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[German version] is the term for the military conflicts between Rome and the Latin League ( Latini D.) - of which Rome was not a member - and between Rome and individual Latin towns that sporadically occurred from the beginning of the Republic (about 510 BC) to the dissolution of the League by Rome in 338 BC. The first Latin War can be considered as an attempt of the Latins to end Rome's dominant position. Rome had become the dominant power among the Latins under its kings Servius Tullius [I 4] and Tarquinius [12] Superbus (cf. Liv. 1,52) and made it clear immediately after expelling the kings with the First Carthaginian Treaty (509; Pol. 3,22). The beginning of the war is uncertain but the Latin cities, who were promoting the return of Tarquinius together with Aristodemus [5] of Cyme, appear to have continued the war after the battle of Aricia ( c. 505 BC), which led to the retreat of Lars Porsenna from Rome. The war ended in 496 with the Roman victory at Lacus Regillus (Liv. 2,21,3 f.), but Rome was not able to maintain its dominant position: in the foedus Cassianum (493) Rome appeared as an equal partner of the Latins (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 6,95; [2. 299-301]). The new constellation proved itself up to the 4th cent. in the battles against the mountainous tribes ( Aequi; Volsci) that had penetrated into the Latin plain and in the foundation of joint coloniae during which Rome was able to strengthen its position. By 396 it had acquired as much territory as all the Latin towns together ( age…

[German version] Votive gift of the Greek states that were taking part in the Persian Wars against Xerxes to Apollo of Delphi in the form of a bronze column of three snake bodies intertwined like a rope, with their heads bearing a gold tripod-type cauldron. On their coils are inscribed in the Doric dialect the names of 31 Greek states, beginning with the Spartans ( …

[German version] A. Historical development Hellenistic states (HS) evolved from the co…

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[German version] Prophetic oracle, fragments transmitted in three Greek papyri of the 2nd and 3rd cents. AD (texts in [1. 195-209]; partly translated in [4. 412-415]; on Imperial Period interest in the PO see [3. 194-199]). On the 'Island of the Sun' a potter sent by Thot unfolds, in the presence of a (fictional) king …

[German version] Ramnes, Titi(ens)es and Luceres (as in Liv. 1,36,2, but in 1,13,8 and Cic. Rep. 2,20,36: R(h)amnenses) are the  Etruscan (Varro Ling. 5,55; see also [1. 218, 581]) names of the three tribus established by Romulus [1] (according to Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4,14,2 and Gell. NA 15,27: organised by families) which were each divided into 10 curiae and thus formed the primary structuring of the Roman people and army (30×10 equestrians, 30×100 infantry: Varro Ling. 5,89; Liv. 1,13,8). Ennius's derivation of the term R. from Rom…

[German version] (μερισμός; merismós from μερίζειν; merízein = ‘to divide, distribute’) in Athens the name for the ‘distribution’ of funds from tax incomes by the apodéktai to the appropriate officials ( archaí ). The sums allocated were determined by the council of the polis ( boulḗ ) and had to be struck off immediately after distribution ([Aristot.] Ath. pol. 48,1-2). …

[German version] Goth of Thracian origin (born around AD 480), whose family did not accompany Theoderic to Italy in AD 488. He served as an officer in Justinian's army against the Persians, under  Belisarius in the reconquest of Italy, as also against the Goths and in his old age in Syrian territory. He achieved high rank ( dux Mesopotamiae 531; mag. mil. vacans in Italy 535-546; mag. mil. per Armeniam 550-554), was even patricius, but was finally banished for having a too nonchalant attitude towards his duty as a consequence of excessive financial dealings. PLRE 2, 226-229. Eder, Walter (B…

[German version] Ruling dynasty in the Regnum Bosporanum, named after its founder Spartocus [1] I, who took over the power from the Archaeanactids of Panticapaeum in 438/7 BC. The dynasty, which distinguished itself in the Classical and early Hellenistic periods with a brisk trade in corn in the Aegaean (primarily with Athens), came to an end in 109 BC with the handing over of power by its last ruler, Paerisades [6] V, to Mithridates [6] VI of Pontus. Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] (Προθύτης; Prothýtēs). Theban, leading anti-Macedonian politician who, relying on Athenian help, in 335 BC advocated the secession of Thebes from Macedonia. Swiftly advancing on Thebes, Alexander [4]  the Great (Diod. 17,8,2) demanded in vain his surrender (Plut. Alexandros 11,7). He was probably killed in the defence of the city, which involved heavy losses (Arr. Anab. 1,8,1-8; Diod.  Sic. 17,14,1; Plut. Alexandros 11,12). Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] [1] Flavius A. Cos. 434 AD Father of Dagalaifus, grandfather of A. [2], in AD 434 consul together with Aspar Ardabur. As magister mil…

[German version] Modern term for the year AD 69, in which four emperors – some at the same time, some in swift succession – ruled the Roman Empire (Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian), and in the broader sense for the period between Iulius [II 150] Vindex's revolt against Nero (beginning of AD 68) in Gaul and the elevation to emperor of  Vespasian (1 July 69 in Egypt, 3 July 69 in Syria) or its recognition by the Senate in Rome (21/22 December 69). Galba [2], from an ancient patrician family, sided with Iulius Vindex's rebellion, was proclaimed emperor by soldiers and provincials in Spain in April 68 and was recognized in Rome by the Senate and the Praetorian Guard on 8 June 68 (shortly before Nero's suicide). His politically insensitive behaviour, however, soon lost him the acceptance of all socially important groups. On 1  January 69, the Rhine army refused the oath and on 2 January proclaimed  Vitellius [II 2] emperor…

[German version] Abbreviation of the blanket name A(ulus) A(gerius), which, in Roman juristic writing, serves as the designation for the plaintiff (  actio ). N(umerius) N(egidius) stands for the defendant. In addition, the names Titius, Gaius or Sempronius are used for the designation of a third party. Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] (τοπάρχης; topárchēs). 'Leader (ἄρχειν/ árchein = rule) of a district ( tópos)'; in the Hellenistic period the highest civil administrative official in a tópos (q.v.). Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] Daughter of  Amalafrida and niece of Theoderic the Great, married to the king of the Thuringians Herminafridus (Iord. Get. 299; Procop. 5,12,22; 8,25,11; Cassiod. Var. 4,1) c. AD 510 in order to cement an alliance against the Franks. After the conquest of the Thuringian kingdom and the death of her husband in 534 she fled to her brother Theodahad in Ravenna. Her son Amalafridus and a daughter went to Constantinople after the taking of Ravenna by  Belisarius, where Justinian married the daughter to the Langobard Audoin (PLRE 2, 63).…

[German version] (ἔπαρχος; éparchos). Head of an   eparchía , a territorial administrative unit in Hellenistic states, especially in the  Seleucid kingdom. It is disputed whether eparchos ever was…

[German version] (Ἀμόργης/ Amórgēs). Persian, illegitimate son ( nóthos: Thuc. 8,5,5) of the satrap of Sardis Pissuthnes; from Caria he resumed his father's rebellion against the Persian king Darius [2] II, which had failed before 413 BC. No later than 412 BC Athens made an attempt at cooperation with A. (Thuc. 8,19,2), in breach of a treaty with Darius [2] II (And. Or. 3,29; cf. Epilycys), if payments to an Athenian general in Ephesus in the year 414 [1. no. 77, Z. 79] were for assistance for A. (as in…

[German version] The SD, also referred to as 'The Severans', 'Severan era', or, owing to the origins of the family in Africa and Syria, the 'African/Syrian emperors', lasted c. 40 years from the accession of their…

[German version] (τελῶναι/ telônai, Sg. τελώνης/ telṓnēs; 'tax leaseholders', from τέλη/ télē = 'taxes' and ὠνή/ ōnḗ = 'buying, lease'); private entrepreneurs or busine…

[German version] Modern term for the league of c. 30 Greek states (31 in Plut. Themistocles 20,3; cf. Snake column) which swore an oath to unite against the Persians in the autumn of 481 BC, immediately prior to the attack of Xerxes [1] I and whose representatives ( próbouloi: Hdt. 7,172,1) met regularly in the sanctuary of Poseidon on the Isthmus of Corinth, beginning no later than the spring of 480. The first meeting took place in 481 in Sparta (Paus. 3,12,6), the leading Greek power of the time (cf. Thuc. 1,18,2), or on the Isthmus (Hdt. …

[German version] ('examiner') can, in general Latin usage, mean any chairman of a jury ( quaestio ) in criminal proceedings; however, the chairman selected for an individual trial is usually meant, in contrast to the permanent chairman appointed for a year ( praetor, iudex quaestionis) [1, vol. 2. 2234; 2. 48-50]. He also did not have a vote [2. 1629] and was bound by the decision of the committee which he led. A juristic connection of the …

[German version] In Latin puer is used: (1) to describe male slaves of any age (like the Greek παῖς/ paîs); (2) to distinguish a free male child from a female one ( puella); and (3) to indicate a stage of life (Dig. 50,16,204). According to Festus (307), 'the ancients' ( antiqui) named their slaves Marcipor, Quintipor, etc., to express the master-slave relationship of Marcus or Quintus to each por = puer. A slave remained a puer until freed because his physical development, unlike that of a free child, would not lead to legal majority (Sen. Ep. 47,7). Latin lacks a ter…

[German version] Son of Alaricus [3] II and a daughter of Theoderic the Great. After Alaricus' death (507), his half-brother Gesalech ruled instead of the c. five-year-old A. (Gesalicus; Procop. Goth. 5,12,43; differently Greg. Tur. Franc. 2,37). After 511 Theoderic took over rulership for A., who had been nominally named king (Procop. Goth. 5,12,46; …

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[German version] In Greek numerical systems, β (beta) designates the number 2 in the ‘alphabetic’ system. In the same system, it can also designate the number 2,000 when prepositioned with a diacritical symbol ('β, ,β). In the ‘acrophonic’ system, β' is the symbol for the fraction 2/3.  Arithmetics;  Numerical systems Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] The ancient census had its origins in the effort to establish the military potential of a community, and was thus at first restricted to the part of the population that was capable of and qualified for military service, i.e. adult male citizens. Because the prevailing principle of self-provision of equipment made military service as cavalryman, heavy infantryman ( hoplitai ), light infantryman or military auxiliary dependent on the citizen's economic standing, a classification according to wealth was made by estimation ( census ; cf. time ), into which financially relevant data such as the number of family members capable of work (women, children, slaves) was then fed (cf. family; oikos ). However, the ancient census did not primarily aim to count the numbers of the total population but to establish the economic potential of the heads of households ( kyrios II; …

[German version] (also zilat, zilach, zilac). Name of an office in Etruscan cities, known from inscriptional evidence from the 4th cent. BC onwards; most of the evidence is from the territory of Tarquinii, more from Vulci, Volsinii, Volaterra and Clusium [1. 246 f.]. The zilath seems (to some extent with other officials also described as zilath but charged with other duties) to have been at the apex of the city admi…

[German version] Son of Mundzuk, from AD 434 together with his brother Bleda king of the Huns as successor to his uncle Rua. After the murder of Bleda in 445, A. is until 453 sole ruler of a Hun empire reaching from the Rhine to the Caucasus, which also includes Iranian and Germanic tribes. The strict central organization of the Hunnish tribes, begun already by Rua, increasingly replaces the earlier, looser federation. Probably after the model of the Roman Empire but not with the goal of its destr…

(Already in Hdt. Greek ἔμφυλος στάσις/ émphylos stásis; πόλεμος/ pólemos; Latin bellum civile). Fight between armed citizens of the same state on its territory, which could be particularly fierce in Graeco-Roman antiquity given that ‘citizens’ and ‘soldiers’ were identical and therefore battle-experienced troops encountered each other. The causes lay in social conflicts, political differences or the power aspirations of individuals. Because the boundaries of civil wars are undefined, differentiation from ‘revolts’ and ‘uprisings’ is difficult. [German version] I. Greece Th…

[German version] (ἀκρόπολις/ akrópolis, 'upper city'), the highest part ( ákros = 'located at the top') of a Greek settlement, in Greece and in the Aegean area often with fortification walls, rarely so in the colonies of Sicily and Lower Italy (Fortifications). The original reference to these elevated settlements as pólis (on the Mycenaean roots of the word s. Polis I) was preserved in the designation of the Acropolis of Athens as pólis up into the 5th cent. BC (Thuc. 2,15,6; cf. Aristoph. Nub. 69; Paus. 1,26,6). When settlements began to extend down the slopes begi…

[German version] According to Festus (318, s. v. s.) s. described objects or persons who were protected by oath ( Sacramentum ) in such a way that by harming them the culprit came under the threat of the death penalty. As examples Festus gives the tribune of the plebs ( Tribunus plebis ) and, incorrectly, also the plebeian aediles. From their inception (in 494 BC; Struggle of the orders), the people's tribunes were protected by the lex sacrata (Liv. 2,33,1 and 3;  Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 6,89,2-4; Cic. Rep. 2,58), i.e. by an oath of the plebs to have every injury to a tribu…

[German version] 'Squeeze' (German abklatsch, French estampage) is the term for a negative impression of an inscription on paper or a latex sheet. After the inscribed surface has been cleaned, soft paper is pressed with a firm brush, or a thin film of liquid latex is poured, on to the inscription. After drying the squeeze can be detached and transported at will; under suitable lighting it can often be read better than the original. Large collections of squeezes can be found in the Akademie der Wissens…

[German version] Building where the  boule met. Attestable from the archaic period, from the 4th cent. BC the bouleuterion was regularly one of the public buildings at or in the vicinity of the  agora. On function and construction  assembly buildings. Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] (πρυτανεῖον/ prytaneîon). Official building of the prytáneis , usually near the bouleuterion in the centre of a Greek polis (Agora; cf., e.g., Athens; Messene; Priene) and ostensibly of great age (cf. Thuc. 2,15,2). As the location of the state hearth, often with a constantly burning flame, the prytaneîon was the sacred centre of the polis and at the middle of numerous cult activities (Hestia). After the Persian Wars the 'contaminated' fires had to be extinguished and rekindled by Delphi in the prytaneîon (Plut. Aristides 20,4 f.). Participation in meals in the prytaneî…

[German version] Abbreviation of the Roman forenames Sextus and Spurius (also Sp.). S stands also for senatus in the formula SPQR, as S.S. for the Senate's resolution ( S[enatus] S[ententia]) and as S.C. on coins that were minted on behalf of the Senate ( [ex] S[enatus] C[onsulto]; s enatus consultum ). Very often to be found on inscriptions instead of the possessive pronouns of the 3rd person suus, sua, suum (in all the oblique cases), such as S(ua)P(ecunia)P(osuit) ('built with one's own money'). On coins, frequently used within imperial propaganda for s alus ('health'), s ecuritas …

[German version] Marcius C., Cn, received the epithet C. for his deeds of heroism in the capture of Corioli in 493 BC (Liv. 2,33,5). The unyielding patrician's proposal to exploit a famine in order to render the plebs submissive led to his banishment in 491, and to his attempt to return home at the head of the Volsci enemy. According to tradition (Liv. 2,39-41; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 8,14-36), his mother Veturia and wife Volumnia persuaded him to turn back before the gates of Rome, and this cost him…

[German version] Marcomannian noble who had fled from  Marbod to the Gothic Gutones. At the instigation of Drusus he invaded the kingdom of Marbod in c. AD 18 with the help of the Gutones who wanted to free themselves from Marcomanni subjugation and drove him into exile in Ravenna. Shortly afterwards he himself was driven out by the Hermundurian Vibilius and fled to Forum Iulii (Fréjus) (Tac. Ann. 2, 62-63). Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] (Τείσπης; Teíspēs). According to the testimony of a cylinder inscription of Cyrus [2] II (TUAT I 409,21) an ancestor of his grandfather Cyrus [1] I and hence probably, like him, of Persian descent and a ruler in Fars (Persis) in the 7th cent. BC. The genealogical connection with the Achaemenids [2] in Hdt. 7,11, who puts into the mouth of Xerxes I a family tree with a T. as the son of Achaemenes [1] and another T. as great-great-grandson, can presumably be traced to Darius [1]. The…

[German version] The B. (‘the Bold’) are the royal line of the Visigoths, which is held in lesser esteem than the  Amali line of the Ostrogoths. Although the B. are also considered to be a line of ‘kings and heroes’, in contrast with the Amali, the memory of divine descent was lost. The historical descent of the royal family also remains obscure, because the relationship of the first identifiable Balthi prince, Alaric I ( Alaricus [2], died AD 410), to the three Terwingian judges of the 4th cent. …

[German version] Part of the Roman state prison ( carcer ) for prisoners sentenced to death by strangulation, including the fellow conspirators of Catilina and the leaders of subjugated people paraded in triumphs (Triumph/Triumphal procession, with map). The name Tullianum led ancient authors to suppose that it was built by Tull(i)us Hostilius[4] or Servius Tullius [I 4] (Varro, Ling. 5,151; Fest. 490), but modern scholars think that it may have originally been a spring house (cp. Fest. 492: tullios = 'wellsprings'). Liv. 1,33,8 ascribed the construction of the carcer itself to An…

[German version] (Τιμοξένα; Timoxéna). Wife of Plutarchus [2], daughter of Alexion (Plut. Mor. 701d), probably herself an author (a writing on obsessive cleanliness is mentioned by Plutarch Mor. 145a). The marriage produced a daughter of the same name, but she died at the age of two (writing of condolence to T.: Plut. Mor. 608a-612b), and four sons; two of these also died young. Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] [1] Appius H. Rebellious Sabine in Rome, 5th cent. BC A Sabine who in 460 BC seized the Capitol with the help of 2,500 exiles and slaves (Liv. 3,15,5-18,11; according to Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 10,14,1-17,1 with 4,000 clients and servants). He died in the battle against the troops of consul Valerius and L. Mamilius, the dictator of Tusculum. This story, modelled on the conspiracy of  Catilina, might be a possible indication of ethnic tensions in early Republican Rome. Eder, Walter (Berlin) Bibliography P. M. Martin, Des tentatives de tyrannies à Rome, in: Eder, Staat, 49-72…

[German version] Abbreviation of the widespread Roman name Gaius. This abbreviation must have occurred already before the introduction of the letter G into the Roman alphabet by the censor Appius  Claudius Caecus (312 BC). In the Roman system of numbers, C represents the value 100 ( centum), but it probably developed from the Greek aspirate Θ (via its form), which did not have any application as a letter in the early Latin alphabet.  Italy (alphabetic scripts);  Numerical systems Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] (σκυταλισμός; skytalismós). The killing of 1200 (Diod. 15,57,3-58,4; in Plut. Mor.  814B: 1500) rich citizens in Argos (in the autumn of 370 BC) by beating them with clubs ( skytálē: 'stick, club'). The occasion was an attempt by an oligarchic group, with the help of mercenaries, to gain power in order to prevent a radicalization of democracy in Argos, probably after the defeat of Sparta at Leuctra (in 370 BC). The attempt was betrayed (Aen. Tact. 11,7-10) and 30 respected citizens were executed; the ensuing atmosphere of turmoil resulted in the skytalismós, to which ev…

[German version] The bellum Mutinense (Oros. 6,18,2)of December 44 to April 43 BC, named after the City of Mutina (modern Modena), was the first military dispute, after Caesar's death, between Antonius [I 9] and a curious coalition formed out of the troops of Caesar's murderer Decimus Iunius [I 12] Brutus, of Caesar's heir Octavianus (the later Augustus) and of the Senate, and it was at the same time the last and unsuccessful attempt by the Senate to deprive Antonius of power and to once again acquire political leadership. When D. Brutus was faced with the threat of losing his province Galli…

[German version] (πορφυρογέννητος/ porphyrogénnētos, 'born in the purple') was used as a cognomen (not a title) for children born to an emperor in his period of office (Konstantinos [1] VII). The Greek porphyrogénnētos was applied to both sexes, the Latin form distinguished ( porphyrogenitus or porphyrogenita). A similar Latin version ( natus in purpure) is recorded as early as for Honorius [3] (born AD 384), a Greek one (ἐν τῇ πορφύρᾳ/ en tȇi porphýrāi) for Theodosius II (born 401). In official texts the adjective appears in Latin form in the 8th cent., in Greek not…

[German version] As an abbreviation in names, T. stands for the Roman given name Titus. Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] Nomen gentile of a Roman family of Etruscan origin. After the expulsion of the Etruscan king at the beginning of the republic, it produced two consuls but then disappeared from history like most Etruscan families from the middle of the 5th cent. BC. The consul of 506 (T.H. Aquilinus) is mentioned, partly with his colleague Sp. Larcius (likewise of Etruscan origin), in the battle against the Etruscans and Latins (Liv. 2,10,6f.; 11,7-10; 20,8f.; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 5,22,5; 23,2 and…

[German version] I. Ancient Near East State territory during the history of the ancient Near East was structured and administered variously in keeping with the form of state organization (centralized state, small territorial state, etc.). In Egypt, state territory was divided into so-called 'districts' (in the Ptolemaic Period called nomoí (Nomos [2])) administered by 'district rulers' (Nomarches). External territories, especially in Syria-Palestine during the New Kingdom, were subject to the Pharaoh as vassal states. In Mesopotamia, the empire of the 3rd dynasty of U…

[German version] [1] P. Sabina Daughter of Poppaeus [1] Sabinus, 1st cent. AD Daughter of Poppaeus [1] Sabinus, married to T. Ollius, then, after his death, to P. Cornelius [II 33] Lentulus Scipio (proconsul of Asia in AD 41/2). She was the mother of P. [2] Sabina by T. Ollius, and by Scipio probably of P. Cornelius [II 49] Scipio Asiaticus, whose cognomen indicates that he was born in Asia. P. was regarded as the most beautiful woman of her day (Tac. Ann. 13,45,2), was embroiled in numerous scandals (Tac. Ann. 11,2,1) and committed suicide in AD 47 to a…