexisting with the kingdoms of the ICENI, the BRIGANTES and the Silures. Cunobellinus ran his affairs most intelligently. Local Britons were never so oppressed as to revolt, and his organization was strong enough that an actual invasion by the Romans would have been a massive and precarious undertaking. AUGUSTUS refused to mount any expedition, considering such a venture wasteful, although Dio reported that he planned twice to invade, once in 34 B.C. and again in 27 B.C. He was prevented by more pressing matters in the Empire. Division ripped the Colchester Kingdom, meanwhile, as Cunobellinus' sons differed over policy. Amminius favored Rome, while CARATACUS and Togodumnus despised the Romans. Amminius fled and promised the realm to GAIUS CALIGULA, who made a rash display of Roman power along the coast to receive Amminius. He then wrote to the Senate that all of Britain had surrendered. When Cunobellinus finally died c. 41 A.D., his two remaining sons pledged their hatred of Rome. In 43, CLAUDIUS put forward the plan for conquest that Caesar had envisioned so long ago. General Aulus PLAUTIUS sailed to Kent with some four legions and auxiliaries. Plautius landed unopposed and defeated first Caratacus and then Togodumnus, who died in battle. When Claudius himself arrived, with elephants no less, Caratacus's kingdom collapsed. The fallen domain became a province, with Plautius as its first governor. In 47, P. Ostorius SCAPULA took over the governorship and pacified all of the old territories of the Belgae. Caratacus, however, refused to yield, and stirred up the Silures in Wales, leading a revolt. When it was crushed, Caratacus fled to CARTIMANDUA, the queen of the Brigantes, who by treaty handed him over to the Romans for punishment. PRASUTAGUS, the king of the Iceni, opposed the new frontier of 47 and was suppressed. Upon his death the Romans seized his lands and caused the dangerous revolt of BOUDICCA, his widow. SUETONIUS PAULINUS defeated the rebellion, but the position of the occupying Roman forces had been seriously threatened. The FLAVIANS initiated a series of campaigns in Britain. Beginning in 71, the commander Petillius CEREALIS destroyed the power of the Brigantes, marching past EBURACUM (York). His successor, FRONTINUS, subjugated much of Wales and the hard-fighting Silures. AGRICOLA conquered the rest of the Welsh lands and the island of Mona, the Druid stronghold. The advance units of Agricola entered Scotland, as he penetrated into the Grampian Mountains and CALEDONIA. Forts were established along the Forth and Clyde, and a Roman presence permeated the entire country. In six short years (78-83/84 A.D.) Rome had annexed vast amounts of territory. The province of Britannia was called Britannia Romana, while the wild north was Britannia Barbara. Three legions were subsequently allotted to the new governor, and Roman policy assumed a far more defensive approach. The wild tribes were again pressing the frontiers, and a retreat was made to the Tyne-Solway line. Around 120, this new boundary was fortified by the WALL OF HADRIAN, 80 miles long. A few years later, the shorter WALL OF ANTONINUS was built. In 196, CLODIUS ALBINUS attempted to seize the throne from Emperor Septimius SEVERUS. He took his legions in Britannia to Gaul, leaving the province unprotected. The Caledonians beyond the walls burst through the perimeters. Massacres and devastation ensued, and Emperor Severus himself went to the isles. He repaired Hadrian's Wall and constructed a new one, just a short distance to the north, called the Severan Wall. A campaign began in Scotland, and in 209, several battles relieved the pressure on the frontier. The Caledonians still threatened, when Severus died at Eburacum while preparing for another attack. After his death the province was fortified again and made secure. Henceforth, Britannia was divided into two provinces, as the emperor could not trust a sole governor with three legions. The next years witnessed the preservation of Roman rule, but two important new developments as well. SAXONS were beginning to harass the coasts, and the Empire found itself increasingly unable to recover from such assaults. The usurper CARAUSIUS proved that a usurper could wreak havoc among the provinces, gaining the support of the Britons while doing it. DIOCLETIAN and CONSTANTIUS i CHLORUS eventually defeated him and his murderer, ALLECTUS, restoring Roman dominance in 297. The provinces were divided yet again, as a result, into four separate regions. CONSTANTINE THE GREAT launched his bid for rule from Eburacum in 306. As he pursued his goal, the walls in Britain stood unmanned; the PICTS and Scots plundered by land and the Saxons ravaged by sea. In 407, the usurper CONSTANTINE HI withdrew the remaining isle troops for use in Gaul, effectively ending Roman rule in Britannia. Culture and Colonization Britannia's culture was Celtic in origin. Throughout the southernmost regions there were Belgae Gallic influences, but the Celtic character remained predominant (an ancient lifestyle once enjoyed by the Gauls as well). The Celts painted themselves blue, the sacred Druid color, and HERODIAN wrote that tattoos were also common. He described the Britons as savage and warlike, armed with spears and shields, and with swords suspended from their waists. They also used chariots to great effect. Roman imperial civilization began in Claudius' reign, when Camulodunum (Colchester) fell in 43 A.D. Subsequent occupation saw the construction of harbor settlements near modern Fishbourne, just outside of Colchester; in 49, an actual colony was begun. Roman veterans helped establish the colonia, building a town with a provincial cult, a theater and baths. By the middle of the 1st century small towns were populating the Roman possession. Camulodunum was the capital, while other influential towns like VERULAMIUM (St. Alban's) and the trading center of LONDINIUM (London) sprang up. As with the other major towns and fledgling homesteads, London could not defend itself, a fact that became catastrophically evident in 61 A. D, during the revolt of Boudicca. Sweeping across the countryside, the vengeful Britons sacked Colchester, St. Albans and London, as well as every farm and estate in between. Although Tacitus' figure of 80,000 dead was high, losses were severe enough to ensure that all subsequent building was fortified. After the campaigns of Cerealis, Frontinus and Agricola from 71 to 84 A.D., towns were walled and economic prosperity increased. London came to serve as a vital link in the military control of the south and had a garrison, while more veterans arrived to establish colonies, such as those of Lincoln and Gloucester. In urban areas, Latin was used, and native art and culture waned. Outside of the cities, farming was an essential way of life, and the Romans relied upon this agricultural base. Considerable gentry holdings, the villas, ensured that agricultural products were pumped into the cities. But in the country, even in the villas, elements of Celtic culture endured. An excellent road system connected cities, which now sported public baths and temples, including ones to the IMPERIAL CULT. By Hadrian's reign (117-138 A.D.) many municipalities used street grid systems to expand. Under Cunobellinus the economy had fared well, and the Roman occupation following his reign merely tapped into that abundance. Agriculture, supported by the villas, was the source of Britannia's wealth. Wheat was grown to feed the natives and the legions and was used as an export. Aside from its verdant fields, the province boasted numerous mineral deposits. Tin was important in the 1st century A.D., and again in the 4th century, when Rome was forced to seek new resources to sustain itself. Iron exports helped the economy of the Empire as a whole, and administrators in Britannia mined it extensively. The geographer STRABO noted Britannia's economic wealth and exports in corn, cattle, gold, iron and silver. In the balance of trade, Gaul supplied pottery, manufactured goods and art, while Britannia exported minerals and agricultural products. There was little incentive for developing other industry, and the quality of life in the province was better than in many other imperial domains. While the Britons appeared highly Romanized, Celtic culture persisted, especially in the rural areas. Druidism was pervasive and hence viewed as dangerous; Suetonius Paulinus attacked the island of Mona, a Druid stronghold, and the Druids were massacred. Christianity faced the same resistance, and upon its arrival, which coincided with the decline of Roman power, it struggled to attract vast numbers of followers in the isles. ¤ BRITANNIA (2) The name given to a coin minted by emperors HADRIAN (117-138 A.D.) and ANTONIUS PIUS (117-161 A.D.) to celebrate their victories in Britain. The coin was decorated with the personified figure of Britannia. Its value was that of a sestertius. See also COINAGE. ¤ BRITANNICUS (41-55 A.D.) Son of Emperor CLAUDIUS and MESSALINA and the legitimate heir to the throne. Britannicus lived under a cloud from birth, being the offspring of Messalina, whose scandalous life had shocked Rome and resulted in her death. His position as heir was thus questioned and was hampered even further by the arrival of AGRIPPINA as Claudius' new wife, together with her son NERO. Britannicus appears to have done little to ingratiate himself with his stepmother and adopted brother. He refused the goodwill of Agrippina, referred to Nero by his original family name "Domiti" and later, in 55 A.D., went so far as to accuse Nero of being a usurper. With Claudius' death and Nero's claim to the throne supported by the Praetorian Guard and the Prefect BURRUS, Britannicus was left politically impotent. Already sensitive to the inflammatory accusation of usurper hurled at him, Nero plotted to remove Britannicus and charged a tribune of the Guard, Pollio Julius, with the task. The poison administered proved ineffective, and LUCUSTA, who had arranged the poison, died as a result. A second attempt worked perfectly. Britannicus, dining with the court, became ill, and many fled the scene in horror. Nero commented to the onlookers that Britannicus was subject to epileptic fits. ¤ BRUCTERI Germanic people living near the Ems and Lippe rivers; fought extensively in the wars against Roman expansion along the northern Rhine. In 4 A.D., TIBERIUS, campaigning in Germany, forced them to accept his domination, and in 14-15 A.D., Roman supremacy was certified in the defeat the Bructeri suffered from CAECINA SEVERUS, the legate of GERMANICUS. Although Germanicus thus avenged the annihilation of VARUS in 9 A.D. at the hands of ARMINIUS, the Bructeri simply waited for another moment in which to strike at the Romans. In 69 A.D., when Julius CIVILIS led the BATAVI in revolt, the Bructeri joined in the fray but were put to flight by petillius CEREALIS. Undaunted, the Bructeri priestess Veleda became the heart of the Bructeri resistance, and the target of Roman operations. In 75-78 A.D., RUTILIUS GALLICUS successfully crushed the Germans with several sorties, one of which captured Veleda. The Bructeri then ousted one of their kings, who fled across the Rhine and convinced the Romans, under Vestricius SPURINNA, the governor of Lower Germany, to force his people to take him back. Subsequent fighting supposedly cost the Bructeri some 60,000 men. Following the disaster, the Bructeri were subdued, eventually joining with the migratory FRANKS. ¤ BRUNDISIUM City in the Calabria region of southern Italy, on the Adriatic; it became one of the most important ports and harbors in the Empire. With its natural port facilities and location, Brundisium was the gateway for shipping activity in the southern Adriatic, in Greece and in much of Asia. Commerce and trade to all of Italy started through the city and moved along the VIA ApPIA, which stretched northward. Roman domination of the sea lanes relied upon Brundisium as a naval cornerstone, along with RAVENNA, AQUILEIA and MISENUM for the eastern Mediterranean. In the Civil War between Caesar and Pompey in 48 B.C., Marc Antony used it as the launching point of an invasion of Asia. ¤ BRUNDISIUM, TREATY OF Pact signed in the later part of October 40 B.C. between Marc ANTONY and Octavian (AUGUSTUS), after the battle of PHILIPPI in 42 B.C., in which the forces of the SECOND TRIUMVIRATE had defeated the LIBERATORS led by CASSIUS and BRUTUS. Following Philippi, great tension remained between the forces of Antony and Octavian, with all of Italy prepared for war. The death of Antony's troublesome wife FULVIA paved the way for peace. Two envoys, Asinius Pollio representing Antony and Maecenas representing Octavian, hammered out an accord. Marcus LEPIDUS (1) was to remain in Africa as the impotent third triumvir, but the rest of the Roman world was split between Antony and Octavian. Antony received the east, and Octavian the west, the boundary line running through DALMATIA, with Italy accessible to both. They could both appoint consuls, and Octavian ceded Antony five legions belonging to CALENUS. Individuals proscribed by both parties were pardoned. The two triumvirs embraced. Antony then warned his new ally of a plot against him instigated by Salvidienus Rufus, Octavian's general in Gaul, while Octavian gave Antony his sister OCTAVIA in marriage - a union doomed to failure. As the men grew distant, so did the spirit of the treaty. Though reaffirmed in 37 B.C., with the Treaty of TARENTUM, Antony's infatuation with the East, and Octavian's increasing power in the West, propelled them into conflict that was finally resolved at the battle of ACTIUM in 31 B.C. ¤ BRUTUS, MARCUS JUNIUS (d. 42 B.C.) One of the prime movers in the assassination of Julius CAESAR in 44 B.C. and a champion of the moribund Republican cause. Brutus was the son of Marcus Junius and Servilia, the half sister of CATO UTICENSIS, and was brought up in a staunchly Republican environment. Though his father had been killed by POMPEY in 77 B.C., Brutus allied himself to the general in 49 B.C., at the outbreak of the CIVIL WAR against Caesar, who was at the time his mother's lover. The battle of PHARSALUS in 48 B.C. brought him once more into contact with Caesar, who expressed faith in him, appointing Brutus the governor of Cisalpine Gaul in 46 B.C. In 44 B.C. he was made praeter and was promised not only the governorship of Macedonia but the consulship in 41 as well. Brutus, however, suffered a change of heart while in Rome in 44 B.C., coming under the influence of CASSIUS, who worked on his desire to ensure the survival of the Republic. On the Ides of March, the LIBERATORS, as they called themselves, murdered Caesar. Brutus had underestimated the sentiment of the Roman people and was forced to flee the city and eventually to abandon Italy altogether. The Senate gave him a command in the Balkans, and in 43 B.C. he was put in charge of the provinces of Greece-Macedonia. Brutus demanded tribute from the provinces in Asia Minor, earning their enmity. With Caesar's deification by the Senate in January of 42 B.C., the campaign against all of the Liberators began. By October of that year the forces of the SECOND TRIUMVIRATE were pressing the attack at PHILIPPI, and on October 23, the Republican forces fell to Antony and Octavian. In defeat, Cassius and Brutus committed suicide and with them perished the Republican cause. Brutus was known as a literary man, writing numerous now lost histories, and was a friend of CICERO. His second wife was the beautiful PORCIA, daughter of Cato Uticensis. ¤ BRUTUS ARUTUS, DECIMUS JUNIUS (d. 43 B.C.) One-time officer under Julius CAESAR who joined in the conspiracy to assassinate his former commander. Brutus Albinus had had a successful military career with Caesar as his legate in the GALLIC WARS and then his supporter in the CIVIL WAR (49-45 B.C.). He served as propraetor in Gaul from 48 to 46 B.C. and was promised a proconsulship in the area of Cisalpine Gaul. But before he took up the position, the conspirator CASSIUS drew him into the plot. Presumably in the belief that a true Republic would be reinstated, he joined in the murder. He then fled to Cisalpine Gaul, pursued by the avenging Marc ANTONY, who besieged him at MUTINA. In April of 43 B.C., Brutus Albinus was rescued by the combined legions of Hirtius, Pansa and Octavian. Octavian turned against him, however. Fleeing to Gaul, and hoping to make his way to Macedonia and his coconspirator Marcus BRUTUS, he was trapped by Antony and slain. ¤ BUCOLICI Tribe of herdsmen and nationalists living near the Nile Delta just northeast of ALEXANDRIA in Egypt. In 172-175 A.D., they revolted against Rome in a widespread uprising. Under the leadership of the local chief Isidorus, a priest, the Bucolici first killed Roman troops stationed nearby in Alexandria, then defeated larger forces sent against them. Fearing the loss of such an important city as Alexandria, the governor of Syria, Gaius Avidius Cassius, marched into Egypt. His war on Isidorus was aided by dissension among the tribesmen, and by 173 A.D. the region was pacified and the rebels crushed. Dio remarked on their bravery. They were also called the Bucoli, and the Boukolai. ¤ BULLA REGIA A town in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis, in what is now Tunisia. The region was taken by Rome after the Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.) and was again claimed by Pompey in 81 B.C. It developed an imperial atmosphere sometime during the reign of Tiberius (14-37 A.D.), when buildings of an Italian design began appearing. Such construction came as part of the peaceful and prosperous development of Africa, in which the community shared. The archaeological remains of Bulla Regia display homes built both above and below ground, with ancient lighting and fountains. ¤ BURDIGALA (Bordeaux) A major city in the province of Gallia AQUITANIA, and possibly the provincial capital. Important before the Roman occupation of Gaul, Burdigala was located on the Garonne River and was the center of activity for the fierce people of the region, the Aquitani. After Caesar's conquest of Aquitania, his legate publius CRASSUS began pacification in 56 B.C.; in 27 B.C., Augustus declared the area a Roman province. Burdigala was probably the administrative capital, although Saintes and Poitiers have both been named as possible seats. Clearly, Emperor Vespasian gave it a municipal standing, and the city produced several senators, as did the province. In the 3rd century A.D. a wall was built around Burdigala to protect it from the increasingly dangerous migrations and invasions. In the later 4th century the poet AUSONIUS retired there in great comfort, writing of his native city and especially about his academic colleagues. However, as Roman power collapsed, several Gothic kings conquered Burdigala. ATHAULF seized and then burned the city in 415. As part of a compact between Constantius and WALLIA, the Gothic kingdom gained the city. The modern name for Burdigala is Bordeaux. ¤ BUREBISTA (d. 44 B.C.) King of DACIA responsible for the aggrandizement of his land from 60 to 44 B.C.; the model for future rulers of Dacia such as DECEBALUS. With the aid of his advisor, a prophet-priest named Dekaineos (of Decaeneos), the ruler changed much in the country, and then launched an assault on those neighboring peoples who either threatened Dacia or proved detrimental to his royal ambitions. In succession Burebista crushed the Boii, a race of Celts, and the Taurini, moving into Thrace and facing the entire Danube frontier, which endangered Roman control and led to direct involvement in Roman politics. In 48 B.C., Pompey the Great sought Burebista's aid, but Caesar ended any hope of an alliance at the battle of Pharsalus. Caesar had been aware of the Dacian king since his days governing Illyricum. After Pharsalus, Caesar planned to relieve the pressure on the Danube with a massive campaign against Burebista, really a preparatory move for the greater military programs planned against Parthia. Burebista was assassinated in 44 B.C. His rapidly created empire broke apart at his death, but whatever long-term plans Caesar had for Dacia were also cut short, as he too was murdered. ¤ BURGUNDIANS A Germanic people originating in the region of the Vistula River, who possessed considerable power in Gaul in the 5th century A.D. The Burgundians first appeared around 250 A.D., in the vanguard of the Goths, with whom they shared a common ancestry. Settling in the region of the Main, they then faded from view, resurfacing again in 406, when they seized the lands directly on the Rhine. By 413, the Burgundians had crossed the great boundary and were in control of Germania Superior. Emperor Honorius was forced to accept their presence and concluded a treaty with them, by which they became allies. A kingdom was born, centered on Worms and ruled by Gundohar. In 436, the realm of Worms was crushed by the Huns, with Gundohar and thousands of his men slain. The remnant of the Burgundians moved into Savoy and were settled there by 443. They aided the magister militum AETIUS in his campaign against ATTILA, marking a resurgence. The Burgundians were finally overwhelmed by the Franks in the 6th century. ¤ BURRUS, SEXTUS AFRANIUS (d. 62 A.D.) Prefect of the PRAETORIAN GUARD during the reigns of CLAUDIUS and NERO. Burrus was an important advisor and key figure in Nero's era. An inscription claims that he came from Vasio in Gaul. His military career prospered from the start, as he served as a tribune, then as a procurator in some private capacity for the Empress LIVIA and later for TIBERIUS and Claudius as well. Through Claudius he met AGRIPPINA THE YOUNGER. The empress found him useful and trustworthy, and in 51 A.D. recommended him as sole prefect of the Guard. The prefect pursued Agrippina's interests, especially her desire to promote her adopted son Nero as Claudius's heir over his own son, BRITANNICUS. Thus, in 54, on the death of Claudius, Burrus presented the prince to the cohorts of the Praetorians. Early in Nero's reign, Burrus settled into the role of advisor, together with Seneca. The two men managed to preserve the empire from Nero's eccentricities and to break Agrippina's hold on her son as well. In 59, Agrippina was murdered by her son, and the influence of Burrus and Seneca weakened. Burrus had already faced one charge of plotting against the throne, in 55, and had escaped the charge. In 62, he tried to dissuade Nero from divorcing OCTAVIA. He became ill, with a swelling in his throat and difficulties breathing, and suspected poison. When Nero visited him, Burrus reportedly turned his face away, saying only "With me all is well." At his death soon after, he was replaced by TIGELLINUS, whom Nero had been grooming for some time. Tacitus wrote that Burrus was an officer of high reputation, and he was generally considered a gifted soldier and brilliant administrator and an honorable man. Dio wrote of his frankness, that when the emperor once asked him a second time for his opinions, Burrus responded: "When once I have spoken, do not ask me again." ¤ BYZANTIUM A city founded by Dorian Greeks in the 7th century B.C. that was transformed by CONSTANTINE in November of 324 A.D. and became his capital in 330. Modern Istanbul occupies the site today. See also CONSTANTINOPLE.

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ABDAGAESES (fl. 1st century A.D.) A court official in the kingdom of PARTHIA who aided TIRIDATES in his ascent to the throne. In 35-36, King ARTABANUS III was forced from the throne of Parthia, and the Roman-backed Tiridates a grandson of the old Parthian king, PHRAATES III, was established as ruler. The historian Tacitus writes that Abdagaeses exerted control over Tiridates, preventing him from visiting the diverse and ever distrustful Parthian tribes, a policy that kept these clans from uniting behind Tiridates and resulted in civil war. In the face of the rebellion, Abdagaeses advised a retreat into Mesopotamia, claiming advantages were offered by the great rivers there. The Parthians viewed this as cowardice, and Tiridates was ousted from the monarchy. Nothing is recorded about the ultimate end of Abdagaeses.
¤ ABLABIUS, FLAVIUS (fl. 4th century A.D.) Prefect of the PRAETORIAN GUARD under CONSTANTINE THE GREAT, from 329 to 337. Ablabius governed the Eastern Empire as the personal representative of the emperor, with considerable powers at his disposal. His authority earned him the enmity of members of the imperial court, and his conversion to Christianity was considered a diplomatic move. For some years Ablabius dueled politically with the philosopher sopater, eventually winning the intellectual power struggle. His victory was short-lived; when CONSTANTIUS II came to the throne in 337, Ablabius was executed.
¤ ABYSSINIA See AFRICA.
¤ ACADEMY Heavily influenced by its Greek predecessor, the Romans adopted this institution as they adopted other Greek intellectual traditions. Roman philosophy was, in fact, based on Hellenic ideas and standards, and during the era of the Republic the philosopher was a respected member of Roman society.
The Academy in Greece was founded in the late 4th century B.C. by Plato, as a refuge for intellectual and political idealism, as well as training in mathematics, astronomy and especially philosophy. Arcesilaus and Carneades were taught for generations in the Roman Academy and thus influenced subsequent Roman philosophical evolution. Gradually, however, the Academy lost much of its status, especially in the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C., as a result of its quarrels with the STOICS and other Roman philosophical groups.
ANTIOCHUS OF ASCALON assumed the predominant position of Academy leader, succeeding PHILO, sometime around 79 B.C. Antiochus revived the institution by terminating its sole reliance upon the philosophical stance of skepticism, a pose adopted by leaders of the past. STOICISM, PLATONISM, the Platonization of other philosophers, and even eclecticism were introduced into the Academy. Under Antiochus' guidance, the so-called New Academy was furthered intellectually by the arrival of Cicero, although the philosophies of the two eventually diverged. Antiochus opted for a more Stoic outlook in the Academy's approach, while Cicero upheld Philo's perspective of skepticism. Under the Empire, the Academics were highly regarded, and some of the finest intellects in the Roman world, such as SENECA, were associated with the institution. Emperor JUSTINIAN dissolved the Academy in 529 A.D. See also PHILOSOPHY.
¤ ACCLAMATIO Public acclaim that was given by the Romans both out of pleasure and displeasure; heard most commonly at funerals, marriages, in the theater or at triumphs. The names for the various types of acclamatio were: io triumphe for triumphs; io hymen for marriages; the plaudite for spectators at the end of a play; and the concla mare at the time of the death of a loved one. The acclamatio was also given to the emperor and his family, with the custom of saluting the ruler developing into a display of flattery. Nero, for example, established the Augustiani, a body of young noblemen who were trained to cheer the emperor enthusiastically. Later emperors also received the acclamationi from the Senate, as recorded in the Scriptores Historiae Augustae. See also CLAQUEURS.
¤ ACHAEA Roman province; conquered in 146 B.C. and eventually composed of a very large part of Greece, including Aetolia, Acarnania, Euboea, the Cyclades and part of Epirus. Achaea, which had been attached to the wider territory of Macedonia, was secured after a revolt against Roman dominance; Augustus later made Achaea a senatorial province. Achaea benefited from the enlightened attitude of the Roman emperors, who treated pacified provinces in a better manner than their Republican predecessors. The emperors, seeking to maintain a political equilibrium between Rome and its outlying territories, offered such provinces advantages for their status.
The rule of Achaea was in the hands of the SENATE, and a proconsul of Praetorian rank acted as its governor, overseeing the administration of the region from the city of Corinth. This rule remained firmly in place until the reign of DIOCLETIAN, in the late 3rd century.
During the years of the frontier troubles, 15 A.D. to 44 A.D., the province of Achaea was combined with MACEDONIA as part of an imperial province under the governor of Moesia, along the Danube. The Achaeans appear to have relished imperial designation of their lands, as TACITUS recorded that they petitioned for that status. In 67 A.D., as a result of the proclamation of Emperor NERO giving Greece its freedom, the Achaeans ruled themselves. Emperor VESPASIAN, however, in either 70 or 74, reformed the imperial system and reclaimed the province, putting it once again into the hands of the Senate. Aside from the old Achaean League, which was restored, several other religio-sociopolitical unions were tolerated by Rome and allowed to exist freely. A Panhellenic League was encouraged by the Philhellenic Emperor HADRIAN. An IMPERIAL CULT, whose head, the Helladarch, was appointed by league members, also came into being at this time. A facade of independence was consequently maintained by the Achaeans, especially in such cities as ATHENS, CORINTH, SPARTA and Elis. No garrison was posted to Achaea, and a vast amount of self-determination was tolerated.
The imperial power was used with a certain finesse in the region, glimpsed only in the maneuvering of social and political events by governors, proconsuls and religious institutions. The correctores (first attested for Italy in 216 A.D.) were also present in Achaea, special agents of the emperor who wielded the power to regulate trade or to observe finances. Achaea remained a province until the fall of the Roman Empire.
¤ ACHILLAS (fl. mid-lst century B.C.) A skilled soldier in the service of the Egyptian King PTOLEMY XIII whose most notable act was to serve as an accomplice in the murder of POMPEY THE GREAT on September 28, 48 B.C. He was subsequently involved in the siege of Alexandria during Caesar's occupation of that Egyptian city, and he also aided in plots against the Roman forces. One of Achillas' intrigues involved Cleopatra's sister, Princess ARSINOE, who offered him the post of general of her army. A veteran campaigner, but inept at court politics, Achillas managed to gain Arsinoe's ill will, and he was executed at her command.
¤ ACHILLEUS (d. c. 297 A.D.) Leader of a nationalistic Egyptian rebellion against Roman domination in 296 or 297. The years of the tetrarchy under DIOCLETIAN were ones of questionable Roman supremacy in the various regions of the Empire, and Achilleus launched an Egyptian campaign for freedom. The revolt was doomed to failure because of internal rivalries and a lack of resources. Achilleus' own leadership was in dispute because many of his co-conspirators favoured DOMITIUS DOMITIANUS. Diocletian personally put down the revolution by capturing the city of ALEXANDRIA after a siege of six months. Achilleus and his band of rebels were slain.
¤ ACTA The laws and decrees enacted by the emperors of Rome. Under the Republic, elected officials swore to uphold the laws of the land. As the age of the Empire arrived, this oath was extended to include as well the decrees, or acta, of the emperors. Each new emperor took an oath to uphold the acta. In many eras, however, these decrees or acta were limited only to those promulgated by AUGUSTUS in his time (the decrees of more recent emperors, especially in chaotic periods of the Empire, were considered suspect or not worthy of notice). It was the decision of each new emperor whether to swear to uphold the decrees of his immediate predecessor or not. The SENATE possessed the right to rescind decrees of a deceased emperor or to ratify the acta of emperors still living (as they did with Augustus in 29 B.C.).
Acta were considered important because of the ramifications involved in precedents and posterity. TIBERIUS, for example, refused to allow the Senate to vote oaths to him when he came to the throne, as his monstrous deeds would then be enshrined in the perpetual machinery of the acta. CLAUDIUS, meanwhile, made everyone swear to uphold the acta of Augustus but, like Tiberius, did not insist upon their taking oaths to him and his personal decrees.
¤ ACTA DIURNA A journal instituted by Julius CAESAR that recounted the great events of Rome, much like a modern newspaper, displayed on a whitened board (album) daily. This history was widely read and was used by Roman historians attempting to recreate the events of earlier eras. Tacitus mentions the acta diurna in his Annals.
¤ ACTA SENATUS The official records of the proceedings and deeds of the Roman Senate. Augustus permitted their compilation but forbade their publication. The records were of interest to various historians, including TACITUS, who used them to compose many of their own volumes, together with information culled from the ACTA DIURNA. This record was useful not only in making an account of events and speeches in the Senate, but also to identify allies and enemies of an emperor. Political figures such as SEJANUS could thus keep a close watch on the Senate, through its own account.
¤ ACTE, CLAUDIA (d. after 69 A.D.) A freedwoman from Asia Minor who became the mistress of Emperor NERO and was deeply involved in palace intrigues. Serving as a freedwoman in the imperial household, Acte came to Nero's attention in 55. SENECA, the imperial tutor and advisor, sensed that this infatuation could wean Nero away from his dominant mother, AGRIPPINA THE YOUNGER, and fostered the relationship. The couple, attempting to be discreet, were shielded by various court followers. As was inevitable, Nero lost interest in Acte and took up another mistress. Acte remained devoted, however, appearing after Nero's death to claim his body, which she placed in the family tomb of the Domitii in the Pincian Hills. Acte seems to have amassed considerable wealth during her period of imperial favor.
¤ ACTIUM An engagement was fought on the Ionian Sea on September 2, 31 B.C., just off the coast of this site, near the Ambracian Gulf, between the fleet of Octavian (AUGUSTUS) and the armada of Marc ANTONY and CLEOPATRA. This naval battle, in which Octavian proved victorious, decided the fate of the Roman world.
By 33 B.C., most political factions striving for power in the Republic had faded, leaving only the Triumvirs Octavian and Antony as rivals. In May 32, they became dire enemies when Antony divorced Octavian's sister, Octavia (1), and married Cleopatra. Claiming that Cleopatra aspired to become the queen of Rome, and that in his will Antony distributed the Eastern provinces among his illegitimate children by Cleopatra, Octavian roused the Senate and the Roman mob. They called for war against Antony, stripping him of his offices.
Both sides gathered large fleets and assembled legions, but Octavian, with his normal prudence, took his time. Finally, in 31 he set out with hundreds of ships and 40,000 men, landing in Greece and marching south to Mikalitzi, north of Nicopolis on the Bay of Comarus. Antony, possessing a like number of land forces, also had at his command a combined Roman-Egyptian fleet of 480 ships. The advantage rested with Antony in naval terms, because his vessels were large and heavy. Octavian, however, possessed two elements that were to prove pivotal to the outcome: his admiral AGRIPPA, and his lighter Liburnian ships, which were equipped with the HARP AX, a ram that pinned the opposing vessel and allowed for boarding and capture. Antony, encamped just south of Actium, nevertheless stood a good chance of victory.
The battle was really two encounters in a single day, the fierce naval conflict in the morning and a half-hearted rout on land that afternoon. The naval engagement began with the two fleets facing one another. Octavian's force was divided into three sections - a center and two wings. Agrippa commanded the northern wing and was admiral in chief. ARRUNTIUS led the center, and Octavian was in charge of the southern wing. On the Egyptian side, Antony took command of the northern squadrons, opposite Agrippa. Marcus Octavius was opposed to Arruntius, and Savius sailed against Octavian's ships. Cleopatra headed a reserve squadron of 60 ships behind the center of the Egyptian fleet.
The tactical advantage would fall to the commander who penetrated the other's flanks, and here the battle was won by Agrippa. Antony fought valiantly, but the unreliable and disloyal ships of his center and south wing broke ranks. Cleopatra sailed to safety, probably signaled by Antony to do so, although the historian DIO CASSIUS dismissed her flight as the act of a woman and an Egyptian. Antony, with his own ship pinned by a harpax, transferred to another vessel and also fled toward Egypt. Victory at sea was total for Octavian, and Antony's general, CANDIDUS CRASsus, faced a mutiny in his own ranks and surrendered.
An invasion of Egypt followed in July of 30, but Actium had already established Octavian as the undisputed master of Rome and its far-flung world. By August, Antony and Cleopatra were dead by their own hands. Octavian returned to Rome to become the first Roman emperor, Augustus. PLUTARCH and Dio Cassius wrote extensive versions of the battle. See also CIVIL WARS (SECOND TRIUMVIRATE) and NAVY.
¤ ACTS OF THE PAGAN MARTYRS Literature that dates to the 1st century A.D., detailing the hardships and trials of Egyptian nationalists in ALEXANDRIA. Written in a dramatic and bitterly anti-Roman style, the work, mainly fragmentary, includes accounts from the period of AUGUSTUS to the era following the reign of MARCUS AURELIUS.
¤ ADLECTIO The process by which an individual was chosen to be a Roman senator. Generally, it was accomplished by being enrolled on the lists of the SENATE. This was an arbitrary process at times, and Caesar used it to increase Senate numbers. The tradition was carried on by the emperors with some prudence and hesitation at first, as in the case of Augustus and Claudius, but Domitian, Macrinus and others used it with enthusiasm.
¤ ADOPTIO Or adoptatio, the name used for adoption, one of the principal areas of domestic relations in Rome with regard to parent and child, the other being lawful marriage. There were actually two variations of the process: adoptio and adrogatio. Adoption of a person not in the power of a parent (sui iuris) was called adrogatio. It was originally possible only in Rome and with the vote of the populace (populi auctoritate) in the Comitia Centuriata. By the 1st century B.C., the comitia was effectively replaced in this matter by thirty lictors who were asked their approval. Those citizens living in the provinces were not eligible for this approbation and were thus required to ask the permission of the emperor, beginning the process that came to be known as the adrogatio per rescriptum principis. From the time of Diocletian, this act was mandatory. Adoptio involved a complex series of mandpationes (emancipations) within the framework of a law in the XII Tables.
By the terms of adoption, a Roman citizen passed from one family to another, a change of family that meant that the adrogatus brought with him all persons under his potestas into the household of the adrogator, while acknowledging the patria potestas of the family's head. It served a useful purpose both socially and politically, as a childless individual could adopt and ensure the continuation of the sacra of the family, bequeathing not just property to the heres (heir), but the family as well, for the new member accepted the name and rank of the adoptive father. Politically, adoption could be used to great advantage as a means of improving one's prospects by becoming adopted into a higher class family - moving from the Plebeian to the Patrician class. The opposite movement had advantages of its own; Pulcher Clodius was adrogated into a plebeian family by a lex curiata in order to be eligible for election as tribunus plebis and so continue his struggles with Cicero.
Females could not be taken into a family through adrogation as the transaction involved the patria potestas. Adoption became very popular in the Early Empire as a result of the Lex Julia et Papia Poppaea (9 A.D.), which granted definite privileges to those citizens with children, such as the eligibility to become praetors. Adoptions were hastily arranged, the office secured and then the adrogatus given complete emancipation from the adoptive family. By a senatus consultum during the reign of Nero (54-68 A.D.), this practice was curtailed. Antoninus Pius also moved to prevent premature (and potentially disastrous emancipations, the releasing of an adopted heir) by promulgating a law that ensured the rights of succession to the adopted. Under the adoptiominus plena by Justinian (ruled 527-565), the adopted maintained a right of succession to the property and name of the former family, and was not subject to the patria potestas of the adoptive father; this law had its origins in the custom of the adopted retaining some association with his original gens, seen in the new name or gens, only the suffix ianus was added. An example of this was Emperor Augustus who, as Octavius, was adopted by the testament of his uncle Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., taking the full name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. Adoption by testament, of course, was the naming of an heir through a will. However, the adopted was not the heir in the sense of regular adoptio or adrogatio, receiving only the name and property of the deceased without all of the other benefits or social considerations. Octavius therefore had Caesar's adoption of him by testament made official by the curiae,
¤ ADRIANOPLE Site in southern Greece of a battle fought on July 3, 324 A. D. between CONSTANTINE THE GREAT and co-Emperor LICINIUS. In 312 Constantine had won the battle of MILVIAN BRIDGE, gaining absolute control over the Western Empire. In the East, Licinius vied with MAXIMINUS DAIA for domination, and in 313 marched against this rival. Licinius triumphed; two men now controlled the world in an unstable alliance. In 316 the Danube and Balkan provinces became their battleground. Two collisions (at Cibalae and Mardia) resulted only in stalemate and eventually in a treaty. By 323, Constantine marched once more, against the GOTHS. After routing the barbarians along the Danube, he pursued them into Licinius' territory and one year later forced a showdown.
The two rulers gathered their legions, each army totaling around 130,000 men. On July 3, 324, they engaged at Adrianople. Constantine set a large portion of his army on Licinius's flank, while he led the main assault on the enemy's naturally weakened center. The feint on the flank worked perfectly, and Constantine smashed Licinius' middle. His army routed, Licinius fled, leaving behind some 40,000 men. Constantine pursued him to Byzantium.
Another battle was fought at sea on the Hellespont later in the month, and on September 18, 324, the last confrontation took place at Chrysopolis, where Constantine was again the victor. Licinius was executed in the following year, and Constantine was the sole ruler of the Roman world.
A second battle was fought at Adrianople on August 9, 378, between Emperor VALENS and the Goths. In 376, Valens, the Eastern emperor, received word that the Visigoths were being pushed in great numbers beyond the natural frontier of the Danube. The HUNS had invaded their lands, and the Visigoths, led by FRITIGERN and Alavius, were asking permission to migrate and to settle across the Lower Danube, near Thrace. Valens allowed them to enter the Empire with the demand that they surrender their arms and submit all male children as hostages. The hostages were handed over, the arms were not. The arrival of equally alarmed Ostrogothic remnants threw all of Thrace into confusion, and a war broke out. Rome faced Visigoth and Ostrogoth elements, as a general rebellion threatened the entire Danube front. In Thrace, Fritigern (Alavius having been killed in an ambush) joined the Ostrogoth kings, Alatheus and Saphrax (or Safrax), to duel with Valens' Greek legate, Sebastian. The Goths were defeated several times by inferior forces.
GRATIAN, emperor of the West, took steps to pacify the Danube. Sensing that an opportunity was within his reach, not only to crush the barbarian hordes but also to lay claim to greatness for the act, Valens precipitately marched from Constantinople to attack the Goths. The emperor possessed nearly 60,000 men, mostly infantry, while Fritigern and his allies numbered over 100,000, evenly divided between horse and foot. On August 9, 378, Valens, unwilling to wait for Gratian, pressed his legions into battle.
His assault was well-timed, being launched while the mainly Ostrogoth cavalry was away. The Visigoths, facing an organized army with their own limited cavalry on their flanks, were driven back into the large wagon camp that had been erected. Valens pushed on, but suddenly the Ostrogoths turned and made a charge that was to revitalize military tactics for the next thousand years. Crushed, routed and finally annihilated, the immobilized Roman legions were ridden down by the horsemen. Few escaped from the catastrophe. Valens died with 40,000 other Roman soldiers.
The battle of Adrianople was felt more deeply and politically than the number of casualties warranted. St. Ambrose called it "the end of all humanity, the end of the world," a statement that was dramatic and prophetic. Rome was no longer invincible, and the barbarians were pressing on the frontiers.
¤ ADRIATIC SEA The sea between Italy and the Balkans that served for many centuries as a conduit of trade and over which Grecian civilization spread throughout Italy. Although always plagued by pirates and natural hazards, the Adriatic played a role in the shaping of Roman economic power. Safe transport of vessels was made possible after the rise to power of Emperor AUGUSTUS (63 B.C.-14 A.D.), with the stationing of fleets as monitors of the sea lanes. The home port of these fleets was AQUILEIA, at the head of the Adriatic, the largest trading city in the area. See also PIRACY.
¤ ADUATUCA Also called Atuatuca in some records; an engagement between AMBIORIX and the Romans took place at this site in what is now Belgium in the winter of 54-53 B.C. Ambiorix, the tall chieftain of the Eburones, began an uprising against the widely scattered, winter-quartered Roman legions. The attack came as a surprise to Caesar's lieutenant in northern Gaul, Q. Titurius SABINUS. Sabinas' command was spread over the countryside and was vulnerable to assault. Ambiorix was aware of the military risks in a frontal assault against the Roman positions, and offered safe passage to Sabinus and his troops. The Gallic chieftain did not keep his word. Sabinus and his men were slaughtered. Buoyed by his success, Ambiorix attacked Caesar's other commander, Quintus Tullius Cicero, and suffered defeat. The entire region controlled by Ambiorix and his people was eventually overrun by Caesar during his GALLIC WARS, and the rebellion ended.
¤ ADVENTUS, MARCUS OCLATINUS (160-after 218 A.D.) A Roman general and official. Born in 160, Adventus began a military career and entered the FRUMENTARII, the dreaded spy service of the Empire, eventually becoming its chief. He later received a procuratorship and served Emperor CARACALLA as one of his two prefects. The other prefect, MACRINUS, murdered Caracalla, thus handing the army the task of choosing an imperial successor. According to the historian Herodian, Adventus was the army's first choice but declined because of his advanced age; Macrinus was elected in his place.
As emperor, Macrinus appears to have felt indebted to Adventus and appointed him a senator, a fellow consul and then prefect of the city. These appointments, made in 218, angered the Senate and the Roman populace, who considered Adventus an assassin. Macrinus tried to make amends by replacing Adventus as prefect with Marius Maximus, which did nothing to appease the Senate. Macrinus died at the hands of Caracalla's family, having no powerful protectors or friends. Adventus, the cause of so many of Macrinus' problems, simply faded from public view.
¤ ADVOCATUS The legal presenter of a case in the Roman judicial system, requiring skill in law, precedence, history and oratory. The advocatus was a gifted speaker who could elevate his defense to an intellectual, philosophical and rhetorical level that increased the chances of winning. The advocatus was distinct from the JURIST in the Roman court system, but in the Late Empire a decline of jurists caused the roles to overlap and become blurred. Fees were originally banned for the advocati, but this tradition was abandoned. One of the greatest advocati in Roman history was CICERO. See also LAW.
¤ AEDESIUS (ea. 280/90-355 A.D.) A Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 4th century, who studied in Syria under IAMBLICHUS. Aedesius' students included the future Emperor JULIAN and the historian EUSEBIUS, bishop of Caesarea. Aedesius could be a staunch defender of his beliefs. When another Neoplatonist, Hierocles, placed a virgin into a brothel in Egypt, Aedesius beat him severely with a stick for this act. See also NEOPLATONISM.
¤ AEDILE An administrator of Rome, taken from the Latin aedes, which meant temple; their usefulness and political position increased over the centuries. During the Republic, the aediles supervised the streets, temples and quarters of Rome and, more important, the CURA ANNONAE, the distribution of the vital corn supply. As the Empire dawned, Augustus, like Caesar before him, made adjustments to their power, in order to create a more professional imperial administration. The historian Tacitus painted a rather dear picture of the role of the aediles during the early Empire. They were to tend public buildings, keep the streets clean, police the city (although the URBAN COHORTS also fulfilled this task) and superintend the markets and the games. Also, the aediles helped supervise the cleaning up of the city, an activity that they did not perform particularly well. Aediles were also charged with the task of destroying any and all books condemned by the Senate and enforced all sumptuary laws.
¤ AEDUI A tribe centered in Gallic Burgundy, whose dealings with Rome were both successful and unfortunate. The Aedui became clients of the Republic in the late 2nd century B.C., freeing themselves from the yoke of the AVERNI and the ALLOBROGES, for which they showed themselves grateful enough to earn the title of fratres, or brothers. The alliance with Rome allowed them to become the largest of the Gallic tribes. Their capital was founded at AUGUSTODONUM, after Bibracte, their former capital, was abandoned in Caesar's time.
The Aedui were always resentful of Roman domination, and on at least two occasions launched major rebellions against their conquerors. The first was in 21 A.D., when SACROVIR, their king, led 40,000 Aedui and their allies against the legate Gaius SILIUS (1). The battle was quickly decided by Roman might, and Sacrovir killed himself. VINDEX, a Romanized Gaul, and the governor of the pacified region of Gallia Lugdunensis, rose up in 68 A.D., declaring that GALBA should be declared the princeps; the Aedui joined him. L. VERGINIUS RUFUS, the master of the legions of Germania Superior, smashed Vindex's hopes in battle. The Aedui were not punished, because Rome's attention was drawn to its own civil war of 69 A.D.
The relationship of the Aedui and the Romans was remarkably cordial and solid over the decades, a unique circumstance among the proud Gallic tribes. The Aedui aided Julius Caesar in his campaigns. Eventually, as clients of Rome, they were able to send representatives to serve in the Senate. But ultimately their involvement with the Romans proved disastrous. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Aedui lands were destroyed by the constant wars of the Empire, while the onslaught of barbarians from the east broke Aedui power.
¤ AEGIDIUS (d. 464 A.D.) The MAGISTER MILITUM in Gaul in 458, serving Emperor Majorian as one of Rome's leading figures in a chaotic era of the Late Empire. Aegidius upheld Roman power at Aries, working with numerous tribes of the region, including the FRANKS and the VANDALS. He was personally responsible for defeating the powerful THEODORIC II, king of the VISIGOTHS, who invaded Gaul. By 461, Aegidius was the principal opponent of Rome's true master, RICIMER, the German magister militum, who deposed Majorian and replaced him with libius SEVERUS. Only the continuing wars with Theodoric's Visigoths kept Aegidius from advancing on Rome to take the throne himself. According to Gregory of Tours, the Franks offered him their own throne. Aegidius died in 464, perhaps by poison. He was a devout Christian and a Roman of strict ideals.
¤ AELIAN (Claudius Aelianus) (c. 170-235 A.D.) A writer and rhetorician, heavily influenced by STOICISM. He was the author of two books of lasting interest, Natura Animalium and the Varia Historia, and is considered by some to be the author of the Peasant Letters as well.
¤ AELIANUS, CASPERIUS (d. 98 A.D.) A prefect of the PRAETORIAN GUARD. Appointed by DOMITIAN, Aelianus was soon replaced in the aftermath of a financial scandal. When Nerva came to the throne in 96, Aelianus regained his position with the Guard. As prefect of the powerful Praetorians, Aelianus drove his troops into a rage over the assassination of Emperor Domitian. The Praetorians raced to the palace and cornered the new emperor, demanding justice and the death of Domitian's slayers (two of Nerva's allies). Nerva was dismissed by the Praetorians. The guilty were soon removed and executed, and Emperor Nerva collapsed and died soon after. Trajan, the new emperor of Rome, summoned Aelianus and all of the other Praetorians involved. They arrived at Trajan's base at Cologne and were promptly slain for their treachery.
¤ AELIUS CAESAR, LUCIUS (Lucius Ceionius Commodus) (d. 138 A.D.) The son of a powerful senatorial family, he came to the attention of Emperor HADRIAN in 136. At the time, Hadrian was searching for an heir. Young, well educated and popular, Aelius was made consul in 136 and 137 and was officially adopted as Hadrian's heir in 136, assuming the name Lucius Aelius Caesar. The emperor ordered the deaths of his own brother-in-law, Julius Servianus, and his grandson, because they could be considered rivals to the throne. Aelius' daughter Fabia was then married to the future emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Aelius subsequently served on the Danube and returned to Rome during the winter of 137. In January 138, he suddenly became ill and died. His son was Lucius Verus.
¤ AEMILIAN (Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus) (d. 253 A.D.) Roman emperor who, like others in the long line of 3rd-century political figures, rose up to seize the throne and then was slain by a stronger general. Aemilian began his career as the governor of Moesia Inferior, assuming command there in 252 in the reign of Trebonianus Gallus. In the spring of 253, when Kniva, the chief of the Goths, demanded that the Roman tributes be increased, Aemilian launched a terrible and highly successful assault on the Gothic tribes along the Danube. Elated by Aemilian's victory and aware of the fact that the emperors offered more bounties than governors, his troops declared him emperor. Aemilian then marched to Italy, easily overcame Trebonianus Gallus, who was promptly murdered by his own soldiers, and was proclaimed emperor of Rome by the Senate. VALERIAN, the general of the Rhine legions, marched into Italy almost immediately, and Aemilian fell victim to his own men, who feared defeat at Valerian's hands and thus removed their own usurper.
¤ AERARIUM Also called the aerarium Saturni, the public or state treasury of Rome derived from aes, "bronze." Under the Republic, the control of the aerarium was one of the bulwarks of the SENATE. During the Empire, however, the aerarium came to represent both the extent and state of imperial finances and the degree to which the Roman bureaucracy was able to function.
Sources of income for the state treasury were varied. The tribunii aerarii collected and deposited payments made by the tribes, allowing few exceptions. There was even a 5% tax on emancipations, and all surplus funds of a region were handed over to the central bureau. This allowed each emperor to inform the people of the provinces that all monies spent on their defense had come originally from the provinces themselves. Equally, the aerarium served as a general resource for the Empire as a whole; money could be drawn from it and used anywhere in the Roman world, wherever it was needed. The aerarium, while substantial, was never enough to cover the mammoth expense of maintaining an empire, and Augustus was forced to use his own sizable sums to finance many projects.
Control over the money under the Republic fell to the quaestors, but Caesar, who seized the aerarium for himself in 49 B.C., placed two AEDILES (administrators) in charge. Augustus at first handed the aerarium over to two praefecti, but in 23 B.C. decided that two praetors were better; each was drawn by lot. The danger of incompetence in the face of a growing bureaucratic system was alleviated by Nero, who appointed two Praefecti aerarii in 56 A.D., titles that remained into the 4th century. The aerarium, along with the tabularium, was also the place where state documents of every nature were maintained. See also FINANCE and FISCUS.
¤ AERARIUM MILITARE The military treasury, which was established by Augustus in 6 A.D. and intended to provide bounties for soldiers, both active and retired. The general fund from which it was drawn originated with a donation of 170 million sesterces by Augustus. Three praefecti aerarii militaris managed the finances.
¤ AETIUS, FLAVIUS (fl. 430-454 A.D.) A remarkable soldier and MAGISTER militum in the Western Empire during the reign of VALENTINIAN III. Aetius succeeded in acquiring a power base around 430 with the help of the Huns (among whom he had been a hostage in his youth), and with them fought against the Visigoths and Burgundians throughout Gaul (432-439).
Serving the emperor faithfully, Aetius had to contend not only with the Franks, Goths and Burgundians but also with the emperor's mother, the formidable Galla placidia, the Augusta of the Western Empire. The two disliked each other bitterly, viewing one another as natural enemies in Rome's political maelstrom. Aetius maintained Gaul while Placidia sent her own champion, Boniface, chief of the African legions, against him. The Huns proved valuable allies on that occasion, and Boniface died, despite a victory in 432, leaving Aetius the sole power in the Western Empire.
Events turned against him in 451, when ATTILA swept through Belgica and into Gaul. Aetius called upon the Franks and the Goths to aid in the defense of the West. At the terrible battle of Troyes, the Huns were stopped but not broken. Attila plundered Italy, and although Aetius proved victorious against Attila, the Roman's days were numbered. Positioned too far from Rome and having too many enemies, including the usurper PETRONIUS MAXIMUS and the seneschal of the emperor, Heraclius the Eunuch, Aetius was vulnerable. In 454, while making his report at the court, Aetius was stabbed by the emperor.
¤ AFER, GNAEUS DOMITIUS (d. 59 A.D.) One of the finest orators of the early Empire, Afer served as an advocatus, both in accusation and in defense, and Emperor Tiberius used him often in the condemnation of his opponents, especially Claudia PULCHRA and Furnius. He was generally unpopular as an individual, and in his later years, when his powers failed him, he could not keep silent. Afer died in 59. He was supposedly from Gallia Narbonensis.
¤ AFRANIUS, LUCIUS (d. 46 B.C.) Legate, consul and an official of POMPEY THE GREAT; distinguished himself in the CIVIL WAR of the First Triumvirate, more by his persistence than his tactical skills in the field. In 60 B.C., he was appointed consul but could not compete with the far more effective METELLUS CELER; he later acquired the governorship of GALLIA CISALPINA. The Civil Wars gave him further opportunities to advance his career, and in 55, with PETRENIS, he set out for Hispania Citerior (Spain) to serve as Pompey's legate, with three legions under his command. Spain attracted Caesar's attention immediately, and at ILERDA in 49, Afranius was defeated and captured. He was spared by Caesar after vowing not to take up arms again. Undaunted by his oath, Afranius went to Pompey at DYRRHACHIUM and fought at PHARSALUS, escaping after the defeat. He fled to Africa, where Caesar's legate, P. Silius, hunted him down after the battle at THAPSUS in 46; Caesar had him executed.
¤ AFRICA (province) Long considered by Rome to be vital to its survival as an empire. Near the provinces of EGYPT and Spain (HISPANIA), Africa's fertility and its joint responsibility in the supply of Roman grain (with Egypt) made it a vital link in the imperial chain. Africa's value as a territory began with the destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C., when the Republic laid claim to all of Carthage's holdings. Most of Africa in the Tunisian region was given back to the original kingdoms from which it had been carved. But the fertile, northeast area of Tunis was converted into the province of Africa Vetus, with a frontier called the fossa regia. After the battle of THAPSUS in 46 B.C., Caesar created Africa Nova, sliced out of NUMIDIA.
The Empire changed the African borders again. Augustus combined Africa Vetus and Nova into Africa Proconsularis, which stretched from the Cyrenaican frontier westward to the Numidian Kingdom. This arrangement did not last because during Augustus' reign the Roman colonization of the region began in earnest. From then on there was a growing and eventually rich Roman presence in Africa, which the writers APULEIUS, PRONTO and Tertullian describe. Thirteen colonies were founded in MAURETANIA. The provincial capital was moved from Utica to the larger, reconstructed CARTHAGE. The proconsul there ruled principally through a bureaucracy, for there was never any organized resistance to Roman domination. Only one legion, the III Augusta, was ever stationed there. Gaius Caligula ended the tradition by which the governor controlled the legion and placed the unit under the sole authority of his legate. Further, the troops were subsequently stationed on the frontier near Numidia, which became a separate province by decree of Septimius Severus. Finally, Claudius added two more colonies in Mauretania.
The legion in Africa faced only a few wars and was consequently used almost exclusively in the vital work of construction and engineering. Through centuriation - the organization of the territories into segmented, regular plots and estates - the province came to possess nearly 500 villages or communities, of which 200 were cities. The result of these efforts was total pacification and intense Romanization.
Agriculture was preeminent, with corn serving for centuries as the staple crop. Carthage alone exported annually over half a million tons to Rome. In Tunisia, Numidia and Mauretania, olives grew readily, and farmers were encouraged to diversify. By the 2nd century, the olive harvest was nearly that of corn, and soon both were joined by cereal, fruits and textiles.
Africa became one of the leading centers for intellectuals, including Pronto, Apuleius and others, who found the environment rich. A number of senators came from Africa and eventually an emperor (Septimius SEVERUS). Christianity spread quickly through the province, overcoming the Graeco-Roman gods, who themselves had defeated the Punic deities of old.
Africa was, however, swept into the troubles of the Empire after the 3rd century. When Emperor GORDIAN i was proclaimed by the landowners of the province and placed on the throne while in Carthage, the legions revolted, in 238 A.D., and ousted the briefly reigning emperor, who probably killed himself rather than die at their hands. As a result, GORDIAN III disbanded the legion. In 308, Domitius ALEXANDER, the prefect of Africa, led a revolt from Carthage and threatened the vital corn supply. The prefect of the Guard, Rufius Volusianus, was sent to Africa and crushed the uprising, destroying much of Carthage in the process.
Emperor Constantine rebuilt the city in the early 4th century and placed the province back into the system adopted by Diocletian, in which Numidia, Tripolitania, Mauretania and Byzacena were all under the diocese of Africa. Such widening made the province susceptible to even more troubles, as the invasion of the Vandals in 429 demonstrated. Defenses were never strong, as the Moors and other tribes had been easily quelled. The mountainous and desert-like regions made fortifications and permanent limes construction difficult, resulting in a province of great wealth that was unable to defend itself.
¤ AFRICA NOVA The Roman province in AFRICA created in 46 B.C. by Julius Caesar, following the battle of THAPSUS. The province was carved out of the kingdom of NUMIDIA. During the reign of Augustus, it was added to Africa Vetus to form the larger province of Africa Proconsularis.
¤ AFRICA PROCONSULARIS The combination of the two provinces of Africa Nova and Africa Vetus during the reign of Augustus (27 B.C.-14 A.D.). See also AFRICA.
¤ AFRICA VETUS A Roman province in northern Tunisia, governed by a praetor from its capital at Utica. After Carthage fell to the war engines of Scipio Africanus (146 B.C.), the Roman Republic seized all of the city's holdings and created the new province. See also AFRICA.
¤ AGRICOLA, GNAEUS JULIUS (40-93 A.D.) The general and governor of Britain (78-85); one of the most successful military men of his era, responsible for imprinting Britain thoroughly with Roman culture. Agricola was the son of Julius Graecinus and Julia Procilla. Graecinus was killed by Emperor Gaius Caligula, and the Lady Julia was murdered by Emperor Otho's troops. But the deaths of his parents had little effect on Agricolas career, which was swift and productive. Agricola served as a tribune in Britain, as quaestor in Asia in 64, as legate in Britain from 71 to 73, as legate of Aquitania from 74 to 77 and as consul in 77.
This last posting was made by the Emperor Vespasian, who favored the able officer and considered him reliable, and in 78 he became the governor of Britain.
Agricola's campaigns were brilliantly executed, and he Romanized much of the province and extended Roman influence well into Scotland. He conquered North Wales, the Tay, Newstead, Forth and Clyde, penetrating deep into the Grampian Mountains and into Caledonia. Finally, Agricola's fleet sailed around Britain, a remarkable feat. In 85 A.D., having served there for seven years, Agricola was recalled by Domitian. Agricola married Domitia Decidiana, and his daughter married the historian Tacitus, who provided detailed information about the man and his campaigns in Agricola. See also BRITANNIA (1).
¤ AGRICULTURE See ECONOMY and FARMING.
¤ AGRIPPA I, MARCUS JULIUS (Herod) (d. 44 A.D.) The grandson of King HEROD THE GREAT, who, through political and social connections and assassinations, became the ruler of the tetrarchy of Philip Archelaus and hence the king of Judaea from 37 to 44 A.D. Agrippa grew up in Rome and was an intimate companion of CLAUDIUS and the Lady Antonia. His Roman education ended, however, in 23 A.D., with the death of Drusus, and he returned to PALESTINE, where he acquired a reputation for contentiousness, which Josephus the historian made known, and was suspected of treason.
In 36, with borrowed funds, Agrippa returned to Rome and was rescued from prison by Gaius Caligula, who gave him the throne of Philip, Agrippa's uncle, in 37, and then the throne of Herod Antipas as well. Agrippa kept the Great Temple of Jerusalem safe from desecration by Caligula when he persuaded him that it was not necessary to place a statue of himself within the walls. Claudius trusted Agrippa greatly, giving him Judaea as well, but he soon came to regret the gift as Agrippa harbored ambitions of his own. He died before he could make any of his political dreams a reality.
¤ AGRIPPA II, MARCUS JULIUS (Herod) (fl. mid-1st century A.D.) The son of AGRIPPA , who, like his father, spent most of his youth in the Roman Imperial Household. Claudius granted Agrippa II the kingdom of Chalcis in 50 and then the tetrarchy of Philip, with Abilene and Acene. Agrippa II clearly placated the Jewish element in his territories, but the Jewish revolt of 66 put him in an awkward position. He tried at first to stem the rebellion, but he was wise enough to see the end result and allied himself with the Romans. Josephus reported in The Jewish War and in The Jewish Antiquities that Agrippa was on hand when the Romans conquered Jerusalem. See also JUDAEA and PALESTINE.
¤ AGRIPPA, MARCUS VIPSANIUS (d. 12 B.C.) The friend, lieutenant and supporter of AUGUSTUS, who was most responsible for the transformation of Octavian the triumvir into Augustus the emperor.
Although of common birth (which prevented him from ever wearing the purple robes of an emperor), Agrippa was Octavian's lifelong companion. Accompanying Octavian in 45 B.C. to Apollonia, where Caesar's nephew learned the ways of soldiering, Agrippa was present in 44 B.C. when the news of Julius Caesar's assassination arrived. Octavian inherited Caesar's wealth and much of his power, and Agrippa emerged as his representative in all matters. He was even instrumental in raising an army to ensure that Octavian would be part of the newly formed triumvirate, which emerged out of the political chaos after Caesar's murder.
The wars, which were inevitable, allowed Agrippa's multifaceted abilities to shine. He fought against Marc ANTONY'S brother, Lucius, in 40 B.C., and then helped eradicate the Republican forces at Perusia. Octavian then sent him to Gaul, where he was the only successful agent of the triumvirate. Agrippa defeated a revolt by the Aquitanii, created a Roman site at the Ubii (near Cologne) and made a punitive raid over the Rhine. In 37 B.C., he returned to Rome in triumph and was made a consul. At that point Agrippa gave up his general's rank in the army and became an admiral. From 37 to 31 B.C., he was a tireless sailor, first creating a powerful fleet and then setting sail for war against the pirate, Sextus Pompey, the son of Pompey the Great. At Mylae and Naulochus, Sextus was defeated.
Octavian, meanwhile, was preparing for the final confrontation between his forces and those of Marc Antony. They met at ACTIUM in 31 B.C., and Agrippa commanded the successful left wing in battle. That war ended the rivalries for the throne of Rome. Upon Octavian's return and his assumption of the title of Augustus, Agrippa was instrumental in conducting the census (29-28 B.C.) and the reorganization of the Roman institutions so crucial to the subsequent imperial regimes.
After crushing rebellions in Gaul, Agrippa administered the East with the powers given to him by Augustus, which by 13 B.C. included those of censoria potestas (see CENSOR). Agrippa's eastern tenure, however, prompted a feud with Claudius MARCELLUS, Augustus' nephew, who was being advanced as the emperor's heir. A mission away from Rome to the Black Sea area, Jerusalem and pannonia eased the situation.
When Agrippa returned to Rome, he became involved in civic improvements. He built the Pantheon, constructed two aqueducts, built baths and cleaned the Roman water supply system. He also supervised the building of roads in Lugdunum (Lyon), founded colonies at Berytus and Baalbek and planned other towns.
Agrippa had three wives: the daughter of Pomponius Atticus, Caecilia; the beautiful and considerably wealthy Marcella, Augustus' niece; and finally, in 21 B.C., Julia, Augustus' daughter, who bore him three sons, Gaius, Lucius and Agrippa, and a daughter, AGRIPPINA.
Agrippa also wrote and drafted a modern map of the Empire. He died in 12 B.C., still faithful to his friend Augustus, but having outlived his usefulness to an imperial family that now sought stability. He was long honored by the Roman military as the inventor of the HARP AX, the formidable weapon that Octavian used at the battle of Actium.
¤ AGRIPPA POSTUMUS, MARCUS VIPSANIUS (12 B.C.-14 A.D.) The son of AGRIPPA and JULIA (daughter of Augustus), and the youngest of three grandsons of AUGUSTUS. Postumus was born after his father's death and grew up in the imperial household. Tacitus considered him "uncultured, with only brute strength to recommend him," and he fell afoul of Empress LIVIA, who had him banished to the island of Planasia (near Elba). In 14 A.D., when his only protector, Augustus, died and Tiberius became emperor, Agrippa was killed. There is some question as to who issued the execution order. Tacitus reported that Tiberius claimed the instructions had been left by Augustus, to be carried out at his death. The historian wrote that Tiberius and Livia were most responsible, Tiberius out of fear and Livia out of spite.
¤ AGRIPPINA (Vipsania Agrippina) (d. 20 A.D.) A daughter of Marcus AGRIPPA and for many years the wife of TIBERIUS, desperately loved by him, according to the historian Suetonius. She bore him DRUSUS (2) the Younger and was carrying another child in 12 B.C., when Tiberius was compelled by Augustus to divorce her to wed JULIA (3), Augustus's own daughter. Later, upon once seeing Vipsania in the marketplace, Tiberius began to weep. The divorce had a profound effect upon the future emperor's psychological stability, and he persecuted Vipsania's second husband, ASINIUS CALLUS, mercilessly. Vipsania died of natural causes.
¤ AGRIPPINA THE ELDER (fl. early 1st century A.D.) The daughter of Julia and Marcus AGRIPPA and the most bitter opponent of Emperor TIBERIUS and LIVIA. The feud that she conducted with them cost her most of her family, her friends, and eventually her life. Her mother was sent into exile on Pandateria after instigating one of the most sordid sex scandals in Roman history.
Married to the brilliant GERMANICUS, son of Tiberius' brother, Drusus, their union was a happy one and she bore him nine children. Germanicus and Agrippina both cherished republican ideals, a fact that did not endear them to Emperor Tiberius or to his mother Livia. Equally, Agrippina could be harsh, outspoken and easily angered. Her support of Germanicus was unflagging as he grew in stature in the Empire and as Tiberius and Livia began to cast suspicious eyes on them both.
Her devotion was often demonstrated, as during the mutiny of the German legions in 14 A.D. Agrippina stayed at Germanicus' side until the situation became so critical that it was necessary for her to retire to safety, but her departure so shamed the mutineers that the revolt quickly lost momentum. It was during this campaign that the future Emperor GAIUS "CALIGULA" was born to her, and he quickly became a favorite of the soldiers on the frontier. In another campaign against the Chatti and the Germanic tribes under Arminius, Agrippina worked to keep panic from spreading through the great Roman camp on the Rhine by personally distributing food and clothing to the inhabitants. Lucius Aelius SEJANUS, Tiberius' henchman, warned the emperor about this activity and the ensuing popularity of Agrippina and Germanicus among the people of Rome and the Empire.
In 17 A.D., Tiberius ordered Germanicus to the East, and once again Agrippina followed him. In Rome, meanwhile, supporters of Germanicus were beginning to clash openly with supporters of Tiberius and with those of Tiberius' son, Drusus. Gnaeus Piso, Tiberius' governor of Syria, was drawn into the affair on behalf of the emperor. As a result, Germanicus died under mysterious circumstances on September 26, 19 A.D., an event that turned Agrippina into an avenging fury. She had always been distant from Tiberius and Livia, but now she regarded them with open hostility. She marched in the Roman funeral of her husband and announced that Tiberius and Livia had slain their own rival. The Romans responded to her grief and to her accusations, but their support could not protect her from Tiberius' revenge.
Sejanus plotted her destruction with his usual deliberate pace, working all the time on Tiberius' animosity for her. Agrippina did not help her cause either. She begged Tiberius to give his consent for her to remarry and then scolded him for the persecution of her friends and allies. When dining with him she refused to eat some apples offered to her by the emperor, thus antagonizing Tiberius; Sejanus had warned Agrippina against accepting the apples from Tiberius' hands, knowing it would offend the emperor.
In 29, Agrippina was condemned and exiled to the island of Pandateria, where her mother Julia had perished. Tiberius personally flogged her before sending her away, putting out one of her eyes in the assault. At Pandateria she suffered at the hands of her tormentors as well and was fearful that her sons could die at Tiberius' command. Agrippina starved herself to death.
¤ AGRIPPINA THE YOUNGER (Julia Agrippina) (15-59 A.D.) The mother of Emperor NERO and, in her time, one of the most powerful women in the world. Agrippina schemed for years to gain the throne for her son, only to succeed and then witness the fading of her power.
Daughter of AGRIPPINA THE ELDER and GERMANICUS, she was married to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus in 28, giving birth in December of 37 to Lucius Domitius, later called Nero. When her husband died in 39, she and Nero were exiled by GAIUS "CALIGULA," so that he could seize their inheritance. The accession of her uncle CLAUDIUS to the throne in 41 brought them back to Rome. By 49, the aging emperor was convinced by the Freedman Pallas to marry his niece, and Agrippina supplied her own considerable charms to make his decision easier. The marriage took place and Agrippina assumed near total control of the state, running the bureaucracy and managing the distribution of gold.
For her son she provided everything possible to ensure his succession to the throne, even to the point of assuming the powerful title of Augusta in 50. SENECA was recalled to tutor Nero (an act that she was later to regret). She also developed allies among the Praetorian Guard, especially the prefect, Afranius Burrus, whom she appointed to the office. Nero was adopted by Claudius in 50, marrying the emperor's daughter OCTAVIA in 53. Finally, in 54, having outlived his usefulness, Claudius was poisoned by Agrippina so that her lifelong wish could be fulfilled.
Her power was supreme in the early days of Nero's rule. With the title Augusta she ran most of the Empire, as Nero was only 17. Nero grew resentful and tired of his mother, however, and ways were found to break her hold on him. Seneca and Burrus were Nero's allies in this effort. Nero and his advisors took every opportunity to reduce Agrippina's role in imperial affairs, and the young ruler's relationships with the freedwoman ACTE and POPPAEA, the wife of Otho, stirred her to curses. When Agrippina dared to suggest that Claudius' young son, Britannicus, might gain support, the lad was poisoned. Agrippina also saw her relationship with the Imperial Guards deteriorating. In 55, she moved out of the palace altogether.
The ruin of Nero, a process in which Agrippina had played a major role, led to her eventual destruction as well. By 59, driven by his realization of unlimited power and by his lust for Poppaea, Nero began to plot Agrippina's death. In one of the most bizarre assassination attempts recorded, Nero placed his mother on a boat designed to collapse off the coast of Baiae. Miraculously she survived, although her close friend, Acerronia, was beaten to death by the oarsmen. Swimming to shore unaided, she made her way to her estates with only a slight injury.
Perplexed by the incident, Agrippina composed a letter to Nero, to the effect that she was saved and would visit him in time. Panic set in as a result, and Nero sent the Freedman Anicetus to complete the assassination. Seeing the assembled soldiers around her bed, Agrippina thrust out her abdomen, screaming: "Strike me here!" - the place where she had carried her son. Anicetus obliged her, and Agrippina, Augusta of Rome and the mother of the emperor, was hacked to pieces, a victim of the son she had raised to the throne.
¤ ALAMANNI (or Alemanni) A group of Germanic tribes who migrated to western Europe as a result of the expansion of the eastern tribes. The Alamanni arrived at the frontier and pushed their way to the Main, Neckar and Danube regions. In 213 A.D., Emperor Caracalla inflicted a serious defeat upon the Alamanni, but their sheer numbers and the strength of their forces allowed them to expand again. Severus Alexander planned to launch a campaign against the Alamanni in 235 but was slain by his own mutineering troops before he could do so. His successor, Maximinus, crushed them near Baden. The Alamanni had a vengeance of sorts in 258, when they pierced the Alps and threatened Rome itself. This time Emperor Gallienus routed them near Milan (see MEDIOLANUM). In 357, Julian defeated them at Strasbourg, but most of Gaul came under their sway and remained so until the Franks overwhelmed the Germans in the 4th century.
¤ ALANS (or Alani) An Asian conglomeration of tribes of Sarmatian extraction, who were pushed out of their homelands in the region of Russia by the movement of the Goths, sometime in the early centuries A.D. Their subsequent migrations from the lands of the Bosporus brought them into confrontation with Parthia and the Roman-controlled province of Cappadocia. The Alans established a considerable empire along the Black Sea and traded with Greece. Continued migrations of tribes, the Huns in particular, drove them deeper into Europe, and hence into conflict with Rome. They were eventually overrun by the Vandals, sometime in the 5th century. See also SARMA-TIANS.
¤ ALARIC (c. 395-410 A.D.) King of the VISIGOTHS and a gifted ruler of the tribe that occupied Lower Moesia after the dramatic battle of Adrianople. He was an ally of Rome, under Theodosius I, who came to accept the Visigoths and to use their presence as a weapon.
Alaric, aware of the potential power in such as arrangement, decided to take advantage of the Western Empire, an effort doomed to failure. In 397, Alaric reached an accord with Constantinople and began to march west. Greece was devastated as a result, and Stilicho, the MAGISTER MILITUM and ruler of the West for Emperor HONORIUS, pursued the Visigoths but failed to destroy the foe because of his own Germanic background. He won a victory against the Visigoths at Pollentia in 402 but did not finish the war by slaying the enemy. As a result, Alaric invaded Italy and chose Rome as the target of his army.
Rome was besieged for two years (408-410), and on the third attempt to breach the city's defenses, the Visigoths were successful. Stilicho, having plotted against the East for so long, stood by as Alaric invaded Rome, and the Alamanni, Burgundians, Vandals, Suebi and Alans swept across the Rhine. He was executed for his treachery in 408, two years before Alaric's entrance into Rome.
When Rome had been ravaged, Alaric looked for a homeland for his people, not wanting to live in the metropolises they had destroyed. He thought of Africa for a time but managed to get only to southern Italy before he died. The new king of the Visigoths, Athaulf, was unable to establish a territory, and the Visigoths were forced to accept a reduced status in Spain.
¤ ALAVIUS See FRITIGERN.
¤ ALESIA Site in east-central Gaul of the famous military confrontation between Julius CAESAR and the noted Gallic chieftain VERCINGETORIX. In January 52 B.C., Caesar hurried from Rome to the troublesome province of Gaul, where Vercingetorix commanded the Averni and others in the most serious rebellion that Rome had ever faced in a nearby province. Caesar immediately seized the initiative, sending his lieutenant Labienus orders to do what he could in the northern territories. Caesar tried to extinguish the revolt, but the generally unsuccessful attempts at Avaricum and Gergovia convinced him to recall Labienus and to face Vercingetorix with all of his troops on hand.
His lieutenant joined him at Agendicum, and Caesar set out to find his foe in late June or early July. A brief battle ensued, but the Gauls were driven under Vercingetorix into the city of Alesia (modern Alise), forcing out the women and children to make room for his considerable army of about 60,000 men. Caesar pursued the enemy, built massive siege works and began the battle of Alesia.
With siege battlements of approximately 14 miles in circumference, Caesar and his 45,000 men (mostly in legions but including cavalry of Germanic mercenaries and auxiliaries) prepared to withstand Vercingetorix's attempt to break out of the city. The entrapped Gauls, however, were soon joined by a huge relief army numbering from 100,000 to 250,000 men (sources vary as to the actual number). Caesar decided to rely upon his formidable position, the strength of his siege walls, and upon the iron will of his legions. In three desperate Gallic attacks all of these assets would be tested.
The first assault was an overall onslaught against Caesar's position that was bloodily repulsed. While his outside forces reorganized, Vercingetorix tried to break out himself but failed. Finally, a third assault was attempted, but the Romans broke the impetus of the Gauls and sent them packing in disarray.
Vercingetorix was too shrewd to believe falsely that he or his people could win against Caesar. Alesia surrendered, and the Gallic chieftain was taken to Rome and later executed in 46 B.C. Caesar then faced a demoralized enemy in the province and was able to pacify the region.
¤ ALEXANDER, DOMITIUS (d. 311 A.D.) The prefect of Africa in 308, involved at the center of a revolt against the ruler of Italy, the usurper MAXENTIUS. This emperor, outlawed by the tetrarchy, controlled Italy and Africa, but Maxentius' deteriorating political position gave hope to the provinces outside of his immediate reach. Domitius Alexander rose up and declared himself the ruler of Africa. His corn supply cut off and famine breaking out in Rome, in 311 Maxentius dispatched Rufus Volusianus, the prefect of the Guard, to Africa with several cohorts of Praetorians. Alexander was strangled, Carthage was once more destroyed and the revolt was ruthlessly suppressed.
¤ ALEXANDER OF COTIAEON (fl. 2nd century A.D.) One of the great scholastic minds of his age, a Homeric expert, grammarian and well-known teacher whose guidance of students was free of vanity and pedantry. He tutored MARCUS AURELIUS, influencing both his thinking and his style. The emperor wrote in his Meditations that he learned "From Alexander, the grammarian, to refrain from fault-finding, and not in a reproachful way to chide those who uttered any barbarous or solecistic or strange-sounding expression . . ." Among Alexander's many students, the most noteworthy was ARISTIDES, the rhetorician. The faithful student sent a long, laudatory letter to the people of Cotiaeon upon the occasion of Alexander's death, talking of his goodness, generosity and patronage.
¤ ALEXANDER OF SELEUCIA (fl. 2nd century A.D.) Sophist, platonic expert and the head of Marcus Aurelius' Greek secretariat during the last part of his reign. Alexander was born in Seleucia and became one of the Empire's leading Platonists, for which he received the name Pelo-plato, the "clay Plato." His gift for words brought him to the attention of Emperor Antoninus Pius. Admiring him also, Marcus Aurelius summoned Alexander during the MARCOMANNIC WARS (166-175, 177-180 A.D.) and sent him to the Danube frontier, where he was given the post of secretary. His time was well rewarded by Herodes Atticus, the tutor and powerful advisor to the emperor. Alexander died at his post but was mentioned in the works of the writer Philostratus and by the emperor in his Meditations.
¤ ALEXANDRIA The city in Egypt founded by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C.; by the 2nd century B.C., Alexandria was a rival of Rome in prosperity and in trade connections, resting as it did on a centrally convenient location that served as a meeting place between the Eastern and Western worlds. Further, the city emerged culturally under the Ptolemies as a center for intellectual achievement. The Great Library of Egypt was located in Alexandria, and the metropolis was inhabitated by Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, Syrians, Africans and large groups of Jews.
Ptolemy X, king of Egypt, came to the realization in 80 B.C. that any prolonged resistance to Rome would be futile and requested incorporation into the provincial system. Troubles seemed to haunt the city ever after. King Ptolemy XIII, desiring the sole kingship, feuded with his sister, CLEOPATRA; and Pompey the Great, fleeing to Alexandria in 48 B.C., drew Julius Caesar into the struggle. Caesar audaciously tried to hold the city against an Egyptian army led by Achillas and Ptolemy and joined by irate Alexandrians.
Augustus subjected the city to Roman control when he become emperor in 27 B.C.; unlike most provinces, strict laws were maintained. A prefect was placed over the territory, with his central administrative office in Alexandria. A large contingent of Roman troops were stationed in the city, because of the continued unrest in the streets. No city council existed, although the magistrates were appointed from the local population, and certain ethnic groups, such as the Jews, maintained private societies.
Social disorder remained a constant factor, but in 200 A.D. Emperor Septimius Severus decreed the creation of city councils. For the rest of the Roman period Alexandria progressed toward full municipalization to match the rest of the province and the Empire. But the prefect never lost control, and Roman garrisons were always alert to trouble.
That Alexandria was difficult was apparent to Julius Caesar: When the local citizens were not fighting Romans they were feuding among themselves. The Jewish population was a special victim of violent attacks; in 41, during a visit by King Herod Agrippa, riots broke out in protest against the Jews. In 66, Tiberius Julius Alexander, the prefect, committed two entire legions to quelling street turmoil; over 50,000 people died in the ensuing confrontations. More riots were recorded in 116, 154 and 172, and Emperor Caracalla slaughtered thousands in 215. Another rebellion broke out during the reign of Aurelian, probably in 272.
Unrest and seething hatred were a result of racial strife, but the intellectual environment of the city also encouraged philosophical and religious upheaval. Christianity spread quickly here, aided by writers and mystics of the time. By the 2nd century A.D., and in the early 3rd century, according to Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, the Christian community was well founded. In time, persecution arrived in the city, and many writers, such as Origen and Dionysius of Alexandria, were directly touched by the imperial attempt to liquidate an increasingly troublesome sect. Under the Late Empire, the Alexandrian Church was powerful and existed on a par with those of Antioch, Constantinople and even Rome. The bishops appointed and consecrated their assistants in Alexandria, which brought about the jealousy of Constantinople. Christianity survived, and the religion prospered until the coming of Islam into the region.
The envy of Constantinople was understandable. Alexandria was the jewel of Egypt, and when Diocletian reorganized the Empire c. 295, the city was the seat of the comes Aegypti, the praefectus annonae and most of the other magistrates and officials. The trade that centered in and passed through Alexandria was maintained and remained constant until the Moslems reoriented its economic focus.
Alexandria was planned by the architect Deinocrates and then by Cleomenes of Naucratis. Situated on the extreme western end of the Nile Delta, the city contained a huge harbor and was flanked by the sea and by Lake Mareotis. A bridge called the heptastadium connected the mainland with the island of Pharos, with its mighty lighthouse. This construction created two harbors, the smaller Eunostos and the Great Harbor, corresponding to the city sections of Rhacotis and Bruchion.
Although little evidence remains of the actual city plan, some ancient locations can be found. These include the palace, with its own royal harbor, and, most importantly, the museum and library, which reportedly contained all available knowledge of the ancient world, and which was destroyed by Julius Caesar. The Jewish Quarter was in the far eastern part of the city, just within the walls. A little southeast of the Jewish section were the stadium, theater and the Dicasterium, or Hall of Justice. The west possessed only two notable edifices, the Temple of Serapis and the Canopic Gate. See also ALEXANDRIA, BATTLE OF.
¤ ALEXANDRIA, BATTLE OF The military confrontation in the Egyptian capital between the forces of Ptolemy XIII and the Romans under the command of Julius Caesar. Following the battle of PHARSALUS in Thessaly on August 9, 48 B.C., the defeated Pompey the Great fled to Egypt, where he was treacherously murdered. Julius Caesar, in hot pursuit, arrived in Alexandria with only 4,000 men. There he became hopelessly embroiled in the dynastic dispute between Cleopatra and her brother, King Ptolemy XIII. Caesar sided with Cleopatra and subsequently found himself besieged by an army of over 20,000 Egyptians under the command of the Egyptian General Achillas.
With his men, Caesar faced one of the most desperate battles of his career. From late August of 48 B.C. to February of 47, the Romans fought a complicated series of engagements but proved victorious because of luck and the arrival of reinforcements from across the dying Republic. The Roman defenses extended only to the section of Alexandria that contained the royal palace. Various attempts were made to break the perimeters, and a large Egyptian fleet of 72 ships menaced Caesar from the sea. He set fire to these vessels, which inadvertently resulted in the burning of the Great Library. His position remained precarious.
With a small fleet Caesar tried to extend his influence, but the presence of another Alexandrian fleet prevented this. After two more bitter battles a stalemate existed. Caesar took the offensive and captured the island of Pharos. (Achillas, no longer in command of the Egyptian troops, had deserted to Cleopatra's sister, Arsinoe, who poisoned him.) Caesar then assaulted the heptastadium, connecting Pharos and the mainland, but was beaten back with severe losses, having to swim for his life at one point.
By January victory seemed improbable, but news arrived that a large force of approximately 20,000 men had come from the northeastern provinces, under the command of the mercenary, Mithridates of Pergamum. Caesar joined the new forces, leaving a detachment in Alexandria. In February 47 B.C., the battle of the Nile was won by the Romans and the mercenaries, and Caesar returned to the city in triumph, thus ending the siege. He had a free hand in Egypt from that point onward.
¤ ALEXANDRIA, LIBRARY OF One of the greatest and most legendary libraries in history, which reportedly contained the sum of ancient Egypt's knowledge and lore. It was founded sometime after the birth of the Egyptian seaport of ALEXANDRIA in the 4th century B.C. and soon became an intellectual and scientific center for the ancient world. From all over the Mediterranean, scholars and scientists traveled to Alexandria to study its vast collection of books on astronomy, medicine, geography, biology, mathematics, architecture, philosophy and literature. Virtually every famous arcane or notable volume was stored on its shelves, available for research or reading. How many scrolls were available is difficult to determine (perhaps from 100,000-700,000), as is the exact design of the building itself. The library was located near the harbor and was reputed to have been beautiful, with columns, gardens, laboratories and study areas.
The choice of the harbor location was deemed beneficial, but such a site placed the institution in peril when Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria in 48 B.C. Facing a desperate struggle with the Egyptians, Caesar's defensive tactics caused a major fire in the harbor. The library was struck by flames and the scrolls vanished. Dio commented only that the institution contained many excellent books, a typical view given the prevailing ignorance concerning the severity of the loss. Few scrolls survived the disaster. Those saved were destroyed some 400 years later, when the Christians of Alexandria devastated all pagan cultural effects. See also CHRISTIANITY; CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA; PAGANISM.
¤ ALLECTUS (fl. late 3rd century A.D.) A rationalis or minister of finance to the usurper CARAUSIUS. In 293, his ambitions led him to assassinate his master and seize power for himself in Britain and in some provinces of Gaul. Allectus was apparently a gifted soldier and sailor, and his rule lasted for three turbulent years. Sometime around 295-296, Constantius I (Chlorus) resolved to end the usurpation of power and set sail with two fleets to Britain, commanding one fleet and entrusting the other to Praetorian Prefect Asclepiodotus. After losing his enemy in a fog, Allectus disembarked his fleet and prepared for battle. Near Hampshire, Asclepiodotus fought and routed Allectus, and shortly thereafter Allectus was killed. Constantius entered London and thus found a power base for himself and his SON, CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. See also BRITANNIA (1); GALLIA.
¤ ALLOBROGES A tribe in the province of GALLIA NARBONENSIS (now southern France). This region was annexed early by the Romans. The inhabitants resisted the overtures of the Gallic chieftain vercingetorix when he led a Gallic revolt and were rewarded for their loyalty to Rome. Their capital was Vienne, and Gallia Narbonensis became the birthplace of such great Roman figures as the orator Domitius Afer, the consul Valerius Asiaticus and Emperor Antoninus Pius.
¤ ALYPIUS Bishop of Tagaste and a close friend to St. Augustine; the two visited Boniface in 422 A.D. to convince him to remain active in the defense of the West. Alypius was also noted for his sensitive nature and devout Christianity.
¤ AMANDUS AND AELIANUS Imperial aspirants from the bagaudae tribe. In 286 A.D., these two led a revolt against Rome, citing the barbarian invasions of their lands and the crushing Roman tax system. Diocletian, the newly crowned emperor, sent his trusted aide Maximian to crush the rebellion. The Bagaudae were easily subdued, and Amandus and Aelianus faded from history.
¤ AMASEIA (or Amasia) A town in GALATIA (later CAPPADOCIA) that served for centuries as the capital of the kings of Pontus. Pompey reorganized the city and used it as an administrative center that survived until the time of Augustus, whose new provincial system made it a part of Galatia. As the east became accessible, Amaseia grew in economic importance. The city was also known for its deliberate and wanton cruelty to Christians during the periods of persecution.
¤ AMATHUS City beyond the Jordan River, near Gadara. In 100 B.C., Amathus was captured by Jannaeus, also called Alexander, who was aspiring to the throne of Palestine. Pompey the Great reconquered all of the area c. 63 B.C., and in 57 B.C. Proconsul Galienus broke up Palestine. Amathus, like Jericho and Jerusalem, was a capital for one of five newly created districts.
¤ AMBIORIX (d. after 54 B.C.) King of the Eburones and an opponent of Rome who attacked Julius Caesar's army in 54 B.C. The Romans were spread out in a series of winter camps in Gaul (see GALLIA) when the Eburones rose in revolt. Ambiorix, their king, was a dubious military strategist but a convincing liar. He lured the Roman legate, Titurius Sabinus, to his destruction at Aduatuca but lost the opportunity to exploit that victory by failing to crush Q. Cicero and his Roman command. Caesar recovered and routed the combined enemy near the Sabis. Ambiorix escaped but was soon overshadowed by another Gallic leader, VERCINGETORIX. Caesar mentioned Ambiorix in the Gallic Wars.
¤ AMBROSE (339-397 A.D.) A Christian bishop and theologian, and the first Christian prelate to have been born in the faith. Ambrose was the son of a Praetorian prefect of Gaul and received a thorough education in Roman law. He served as the governor of Liguria and in 374 was called to become the bishop of Milan. Baptized formally, Ambrose set about enforcing orthodoxy within the church. Virginity and the Virgin Mary were important concepts to him, and he wrote a number of treatises on the subject, including: On Virginity, To Sister Marcellina on Virginity and On Widows. Most important to Ambrose, however, was the war within the church against heresy, in particular, against ARIANISM. In 381, at the Council of Aquileia, he had the Arian bishops removed. He then wrote his two major works, On Faith and On the Holy Spirit, both of which attacked Arianism by defending the creed and the orthodox notions established in the Nicene system.
Temporally, Ambrose was a figure of tremendous power, epitomizing the degree to which the church had come to hold sway over the Empire. In Milan, which many emperors used as a court, the bishop served officially as the imperial chaplain but unofficially as the advisor. Because of his following, he posed a threat to Valentinian I, Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius. He put to use the legal and bureaucratic system of the Empire, not for himself but for the church and its policies. Through his influence paganism was violently opposed. A synagogue in Callinicum was burned to the ground, and when the Empress Justina proposed that a church be given to the Arians, Ambrose and his followers took possession of it, refusing to yield until the empress retreated.
His greatest achievement came in 382, when he convinced Gratian to remove from the Senate the Altar of Victory and then opposed the attempts of the influential Senator Symmachus to have it returned. In 390, when the Emperor Theodosius, angered by unrest in Thessalonica, massacred 7,000 people, Ambrose, as the bishop of Milan, railed against him. The emperor was forced to beg for forgiveness. Ambrose is ranked with Augustine, his greatest student, Gregory and Jerome as one of the most important fathers of the Christian Church. See also CHRISTIANITY.
¤ AMICI PRINCIPIS The Roman concept of the "friends of the ruler," which was one of the foundations for the growth in power of the PREFECT OF THE PRAETORIAN GUARD into the 3rd century. In choosing the prefect (the commander of the bodyguard and, ostensibly, the most direct threat to his person), the emperor invariably chose someone he could trust and on whom he could rely. Very often the person given the post was a reflection of the princeps. Great emperors such as Hadrian and Constantine were served by remarkable and able officials, such as Marcius Turbo and Asclepiodotus, respectively. Emperors like Nero or the aged Tiberius allowed venal officers to rise to power, men such as Tigellinus (Nero's choice) and Sejanus (serving Tiberius).
The concept extended the power of the Praetorian prefecture in ways that went beyond mere affiliation with the emperor. For example, it was a common practice for a ruler to hand to his most trusted servant any tasks that were too vast, too time consuming or too illegal for personal completion. In this way the prefects, by the 3rd century, were controllers of the imperial finances, administration and taxation, all under the guise of being the emperor's "friend."
¤ AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS (c. 330-395 A.D.) One of the foremost historians of Rome, a thorough and prolific writer who detailed the active years of the Empire from about 100 A.D. to about 378, in his massive History. Of a military background, Ammianus served in the army of the Eastern general, Ursicinus, eventually moving to Gaul, where he encountered the future emperor, Julian, whose life was to form a large part of his extant histories. In 363, he accompanied Emperor Julian against Persia, after which he left the army.
After traveling through Greece, Syria, Egypt and Palestine, Ammianus came to Rome, between 378 and 383. It was here that he began to write the great history that was described by Edward Gibbon in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as being "mixed with the narrative of public events a lively representation of the scenes with which he was familiarly conversant." The historian obviously intended to pick up where Tacitus left off, but unfortunately much of his work was lost. Only those writings detailing the times of Constantine II (partly), Julian, Jovian, Valentinian I and Valens have been preserved, roughly from 350 to 378.
A pagan like his idol Emperor Julian, he admired Christianity and accepted its growing place in Roman society and in the wider context of history.
¤ AMPIUS, T. BALBUS (fl. 1st century B.C.) Roman tribune involved in the political struggles of the FIRST TRIUMVIRATE. Of Spanish descent, he gained the rank of citizen through the assistance of the consul of Pompey. Ampius was a remarkable politician, gliding through the chaotic environment of civil-war-torn, Republican Rome. He served Pompey in Spain and then Caesar in Rome, becoming his agent during the GALLIC WARS. Put on trial for various offenses, he was saved by Pompey, Crassus and Cicero. The officer placed his hopes on Caesar's campaigns and fought for his cause with his associate, C. Oppius.
¤ ANDALUSIA Part of southern Spain that became a vital center of Roman trade and was traversed heavily by marauding barbarian hordes entering Africa via Gibraltar. By 19 B.C., the entire area had been Romanized to the extent that the majority of its inhabitants spoke Latin and lived in the Roman style. Andalusia was influenced heavily by trade, and Italian merchants were common. Because of its fertility, the area produced large quantities of agricultural goods for Rome. The Roman name for the region was Baetica. See HISPANIA.
¤ ANICETUS (fl. 1st century A.D.) A freedman and admiral during the reign of Nero; he was the prime mover in the murder of AGRIPPINA THE YOUNGER. Anicetus was typical of the FREEDMEN of the Early Empire. Ambitious, thoroughly unprincipled and dangerous, he came to Nero's attention by volunteering to complete the assassination of Nero's mother, Agrippina, after a previous attempt had failed.
In 55 A.D., Nero sought an end to Agrippina's power and influence. While at the theater, Nero and his tutor Seneca saw a ship split apart as part of a circus act. Nero resolved to build an exact duplicate, so that his mother would drown while sailing on it. Anicetus was probably the supervisor of the ship's construction. When the bizarre contraption failed to achieve its purpose, due to Agrippina's luck and will to survive, Nero searched for an assassin to finish the dread task. Anicetus is recorded by Tacitus as volunteering to accomplish the deed. He did so, murdering the imperial mother in 59 A.D. with a sword thrust to her womb.
Anicetus was given command of the fleet at Misenum as a reward but performed one last chore for Nero. In 62, while trying to rid himself of his wife OCTAVIA, Nero asked Anicetus to plead guilty to having had an affair with her. Anicetus accepted the role, providing testimony that went far beyond what was required. The freedman was found guilty, exiled to Sardinia and provided with every possible comfort. He died there of old age. Octavia was exiled to Pandateria, where she died after terrible suffering.
¤ ANNALISTS The earliest Roman historians, who recorded events in a prose style that influenced those who followed in this literary field. Records of magistrates, wars and events of religious importance began to appear after the 4th century B.C., and in a variety of forms. Most were written by antiquarians who were anxious to piece together the lives or works of their predecessors. For example, DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS, historian of the late 1st century B.C., analyzed Fabius Pieter, who lived a century before. These early writers were heavily influenced by their Hellenic counterparts, and adaptation of the Greek style is apparent.
Early works of the Annalists centered on legends and speculative antiquarian history and were often feeble when compared to the prodigious research of later writers, such as the historian Coelius Antipater, who chronicled the Second Punic War. But the later Annalists could consult actual records, and their works, from the Sullan archivists to LIVY in the 1st century B.C., were rich in evidence. SALLUST, for example, took the Annalist Sisennus' work on the civil wars of 91 to 82 B.C. and incorporated large portions of it into his own Histories in the late 1st century B.C.
It is debatable as to how thoroughly researched many of these works were. Each must be examined individually. Aelius Tubero is reliable, as is Licinius Macer. Gradually the influences became standardized, and Livy helped to formalize a style that was identifiable in the work of later historians, especially TACITUS.
¤ ANNA PERENA A goddess who was the focus of a great festival on the 15th of March each year. She was the deity of the new year, to whom the Romans prayed and offered sacrifices, especially at the shrines dedicated to her on the Via Flamina. The Romans asked that the year would progress safely and abundantly. See also GODS AND GODDESSES OF ROME.
¤ ANNIUS VERUS, MARCUS (fl. early 2nd century A.D.) Grandfather of Emperor MARCUS AURELIUS; a highly successful political figure of the late 1st and early 2nd centuries A.D., who held a consulship under Domitian but was honored twice more with the post, in 121 and 126. Annius Verus enrolled in the Patrician class with the sponsorship of Vespasian and Titus and was later prefect of the city. His son of the same name embarked upon a similar career but died while still a praetor. Thus Verus' grandson, Marcus, passed into his care and received the education that led to his remarkable character and intellect.
¤ ANNONA The Roman supply of corn, a resource that received administrative priority in all eras of the state. The capacity to feed the population of Rome was a source of constant anxiety to the emperors, who recognized that a famine, even of short duration, could cause severe unrest and military intervention.
Augustus, acknowledging the need to maintain control over the distribution of the annona, named a praefectus annonae, who eventually became a tremendously powerful figure. In previous eras the annona was tended by the AEDILE. Augustus created a cura annonae in 22 B.C., after a famine. Tiberius, according to Tacitus, paid careful attention to its maintenance, but Claudius, although giving incentives to suppliers, allowed the famine stock to be reduced to a mere 15 days. Trajan, accepting the need to extend the bureaucracy that ran it, placed the annona into the hands of a fiscus frumentarius.
Egypt and Africa were the principal sources of the corn supply, and every measure was taken to protect them. In 69 A.D., Vespasian withheld the boats needed to feed Rome, as leverage while occupying Egypt; and in 310 A.D., Maxentius sent the Guard itself to Africa to ensure that the grain would flow freely.
¤ ANTHEMIUS (1) (fl. early 5th century A.D.) Prefect of the PRAETORIAN GUARD during the reign of Theodosius II (408-450) and a loyal servant of the previous emperor of the East, Arcadius. On the death of the old ruler in 408, the seven-year-old Theodosius became emperor. Fearing chaos, Anthemius stepped in to serve as regent for the next seven years, becoming a judicious master of CONSTANTINOPLE. His service helped to preserve the power of the East at a time when the West was sinking fast into turmoil. Anthemius repelled the Huns under King Uldine, repaired relations with the West, fortified the cities of IIlyricum to act as a bulwark against invasion, and ordered a fleet of 250 ships built as a protective force on the Danube. Most importantly, Anthemius rebuilt, strengthened and improved the walls of Constantinople. Stretching for miles, from the Golden Gate to the promontory of the city, the Wall of Theodosius was a defensive perimeter of considerable strength, and Anthemius was singularly responsible for this achievement.
As was typical of the increasing intrigue at the Byzantine court, Anthemius found himself the victim of plots. Aelia PULCHERIA, Theodosius' older sister (by two years), was named regent in 414, and Anthemius was replaced by another prefect, Aurelianus.
¤ ANTHEMIUS (2) (fl. mid-5th century A.D.) Emperor of the West (467-472). In 467, it was widely accepted that only strict cooperation between the Eastern and Western empires could preserve Roman civilization. After Emperor Libius Severus died, the capital at Ravenna went for months without an emperor. Pope Leo I, taking matters into his own hands, chose Anthemius. At first this seemed to be a very good decision. He came from a noble family, had served in the region of Thrace as its comes, was a magister militum from 454 to 467 and was consul in 455. Further, RICIMER, the power in the West, who watched emperors rise and fall with regularity, became his son-in-law, when he married Anthemius' daughter, Alypia.
With a strong military background (he had defeated both the Huns and the Ostrogoths in 459-467), it was believed that Anthemius was a ruler who could stave off the rapid decline of the West. Hopes were dashed almost immediately as the supposed heir of the great Theodosian line attempted an African expedition of overly grandiose proportions against the powerful king of the Vandals, GEISERIC. A large fleet was organized and launched in 468 under combined leadership. The effort was a debacle, and Anthemius received the first of numerous defeats.
King EURIC of the Visigoths in Gaul next came to Anthemius' attention, and Ricimer allowed this campaign to be conducted mainly by the emperor's son, Anthemiolus. Euric easily crushed him near the Rhone, and Anthemius held Ricimer accountable. In 472, the magister militum besieged Anthemius and his Visigoth ally, Bilimes, in Rome. Ricimer intended to play kingmaker again, and with his help Olybrius became emperor, a ruler desired by the Vandals as well. The defense of the city was courageous, but after Bilimes was killed, the city fell. Legend has it that Anthemius tried to flee dressed as a beggar but was recognized and beheaded.
¤ ANTINOPOLIS A city in Egypt, founded on October 30, 130 A.D., by a decree of Emperor HADRIAN. The tremendous scope and vision of Hadrian's mind had been influenced by Eastern thought, and Antinopolis was a living example of this. It was decreed into existence when Antinous, Hadrian's favorite court official, was drowned in the Nile while taking part in an imperial tour. Antinopolis was the official's memorial. Its laws were derived from Greek traditions, and many of the first settlers were Greek. Lying across the Nile from Hermopolis, the city in time became racially mixed, as Egyptians from the Faiyum region settled in its districts.
¤ ANTINOUS (d. 130 A.D.) Lover and confidant of Emperor HADRIAN. In 130, while traveling through Egypt with the emperor, the young, handsome courtier drowned in the Nile River. He was so mourned by the emperor that Hadrian commanded a series of cultic ceremonies throughout the East. Antinous became Pan, Hermes and the Greek ideal for beauty and virility in these rituals. The city of ANTINOPOLIS, across the river from Hermopolis, was erected in his honor. Antinous was a Bithynian, originally from the city of Claudiopolis.
¤ ANTIOCH (1) Resting on the left bank of the Orontes, about 20 miles upriver from the Mediterranean Sea, Antioch served as the capital of the Seleucid Empire (see SELEUCIA) in Syria for over 200 years, and then became a major metropolis under Rome's rule, which was bitterly disputed for centuries. Sometime around 300 B.C., Seleucus Nicator chose a fertile valley wherein to build his great city, an economic center named after his father, Antiochus. With a geographical situation similar to Alexandria, and its position on the great trade routes, Antioch became a powerful commercial center and a tempting target for Rome.
In 64 B.C., POMPEY THE GREAT seized the city, which was weakened as a result of the broader Seleucid decline. The new province of SYRIA was created, and Antioch made its capital. Around 47 B.C., Julius Caesar gave Antioch its own municipal standing. Subsequently, the city was a base of operations for the Roman campaigns against Parthia. In 37 B.C., Antony prepared for his abortive Parthian campaign there, and the city was marked by an increasing administrative and martial presence because of the threat posed by the eastern empires.
Augustus stationed at least one legion in the city, which kept the peace and acted as a reserve for the troops on patrol in the north of the province. Emperor Tiberius furthered the Roman presence by instituting a considerable building program of theaters and temples. By 19 A.D. the general Germanicus was centering his expeditions of the East in the city, and eventually died there.
As colonization and trade with the East increased, Antioch grew in both economic vitality and strategic importance. The Syrians responded wholeheartedly, while life in the Syrian provinces was held by the legions to be the easiest and most pleasant tour of duty in the Empire. The quality of life in Antioch demonstrated imperial favor and confidence in the city's future, to the point that an imperial mint was established there.
Economic wealth, much like that experienced in Alexandria, encouraged migration and education. People from all over the East came to its gates, causing strife and intellectual achievement to emerge simultaneously. Greeks, Syrians, Italians, Persians and Jews lived in Antioch, and bitter feuds erupted as a result. When troubles began in Egypt between the Jews and Greeks c. 40 A.D., similar problems appeared in Antioch as well. Antioch was unmatched in the Eastern Empire for the quality and quantity of its schools, philosophers and writers. Various philosophies not only flourished there but also gave birth to leaders and innovators, including the JURISTS Ulpian and Papinian; Antiochus of Ascalon; the historian Posidonius of Apamea; St. John Chrysostom; the orator and rhetorician Libanius; and the writer and orator Pronto of Emesa.
Religiously, Antioch, like Syria, was a mix of ancient Chaldean, Greek, Roman and Semitic creeds. But within a short time Christianity seriously impacted upon it; possibly prompted by the appearance of St. Paul, use of the word "Christian" was reported in the city in the 1st century A.D.'s Acts of the Apostles. By the 4th century, Antioch was ranked with Rome, Constantinople and Alexandria as a seat of one of the four patriarchs of the Christian Church.
A city so seemingly blessed was also beset with troubles. In 115 A.D., Antioch was virtually destroyed in one of the worst earthquakes recorded in the ancient world. Emperor Trajan was visiting at the time but miraculously escaped injury. The historian Dio noted that while many cities suffered, Antioch was the most damaged.
In 194 A.D., after Emperor Septimius Severus defeated the Antioch-supported Emperor Pescennius Niger at the battle of Issus, the city was reduced in status, but was eventually reinstated. Emperor Caracalla based his Parthian campaign of 215 there, and Elegabalus defeated the briefly reigning Macrinus outside of the city walls.
Sometime around 256, the weakness of Rome in Syria was demonstrated by the capture of Antioch by Shapur I, the king of Persia. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus and orator Libanius were both from Antioch and wrote of the capture, stating that it came so quickly that the people were not even aware of it. An actor in a theater stopped his performance and announced to the audience that unless he was dreaming the Persians were present. Such invasions, however, did not prevent the continued flowering of the city. Because of its trade connections and its linen industry, Antioch remained a vital center until late in the history of the Empire and the Byzantine Empire.
Antioch, like Syria in general, is remarkably well-preserved archaeologically, and much information is extant as to its design, structure and pattern of architectural development. Like Alexandria, the city was both a port and a target for land-based caravans. The port of Seleucia on the Mediterranean Sea, near the mouth of the Orontes, handled the sea trade, while the city itself accommodated trade from the desert areas. Antioch fronted the wide stretches of the Syrian landscape leading eastward to the Euphrates River and thence into Parthia. To the south lay the trading centers of Damascus, Tyre, Berytus and Judaea, while to the north were Cilicia and the provinces of Asia Minor.
Antioch was advanced for its time. Sewers with organized pipe systems were accompanied by aqueducts. Architecturally, the rest of Syria looked to Antioch to establish the styles for their own regions, and Greek, Oriental and Roman designs all flourished. Originally, Antioch had been erected by the Seleucids to serve as a great city and numerous temples and palaces were built, most of which were eventually supplanted by Greek and Roman structures. However, Oriental designs continued to prevail, as the Eastern Church, influenced by its Greek foundations and the tastes of Constantinople, reigned supreme in the construction of temples and churches.
¤ ANTIOCH (2) A Roman colony built by Augustus circa 19 B.C. In 25 B.C., Amyntas, the ruler of Galatia who had been granted his kingdom by Marc Antony, died. The region, troubled by hillmen from Homanades and Pisidia, was immediately taken by Augustus, who wanted to stabilize the area and make it more responsive to his broadened Asian policies. To the south, near Pisidia, a community called Antioch had been founded earlier, probably by colonists from Magnesia. To populate the colony, which was given the name Caesarea Antiochus, veterans of two legions, the V and VII Gallica, were brought in. Hardy and militarily capable, these veterans helped pacify the tribes and gave the colony a solid foundation. Slowly Antioch connected itself by roads to such important cities as Iconium, Pergamum and Antioch of Syria. See also ASIA; BITHYNIA; CAPPADOCIA.
¤ ANTIOCHUS I (fl. late 1st century B.C.) The ruler of the small kingdom of COMMAGENE, situated on the Upper Euphrates River; one of the last dynastic kings of the Seleucid line, and hence one of the last potentates descended from the time of Alexander and his nation-founding generals. Around 63 B.C., the kingdom of Commagene was officially sanctioned by Pompey, who wanted to establish a buffer zone of client states along the Euphrates. Antiochus I, not a strong ruler, was placed at its head.
During Marc Antony's Parthian Campaign (36 B.C.), Antiochus was at best indifferent to the Roman cause and at worst pro-Parthian. When retreating Parthians sought sanctuary in Antiochus' city of Samosata, Antony's lieutenant, Bassus Ventidius, pursued them there. Antiochus promptly bribed Ventidius to adopt a sluggish attitude toward his task. As a result, Antony had to take up the pursuit himself. He retaliated by deposing Antiochus in favor of the king's brother, Mithridates II. Apparently Antiochus murdered an envoy sent to Augustus by Mithridates; he was brought to Rome, possibly with the full consent of his brother, and was executed in 29 B.C.
¤ ANTIOCHUS III (d. 17 A.D.) Ruler of Commagene, whose reign was more notable for its conclusion than its duration. When Antiochus III died in 17 A.D. (along with Philopater, the king of Cilicia), the nation was torn apart by internal struggles between those forces desiring independence and those hoping for a Roman occupation. Tiberius placed the area under the control of praetors. Prompted by the troubles in Commagene and Cilicia, Tiberius sent Germanicus to the East.
¤ ANTIOCHUS IV (fl. mid-lst century A.D.) King of Commagene who was granted his right to rule from GAIUS CALIGULA. For 20 years Commagene had been a part of the provincial system, but in 37 A.D. Gaius allowed Antiochus to assume the throne. Son of Antiochus III, the new king was given a share of other lands, Cilicia and Lycaonia, and also received 100 million sesterces in revenue. Gaius liked Antiochus, whom Dio called equal in tyranny to Emperor Caligula, and probably Herod Agrippa. Gaius, however, deposed Antiochus in 40 A.D., probably because the destitute emperor needed his money. Claudius reinstated Antiochus, and the grateful king aided the Romans in the Parthian war of 57 A.D.
¤ ANTIOCHUS OF ASCALON (d. 68 B.C.) A philosopher, intellectual and organizer of the New Academy in the 1st century B.C. Antiochus found the ACADEMY, the great philosophical school founded by Plato, in a state of disrepute, undone by feuds and academic rivalries. Taking over the administration of the institution for the Skeptic Philo (c. 78 B.C.), he began to energize the sagging Academy by steering it away from the traditional skeptical philosophy by which it had been founded. This intellectual broadening allowed the institution to flourish, and other great intellectuals were drawn to it. CICERO and his contemporaries came to the Academy and brought with them a spirit of healthy debate and rivalry that stimulated the various schools and provided a rich heritage of knowledge and thought. Cicero adhered to the skeptical viewpoint and supported Philo, while Antiochus stuck to his own convictions.
¤ ANTIPATER OF IDUMAEA (fl. mid-lst century B.C.) Minister, politician and power broker in PALESTINE and JUDAEA during the period of Aristobulus, Hyrcanus and Pompey the Great, and father of Herod the Great, the future King of Judaea. The son of Antipas, the governor of Idumaea, Antipater acquired influence at the court, serving in his father's position and then becoming an advisor to Queen Alexandra Salome.
In 67 B.C., Alexandra died, leaving the kingdom to her two sons, the elder Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. Aristobulus was strong-willed and difficult while Hyrcanus was weak. Sensing a great opportunity, Antipater became the prime influence on Hyrcanus, and when the two heirs began their violent feuding, Antipater sided with Hyrcanus, although Aristobulus was the proven military commander. Antipater turned to King Aretas III of Arabia, and in 65 B.C. an Arabian army marched on Jerusalem to besiege Aristobulus. Roman legions soon arrived on the scene, under the command of Pompey's lieutenant, M. Scaurus.
Rome was the great power with whom Antipater had to deal. Following Aretas's retreat, he prodded Hyrcanus into making an appeal for kingship directly to Pompey in Damascus. Aristobulus followed suit, but he refused to submit, and Pompey seized him in the Great Temple of Jerusalem in 63 B.C. Hyrcanus was given a reduced Judaea to rule, not as king but as a prince or ethnarch. He remained high priest, and Antipater retained his position as the chief minister of state.
For the rest of his life Antipater was thus involved in the affairs of Rome. In 57 B.C., when the governor of Syria, Aulus Gabinius, broke Judaea apart, Idumaea was given to Antipater, and he later joined the governor on an expedition to restore Ptolemy XII of Egypt to his throne. The Roman Civil Wars soon followed, and Hyrcanus, through Antipater, supported Pompey. The exiled Aristobulus was rescued in Rome by Julius Caesar and sent with two legions to begin a revolt in Judaea. Fortunately for Antipater, Aristobulus was poisoned before he could achieve anything.
Julius Caesar then won the battle of Pharsalus in 48 B.C., and Antipater found a means by which he could placate the victor. He marched to Caesar's aid when the Roman was in serious trouble in Alexandria, and Caesar was grateful enough to reward Antipater with the rank of chief minister of Judaea. This provided him with Roman citizenship, with the right to collect taxes for Rome, accompanied by exemption from personal taxes and the opportunity of keeping large amounts of the Roman monies due. Antipater also placed his sons in major positions in the kingdom. One was Phasael, who governed Jerusalem, and the other was HEROD THE GREAT, then governor of Galilee.
In 44 B.C., Caesar was assassinated, and Cassius, one of the murderers, arrived in Syria demanding assistance. Antipater and Hyrcanus were compelled to assist him, and special taxes were collected, especially by Herod, to provide him with funds for his war against Antony. The Jews, however, were no longer tolerant of Antipater's pro-Roman policies, and a group of anti-Romans, led by one Malichus, staged several fiery demonstrations, which climaxed with the poisoning of Antipater himself in 43 B.C..
¤ ANTONIA (1) (36 B.C.-37 A.D.) Antonia epitomized the virtues of the Empire in an era of turmoil and was the mother and grandmother of two emperors. The daughter of Marc ANTONY and OCTAVIA, Antonia grew up in the care of Octavia and both loved and married DRUSUS THE ELDER, the brother of Tiberius. He died in 9 B.C., after several children were born to the couple, including CLAUDIUS and GERMANICUS and a daughter Livilla. The Lex de maritandis ordinibus of the period demanded that all widows remarry, but Augustus freed her of the requirement (see MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE) and she never remarried.
Her time was spent either in Rome or at her estate in Bauli. She was the closest friend of LIVIA, the mother of Drusus and Tiberius, was amiable to Tiberius and generally tried to help keep order in the divided and resentful environment in which Augustus ruled. When Tiberius inherited the throne, however, the conflicts between Antonia's son Germanicus (and his wife AGRIPPINA THE ELDER) and Tiberius forced her to perform the role of mediator. In
19 A.D., Germanicus died, and Antonia was conspicuously absent during most of the mourning rites. Subsequently she sided with Tiberius and Livia against Agrippina, and Antonia watched impassively as the party of Germanicus was expunged. She did view with growing alarm the increasing power of Tiberius' main executioner, Lucius Aelius SEJANUS, the prefect of the Praetorian Guard, who earned Antonia's enmity by scheming for the throne. In the process of trying to fulfill his ambitions, he murdered Drusus the Younger (see DRUSUS [3]), Tiberius' son and the husband of Livilla.
By 31 A.D., Sejanus had few overt opponents. Antonia, however, sent Tiberius a letter of warning, delivered by her most trusted freedman, PALLAS. Tiberius believed the warning and began the intrigue necessary to bring Sejanus into custody. The prefect died as a result of his crimes, but the episode uncovered yet another schemer within the royal family. Apicata, the former wife of Sejanus, implicated Livilla, who had been Sejanus's mistress, in the murder of Drusus the Younger. Tiberius did not move against Livilla, partly out of respect for Antonia. Dio reported that Antonia imprisoned Livilla, who either starved to death or killed herself because she knew there was no escape from that formidable jailer.
Late in Antonia's life, after Livia's death, her orphaned grandchildren GAIUS CALIGULA and DRUSILLA were in her custody. She entertained several eastern client princes, including Herod AGRIPPA i. Gaius did not forget Antonia's kindness. When elevated to the throne, he gave her the title Augusta. Antonia, however, is believed to have committed suicide.
¤ ANTONIA (2) (fl. early 1st century A.D.) Elder sister of Antonia (1), a daughter of Marc ANTONY and OCTAVIA. Although overshadowed by her sister, the elder Antonia possessed the same sense of duty and devotion, the lasting gift of their mother. She was, in her own way, responsible for placing a descendant on the throne of Rome. Her marriage to L. Domitius Ahenobarbus resulted in the birth of C. Domitius Ahenobarbus, the father of NERO.
¤ ANTONIA (3) (fl. mid-lst century A.D.) Daughter of CLAUDIUS and his second wife, Aelia Paetina.
¤ ANTONINES The dynasty that began with the reign of ANTONINUS PIUS (138 A.D.) and ended with the death of COMMODUS in 192; during this time Rome achieved the greatest heights of power, glory, material accomplishments and stability that it would ever know. Emperor HADRIAN (117-138 A.D.) actually founded the line by ensuring the adoption of Antoninus Pius and the subsequent adoption of Marcus Aurelius. The emperors involved were: Antoninus Pius (138-161); Marcus Aurelius (161-180), co-ruled with Lucius Verus (161-169); and Commodus (177-192). The dynasty ended with the assassination of Commodus. The subsequent chaos established a pattern of deterioration from which Rome never fully recovered. See individual entries for the emperors and PRAETORIAN GUARD; DIDIUS JULIANUS; PERTINAX; SEVERUS, SEPTIMIUS.
¤ ANTONINE WALL See WALL OF ANTONINUS.
¤ ANTONINIANUS A coin issued during the reign of Caracalla (211-217 A.D.) and which, after 256, became the chief silver coin of issue. In weight the Antoninianus was about one-and-one-half times that of its predecessor, the denarius, but its value was double. The coin became representative of the royal overvaluation of the older imperial coinage, for with its distribution the silver content of the coins declined by 75% and continued declining throughout subsequent years of minting. See also COINAGE; DENARIUS.
¤ ANTONINUS, ARRIUS (b. 31 A.D.) The grandfather of ANTONINUS PIUS; much praised by Pliny the Younger. Arrius served as consul in the terrible civil war year of 69 A.D. and then aided the victorious VESPASIAN by serving him in Asia. By 96, Antoninus was back in Rome, where he was counted as one of the aged but wise advisors to the short-lived NERVA.
¤ ANTONINUS PIUS (86 A.D.-161 A.D.) One of the ablest emperors of Rome. Coming to power at the death of his mentor Hadrian, Antoninus Pius ruled Rome from 138 to 161 A.D. and founded the dynasty of the ANTONINES.
Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus, called Antoninus Pius, came from a good family in Nimes, in GALLIA NARBONENSIS, now southern France. His family's consular history allowed him to serve as a quaestor and as a praetor before receiving the post of IV vir consularis, a judical office in Umbria and Etruria. Around 133-136 he served in Asia as proconsul and there earned the respect of Emperor Hadrian, who appointed him to his Consilium principis, the royal council. Antoninus Pius served faithfully and distinguished himself so that, upon the death of his heir L. Aelius Caesar, Hadrian officially adopted him - on February 25, 138 - as successor to the throne. On July 10, upon Hadrian's death, and after administering the imperial offices for a time, Antoninus became emperor.
His first act came as a surprise to the Roman Senate. He refused to order the executions of a list of men proposed for such punishment. He declared to the Senate: "I must not begin my reign with such actions." He gained the name Pius as a result, and was later also called the father of the country. Plodding, patient and administratively inclined, Antoninus ruled the Empire with a firm and steady hand. He did not allow an extravagant style at court, and he did not exhibit any great desire to conquer other lands, thus rendering his period of rule uneventful but prosperous.
Antoninus Pius restored the status of the Senate, without losing any of his imperial powers, improved and strengthened the great bureaucratic machinery of the Empire, and was a great builder, especially in Italy. Rome and its surrounding provinces were Antoninus' principle areas of concern. The Senate was given back administrative control of many areas, while Antoninus assisted towns and took on the responsibility for construction. He probably never left Italy, preferring his own estate at Lanuvium.
In matter of foreign policy, Antoninus Pius watched the frontiers and outlying Roman holdings with a cautious eye, ensuring the defense of these possessions first by peaceful means, then by administrative and finally military tactics. In Britain the Wall of Antoninus was constructed after 141. In Partian areas of influence Roman control was tightened by the creation of an Armenian kingdom. A similar situation was created along the Danube in 159, with several procuratorships being established. However, by the end of his reign, serious crises were developing in Gaul, Parthia, Dacia and Africa.
Fortunately, the far-seeing Hadrian had included a clause in his succession document that ensured strength beyond the reign of his immediate heir. Antoninus adopted the young MARCUS AURELIUS as his son. Marcus was elevated over Antoninus' two sons and given all powers to become the next emperor. Antoninus died on March 7, 161.
¤ ANTONIUS, GAIUS (d. c. 44 B.C.) Brother of Marc ANTONY; a devoted follower of Julius CAESAR. He unsuccessfully defended Curicta, an island in the Adriatic Sea, in 49 B.C., and in 44 was besieged by Brutus in Apollonia and captured by the enemy. Brutus had him executed after he tried to cause a revolt in the army on the site.
¤ ANTONIUS, IULLUS (fl. late 1st century B.C.) The son of Marc ANTONY by FULVIA. His career was considerable, as he served as a praetor in 13 B.C. and as consul in 9 B.C. Antonius married the imperial niece, Marcella, who had been divorced in 21 B.C. by Agrippa, who was planning to marry JULIA. (3). Antonius' connection to the royal household proved his undoing. In 2 B.C., he became involved with the adulterous Julia. When her indiscretions became public, he was executed by imperial decree, possibly for plotting against the throne.
¤ ANTONIUS, LUCIUS (fl. mid-lst century B.C.) A brother of Marc ANTONY, who was a supporter of his campaigns against Octavian (AUGUSTUS) in the civil war. For many years Lucius, as other members of his family, had aided Julius Caesar. He served as a quaestor in Asia until 49 B.C., when he took over as pro quaestor in charge of the entire province. After Caesar's assassination in 44 B.C., Lucius Antony joined Marc in the war against the LIBERATORS (Caesar's killers), eventually becoming consul in 41. After this period his main enemy was Octavian, against whom he organized unhappy farmers and landowners who had been dispossessed by the SECOND TRIUMVIRATE'S land grants to veterans. Octavian, seeking to stabilize the Roman political environment, pardoned Lucius in 40 and dispatched him to Spain. He served as consul, with Publius Servilus; but, in actuality, FULVIA (Marc Antony's wife) was his true ally. He received the nickname Pietas (devoted or loyal) as a result. See also PERUSINE WAR.
¤ ANTONY, MARC (Marcus Antonius) (c. 83 B.C.-30 B.C.) Triumvir, consul and imperial aspirant, Marcus Antonius was one of the most important figures from the dying days of the Republic. He was the son of Antonius Creticus, an unsuccessful admiral, and Julia. His father died early in his childhood, and P. Cornelius Lentulus raised him after marrying Julia. In 63 B.C. his adoptive father was strangled on Cicero's order for involvement in the famed Catiline Affair, an act Antony did not forget. Subsequent years proved the young Antony an insatiable womanizer and a dissipater.
In 58 or 57, he traveled to Syria, joining the army of Gabinius, where as a cavalry commander he served in Egypt and Palestine with distinction. He was in Gaul in 54 as a staff member for Julius CAESAR. This connection proved useful, for in 52, Marc Antony became a quaestor and the most vocal and dedicated of Caesar's retinue. In 49, while serving as Caesar's tribune in Rome, Antony vetoed the Senate decree stripping Caesar of his command and then joined him in Gaul. Returning to Rome, he watched over Caesar's interests during the general's Spanish campaign and then commanded the left wing of Caesar's forces at the battle of Pharsalus (48), where POMPEY THE GREAT met defeat. For his loyalty Antony was made Caesar's coconsul in 44.
Whatever plans Caesar had for Antony died with his assassination at the hands of the LIBERATORS on March 15 of that year. Antony seized the dead general's papers, read his will, gave the funeral oration and occupied Caesar's property, representing himself to the people as Caesar's heir.
Antony gained control of Cisalpine Gaul and faced the forces of BRUTUS and Caesar's assassins, who were joined by Cicero and the Roman Senate and Octavian, Caesar's heir. He was defeated in April 43, suffering setbacks at Forum Gallorum and especially at Mutina. He retreated into Gallia Narbonensis, joined by the provincial governors of the West, Plancus, Asinius Pollio and Lepidus.
The SECOND TRIUMVIRATE was established in November of 43, comprising Antony, Octavian and Lepidus. These men and their forces faced the Republicans at Philippi in 42, where the last of the Liberators fell in battle. Antony took control of the East, with plans to carry out Caesar's Parthian expeditions. He was delayed by a meeting with Cleopatra of Egypt, in Tarsus in 41. The growing rift between Antony and Octavian was furthered in the PERU-SINE WAR when Fulvia, Antony's wife, and Lucius, his brother, also opposed Octavian in the conflict.
Fulvia's death ended the dispute, and peace was made between Octavian and Antony in 40 B.C., at Brundisium; Octavian gave his sister Octavia to Antony in marriage, receiving in return Cisalpine Gaul.
The Parthian Campaign of 36 was less than successful. Antony repulsed King Phraates IV of Parthia around Phraaspa but was forced to retreat because of the heat and the cunning horsemanship of the enemy. He may have carried out the campaigns of Caesar, but he had not proven himself the equal of the murdered general - despite a victory in Armenia in 34. At the same time, Lepidus fell from the triumvirate, leaving mastery of the Roman world to only two combatants.
The East tempted Antony with dreams of unlimited power, and he succumbed completely. Cleopatra and the wealth of Egypt became his principal ally, and Antony drifted further from Rome. A split with Octavian came in 33, followed by a divorce from Octavia. Sensing that universal support would be crucial, Octavian swayed public opinion in Rome by publishing Antony's will, which left large gifts to his illegitimate children by Cleopatra. Antony was stripped of his authority by the Senate, and war was declared upon Cleopatra.
The war climaxed at ACTIUM, off the west coast of Greece, on September 2, 31 B.C. It proved a disaster for Antony. His personal courage and determination were not enough to overcome the precision of Octavian's fleet or the halfhearted support of the Romans who served Antony's cause. Following the battle he joined Cleopatra in Alexandria, and when Octavian's legions approached the city in August of 30, the two killed themselves.
¤ ANTONY ("St. Anthony") (c. 251-356 A.D.) Hermit, ascetic and influential mystic of the early church. Beginning circa 269, he swore himself to an ascetic's life and by 285 was living in the Egyptian desert, where demons tormented him. Holiness of this type, during the age of persecution, attracted followers, and at the start of the 4th century Antony organized a slightly modified version of a religious order. His close friend was the bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius, with whom he fought against ARIANISM in the Christian Church. The main source of information about Antony is Athanasius's Vita Antonii, the Life of Antony. See also CHRISTIANITY.
¤ ANTYLLUS (d. 30 B.C.) Son of Marc ANTONY and FULVIA; also called Marc Antony the Younger. To unite more closely the family of Octavian with that of Antony, Antyl-lus was betrothed in 37 B.C. to Octavian's daughter JULIA (3) (according to Suetonius), but neither side had any intention of allowing this marriage to happen. Designated as his father's heir, Antyllus had coins minted with both their likenesses at the height of Antony's power. He was used as a messenger after the battle of ACTIUM but was unsuccessful in halting Octavian's invasion of Egypt or the continuance of the war to its ultimate end. After Marc Antony and Cleopatra killed themselves, Antyllus and Caesarion, Cleopatra's son by Caesar, were executed.
¤ ANULLINUS, PUBLIUS CORNELIUS (fl. late 2nd century A.D.) Proconsul of Africa. In 193, Anullinus allied himself with SEVERUS, the commander of the Pannonian Legions who marched on Rome and declared himself emperor. In 194, when PESCENNIUS NIGER opposed Severus in Africa and Asia, Anullinus took command of the emperor's legions and inflicted a crushing defeat on Niger at Issus. He later served in the PARTHIAN WAR for Severus and was made urban prefect in 196.
¤ APAMEA CIBOTUS City in Asia Minor, not officially part of the Roman senatorial province of Asia. Apamea Cibotus (also Apamea and Maeandrum) was built by Seleucid ruler Antiochus I Soter on the Meander River in the region of Phrygia, sometime in the 3rd century B.C., and later fell under Roman dominance. Located in east-middle Asia Minor, Apamea became one of the leading economic cities of the region and possessed a considerable amount of self-rule and a large population of Roman colonists. See also CONVENTUS.
¤ APAMEA ORONTEM City built by Nicator on the site of ancient Pella. Located on the Orontes River in a strong defensive position, Apamea fell under the provincial control of Rome and became a leading city of the area. It was connected to Antioch, Seleucia and Emesa, along the route of the Orontes. In the Early Empire, the city's population probably numbered 170,000. During the reign of Claudius, in 53 A.D., the entire city was devastated by an earthquake and was granted a five-year exemption from the tribute paid to Rome.
¤ APER, ARRIUS (d. 284 A.D.) One of the more corrupt of the prefects of the PRAETORIAN GUARD, serving the Emperor Carus (282-283) and accompanying him on his initial Pannonian Campaign and in 283, on his Persian Campaign, when Carus died. Some said that he was struck by lightning, but Aper probably poisoned him, so that NUMERIAN, Carus' son and Aper's son-in-law, could assume the throne. Numerian decided to finish his father's war, but shortly thereafter fell ill. Aper hid him in a litter and in his tent. Finally, the stench arising from the imperial tent confirmed what everyone suspected. The young emperor was dead. Aper showed surprise and ascribed his death to natural causes. The troops put a stop to his ambitions by proclaiming as emperor the commander of the protectores domestici, a young and brilliant officer, DIOCLETIAN. A soothsayer had predicted that Diocletian would achieve greatness, but first had to face an Aper (a boar). Aper was dragged before him and declared guilty of murder. Diocletian ran him through with a sword on the spot.
¤ APICATA (d. 31 A.D.) Wife of SEJANUS, the prefect of the PRAETORIAN GUARD in the region of Tiberius. She had borne her husband three children when he divorced her as part of his scheme to gain the throne. Apicata apparently knew much of the plot, for she later revealed considerable details about it. In 31 A.D. her ex-husband fell from power. According to the historian Dio, she was not condemned. Upon hearing of the deaths of her children, however, she retired to her own rooms, composed a letter incriminating LIVILLA in the plot and in the murder of Tiberius' son Drusus, and then killed herself.
¤ APICIUS The name bestowed upon gluttons, based upon Marcus Gavius Apicius, author of a lost cookbook in the early 1st century A.D. The only extant cookbook, De Re Coquinaria, is the work of Apicius Caelius (3rd century A.D.). See also GLUTTONY; VITELLIUS.
¤ APIS The sacred bull of Egypt, worshipped with the bulls Mnevis of Heliopolis and Buchis of Hermonthis. Apis, whose cult was centered in Memphis, possessed oracular powers and had been honored for centuries on the Nile, remaining a source of interest in the Roman period. It was said that Germanicus, the adopted son of Tiberius, visited Egypt in 19 A.D. The Bull of Apis refused to eat from his hand, an omen that his death was imminent, which was in fact the case. Many characteristics of the Apis rituals were used in the Roman cult of Mithras. See also RELIGION.
¤ APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA (fl. 4th century A.D.) Christian scriptural writer. In 361 A.D., Emperor Julian ordered all Christian teachers to cease teaching pagan doctrines and to center their instruction on the gospels of Matthew and Luke and other Christian writers. Apollinaris and his father, also named Apollinaris, one a grammarian and the other a master of rhetoric, rewrote the Christian scriptures into a classical style. The Old Testament was converted into a 24-book epic in the Homeric style by the father. Apollinaris the Younger rewrote the New Testament in Platonic-style dialogues and became bishop of Laodicea, in Syria. See also CHRISTIANITY.
¤ APOLLO Greek god who was in time accepted by the Romans. When the Greeks were establishing their colonies in Italy, they dedicated their first settlement, at Cumae, to Apollo. The Italians believed in Apollo as a god of healing and medicine, but he was not given admission into the dry of Rome itself because he was a foreign deity. Apollo was, however, a dominant figure in many periods. Although his name was never Latinized, his title of God of the Sun was forgotten. As the god of medicine he could be honored, a custom preserved by the Romans.
AUGUSTUS was responsible for establishing the god officially in the Eternal City. As the young Octavian, he had placed his house and his career into the care of Apollo, and the battle of ACTIUM, in which he seized power from Antony, was supposedly won because of the god's intervention. In honor of this patronage, a small temple was erected to the god in the imperial palace near the Palatine. Later, on private property so as not to violate Roman custom, Augustus constructed the Forum Augustum, housing three important temples: one for Julius Caesar the Divine, one to Mars and one for Apollo. The Sibylline Books were moved from the Temple of Jupiter to Apollo's private shrine. Finally, in 17 B.C., at the Ludi Saeculares (the Secular Game, see LUDI) an ancient festival, prayers were offered to the gods, and Augustus added prayers to Apollo, concretizing the deity's role in the religio-political affairs of the Empire. In 67 A.D., as a result of a personal vexation over some divinational insult, Emperor NERO abolished the oracles of Apollo. See also ASTROLOGY; AUGURS AND AUGURY; GODS AND GODDESSES OF ROME.
¤ APOLLODORUS (fl. early 2nd century A.D.) Architect responsible for the construction of many of Emperor TRAJAN'S great works, including the FORUM, the ODEUM and the gymnasium. Upon the accession of Hadrian in 117, Apollodorus' fate would change. The architect had offended Hadrian in the past. According to Dio, when Trajan and Apollodorus were once in consultation on a matter, Hadrian interrupted and was rudely cut short by Apollodorus. Later Hadrian sent him the plans of the Temple of Venus and Roma, after that shrine was completed, demonstrating the fact that such great structures could be erected without Apollodorus' aid. In response, Apollodorus criticized the location of the temple, the height of its statues and the organizational style. Outraged, Hadrian had him murdered in 129.
¤ APOLLONIUS OF TYANA (fl. 1st century A.D.) One of the leading mystical Pythagoreans of his time. Among his many attested miracles, which included healings and resurrections, was the famous vision in 95 A.D. of the assassination of DOMITIAN. While in Ephesus, he called together all of the townspeople and claimed that Stephanus, one of Domitian's assassins, had done a great deed in smiting the tyrant. This vision supposedly took place at the exact moment that the murder was taking place in Rome. Emperor CARACALLA admired Apollonius for his magical skills and erected a shrine to him. St. Augustine went to great lengths during the 5th century to refute the claim that Apollonius was similar to Christ. Philostratus wrote his biography circa 220.
¤ APPIAN WAY See VIAE.
¤ APRONIUS, LUCIUS (fl. early 1st century A.D.) Roman proconsul and imperial legate, whose military exploits in Africa were notable. In 20 A.D., while serving as proconsul in Africa, Apronius attacked and bested the rebel TACFARINAS, avenging the defeat of the general Furius Camillus the previous summer. He took harsh measures to maintain discipline, including the use of lots to single out every tenth man for death, in disgraced units of the army. In the war with Tacfarinas, Apronius used his own son, Caesianus, to finish off the Numidians (see NUMIDIA). In 28, the proconsul served as propraetor of Lower Germany (Germania Inferior). He succeeded in driving off a Frisii invasion only after a terrible loss. The embarrassment, normally enough to finish any career, went virtually unnoticed by the Senate, which was preoccupied with the machinations of SEJANUS.
¤ APULEIUS (b. c. 125 A.D.) Novelist of tremendous, prolific energies, whose works were rich, philosophical and widely read in his own era. Apuleius grew up in the African city of Madura and was educated at Carthage before studying Platonic philosophy at Athens. He traveled extensively, visiting Rome, Asia and Greece, finally returning to Africa. There, at the urging of his friend Sicinius Pontianus, Apuleius married Pontianus's widowed mother, Pudentilla, a woman of considerable wealth. After domestic troubles in which he was accused of witchcraft, Apuleius moved to Carthage, and there his writings and status as a philosopher, poet and novelist were celebrated.
He wrote many notable books, the most famous of which was the Golden Ass (also known as Metamorphoses). The tale concerns Lucius, who is transformed into an ass after dabbling in the world of magic. Isis restores him, but only after he endures a variety of adventures. His other works include the Florida, a collection of his orations, the Apologia, which defends both magic and himself, and the De Deo Socratis, which examines Platonism. Many other works authored by Apuleius have been lost, and others, like De Dogmate Platonis, are of dubious originality.
¤ AQUAE The Roman term for health-improving spas and baths. The Romans valued such sites and the Aquae of any given region had much to do with its selection as a place of colonization and development. Some of the major sites included:
Aquae Cutiliae - mineral spring in Samnium, near the towns of Cutilia and Reate. This was considered to be the center of Italy, and both VESPASIAN and TITUS died there.
Aquae Patavinae - also called Aponi Fons; the warm springs near Patavium. The sick and the dying often visited this site.
Aquae Sextiae - site of a Roman colony founded in 122 B.C. by Calvinus in GALLIA NARBONENSIS. In 102 B.C., Marius routed the Teutons at this spring. During AUGUSTUS' time the colony was renamed Colonia Julia Augusta Aquis Sextus, and in 381 A.D. the site was redesignated as the capital of Gallia Narbonensis. The waters of the site were especially famous in the Roman world.
Aquae Statiellae - warm springs in Liguria, near the town of the Statielli.
Aquae Sulis - now Bath, England; the most famous of the spas after Aquae Sextiae. In the 19th century A.D., its fame increased and gave impetus to archaeological research, which resulted in great discoveries.
¤ AQUEDUCTS
Aqueduct at Nimes
AQUEDUCTS Artificial channels by which the Romans conducted water to specific regions. The Romans, like the Greeks before them, were concerned about the acquisition and the supply of water. The Greeks originated the use of tunnels, a scientific and architectural feat improved on by the Romans. Roman engineers, including the famed Marcus Agrippa, experimented with improved forms. The first Roman aqueducts (the Aqua, Appia and the Anio Vetus) were, like the Greek models, cut out of tunnels, but added mighty arches to aid in water conveyance. The aqueducts became one of Rome's greatest architectural achievements. The systems at Nimes (Nemausus) and Segovia survive.
There were three general styles: bridges, arches and siphons. Bridges were used in the aqueducts of Nimes and Segovia, while arches were seen in the Aqua Marcia and Anio Novus. Lyons was provided with siphons, replete with pipes laid in concrete.
Nimes, however, was the most beautiful and the most enduring. Built by Marcus Agrippa from 20 to 16 B.C., the system at Nimes brought water to the settlement from springs 31 miles away. Over the Garden River, a bridge was built, now the "Pont du Gard," measuring some 323 feet in length and standing 53 feet high, with support arches and tiers. Slightly bent against the course of the water, the stone edifice was magnificent architecturally while serving an absolutely practical purpose. See also ART AND ARCHITECTURE.
¤ AQUILEIA City near the Adriatic Sea, with a large population and with the province of Illyricum positioned behind it; described by the historian Herodian. The Romans began the city circa 181 B.C., to act as a port of entry for Italy and as a defense zone. The road systems of Pan-nonia, Noricum and Illyricum began there, and the Adriatic fleets of the Empire were stationed at its docks. A large population, composed of natives (of Gallic origin) and foreigners (mostly merchants), relied upon the military for protection but also felt secure behind the walls that surrounded Aquileia. The military presence had two general effects on the populace. First, the cult of the Eastern deity Mithras became popular, and second, peace was maintained for so long during the imperial era that the defenses of the city were allowed to deteriorate.
In May of 238 A.D., Aquileia, loyal to Rome and supportive of the joint emperors proclaimed by the Senate, BALBINUS and PUPIENUS, closed its gates to MAXIMINUS I. Resolved to invade Italy to regain his throne, Maximinus placed Aquileia under siege by his entire army. The city responded by building hasty defenses and by repairing its wall; food was abundant. Maximinus failed to take Aquileia, and his losses, coupled with the sinking morale of his troops, brought about a mutiny. On May 10, 238, he was murdered with his son. Herodian described the siege and the city's preparations in some detail.
With a population of nearly half a million, Aquileia remained an economic force on the Adriatic, but in 452, Attila the Hun burned the city to the ground, and malaria struck down the survivors. The city was rebuilt and rose once again to its original prominence, but it was recorded that, during the Hun terror, many residents fled to the Venetian lagoons - the site of modern Venice.
¤ AQUITANIA The original home of a Gallic people known as the Aquitani. Composed of many tribes, loosely confederated, Aquitania stretched from Garumna, or Garonne, along the Bay of Biscay, down to the Pyrenees. The Aquitani were more similar to the Iberians than to their Celtic neighbors, but they were extremely fierce in war. See also G ALLI A.
¤ ARABIA The peninsula situated between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean; an axe-shaped region divided into three sections in early eras: Arabia Deserta, a vast ocean of sand and stifling heat; Arabia Felix, comprising deserts but also including a fertile strip of land along its western seacoast; and Arabia Petraea, which became a Roman province of the same name.
The NABATAEANS possessed a considerable territory in the north, centered on Petra. Their kingdom became integral to the trade conducted between the Egypt-Palestine area and the Far Eastern kingdoms. Caravans carried spices, gums and gems back and forth to India, and fabulous wealth was mistakenly believed to reside in Arabia, especially in Arabia Felix. Sailing vessels from Egypt, trading with India via the Red Sea, broke the Arabian trade monopoly, but the chieftains of the main Arabia Felix tribes, the Sabaeans, did what they could to preserve trade routes by land and by sea and give credence to the stories of riches.
Economic advantage was the prime motivation in all Roman efforts in Arabia. After Rome established friendly relations with the Nabataeans, Augustus decided on a campaign to acquire Arabia Felix. In 25 B.C., Aelius Gallus, the prefect of Egypt, led 10,000 men in an attempt that was doomed from the start. Gallus was forced to cross a desert of enormous proportions, and then, with his numbers dwindling, retreat across another stretch of sand. The disaster ended with a retreat to Egypt, having accomplished little, except to open relations with the Sabaeans.
Augustus (reigned 27 B.C.-14 A.D.) allowed the Nabataeans of Arabia Petraea to retain independence but kept stringent safeguards in effect. King Herod instigated a revolt in 9 B.C., and the Nabataean vizier, Syllaeus, protested but was executed. Gaius Caesar, Augustus' grandson, was sent to the east, generally to maintain order, but he was also to impress upon the Petra-based kingdom that it was dangerous to put its vulnerability to the test.
In 105 A.D., Trajan decided that a combination of frontier defense and economic expediency made annexation desirable. Cornelius Palma, with the VI Legion, attacked and conquered the proud Arabians. Outlying tribesmen, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, did fight, but prolonged resistance was impossible. A new province was thus created, and a large road was built from Damascus to the cities of Petra and Bostra, and then to the Red Sea port of Aqaba.
Petra was designated as the capital of the territory, and, as of March 22, 106 A.D., a Praetorian legate commanded the province, with the added weight of the III Legion "Cyrenaica." Massive archaeological remains show a diverse lifestyle in both the city and the province. The city of Bostra was a powerful economic unit along the trade routes and, under Diocletian's reorganization, the capital of a new province simply called Arabia.
Arabia (both Arabia Petraea and Arabia Felix, with Arabia Deserta to a lesser extent) accepted Christianity, but the new religion could not dislodge Sabaean star worship, Judaic admixtures, local religious customs or the Roman cults, such as that of Dionysus. Such was the situation until the birth of Islam in 610 A.D.
¤ ARAR (battle of) Confrontation between Julius CAESAR and the Helvetians. In June 58 B.C., the Helvetians attempted to migrate illegally into Roman territories. Julius Caesar decided to attack at an opportune moment, while the tribal people were crossing the Arar River. With 34,000 men, Caesar drove into the Helvetians, slaughtering over 30,000 of them. The Helvetians fled to the Liger (Loire), with Caesar in pursuit. See GALLIC WARS.
¤ ARAUSIO (Orange) One of the leading cities of GALLIA NARBONENSIS; northeast of NEMAUSUS (Nimes) and just north of Avignon. Arausio was established as a colony in 36 or 35 B.C., as part of the extensive program of Romanization in the province. It enjoyed the attention of both Augustus and Tiberius so that by the middle of the 1st century A.D. it ranked as one of the more prosperous communities in southern Gaul. Following the decline of NARBO in the 2nd century A.D., Arausio was one of the cities that filled the economic vacuum. Arausio possessed temples, baths, an arena and other Roman buildings. A huge triple arch, the Arch of Tiberius, was built sometime during his reign (c. 26 A.D.) and was unique in being the first such creation to sport three arches, an architectual feat reproduced in the later years of the Empire. The theater, also dated to the 1st century A.D., held over 7,000 guests and once boasted three tiers of columns and statues. Many other edifices in Arausio were destroyed by Prince Maurice of Nassau during the defense of the city in 1622.
¤ ARBITIO, FLAVIUS (4th century A.D.) A MAGISTER EQUITUM under CONSTANTIUS n, JULIAN and VALENS, and one of the first magistri of the Empire to rise to prominence as the traditional legionary commanders faded in the Roman system. Arbitio helped Constantius II against the usurper Magnentius, at the battle of MURSA Major in 351, earning for himself considerable power. He was made a senator and a consul in 355. Julian used his skills, naming him to preside over the Commission of Chalcedon in 361. He retired but still wielded enough authority to help defeat Valens' rival for the throne, Procopius, in 366 at Nacolea.
¤ ARBOGAST (d. 394 A.D.) Of Frankish and hence barbarian heritage, Arbogast was a MAGISTER PEDITUM (master of soldiers) of tremendous power; finally defeated in 394, only when THEODOSIUS I, the emperor of the East, brought an entire host to do so. A pagan, Arbogast had served under the magister militum BAUTO as an able lieutenant in the reign of Gratian (367-383), traveling with his master to aid Theodosius at Gratian's request.
The wars in the east launched Arbogast's career. Between 385 and 388 Bauto died, and the army called upon Arbogast to take command. Theodosius put his new soldier to use against the usurper Maximus, with his son Flavius Victor. In 388, pleased with this performance, Theodosius gave the new Western emperor, VALENTINIAN II, into Arbogast's care. Valentinian deteriorated from ward to abject prisoner. Arbogast kept him shut in at Vienne in Gaul and ruled the entire Western Empire in his name, placing colleagues and servants in charge of the various imperial departments. Valentinian pleaded with Theodosius for help, but the distant emperor refused to interfere in the affair. Desperate, Valentinian tried to dismiss the general but was impotent in his own court. An assassination attempt was tried but failed, and on May 15, 392, the emperor was found hanged by the neck, probably a suicide.
Arbogast became an imperial power broker, placing Flavius Eugenius, a Christian, on the throne. Civil war was imminent. Despite his pagan preferences, Arbogast had attempted to keep a Christian facade on the Empire, refusing the Senate when it wished to restore the Altar of Victory in 384 and promoting a spirit of toleration for all religious beliefs. In 394, Theodosius marched west to finish the struggle. The battle that ensued, that of FRIGIDUS, took place on the 5th and 6th of September and was the end of paganism in the Empire. Theodosius was triumphant, and Arbogast was forced to kill himself.
¤ ARCADIUS, FLAVIUS (d. 408 A.D.) Eldest son of THEODOSIUS i, ruling in the East from 395 to 408 and an important figure in the division of the Empire into a definite East and West. Because Honorius ruled the West independently, Arcadius can be called the first ruler of the "new" Eastern Empire.
His first taste of rule came in 394, when his father marched against the MAGISTER MILITUM Arbogast. Within a year Theodosius was dead, and Arcadius was on the throne. He faced intrigues in his own court from the onset, especially from Stilicho, the magister militum of Honorius, who was only 10 years old. Others included Eutropius, the eunuch and court chamberlain, and Flavius Rufinus, the Praetorian prefect of the East.
Like so many other rulers, Arcadius was perpetually hard put to challenge any of his ministers. Events took place without his consent throughout his entire reign, and the power struggles whirling about him were uncontrolled and bloody. The first major confrontations came in 395, when Flavius Rufinus and Stilicho fought for supremacy, using the prefecture of Illyricum as a battleground. Stilicho earned the eternal enmity of Arcadius by having Flavius Rufinus killed in Constantinople, on November 27, 395.
Arcadius next came under the sway of the eunuch Eutropius, who administrated his affairs and kept tight rein on the new Praetorian prefect. Eutropius, however, fell from power circa 399 and was banished, defeated by a new power on the scene, Aelia Eudoxia, the daughter of the magister militum Bauto. Eudoxia married Arcadius and then ruled him with an iron hand.
Anyone foolish enough to oppose Eudoxia found himself stripped of rank and exiled. St. John Chrysostom was one such victim of her wrath, facing his punishment in 401. Aelia Eudoxia died in 404, and Arcadius handed over the imperial powers to his Praetorian prefect, Anthemius. This was his wisest act, because Anthemius was genuinely concerned for the Empire. When Arcadius died in 408, Anthemius ensured a smooth transition of rule to Theodosius II, the seven-year-old son of Arcadius. Arcadius lived little more than 31 years.
¤ ARCHELAUS (fl. early 1st century A.D.) Son of HEROD THE GREAT, who sent him as a prince of Judaea to be educated in Rome; like his brothers, kings Herod Antipas and Philip, he received control of his own kingdom circa 4 B.C. This included Judaea, Samaria and Idumaea, but appears to have been reduced in part by Augustus, who saw the need for breaking up the too centralized kingdom of Herod. As ruler of Judaea, Archelaus from the start was beset with troubles. Public works were halted, and the Roman presence upon which the king relied caused seething hatred on the part of the large Jewish population, especially in the Roman headquarters of Jerusalem.
Further, Archelaus had married the ex-wife of his brother Alexander, who had borne her husband children, a marriage thus considered invalid by Jewish law. Finally, in 6 A.D., Jewish and Samaritan groups demanded that Rome remove him, and Augustus, agreeably accepting a province at the request of its inhabitants, deposed Archelaus. He was sent into exile in Gaul (Gallia Narbonensis and Judaea became an imperial province under the command of a procurator.
¤ ARCHELAUS OF CAPPADOCIA (d. 17 A.D.) Grandson of the king of same name, who had briefly ruled Egypt, and a king in his own right. In 40 B.C., Marc ANTONY, who controlled the East, was forced to execute the ruler of CAPPADOCIA, Ariarathes, and in his place installed Archelaus. Subsequently, Archelaus became one of the pillars of Antony's support in the East, even though he was powerless to stop Octavian from winning at Actium in 31 B.C. When peace was restored, Archelaus was allowed to keep his kingdom, as part of the broader Roman policy toward Parthia and as a buffer state to Rome. Archelaus ruled for many years but earned the enmity of Tiberius, whom he had snubbed while the future emperor was in self-imposed exile on Rhodes.
Sometime around 17 A.D., Archelaus was summoned to Rome by Tiberius and was put on trial for abuse of funds. He died of natural causes before the end of the trial. Strabo is a major source of information on his kingdom, and Appian refers to him in his chronicles of the Civil War. Tacitus mentions Archelaus, pointing out that upon his death Cappadocia was converted into a province of the Empire, although his son did rule, causing a revolt in 36 A.D. among the hill people called the Clitae over taxation.
¤ ARCHES
Arch of Titus in Rome
Arch of Augustus in Rome
ARCHES Architectural form that the Romans brought to near perfection in monuments and other structures. The Romans were gifted in the construction of arches, and many have survived the centuries as remarkable artistic creations of the imperial era.
Early examples of arch-making date to the 4th century B.C., but it was another two centuries before the honorific arch, the fornix, (pl., fornices) was created. As the art became more uniform and efficient, more ambitious constructions were attempted, leading to the mighty triumphal arches that are known today.
No precise pattern was ever used in arch construction. Some had more than one vaulted passageway, some had three. Decorations of all varieties were all possible on the attic, the top part of the arch, as was true in most support columns. Since an arch was generally built in honor of some personage or event, the decorative emphasis thus contained images of soldiers, prisoners and portraits of the great figures themselves. As one of the leading dedicatory styles in use during the Empire, a wide variety and number of arches have survived.
In the provinces, the Arch of Trajan at Beneventum was built around 114 A.D. and seems constructed of a design heavily influenced by the Arch of Titus, with many sculpted panels and decorations. In Ancona, a smaller version was constructed to the same emperor's memory. Another Arch of Trajan was erected at a crossroads in the African city of Lepcis Magna.
In Arausio in Gaul, Tiberius, in 26 A.D., ordered the construction of an arch in honor of the defeat of the chieftain Sacrovir in his rebellion of 21. The Arch of Tiberius was notable for its triple-arch construction, while the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, in the African city of Aea, built circa 163, was of marble, pointing to the Romanization of the province and the increasing artistic capacities of its architects and artisans.
The Africans erected a triumphal arch in honor of Emperor Septimius Severus, a native of Lepcis who visited the province in 203. This arch was decorated with reliefs and Corinthian columns. Its depiction of battles, sacrifices and triumphs made a remarkable archaeological find and differed greatly from the arch built in his honor in Rome. Also in Africa (Numidia) was the Arch of Caracalla, built in 219 in honor of that emperor, a gift from the people of Cuicul.
The city of Rome is the best location for the preservation of commemorative arches, with excellent specimens still in existence. These include the arches of Titus, Septimius Severus and Constantine. Under Augustus great strides were made in the creation of arches, continuing until the time of the Flavians. Two arches were erected by Augustus, the first in 29 B.C. to honor his many victories (especially at Actium), and the second was erected in 19 B.C., a year after peace was made with the Parthians. This one stood in the Forum. Other early arches included ones constructed in 19 A.D. to honor the generals Germanicus and Drusus; each stood on a side of the Temple of Mars Ultor. Claudius eventually ordered the Arch of Tiberius, which was placed near the Theater of Pompey.
Later emperors helped develop the form. Titus' Arch was constructed by Domitian. It stood by the Colosseum on the Sacred Way and contained a vaulted arch with columns, strong supporting walls and various friezes, displaying the conquest of the Jews in 70 A.D. Septimius Severus' Arch was built in 203 and stood in the Forum. It was innovative in its use of wide carving and depictions of battles, instead of the normal classical style.
In 315, Constantine ordered the carving of a triumphal arch, with the Senate in agreement. The result was a grand artistic creation that in some respects ended the great arch-building of the Empire. Panels were formed, depicting the battle of Milvian Bridge and the victory of Constantine over Maxentius. The presentation of his victory was grandiose, as the emperor himself was carved in superhuman dimensions.
The honorific arch was a genuine Roman art form and one that preserved the glory of its rulers. Emperors were depicted but so too were non-imperial people, as in the arch built in 204 A.D. commemorating the silversmiths of Rome. See also ART AND ARCHITECTURE.
¤ ARCHITECTURE See ART AND ARCHITECTURE.
¤ ARDASHIR I (d. 241 A.D.) Founder of the SASSANID DYNASTY of Persia in 224 A.D.; ended the ARSACID DYNASTY and proclaimed himself "King of Kings." Ardashir was one of the great figures of Persian history, a general, prince, and monarch whose cunning and force of will changed Near Eastern history, creating the most potent threat that Rome would face in the East. Under the Arsacid system, local kings were given a free hand in the administration of their territories. Such was the case with Persis, a province of kings whose domains stretched along the Persian Gulf and to the coast of the Arabian Sea. The Persis lands were ostensibly overseen by a larger clan, the Basrangi. One of the local rulers, Papak, broke the power of the Basrangi and came to dominate all of Persia. As there had been no immediate opposition from the Arsacids, Papak understood that their authority was vulnerable.
In time Papak died, leaving his eldest son, Shapur, to rule. Shapur's more talented brother, Ardashir, was a leading general in Persia. In 208 he revolted against Shapur, becoming king almost immediately upon the mysterious death of his brother. A massive war was launched on the adjoining provinces, and victories mounted quickly as Ardashir and his horsemen swept across the Persian plains. Finally, in either 224 or 226, Artabanus, the king of the Arsacids, faced Ardashir in battle and died.
Ardashir entered the city of Ctesiphon, which had been the winter capital of the Arsacids, and declared himself King of Kings. His own dynastic ambitions were satisfied, as he had a son, Shapur, to succeed him. Steps were taken to organize the new Sassanid Empire. Ardashir maintained the general bureaucratic system, but the entire Persian world was now answerable only to him and his successors. No new rival would be allowed to grow in secret. Stricter controls were upheld in the provinces, especially in the west, in Parthia. This policy brought Ardashir into direct conflict with Rome.
Media fell under attack, and soon after Armenia, but there Ardashir met with failure, as Artabanus' sons, the most important of whom was Artavasdes, were allied with King Chosroes I of Armenia. Ardashir retired temporarily and in 230 invaded Mesopotamia, attacking all of the camps and garrisons of the Romans. Emperor Severus Alexander mustered troops and marched into Syria, launching from Antioch an ill-advised and three-pronged attack on Persia. The first column was to pass into Media, the second to march toward Ctesiphon by way of the Euphrates, and the third, under the personal command of Severus Alexander, to move through Mesopotamia. Ardashir struck first in Media but without result, being called away to the Euphrates to protect his capital. There he met the Romans and defeated them, but not significantly; heavy Persian losses made a stalemate. From 232 until 237, while his western holdings regrouped, Ardashir was centered in the east, where vast areas were available.
In 238, the King of Kings returned to the west and attacked Mesopotamia with his son, Shapur, capturing the fortress of Hatra and the cities of Nisibis and Carrhae. Ardashir died in 241, and Shapur was crowned the ruler of the Sassanids, eager to carry on his father's ambitions. Ardashir was also known as Artaxerxes.
¤ ARETAS III (fl. 1st century B.C.) King of Nabataean Arabia who in 65 B.C. invaded Judaea and laid siege to Jerusalem but was driven back to Arabia. Antipater of Idumaea convinced the Nabataean king that it would be in Arabia's best interest to side with Hyrcanus in his feud with his brother, Aristobulus II, over the rule of Judaea. Ambitious, Aretas attacked Aristobulus, satisfying Anti-pater's ambitions to see him removed. Victory for Aretas was impossible, because Pompey dispatched two servants, A. Gabinius and Aemilius Scaurus, from Syria with orders to pacify the region. Aretas withdrew, but Pompey soon attacked him in Arabia in 63 B.C. He could not get to Petra, the capital, before Aristobulus and Hyrcanus attacked one another. Thus the Roman advance was aborted. Scaurus was sent against Petra in turn, but Antipater mediated the situation and brought an end to the confrontation.
¤ ARETAS IV (late 1st century B.C.) King of Nabataean Arabia and ruler of Arabia Petra, who as viceroy of Arabia faced serious Roman invasions during the reign of Augustus and was very nearly executed by the emperor in 9 B.C. Aretas assumed the position of viceroy for the Nabataean king, Obodas, sometime before 24 B.C. During this period the country was unsuccessfully invaded by Aelius Callus, but forever after the Romans possessed considerable influence at Petra, the capital. In 9 B.C., Obodas died and Aretas took his place on the throne without first seeking permission from Augustus. He was finally allowed to rule, but only on the condition that Rome henceforth be consulted in all such matters of state in the land.
¤ ARGENTORATUM (Strasbourg) Site of a major battle fought in 357 A.D. between Emperor Julian the Apostate and the Alamanni, near the confluence of the Rhine and 111 rivers and the modern city of Strasbourg. While Julian was campaigning along the Rhine frontier, the large tribe of the Alamanni launched an attack across the Rhine to Gaul. Julian, though pressed to find enough troops to counter the invasion, marched immediately. He and his 13,000 men collided with the Alamanni and a bitter struggle ensued. Using their vast superior numbers, the barbarians tried to overwhelm the Romans, but with their usual discipline the legionaries slowly gained the upper hand and then victory. With thousands of dead littering the field, the Alamanni retreated back to Germany's wild lands. For Julian the triumph was important, both as a military and as a political achievement.
¤ ARGENTUS A Roman silver coin. As part of the reform of the COINAGE, Diocletian in 296 A.D. issued a new silver coin, designed to restore the status of the denarius. This new currency resembled the denarius but came to be known as the argentus. Its popularity was such that it replaced the antonianus and was minted well into the reign of Julian II.
¤ ARIANISM The most important heretical doctrine faced by the early Christian Church. Arianism lasted well into the 6th century, despite the most ruthless and ardent attempts to bring it to an end. The entire movement found substance and reality through the work of an Alexandrian priest named Arius and was subsequently heralded and defended by much of the Christian episcopacy in the Eastern Church for most of the 4th century A.D.
The theologian ORIGEN, with his philosophical examination of the nature of Christ, greatly influenced Arius, whose own theories differed ultimately from Origen with respect to the transcendant nature of the godhead. In essence, Arius believed that the only true, unique godhead was the Father, from Whom all creatures were created.
The emphasis rested on "all creatures," which included Jesus Christ. The Son was a creation, like the Father but secondary to Him. Superior to all other creatures and transcended though He was, Christ was not eternal with respect to the Father's eternal nature. Christ was the fulcrum of the divine plan God had for all things.
Such thinking was scrutinized, accepted by some in principle and denounced by others. But the controversy that ensued included the religio-political nature of the church and the Roman state itself and came to overshadow Arius' original philosophical proposal. In 325, six years after Arius began to propagate his ideas, the Council of Nicaea was called by Constantine the Great to debate and resolve the crisis. Through the gifted oratory of St. Athanasius of Alexandria, the council found in favor of the anti-Arian position. Arius was exiled, and everyone hoped that the controversy was ended.
The Eastern bishops, however, declared their support in principle for the Arian ideas, insofar as they opposed the Nicene notion of homoousios, meaning "the same," a term used to describe Christ's nature with the Father. They preferred homoios, or "like." Constantine was not an Arian, but such a definition was tolerated under his rule. His son, Constantius II (337-361) could be called a supporter of the movement, doing what he could to reduce the power of the bishops who followed the creed established at Nicaea. The trend was thus set, transforming the religious movement into a powerful political weapon.
Emperor Valens (364-378) was an Arian, but during his reign a figure rose to prominence who would singlehandedly deal a fatal blow to the entire movement. He was AMBROSE, consecrated bishop of Milan in 374. In 381, at the Council of Aquileia, Ambrose personally had the Arians removed from their posts as bishops. He later occupied a church that the Empress Justina had proposed to give to the Arians. Such actions should have ended the Arian sect, but the Goths, Vandals and Teutons adopted the creed, ensuring its survival until the 6th century. See also CHRISTIANITY.
¤ ARIARATHES X OF CAPPADOCIA (d. 36 B.C.) A king who ruled from 42 B.C. and was one of the last of the Priestly-Kings of CAPPADOCIA. Antony found him an unreliable client in the East. In 36 B.C., during the Parthian War, Ariarathes sided with Parthia, aided by Antiochus I of Commagene. For this refusal to aid Rome, Ariarathes was driven from the throne and replaced by the more accommodating Archelaus. The deposed king was taken away and executed.
¤ ARIOBARZANES III (d. 42 B.C.) King of Cappadocia and ally of Julius Caesar in his civil war with POMPEY THE GREAT. After the battle of PHARSALUS in 48 B.C., Caesar gave Ariobarzanes a slice of Armenia, thus removing the territory from the control of King Deoitarus of Galatia. Later that year the Cappadocian king joined Caesar's lieutenant, Calvinus, in his attempt to defeat the rebellious ruler of Cimmerian Bosporus, Pharnaces. Loyalty was not enough to prevent defeat at Nicopolis in October. Ariobarzanes was present at the battle of Zela (in May 47), when Caesar defeated Pharnaces, and received another portion of Armenia for his efforts. Still loyal to Caesar, in 42 Ariobarzanes refused to settle with Cassius and Brutus in their civil war, and was subsequently arrested and killed by Cassius. He was succeeded by ARIARATHES x.
¤ ARIOBARZANES OF MEDIA (d. c. 4 A.D.) Ruler of MEDIA ATROPATENE who was given Armenia in 4 A.D. by Augustus, at the request of that nation's people and following the murder of the tryannical Artaxes II by his courtiers. Augustus found in Ariobarzanes a loyal client-king and used the Mede as a key element in his Asian policy. In 1 or 2 A.D., King Tigranes of Armenia was killed in battle, probably with his own people. His queen Erato abdicated, and Gaius Caesar, the son of Augustus, proposed to hand Armenia to Ariobarzanes as well. The Armenians, fiery and proud, refused to have a foreigner rule them, especially a Mede, and they revolted under the leadership of a man named Addon. Gaius reduced the city of Artagira, and Ariobarzanes was made king of Armenia. According to Tacitus, the Armenians eventually came to respect the Mede because of his noble person and spirit. Unfortunately, Ariobarzanes died after a short time and his son Artavasdes was quickly killed.
¤ ARIOGAESUS (d. after 173 A.D.) King of the Quadi and ruler who faced Emperor MARCUS AURELIUS on the Danube. In 172-173, the tribes of the lazyges and Quadi assisted one another in rebelling against Rome. The Quadi broke all treaties with Rome and in 173 ousted their king, Furtius, replacing him with the chieftain Ariogaesus. Marcus Aurelius refused to recognize Ariogaesus or to negotiate any new treaties, despite the assurances of the Quadi. A reward of 1000 gold pieces was offered by Rome for Ariogaesus' capture, and 500 gold pieces for his head. Within a short time the king of the Quadi was in the hands of the Romans, but Marcus Aurelius did not execute him. In keeping with his philosophical policies, the emperor exiled Ariogaesus to Alexandria, where he spent the rest of his days.
¤ ARIOVISTUS (fl. 71-58 B.C.) King of the Suebi and one of the most successful leaders in the era of Julius Caesar. The Suebi invaded Gaul in 71 B.C., crossing the Rhine and defeating the Aedui. These actions and the subsequent victory of Ariovistus, commanding the German forces at Magetobriga (where he defeated a combined Gallic army) in 61 B.C., were followed by his request to Rome for official recognition as a rightful king.
The Senate, influenced by the proconsul of Transalpine Gaul, Metellus Celer, and by Julius Caesar (according to the GALLIC WARS), declared Ariovistus a "friend of Rome." Clearly, Ariovistus was considered a counterbalance to the dangerous Gallic tribes; however, when he began to demonstrate further ambitions in the west, Caesar was forced to reconsider this policy. The petitions of the Aedui, sent in 58, convinced the Senate that these Germans occupying the lush Alsace region were too great a threat.
In the summer of 58, Caesar launched his campaign, with about 50,000 men. Ariovistus had an army of almost 75,000. The two generals parried with one another for a time, but Caesar crushed the Germans on September 10, somewhere in Alsace. Ariovistus apparently died sometime later; Dio stated that he escaped over the Rhine.
¤ ARISTIDES, AELIUS (Publius Aelius Aristides Theodorus) (117-181 A.D.) Writer, rhetorician and adherent of Asclepius, who was a gifted speaker and author. His career in politics could have been remarkable, but Aristides suffered a series of terrible illnesses, thought by some to have been psychosomatic.
He was born in Adriani in Mysia and studied the classics under Alexander of Cotiaeon, the tutor of Marcus Aurelius, and also studied rhetoric with Herodes Atticus. Rhetoric became his chosen profession, and he traveled to Athens, Egypt and Rome to continue his studies. While in Rome he wrote and delivered a powerful panegyric to the city, the wonder of the world.
Finding a receptive audience, Aristides could have achieved the greatness of such contemporaries as Herodes Atticus, Cornelius Pronto and the earlier sophist, Palaemon. Instead, Aristides succumbed to the first of many illnesses, the exact cause and nature of which were never fully clarified. His public career was lost, and he retired to Asia Minor, settling in Smyrna, where he began to write. He was prolific, composing essays, addresses, histories and religious teachings. He attacked Plato's views on rhetoric and devoted great effort to espousing the creed of Asclepius.
Contemporary medicine offered him little relief from his attacks, but at Pergamum, the Asclepieum gave Aristides desperately needed help, and there a series of visions also confirmed his faith. His Sacred Teachings, which examined the beneficence of his cure, was written in six books and is the main source of interest concerning his visionary compositions, also providing a view of the medical practices of his own era. See also MEDICINE; RHETORIC; SOPHISTRY.
¤ ARISTOBULUS (late 3rd century A.D.) Praetorian prefect in the reign of Emperor Carinus; maintained in his position by Diocletian in 284, despite his having served as co-prefect of the Guard with the infamous Arrius Aper. Aristobulus' tenure as commander of the Praetorians was brief, however, lasting only 13 months. Diocletian moved him to Africa, sometime around 290, where he served as proconsul before assuming duties as prefect of Rome (Praefecti Urbi) in 295.
¤ ARISTOBULUS II (d. 48 B.C.) King of JUDAEA and one of the two sons of Queen Salome Alexandra of Judaea; became high priest and king of Judaea in 67 B.C. Aristobulus was born into the intrigue-filled world of the Palestinian royal houses and grew up during the spiteful reign of Salome, the widow of Jannaeus Alexander, the first priest-king of the Jewish lands. In 67, Salome died, and Aristobulus drove his brother Hyrcanus from the throne. As a result, Antipater of Idumaea, an ally of Hyrcanus, convinced Aretas III, the king of Nabataeans, to invest Jerusalem. Aristobulus took refuge in the Great Temple, watching his siege defenses deteriorate. He was saved by the arrival of Pompey the Great and his Roman legions. The combatants on both sides, recognizing Roman superiority, made every effort to gain Pompey's favor.
Hyrcanus was easily swayed, but Aristobulus, fiery to the end, refused to submit so calmly. The Great Temple was put under siege, and finally, in 63, Aristobulus was sent to Rome in chains. His followers were undaunted, however, and civil war raged for several years.
Antipater, deciding which side to aid in the Roman civil war that erupted between Caesar and Pompey, chose Pompey. Aristobulus, aware of the situation in Rome, put himself at Caesar's command. Sometime in 48, he marched into Judaea to cause trouble but was killed before he could be of any worth to Caesar. His son, Mattathiah Antigonus, would try to gain the throne in 40 B.C., with the same dire results; his other son, Alexander, married his daughter to Herod the Great.
¤ ARISTOBULUS AND ALEXANDER (d. 7 B.C.) Two sons of HEROD THE GREAT by his second wife, Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander and granddaughter of Aristobulus II. These two young men were designated as heirs and in 23 B.C. were sent to Rome to be educated. They returned in 17 for political marriages but soon became trapped in the ever perilous domestic squabbles of the House of Herod.
The chief rival facing Alexander and Aristobulus was Antipater, the son of Herod by his first wife, Doris. Rumors and warnings of plots filled Herod's ears, all prompted by Antipater and his allies, and Herod soon demanded that his two designated heirs be tried for treason. Augustus tolerated their trial in 12 but achieved a reconciliation among the family members before any verdict could be reached. In 7 B.C. Herod demanded another trial, and this time Augustus agreed. The result of the trial was the death of Aristobulus and Alexander, prompting Augustus to remark that it was safer to be one of Herod's pigs than one of his sons.
¤ ARISTOPHANES (fl. mid-4th century A.D.) Government official whose career was saved from disgrace by his friend, the orator Libianus. Aristophanes was the son of Menander, a leading citizen of Corinth. He learned oratory and philosophy in Athens before returning home. A relative, Flavius Eugenius, laid claim to his inheritance; unable to use legal means to recover his losses, Aristophanes moved to Syria. There, before 357 and through the good graces of the pagan philosopher, Fortunatianus, he became an agens-in-rebus, working for the government. In 357, Aristophanes was transferred to Egypt, but in 358 his fortunes changed considerably when Parnasius was named prefect of the province. In 359, both Parnasius and Aristophanes were brought before Modestus at Scythopolis on charges of treason and witchcraft. Aristophanes was fined and exiled for three years until, in 362, Libianus begged Emperor Julian to reinstate him. Convinced by the pleas and impressed by the fact that Aristophanes was a pagan (something that Julian found pleasing) he gave Aristophanes the post of governor, most likely in Macedonia. See REBUS, AGENTES IN.
¤ ARIUS (260-336 A.D.) Heretical philosopher, a priest of ALEXANDRIA and the founder of the most important heretical doctrine faced by the early Christian Church, ARIANISM. Arius was born most likely in Libya. His education ranged from the study of the theologian Origen (who had a tremendous influence on his thinking) to a direct tutelage under Lucian of Antioch, then a leading presbyter of the Eastern Church. Arius became a priest in Alexandria and in 319 began to voice his views on the nature of Christ. Furor and outrage quickly gripped the church as a result, and the tremendous Arian controversy began. Emperor CONSTANTINE called together the Council of Nicaea, where Arius was condemned and exiled to Illyricum. The popularity of his doctrines, however, infected the Eastern episcopacy, and many of the bishops protected him, both physically and politically.
That Arianism gained a firm foothold in the minds of 4th-century religious and political leaders was demonstrated by Constantine's attempts to bring Arius back to Constantinople in 334-335, through the good graces of Eusebius, the bishop of Nicomedia. Fortunately for the principal opponents of the doctrine (Athanasius, Alexander of Alexandria and most of the Western Church), Arius died while en route. Few of his works are extant, and these are mainly fragments of his doctrinal presentations and some letters. See also CHRISTIANITY.
¤ ARLES (also Arelate) Called the "Mother of all Gauls"; the city in Gallia Narbonensis that was one of the permanent metropolises of the province and the Empire. Founded by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C., Aries, like much of southern Gaul, was quickly Romanized, both through construction and architecture and in the placement of coloniae (Roman colonists). During the age of Augustus (27 B.C.-14 A.D.) extensive building programs were initiated in Aries, most of which are still extant. Water mills were created at Barbegal, just outside of the city, and Aries boasted a number of architectural masterpieces within its limits.
There was a hippodrome and a theater, constructed later in the 1st century B.C. The architect REBURRUS designed the ampitheater in a fashion similar to his amphitheater at Nimes. Situated on the Rhone River, some 45 miles from the Mediterranean, Aries developed into a major economic center. It was a gateway for merchants traveling by land from Italy to Spain, and was accessible to sea traffic by a canal. By the 2nd century A.D., Aries had replaced Massilia as the leading port of trade along the Gallic coast, and maintained this importance well into the late period of the Empire.
With barbarian invasions commonplace in the 5th century A.D., the city was of administrative value because it was close to the direct lines of communications with Italy and was far enough south to remain a key element in defensive operational plans. The prefect of Gaul maintained his watch from there, and eventually a mint was established in the city. Mirroring its power base, the church in Aries was powerful and ambitious, aspiring to acquire other sees (or dioceses) in Gallia Narbonensis. In 417, Pope Zosimus gave the bishop of Aries permission to consecrate the bishops of neighboring episcopacies. Pope Boniface and Pope Celestine revoked this authority, which had made Aries supreme, and Pope Leo reduced the powers that had been held normally. Two councils of the church were held there, one in 314 and the other circa 450. See also GALLIA.
¤ ARMENIA AND ARMENIA MINOR Territory located to the east of ASIA MINOR, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea; the focal point of struggles between the Roman Empire and the empires of the Persians and Parthians. The country was divided geographically by the Euphrates River, and the Armenians were distributed in two regions: Armenia Minor and Armenia Major. Armenia Minor was between Pontus and Cappadocia, while across the great river, Armenia Major extended along part of the wide Parthian frontier. This area was of vital importance to Rome; Armenia Major was the more familiar territory.
For centuries the Caucasian-descended Armenians governed themselves, but the Greek Seleucid Dynasty came to rule the country as heir to the Persian Empire. In 189 B.C., the Seleucid hold was broken, and an Armenian king controlled Armenia Major. This lasted until the time of King Tigranes I, who allied himself with his father-in-law, Mithridates VI, the great king of Pontus who had fashioned his domain into one of the greatest kingdoms in Asia and who fought the third Mithridatic War (75-65 B.C.).
Following the victory of General Lucullus at Cabira in 72 B.C., Mithridates lost Pontus and fled into Armenia. Tigranes refused to yield to the Romans and was himself invaded and broken at Tigranocerta in 69 B.C. Lucullus was forced by the hardships of the campaign to withdraw, but Pompey soon arrived and all of Armenia was subdued. Armenia Major was henceforth to be a protectorate, a client state answerable to Rome, while Armenia Minor was attached to Cappadocia.
The next year brought the Armenians into the middle of wider global politics as Rome and the Arsacids fought for control of Asia. Marc Antony invaded the Parthian Empire through Armenia in 36 B.C. but was repulsed in 34. Artavasdes I of Armenia revolted against his former ally, and Antony crushed the entire country, making it a Roman province. Parthian ambitions were powerful, however; around 30 B.C., Phraates IV of Parthia reconquered the territory and placed Artaxes on the throne.
Augustus recognized the need for a strong frontier defense and, in or around 20 B.C. and as part of his broad peace pact with the Arsacids, he sent Tiberius into Armenia with legions. Following the murder of Artaxes by his own people, Tigranes was crowned king of Armenia.
The Roman emperors maintained a policy of client kingdoms that were dependent upon Rome but not directly under Roman rule, thus acting as buffers to the enemy. Emperor GAIUS CALIGULA summoned Mithridates I of Armenia to Rome circa 41 A.D., and for no reason threw him into prison and then forced him into exile. Parthia, taking advantage of the situation, moved quickly against Armenia. Emperor Claudius, in 42 or 43, sent Mithridates back to his homeland, where, with Roman assistance, he regained the throne. Nero tried to place a number of doomed pretenders on the throne of Armenia, men such as Tigranes V in 60 A.D., who was quickly deposed by the Parthians. Finally, in 66, Nero officially gave the kingdom to an Arsacid supposedly loyal to Rome: Tiridates. This king played the role of manipulator, paying slight loyalty to Rome while maintaining good relations with his Parthian associates and his brother Vologases I, the king of Parthia.
Tiridates accentuated the general unreliability of Rome's clients, a problem that had only one ultimate solution, adopted by Trajan during his Eastern Campaign of 113-117. Armenia was overrun, Chosroes of Parthia lost Mesopotamia and his capital, Ctesiphon. Armenia was proclaimed a province, garrisoned with Roman troops and ruled by a king who was closely watched. Control was easier with possession of Mesopotamia, but in the 3rd century Rome began to lose its dominance in the East. This weakening led to changes.
The Sassanid destroyers of the Arsacids in Persia immediately initiated ambitious policies. Shapur I, the son of the dynasty's founder, Ardashir, was defeated by Timesitheus, the Praetorian prefect of Gordian III, but the next emperor, Philip the Arab, concluded a peace, reestablishing the old borders at the Euphrates.
Armenia was to be independent, meaning under Roman domination. In 296, Diocletian signed a treaty with Narses, the Sassanid king, giving all Armenia to Rome as a protectorate.
Armenia adopted Christianity very quickly, although the Sassanids did not tolerate its presence during their eras of influence. Christianization was inevitable, given the trade routes that went through Armenia. The kingdom remained under Roman control until 387, when, by agreement, the Sassanids took half, thus allowing a strategic balance. So it remained for nearly three centuries.
Armenia Minor was never so hotly contested. Adhering to the policy of client state buffers, Roman political figures from Pompey to Gaius Caligula, placed various non-Roman claimants on the throne.
Rulers of Armenia Minor
¤ Deiotorus of Galatia - given throne by Pompey.¤ Pharnaces - usurped the throne.¤ Ariobarzanes of Cappadocia - given throne by Julius Caesar in 47 B.C.¤ Polemo of Pontus - given throne by Marc Antony circa 37 B.C.¤ Artavasdes of Media - given throne by Augustus circa 30 B.C.¤ Archelaus of Cappadocia - replaced Artavasdes in 20 B.C.¤ Cotys, grandson of Polemo - given throne by Gaius Caligula in 38 A.D.¤ Aristobulus, son of Herod of Chalcis - given throne by Nero in 54 A.D.
In 72 A.D., as part of his general reorganization of the Empire, Vespasian seized Armenia Minor and placed it under direct Roman supervision. Henceforth Armenians living west of the Euphrates were part of the province of Cappadocia. Dio and Tacitus, along with Strabo, commented on the Armenians themselves. They were a proud people, caught up in the struggles of rival empires. Thus they were wavering in their allegiance and unreliable. Christianity, however, imbedded the concept of nationalism among the people, a factor that no occupying power could suppress with lasting success. See also ARTAXATA; and other individual rulers and imperial and senatorial provinces.
¤ ARMINIUS (Hermann) (d. 19 A.D.) Prince of the CHERUSCI and one of Germanic folklore's greatest heroes; responsible in 9 A. D. for one of the worst defeats ever inflicted on the Roman legions. Arminius served as an auxiliary of the Roman army but remained loyal to his own tribe. In 7 A.D., VARUS was placed in command of the three legions posted to Germany, with the intention of Romanizing the entire area. These plans were proceeding successfully when, in 9 A.D., Varus advanced to the Weser River, heading to a Roman fort at Aliso.
Arminius, who had previously voiced no opposition to Rome, suddenly led his people and nearly all of the Germanic tribes in revolt. Varus marched his three legions through the rough, impenetrable terrain of the Teutoburg Forest of Lower Saxony, and there he encountered the determined enemy. Nearly 20,000 men were killed in one disastrous episode. Even in the Punic Wars, Rome had never witnessed such a debacle. Imperial policy over the Rhine territory would never recover, and Germany was lost as a province forever. Six years later the gifted Roman general, GERMANICUS, mounted an expedition against the CHATTI, while Arminius was beset with troubles of his own. The Cherusci were divided into two uneven camps because of a quarrel between Arminius and his father-in-law, Segestes. (Arminius had stolen his daughter, although she was betrothed to another man.) Segestes was subsequently besieged by Arminius, and Germanicus, seizing the opportunity offered to him, marched to Segestes' rescue. The Roman pursued Arminius, dispatching his deputy, Aulus Severus Caecina, with 40 cohorts, ahead of him. Arminius turned to fight, and a general battle followed, with victory to the Romans. The German leader escaped, but four years later, in an attempt to regain his power, he was killed by treachery. Arminius was intensely popular during his days of victory but was hated in his later years, despite his pivotal role in the liberation of Germania.
¤ ARMOR See LEGIONS.
¤ ARMY See LEGIONS.
¤ ARRIA THE ELDER (d. 43 A.D.) Wife of the consul Caecina Paetus, who valiantly and famously killed herself when her husband was condemned to death by CLAUDIUS. In 42, Furius Camillus Scribonianus, the governor of Dalmatia, attempted to stir a revolt in the legions of the province. He failed, and the hunt started immediately for his fellow conspirators. Caecina Paetus, consul in 37, was one of the plotters. Paetus was captured and brought in chains to Rome. Arria, refused permission to travel at his side, found a way to follow him. When her husband's death was certain, Arria took a dagger, plunged it into her chest, took it out and handed it to Paetus with the famous words: "It does not hurt, Paetus." Pliny wrote of her in one of his letters.
¤ ARRIAN (Flavius Arrianus) (fl. 2nd century A.D.) Historian, governor, consul and Stoic, whose most vital work was the Anabasis, a history of Alexander that is, arguably, the most detailed history of the Macedonian kings extant. Born in Bithynia around 90 A.D., Arrian received an education and showed a talent for Stoicism. He learned philosophy from the famous Epictetus and preserved his teacher's words and lessons in his Discourses.
A political career soon followed. Arrian served as consul in 129 and was sent by Hadrian in 134 to serve as governor of Cappadocia. During his term the Alans invaded the region but were repulsed through his efforts. The rest of his achievements were in the literary field. Arrian wrote in Greek, admiring and imitating the style of Xenophon. He penned a now-lost History of Parthia, a chronicle of Alexander's successors, Indike, a compilation of details from Nearchus and Megasthenes, and possibly a military treatise. None of these, however, could compare with his Anabasis. Relying upon the sources of Ptolemy I and Aristobulus, Arrian created a detailed account of Alexander's campaigns. He died during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
¤ ARSACID DYNASTY The rulers of Parthia who dominated the Near East from Syria to India, from 250 B.C. to 226 A.D. For nearly 500 years the Arsacids were the second greatest power in the world, vying with Rome for supremacy and influence in the East. They were broken finally by the Sassanids, a new and more vital dynasty led by ARDASHIR i, but only after 37 rulers had sat upon the Arsacid throne.
Around 250 B.C., Arsaces, a lord of Parthia, led a revolt against Antiochus II of Syria, destroying his enemy and declaring himself the king of Parthia. From then on the dynasty acquired territories to the east and the west. Arsaces handed the throne to his brother, Tiridates, around 248 B.C., upon his death. In his honor Tiridates assumed the title of Arsaces.
Despite attacks from Antiochus the Great of Syria, by 210 B.C. the Arsacids were a legitimate power. Ambitious, the Parthians involved themselves as far as India itself. In the West, the Arsacid rivalry with Rome was long and bitter. Although in 92 B.C. Mithridates II sent an ambassador to Sulla in Rome, wars were commonplace. The Arsacids had their share of victories.
Crassus was annihilated by the Parthian general Surenas at Carrhae in 53 B.C., trumpeting a see-saw struggle that raged over Syria, Mesopotamia and Armenia for the next 33 years. Arsacid attempts to seize Syria met with failure. Marc Antony's invasion in 36-34 B.C. was repulsed, but civil wars weakened the Parthian position, making a common peace desirable.
Augustus (ruled 27 B.C.-14 A.D.) was responsible for the treaty of peace, but the leverage he used on Phraates was the fact that Tiridates, a usurper, had fled the country and had gone to Rome with Phraates' younger son. Here was one of the great handicaps of the Arsacid system: intrigues and dynastic usurpation, which weakened both the succession and the dynasty's hold over far-flung territories. Rome was able to influence the placement of Parthian rulers. The Median King Artabanus, who came to the throne in 16 A.D., was a foreigner, fathering a line of kings that once more fought with Rome.
The later wars were disasters. Domitius Corbulo, the commander of the East, in 63 A.D. defeated Vologases I and his brother Tiridates, in Armenia. In 113 A.D., another Roman invasion, under the command of Trajan, routed the forces of Oroses. The capital of Ctesiphon was captured, and Mesopotamia and Assyria were reduced.
Hadrian, in 177 A.D., returned most of the captured territories as part of his policy of establishing stable frontiers. The last great expansionist attempt took place in 162-165 A.D., when Vologases III was defeated by the co-Emperor Lucius Verus (realistically, by his general, Avidius Cassius). Ctesiphon was captured, and a ransom was paid to buy back the kingdom, although much of Mesopotamia was lost.
Subsequently, the Arsacids allowed considerable autonomy on the part of their client kings. In 224 A.D., Ardashir, king of Persia, rose up and conquered the neighboring client states, and Artabanus V rode to quell the rebellion. Ardashir routed Artabanus in a terrible battle, slaying the Arsacid king. As a result, Ardashir founded the Sassanids, and the dynasty of the Arsacids ended.
As the descendants of the Achaemenids, and thus Medes, the Arsacids maintained the Persian influenced system of government and lifestyle in their domain. They possessed satrapies, which the Persians had adopted as their mode of territorial administration, and ruled from Ecbatana and Ctesiphon. Ultimately, however, the lack of a clear, defined dynastic character prompted the stagnation that made the rise of a more truly Persian rule possible.
The Arsacid Kings
Name
Date

Arsaces
250-248 B.C.
Tiridates
248-227 B.C.
Artabanus
211 (208)-191 B.C.
Priapitius
191-176 B.C.
Phraates
176-171 B.C.
Mithridates
171-138 B.C.
Phraates II
138-128 or 129 B.C.
Artabanus
128 or 129 B.C.-124 B.C.
Himerus
128-123 B.C.
Mithridates II
124-87 B.C.
Gotarzes I
90-87 B.C.
Unknown
86-85 B.C.
Orodes I
80-77 B.C.
Sinatrukes
76-69 B.C.
Phraates III
70-57 B.C.
Orodes II
57-56 B.C.
Mithridates III
56-55 B.C.
Orodes II
55-38 B.C.
Phraates IV
38-2 B.C.
Tiridates II
30-25 B.C.
Phraataces
2 B.C.-4 A.D.
Orodes III
4-7 A.D.
Vonones
7-12 A.D.
Artabanus III
12-38 A.D.
Gotarzes II
38 A.D.
Vardanes
38-47 A.D.
Gotarzes II
47-51 A.D.
Vonones II
51 A.D.
Vologases
51-80 A.D.
Artabanus IV
80-81 A.D.
Pacorus
79-114 A.D.
Osroes
114-122 A.D.
Vologases II
105-147 A.D.
Mithridates IV
128-147 A.D.
Vologases III
149-192 A.D.
Vologases IV
192-207 A.D.
Vologases V
207-224 A.D. (?)
Artabanus V
224-226 A.D.
Artavasdes
226 A.D.
¤ ARSINOE (1) (d. 41 B.C.) A daughter of King Ptolemy XII Auletes and sister of Queen Cleopatra VII and King Ptolemy XIII, who feuded over the throne. Arsinoe, one in a long line of "Arsinoes" in the Ptolemic dynasty, was involved in the palace intrigues gripping the royal house when Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria in 48 B.C. In the subsequent siege and intense political maneuverings that took place, Arsinoe at first found herself overmatched by her far more skilled sister, Cleopatra; she became a prisoner in the palace.
Arsinoe did manage to escape, however, and then moved to better her position politically. She allied herself with the general of the Egyptian forces, Achillas, but when his loyalty became suspect, she had him killed. Her gamble failed, for Caesar overcame the siege, won the battle of the Nile over Ptolemy III and returned to Alexandria in triumph. Broken, Arsinoe was sent to Italy, where she was part of Caesar's triumph in Rome in 46 B.C.
Subsequently returned to Alexandria, Arsinoe lived a dangerous existence. Cleopatra vowed her death but had to wait until Marc Antony acquiesced.
¤ ARSINOE (2) Name given to several Egyptian towns after the royal women named Arsinoe in Egyptian-Ptolemaic history. Two were considered preeminent.
Arsinoe (Heroopolites) was built (date uncertain) along the Suez Gulf in Lower Egypt, specifically along the Sinus Heropolites or western branch of the Red Sea. It was noted in the Early Empire for its manufacturing of popular garments.
Arsinoe (Kiman Fares), called Shedyet by the Egyptians, was a substantial city in the Faiyum region of Middle Egypt. For many years Shedyet was the seat of the cult of the crocodile and was called Crocodilopolis. In 215 A.D., the Romans introduced the worship of Jupiter Capitolinus. There are a number of ruins to be found there, including a New Kingdom temple of Ramesses II and Ptolemaic temple. See also RELIGIONS.
¤ ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Art
The Augustan Age (27 B.C.-14 A.D.) - With the dawn of the Empire, Roman art revealed a strong Latin influence and embodied AUGUSTUS' vision of imperial grandeur. The greatest example of contemporary sculpture was the Ara Pacis ("Altar of Augustus' Peace"), with its relief sculpture glorifying the success of the Empire and pictorially augmenting the written record of Augustus' triumphs, RES GESTAE DIVI AUGUSTUS. Built around 10 B.C., the altar precinct was part of the CAMPUS MARTIUS complex. Its carvings depict the imperial pageants of the Praetorians, the Vestals and members of the citizenry. The entire design celebrates Augustus, but he is not represented as superhuman; he is part of the procession, not its focal point.
Under Augustus, considerable effort was put into decorating and beautifying altars. A kind of artistic practice emerged in the painting of these altars, best typified by the work preserved in the volcanic ash of Mount Vesuvius at POMPEII, which was buried in the eruption of 79 A.D. The surviving artistic record at Pompeii has allowed historians to discern four general styles of painting, Styles IIV. These styles are often applied broadly to Roman art. Style III was the most common school of art from the reigns of Augustus and TIBERIUS, continuing through the eras of CALIGULA and even NERO. It is marked by a disdain for realistic perspective, and an emphasis on scale.
Nero to Hadrian (54-117 A.D.) - With the reign of Nero another style of Roman painting, identified generally as Style IV, came into vogue. Style IV relies upon brilliant colors and profuse ornamentation, and is a combination of the previous two styles, synthesizing the abstract qualities of Style III with the more realistic architectural details of Style II. It was during this period that several painters flourished, of whom PRISCUS ATTITUS and Cornelius PINUS were most notable. VESPASIAN used them to decorate the Temple of Honos and Virtus.
The FLAVIANS were the great patrons of Style IV, which, because of its links to Republicanism (Style II), was well received given the more practical attitudes of the later period. The height of painting came just a few years before the Flavians, however, in the works of FORMULUS, who was commissioned by Nero to paint the entire GOLDEN HOUSE, the opulent and excessive imperial palace.
In the provinces, Roman styles were copied by all local artists. An obvious attempt at imitation was demonstrated in the decorative motifs in AQUILEIA. In Gaul, at VIENNE, a number of similar efforts survive but a general scarcity of actual works from the period make a true analysis difficult, even in Italy.
Hadrian (117-138 A.D.) - For some centuries the Hellenic world had been eclipsed by Rome. Aristically, the Greeks heavily influenced Rome, but the styles prevalent in the capital were predominantly Latin. Hadrian's philhellenic tastes changed all that, and he actively patronized Greece. Once more Greek culture was honored, and in art the Latin and Greek styles were incorporated, even as imperial favor ran to the purely Hellenic.
There were several causes for this return to classicism. The Empire had expanded to its greatest extent under TRAJAN (97-117 A.D.), and Hadrian inherited a world that embraced many cultures and traditions. A new, outward vision gripped imperial policy, and a rebirth of Greek classicism was part of that intellectual horizon. Under Trajan, Style IV Art, which had begun in the Neronian and Flavian reigns, reached its inevitable conclusion. The reliefs of Trajan's time were beautiful and expressive, particularly the Arch at Beneventum (see ARCHES) and, of course, the Column of Trajan (see COLUMNS), with their splendid portrayals of the emperor's achievements and his victory over the Dacians. Still, a weakening of the style was inescapable. The revitalizing elements were found in Hadrian's vigor and in his love of the classic style.
Medea mosaic, from Ephesus
Henceforth and until the Late Empire, Roman art was transformed. The austerity of early sculpture was embellished with classical features. Thus Hadrian's busts and statues displayed a beard and hair more analogous to the age of Pericles than to that of Augustus. This style remained prominent throughout the time of the ANTONINES. Greek artistry was also evident in other forms. For example, a change in burial rites created the sarcophagus as a popular eternal abode for the Romans. Of Egyptian origin, sarcophagi were a testament to the loss of traditional Italian religious notions. The sarcophagi of this era were heavily decorated with reliefs.
Pictorial decoration of a Greek nature spread in Rome and then to the provinces. Examples could be found in Germany and Gaul. But the actual emerging trend exhibited subtle differences. Mosaic artwork used for floors and specific decorations of the 2nd and 3rd centuries belonged entirely to the Roman artisans.
Hadrian's personal life also provided fodder for a specific art movement. The death of his lover ANTINOUS in 130 A.D. caused Hadrian tremendous grief, and he ordered the carving of a series of statues in his honor (as well as a religious cult and a city, which was founded in his name on the Nile). The statues of Antinous came to epitomize the fading glory of the Western Empire. With their idealized proportions, the statues appeared to represent all of the virtues that the Empire would need in order to survive.
The Late Empire - From the time of Septimius SEVERUS (193-211) to CONSTANTINE THE GREAT (306-337), official art patronage was concentrated in Rome. These years were ones of much military activity, with a slowly deteriorating social system. Martial scenes dominated painting and relief sculpture. The affairs of the Empire influenced the style. When Roman strength waxed, as in the reign of GALLIENUS (c. 253 A.D., who restored Roman military supremacy), art forms reflected Latin characteristics.
Late Empire art was still a combination of East and West, but certain trends were evident. Roman sentiment became more nationalistic and decidedly anti-classical. This was a response to the deterioration of the frontiers and the rise of foreign peoples within and outside of the borders. The Greek influence in art fell out of favor. Painting was still popular, and carvings were used on the still popular sarcophagi. Christianity, of course, would lead the Empire even further away from its classical heritage.
Beginning with the simple catacomb paintings, Christianity eventually overwhelmed and dominated Western art after the reign of Constantine the Great. The pattern of Roman art, perpetually history-minded and commemorative in nature, functioned alongside remnants of Greek and other provincial elements, but could not maintain its independence. It would reappear in the Middle Ages, and classicism would erupt as a marvelous art form in the Renaissance, but in the Late Empire it was in decline.
Architecture
The Augustan Age - The architecture of the Augustan Age was among the finest in the history of the Empire. Rome itself was almost completely rebuilt in this period. Whereas a definite Latin element and remnants of Style II and Republicanism were evident in its painting and sculpture, Rome possessed no such architectural tradition, and building had not been fully organized or of a high quality. SUETONIUS commented that the city was unworthy of its position as capital of the Empire. It was, therefore, the privilege of Augustus to determine the style and extent of Rome's reconstruction.
Augustus chose, not surprisingly, the Greeks as a model. Using classicism, the emperor, with the support of Marcus AGRIPPA, built the CURIA (in 29 B.C.), the TEMPLE OF DIVUS JULIUS (also in 29 B.C.), the TEMPLE OF MARS ULTOR and the TEMPLE OF APOLLO (in 20 B.C.), the PANTHEON, new aqueducts (the Aqua Julia and Aqua Virgo) and the Baths of Agrippa. These constructions were only a part of the wider Augustan plan for the capital. Eighty-two temples were built or rebuilt, including the great FORUM ROMANUM and FORUM AUGUSTUM.
The Forum Romanum had been greatly expanded by Julius Caesar in 54 B.C., but his death put an end to further renovations. Augustus finished the project but increased the prestige of the Forum by installing the greatest buildings of the city and the Empire within its confines. Julius Caesar's creation of a basilica was finished by his heir, Augustus, who constructed the BASILICA JULIA (c. 12 B.C.), a testament to his grandsons, Gaius and Lucius. It was a prominent part of the Forum, resting opposite the great BASILICA AEMILIA - according to ancient sources, one of the most beautiful structures in Rome.
Rostra (speakers' podiums or lecterns) were built in front of the Temple of Divus Julius and across from it the length of the Forum. Near the first rostra was the excellently carved Arch of Augustus, which was built originally in 29 B.C. to commemorate the battle of ACTIUM but was enlarged and made into a triple arch in 19 B.C. Augustus' arch stood next to the entrance of the TEMPLE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX (c. 6 A.D.). The last great building in the Forum Romanum was the TEMPLE OF CONCORD (c. 10 A.D.), located on the Capitoline Hill.
The other great forum was Augustus' own. The Forum Augustum was a long, rectangular-shaped series of structures that was first contemplated in 42 B.C. The design was originally to be symmetrical and enclosed, thus realizing the concept of an entire series of buildings as a temple, isolated from the rest of the city. Columns of marble were installed along with statues of prominent Roman figures, from Aeneas, the hero of the Trojan War, to Julius Caesar. The column and statues imbued the Temple of Mars Ultor with color. Mars' temple was in the Corinthian style, and his statue, sword in hand, dominated the building. On either side were statues of Venus and the deified Julius Caesar.
Marble first came into extensive use in the Augustan Age, and the Corinthian style was the dominant architectural form during the Empire.
TIBERIUS aided his adoptive father in the continued beautification of Rome, following the death of Marcus Agrippa in 12 B.C. In 14 A.D., however, with his accession to the throne, the massive building programs came to an end, although Tiberius did begin the TEMPLE OF DIVUS AUGUSTUS, on the Capitoline Hill. More importantly, two structures were built that displayed the growing centralization of the principate. A palace on the Capitoline replaced the old one of Augustus' era, with no expense spared. Then, in 21-22 A.D., at the request of SEJANUS, the prefect of the Praetorian Guard, a permanent barracks for the Guard was placed in the city.
GAIUS CALIGULA followed Tiberius' pattern. He dedicated the Temple of Divus Augustus in 37 A.D. and made grand plans for the palace and a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth. He was killed, and CLAUDIUS, his successor, was far too practical for such projects. Claudius's reign centered architecturally on public building and civil engineering. Aqueducts were built, with fine examples of arches and design, but nothing approached the grandeur or scale of Augustan art. The laudable achievements of Augustus, noted by the famed architect VITRUVIUS and with their emphasis on classicism, were no longer dominant.
Nero to Hadrian - Nero's reign marked a significant change in Roman architecture. Marble faded as the principal construction material, and the use of concrete returned. The DOMUS TRANSITORIA (c. 64 A.D.) was built to connect the various palaces, but was soon destroyed by the great fire of 64. As a result of the conflagration, space was made for the creation of a new palace, the GOLDEN HOUSE. This massive, sprawling complex of suites, parks and villas was Nero's lasting monument to the architecture of the era and to his own excess.
Such unabashed opulence, among other excesses, helped to bring about Nero's downfall. The Flavians gave the Romans a renewed commitment to sensible rule, and Vespasian went to considerable lengths to placate the citizens of the city and the provinces. Two major architectural undertakings marked that effort: the TEMPLE OF PEACE and the COLOSSEUM. The Temple of Peace was started in 71 A.D. and completed in 75. Designed to commemorate Rome's victory over the Jews, the temple was also a symbolic manifestation that authority and sobriety were once more in effect. The Colosseum was the greatest of the Flavian monumental structures and represented new heights of architectural design and construction.
Later Flavians added to the architectural splendor of the city. TITUS (reigned 79-81 A.D.) built baths, but his less popular brother DOMITIAN (ruled 81-96 A.D. was the one who initiated major works. Domitian was responsible for the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Vespasian on the Capitoline Hill, and a stadium in the Campus Martius. His most notable achievement was on the Palatine Hill, where the architect RABIRIUS designed and built the new imperial palace, the Domus Flavia. With its impressive use of concrete, and of pillars and columns made out of marble, it surpassed Nero's Golden House and became the palace of choice for later emperors. The Domus Flavia was the culmination of the architectural innovations begun under Nero. Trajan (ruled 98-117 A.D.) continued them and attempted to pour much of his wealth into construction programs in the city. The great architect of the age was APOLLODORUS of Damascus, and he was responsible for the two major projects of Trajan, the Baths and the Forum. Trajan's Baths, begun in Rome in 104 A.D. and finished in 109, were larger than those of Agrippa, with cross-vaulting and free columns. They were situated on part of the original grounds of Nero's Golden House. Trajan's Forum was an architectural masterpiece. Near the Campus Martius, much of the Quirinal was flattened to accommodate the buildings. The Forum was composed of the huge BASILICA ULPIA (185 feet long), Greek and Latin libraries, and eventually a temple devoted to the divine emperor himself. Also, a column commemorating Trajan's accomplishments was added.
Hadrian - Whereas the greatest architectural works prior to the reign of Hadrian were Roman, in his era they were distributed throughout the Empire. Hadrian attempted to build in every province. The importance of Rome faded in comparison. Nonetheless, the PANTHEON, though not innovative in style, was one of the most stunning achievements of any age, and Hadrian's palace at TIVOLI was beautiful, large and splendidly suited to the artistic and gifted emperor. It was built between 118 and 134 A.D., and contained courtyards, villas, a Serapeum, baths, a piazza and a library. The influence of Hadrian's worldwide travels was evident in the varied styles upon which the palace was based.
From approximately the time of Trajan, and especially in the reign of Hadrian, Africa was Romanized architecturally. LEPCIS MAGNA, for example, received baths, and building programs in the provinces increased during the Late Empire. Rome was deemphasized as an artistic or architectural center in direct proportion to imperial aspirations and attention to the rest of the Roman world. Further, the ostentatious styles and imitations of classicism faded in the reawakening of the straightforward Roman or Republican designs. Roman imperial architecture lost vigor in this era, but it was revived in the period following the rule of the Antonines, in the late 2nd century.
The Late Empire - The architecture of the Late Empire underwent periods of vitality and stagnation, mirroring the political climate of Rome and the Empire. Septimius Severus, taking the throne in 193 A.D., ruled Rome with certainty and thus initiated a program of construction both in the city and in his home province of Africa. Rome had been devastated by the fire of 191, and the emperor rebuilt the city, adding to the Palatine palace and creating a new structure, a many-columned building called the Septizonium. Severus' other notable edifice was the Arch, which was traditional in design.
CARACALLA, ruling on his own after 211 A.D., was remembered for one architectural achievement: the Baths of Caracalla. Built from 212 to 216, they were exceptional, with huge decorated rooms: the Calidarium, Natatio and Frigidarium. Little remains of later reigns, except for the partially rebuilt temples of SEVERUS ALEXANDER'S reign. Between the reigns of Caracalla and DIOCLETIAN, from 211 to 284 A.D., few examples of construction are evident. It is known, however, that in 271 the Emperor AURELIAN built sturdy but commonplace walls around the city.
With Diocletian and the Age of the TETRARCHY, Rome was totally eclipsed. The Empire was divided into four great areas, and each tetrarch (either an "augustus" or a "caesar") controlled vast territories. Each wished to live in grandeur and built accordingly. The designs used in this period were traditional Roman. Other palaces at TRIER, THESSALONICA, MILAN and NICOMEDIA displayed architectural splendors. Diocletian's palace at SPLIT, on the Yugoslavian coast, was the most beautiful of these royal residences. The palace at Split was created from 300 to 306 A.D. and was designed much like a great military camp. The walled complex reflected the military activity of the period.
In Rome, during the period from Diocletian to the end of the Empire, three lasting achievements became part of the city's heritage. Diocletian constructed Baths (298-306 A.D.) that were more compact and united in theme and design. Constantine, in 315, ordered the carving of a giant Arch, thus marking a return to classicism; and the BASILICA MAXENTIUS was the culmination of the traditional style of architecture in the Western Empire. The new age that would stretch into the Middle Ages began in the East, and its birth was seen in the building of CONSTANTINOPLE.
¤ ARTABANUS III (d. 38 A.D.) King of Parthia from 12 to 38 A. D. ousted from his throne on several occasions, managing always to survive and to return to power. Like so many of the Arsacid princes, Artabanus came to the kingship after a struggle, in his case, with the despised Vonones I. Originating from an Arsacid line, but having served in Media, the prince was chosen by the Parthians to lead the country, and Vonones was driven into Armenia, and then into Syria and Cilicia, where he died in 19 A.D.
Artabanus possessed only a temporary hold on his throne and was always aware of the dangerous factions involved in court politics. Such concerns prevented him from questioning Germanicus' placement in 18 of the Pontic descendant of Polemo I, Zeno, on Armenia's throne. Instead, he waited and sent a letter of friendship to Rome. The next years were spent solidifying his territorial holdings with a series of successful campaigns. By 34, he felt prepared to carry out his ambitions.
In 34, Zeno (also called Artaxias) died. Artabanus immediately set his own son Arsaces on the throne of Armenia. According to Tacitus, he then sent to Rome threatening letters. Such actions stirred the pro-Roman faction into sending a delegation to Rome, to ask Tiberius for assistance. The emperor dispatched Phraates, the son of Phraates IV of Parthia, to the scene, but he died in Syria and did not reach his destination. Tiberius then sent Tiridates, who was also an Arsacid. Tiridates overcame Artabanus and ruled, albeit briefly (see ABDAGAESES).
Artabanus returned to the throne soon after, but in 35, at the instigation of the Romans, Mithridates of the Asian Kingdom of Iberia invaded Parthia. After his generals were defeated, and in the face of invasion by the commander of the legions, Lucius Vitellius Artabanus accepted Roman supremacy in Armenia. Shortly afterward, another palace intrigue forced him from the throne, but he regained it and died in 38, probably from exhaustion. He was succeeded by his son, Gotarzes.
¤ ARTABANUS V (d. c. 226 A.D.) King of Parthia and the last effective ruler of the ARSACID DYNASTY. He was destroyed by ARDASHIR I in 226 A.D., losing his troops and his life. The brother of the ruler Vologases V, Artabanus overthrew him and ascended the throne sometime before 224. The perpetual dynastic feuds, however, made the Arsacid line politically unstable. When Ardashir of Persia revolted against the Arsacids in 208, capturing numerous satrapies within the Parthian Empire, Artabanus felt unable to meet the threat immediately. He waited until 224 to confront Ardashir, and by that time it was too late. Ardashir defeated the Parthians and proclaimed himself King of Kings, the traditional Persian title of supremacy. Artabanus was later killed.
¤ ARTAGIRA A city in Armenia near Artaxata, in the province of Ararat; a strongly garrisoned site. In 2 A.D., the throne of Armenia was vacant, and Gaius Caesar, with the permission of Augustus, placed Ariobarzanes of Media in the position of king. The Parthians, who had a vested interest in Armenia, stirred up a revolt among their own supporters in the nation. A large force of rebels took refuge in the fortress city of Artagira. Gaius Caesar arrived there in late August of 3, and on September 9, Addon, the captain of the walls, asked to speak with him. Gaius was wounded in the confrontation and was carried away by his outraged lieutenants. The Romans promptly laid siege to the city and captured the fort after bitter fighting. Gaius died in February of the next year from the wounds received.
¤ ARTAVASDES (1) (fl. 1st century B.C.) King of MEDIA ATROPATENE; first an ally of PARTHIA against Rome (c. 53 B.C.) but later closely connected with Emperor Augustus. In 34 B.C., Artavasdes turned from the Parthians and offered his help to Antony. In 30 B.C., however, when the Arsacid King Phraates IV conquered both Media and Armenia, Artavasdes was forced to flee to Syria. Seeking a reliable ally on the Euphrates frontier, Octavian (AUGUSTUS) gave Artavasdes the kingdom of Armenia Minor in 30 B.C.
¤ ARTAVASDES (2) (d. 34 B.C.) King of Armenia from 56 to 34 B.C.; an unreliable ally to Marc Antony during his wars against Parthia. Succeeding his father, Tigranes, he participated in the invasion of Parthia in 54 B.C. by M. Licinius Crassus. Artavasdes was a half-hearted ally who gave the Roman no aid at all, and when the Parthians invaded Armenia, he changed sides entirely, becoming a vassal of Orodes II. Artavasdes surrendered to Marc Antony in 37 B.C. and promised his help. Surprisingly, Antony trusted him, and Artavasdes was given escort duty over Antony's food wagons. The Armenian king betrayed the Romans and allowed them to face a slaughter, forcing Antony to retreat. Antony sought vengeance and in 34 B.C. captured the king and two of his sons, Artavasdes and Tigranes; Artaxes, another son, had escaped. The king was taken to Alexandria, where Cleopatra VII had him executed. Plutarch described him as a well educated man, who had a great fondness for all things Greek.
¤ ARTAXATA Capital of Armenia; located in Ararat Province on the Araxes River. It was built by Artaxes I during the Punic Wars (3rd-2nd centuries B.C.). Strabo claimed that Hannibal aided in the construction of the city. Its possession subsequently became a symbol of domination between rival powers. The Romans, however, caused the greatest amount of damage and suffering.
In 58 A.D., Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo invaded and reclaimed Armenia for Nero, besieging and then capturing the capital from the east; the city was surrounded on all the other sides by the Araxes River. According to Tacitus, the king of Armenia, Tiridates, watched helplessly as Artaxata was burned to the ground.
In 66, Tiridates gained the favor of Nero, returning home with 200,000 sesterces and with artisans, craftsmen and gifts, as well as the emperor's permission to rebuild the capital. Artaxata was to be named Neronia, a title that lasted only until Nero's fall in 69.
In 164, Statius Priscus took Armenia and erected a new city to take the old capital's place. Artaxata, however, remained of some importance, for Ammianus Marcellinus mentioned that in 363 the Persians retook Armenia, gaining a sizable portion of the country, including Artaxata. See also TIGRANOCERTA.
¤ ARTAXES II (d. 20 B.C.) King of Armenia from 33 to 20 B.C., the son of Artavasdes I of Armenia, who regained the throne lost by his father. In 34 B.C., Marc Antony captured Artavasdes and brought him to Alexandria. Artaxes had escaped, eventually fleeing to King Phraates IV of Parthia. The Arsacid ruler invaded Armenia in 33 B.C. and placed Artaxes on the throne. Spiteful and vengeful, the young king ordered the slaughter of all Roman traders in Armenia, an act that went unavenged. Artaxes was not a popular leader, and a cabal within the palace succeeded in murdering him.
¤ ARTEMIS See DIANA.
¤ ARULENUS RUSTICUS, Q. JUNIUS (d. c. 93 A.D.) Tribune of the Plebs in 66 A.D., praetor in 69 and consul suffectus in 92. An ardent Stoic philosopher, Rusticus was willing to confront the imperial government from the start of his career, defending the political figure Thrasea Paetus in 66. He was a friend of Pliny the Younger, Paetus and Helvidius Priscus, writing a panegyric (c. 93) in honor of the latter two. This affront to the Flavians (both were opponents of Vespasian) was widened by Domitian into a capital crime. Philosophers were banished from Italy, and Rusticus was put to death.
¤ ARVAL BRETHREN The name given to an order of priests in Rome who presided over festivals and important religious holidays. Originally, the Arval was a powerful brotherhood that prayed to Mars, to protect crops from plague, and to the Dea Dia, for crop fertility. By the Late Republic, their powers were reduced and membership was declining.
The Arval Brethren were revived by new Emperor AUGUSTUS sometime around 21 B.C., with new priests totaling 170. When the group was introduced to Rome, membership was considered an honor. Even members of the Imperial Family opted to join, and the prayers were shifted in emphasis to accommodate the new status of the group. Henceforth, the Arvals were to pray for crops and growth as part of the tradition, but the imperial institution was the primary beneficiary of their intercessions. No festival was planned without their active participation and presence. The Arval Brethren supervised the following ceremonies: January 1 and 3 - the Ara Pads Augustae, where vows were taken for the safety of the state by consuls newly elected and then by imperial or provincial officials; January 7 - an Augustan anniversary; and January 16 - the reception of the title Augustus.
The Arval also offered prayers throughout the year to Jupiter, Minerva, Dea Dia and to Divus Augustus, following the emperor's death in 14 A. D. Each emperor then added days to the calendar that he considered important, a process that became impractical after a time. By the late 2nd century, the brotherhood had once more slipped from its elevated status, although a number of dedications, litanies and prayers used by them are extant through inscriptions.
¤ ARVANDUS (fl. 5th century A.D.) Prefect of the PRAETORIAN GUARD during the reign of Anthemius (467-472). Arvandus was a good friend of the poet and statesman SIDONIUS APOLLINARIS and, in the emperors name, administered Gaul. His attempts at dealing with the barbaric hordes pouring into the west caused his eventual downfall. Arvandus attempted to bargain with King Euric of the Visigoths, with the aim of placating the entire barbarian enemy. He possessed enemies in Rome, however, and he was brought to the city to answer charges of treason and embezzlement. Arvandus laughed at the attack, but the Senate condemned him. Despite the appeals of Sidonius Apollinaris and a half-hearted ally, the magister militum RICIMER, Arvandus was executed. See also PREFECT OF THE PRAETORIAN GUARD.
¤ AS The principal coin issued by the Republic; came to represent artistically the growing strength of Rome, as made evident by the use of a ship and a god, Janus, on the reverse and obverse sides. First issued in the 3rd century B.C., its value as a coin was replaced by the sestertius. By the time Augustus ruled, asses were reduced to a unit of measurement in COINAGE weight.
¤ ASCLEPIODOTUS (fl. 3rd century A.D.) Prefect of the PRAETORIAN GUARD from 290 to 296 A.D. With a purely military background, a rarity for his era, Asclepiodotus spent much of his career in the service of Probus on the frontiers, fighting there from 276 to 282. Named a prefect of the Guard, he was used on a variety of missions but was noted for his British campaign in 296, against the usurper ALLECTUS. Serving one of the tetrarchs, Constantius I, the prefect commanded an invasion fleet, sailing with his master to Britain. As the admiral of the flotilla, Asclepiodotus achieved not only a successful landing but also the distinction of being the only prefect of the Guard ever to hold a naval position. In Hampshire, later that year, the ex-admiral, now a general, met and defeated Allectus; Constantius then entered London. Asclepiodotus was made consul in 292.
¤ ASCLEPIUS (also Aesculapius) Greek god of MEDICINE who was imported into the Roman Empire, attaining immense popularity in the 2nd century A.D. A great physician in Homer's works, he was elevated to divine status and his cult was centered in the Greek city of Epidaurus. Cures were supposedly made there, and in 293 B.C., during a tragic plague, the Sibylline Books ordered that a sanctuary be found in Italy to acquire the aid of the god. An island in the Tiber River was chosen as the site of the deity's temple.
There were other places throughout the Empire where Asclepius was worshipped. Crete housed the god, and in Cyrenaica he was ranked with Apollo and Venus. But the main center of the cult was at Pergamum during the period of the Empire. Thousands traveled to the city on the Aegean Sea coast of Asia Minor in the hope of finding a cure for their illnesses and ailments. One of the pilgrims in the 2nd century A.D. was the writer and rhetorician P. Aelius ARISTIDES.
¤ ASCONIUSPEDIANUS, QUINTUS (2 B.c.-83 A.D.?) Also known simply as Asconius, a noted grammarian. He probably came from Padua (Patavium) and went blind sometime around 65 A.D. Of his vast writings, only his commentaries on five speeches of CICERO have survived. Among the fragments of these orations were Cicero's pro Cornelia de maiestate and pro Milone, as well as in toga Candide, in Pisonem and pro Scauro. The commentary of Pedianus was careful, scholarly and historically valuable. He also wrote a defense of Virgil's poetry, a biography of Sallust, (d. 43 B.C.) and a Platonic-style "symposium."
¤ ASIA A senatorially controlled territory that was, economically and administratively, the jewel of the Empire. Formed along the western coast of ASIA MINOR, Asia composed the territories of MYSIA, LYDIA, PISIDIA and PHRYGIA; RHODES was added later. It was the most desirable posting in the Empire because of its regional stability, economic prosperity and heavy concentration of both Roman and Hellenic influences.
In 130 B.C., King Attalus III bequeathed to Rome his kingdom, and Asia became a province under the supervision of a senatorial commission. The borders of the region remained substantially unchanged (with the exception of Vespasian's inclusion of Rhodes) until the time of Diocletian (late 3rd century). In 27 B.C., Augustus placed Asia under the authority of the Senate, and it was administered by a proconsul, who was aided by three legates and a quaestor. Procurators served as well, mainly as the upholders of the interests of the emperor. Administration varied from area to area. Many cities that were fairly autonomous under the rule of the Attalid kings retained independence but were still included in the province. Cities directly under the rule of the Romans were allowed city councils, with the usual Roman bureaucratic intrusions. Magistrates, tax collectors and the correctores maintained an imperial presence. Justice was dispensed by nine territorial departments, the conventus.
The proconsul administered the province from either Ephesus or Pergamum. There is uncertainty as to which city held sway politically. Pergamum was important, located near the coast, but Ephesus held the public records. Further, when the governor arrived to take control of the province, he was required, historically, to begin in Ephesus.
Asia was enormously prosperous. A variety of crops were grown successfully, including olives and corn. Clothes were dyed as well there. But true economic power came from the province's position directly on the east-west trade routes. Asian harbors at Miletus, Rhodes, Smyrna and Alexandria Troas contained foreign vessels trading for the wealth of the Mediterranean Sea and beyond.
The cities, in turn, reinvested their capital, most often in themselves, and became some of the most beautiful in the Empire. Attractive to Eastern religions, metropolises such as Pergamum emerged as the centers of such deities as Asclepius. A few of these cities received the official Roman status of "metropolis," which brought them even more benefits and privileges. Schools of philosophy, general education and medicine were opened in Smyrna, Ephesus and Pergamum.
The wealth of the province made it attractive to colonists. Italians and Romans were lured by the richness and beauty and by the imperial policy concerning rougher regions, which assisted such colonization. Veterans were given parcels of land around Pisidian cities, such as Apamea, or were instructed to found new ones, such as at Antioch. The Greek notions of self-determination were evidenced by the cities, which also displayed a lingering sense of the polls, the concept of the city-state with its self-concern and desire to effect policies beneficial to the common workers and their families.
Greek civilization was visible as the people accepted the older Eastern cults, tolerated newer ones and then embraced the most important of all, Christianity. It was in the province of Asia that the early church prospered. The Eastern Church, in time, became the bulwark of the Christian creed.
¤ ASIA MINOR Name given to Anatolia, the extensive peninsula between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, fronting the Aegean. Throughout the period of the Roman Empire, Asia Minor contained the provinces of ASIA, LYDIA, CAPPADOCIA, BITHYNIA, and PONTUS, 3S Well 3S GALATIA and PAMPHYLIA. Connected to the East by Comma-gene, Armenia and Parthia, the entire region was one of the most prosperous and well traveled (commercially) areas in the Roman Empire.
¤ ASINIUS CALLUS (d. 33 A.D.) Senator and consul in 8 B.C.; the son of the famous orator C. Asinius Pollio followed his father's style of blunt speaking. He was sin- I gled out for destruction by Tiberius, in one of the most vindictive episodes of that emperor's reign. In 14 A.D. Gal- I lus proposed that Augustus' body be carried to the funeral through the Triumphal Gate and then enraged Tiberius by asking how much of the Roman world the new emperor wished to rule. Tiberius waited for his chance to destroy Gallus for this and for another, greater act. Tiberius di- I vorced his beloved wife VIPSANIA to marry the adulterous Julia, Augustus' daughter. In a moment of astounding political shortsightedness, Gallus wed Vipsania, going so far as to have children and to call Drusus, Tiberius' son, his own.
By 30 A.D., the aged emperor was prepared to seek vengeance. Gallus had added to his sins by constant speech-making in the Senate. He had an overly ambitious friendship with the soon to be doomed Prefect SEJANUS and an association with Tiberius' enemy, AGRIPPINA. Tiberius summoned Gallus to Capri, entertained him hospitably and then put him in chains. He was condemned and kept under the closest supervision for the next three years. Life was made as horrible as possible for him, as he was never given enough food. The emperor refused to yield, and Gallus died of starvation. Tacitus mentioned Gallus frequently in his Annals, usually in a critical fashion. Augustus said that he was a man harboring ambitions for the throne, but lacking the intelligence necessary to achieve such a lofty position. Of his five sons, three became consuls of Rome.
¤ ASPAR, FLAVIUS ARDABURIUS (consul in 434 A.D.) A MAGISTER PEDITUM who was one of the most important military and political figures in the Eastern Empire. Aspar was a member of the Alan people but represented the position of, and received the support of, the Germans. His wife was probably an Ostrogoth, for Theodoric, the powerful Ostrogoth king, was her nephew.
In 425, the magister peditum assisted Empress Galla Placidia and her son Valentinian in their attempts to dislodge John the Usurper from Ravenna. After campaigning in Africa, Aspar received the consulship in 434. He then increased his power through the influence of the Goths, eventually playing kingmaker for the emperors Marcian (Eastern Empire, 450-457) and Leo the Great (Eastern Empire, 457-474).
Leo, however, cultivated new alliances in the East. Despite elevating Aspar's son Patricius to the rank of Caesar in 469-470, he began to view Aspar suspiciously. Aspar's other son, Ardaburius, attempted to bribe Leo's soldiers, the Isaurians, with no success. As a result, Ardaburius and Aspar were slain in the palace by eunuchs.
¤ ASSASSINS Roman killers participated in the deaths of many emperors over the centuries. Emperors faced tremendous challenges in office, from having their policies adopted to the maintenance of the borders and frontiers. Above all, they had to placate the citizens of Rome in general and the Praetorian Guards in particular. Many, unable to win the continued loyalty of the men around them, fell victim to poison, the blade or strangulation. The following is a list of emperors who were assassinated.
Emperor
Assassins

Tiberius (14-37 A.D.)
Probably Gaius Caligula
Caligula (37-41)
Praetorian Guards; Cassius Chaerea; Prefect Arrecinus Clemens; and others
Claudius (41-51)
Agrippina the Younger, the empress
Galba (69)
Praetorian Guards
Vitellius (69)
Vespasian's soldiers
Domitian (81-96)
Stephanus; with Petronius Secundus; Norbanus (a chamberlain); and Domitia Longina, the empress
Commodus (180-192)
Narcissus, an athlete; Prefect Quintus Laetus; Marcia (Commodus' mistress); Eclectus (chamberlain); and Pertinax, the urban prefect
Pertinax (193)
Praetorian Guards
Didius Julianus (193)
Soldiers on senatorial orders
Geta (211)
His brother
Caracalla (211-217)
Julius Martialis; with aid of Prefect of the Guard Macrinus
Elagabalus (218-222)
Praetorian Guard in the Castra Praetoria
Severus Alexander (222-235)
Mutinous troops in the Danube Wars
Maximinus I (235-238)
Disaffected troops
Balbinus and Pupienus (238)
Praetorian Guard
Gordian III (238-244)
Soldiers prodded by Praetorian Prefect Philip
Trebonianus Gallus (251-253)
Soldiers
Aemilian (253)
Soldiers
Gallienus (253-268)
Prefect Heraclianus; aided by generals Marcianus, Claudius Gothicus and Aurelian
Postumus (260-268)
Soldiers refused permission to sack city of Moguntiacum
Aurelian (270-275)
Thracian Praetorian officer, Mucapor; and other officers
Florian (276)
Soldiers
Probus (276-282)
Soldiers
Carus (282-283)
Probably the Praetorian Prefect, Arrius Aper, although lightning was listed as the official cause
Carinus (283-285)
One of his imperial officers
Numerian (283-284)
Arrius Aper
Constans I (337-350)
Assassin sent by Magnentius
Gratian (367-383)
Officer named Andragathius
Valentinian II (375-392)
Magister militum Arbogast (or possibly by suicide)
Libius Severus (461-465)
Probably by his own men
Julius Nepos (474-475)
Two retainers, Ovida and Viator, with complicity of Glycerius
See also FRUMENTARII and SPECULATORES
¤ ASSEMBLY See TRIBUTAL ASSEMBLY.
¤ ASTROLOGY The science given birth in Babylonian Chaldaea and passed on to the Hellenic world. For the Romans, who would adopt virtually anything cultic or of a religious nature, astrology became tremendously popular. During the Empire astrology was favored and practiced by all classes of Romans. Its appeal stretched from intellectuals, the Stoics and the nobility, to the provinces, and even to the common workers and peasants.
The Eastern campaigns of Alexander the Great and the subsequent creation of the Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms ensured enough Asian influences that the art of astrology was scientifically explored. The traditions of stellar influences were accepted by the Ptolemies, and Alexandria, in Egypt, was a center of astrological divination.
Varro (116-27 B.C.) was among the first of the Romans to express publicly an interest, but the city itself was at first reluctant to open its gates to such a foreign practice. In 139 B.C., the praetor of Rome expelled all astrologers. By the era of Nigidius Figulus (mid-lst century B.C.), the Pythagorean philosopher and writer (the era of Pompey as well), the astrology movement found support among Posidonius and the Stoicists.
The Stoics gave to astrology precisely the intellectual basis that appealed to the Roman people. A divine linking of the earth with the stars, and a cosmological movement connecting all living things, bore similarities that forged a natural bond between them. The astrologers identified themselves with the Stoics, and the Stoics applied astrological practices.
Romans traditionally had a great interest in the supernatural and the magical; even Tacitus in his Annals placed great faith in astrological prophecy. They were curious, generally open-minded, but also highly susceptible to fraud and manipulation, both personal and political. The possibilities for abuse convinced powerful men that astrology would be far too dangerous, and so a series of expulsions took place.
Tiberius, as he did with actors, executed all foreign astrologers in 16 A.D. and exiled all Italian practitioners, this despite his great faith in his own seer, THRASYLLUS. In 52 A.D., Claudius banished astrologers, and Vitellius ordered them out of Rome again in 69. In response, the astrologers issued a notice predicting accurately the day of his demise.
Vespasian had his own seers and granted privileges to BALBILLUS and his city of Ephesus because of his proficiency in the art. In 70, however, finding predictions about his reign a nuisance, he banished everyone connected to astrology.
The most intriguing political use of astrology came circa 95 A.D., when Domitian consulted the diviners about the charts of the men in the Empire who might aspire to the throne. He then systematically exterminated them, overlooking Nerva because of his age. In time, Nerva became emperor.
While rulers of the early and middle Empire would ban or execute astrologers, no pogrom was launched and no laws were passed to outlaw the practice of the art. The closest law was that of Augustus, in 11 A.D., which forbade the prediction of anyone's death and also prohibited forecasting in private. Astrology, however, was never illegal in Rome, and its popularity made it difficult to erase.
The Eastern Cults, which flooded Rome as its empire grew, very often contained many traditional astrological elements; Mithras was intensely popular and largely based on astrology. Influenced by the Mesopotamians and hence Babylonian notions, Mithraism was followed by many legionaries and commoners, placing astrology into the very lowest, hence most populous elements of the Empire's citizenry.
Like paganism, astrology could not openly survive orthodox Christianity, which was at odds with all such practices and traditions. Through political pressure, Constantius II in 357 proclaimed divinition a crime punishable by death. Astrology was only one of a wider number of divinatory practices in the Empire. There were auspices, omens and the state-administered college of Augura (see AUGURS AND AUGURY). But for capturing the public interest and imagination, all paled alongside astrology.
¤ ASTRONOMY A field of interest that was heavily influenced by the East and then developed into an actual science under the Greeks. The Romans had their choice of numerous astronomical theories, but astronomy suffered intellectually during the Empire because of the perpetual confusion made between it and astrology.
Nevertheless, astronomy was one of the leading fields of study, and extant works of mathematicians and scientific writers display a variety of ideas. Geocentricism was the accepted theory in Rome, and the heliocentric ideas of Aristarchus of Samos (310-230 B.C.) were ignored.
Cicero (d. 43 B.C.), an avid follower of Archimedes, studied certain astronomical theories, and the Academy placed the science in its course of study. M. Terrentius Varro (1st century B.C.) wrote of astrologia is his treatise on liberal arts, one among the 488 lost books of which he was author. General acceptance of astronomy was evidenced by the work of Sosigenes, a Greek astronomer who redesigned the Republican calendar.
Other studies were made, especially at Alexandria, the active home of astronomy in many eras. Two names in particular are known: Theon of Smyrna and Claudius Ptolemy (fl. 127-141 A. D.). Theon examined mathematics from an astronomical perspective, while Ptolemy authored the Great Collection, which was a vast treatise on the subject, covering the planets and the works of previous Greek astronomers. The Great Collection, compiled in the mid-2nd century A.D., was consulted by the Arabs, who called it Al-majisti, and by Europeans until the 16th century.
Sailors of the period knew the stars and, because of astrology, the constellations and the planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus and Mercury. Unfortunately, the astronomy of the Roman Empire was not particularly original, save for the compilations and extensive calculations of Ptolemy.
¤ ATHANASIUS ("St. Athanasius") (c. 295-373 A.D.) Bishop of Alexandria and a 4th-century theologian who was one of the most active leaders against ARIANISM in the church. Receiving a suitable education before becoming a member of the Christian clergy in his home city of Alexandria, he served under Alexander of Alexandria and accompanied him to the Council of Nicaea in 325, where Arianism was officially condemned. Three years later he was chosen by Alexander to be the bishop of Alexandria.
Constantine I twice listened to the Arians and Melitians, and Athanasius was forced to defend himself in 331 and 335. The second time resulted in his exile to Gaul, after the Council of Tyre expelled him. In 337, Athanasius was reinstated by Constantine II, but was deposed by the Arians, who then refused to accept a synod of bishops that had exonerated him.
Constantius allowed Athanasius to return to Alexandria in 346, but he was condemned again at the Council of Aries (353) and at the Council of Milan (355). Athanasius was then forced to seek shelter in the Libyan desert.
Julian the Apostate became emperor and in February of 362, Athanasius returned to Alexandria. Arianism was strongly condemned by a synod, but a strong attempt at reconciliation was made with the Homoiousians (who believed in the separateness of Christ from the Father), and many so called Semi-Arians were brought back into the church. Julian, however, feared Athanasius's success and exiled him in October of 362. Jovian brought him back, but in 364, Valens (co-emperor with Valentinian) sent him away once more.
In less than five months he was back in Alexandria, where he spent his last years. His main works were attacks on Arianism, the most famous being Discourses Against the Arians, Two Books Against the Pagans and On the Incarnation. Athanasius was a close friend of St. Antony.
¤ ATHAULF (d. 415 A.D.) King of the VISIGOTHS from 410 to 415. At the end of 410, ALARIC, sacker of Rome and ruler of the Goths, died in southern Italy. His brother Athaulf came to the throne. The most qualified to lead his people, in 412 Athaulf took them over the Alps into Gaul. With GALLA PLACIDIA, the sister of Emperor Honorius, and the deposed Emperor Attalus under his control, he bargained with both Honorius and the usurper in Gaul, Jovinus, eventually siding with Honorius. No longer content to ravage the Empire, Athaulf in 414 married Galla Placidia and made moves to reconcile himself with Rome. Honorius refused to treat with him, and war broke out in the West. The MAGISTER MILITUM Constantius blockaded the coast of Gaul and much of the southern portion of the country was laid waste. Attalus, who had been temporarily elevated to the throne as a usurper, was captured by Constantius. Whatever plans Athaulf had were cut short by his assassination by followers of a murdered chieftain.
¤ ATHENA See MINERVA.
¤ ATHENADORUS (fl. late 1st century A.D.) Stoic and tutor of AUGUSTUS. Also known as Athenodorus, he came from Tarsus and was a correspondent and friend of Cicero. Athenadorus tutored Augustus and was sent by him to Tarsus, to remove the writer Boethius, the city's leader, who had been appointed by Marc Antony. Athenadorus was considered a good and honorable man by his contemporaries, and Dio related that once he ordered for his use a litter used by the women who were brought into the presence of Augustus. Athenadorus jumped out of the vehicle, sword in hand, demanding to know if Augustus was not concerned that someone could kill him by entering his presence in that fashion. Augustus was grateful for the demonstration.
¤ ATHENAEUM Institute of learning created by Hadrian in 133 A.D. The Athenaeum specialized in science and literary fields. In 193 A.D., the building was used by the Senate for its deliberations on the fate of Emperor Didius Julianus.
¤ ATHENS For centuries the city of Athens was the cultural and intellectual center of the Western World. Under the Roman Empire, the city was reduced to a unit of the province of ACHAEA, but remained the seat of intellectualism. In 86 B.C., the general Sulla captured Athens after it had rebelled against Roman rule and punished its citizens harshly for trying to break away from Rome.
The 1st century B.C. CIVIL WARS of Rome also proved costly to Athens, as the combatants - Pompey, Caesar, Antony, Brutus and the Liberators, Octavian - demanded contributions from the inhabitants. Because Antony found great favor with the Athenians, after the battle of ACTIUM (31 B.C.), Augustus in revenge terminated the city's right to grant citizenship and to mint its own coinage. When the province of Achaea was officially established, the proconsul administered the territory from Corinth instead of Athens, another display of imperial displeasure. These penalties, however, did not diminish the Athenian spirit of independence.
Supremacy over Greece, let alone the rest of the world, was now out of the question, and Athens found it difficult to compete with the rest of the province economically. Agriculture was helpful, but the city's survival depended upon the assistance and kindness of benefactors, both Greek and Roman. Few figures of provincial Athenian history matched the munificence of HERODES ATTICUS, who used large portions of his personal wealth to build extensively, including such projects as the Odeion. This assistance was small in comparison to what the emperors of Rome could provide, so Athens looked to imperial favor for its survival.
Claudius gave Athens his blessing, and Domitian provided relief. His main contribution came in the confiscation of the wealth of Hipparchus of Athens, whose reduced but still extensive fortune passed to the control of Herodes Atticus. It was HADRIAN (ruled 117-138 A.D.), lover of all things Greek, who became Athens' greatest patron.
According to the historian Dio, Hadrian finished the Olympienum, which housed his statues. He granted to Athens large amounts of money and handed out grain. Equally, Hadrian adopted or imitated the Greek lifestyle, and Athens thus became the focal point of his devotion. Games were given in honor of panhellenism, and the emperor assumed the role of archon, or Athenian leader. Lastly, he gave Athens the revenue of Cephallenia, which alleviated its economic problems. Marcus Aurelius, taught by many Greek philosophers, in 177-178 ordered the creation of the first great university by endowing chairs at each of the major philosophical schools situated in Athens. Henceforth, despite being sacked by the Goths in 267, Athens' reputation was exclusively educational.
Athens was divided into two major sections, the Acropolis and the Lower City. The Acropolis was the artistic and religious seat, with temples and great statues. The Parthenon dominated the site. Hadrian completed the temple of Olympian Zeus in 124-125 A.D., built his Arch and then constructed a library there. Other construction during the Roman era was limited, the most notable structures being the Agora and the Odeion. Julius Caesar, around 50 B.C., made the Agora possible. The Odeion of Agrippa (not the one built by Herodes Atticus) was erected by Marcus Agrippa in 15 B.C. but became unusable in the 2nd century A.D.; a new one was constructed by Atticus.
¤ ATTALUS, PRISCUS (early 5th century A.D.) Senator, usurper and a pawn of the Visigoths. Attalus was a pagan of Greek origin and was sent in 409 as part of an embassy to the king of the Visigoths, Alaric. The embassy was unsuccessful, and the Goths sacked Rome and attempted to bring Emperor Honorius to his knees at Ravenna, using Attalus as a puppet. Alaric proclaimed Attalus the emperor, because he was serving at the time as urban prefect.
Attalus, however, proved too willful. Alaric made over-hires to Honorius and in 410 removed Attalus from the throne. The ex-emperor remained under Alaric's control and was given to Athaulf, who succeeded Alaric, in 412. Two years later, while feuding with Honorius, Athaulf placed Attalus once again on the throne. In 415, however, after losing much of southern Gaul to a blockade, the Goths abandoned Attalus, and he was captured by Honorius' men. Maimed, he was exiled to the island of Lipara.
¤ ATTIANUS, PUBLIUS ACILIUS (fl. early 2nd century A.D.) A Praetorian prefect under emperors TRAJAN and HADRIAN, who in 117 ensured the succession of Hadrian. Trajan had recognized Hadrian's potential. When the lad was orphaned as a child, he had ensured that an education in Rome and every possibility for advancement be provided for him. Acilius Attianus, an Equestrian and compatriot of Trajan, was given the task of adopting and raising Hadrian. His influence was considerable, and through Attianus a marriage was arranged between Hadrian and Trajan's relative Vibia Sabina. Hadrian went to various successful commands, while Attianus served as prefect of the Praetorian Guard. Trajan died suddenly in August of 117 in Selinus, a small town beyond Syria. The legions of the East, with Attianus and the Praetorians behind them, proclaimed Hadrian emperor. Because Trajan had not officially adopted Hadrian, the presence of Attianus and Empress PLOTINA ensured the succession.
Attianus immediately took up his post as advisor to the new emperor, still serving as prefect. When a conspiracy of generals who feared Hadrian's non-imperialistic policies was discovered in Rome, Attianus sent agents of the speculatores to the rebels. Four generals were executed as a result. Public outrage reached the ears of the emperor, who understood the danger of alienating public sympathy. Attianus, his past services and patronage notwithstanding, was removed from his command but given consular honors and a senatorial rank.
¤ ATTILA
Attila the Hun, from a plate in Italy
ATTILA (d. 453 A.D.) King of the Huns from 434 to 453, he earned the name of the "Scourge of God," a Christian appellation because of his rapacious cruelty. Attila was the son of the Hun King Mandiuch, succeeding him in 434 along with his brother Bleda, whom he murdered in 444, from which time he ruled alone.
By the 5th century, the Huns occupied an area of considerable size throughout DACIA, PANNONIA and along the DANUBE. Attila used the first years of his rule (434-443) to solidify his position as king, to extend his holdings in the East and to prepare for an invasion of the Roman Empire. In 443, Attila defeated a Roman army and then demanded tribute and more land. He gained total control over the Huns at the same time, by removing Bleda, and the next years of his life were spent earning his fabled, if hideous, reputation. The attacks along the Danube were matched in 447 by the capture of Marcianopolis, thus threatening Constantinople. That great city of the East was a formidable target, even for the Huns, and a treaty was arranged, granting even more of the Danube to Attila to keep him pacified.
The Eastern Empire was well organized, but the West was weak. The last five years of Attila's life (448-453) were centered in the West. He invaded Gaul through Belgica and there encountered, at Orleans, the MAGISTER MILITUM Aetius and his Gothic allies. The Huns were in a difficult position strategically (see CATALAUNIAN PLAIN), but in the imperial politics of the time, Aetius could not allow Attila to be annihilated as the balance of power among the Germans would be disrupted.
Defeated, Attila invaded Italy, claiming that he was betrothed to Augusta Honoria, the sister of Emperor Valentinian III. In 452, the city of AQUILEIA was destroyed, but in a famous episode, the bishop of Rome, Pope Leo, convinced Attila that Rome should be left unmolested. The Huns departed, and one year later Attila was dead. He burst an artery on the night of his wedding to the maid Ildico. Attila was described as quintessentially Hunnish, with a broad, squat frame and the harsh features of his people. He was remarkably cunning and dealt adroitly with the political demands of the imperial courts and his own tribes. So central a part did he play as king of the Huns that with his death the Hun Empire collapsed.
¤ AUCTORITAS The power, unofficial but unquestionably real, that was possessed by the rulers of the Early Empire with regard to matters of state or politics. The concept of auctoritas was grounded in the belief that the holder of extensive or superior power possessed as well a natural, but not necessarily legal, capacity to exert influence that was greater than that wielded by those around them.
Senatorial resolutions, before becoming legal through the process of consultum, carried a very real political weight by virtue of auctoritas. Should such a resolution fail to become law, it was still recorded in the ACTA SENATUS and was considered worthy of esteem. Augustus (ruled 27 B.C.-14 A.D.) was granted supremacy in virtually all of the Republican institutions, especially in the title of PRINCEPS, and auctoritas was added as well. The other emperors maintained the same sort of power until the reign of Vespasian (69-79 A.D.), who assumed the power to do whatever he believed necessary for the good of the state. His auctoritas thus came not from divine or inherited authority but from the needs of the time and the inevitable emergence of imperial absolutism. See also IMPERIUM PROCONSULARES and TRIBUNICIA POTESTAS.
¤ AUFIDIUS BASSUS (fl. mid-1st century A.D.) Roman historian who helped lay the groundwork for the later efforts of TACITUS and others. Philosophical by nature, Bassus wrote several ambitious books, including Bellum Germanicum (the History of the German Wars), considered praiseworthy by the critic QUINTILIAN. Bassus also wrote a history of Rome that began with 44 B.C. and probably terminated with the reign of CLAUDIUS (41-54 A.D.). PLINY THE ELDER planned to continue the work. Only fragments remain of the Bellum Germanicum.
¤ AUFIDIUS VICTORINUS, GAIUS (d. c. 186 A.D.) Considered the most virtuous counselor and friend of MARCUS AURELIUS; an old schoolmate of the emperor. Of the senatorial class, Victorinus served as a legate in Germania, proconsul in Africa and later as prefect of the city. Twice consul, the second time in 183, he was sent against the Chatti; he ordered home two underlings, one in Germany and the other in Africa, for displaying greed or corruption. Hated by Emperor Commodus, Victorinus would have been executed except for his reputation. He died shortly after the fall of the Praetorian Prefect Perennis.
¤ AUGURIUM CANARIUM The Roman practice conducted in late summer that attempted to determine the favorability of the coming harvests. The rite was held during the time when Sirius, the Dogstar, was in ascendancy. See AUGURS AND AUGURY.
¤ AUGURS AND AUGURY The diviners of Rome did not predict the future but rather determined, as part of their official capacity, whether a given action was proper and accepted by the divinities. The augurs belonged to four classes of priests, along with the PONTIFICES, the SEPTEMVIRI and the QUINDECIMVIRI. They formed their own college, originally with three members, but increased membership to five and then 15 by Sulla's era (c. 80 B.C.). In 47 B.C., under Julius Caesar, the number was 16.
Augury was a respected practice and the office, especially during the period of the Empire, was politically powerful. An augur, wearing his toga of office and his wand, conducted ceremonies designed to determine whether the gods approved of a decision. Two methods were used: auspicia oblativa and auspicia impetrativa.
Oblativa meant that a sign or portent was unlocked for or unrequested. Most often this pointed to something horrendous. Portents of doom were never wanted, although the Roman histories were full of them, especially those concerning the impending deaths of emperors. In 217 A.D., Caracalla's assassination, according to the historian Dio, was foreshadowed by numerous prophecies and strange happenings. The signs had all been there, for any trained observer to see with clarity.
Auspicia impetrativa was the more formal and routine process of augury. The Roman legions traveled with augurs and birds; before battle it was determined whether the ensuing engagement was blessed. Food was given to usually starved chickens, and, depending upon their appetite, the propitiousness of action was seen. The use of birds was important, and the etymological root of "augury" may be found in the Latin avis, or bird, although entrails, especially livers, were also observed, a process known as haruspicium.
Divination and the examination of auspices, along with the strict control of all divinatory practices (see ASTROLOGY), were maintained by the Roman state, which early on saw the potential for abuse. In 29 B.C., Augustus was warned by Marcus Agrippa not to trust diviners and augurs, for they could, at times, lead people to chaos by lies. Traditionally, a magistrate or the pontifex maximus held auspices, and the interpretation of an augur could be discounted if they so desired. In practice, however, the diviners wielded considerable influence.
¤ AUGUSTA The title given first to Empress LIVIA in 14 A.D., in honor of her unique position during the reign of AUGUSTUS; later used to designate the role of the wife of the emperor, or that of any woman of power in imperial affairs. The name was also given to a number of Roman colonies and townships (see below).
With the death of Augustus in 14 A.D., the grateful Senate and the people of Rome heaped every honor on the late ruler. Livia, his widow, received the same in honor of her service, and was adopted into the Julian house and given the title Augusta. With this unprecedented act, the Senate made Livia a virtual colleague of the new emperor, her own son TIBERIUS. Augustus' name had been based on the title given to him when he was still Octavian, making him emperor in spirit. Tiberius recognized the reality of the title extended to Livia, and, having no love for his domineering mother, he severely restricted the execution of the powers that complemented the name.
AGRIPPINA THE YOUNGER was next to receive the title, in 50 A.D. She was given her status while Claudius, her emperor husband, was still alive. Unlike Livia, who was limited by Tiberius, Agrippina had Claudius' permission to exercise her powers. They continued in 54 A.D., when her son Nero was named emperor. She shared his office, sitting on an equal station with him, and appeared on imperial coinage with her countenance prominently displayed. In 59, Agrippina was murdered by Nero. Four years later, POPPAEA, Nero's new wife, was granted the title of Augusta, as was her new daughter. Their position, however, was politically impotent, and consequently began the trend that reduced the status of the rank to that of a title given the wife or nearest female relative of the emperor.
Domitian named his wife, DOMITIA LONGINA, to be Augusta as his empress only, with no real powers. Her influence in the palace was such, however, that the assassination of Domitian took place with her knowledge and participation. Intriguing behind the throne, and the manipulation of the emperor himself, brought about the evolution of the rank.
JULIA MAMAEA, the mother of Alexander Severus, did not bear the title of Augusta. Instead she bore the name: "Mother of the Emperor, Camp, Senate and Country," and she was a power behind the throne throughout Alexander's reign (222-235). Her domination was so complete that, in time, the troops revolted and killed them both.
The development of the Eastern Empire following Constantine's construction of CONSTANTINOPLE, and the very real transfer of political stability to this new site, in the 5th century A.D., allowed an increase in the authority of the Augustas of the period. On January 9, 400, Emperor Arcadius' wife EUDOXIA was elevated to the rank and ruled until her death by miscarriage in 404. Her daughter, Aelia Pulcheria, acquired the title in 414, ousted the Praetorian Prefect Anthemius and, though only 15 years old, served as regent to the emperor, Theodosius II, who was two years younger. She issued coinage, arranged his marriage to Athenais (Aelia EUDOCIA) and was a central figure at the court and in the Empire, both in the East and West.
The name was also given to a number of COLONIES and townships that were begun during the reign of Augustus and hence were dedicated to him.
Augusta Praetoria (Aosta) - Founded in 24 B.C. by Emperor Augustus, who donated the land to several thousand Praetorian Guard veterans. Aosta was previously occupied by the Salassi, of Gallia Cisalpina, who were vanquished by Varro around 25 B.C. The town subsequently became a center of communications and extensive Roman building. Extant remains include an arch and the large city gates.
Augusta Raurica (Augst) - Founded in 44 B.C, shortly after the defeat of the Raurici, a Gallic people, by Munatius. Augusta Raurica became one of the colonial foundations for Roman communication in southeastern Gaul, Germania and Raetia. In the 2nd century A.D, much of the city was rebuilt, with a temple, a Capitolium, a basilica and a large forum. In 260, the Alamanni attacked Augusta Raurica, but the presence of considerable remains gives evidence of economic prosperity.
Augusta Taurinorum - see TURIN.
Augusta Treverorum - see TRIER.
Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg) - Founded in 6 A.D. in the province of Raetia. According to Tacitus, Vindelicorum was important as an economic and government center for the province, remaining so until the period of the Late Empire. Very few remains are extant.
¤ AUGUSTANS A unit of soldiers formed by Nero in 59 A.D. and numbering approximately 5,000. The Augustans were a special corps, with one purpose - to lead the applause at the performances of the emperor. The Augustans were used at all public events of importance to cheer, applaud and shout their approval, thus intimidating everyone else present to do the same, regardless of the mediocrity of performance or display. The Augustans were favorites of Nero, traveling with him to Greece in 66 A.D. They were recruited mainly from the Equestrian Order, chosen for their youth, physique and willingness to participate in the debaucheries of the emperor. Reportedly arrogant and haughty, they proposed in 67 to cast a gold statue of Nero, to weigh a thousand pounds. The rest of the Equestrians were forced to help defray the cost of the statue. See also CLAQUEURS.
¤ AUGUSTINE (Aurelius Augustinus, "St. Augustine") (354-430 A.D.) A Father of the church, writer, philosopher and key figure in the development of Christianity in the 4th and 5th centuries. Born in the Algerian town of Thagaste, son of a landowner and a devoutly Christian mother, Saint Monica, Augustine was educated at Carthage. He eventually taught and came to the attention of the pagan philosopher SYMMACHUS. Educationally, he aspired to be a man of letters, terminating a marriage and abandoning a son for more ambitious associations. When he was 18, he followed his intellectual curiosities and read Cicero's Hortensius (now lost). He tried to follow the Manichaeist sect, which promised wisdom in a Gnostic fashion, but it proved ultimately unsatisfactory. As a teacher in 384, he traveled to Rome but finally settled in Milan, where he began a long relationship and friendship with the local bishop, the formidable AMBROSE. Two years later, Ambrose introduced him to the wide circle of Christian Neoplatonists of the city.
Augustine found a spiritual home. Although he still lacked the capacity to differentiate Christian theology and Neoplatonic thought, in August of 386 he was baptized by Ambrose. As he wrote in his Confessions, it was through Neoplatonism that he came to a full appreciation of Christianity. Returning to Thagaste, Augustine attempted to live as a recluse. His reputation among the Christian intellectuals, however, brought about his forced ordination into the priesthood of Hippo in 391. The elderly bishop of that diocese needed an assistant. In 395 Augustine was named as his successor to the see.
Just as Augustine's life was altered by the Hortensius, so was the church changed by the new bishop. Writing and continuing his scholarship, he spearheaded the spread of Christianity in Africa, in the face of paganism and numerous heretical sects. The Manichaeans fell before him; the Donatists were condemned at Carthage in 411; he reproached Pelagianism in 412.
Augustine was a prolific writer. His Confessions, an autobiographical account of his youth that recounted everything until the death of his mother in 387, was a demonstration of his intense curiosity and quest for knowledge. De Doctrina Christiana (397) examined scholarship and the manner in which it was to be pursued from the perspective of Christianity and the Scriptures. Philosophy and thought were to be studied only to achieve a greater understanding of the Gospels and the meaning of God's Will. His greatest work, The City of God (413-426), defended the Christianization of Rome, refuting paganism's ancient claim to the city. The City of God extended its concerns to the next world, where the elect and the doomed would be separated. Augustine is ranked with Ambrose, Gregory I and Jerome as one of the Four Fathers of the church.
¤ AUGUSTODONUM Capital of the Gallic tribe, the Aedui. Augustodonum was built by the Aedui following their defeat by Julius Caesar in his Gallic Wars, circa 56 B.C. The previous capital was the stronghold of Bibracte, but with Caesar's victory it was abandoned, and Augustodonum was built in its place. It was also called Autun. In 21 A.D., the Gallic rebel, Sacrovir, used the city as his headquarters for his unsuccessful rebellion against Rome. Augustodonum was located in the Aedui territory near the Loire River.
¤ AUGUSTUS (Gaius Octavian) (63 B.C.-14 A.D.) First emperor of Rome and founder of a Roman state that endured for centuries.
- I left Rome a city of marble, though I found it a city of bricks. (-Augustus)
Gaius Octavian was born on September 23, 63 B.C., to C. Octavius and Atia, a niece of Julius Caesar by his sister Julia. The family of Octavian was a good one, but its alliance to the Julians was far more important, and Octavian came under their direct influence when his father died in 59 B.C. Atia raised him and ensured his education by grammarians and philosophers, but it was Caesar who would have the most impact upon Octavian, and who presented him with the greatest opportunities.
In 53 B.C., at the age of 12, Octavian delivered the funeral oration (the laudatio) for his grandmother Julia, and several years later served in a priesthood. Caesar came to dominate his life's direction. He saw his uncle's triumph in Rome in 46 B.C. and in 45 journeyed to Spain to be with him on campaign.
Octavian was never strong physically, suffering from a variety of complaints that plagued him throughout his life. The trip to Spain was arduous, along dangerous roads. He also suffered a shipwreck and was in a sorry state when he arrived at Caesar's camp. But his uncle recognized something unique in him, rewarding his efforts with military training.
After a time Octavian was sent to Apollonia, in Epirus, to study philosophy and the arts of war. He took with him his two dearest friends, Marcus Agrippa and Marcus Rufus. His studies were cut short by the assassination of Caesar in Rome.
Octavian was only 18 years old, but the will of his uncle declared him his chief heir and adopted son. His position in Rome was now radically different and bound by the obligation to avenge Caesar's death. Octavian traveled to Rome and found that cautious deliberation would be far more useful than rash action, a characteristic that would mark his later years.
Marc ANTONY was in Rome, and Octavian found him unwilling to relinquish control of Julius Caesar's property or assets. Octavian immediately began a defensive action against Antony. Cicero, Antony's bitter foe, was befriended, and Octavian presented the Ludi Victoriae Caesarii, the Victory Games of Caesar, to the people. The Senate, anxious to snub the ambitious Antony and his claims, made Octavian a senator and asked his aid in the wars that had begun as a result of the assassination.
Octavian defeated Antony's legions at Mutina in April of 43 B.C. As a result, Octavian's troops demanded that he be given the rank and the powers of a consul. Reluctantly the Senate agreed, and, as Caesar's adopted heir, he took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.
Realizing that he had to reach a truce with Antony to achieve wider aims, Octavian formed a SECOND TRIUMVIRATE with him and Marcus Lepidus on November 27, 43 B.C. Octavian thus ruled Africa, Sicily and Sardinia. He also benefited from the fact that Caesar had been elevated to the status of a god. Antony was joined to him as well, in the common ambition of defeating Brutus, Cassius and the party of the LIBERATORS, a task accomplished at the battle of Philippi in 42 B.C. Octavian was not present, however, being too ill.
Antony was given control of the East as a result, while Octavian worked to strengthen his hold on Italy, sensing that Rome was where the ultimate power rested. Officially he still held Africa, but in Italy he fought with Antony's brother Lucius and Fulvia in 41 B.C., in the PERUSING WAR, and then began gaining the good will of the legions by distributing land to the veterans of campaigns.
Political maneuvering next involved him in a marriage with Scribonia, a relative of Sextus Pompey, the son of Pompey the Great, but he divorced her and married the formidable Livia Drusilla, who remained with him until his death. Antony still troubled him, and a certain relaxation of tension was accomplished by the treaty of Brundi-sium in 40 B.C.
The triumvirate was maintained and extended by the treaty of Tarentum in 37 B.C.: Octavian ruled the West, Antony the East and Lepidus took Africa. Marc Antony married Octavia, Octavian's sister, but found life in the East too compelling, falling in love with Cleopatra VII of Egypt and thus dooming the marriage. Octavian could not take action against his brother-in-law as Sextus Pompey, a pirate with a vast fleet and a reputation for cruelty, still plagued Rome. Marcus Agrippa, however, waged a brilliant campaign against Sextus Pompey, and in 36 B.C. Sextus was defeated at the battle of Naulochus.
Lepidus then attempted to revolt against his fellow triumvirs, but his legions were taken away from him by Octavian, who sent him into exile at Circeii. This left only Octavian and Antony, dividing the Roman world between them. Octavian took the title of Imperator as he waged campaigns in Illyricum and Dalmatia (35-33 B.C.), after which he proclaimed to the Romans that their frontiers were safe. With that proclamation came a beautification program for the city, under the direction of Agrippa. His popularity thus ensured, Octavian was prepared to meet Antony for the final confrontation.
In October of 32 B.C., the western provinces swore their allegiance to Octavian. War was inevitable, and on September 2, 31, the battle of ACTIUM was fought off the west coast of Greece, with Octavian facing Antony and Cleopatra. Through Agrippa's brilliant leadership, Octavian won the day and gained mastery over the Roman world. He conquered Egypt in 30 and generally pacified the East along the lines begun by Antony.
As the "foremost citizen" of the Republic, Octavian exercised power beyond that of his predecessors. Unlike his uncle, Julius Caesar, he had no intention of declaring himself the master of the people, the ruler of the state - the dictator. Octavian recognized that by maintaining the Republican institutions and ensuring the prosperity of all Roman traditions, he could help Rome achieve its destined greatness.
He served as consul from 31 to 23 B.C. In 30 he was granted tribunician power, and in 29 began his reforms of the army. The plunder of Egypt was used to pay off his troops, and many veterans were given lands to farm and colonize. The legions were thus reduced, but Roman influence in the provinces was ensured.
Soon the once ponderous 60 legions were reduced to 28, although they were supplemented by large formations of auxiliaries. None of these legions were allowed in Italy, and for his own protection Octavian created something new - the PRAETORIAN GUARD. Later a treasury department, the aerarium militare, was created for better organization of military finances.
Octavian then turned to the Senate and in 28 B.C., armed with the title of PRINCEPS SENATUS and with the help of Marcus Agrippa, conducted a census. Through this maneuver the Senate was reduced in number to 800. Certain of his AUCTORITAS, or unquestioned position, Octavian prepared to return his power to the Senate and to the people of Rome, thus gaining for all time their obedience.
The Senate received back its powers to control the state on January 13, 27 B.C. In return, Octavian was granted for 10 years control of Spain, Gaul and Syria, centers of frontier defense, and controlled the appointment of governors. These were thus imperial provinces, and the Senate controlled the rest. This system was seemingly Republican, with the added safeguard that no governor of any province would dare to go against Augustus' wishes.
On the 16th of January in 27 B.C., he received the title Augustus, signifying his semi-divine, or more than human, nature. By 23 B.C., although no longer a consul, Augustus received the titles of IMPERIUM MAIUS and TRIBUNICIA POTESTAS, which gave him control over the provinces, the Senate and the state. His response was typical; Augustus concentrated on reviving Roman religion. He created great temples to Mars and Apollo and ordered the temple of Capitoline Jupiter. In 12 B.C., he succeeded Marcus Lepidus as pontifex maximus, the highest priesthood of Roman religion. The ARVAL BRETHREN were revived, and the ranks of the Vestal Virgins were filled.
He built the Forum and the temples and supported any wealthy citizen who followed his lead. Most notable were the ever-faithful Marcus Agrippa and Marcius Philippus. Organizationally the city was divided into 14 wards under his direction. Police duties were performed by the Urban Cohorts, and order was maintained over the often unruly mobs. Above the Urban Cohorts, however, and above the population, the Senate and, eventually, the emperors themselves, stood the Praetorian Guards.
Administrative changes were made in finances and bureaucracy. The Equestrian Order and Freedmen were brought into the government, and the civil system was born, a unit that maintained the Empire for the next 500 years. The provinces contributed to the tax system, and laws were reformed or created, extending from adultery, treason and bribery to marriage.
Augustus was concerned with the preservation of the frontiers, their certification and, where possible, expansion. Spain and Gaul were strengthened and urbanized. Egypt's borders were organized, and in 20 B.C. a formal peace was signed with Parthia in the East. The treaty affirmed Roman dominion over Armenia and pointed to one of Augustus' focal points of policy: the utilization of existing client countries in the East - Armenia, Commagene, Cappadocia, Galatia and even Syria - as buffers toward Parthian expansion. Augustus did not realize all of his ambitions. Germany was occupied, and steps taken toward colonization and pacification, but in 9 A.D., the general Varus was annihilated by Arminius and the Germans in the Teutoburg Forest. All hopes of achieving Roman supremacy there were abandoned.
As PATER PATRIAE, Augustus stressed the importance of the Roman family and institutions. In 18 B.C., he pushed for the acceptance of the lex Julia de adulteriis, which punished adultery, and the lex Julia de maritandis ordinibus, which required marriage and also the remarriage of the widowed. Only one person, the Lady Antonia, was given dispensation. Augustus honored family life and was always devoted to Livia, but his domestic affairs, and especially his constant search for a successor, dominated and strained his later years.
A successor to Augustus was not necessarily expected as there were no imperial precedents. Although Augustus searched constantly for an heir, Suetonius commented that twice the ruler thought of stepping down (after Antony's death and when he fell seriously ill, probably in 23 B.C.). But finding a suitable successor was not easy, for few men in the Roman world would have been able to maintain Augustus' equilibrium between the republican traditions and imperial realities. As the years passed, family tragedies and disappointments reduced his options until only one figure remained.
In the early years there was a battle of wills between Marcus Agrippa and Augustus' nephew, Marcellus (29-23 B.C.). Marcellus was the husband of Augustus' daughter Julia, but he died in 23. As a result, Julia was married to Agrippa. Although not eligible for the throne himself because of his common origin, his children could become emperors. Julia bore Agrippa three sons: Gaius, Lucius and Agrippa Posthumus. Agrippa and his two sons, Gaius and Lucius, were officially adopted in 17 B.C.
Augustus needed administrative help, but his three adopted grandsons were too young. He turned to his wife Livia's sons by her former husband, Tiberius Claudius Nero: Tiberius and Nero Drusus. Nero Drusus died on the Elbe in 9 B.C.; in 6 B.C., Tiberius was elevated to imperial assistant, with a share in Augustus' iribunicia potestas. Only one year later, Gaius was given the title of PRINCEPS IUVENTUTIS, joined by Lucius in 5 B.C., thus marking them as the true heirs. Tiberius moved to Rhodes, where he remained until 4 A.D., when tragic events brought him to Rome again. Lucius had died in 2 A.D., followed by Gaius. And Agrippa Posthumus was exiled.
With the heirs of his choice gone, Augustus faced yet another blow. His daughter Julia had caused a terrible scandal in 2 B.C. and was exiled. This left Augustus with only Tiberius to aid him, something that Livia had always desired. In 3 A.D., Augustus accepted 10 more years of rule. The fact that Tiberius was destined to succeed him became evident in 13 A.D., when he was granted full tribunicia potestas and imperium proconsulare. Augustus placed his will with the Vestal Virgins and fell ill in 14, dying on August 29. Tiberius, who was on his way to Illyricum, was summoned back to assume the position of PRINCEPS. On the 17th of September, Augustus was deified by the Senate of Rome.
Octavian, or Augustus, was a figure of immensely human proportions, despite his auctoritas and eventual divinity. Suetonius wrote that he was remarkably handsome, of graceful gait but often less than immaculate appearance. His teeth were decayed, and his messily tended hair was yellow. Although he was only five feet, seven inches tall (perhaps less), he was elegantly proportioned. His health was always a concern. There was a weakness in his left hip and right forefinger, and ringworm was probably present. More importantly, Augustus fought terrible bouts of illness: abscessed liver, influenza and seasonal complaints. The worst came in 23 B.C., when it was generally believed that he would die. His private physician, Antonius Musa, managed to heal him.
A practical man, no great luxuries were kept in the palace, and his furnishings, like his diet and dress, were simple. He mistrusted the mob, disliked large crowds, and once, during the Civil Wars, had to be rescued by Marc Antony from a group of rioters.
Augustus was educated in rhetoric and studied with Apollodorus of Pergamum, from whom he learned Greek. Areus, a philosopher, and his sons Dionysius and Nicanor also provided elements of Augustus' education. Although he never mastered Greek, he was a patron of Greek poetry and intellectuals in general, especially writers and philosophers. He himself possessed literary aspirations.
Most of Augustus' writings are not extant. Only the famous Res Gestae, which listed his achievements, was preserved, in inscriptions, from antiquity. Augustus also penned an attack on Brutus' Eulogy of Cato, a philosophical treatise and an autobiography of 13 books. Attempts at poetry and tragedy were made in his short poem, Sicily, and in his Epiphanus and Ajax. He destroyed Ajax himself. His style was simple but idiomatic, with numerous peculiarities of grammar and spelling.
¤ AURELIAN (Lucius Domitius Aurelianus) (c. 215 A.D.-275 A.D.) Roman emperor from 270 to 275 A.D.; as a general in the field, one of the most successful of 3rd-cen-tury rulers, allowing a military recovery for the Empire. He probably came from Sirmium, or perhaps Moesia, although his roots were obscure. He did become a leading officer during the reign of Emperor Gallienus, and in 268, when the general Aureolus revolted, he assumed that officer's command of the cavalry corps at Mediolanum (Milan). During the reduction of the city, Aurelian became embroiled with Marcus Claudius (Claudius Gothicus) in an imperial intrigue. Gallienus was murdered, and Claudius became emperor, with Aurelian serving as Master of the Horse.
A series of campaigns against the Goths followed, but in January 270, Claudius died of the plague in Sirmium. His brother Quintillus aspired to the throne, but Aurelian gained support of the army and was elevated to the throne. Quintillus killed himself.
The state of imperial affairs was pitiful when Aurelian came to power. Barbarians threatened the frontiers while usurpers divided the Roman world. General Tetricus was on the Rhine, and Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra, stood with various generals and pretenders in her camp. Aurelian took the only course of action open to him. The Empire had to be strengthened and unified. With the nickname Manu ad ferrum, "Hand-on-Hilt," this burly, coarse but gifted soldier aspired to the title Restitutor Orbis, the "Restorer of the World."
He marched first against the Germanic Juthungi, who had invaded the province of Raetia and thus threatened Italy. Aurelian forced the barbarians into a retreat and routed them on the Danube. The Juthungi sued for peace, and Aurelian allowed them to return home. Journeying to Rome, Aurelian received the imperial powers begrudgingly. He could not enjoy them in peace for long. An urgent request came from Pannonia, where the Vandals were on the attack. Aurelian crushed them in 270-271 but had to face the Juthungi again in Italy, this time allied with the Alamanni and the Marcomanni. The tribes ambushed Aurelian near Placentia, defeating him and forcing a retreat into northern Italy. However, the Germans were too disorganized to follow up on their victory, and Aurelian used the time to bolster the defenses of the north. He marched against them a second time and exterminated them at Metaurus, Fanum Fortuna and Ticinum, winning the so-called JUTHUNGINE WAR.
Returning to Rome in 271, Aurelian had to pacify a terrified city. He halted the rioting and put up new defense walls (the Aurelian Walls). The minters of Rome had also revolted, and Aurelian was forced to trap and execute them and their allies, some of senatorial rank, in a terrible battle on the Caelian Hills. Thrace was reconquered and freed of the Goths, who were pursued over the Danube. But imperial frontiers had proven impossible to defend, and the province of Dacia was abandoned entirely. A battle near the Orontes River ended the revolt of Palmyra in the East, as Aurelian defeated General Zabdas and his forces.
In 274, Aurelian marched into Gaul to attack the usurper Tetricus and his Gallic Empire. At the battle of Gampi Catalaunii, near Chalons, Tetricus abandoned his troops and surrendered. The Empire had been pacified, and a triumphant return to Rome ended senatorial resistance to Au-relian's claims.
The currency of the Empire had been reduced in value, causing inflation, and Aurelian reformed the system using the sestertii. Informers were punished, debts cancelled, bread and corn rationed fairly, and religious devotion to the sun god, Sol Invictus, encouraged. Aurelian attempted by these means to develop a universal deity to unite the pagan world. In the process he started persecution of the Christians again.
With his internal reforms accomplished, Aurelian returned to the East in the summer of 275 with ambitions toward Mesopotamia. A harsh disciplinarian, he caught his secretary, Eros, in a lie during the campaign and promised dire punishment. Eros, expecting to die, went to the Praetorian Guards and said that Aurelian planned to kill them too. A plot sprang up immediately, resulting in the assassination of Aurelian a short time later.
¤ AURELIUS, MARCUS See MARCUS AURELIUS.
¤ AURELIUS VICTOR (fl. late 4th century A.D.) Historian whose main work was a brief account of the emperors, written around 360 A.D. and covering the period from the reign of Tiberius to Constantius II. Aurelius Victor was, by his own admission, a man of humble African origin. Following the publication of his book, Caesars, he was honored by Julian with the post of governor of Pannonia Secundae in 361 and was later the Prefect of the City of Rome (c. 389). A pagan, Victor wrote in the style of Sallust. The Caesars was a large collection of stories but was only the most important of several histories. A second imperial annal was an Epitome to the time of Theodosius I. Although similarities exist between the two, the apparent differences in sources rendered them both unique. A record of the earliest period of Rome was found in Origo gentis romanae (Origin of the Roman Nation) and the era of the Kings and the Republic was treated in his De viris illustribus (On Famous Men), using as its sources Hyginus and Livy.
¤ AUREOLUS, MANIUS ACILIUS (d. 268 A.D.) A cavalry commander under Gallienus (253-268 A.D.). From Dacia, he came to the attention of the emperor sometime during 257, when Gallienus was searching for a commander for his new central cavalry corps. Aureolus was given the post and a force of horsemen stationed in Mediolanum (Milan) for use as a flying detachment for the frontiers. In 258, the baptism of fire for this unit came in the campaigns against the Alamanni, who threatened Italy itself, invading through Raetia. Just outside of Mediolanum the barbarians were routed.
In 260, two usurpers were crushed, Ingenius in Pannonia and then Regalianus in Upper Pannonia. Aureolus now received considerable liberty in his command, for a subordinate, Domitianus, was dispatched to crush the family of the quartermaster in Thrace, Macrianus, who were in revolt. In 268, while Gallienus was away on campaign, Aureolus rebelled while in charge of the Italian defenses. Gallienus marched back to face him, laid siege to Mediolanum, but then was assassinated. Aureolus surrendered to one of the assassins, M. Aurelius Claudius, but was executed immediately.
¤ AUREUS Imperial coin of Rome; its standard issue gold currency from the time of Julius Caesar to the reign of Constantine the Great. Caesar introduced the coin around
49 B.C., and it developed a value approximately equal to 25 denarii and 100 sestertii. After Constantine the Great, the aureus declined in worth as a gold piece and was replaced by the solidus.
¤ AUSONIUS, DECIMUS MAGNUS (fl. 4th century A.D.) Poet, consul and governor of Gaul (see GALLIA). Ausonius grew up in Burdigala (Bordeaux), receiving his education in rhetoric and grammar while studying in his native area and Tolosa (Toulouse). His teaching became renowned, and Emperor Valentinian I sought his aid in tutoring his son and heir, Gratian. Ausonius became a powerful advisor, and in 375, when Gratian succeeded to the throne, he was given a Praetorian prefectship with control of Gaul, followed in 379 by a consulship. Ausonius remained a fixture at court but was eventually challenged for imperial attention by St. Ambrose. With Gratian's murder in 383, Ausonius retired to Bordeaux and to his poetry and correspondence. He was a prolific poet and writer. There were poems, often collected (Ephemeris and Parentalia) or individual (Mosella). His other notable works included the Ordo Nobilium Urbium, a collection of articles on great cities.
¤ AUXILIARIES See LEGIONS.
¤ AVARICUM, SIEGE OF Bloody event in 52 B.C., during Julius Caesar's GALLIC WARS, that was a temporary inconvenience to the Romans in the conquest of Gaul. During an uprising in unpacified Gaul, led by the chieftain Vercingetorix, Caesar moved quickly to crush all opposition. One of his targets was the Biturigan city of Avaricum. The local tribes decided to resist openly and prepared the city for a siege. With around two legions, Caesar skillfully broke attempts to raise his attack and then ruthlessly brought the city to its knees. Nearly 40,000 Biturigans died for nothing, as Caesar lost only time.
¤ AVERNI (Arverni) A tribe in Gaul that was long opposed to Roman imperialism and was a bitter enemy of another major people, the Aedui. The height of their power in Gaul was in the middle of the 2nd century B.C., when their king was Luernius and they occupied all of the territory from the Rhone to the Atlantic. Such a kingdom was not to be allowed by the Romans.
The Aedui joined Rome in a war with the Averni, who had the Allobroges as allies. The Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus crushed the Averni and their King Bituitus, son of Luernius, in a battle in 121 B.C.
The power of the Averni was effectively shattered, and the Aedui were preeminent until about 80 B.C., when Celtillus ruled them. The GALLIC WARS (58-52 B.C.) gave the Averni their last chance for greatness. Vervingetorix, their king, was young but gifted, and under his leadership most of Gaul joined a revolt against Rome. Julius CAESAR ended any hopes for the Averni's future at the siege of ALESIA in 52 B.C. The Averni capital of Gergovia was renamed Augustonemetum by Augustus, and the Averni were reduced in status. In the 5th century A.D., their lands were taken by the Visigoths.
¤ AVIDIUS HELIODORUS (fl. early 2nd century A.D.) Philosopher, secretary and associate of Emperor Hadrian. Heliodorus acquired a reputation of philosophical and oratorical brilliance as a member of Hadrian's intellectual circle. His official position was that of secretary of correspondence (see EPISTULIS, AB). Later he served as prefect of Egypt, a reward for his speeches. His son was Avidius Cassius, the general of Marcus Aurelius.
¤ AVIDIUS NIGRINUS, GAIUS (d. 118 A.D.) A member of the wealthy and influential Avidius family who held numerous posts during the reign of TRAJAN (97-117 A.D.). He was a tribune in 105, consul in 110 and, at a later time, a governor in the recently conquered Dacia. As a legate in ACHAEA, Nigrinus probably participated in Trajan's attempt to reorganize and stabilize the administration of the financially troubled province. By the succession of HADRIAN in 117, Nigrinus commanded considerable political respect and was seen as both a leading general and the probable heir. Suddenly, in the summer of 118, he and three others were put to death by order of the Senate for conspiring against Hadrian, probably due to Nigrinus' differing position on the imperial policy, as well as his longstanding friendship with Trajan.
¤ AVIDIUS QUIETUS, TITUS (fl. late 1st century A.D.) Consul in 93 A.D. and a successful military and social figure. Quietus served as proconsul of Achaea and governor of Britain in 98. His brother was AVIDIUS NIGRINUS (consul 110 A.D.) and he was a friend of both PLINY THE YOUNGER and PLUTARCH.
¤ AVITUS (d. C. 456 A.D.) Emperor of the West (455-456) whose career in the service of the Empire outmatched his brief and unsuccessful reign. Marcus Maecilius Flavius Eparchius Avitus came from a noble family in Gaul, where he was favored with the posts of magister militum and Praetorian prefect for the province. He was known mostly for his association with the Goths, especially the Visigoth King Theodoric I. In 437, Avitus had joined the powerful magister militum AETIUS in his fight against the Goths and had personally persuaded King Theodoric to accept a peace. In 451, Avitus once more proved useful to the Western cause by persuading the king to join in the fight against Attila the Hun. Victory was attained, but Theodoric was killed. His son Theodoric II was, however, a friend of Avitus, and in 455 this association proved to be of tremendous political value.
Petronius Maximus reigned as emperor for less than four months in 455. When his death was reported to him at Tolosa, Avitus was approached by Theodoric with the idea of the prefect succeeding to the throne. On July 9-10, 455, Avitus was hailed as emperor by the Goths, and several weeks later was invested at Aries. He entered Italy and assumed the consulship for 456. Although he was accepted by Marcian, the emperor of the East, he had trouble convincing the Roman Senate and the people that he should be emperor. He chose the magister militum RICIMER to defeat the Vandals who were threatening Italy, and the Romans chose to make Ricimer's triumphs personal. Avitus, snubbed in this manner, found his own imperial position deteriorating. The Senate despised him and the mobs of Rome were enraged by his handling of a famine. In an attempt to ease the situation, Avitus dismissed his contingents of Gothic and Gallic troops but paid them off by shipping Rome of its bronze statues. Horrified, the people rebelled, forced Avitus out of the city and accepted the return of Ricimer and the other imperial candidate, Majorian.
Avitus was defeated in 456, probably in September of that year, at Placentia and was allowed to step down to seek a religious life. The Senate sentenced him to death, despite his being consecrated a bishop in late October. He fled to Gaul but died suspiciously on the way.
¤ AXONA At the Aisne River, between Laon and Reims; site of a battle between Galba, king of the Suessiones (Soissons), and Julius Caesar in 57 B.C. Galba led the Belgae with a force of about 75,000 men but was defeated. Caesar, as a result, marched northward into Belgica
¤ AXUM African kingdom in the region of Abyssinia.

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