Fabia gens
The gens Fabia was one of the most ancient patrician families at ancient Rome. The gens played a prominent part in history soon after the establishment of the Republic, and three brothers were invested with seven successive consulships, from 485 to 479 BC, thereby cementing the high repute of the family. Overall, the Fabii received 45 consulships during the Republic. The house derived its greatest lustre from the patriotic courage and tragic fate of the 306 Fabii in the Battle of the Cremera, 477 BC. But the Fabii were not distinguished as warriors alone; several members of the gens were also important in the history of Roman literature and the arts.
Background
The family is generally thought to have been counted amongst the gentes maiores , the most prominent of the patrician houses at Rome, together with the Aemilii, Claudii, Cornelii, Manlii, and Valerii; but no list of the gentes maiores has survived, and even the number of families so designated is a complete mystery. Until 480 BC, the Fabii were staunch supporters of the aristocratic policies favoring the patricians and the senate against the plebs. However, following a great battle that year against the Veientes, in which victory was achieved only by cooperation between the generals and their soldiers, the Fabii aligned themselves with the plebs.
One of the thirty-five voting tribes into which the Roman people were divided was named after the Fabii; several tribes were named after important gentes, including the tribes Aemilia, Claudia, Cornelia, Fabia, Papiria, Publilia, Sergia, and Veturia. Several of the others appear to have been named after lesser families.
The most famous legend of the Fabii asserts that, following the last of the seven consecutive consulships in 479 BC, the gens undertook the war with Veii as a private obligation. A militia consisting of over three hundred men of the gens, together with their friends and clients, amounting to a total of some four thousand men, took up arms and stationed itself on a hill overlooking the Cremera, a little river between Rome and Veii. The cause of this secession is said to have been the enmity between the Fabii and the patricians, who regarded them as traitors for advocating the causes of the plebeians. The Fabian militia remained in their camp on the Cremera for two years, successfully opposing the Veientes, until at last they were lured into an ambush, and destroyed. Three hundred and six Fabii of fighting age were said to have perished in the disaster, leaving only a single survivor to return home. By some accounts he was the only survivor of the entire gens; but it seems unlikely that the camp of the Fabii included not only all of the men, but the women and children of the family as well. They and the elders of the gens probably remained at Rome. The day on which the Fabii perished was forever remembered, as it was the same day that the Gauls defeated the Roman army at the Battle of the Allia in 390 BC. This was the fifteenth day before the kalends of Sextilis, or July 18, according to the modern calendar. The story was considerably embellished at a later date in order to present it as a counterpart of the Battle of Thermopylae, which took place in 479 BC (hence the number of 306 Fabii, similar to the 300 Spartans of Leonidas). However, Tim Cornell states that there is no reason to doubt the historicity of the battle, because the tribus Fabia—presumably where the Fabii had their country estates—was located near the Cremera, on the border with Veii.
Throughout the history of the Republic, the Fabii made several alliances with other prominent families, especially plebeian and Italian ones, which partly explains their long prominence. The first of such alliances that can be traced dates from the middle of the fifth century and was with the Poetelii; it lasted for at least a century. In the fourth century, the Fabii were allied to the patrician Manlii and the plebeian Genucii and Licinii, whom they supported during the Conflict of the Orders. They then occupied an unprecedented leading position in the third century, as three generations of Fabii were princeps senatus—a unique occurrence during the Republic. During this period, they allied with the plebeian Atilii from Campania, where the Fabii had significant estates, the Fulvii and Mamilii from Tusculum, the Otacili from Beneventum, the Ogulnii from Etruria, and the Marcii. They also sponsored the emergence of the Caecilii Metelli and Porcii, who owed their first consulate to the Fabii, as well as the re-emergence of the patrician Quinctii. The main direction of the second war against Carthage was disputed between the Fabii and the Cornelii Scipiones. The death of Fabius Verrucosus in 203 marks the end of the Fabian leadership on Roman politics, by now assumed by their rivals: Scipio Africanus and his family. After the consulship of Fabius Maximus Eburnus in 116, the Fabii entered a century-long eclipse, until their temporary revival under Augustus.
The name of the Fabii was associated with one of the two colleges of the Luperci, the priests who carried on the sacred rites of the ancient religious festival of the Lupercalia. The other college bore the name of the Quinctilii, suggesting that in the earliest times these two gentes superintended these rites as a sacrum gentilicum, much as the Pinarii and Potitii maintained the worship of Hercules. Such sacred rites were gradually transferred to the state, or opened to the Roman populus; a well-known legend attributed the destruction of the Potitii to the abandonment of its religious office. In later times the privilege of the Lupercalia had ceased to be confined to the Fabii and the Quinctilii.
Origin
According to legend, the Fabii claimed descent from Hercules, who visited Italy a generation before the Trojan War, and from Evander, his host, through Fabius. This brought the Fabii into the same tradition as the Pinarii and Potitii, who were said to have welcomed Hercules and learned from him the sacred rites which for centuries afterward they performed in his honor.
Another early legend stated that at the founding of Rome, the followers of the brothers Romulus and Remus were called the Quinctilii and the Fabii, respectively. The brothers were said to have offered up sacrifices in the cave of the Lupercal at the base of the Palatine Hill, which became the origin of the Lupercalia. This story is certainly connected with the tradition that the two colleges of the Luperci bore the names of these ancient gentes.
The nomen of the Fabii is said originally to have been Fovius, Favius, or Fodius; Plinius stated that it was derived from faba, a bean, a vegetable which the Fabii were said to have first cultivated. A more fanciful explanation derives the name from fovea, ditches, which the ancestors of the Fabii were said to have used in order to capture wolves.
It is uncertain whether the Fabii were of Latin or Sabine origin. Niebuhr, followed by Göttling, considered them Sabines. However, other scholars are unsatisfied with their reasoning, and point out that the legend associating the Fabii with Romulus and Remus would place them at Rome before the incorporation of the Sabines into the nascent Roman state.
It may nonetheless be noted that, even supposing this tradition to be based on actual historical events, the followers of the brothers were described as "shepherds," and presumably included many of the people then living in the countryside where the city of Rome was to be built. The hills of Rome were already inhabited at the time of the city's legendary founding, and they stood in the hinterland between the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans. Even if many the followers of Romulus and Remus were Latins from the ancient city of Alba Longa, many may also have been Sabines already living in the surrounding countryside.
Praenomina
The earliest generations of the Fabii favored the praenomina Caeso, Quintus, and Marcus. They were the only patrician gens to make regular use of Numerius, which appears in the family after the destruction of the Fabii at the Cremera. According to the tradition related by Festus, this praenomen entered the gens when Quintus Fabius Vibulanus, the consul of 467, married a daughter of Numerius Otacilius of Maleventum, and bestowed his father-in-law's name on his son.
Although the Fabii Ambusti and some later branches of the family used the praenomen Gaius, Quintus is the name most frequently associated with the Fabii of the later Republic. The Fabii Maximi used it almost to the exclusion of all other names until the end of the Republic, when they revived the ancient praenomen Paullus. This was done in honor of the Aemilii Paulli, from whom the later Fabii Maximi were descended, having been adopted into the Fabia gens at the end of the 3rd century BC. A variety of surnames associated with the Aemilii were also used by this family, and one of the Fabii was called Africanus Fabius Maximus, although his proper name was Quintus Fabius Maximus Africanus. In a manuscript of Cicero, Servius appears among the Fabii Pictores, but this seems to have been a corruption in the manuscript, which originally read Numerius.
Branches and cognomina
The cognomina of the Fabii under the Republic were Ambustus, Buteo, Dorso or Dorsuo, Labeo, Licinus, Maximus (with the agnomina Aemilianus, Allobrogicus, Eburnus, Gurges, Rullianus, Servilianus, and Verrucosus), Pictor, and Vibulanus. Other cognomina belonged to persons who were not, strictly speaking, members of the gens, but who were freedmen or the descendants of freedmen, or who had been enrolled as Roman citizens under the Fabii. The only cognomina appearing on coins are Hispaniensis, Labeo, Maximus, and Pictor.
In imperial times it becomes difficult to distinguish between members of the gens and unrelated persons sharing the same nomen. Members of the gens are known as late as the second century, but persons bearing the name of Fabius continue to appear into the latest period of the Empire.
The eldest branch of the Fabii bore the cognomen Vibulanus, which may allude to an ancestral home of the gens. The surname Ambustus, meaning "burnt", replaced Vibulanus at the end of the 5th century BC; the first of the Fabii to be called Ambustus was a descendant of the Vibulani. The most celebrated stirps of the Fabia gens, which bore the surname Maximus, was in turn descended from the Fabii Ambusti. This family was famous for its statesmen and its military exploits, which lasted from the Samnite Wars, in the 4th century BC until the wars with the Germanic invaders of the 2nd century BC. Most, if not all of the later Fabii Maximi were descendants of Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, one of the Aemilii Paulli, who as a child was adopted into that illustrious family.
Buteo, which described a type of hawk, was originally given to a member of the Fabia gens because such a bird on one occasion settled upon his ship with a favorable omen. This tradition, related by Plinius, does not indicate which of the Fabii first obtained this surname, but it was probably one of the Fabii Ambusti. Crawford suggests that the buteo of the legend was not a hawk, but a flamingo, based on the appearance of a bird resembling a flamingo on the coins of Gaius Fabius Hadrianus, who may have sought to associate himself with that family by the use of such a symbol. Hadrianus and his descendants form the last distinguishable family of the Fabii. Their surname was probably derived from the Latin colony of Hatria, and it is likely that they were not lineal descendants of the Fabii Buteones, but newly-enfranchised citizens. The flamingo might also allude to the family's coastal origins.
The surname Pictor, borne by another family of the Fabii, signifies a painter, and the earliest known member of this family was indeed a painter, famed for his work in the temple of Salus, built by Gaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus between 307 and 302 BC. The later members of this family, several of whom were distinguished in the arts, appear to have been his descendants, and must have taken their cognomen from this ancestor. The cognomen Labeo ("the one with large lips") appears at the beginning of the second century BC; Quintus Fabius Labeo, the first of that name, was also a poet, but his line vanished before the end of the century.
Members
- This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation.
Fabii Vibulani et Ambusti
- Caeso Fabius Vibulanus, father of Quintus, Caeso, and Marcus, consuls from 485 to 479 BC.
- Quintus Fabius K. f. Vibulanus, consul in 485 and 482 BC. He waged war against the Volsci and Aequi. He fell in battle against the Veientes in 480.
- Caeso Fabius K. f. Vibulanus, quaestor in 485 BC, he prosecuted Spurius Cassius Vecellinus, consul of the preceding year, on a charge of treason. Consul in 484, 481, and 479, Fabius continued the war against the Aequi and Veii. He led the Fabii at the Battle of the Cremera, where he died.
- Marcus Fabius K. f. Vibulanus, consul in 483 and 480 BC. He resigned two months before the end of his second consulship, after sustaining injuries in a battle against Veii, during which his brother Quintus was slain.
- Quintus Fabius M. f. K. n. Vibulanus, consul in 467, 465, and 459. The only survivor of the Battle of the Cremera. He fought against the Aequi in each of his consulships, and was awarded a triumph during the last one. He was finally a member of the second Decemvirate in 450, and also urban prefect in 462 and 458.
- Marcus Fabius Vibulanus , named by Diodorus as one of the consuls in 457 BC, together with Cincinnatus. The majority of ancient sources name Gaius Horatius Pulvillus and Quintus Minucius Esquilinus as the consuls of this year.
- Marcus Fabius Q. f. M. n. Vibulanus, consul in 442 BC, legate during the war against Veii in 437, consular tribune in 433, and legate in 431.
- Numerius Fabius Q. f. M. n. Vibulanus, consul in 421, and consular tribune in 415 and 407 BC.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. M. n. Vibulanus, consul in 423 and consular tribune in 416 and 414 BC.
- Quintus Fabius M. f. Q. n. Vibulanus Ambustus, consul in 412 BC.
- Caeso Fabius M. f. Q. n. Ambustus, consular tribune in 404, 401, 395, and 390 BC.
- Numerius Fabius M. f. Q. n. Ambustus, consular tribune in 406 and 390 BC.
- Quintus Fabius M. f. Q. n. Ambustus, consular tribune in 390 BC.
- Marcus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Ambustus, pontifex maximus in 390 BC.
- Marcus Fabius K. f. M. n. Ambustus, consular tribune in 381 and 369 BC, and censor in 363; supported the lex Licinia Sextia, which granted the plebeians the right to hold the consulship.
- Fabia M. f. K. n., married Servius Sulpicius Praetextatus, consular tribune in 377, 376, 370, and 368 BC.
- Fabia M. f. K. n., married Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo, consul in 364 and 361 BC.
- Marcus Fabius N. f. M. n. Ambustus, consul in 360, 356, and 354 BC, princeps senatus triumphed over the Tiburtines.
- Gaius Fabius N. f. M. n. Ambustus, consul in 358 BC.
- Marcus Fabius M. f. N. n. Ambustus, magister equitum in 322 BC.
- Quintus Fabius Ambustus, nominated dictator in 321 BC, but compelled to resign due to a fault in the auspices.
- Gaius Fabius M. f. N. n. Ambustus, appointed magister equitum in 315 BC, in place of Quintus Aulius, who fell in battle.
Fabii Dorsuones et Licini
- Gaius Fabius Dorsuo , bravely left the Capitoline Hill to perform a sacrifice when Rome was occupied by the Gauls following the Battle of the Allia in 390 BC, eluding the Gallic sentries both on his departure and his return.
- Marcus Fabius (C. f.) Dorsuo, consul in 345 BC, carried on the war against the Volsci and captured Sora.
- Gaius Fabius M. f. M. n. Dorsuo Licinus , consul in 273 BC, died during his year of office.
- Marcus Fabius C. f. M. n. Licinus , consul in 246 BC.
Fabii Maximi
- Quintus Fabius M. f. N. n. Maximus Rullianus, magister equitum in 325 or 324, consul in 322, 310, 308, 297, and 295 BC, dictator in 315 and censor in 304, princeps senatus; triumphed in 322, 309, and 295.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. M. n. Maximus Gurges, consul in 292, 276, and 265 BC, princeps senatus; triumphed in 291 and 276.
- Quintus Fabius (Maximus), aedile in 266 BC, he assaulted the ambassadors of Apollonia, and was remanded to the custody of the Apolloniates, but was dismissed unharmed.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus Verrucosus, nicknamed Cunctator, consul in 233, 228, 215, 214 and 209 BC, censor in 230, and dictator in 221 and 217, princeps senatus; triumphed in 233.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus, consul in 213 BC.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus , appointed augur in 203 BC.
- Quintus Fabius Maximus , praetor peregrinus in 181 BC.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus Aemilianus, consul in 145 BC, the son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus, conqueror of Macedonia; as a child he was adopted by Quintus Fabius Maximus the praetor.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus Allobrogicus, consul in 121 BC, and censor in 108; triumphed over the Allobroges.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus Allobrogicus , son of the consul of 121 BC; remarkable only for his vices.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus Servilianus, consul in 142 BC.
- Quintus Fabius Maximus Eburnus, consul in 116 BC, he condemned one of his sons to death; being accused by Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, he went into exile.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus, legate of Caesar, and consul suffectus in 45 BC.
- Paullus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus, consul in 11 BC.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Maximus Africanus, better known as Africanus Fabius Maximus, consul in 10 BC.
- Quintus Fabius Allobrogicinus Maximus, named in an inscription from the Augustan era, now lost.
- Paullus Fabius Paulli f. Q. n. Persicus, consul in AD 34.
- (Fabia) Eburna, inferred by Ronald Syme from an inscription naming Eutychia, the slave-girl of a woman named Eburna; another inscription names a slave-woman named Alexa, perhaps belonging to the same Eburna.
- Fabius Numantinus, one of eight young men admitted to an undetermined sacerdotal college, possibly the sodales Titii, between AD 59 and 64.
Fabii Pictores
- Gaius Fabius M. f. Pictor, painted the interior of the temple of Salus, dedicated in 302 BC.
- Gaius Fabius C. f. M. n. Pictor , consul in 269 BC.
- Numerius Fabius C. f. M. n. Pictor, ambassador in 273 BC, he accompanied Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges to the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphos. Consul in 266, he triumphed over the Sassinates, and again over the Sallentini and Messapii.
- Quintus Fabius C. f. C. n. Pictor, ambassador in 216 BC, he was sent to consult the oracle of Delphi in order to find ways to appease the gods after the disaster of Cannae. Pictor is known as the earliest of the Latin historians, although he wrote in Greek; he was an important source for later annalists, but most of his own work has been lost.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. C. n. Pictor , praetor in 189 BC, received Sardinia as his province, but was compelled by the pontifex maximus to remain at Rome, because he was Flamen Quirinalis; his abdication was rejected by the senate, which designated him praetor peregrinus. He died in 167.
- Numerius Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Pictor, an annalist and antiquarian of the second century BC.
- Numerius Fabius N. f. Q. n. Pictor, triumvir monetalis in 126 BC.
Fabii Buteones
- Numerius Fabius M. f. M. n. Buteo , consul in 247 BC, during the First Punic War.
- Marcus Fabius M. f. M. n. Buteo, consul in 245 BC, censor, probably in 241; appointed dictator in 216 to fill the vacancies in the senate after the Battle of Cannae.
- Fabius M. f. M. n. Buteo, according to Orosius, accused of theft, and slain in consequence by his own father.
- Marcus Fabius Buteo , praetor in 201 BC, obtained Sardinia as his province.
- Quintus Fabius Buteo, praetor in 196 BC, obtained the province of Hispania Ulterior.
- Quintus Fabius Buteo , praetor in 181 BC, obtained Gallia Cisalpina as his province.
- Numerius Fabius Buteo, praetor in 173 BC, obtained the province of Hispania Citerior, but died at Massilia on his way to his province.
- Quintus Fabius Buteo , quaestor in 134 BC; apparently the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, and nephew of Scipio Aemilianus, by whom he was entrusted with the command of four thousand volunteers during the Numantine War.
Fabii Labeones
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Labeo, quaestor urbanus in 196 BC. Praetor then propraetor in 189 and 188, he defeated the naval forces of Antiochus III, for which he received a naval triumph the following year. He was triumvir for establishing the colonies of Potentia and Pisaurum in 184, and Saturnia in 183. He was consul in 183, and proconsul in Liguria the following year. He also became pontiff in 180, and was part of a commission of ten men sent to advise Aemilius Paullus on the settlement of Macedonia in 167. He was also a poet, according to Suetonius.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Labeo, a learned orator known whose eloquence is mentioned by Cicero. He must have lived about the middle of the second century BC, and either he or more probably his son was proconsul in Spain, where the name occurs on some milestones.
- Quintus Fabius Q. f. Q. n. Labeo, triumvir monetalis in 124 BC. He was probably proconsul in Spain between 120 and 100 BC.
Fabii Hadriani
- Gaius Fabius C. f. Q. n. Hadrianus, triumvir monetalis in 102 BC. A supporter of Cinna and Carbo during the Civil War against Sulla, he was appointed praetor of Africa in 84 BC. He remained there as propraetor for two years, but his government was so oppressive that the colonists and merchants at Utica burnt him to death in his own praetorium.
- Marcus Fabius C. f. C. n. Hadrianus, legate between 72 and 68 BC under Lucius Licinius Lucullus during the Third Mithridatic War. He was defeated by Mithridates in 68.
- Gaius Fabius M. f. C. n. Hadrianus, praetor in 58 BC, and subsequently proconsul in Asia, where he minted coins.
Others
- Fabius Dorsennus, a Latin comic playwright, whose style and care was criticized by Quintus Horatius Flaccus.
- Fabius, an hypothetical tribune of the plebs in 64 BC. He might have carried a bill reducing the number of attendants a candidate could bring with him at an election.
- Gaius Fabius, tribune of the plebs in 55 BC, passed a law complementing Caesar's agrarian law. He served under Caesar as a legate from 54 to 49 BC, during the second half of the Gallic Wars and at the start of the Civil War.
- Quintus Fabius Sanga , warned Cicero about the conspiracy of Catiline, after being informed by the ambassadors of the Allobroges.
- Quintus Fabius Vergilianus, legate of Appius Claudius Pulcher in Cilicia in 51 BC; during the Civil War, he espoused the cause of Pompeius.
- Publius Fabius Blandus, named in a sepulchral inscription from Firmum Picenum, dating between the late first century BC and the first half of the first century AD.
- Fabia P. f. Pollitta, probably the daughter of Publius Fabius Blandus, named in the same inscription from Firmum Picenum.
- Fabia P. l. Bassa, the freedwoman of Publius Fabius Blandus, named in the same inscription from Firmum Picenum.
- Publius Fabius Firmanus, consul suffectus in the early years of the reign of the emperor Claudius.
- Fabius Rusticus, a historian of the mid-first century AD, frequently quoted by Tacitus on the life of Nero.
- Fabius Fabullus, legate of Legio V Alaudae, chosen as a leader of the soldiers who mutinied against Aulus Caecina Alienus in AD 69; perhaps the same man to whom the murder of the emperor Galba was attributed.
- Gaius Fabius Valens, one of the principal generals of Vitellius, and consul suffectus ex kal. Sept. in AD 69.
- Fabius Priscus, one of the legates sent against Civilis in AD 70.
- Fabius Ululitremulus, a shopkeeper in Pompeii. A graffito from the doorpost of his shop alludes to the Aeneid, and praises Minerva as the patron of the fullones.
- Marcus Fabius Rufus, the last owner of a rich villa in Pompeii.
- Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, the most celebrated of Roman rhetoricians, granted the insignia and title of consul by Domitian.
- Lucius Fabius Tuscus, consul suffectus in 100.
- Lucius Fabius Justus, a distinguished rhetorician, and a friend of both Tacitus and the younger Pliny.
- Lucius Julius Gainius Fabius Agrippa. A Roman descendant of the Herodian dynasty, gymnasiarch of Apamea and one of the most prominent citizens of the city in the 110s. Possibly an ancestor to usurper Jotapianus, though it is unclear if the initial "F." in Jotapianus' name stands for "Fabius".
- Ceionia Fabia, an adoptive granddaughter of Hadrian, and sister of the emperor Lucius Verus. Her name indicates descent from the gens Fabia, though her ancestry is obscure.
- Quintus Fabius Catullinus, consul in AD 130.
- Fabius Cornelius Repentinus, appointed praefectus praetorio in the reign of Antoninus Pius.
- Fabius Mela, an eminent jurist, probably of the mid-2nd century.
- Lucius Fabius Cilo Septimianus, consul suffectus in AD 193 and consul in 204.
- Fabius Sabinus , one of the consiliarii of Alexander Severus, perhaps the same Sabinus later driven out of Rome by order of Elagabalus.
- Fabia Orestilla, supposedly the wife of Gordian I, and mother of his children. Her name appears only in the Augustan History.
- Quintus Fabius Clodius Agrippianus Celsinus, Proconsul of Caria in 249.
- Fabianus, Pope from 236 to 250. Supposedly of noble Roman birth, his father's name was reportedly Fabius.
- Titus Fabius Titianus , consul in AD 337.
- Aconia Fabia Paulina, a pagan priestess during the late fourth century, wife of Vettius Agorius Praetextatus.
- Saint Fabiola, a Christian ascetic of the late fourth century, she was later declared a saint.
- Quintus Fabius Memmius Symmachus, a politician of the late fourth and early fifth century, who was appointed Quaestor at the age of ten. Possibly a pagan, he was alleged to have built a temple to Flora.
- Fabius Planciades Fulgentius, a Latin grammarian, probably not earlier than the sixth century.
- Fabia Eudocia, first empress-consort of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. She was born in the Exarchate of Africa, and died in AD 612, reportedly due to epilepsy. One of her two known children was Constantine III.
See also
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See Also
- Fabius (disambiguation)
Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother in Roman mythology.
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AugustusCaesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Principate, which is the first phase of the Roman Empire, and is considered one of the greatest leaders in human history. The reign of Augustus initiated an imperial cult as well as an era associated with imperial peace, the Pax Romana or Pax Augusta. The Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries despite continuous wars of imperial expansion on the empire's frontiers and the year-long civil war known as the "Year of the Four Emperors" over the imperial succession.
Barthold Georg NiebuhrBarthold Georg Niebuhr (27 August 1776 – 2 January 1831) was a Danish–German statesman, banker, and historian who became Germany's leading historian of Ancient Rome and a founding father of modern scholarly historiography. By 1810 Niebuhr was inspiring German patriotism in students at the University of Berlin by his analysis of Roman economy and government. Niebuhr was a leader of the Romantic era and symbol of German national spirit that emerged after the defeat at Jena. But he was also deeply rooted in the classical spirit of the Age of Enlightenment in his intellectual presuppositions, his use of philologic analysis, and his emphasis on both general and particular phenomena in history.
Battle of the AlliaThe Battle of the Allia was a battle fought c. 387 BC between the Senones – a Gallic tribe led by Brennus, who had invaded Northern Italy – and the Roman Republic. The battle was fought at the confluence of the Tiber and Allia rivers, 11 Roman miles (16 km, 10 mi) north of Rome. The Romans were routed and subsequently Rome was sacked by the Senones. According to scholar Piero Treves, "the absence of any archaeological evidence for a destruction-level of this date suggests that [this] sack of Rome was superficial only."
Battle of the CremeraThe Battle of the Cremera was fought between the Roman Republic and the Etruscan city of Veii, in 477 BC ( AUC 277) .
Battle of ThermopylaeThe Battle of Thermopylae ( /θərˈmɒpɪliː/ thər- MOP -i-lee; Greek : Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν , Máchē tōn Thermopylōn ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting over the course of three days, it was one of the most prominent battles of both the second Persian invasion of Greece and the wider Greco-Persian Wars.
BeneventoBenevento ( UK: /ˌbɛnəˈvɛntoʊ/ , US: /ˌbeɪneɪˈ-/ , Italian: [beneˈvɛnto] (listen) ; Latin : Beneventum; Beneventano: Beneviénte) is a city and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 metres (427 feet) above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato. In 2020, Benevento has 58,418 inhabitants. It is also the seat of a Catholic archbishop.
Caecilia gensThe gens Caecilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned in history as early as the fifth century BC, but the first of the Caecilii who obtained the consulship was Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter, in 284 BC. The Caecilii Metelli were one of the most powerful families of the late Republic, from the decades before the First Punic War down to the time of Augustus.
Caeso (praenomen)Caeso or Kaeso (Classical Latin: [ˈkae̯soː] ) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, usually abbreviated K. Although never a common name, Caeso was regularly used by a number of prominent families, both patrician and plebeian, during the period of the Roman Republic. The feminine form is Caesula (also spelled Cesula, Caesulla, Caesilla, and Caesillia). The name also gave rise to the patronymic gens Caesonia. Kaeso is the older spelling, dating from the period when the letter K was still frequently used before the vowel A in Latin, and before the letters C and G were differentiated.
CampaniaCampania ( /kæmˈpeɪniə/ , also UK: /kæmˈpæniə/ , US: /kɑːmˈpɑːniə/ , Italian: [kamˈpaːnja] , Neapolitan: [kamˈbɑːnjə] ) is an administrative region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the island of Capri. The capital of the Campania region is Naples. As of 2018, the region had a population of around 5,820,000 people, making it Italy's third most populous region, and, with an area of 13,590 km 2 (5,247 sq mi) , its most densely populated region. Based on its GDP, Campania is also the most economically productive region in southern Italy and the 7th most productive in the whole country. Naples' urban area, which is in Campania, is the eighth most populous in the European Union. The region is home to 10 of the 58 UNESCO sites in Italy, including Pompeii and Herculaneum, the Royal Palace of Caserta, the Amalfi Coast and the Historic Centre of Naples. In addition, Campania's Mount Vesuvius is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
Claudia gensThe gens Claudia (Latin: [ˈklau̯dɪ.a] ), sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain the consulship was Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis, in 495 BC, and from that time its members frequently held the highest offices of the state, both under the Republic and in imperial times.
CognomenA cognomen (Latin: [kɔŋˈnoːmɛn] ; plural cognomina; from co- "together with" and (g)nomen "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name, the nomen gentilicium (the family name, or clan name), in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings.
Conflict of the OrdersThe Conflict of the Orders, sometimes referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the plebeians (commoners) and patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 500 BC to 287 BC in which the plebeians sought political equality with the patricians. It played a major role in the development of the Constitution of the Roman Republic. Shortly after the founding of the Republic, this conflict led to a secession from Rome by Plebeians to the Sacred Mount at a time of war. The result of this first secession was the creation of the office of plebeian tribune, and with it the first acquisition of real power by the plebeians.
Cornelia gensThe gens Cornelia was one of the greatest patrician houses at ancient Rome. For more than seven hundred years, from the early decades of the Republic to the third century AD, the Cornelii produced more eminent statesmen and generals than any other gens. At least seventy-five consuls under the Republic were members of this family, beginning with Servius Cornelius Maluginensis in 485 BC. Together with the Aemilii, Claudii, Fabii, Manlii, and Valerii, the Cornelii were almost certainly numbered among the gentes maiores, the most important and powerful families of Rome, who for centuries dominated the Republican magistracies. All of the major branches of the Cornelian gens were patrician, but there were also plebeian Cornelii, at least some of whom were descended from freedmen.
EtruriaEtruria ( /ɪˈtrʊəriə/ ih- TROOR -ee-ə) was a region of Central Italy delimited by the rivers Arno and Tiber, an area that covered what is now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and north-western Umbria.
FabiusIn Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother.
Festus (historian)Festus (fl. 4th century ), whose name also appears in the manuscripts of his work as Rufus Festus, Ruffus Festus, Sextus Festus, Sextus Rufus, and Sextus, was a Late Roman historian and proconsul of Asia whose epitome Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani ("Summary of the history of Rome") was commissioned by the emperor Valens in preparation for his war against Persia. It was completed about AD 370. The Breviarium covers the entire history of the Roman state from the foundation of the City until AD 364. The book consists of 30 chapters treating events in Roman history in terse overview, mainly focused on military and political conflicts. It is estimated as a work of very low quality.
FlamingoFlamingos or flamingoes /fləˈmɪŋɡoʊz/ are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbean), and two species native to Afro-Eurasia.
FreedmanA freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self-purchase. A fugitive slave is a person who escaped enslavement by fleeing.
Fulvia gensThe gens Fulvia, originally Foulvia, was one of the most illustrious plebeian families at ancient Rome. Members of this gens first came to prominence during the middle Republic; the first to attain the consulship was Lucius Fulvius Curvus in 322 BC. From that time, the Fulvii were active in the politics of the Roman state, and gained a reputation for excellent military leaders.
Gaius (praenomen)Gaius ( /ˈɡaɪəs/ ) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, and was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The feminine form is Gaia. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Gavia. The name was regularly abbreviated C., based on the original spelling, Caius, which dates from the period before the letters "C" and "G" were differentiated. Inverted, Ɔ. stood for the feminine, Gaia.
Gaius Junius Bubulcus BrutusGaius Junius Bubulcus Brutus (fl. late 4th century BC) was a Roman general and statesman, he was elected consul of the Roman Republic thrice, he was also appointed dictator or magister equitum thrice, and censor in 307 BC. In 311, he made a vow to the goddess Salus that he went on to fulfill, becoming the first plebeian to build a temple. The temple was one of the first dedicated to an abstract deity, and Junius was one of the first generals to vow a temple and then oversee its establishment through the construction and dedication process.
GaulsThe Gauls (Latin : Galli; Ancient Greek : Γαλάται , Galátai) were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (Gallia). They spoke Gaulish, a continental Celtic language.
GensIn ancient Rome, a gens ( /ɡɛns/ or /dʒɛnz/ , Latin: [gẽːs] ; plural: gentes [ˈgɛnteːs] ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps (plural: stirpes). The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the period of the Roman Republic. Much of individuals' social standing depended on the gens to which they belonged. Certain gentes were classified as patrician, others as plebeian; some had both patrician and plebeian branches. The importance of membership in a gens declined considerably in imperial times, although the gentilicium continued to be used and defined the origins and dynasties of Roman emperors.
HerculesHercules ( /ˈhɜːrkjʊˌliːz/ , US: /-kjə-/ ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
Latin literatureLatin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature would flourish for the next six centuries. The classical era of Latin literature can be roughly divided into the following periods: Early Latin literature, The Golden Age, The Imperial Period and Late Antiquity.
Latins (Italic tribe)The Latins (Latin: Latini), sometimes known as the Latians, were an Italic tribe which included the early inhabitants of the city of Rome (see Roman people). From about 1000 BC, the Latins inhabited the small region known to the Romans as Old Latium (in Latin Latium vetus), that is, the area between the river Tiber and the promontory of Mount Circeo 100 km (62 mi) southeast of Rome. Following the Roman expansion, the Latins spread into the Latium adiectum, inhabited by Osco-Umbrian peoples.
Leonidas ILeonidas I ( /liˈɒnɪdəs, -dæs/ ; Greek : Λεωνίδας ; died 19 September 480 BC) was a Greek king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles. Leonidas I was a son of King Anaxandridas II. He succeeded his half-brother King Cleomenes I to the throne in c. 489 BC. His co-ruler was King Leotychidas. He was succeeded by his son, King Pleistarchus.
Licinia gensThe gens Licinia was a celebrated plebeian family at ancient Rome, which appears from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times, and which eventually obtained the imperial dignity. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo, who, as tribune of the plebs from 376 to 367 BC, prevented the election of any of the annual magistrates, until the patricians acquiesced to the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia, or Licinian Rogations. This law, named for Licinius and his colleague, Lucius Sextius, opened the consulship for the first time to the plebeians. Licinius himself was subsequently elected consul in 364 and 361 BC, and from this time, the Licinii became one of the most illustrious gentes in the Republic.
LupercalThe Lupercal (from Latin lupa "female wolf") was a cave at the southwest foot of the Palatine Hill in Rome, located somewhere between the temple of Magna Mater and the Sant'Anastasia al Palatino. In the legend of the founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus were found there by the she-wolf who suckled them until they were rescued by the shepherd Faustulus. Luperci, the priests of Faunus, celebrated certain ceremonies of the Lupercalia at the cave, from the earliest days of the City until at least 494 AD.
LupercaliaLupercalia was a pastoral festival of Ancient Rome observed annually on February 15 to purify the city, promoting health and fertility. Lupercalia was also known as dies Februatus, after the purification instruments called februa, the basis for the month named Februarius.
Mamilia gensThe gens Mamilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome during the period of the Republic. The gens was originally one of the most distinguished families of Tusculum, and indeed in the whole of Latium. It is first mentioned in the time of the Tarquins; and it was to a member of this family, Octavius Mamilius, that Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome, betrothed his daughter. The gens obtained Roman citizenship in the 5th century BC, and some of its members must subsequently have settled at Rome, where Lucius Mamilius Vitulus became the first of the family to hold the consulship in 265 BC, the year before the First Punic War.
Manlia gensThe gens Manlia ( Mānlia ) was one of the oldest and noblest patrician houses at Rome, from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus, consul in 480 BC, and for nearly five centuries its members frequently held the most important magistracies. Many of them were distinguished statesmen and generals, and a number of prominent individuals under the Empire claimed the illustrious Manlii among their ancestors.
Marcia gensThe gens Marcia ( Marcia ), occasionally written Martia, was one of the oldest and noblest houses at ancient Rome. They claimed descent from the second and fourth Roman Kings, and the first of the Marcii appearing in the history of the Republic would seem to have been patrician; but all of the families of the Marcii known in the later Republic were plebeian. The first to obtain the consulship was Gaius Marcius Rutilus in 357 BC, only a few years after the passage of the lex Licinia Sextia opened this office to the plebeians.
Marcus (praenomen)Marcus (Latin pronunciation: [ˈmaːrkʊs] ) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was one of the most common names throughout Roman history. The feminine form is Marca or Marcia. The praenomen was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Marcia, as well as the cognomen Marcellus. It was regularly abbreviated M.
Ogulnia gensThe gens Ogulnia was an ancient plebeian family at ancient Rome. The gens first came to prominence at the beginning of the third century BC, when the brothers Quintus and Gnaeus Ogulnius, tribunes of the plebs, carried a law opening most of the Roman priesthoods to the plebeians. The only member of the family to obtain the consulship was Quintus Ogulnius Gallus in 269 BC. However, Ogulnii are still found in imperial times.
Otacilia gensThe gens Otacilia, originally Octacilia, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The gens first rose to prominence during the First Punic War, but afterwards lapsed into obscurity. The first of the family to obtain the consulship was Manius Otacilius Crassus, in 263 BC.
Palatine HillThe Palatine Hill ( /ˈpælətaɪn/ ; Latin : Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; Italian : Palatino [palaˈtiːno] ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." The site is now mainly a large open-air museum while the Palatine Museum houses many finds from the excavations here and from other ancient Italian sites.
Patrician (ancient Rome)The patricians (from Latin : patricius) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 BC). By the time of the late Republic and Empire, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance.
Paullus (praenomen)Paullus ( /ˈpaʊləs/ or /ˈpɔːləs/ ) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, used throughout Roman history. The masculine form was not particularly common at Rome, but the feminine form, Paulla or Polla, is one of the most common praenomina. The name was later used as a cognomen in many families. It was not normally abbreviated, but is sometimes found with the abbreviation Paul.
- This page is about the Latin praenomen. For a list of prominent individuals with this name, see Paullus.
The gens Pinaria was one of the most ancient patrician families at Rome. According to tradition, the gens originated long before the founding of the city. The Pinarii are mentioned under the kings, and members of this gens attained the highest offices of the Roman state soon after the establishment of the Republic, beginning with Publius Pinarius Mamercinus Rufus, consul in 489 BC.
Pliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 – AD 79), called Pliny the Elder ( /ˈplɪni/ ), was a Roman author, naturalist, natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic Naturalis Historia (Natural History), which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field.
Poetelia gensThe gens Poetelia or Poetilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the time of the Decemvirs, and from thence down to the Second Punic War, they regularly held the chief magistracies of the Roman state. After this, however, they fade into obscurity, and are only occasionally mentioned. The nomen Poetelius is sometimes confused with Petillius, and can be found with either a single or double 'l'.
Porcia gensThe gens Porcia, rarely written Portia, was a plebeian family at Ancient Rome. Its members first appear in history during the third century BC. The first of the gens to achieve the consulship was Marcus Porcius Cato in 195 BC, and from then until imperial times, the Porcii regularly occupied the highest offices of the Roman state.
Potitia gensThe gens Potitia was an ancient patrician family at ancient Rome. None of its members ever attained any of the higher offices of the Roman state, and the gens is known primarily as a result of its long association with the rites of Hercules, and for a catastrophic plague that was said to have killed all of its members within a single month, at the end of the fourth century BC. However, a few Potitii of later times are known from literary sources and inscriptions.
PraenomenThe praenomen (Classical Latin: [prae̯ˈnoːmɛn] ; plural: praenomina) was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy. The praenomen would then be formally conferred a second time when girls married, or when boys assumed the toga virilis upon reaching manhood. Although it was the oldest of the tria nomina commonly used in Roman naming conventions, by the late republic, most praenomina were so common that most people were called by their praenomina only by family or close friends. For this reason, although they continued to be used, praenomina gradually disappeared from public records during imperial times. Although both men and women received praenomina, women's praenomina were frequently ignored, and they were gradually abandoned by many Roman families, though they continued to be used in some families and in the countryside.
Princeps senatusThe princeps senatus ( PL principes senatus) was the first member by precedence on the membership rolls of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the cursus honorum and possessing no imperium, this office conferred prestige on the senator holding it.
Quinctia gensThe gens Quinctia, sometimes written Quintia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, its members often held the highest offices of the state, and it produced some men of importance even during the imperial period. For the first forty years after the expulsion of the kings the Quinctii are not mentioned, and the first of the gens who obtained the consulship was Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus in 471 BC; but from that year their name constantly appears in the Fasti consulares.
Quinctilia gensThe gens Quinctilia, also written Quintilia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome, dating from the earliest period of Roman history, and continuing well into imperial times. Despite its great antiquity, the gens never attained much historical importance. The only member who obtained the consulship under the Republic was Sextus Quinctilius in 453 BC. The gens produced numerous praetors and other magistrates, but did not obtain the consulship again for over four hundred years.
Quintus (praenomen)Quintus (Latin pronunciation: [ˈkᶣiːntʊs] ) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was common throughout all periods of Roman history. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gentes Quinctia and Quinctilia. The feminine form is Quinta. The name was regularly abbreviated Q.
Quintus Fabius Maximus AemilianusQuintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus was a Roman statesman and consul (145 BC).
Quintus Fabius Maximus EburnusQuintus Fabius Maximus Eburnus (fl. 2nd century BC) was a Roman statesman of the patrician gens Fabia. He was consul in 116 BC.
Roman citizenshipCitizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: civitas) was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cultural practices. There existed several different types of citizenship, determined by one's gender, class, and political affiliations, and the exact duties or expectations of a citizen varied throughout the history of the Roman Empire.
Roman consulA consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic (c. 509 BC to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the cursus honorum (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspired) after that of the censor. Each year, the Centuriate Assembly elected two consuls to serve jointly for a one-year term. The consuls alternated in holding fasces – taking turns leading – each month when both were in Rome. A consul's imperium extended over Rome and all its provinces.
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire (Latin : Imperium Romanum [ɪmˈpɛri.ũː roːˈmaːnũː] ; Greek : Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων , translit. Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn ) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, and was ruled by emperors. From the accession of Caesar Augustus as the first Roman emperor to the military anarchy of the 3rd century, it was a Principate with Italia as the metropole of its provinces and the city of Rome as its sole capital. The Empire was later ruled by multiple emperors who shared control over the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. The city of Rome remained the nominal capital of both parts until AD 476 when the imperial insignia were sent to Constantinople following the capture of the Western capital of Ravenna by the Germanic barbarians. The adoption of Christianity as the state church of the Roman Empire in AD 380 and the fall of the Western Roman Empire to Germanic kings conventionally marks the end of classical antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Because of these events, along with the gradual Hellenization of the Eastern Roman Empire, historians distinguish the medieval Roman Empire that remained in the Eastern provinces as the Byzantine Empire.
Roman naming conventionsOver the course of some fourteen centuries, the Romans and other peoples of Italy employed a system of nomenclature that differed from that used by other cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of a combination of personal and family names. Although conventionally referred to as the tria nomina, the combination of praenomen, nomen, and cognomen that have come to be regarded as the basic elements of the Roman name in fact represent a continuous process of development, from at least the seventh century BC to the end of the seventh century AD. The names that developed as part of this system became a defining characteristic of Roman civilization, and although the system itself vanished during the Early Middle Ages, the names themselves exerted a profound influence on the development of European naming practices, and many continue to survive in modern languages.
Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic (Latin : Res publica Romana [ˈreːs ˈpuːblika roːˈmaːna] ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire, Rome's control rapidly expanded during this period—from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world.
Roman SenateThe Roman Senate (Latin : Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC). It survived the overthrow of the Roman monarchy in 509 BC; the fall of the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC; the division of the Roman Empire in AD 395; and the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476; Justinian's attempted reconquest of the west in the 6th century, and lasted well into the Eastern Roman Empire's history.
Romulus and RemusIn Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (Latin: [ˈroːmʊlʊs] , [ˈrɛmʊs] ) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf suckling the twins in their infancy has been a symbol of the city of Rome and the ancient Romans since at least the 3rd century BC. Although the tale takes place before the founding of Rome around 750 BC, the earliest known written account of the myth is from the late 3rd century BC. Possible historical bases for the story, and interpretations of its various local variants, are subjects of ongoing debate.
SabinesThe Sabines ( US: /ˈseɪbaɪnz/ , UK: /ˈsæbaɪnz/ ; Latin : Sabini; Italian : Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome.
SalusSalus (Latin : salus, "safety", "salvation", "welfare") was the Roman goddess of safety and well-being (welfare, health and prosperity) of both the individual and the state. She is sometimes equated with the Greek goddess Hygieia, though their functions differ considerably.
Samnite WarsThe First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe.
- The first of these wars was the result of Rome's intervention to rescue the Campanian city of Capua from a Samnite attack.
- The second one was the result of Rome's intervention in the politics of the city of Naples and developed into a contest over the control of central and southern Italy.
- Similarly the third war also involved a struggle for control of this part of Italy.
Servius (Classical Latin: [ˈsɛru̯iʊs] ) is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, which was used throughout the period of the Roman Republic, and well into imperial times. It was used by both patrician and plebeian families, and gave rise to the patronymic gens Servilia. The feminine form is Servia. The name was regularly abbreviated Ser.
SpartaSparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon ( Λακεδαίμων , Lakedaímōn ), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece.
Tim CornellTimothy J. Cornell (born 1946) is a British historian specializing in ancient Rome. He is an Emeritus Professor of Ancient History at the University of Manchester, having retired from his teaching position in 2011.
Trojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad (Books II – XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.
TusculumTusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable distance from Rome (notably the villas of Cicero and Lucullus).
Valeria gensThe gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of the Tarquins, and the members of his family were among the most celebrated statesmen and generals at the beginning of the Republic. Over the next ten centuries, few gentes produced as many distinguished men, and at every period the name of Valerius was constantly to be found in the lists of annual magistrates, and held in the highest honour. Several of the emperors claimed descent from the Valerii, whose name they bore as part of their official nomenclature.
VeiiVeii (also Veius; Italian : Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and 16 km (9.9 mi) north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the city-state of Veii are in Formello, immediately to the north. Formello is named after the drainage channels that were first created by the Veians.
Vicia fabaVicia faba, commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieties with smaller, harder seeds that are fed to horses or other animals are called field bean, tic bean or tick bean. Horse bean, Vicia faba var. equina Pers., is a variety recognized as an accepted name. This legume is very common in Southern European, Northern European, East Asian, Latin American and North African cuisines.