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[German version] In modern scholarship, the term SW refers to a group of six wars fought between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids for possession of southern Syria (between the River Eleutherus, modern Nahr al-Kabīr, north of Byblus and the eastern frontier of Egypt at Rhaphia; cf. map 'The Hellenistic states in the 3rd Cent. BC'; Coele Syria) between 274 and 168 BC. The war between Antiochus [5] III and Rome (192-188, treated in App. Syr. 11), which is often referred to as a 'Syrian War', is not included in them. The precondition for the SW was the state of possessions following the p…

[German version] The modern term cannot be applied to antiquity. However, even in ancient polities, there were groupings which formed temporarily for the achievement of political ends ( hetairía [2]; factiones ), though they developed no fixed membership or longer-term political programmes. It did also happen that citizenries divided into separate 'partisan affiliations' reinforcing differing conceptions of political content and methods in a quasi-programmatical way ( oligarchía / dēmokratía ; optimates / populares ), playing out differences concer…

[German version] of increasing complexity served in ancient society to reduce and regulate conflict for the purpose of enabling collective action. Independently of the respective constitutional form, council meetings (CM), whose members were usually drawn from economically powerful and socially respected circles, supported the  ruler in decision-making (cf.   basileús ,   gerousía ; the Roman senate under the monarchy), formulated a consensus of peers in the aristocracy (  Áreios págos ;   senatus ) and prepared the resolutions of the popular assemb…

[German version] ('period of recruitment for the forum', in distinction to a military one; Tiro [2]) describes both the public presentation in the forum of a young man from the upper classes after his donning the toga virilis ( deductio in forum: Suet. Aug. 26,2; Suet. Tib. 54,1; Suet. Nero 7,2) and the ensuing approximately one year period of education for famous politicians, orators and lawyers (Cic. Lael. 1,1: cf. Cic. Brut. 89,306). The instruction did not happen systematically, but rather by constant accompaniment and observation …

[German version] (Ξιφάρης/ Xiphárēs). Son of Mithridates [6] VI and Stratonice [7], who was killed by his father in 64 BC in revenge for the betrayal of his mother (App. Mithr. 502-505). In 64 Stratonice - without knowing that X. was with his father - had handed over a fortress (Sinoria?) which had been entrusted to her by Mithridates after losing a battle against Pompeius [I 3] in 66 ( Mithridatic Wars C), together with all its treasures to Pompeius [III 1] who promised in return to spare X. if he should fall into Roman hands (Plut. Pompeius 36,6; Cass. Dio 37,7,5). Eder, Walter (Berlin) Biblio…

[German version] Abbreviation of the Roman first name Quintus; in the formula SPQR ( SenatusPopulusQueRomanus) for Que (= postpositive 'and'); in inscriptions frequently for the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod (e.g. Q[ui] I[nfra]S[cripti]S[unt] = 'the undersigned') and for q uaestor . Rare on coins, mostly for Quinquennales, the five-year celebration of an emperor's rule. In MSS, Q stands as the numeral for 500,000. Eder, Walter (Berlin) Bibliography H. Chantraine, s. v. Q, RE 24, 1963, 621-623.

[German version] Within the sphere of state and politics, elections serve to appoint organs (individuals or committees), who were generally entrusted for a set period of time by the majority of qualified voters with the preparation or execution of community tasks; in monarchic systems, political elections are of no importance. There is no information regarding the appointment of functionaries (for military tasks or within the jurisdiction) in early aristocracies, but it is likely that selection wa…

[German version] The federation of 12 cities or tribes into an alliance was an old and widespread occurrence in the Mediterranean region and well beyond (cf. the 12 tribes of Israel). The number 12, which had symbolic significance, emphasized internal closeness and, at the same time, differentiation from the outside. Political/military goals in the sense of a defensive community or a federation for the arrangement of common policies cannot be identified in any of the ancient leagues of twelve citi…

[German version] Brother-in-law of Alarich ( Alaricus [2]), AD 410-415 king of the West Goths. Probably by order of Alarich active as army commander in Pannonia, A. was summoned by him in 408, reached Italy in 409 and was named comes domesticorum equitum by the usurper  Attalus [11]. After the death of Alarich in 410 he gave up Alarich's African plans and in 412 on the advice of Attalus travelled to Gallia to the usurper  Iovinus. A. soon came into conflict with him and in 413 handed him over to Dardanus, the Gallic praefect of the Emp…

[German version] PID were officials of the urban Roman legal magistracy ( praetor ), who dispensed justice in Italy in the Republican period, among Roman citizens living far from Rome in communities where political organization was either lacking or rudimentary ( forum, conciliabulum , oppidum I.). PID neither had the right to scrutinize existing law courts, nor did they constitute an instance of appeal ( appellatio ). A praefectura was thus both the (temporary) seat of the official and the legal district for which he was responsible. With developing urban organization in Italy, (cf. mu…

[German version] Abbreviation for Romanus (SPQR), for Roma and in connection with publicus for res ( res publica ); rare abbreviation for the cognomen Rufus. On imperial coins R often stands for restitutor, the 'restorer' (of the empire, the unity of the empire etc.). Eder, Walter (Berlin) Bibliography A. Calderini, Epigrafia, 1974, 321-323  H. Cohen, J. C. Egbert, R. Cagnat, Coin-Inscriptions and Epigraphical Abbreviations of Imperial Rome, 1978, 71-74.

[German version] The name Illyrian Wars (IW) is given to two wars conducted by Rome in  Illyricum in 229 to 228 and in 219 BC. The First Illyrian War of 229-228 was waged against  Teuta, widow of Agron [3], who after the latter's death (in 231?) continued his politics of expansion (230: annexation of Phoenice, and treaties with Epirus and Acarnania). In 229, when she had reached far south beyond the Straits of Ortranto, and laid siege to Corcyra, Epidamnos, and Apollonia [1], and also defeated a f…

[German version] (Τάμως /Támōs) from Memphis in Egypt, representative ( hýparchos) of Tissaphernes in Ionia (Thuc. 8,31,2; 8,87,1 and 3; for the year 411), took part in Cyrus [3]'s rebellion in 401 BC as a commissioner ( epimelētḗs) for Ionia/Aeolis (Diod. 14,19,6) and a naval leader (Xen. An. 1,2,21; 1,4,2) and after the death of Cyrus at Cunaxa fled to Egypt, where he and his sons were killed by Psammetichus [6] (according to Diod. Sic. 14,35,3-5; probably a royal name for Amyrtaeus [2]), who intended to take possession of T.'s fleet and wealth. Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] is used in Lat. as an abbreviation of the Roman praenomen  Decimus. As a numeral the letter D stands for the value 500. Like the numeral  C (= 100) it is derived from a letter of the western Greek alphabet not used in the Latin alphabet: Φ (phi), which stands for the value 1,000; the letter form D, indicating half the value of 1,000, was derived by bisection of the Greek symbol (right half). Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] Son of Fredigern, youngest brother of the last Ostrogoth king Teja. After his death (AD 552) A. held the fortress of Cumae with the royal insignia and treasure for over a year (Agath. 1,8,6; Procop. 8,34,19 f.), until he handed it over, probably at the end of 553 to  Narses (Agath. 1,20,1-7). In Narses' service he fought against the Franks (Agath. 1,20,9-11) and took part in his victory over the Alemannian  Butilinus at Casilinum in 554 (Agath. 2,9,13; PLRE 3A, 48). Eder, Walter (Berlin) Bibliography Stein, Spätröm. R., 2, 603 ff.

[German version] (Latin triumviratus, literally 'alliance of three men'). Non-titular appellation (e.g. in Suet. Aug. 27,1; Vell. Pat. 2,86,2) for the special power which Aemilius [I 12] Lepidus, Antonius [I 9] and Octavianus agreed to at Bononia for themselves and which was granted to them, initially for five years, in November 43 BC by plebiscite ( lex Titia; see tresviri [3]). Echoing this, modern scholarship also calls the informal 'group of three' of Caesar, Pompeius [I 3] and Licinius [I 11] Crassus (end of 60 BC) a triumvirate, though it lacked a…

[German version] (πόροι/ póroi, literally 'ways'; plural of póros) in ancient Greece were ways of securing revenues (Xen. Hell. 1,6,12) and later also referred to incomes and sources of income themselves, both in the private and in the public sector ( Chrēmatistikḗ ; Aristot. Pol. 1259a 3-36; Syll.3 284,23). In public finances poroi include not only tolls and taxes from non-citizens ( Métoikoi ), but also income from rents and leases on state property, running state monopolies (mines), court fees and other incomes ( Poristaí ). In his Póroi Xenophon outlines a sy…

(literally 'rule of the fathers'). [German version] A. General comments Patriarchy is a modern term referring to the position of authority of adult men in the family, in establishing relationships between the family and society and in fulfilling political responsibilities. The word patriarchy gained its significance in academic discourse through Bachofen [1], who saw the organization of ancient society according to a 'paternal principle' as following, in terms of development and institutional history, a p…

[German version] Abbreviation of the Latin personal name Marcus and (already in antiquity with an apostrophe: M') Manius. As a numerical sign, M stands for the number 1,000, but it was not derived from mille (Latin word for thousand), rather it came about by reforming the Greek letter Φ ( phi), which was not adopted into the Latin alphabet (see D as a numerical sign). Eder, Walter (Berlin)

[German version] P., Lars. Etruscan king of Clusium (present-day Chiusi) at the end of the 6th cent. BC ( Porsena in Hor. Epod. 16,4; Macrob. Sat 2,412; inscription. Porsina, CIL VI 32919; Greek Πορσίνας/ Porsínas: Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 5,21,1); probably Etruscan proper name, possibly derived from zilath purthne , the term for the highest office in Etruscan towns. According to Roman tradition (Liv. 2,9,1-14,9; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 5,21,1-34,5) P. wanted to reinstate Tarquinius Superbus, who had taken refuge with him, as king of Rome. However he withdrew,…