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[German version] The Romans took over the custom from the Etruscan Campania of having gladiators fight at funerals in honour of the person who had died. Gladiators first appeared in Rome on the occasion of the burial of Brutus Pera in 264 BC (Val. Max. 2,4,7). The aristocratic gentes outdid each other in the arrangement of their funerals; therefore the number of gladiators in use steadily increased. Sharp competition for offices supported the tendency in the late Republic for separating the gladiatorial combats (  munus, munera ) from the funerals, in order to …

[German version] [1] (P.?) Cornelius T. Latin historiographer, c. AD 55- c. 120 Latin historiographer, c. AD 55 - c. AD 120. Flaig, Egon (Göttingen) [German version] I. Life (Publius?) Cornelius T. came from Gaul, and had a successful senatorial career under the Flavian emperors (70-96). He was a praetor in 88, consul in 97, proconsul in the province of Asia in 112 (OGIS 487 Mylasa). After the murder of Domitian in 96, controversies emerged as to how senators should relate to an emperor. T. replied to this issue initially with the Agricola, later with his two great works of historiography, the H…

[German version] I. Definition Usurpation (Latin usurpatio from the verb usurpare from usu rapere = 'to seize something for one’s own use') is a form of change of rule where the pretender openly challenges the ruler in office [3. 228]. As, at the same time, this entails testing the loyalty of politically important groups, usurpation is not possible where those groups are not under any circumstances ready to defect from the ruler while he is still alive; in this case, the ruler must first be removed, usually by a coup d'état, before the pretender can show his hand. Usurpation is accor…

[German version] also auriga, chariot driver in the ludi circenses. Usually, they were slaves or freedmen (CIL VI 10061.10078.37836), sometimes also freemen from the lowest classes. As a rule, training of agitatores began early (CIL VI 10050; ILS 5285). The four factiones, which developed during the early Principate, wore different colours (white, red, green and blue), bought and trained horses, and contracted the agitatores, who wore tunics in the colour of their factio (Plin. Ep. 9,6). Successful agitatores were very famous, epigrams were dedicated to them (Mart. 10,50…