|
Pomerium
The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory ('' ager'') belonging to Rome. Etymology The term ''pōmērium'' is a classical contraction of the Latin phrase ' (). The Roman historian Livy writes in his ''Ab Urbe Condita'' that, although the etymology implies a meaning referring to a single side of the wall, the ''pomerium'' was originally an area of ground on both sides of city walls. He states that it was an Etruscan tradition to consecrate this area by augury and that it was technically unlawful to inhabit or to farm the area of the ''pomerium'', which in part had the purpose of preventing buildings from being erected close to the wall (although he writes that, in his time, houses were in fact built against the wall on the line). Other writers suggest a derivation from , "against the wall". Location and ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Dictator
A Roman dictator was an extraordinary Roman magistrate, magistrate in the Roman Republic endowed with full authority to resolve some specific problem to which he had been assigned. He received the full powers of the state, subordinating the other magistrates, Roman consul, consuls included, for the specific purpose of resolving that issue, and that issue only, and then dispensing with those powers immediately. A dictator was still controlled and accountable during his term in office: the Senate still exercised some oversight authority, and the rights of Tribune of the plebs, plebeian tribunes to veto his actions or of the people to appeal them were retained. The extent of a dictator's mandate strictly controlled the ends to which his powers could be directed. Dictators were also liable to prosecution after their terms completed. Dictators were frequently appointed from the earliest period of the Republic down to the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), but the magistracy then ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulcus Primigenius
The (Latin language, Latin for "initial furrow") was the ancient Romans, ancient Roman ancient Roman religion, ritual of plowing the boundary of a new cityparticularly Colonia (Roman), formal coloniesprior to distributing its lots or erecting Ancient Roman defensive walls, its walls. The Romans considered the ritual extremely ancient, believing founding of Rome, their own founder Romulus had introduced it from the Etruscans, who had also Etruscan fortification, fortified most of Etruscan cities, their cities. The ritual had the function of rendering the course of the city wall sacrosanct but, owing to the necessity of some profane traffic such as the removal of corpses to graveyards, the city gates were left exempted from the ritual. Ritual According to surviving classical sources, the needed to occur on an fas (Roman), auspicious day of the Roman calendar,#CITEREFVarro, VarroBook V §143. further confirmed by augury or similar consultation of omens.#CITEREFDionysius, Dionysi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his conservative agenda. Although he attempted to create a Constitutional reforms of Sulla, stable constitutional order, the Republic never recovered from his March on Rome (88 BC), coup d'état, Sulla's civil war, civil war, and Sulla's proscription, purges. Sulla held the office of Roman consul, consul twice and revived the Roman dictator, dictatorship. A gifted general, he achieved successes in wars against foreign and domestic opponents. Sulla rose to prominence during the war against the Numidian king Jugurtha, whom he captured as a result of Jugurtha's betrayal by the king's allies, although his superior Gaius Marius took credit for ending the war. He then fought successfully against Germanic tribes during the Cimbrian War, and Italian all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aventine Hill
The Aventine Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the southernmost of Rome's seven hills. It has two distinct heights, one greater to the northwest (''Aventinus Major'') and one lesser to the southeast (''Aventinus Minor''), divided by a steep cleft that provides the base for an ancient roadway between the heights. During the Republican era, the two hills may have been recognized as a single entity. The Augustan reforms of Rome's urban neighbourhoods ('' vici'') recognised the ancient road between the two heights (the modern Viale Aventino) as a common boundary between the new Regio XIII, which absorbed Aventinus Maior, and the part of Regio XII known as Aventinus Minor. Etymology and mythology Most Roman sources trace the name of the hill to a legendary king Aventinus. Servius identifies two kings of that name, one ancient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Etruscan Civilization
The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. After adjacent lands had been conquered its territory covered, at its greatest extent, roughly what is now Tuscany, western Umbria and northern Lazio, as well as what are now the Po Valley, Emilia-Romagna, south-eastern Lombardy, southern Veneto and western Campania. A large body of literature has flourished on the origins of the Etruscans, but the consensus among modern scholars is that the Etruscans were an indigenous population. The earliest evidence of a culture that is identifiably Etruscan dates from about 900 BC. This is the period of the Iron Age Villanovan culture, considered to be the earliest phase of Etruscan civilization, which itself developed from the previous late Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture in the same region, p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cippus
A () was a low, round, or rectangular pedestal set up by the Ancient Romans for purposes such as a milestone or a boundary post. They were also used for somewhat differing purposes by the Etruscans and Carthaginians. Roman cippi Roman cippi were made of wood or stone; inscriptions on the stone cippi indicate their function or the area that they surrounded, like sanctuaries and temple areas. In Rome they marked the limits of the after the city's walls were expanded further out, the course of aqueducts, and the . Cippi lined up in rows were also often numbered, often featuring the name of the person placing them or the distance to the nearest other cippus. The inscriptions on some cippi show that they were occasionally used as funeral memorials. Etruscan cippi Between 800–100 BC, cippi were used by the Etruscans as tombstones, which were shaped differently depending on the place and time of origin. Cippi were set up as a stele, column or sculpture in the dromos of an Et ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annals (Tacitus)
The ''Annals'' () by Roman historian and senator Tacitus is a history of the Roman Empire from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero, the years AD 14–68. The ''Annals'' are an important source for modern understanding of the history of the Roman Empire during the 1st century AD. Tacitus' final work, modern historians generally consider it his magnum opus which historian Ronald Mellor says represents the "pinnacle of Roman historical writing". Tacitus' ''Histories'' and ''Annals'' together amounted to 30 books, although some scholars disagree about which work to assign some books to, traditionally 14 are assigned to ''Histories'' and 16 to ''Annals''. Of the 30 books referred to by Jerome about half have survived. Modern scholars believe that as a Roman senator, Tacitus had access to '' Acta Senatus''—the Roman senate's records—which provided a solid basis for his work. Although Tacitus refers to part of his work as "my annals", the title of the work ''Annals'' used tod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roma Quadrata
''Roma quadrata'' (Latin; ; , ''Tetrágōnos Rhṓmē'') was an area or structure within the original ''pomerium'' of the ancient city of Rome, probably the Palatine Hill with both its Palatium and Cermalus peaks and their slopes. It apparently dated to the earliest stage of the city's formation. The original meaning had already become obscure to both Latin and Greek historians by the late Roman Republic (2nd century BC). See also * Murus Romuli – the walls of ''Roma quadrata'' * Founding of Rome References Ancient sources * Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities'', Bk. II, ch. 65 * Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', Bk. 1: "Romulus", ch. 9 * Tacitus, ''Annals'', ch. 12, §24 * Varro, cited in Solinus __NOTOC__ Gaius Julius Solinus, better known simply as Solinus, was a Latin grammarian, geographer, and compiler who probably flourished in the early 3rd century AD. Historical scholar Theodor Mommsen dates him to the middle of the 3rd century. ..., ''Polyhistor'', Bk. 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curia Hostilia
The Curia Hostilia was one of the original senate houses or "curiae" of the Roman Republic. It was believed to have begun as a temple where the warring tribes laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus (r. c. 771–717 BC). During the early monarchy, the temple was used by senators acting as a council to the king. Tullus Hostilius (r. 673–641 BC)Livy, ''History of Rome'', i. 30. was believed to have replaced the original structure after fire destroyed the converted temple. It may have held historic significance as the location of an Etruscan mundus and altar. The Lapis Niger, a series of large black marble slabs, was placed over the altar (known as the Volcanal) where a series of monuments was found opposite the Rostra. This curia was enlarged in 80 BC by Lucius Cornelius Sulla during his renovations of the comitium. That building burned down in 52 BC when the supporters of the murdered Publius Clodius Pulcher used it as a pyre to cremate his body. History There has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capitoline Hill
The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The word ''Capitolium'' first referred to the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus which was located on the hill, however the meaning evolved to refer to the whole hill and even other temples of Jupiter on other hills. In an etymological myth, ancient sources connect the name to ''caput'' ("head", "summit") because of a tale that stated that when the foundations for the temple were being laid, a man's head was found. The ''Capitolium'' was regarded by the Romans as indestructible, and was adopted as a symbol of eternity. The word ''Capitolium'' is a precursor to the English word ''wikt:capitol, capitol'', and Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. is widely assumed to be named after the Capitoline Hill. Ancient history At this hill, the Sabines, creepin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill (; Classical Latin: ''Palatium''; Neo-Latin: ''Collis/Mons Palatinus''; ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire". The site is now mainly a large open-air museum whilst the Palatine Museum houses many finds from the excavations here and from other ancient Italian sites. Imperial palaces were built there, starting with Augustus. Before imperial times the hill was mostly occupied by the houses of the rich. The hill originally had two summits separated by a depression: the higher summit was called ''Palatium''; the lower ''Germalus'' (or ''Cermalus''). Using the Forma Urbis Romae, Forma Urbis its perimeter enclosed ; while the Regionary Catalogues of the 4th century enclose . Etymology According to Livy (59 BC – AD 17) the Palatine hill got its name from the Arcadia (ancient region), Arcadian settlers from Pallantium, named fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seven Hills Of Rome
The seven hills of Rome (, ) east of the river Tiber form the geographical heart of Rome, within the walls of the city. Hills The seven hills are: * Aventine Hill (Latin: ''Collis Aventinus''; Italian: ''Aventino'') * Caelian Hill (''Collis Caelius'', originally the ''Mons Querquetulanus''; ''Celio'') * Capitoline Hill (''Mons Capitolinus''; ''Campidoglio'') * Esquiline Hill (''Collis Esquilinus''; ''Esquilino'') * Palatine Hill (''Collis'' or ''Mons Palatinus''; ''Palatino'') * Quirinal Hill (''Collis Quirinalis''; ''Quirinale'') * Viminal Hill (''Collis Viminalis''; ''Viminale'') The Vatican Hill (Latin ''Collis Vaticanus'') lying northwest of the Tiber, the Pincian Hill (''Mons Pincius''), lying to the north, the Janiculan Hill (Latin ''Janiculum''), lying to the west, and the Sacred Mount (Latin ''Mons Sacer''), lying to the northeast, are not counted among the traditional Seven Hills, being outside the boundaries of the most ancient part of Rome. Separate al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
