Brill’s New Pauly

Get access Subject: Classical Studies
Edited by: Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider (Antiquity) and Manfred Landfester (Classical Tradition).
English translation edited by Christine F. Salazar (Antiquity) and Francis G. Gentry (Classical Tradition)

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Brill´s New Pauly is the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, published by Verlag J.B. Metzler since 1996. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. The section on Antiquity of Brill´s New Pauly are devoted to Greco-Roman antiquity and cover more than two thousand years of history, ranging from the second millennium BC to early medieval Europe. Special emphasis is given to the interaction between Greco-Roman culture on the one hand, and Semitic, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavonic culture, and ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Islam on the other hand. The section on the Classical Tradition is uniquely concerned with the long and influential aftermath of antiquity and the process of continuous reinterpretation and revaluation of the ancient heritage, including the history of classical scholarship. Brill´s New Pauly presents the current state of traditional and new areas of research and brings together specialist knowledge from leading scholars from all over the world. Many entries are elucidated with maps and illustrations and the English edition will include updated bibliographic references.

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Vaballathus

(173 words)

Author(s): Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld)
[German version] L. Iulius Aurelius Septimius V. Athenodorus, son of Odaenathus [2] and Zenobia, perhaps identical to the Timolaos [5] mentioned in the Historia Augusta (SHA Gall. 13,2; SHA Tyr. Trig. 15,2 et passim; but cf. SHA Aur. 38,1). He was still a child when his father was murdered (in AD 267), so that his career was guided by Zenobia: V. appears after 267 as rex regum and corrector totius orientis (CIS II 3971), was later imperator and dux Romanorum [1] and Augustus in the spring of 272 (ILS 8924). Coins from Alexandria showing both Aurelianus [3] and V. should n…

Vacalus

(63 words)

Author(s): Wiegels, Rainer (Osnabrück)
[German version] (modern Waal). A slow-flowing (Tac. Ann. 2,6,3 f.) left bank distributary of the Rhenus [2] (modern Rhine); it incorporates the Mosa [1] (modern Maas) to form the Insula Batavorum (Caes. Gall. 4,10,2; Tac. Ann. 2,6: Vahalis; Serv. Aen. 8,727: Vahal) and the Rhenus Bicornis ('with two horns';  cf. Verg. Aen. 8,727). Wiegels, Rainer (Osnabrück) Bibliography P. Goessler, s. v. V., RE 7 A, 2018-2024.

Vacantes

(57 words)

Author(s): Groß-Albenhausen, Kirsten (Frankfurt/Main)
[German version] Roman titular officials (like honorarii), i.e. they bore an official title without holding or having held the corresponding office. They usually received the title when retiring from active service and were entitled to wear the sash ( cingulum), which was not granted to  honorarii. They ranked after the actual holders of the office. Groß-Albenhausen, Kirsten (Frankfurt/Main)

Vacantia bona

(169 words)

Author(s): Manthe, Ulrich (Passau)
[German version] An heirless estate ( Bona ). In the Republic, the members of the gens of a deceased person had a right of acquisition (Gai. Inst. 3,17); if they did not exercise it, anybody could take possession of the estate and obtain it by usucapio ('adverse possession') (Gai. Inst. 2,52-58). If in a will ( Testamentum ) an heir was appointed, but had become unavailable, the will and all its dispositions were ineffective. From the lex Iulia et Papia (18/9 BC) onwards the VB fell as a caducum ('forfeited') to the state, which also fulfilled the provisions of t…

Vacatio

(367 words)

Author(s): Gamauf, Richard (Vienna)
[German version] Generally in Latin, 'exemption' from something (e.g. of a slave from work, Columella 1,8,19), esp. 'discharge' from obligations (or a 'recompense' paid in exchange for them, Tac. Hist. 1,46). In the language of the jurists, vacatio is used e.g. for a 'dispensation' from assuming a cura [2] or tutela ('management of business for a minor/trusteeship' or 'guardianship', s. excusatio ) and 'exemption' from legal public obligations, such as the compulsory service and tributes common in Late Antiquity ( munus ), or military service. Vacatio from munera was granted for v…

Vacca

(127 words)

Author(s): Schmidt, Peter Lebrecht
[German version] It is only from the 12th cent. onwards that traces of a V. as an expositor Lucani are found in a commentary on the poet Lucanus [1]. The scholia ascribed to him are characterized by mediaeval amplifications of earlier material. Therefore, not unlike Cornutus in the case of Phocas, Persius and Iuvenalis (cf. Cornutus [4]), V. cannot be considered either as an ancient commentator on Lucan or as the author of the Vita at the beginning of the Adnotationes super Lucanum ([1; 2]; contra [3]); we are probably dealing with a mediaeval mystification. Schmidt, Peter Lebrecht Bibliog…

Vaccaei

(262 words)

Author(s): Stepper, Ruth
[German version] (Οὐακκαῖοι/ Ou akkaîoi). Celtic tribe of the valley in the middle reaches of the Durius/Duero (Ptol. 2,6,50; Str. 3,4,12 f.: here conflated with the Celtiberi; Pol. 3,14,1), main settlement Palantia (modern Palencia). Their territory also included Intercatia (modern Aguilar de Campos?) and Cauca (Ptol. 2,6,50; Plin. HN 3,26 knows 17 communities). The V probably migrated into the Iberian peninsula in the 6th cent. BC, coming under Iberian influence from the 3rd cent. BC. They are fir…

Vacuna

(171 words)

Author(s): Distelrath, Götz (Constance)
[German version] Deity whose worship was evidently limited to the rural areas of the Sabine lands, primarily along the via Salaria (Hor. Epist. 1,10,49; ILS 3484-3486; 9248; Sabini). According to Varro, V. corresponds to the Roman Victoria [1] (Varro, Antiquitates rerum divinarum fr. 1 Cardauns); this makes probable the identification of a cult centre of V. at Aquae [I] Cutiliae, which is also known for its healing powers, but which can not be identified with the Nemora Vacunae mentioned in Plinius (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1,15; Plin. HN 3,109; [1. 83-93]). The ancient etym…

Vacuum

(379 words)

Author(s): Schneider, Helmuth (Kassel)
[German version] Pre-Platonic thinkers, such as the Pythagoreans (Pythagorean School) or Anaxagoras [2] had a concept of an empty “space” (τὸ κενόν/ tò kenón). The examination of this view led Aristotle (Aristoteles [6]) to the conclusion that no such 'void' could exist. His argument reveals that Anaxagoras had undertaken experiments to study phenomena of air. For Aristotle, Anaxagoras' demonstrations show that air is a form of matter (ὅτι ἔστι τι ὁ ἀήρ/ hóti ésti ti ho aḗr: Aristot. Ph. 213a-214b). In the 3rd cent. BC, Ctesibius [1] constructed apparatuses which made use o…

Vada

(85 words)

Author(s): Wiegels, Rainer (Osnabrück)
[German version] Roman auxiliary fort, whose exact location is not known; probably on the left bank of the Vacalus (modern Waal). The name implies a ford. During the Batavian Revolt in AD 70/1, V. was attacked by Iulius [II 43] Civilis and successfully relieved by Q. Petillius [II 1] Cerialis. On alleged inscriptional mentions of V. cf. [1]. Wiegels, Rainer (Osnabrück) Bibliography 1 H. Nesselhauf, Neue Inschriften aus dem römischen Germanien und den angrenzenden Gebieten, in: BRGK 27, 1938, 51-134, 119 No. 257. P. Goessler, s. v. V., RE 7 A, 2043-2046.

Vada Sabatia

(191 words)

Author(s): Pera, Rossella (Genoa)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Originally a Celtic (Steph. Byz. s. v. Σαββατία/ Sabbatía) port on the western Ligurian coast (Plin. HN 3,48), hard to reach, where the Appenninus and the Alpes meet (Cic. Fam. 11,13,2); statio, where the via Iulia Augusta (CIL V 8095; 8102) and the via Aurelia (It. Ant. 295,2) from the west meet the coast road, the via Aemilia Scauri (Str. 5,1,11; Tab. Peut. 3,4); swampy (Str. 4,6,1), modern Vado Ligure (near Savona). In the Roman Imperial period probably a municipium , tribus Stellatina (cf. [1. no. 3]) or Camilia (CIL V 7779)…

Vada Volaterrana

(150 words)

Author(s): Morciano, Maria Milvia (Florence)
[German version] (modern Vada). Etruscan port (Cic. Quinct. 6,24; Plin. HN 3,5; 3,8; Rut. Namat. 1,453-462; It. Maritimum 501,3 f.; It. Ant. 292,6; Tab. Peut. 4,2: Vada Volatera) on the Mare Tyrrhenum to the northwest of the mouth of the Caecina [III 1]/Cecina, settled from the 9th cent. BC. The harbour basin lay between Punta Caletta and Punta del Tesorino. Remains can be found in San Gaetano. Necropoleis, three thermal baths, remains of horrea (granaries) and of a macellum (1st/2nd cent. AD) survive in Poggetto. Morciano, Maria Milvia (Florence) Bibliography P. Gambogi, M. Pasq…

Vadimonium

(205 words)

Author(s): Paulus, Christoph Georg (Berlin)
[German version] ( surety, bail). A legal transaction agreed in a stipulatio , by which one party in a Roman formulary procedure (Procedural law IV.) commits itself to appear at a certain location in order to enable legal proceedings to take place. This self-committal replaced the practice of providing guarantors ( vades) as had been the practice in the legis actio . A distinction was made between different kinds of vadimonium. The voluntary summoning vadimonium consisted of the promise (regularly sanctioned by fines) to appear near the law court for a final attempt a…

Vadomarius

(201 words)

Author(s): Lütkenhaus, Werner (Marl)
[German version] [1] King of the Marcomanni, 2nd cent. AD (Ballomarius). King of the Marcomanni, who, from a position of neutrality (?), together with ambassadors from ten other tribes negotiated a peace with M. Iallius Bassus, the governor of Upper Pannonia, in AD 166, after attacking Germani had suffered a defeat (Cass. Dio, 71,3,1a = Petrus Patricius fr. 6 de Boor = Excerpta de legationibus 2,391 de Boor). Lütkenhaus, Werner (Marl) Bibliography P. Kehne, s. v. Markomannenkrieg (Hist.), RGA 19, 2001, 308-316, especially 312 (with older bibliography). [German version] [2] King o…

Vaga

(160 words)

Author(s): Huß, Werner (Bamberg)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Coloniae City in Africa proconsularis (Africa [3]; cf. Str. 17,3,12; Plin. HN 5,29) 35 km to the north of Thugga, modern Béja, with a number of ancient remains (city wall, basilica). In the second of the Punic Wars. V. apparently supplied troops for the Carthaginian contingent (Sil. Pun. 3,259). No later than after the third Punic War, V. fell to Massinissa. During the War of Iugurtha, V. was conquered by Caecilius [I 30] Metellus (Sall. Iug. 29,4; 47,1; 66-69). It was probably Septimius [II 7] Severus, who elevated V. to a coloni…

Vahram

(501 words)

Author(s): Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld)
(Vararanes). [German version] [1] V. I Son of Sapor [1] I, Persian Great King AD 273-276. The capture and death of Mani take place in his time. PLRE 1, 945. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) [German version] [2] V. II Son of V. [1], Persian Great King 276-293. V. had to go to battle with Carus [3] in 283, who was advancing on Ctesiphon. The sudden death of the Emperor and the retreat of the Romans gave the King room to breathe. PLRE 1, 945. Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) Bibliography A. Sh. Shabazi, s. v. Bahrâm I-II, EncIr 3, 515-517. [German version] [3] V. III Son of V. [2], overthrown after his …

Vakhtang Gorgasal

(108 words)

Author(s): Plontke-Lüning, Annegret (Jena)
[German version] (Georgian 'wolf's head'). King of Caucasian Iberia (Iberia [1]), second half of the 5th/beginning of the 6th cent. AD, whose Life (Kartlis Cxovreba, 139-244) [1; 2], written down in the 11th cent., portrays him as a champion of national identity and Christianity. Plontke-Lüning, Annegret (Jena) Bibliography 1 R. Thomson, Rewriting Caucasian History, 1996, 153-251 (Eng. transl.) 2 G. Pätsch, Das Leben Kartlis. Eine Chronik aus Georgien, 300-1200, 1985 (Ger. transl.). B. Martin-Hisard, Le roi V. G., in: Temps, mémoire, tradition au Moyen âge, 1983, 207-242 M…

Valamer

(89 words)

Author(s): Lütkenhaus, Werner (Marl)
[German version] Ostrogoth king, brother of Theodemir and Vidimir, uncle of Theoderic the Great (Theodericus [3]), who took part in the campaigns of Attila (Iord. Rom. 331; Iord. Get. 199), but after AD 453 escaped from Hunnish rule. After settling in Pannonia ( c. 454), between 459 and 462 the brothers fought successfully against Byzantium for better treaty conditions (Leo [4] I). In about 468/9 V. was killed in an attack by the Sciri (Iord. Get. 270 f.; 275 f.; [1. 265]). PLRE 2, 1135 f. Lütkenhaus, Werner (Marl) Bibliography 1 H. Wolfram, Die Goten, 42001, 259-265.

Valcum

(70 words)

Author(s): Graßl, Herbert (Salzburg)
[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: ( Volgum, modern Fenékpuszta). Station on the road from Sopianis to Savaria at the western end of Lacus Pelso (modern Lake Balaton; It. Ant. 233,3). Late Antiquity fortress with numerous excavated buildings, including the Palatium, a warehouse and a basilica. Graßl, Herbert (Salzburg) Bibliography L. Barkóczi, s. v. V., PE 952 E. Toth, Zur Urbanisierung Pannoniens, in: Folia Archaeologica 37, 1986, 163-181.

Valens

(948 words)

Author(s): Franke, Thomas (Bochum) | Leppin, Hartmut (Hannover) | Letsch-Brunner, Silvia (Zürich)
[German version] [1] Rival emperor to Gallienus, 3rd cent. AD As proconsul of Achaia, V. had himself proclaimed rival emperor to Gallienus in AD 261 in Macedonia. Although he defeated Piso, who was sent there against him (PIR2 C 298), he was soon murdered by his own troops (Aur. Vict. Epit. Caes. 32,4; Amm. Marc. 21,16,10; SHA Tyr. Trig. 19; 21; SHA Gall. 2,2 f.). Franke, Thomas (Bochum) Bibliography Kienast 2 227  PIR V 7  PLRE 1, 929 f. [German version] [2] Flavius Valens Eastern Roman emperor AD 364-378. Born in 321 in Cibalae (Illyria), of lowly origins and without a prof…
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