Rome
Page 44
Marcus Aurelius, emperor 230–236
Marius, Gaius, Late Republican general and radical politician 125–137, 139–140
Mars, Roman god of war 3–4, 16
martiobarbuli, Late Roman lead-weighted javelins 267
Masada, Jewish desert fortress 198
Masinissa, Numidian general and ruler 87, 99, 125
Maternus, deserter, bandit and leader of popular rebellion under Commodus 237–238, 278
Maxentius, emperor, son of Maximian 271–273
Maximian, tetrarchic co-emperor with Diocletian 265, 271–272
Maximinus Thrax, emperor 250–252, 281
Messallina, empress of Claudius 195
Messina, Greek city in north-east Sicily 65–67
Metaurus, battle of 88
Metellus, Quintus Caecilius, general in Fourth Macedonian War 98–99
Metellus, Quintus Caecilius, general in war against Jugurtha, conservative politician 126–127, 131
Metellus Pius, Quintus Caecilius, general in war against Sertorius, ally of Sulla 150–151
military tribune, junior Roman magistrate and military commander 43
Milo, Titus Annius, conservative tribune, ally of Pompey 161–162
Milvian Bridge, battle of 272–273
Mithridates, king of Pontus 136–139, 148–150, 153–154
‘mob’ of ancient Rome, see proletarii
Mons Graupius, battle of 209
Monte Saraceno, Samnite hilltop fortress 47
Mummius, Lucius, general in Fourth Macedonian War 99
Munda, battle of 166–167
Mylai, battle of 71
Nabataean Arabia 218
Naples, ancient port city in southern Italy 52
Naulochus, battle of 173
navy, Roman 70–71
Nero, emperor 195–200
Nerva, emperor 215
New Carthage, capital city of Carthaginian Spain 77, 86
‘new men’ (novi homines), rising politicians from non-senatorial backgrounds in Late Republic and Early Empire 121, 169–170, 202, 206–207
New Testament 117
nexum, debt with personal liberty as security 31
nobilitas (nobility), combined patrician-plebeian aristocracy of ancient Rome 41–42, 44
Notitia Dignitatum (List of High Offices) 268
Numa Pompilius, second king of Rome 3
Numantia, Celtiberian fortress in Spain 91, 104
Numidia 125–127
Numitor, mythic king of Alba Longa 3
Nymphidius Rufus, Prefect of Praetorian Guard under Nero 199
Octavia, sister of Octavian-Augustus, wife of Antony 173, 175
Octavia, empress of Nero 196
Octavian, see Augustus
Odoacer, Germanic King of Italy 306–307
Odenath, king of Palmyra 256–257
Olympius, leader of anti-Stilicho faction in Western Empire 298–299
optimates (‘best men’), conservative aristocratic politicians 117, 130–131
Orchomenus, battle of 139
Oscan, language of ancient peoples of southern Italy 47
Osroes, king of Parthia 218–219
Ostia, ancient city at mouth of Tiber, port of Rome 51
Otho, Marcus Salvius, emperor 201
Paestum, Greek city of southern Italy 57, 64
Palici, Shrine of, in Sicily 128–129
Palmyra, eastern desert trading city 256–257, 260
Parthians and Parthian Empire 162, 173–174, 218–219, 231–232, 245, 250
paterfamilias, male head of family and household 12–13
patres (fathers or elders), common term for Roman senators 28
patricians, hereditary aristocracy of ancient Rome
in chiefdom period 14, 19
in anti-regal revolution 25–26
in Early Republic 27–35, 41–42
patronage, Roman system of power networking
in Early Republic 27, 43
in Late Republic 118–119, 145–146
in Late Republican army 133–134
patronus (patron), powerful man with group of clients, see patronage
Paullus, Lucius Aemilius, general in Second Punic War 83
Paullus, Lucius Aemilius, victor of Pydna 97–98, 100
peasantry, Italian, see assidui
Pelagius, British-born monk, founder of Pelagianism 301
Pergamene bequest of King Attalus 113, 116–117
Pericles, Athenian democratic politician 58
Perseus, king of Macedonia 97–98
Pertinax, emperor 239
Pescennius Niger, usurper emperor 239–241
Petelia, battle of 151
Pharsalus, battle of 165–166
Philip V, king of Macedonia 92–96
Philip the Arab, emperor 252–253
Philippi, battles of 171–172
philosophy 206
Pietrabbondante, Samnite sanctuary 47
pirates 148, 150
Placentia, Roman colony in northern Italy 75–76
plague, of AD 165–167 231–232
plebiscita, measures passed by Assembly of the Plebs 35, 41
plebs, non-patrician citizens of ancient Rome
in first secession 31–33
in second secession 33–35
in early 4th century BC 40–42
Pliny the Younger, Early Imperial politician and writer 106–107, 122
Plutarch, Greek biographer of great Greeks and Romans 20
polis (city-state) 57–60
Polybius, Greek historian of Rome 42–44, 98
Pompeii, exceptionally well-preserved ancient city in Campania 18, 12, 122, 124, 141–142, 144–145
Pompey the Great, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, leading general, politician, and member of First Triumvirate
early career 141, 143–144
Spanish command 150
alliance with Crassus 151–153
command against pirates 153
command against Mithridates 153–154
eastern settlement 154–155
in First Triumvirate 156–159, 161–163
in Civil War 163–166
pontifex maximus (chief priest), supreme Roman religious official 28, 35
populares (populists), radical aristocratic politicians 85–86, 117, 130–131, 159, 193–194
Poppaea Sabina, empress of Nero 196
Postumus, rebel Gallic emperor 255, 257
praetor (praetor), senior Roman magistrate 28, 43, 142
Praetorian Guard, imperial bodyguard troops 180, 191–193, 200–201, 239–240
Price Edit, of Diocletian 270
primary sources for Roman history 6–8
principales (or decemprimi: leading men), top decurions in towns of Late Empire 269, 284
Probus, emperor 261–262
proletarii (proletarians), propertyless class of ancient Rome
in Early Republic 24
in Late Republic 115, 123–124, 132
in Early Empire 181
Provence, see Gallia Narbonensis
provinciae (provinces) 76, 178–180, 228–229, 269
Ptolemy XII, king of Egypt 166
publicani (public contractors) 115–117, 121
Pydna, battle of 97–98
Pyrrhus, king of Epirus in north-west Greece 60–64
quaestor (quaestor), junior Roman magistrate 43, 142
Quirinus, Roman god of deified Romulus 16
quinquereme, ancient warship 70
regionalism, within Late Empire 235–236, 239, 251, 255, 258, 265, 286, 297
Regulus, Atilius, general in First Punic War 71–72
Res Gestae (The Achievements of Divine Augustus) 181–183
religion, Roman 15–16
Remus, mythic brother of Romulus 3
Rhea Silvia, mythic mother of Romulus and Remus 3
Ricimer, general, effective ruler of Western Empire 306
River Frigidus, battle of 295–296
> roads, Roman 53, 90, 114–115
Rome, the city
foundation myths 1–5, 16
archaeological evidence 7–8
Iron Age village on Palatine 9–10
geography 10, 22
proto-urban development 19
foundation of city 19–22
Forum 20–21
urban defences 20, 40
grand houses 21
Temple of Jupiter 21–22, 25
trade and commerce 22
sack of 390 BC 39
population 67
under Augustus 180–181, 184–185
great fire of AD 64 198–199
Nero’s Golden House 199
Colosseum 205–206
Trajan’s Forum, Column and Markets 215–218
Pantheon 225
Walls of Aurelian 259–260
sack of AD 410
Romulus, mythic first king of Rome 3–6, 16, 20
Romulus Augustulus, last Western Roman emperor 306–307
Rufus, Publius Sulpicius, radical tribune, ally of Marius 136–137
Sabines, ancient people of west-central Italy 10–11
Sacrovir, leader of Gallic revolt (with Florus) 195
Saepinum, Samnite village 47
Saguntum, coastal city in Spain allied with Rome 77–79
St Paul, founder of Christianity 274
Sallust and The Conspiracy of Catiline 156
Salvian, radical monk in Late Roman Gaul 301
Salvius, revolutionary leader in Second Sicilian Slave War 129
Samnites, ancient people of southern Appenines
general character 46–7, 52
migrations 47–48
in First Samnite War 48
in Second Samnite War 52–53
in Third Samnite War 54–56
in Social and Civil Wars 134–135, 141
Sarmatians, see Germans
Sassanids 250, 252–257
Saturninus, Lucius Apuleius, radical tribune, ally of Marius 131
Saturninus, Lucius Antonius, leader of plot against Domitian 211–212
Scipio Aemilianus, Publius Cornelius, destroyer of Carthag and Numantia 100, 104
Scipio, Publius Cornelius, the elder, general in Second Punic War, father of more famous son of same name 80–81, 85
Scipio Africanus, Publius Cornelius, the younger, victor of Zama 85–89, 97, 102
Scipio Nasica, Publius Cornelius, conservative anti-Gracchan politician 103
secessionism, see regionalism
Second Triumvirate 171–175
Sejanus, Prefect of Praetorian Guard under Tiberius 188–189
Seleucid kingdom, Hellenistic state based in Anatolia, Syria and Mesopotamia 96–97, 154
Sempronius Longus, general in Second Punic War 80–81
Senate, supreme Roman aristocratic assembly
in Early Republic 28–29, 35
in Middle Republic 42–43
in Late Republic 115–117, 120–121, 129–131, 142, 153, 169–170
in Early Empire 178–179, 191–193, 206
under military monarchy 242, 249
Seneca, leading minister under Nero 196
Senones, Gaulish tribe of north-east Italy 74–75
Sentinum, battle of 54–56
Septimius Severus, emperor 239–247
Servius Tullius, sixth king of Rome 4, 23–24
Sertorius, Quintus, renegade Marian leader in Spain 141, 148, 150
Settefinestre villa 107
Severus Alexander, emperor 249–251
Sextus Pompeius, son of Pompey, opponent of Second Triumvirate 173
Sicily
under Greeks and Carthaginians 64–66
See also slave revolt
slave revolt
First Sicilian Slave War 109–111
Second Sicilian Slave War 128–129
war against Spartacus 149–151
slavery 98, 108–111, 149
Social War 134–135
socii (allies), Roman subject communities 50, 75, 117–118
Spartacus, leader of slave revolution 149–151
Stilicho, general, effective ruler of Western Empire 297–298
Suessa Aurunca, battle of 49
Sulla, Publius Cornelius, conservative general and politician 136–143
Sybaris (aka Thurii), Greek city of southern Italy 57, 60
Syracuse, principal Greek city in Sicily 64–66, 68–69
Tacfarinas, Numidian resistance leader 195
Tacitus, Roman historian, author of Agricola 207–210
Tarentum, Greek city of southern Italy 56–57, 59–60, 63–64
Tarentum, Pact of, renewing Second Triumvirate 173
Tarquinius Priscus, fifth king of Rome 4, 19–20
Tarquinius Superbus, seventh king of Rome 4, 25–26
taxation, in Late Empire 247–248, 270, 300–301
Telamon, battle of 75
territorium (territory), land of individual city and its citizens 51
Tetrarchy (Rule of Four) 265–266
Tetricus, rebel Gallic emperor 260–261
Teutoburg Forest, battle of 185–186
Teutones, northern tribal people defeated by Marius 127–128
Thapsus, battle of 166
Theodoric, King of Visigoths 304–305
Theodosian Code, Late Roman codification of law 281–284
Theodosius I, the Great, emperor 292–296
Thurii, see Sybaris
Tiber, main river in Latium on which Rome stands 12
Tiberius, general and emperor 183–185, 187–190
Ticinus, battle of 80
Tigellinus, Gaius Ofonius, Prefect of Praetorian Guard under Nero 196
Tigranes, king of Armenia 153–154
Tigranocerta, battle of 153
Titus Tatius, mythic Sabine king of Rome 3
Titus, emperor 205–206
Togidubnus, Tiberius Claudius, client-king in south-central Britain 207–208
towns and town life in Roman Empire 121–124, 144–145, 208–209, 283–285, 302
Trajan, emperor 214–222
Trebia, battle of 80–81
tribe (tribus), political sub-division of ancient Rome
in chiefdom period 14–15
in regal period 23–24
tribune of the plebs, Roman magistrate 33–35, 41, 43
triumph, victory procession in Rome 146
Troy, city in north-west Anatolia 1
Tutor, Julius, leader of revolt in Gaul under Vespasian (with Classicus) 204–205
Tullus Hostilius, third king of Rome 3
turannos (tyrant), autocratic ruler in Greek city-state 65
Turnus, mythic Rutulian hero 2
Twelve Tables, Roman law code 33–34
Valens, emperor, brother of Valentinian 290–292
Valentinian I, emperor, brother of Valens 290
Valentinian II, emperor, son of Valentinian I 290, 292, 294–295
Valentinian III, emperor 302, 305
Valerian 254–255
Valerio-Horatian laws 34–35
Vandals, Germanic people, conquerors of Roman Africa 302–303, 306–307
Varro, Gaius Terentius, general in Second Punic War 83
Varus, Publius Quintilius, general defeated at Teutoburg Forest 185
Veientine Wars 36–37
Veii, Etruscan city close to Rome 36–37
Venus, Roman goddess of love, mother of Aeneas 1–2, 6
Venusia, Latin colony in southern Italy 60
ver sacrum (sacred springtime), Samnite migration myth 47–48
Vercellae, battle of 128
Vercingetorix, leader of Gallic resistance to Caesar’s conquest 160–161
Verres, corrupt governor of Sicily prosecuted by Cicero 138
Verulamium, Roman St Albans 208–209
Vespasian, emperor 202–206, 210, 212
villas, decline in Late Empire 282–283
Vindex, provincial
governor and rebel under Nero 199
Virgil, Latin poet 1–2, 4–6, 174–175
Viriathus, Lusitanian resistance leader 91, 104
Vitellius, Aulus, emperor 200–203
Volsci, ancient hill people of west-central Italy 48–49
Xanthippus, Spartan mercenary general 71–72
weapons
artillery, in Roman army 182, 267
corvus (raven), Roman grappling device in naval warfare 70–71
gladius, standard Roman infantry sword 76–77, 86
pilum, standard Roman infantry javelin 76–77, 86
Late Roman 267
Zama, battle of 88–89
Zenobia, regent of Palmyra 257, 260
PLATE 1 ♦ Myth-history. The Low Ham mosaic in Somerset depicts a thousand-year-old myth that has the Roman race founded by the Trojan hero Aeneas, a story immortalised for Roman (and Romanised) audiences by the great Latin poet Virgil.
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library/Somerset County Museum, Taunton Castle, UK
PLATE 2 ♦ Myth-history. Though the twins, Romulus and Remus, were added in the Renaissance, the ‘Capitoline Wolf’ is an archaic bronze that reminded contemporary viewers that the Romans were spawn of Mars and sucklings of the She-Wolf.
Source: Corbis/Araldo de Luca
PLATE 3 ♦ Ceramic, and occasionally bronze, hut-urns were used to inter the cremated remains of Rome’s 8th century BC dead. Presumably they show something of the appearance of the wattle-and-daub houses of the living – inhabitants not of a city, but of an Iron Age village.
Source: akg-images Ltd/Andrew Baguzzi
PLATE 4 ♦ An Italic hoplite of the Early Republican period. Ancient polities were essentially armed bodies of men; military service was the defining duty of the citizen male.
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library Ltd/Louvre, Paris, France
PLATE 5 ♦ Temple of Hera at Paestum. The Greeks had colonised half the Mediterranean, but the city-states of the 5th century BC had morphed into the pawns of kings, dictators and warlords by the 3rd, making them vulnerable to easy Roman conquest.
Source: Corbis/Marco Cristofori
PLATE 6 ♦ The quinquereme, essentially a muscle-powered ram, was the battleship of the 3rd century BC. To defeat the mercantile empire of Carthage, and win an overseas empire, Rome had to become a naval power.
Source: akg-images Ltd/Peter Connolly