1.
Augustus (honorific)
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Augustus, /ɔːˈɡʌstəs/, Classical Latin, Latin for majestic, the increaser, or venerable), was an ancient Roman title given as both name and title to Gaius Octavius, Romes first Emperor. On his death, it became a title of his successor. The feminine form Augusta was used for Roman empresses and other females of the Imperial family, the masculine and feminine forms originated in the time of the Roman Republic, in connection with things considered divine or sacred in traditional Roman religion. In Romes Greek-speaking provinces, Augustus was translated as sebastos, or hellenised as augoustos, after the fall of the Roman Empire, Augustus was sometimes used as a name for men of aristocratic birth, especially in the lands of the Holy Roman Empire. It remains a name for males. Some thirty years before its first association with Caesars heir, Augustus was an honorific with religious associations. One early context, associates it with provincial Lares, in poetry and prose it was the elevation or augmentation of what is already sacred or religious. Some Roman sources connected it to augury, and Rome was said to have been founded with the august augury of Romulus, the first true Roman Emperor known as augustus was Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. He was the son and heir of Julius Caesar, who had been murdered for his seeming aspiration to divine monarchy. Octavian studiously avoided any association with Caesars claims, other than acknowledging his position and duties as Divi filius, nevertheless, his position was unique, and extraordinary. He had ended Romes prolonged and bloody war with his victory at Actium. As princeps senatus he presided at senatorial meetings and he was pontifex maximus, chief priest of Roman state religion. He held consular imperium, with authority equal to the chief executive, he was supreme commander of all Roman legions. As a tribune, his person was inviolable and he had the right to any act or proposal by any magistrate within Rome. He was officially renamed Augustus by the Roman Senate on January 16,27 BC – or perhaps the Senate ratified his own choice, Romulus had been considered. His full and official title was Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus and this extension of an Imperial honorific to major and minor deities of Rome and her provinces is considered a ground-level feature of Imperial cult. It continued until the replacement of Romes traditional religions by Christianity. The title or name of Augustus was adopted by his successors, most emperors also used imperator but others could and did bear the same title and functions
2.
Western Roman Empire
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Theodosius I divided the Empire upon his death between his two sons. As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given the vast extent of the Empire, for this reason, provincial governors had de facto rule in the name of the Roman Republic. Antony received the provinces in the East, Achaea, Macedonia and Epirus, Bithynia, Pontus and Asia, Syria, Cyprus and these lands had previously been conquered by Alexander the Great, thus, much of the aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture. Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West, Italia, Gaul, Gallia Belgica and these lands also included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in the coastal areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians were culturally dominant. Lepidus received the province of Africa. Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia to his holdings, upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all were often said to experience gradual Romanization, minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered tribes or cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion, while this process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime, as for example in the Great Jewish Revolt. In a full-blown military campaign, the legions, under such as Vespasian, were far more numerous. To ensure a commanders loyalty, an emperor might hold some members of the generals family hostage. To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis, governor of Ostia, the rule of Nero ended only with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard, who had been bribed in the name of Galba. The Praetorian Guard, a sword of Damocles, were often perceived as being of dubious loyalty. Following their example, the legions at the increased participation in the civil wars. The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic tribes behind the rivers Rhine, Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutoburg reversal. The Parthian Empire, in the East, on the hand, was too remote. Those distant territories were forsaken to prevent unrest and also to ensure a more healthy, the Parthians were followed by the Sasanian Empire, which continued hostilities with the Roman Empire
3.
Roman emperor
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The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period. The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history, often when a given Roman is described as becoming emperor in English, it reflects his taking of the title Augustus or Caesar. Another title often used was imperator, originally a military honorific, early Emperors also used the title princeps. Emperors frequently amassed republican titles, notably Princeps Senatus, Consul, the first emperors reigned alone, later emperors would sometimes rule with co-Emperors and divide administration of the Empire between them. The Romans considered the office of emperor to be distinct from that of a king, the first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically republican, his successor, Tiberius, nonetheless, for the first three hundred years of Roman Emperors, from Augustus until Diocletian, a great effort was made to emphasize that the Emperors were the leaders of a Republic. Elements of the Republican institutional framework were preserved until the end of the Western Empire. The Eastern emperors ultimately adopted the title of Basileus, which had meant king in Greek, but became a title reserved solely for the Roman emperor, other kings were then referred to as rēgas. In addition to their office, some emperors were given divine status after death. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century, Romulus Augustulus is often considered to be the last emperor of the west after his forced abdication in 476, although Julius Nepos maintained a claim to the title until his death in 480. Constantine XI was the last Byzantine Roman emperor in Constantinople, dying in the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, a Byzantine group of claimant Roman Emperors existed in the Empire of Trebizond until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1461. In western Europe the title of Roman Emperor was revived by Germanic rulers, the Holy Roman Emperors, in 800, at the end of the Roman Republic no new, and certainly no single, title indicated the individual who held supreme power. Insofar as emperor could be seen as the English translation of imperator, then Julius Caesar had been an emperor, however, Julius Caesar, unlike those after him, did so without the Senates vote and approval. Julius Caesar held the Republican offices of four times and dictator five times, was appointed dictator in perpetuity in 45 BC and had been pontifex maximus for a long period. He gained these positions by senatorial consent, by the time of his assassination, he was the most powerful man in the Roman world. In his will, Caesar appointed his adopted son Octavian as his heir, a decade after Caesars death, Octavians victory over his erstwhile ally Mark Antony at Actium put an end to any effective opposition and confirmed Octavians supremacy. His restoration of powers to the Senate and the people of Rome was a demonstration of his auctoritas, some later historians such as Tacitus would say that even at Augustus death, the true restoration of the Republic might have been possible. Instead, Augustus actively prepared his adopted son Tiberius to be his successor, the Senate disputed the issue but eventually confirmed Tiberius as princeps
4.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
5.
Dalmatia (Roman province)
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Its name is probably derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae which lived in the central area of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. Originally this region was called Illyria or Illyricum, when it became one of the two parts of the Roman province of Illyricum it was renamed Dalmatia, its counterpart province being Pannonia. Later the province of Illyricum was dissolved and replaced by two provinces, Dalmatia and Pannonia. It is not clear when this happened, but plausibly it occurred during the reign of the emperor Vespasian, the region which run along the coast of the Adriatic Sea and extended inland on the Dinaric Alps was called Illyria by the Greeks. Originally the Romans also called it Illyria, the Romans fought three Illyrian Wars mainly against the kingdom of the Ardiaei in the south of the region. In 168 BC they abolished this kingdom, divided it into three republics, the area became a Roman protectorate. The central and northern area of the region engaged in piracy, in response to this, Octavian conducted a series of campaigns in Illyricum. The area became the Roman province of Illyricum probably in 27 BC, due to troubles in the northern part of the region in 16-10 BC, it became an imperial province. The administrative organisation of Illyricum was carried out late in the reign of Augustus, due to Octavian having subdued the more inland region of Pannonia, the Romans changed the name of the coastal area to Dalmatia. Illyricum was composed of Dalmatia and Pannonia, in 6-9 AD there was a large scale rebellion in the province of Illyricum, the Bellum Batonianum. The province of Illyricum was eventually dissolved and replaced by two provinces, Dalmatia and Pannonia. It is unclear when this happened, some other diplomas attest the same. This was during the reign of Nero, therefore, Šašel-Kos supports the notion that the province was dissolved during the reign of Vespasian. In 337, when Constantine the Great died, the Roman Empire was partitioned among his sons, the empire was divided into three praetorian prefectures, the Galliae, Italia, Africa et Illyricum and Oriens. The size of the provinces had been decreased and their number doubled by Diocletian, the provinces were also grouped in dioceses. Dalmatia became one of the seven provinces of the diocese of Pannonia, initially, it was under the praetorian preacture of Italy, Africa and Illyricum. Sirmium, the capital of the praetorian prefecture of Illyricum, was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. After he abdicated, he built Diocletians Palace in Salona, german historian Theodore Mommsen wrote that coastal Dalmatia and its islands were fully romanized and Latin-speaking by the 4th century
6.
Glycerius
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Glycerius was a Western Roman Emperor from 473 to 474. Elevated by his Magister militum Gundobad, Glycerius was rejected by the court at Constantinople and he later served as the bishop of Salona. Sources on Glycerius are scarce and scanty and it is known that at the time of his elevation to the throne he was the comes domesticorum, the commander of the Imperial guard of the court at Ravenna. Previous to this posting, he had been the commander in Dalmatia. In 472, the Western Roman Empire was plagued by a war between Emperor Anthemius and his Magister militum, Ricimer. Ricimer killed the Emperor and put Olybrius on the throne, little is known about the short reign of Glycerius. A single law issued by Glycerius survives, concerning simony, dated 11 March 473 and addressed to Himilco, ralph Mathisen speculates that Glycerius tried to stay on good terms with the Eastern Roman Empire. For most of his rule, Glycerius lived in Northern Italy, evidenced by the fact that the coins issued in his name bear the mintmarks of Milan. In 473, Euric, King of the Visigoths, ordered the invasion of Italy, despite the victorious defence of Italy, Glycerius could do nothing to prevent the Visigoths from conquering Arelate and Marseille, in Gaul. At the same time, the Ostrogoths led by King Widimir began marching to Italy, the possibility that the two Gothic armies would merge was disastrous. While this strategy prevented Vincentius from receiving reinforcements, it led to the convergence of both Gothic armies against Gaul. Therefore, Leo chose a candidate on his own, Julius Nepos, Magister militum in Dalmatia, the election was delayed, however, so Julius Nepos could not leave immediately, as the ports were closed for the winter. Leo I died in January 474 and was succeeded by his grandson, the young Leo II, Zeno continued the official position of Constantinople to deny any recognition of Glycerius, whom the court continued to view as a usurper. Regardless, Glycerius tried to reconcile with the Eastern court or, at least, for example, he did not choose a second Consul in order to allow Leo II to be Consul alone for the year 474. In spring 474, the ports re-opened and Julius Nepos crossed the Adriatic Sea to Italy to depose Glycerius. Glycerius probably left Ravenna for Rome to resist the invader, he had a coin minted in Rome, claiming himself as Emperor together with Leo II and Zeno. However, Julius Nepos disembarked at Portus in July 474 AD, Glycerius was sent to Dalmatia as Bishop of Salona, serving a religious life until his death. Glycerius deposition was thus without any bloodshed, and historians investigated the reasons why the Western Emperor
7.
Romulus Augustulus
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Romulus Augustus was a Roman emperor and alleged usurper who ruled the Western Roman Empire from 31 October AD475 until 4 September AD476. His deposition by Odoacer traditionally marks the end of the Roman Empire in the West, the fall of ancient Rome, and he is mostly known by his nickname Romulus Augustulus, though he ruled officially as Romulus Augustus. The Latin suffix -ulus is a diminutive, hence, Augustulus effectively means Little Augustus, the historical record contains few details of Romuluss life. He was proclaimed as emperor by his father Orestes, the magister militum of the Roman army after forcing Emperor Julius Nepos to leave Italy, Romulus, little more than a child, acted as a figurehead for his fathers rule and reigned for only ten months. His legitimacy and authority were disputed beyond Italy and Romulus was soon deposed by Odoacer, Odoacer sent Romulus to live in the Castellum Lucullanum in Campania, after which he disappears from the historical record. Romulus father Orestes was a Roman citizen, originally from Pannonia, the future emperor was named Romulus after his maternal grandfather, a nobleman from Poetovio in Noricum. Many historians have noted the coincidence that the last western emperor bore the names of both Romulus, the founder and first king of Rome, and Augustus, the first emperor. Orestes was appointed Magister militum by Julius Nepos in 475, shortly after his appointment, Orestes launched a rebellion and captured Ravenna, the capital of the Western Roman Empire since 402, on 28 August 475. Nepos fled to Dalmatia, where his uncle had ruled a state in the 460s. Orestes, however, refused to become emperor, from some secret motive, instead, he installed his son on the throne on 31 October 475. The empire Augustus ruled was a shadow of its self and had shrunk significantly over the previous 80 years. Imperial authority had retreated to the Italian borders and parts of southern Gaul, Italia and Gallia Narbonensis, the Eastern Roman Empire treated its western counterpart as a client state. The Eastern Emperor Leo, who died in 474, had appointed the western emperors Anthemius and Julius Nepos, neither Zeno nor Basiliscus, the two generals fighting for the eastern throne at the time of Romulus accession, accepted him as ruler. As a proxy for his father, Romulus made no decisions and left no monuments, though coins bearing his name were minted in Rome, Milan, Ravenna, and Gaul. Several months after Orestes took power, a coalition of Heruli, Scirian, when Orestes refused, the tribes revolted under the leadership of the Scirian chieftain Odoacer. Orestes was captured near Piacenza on 28 August 476 and swiftly executed, Odoacer advanced on Ravenna, capturing the city and the young emperor. Romulus was compelled to abdicate the throne on 4 September 476 and this act has been cited as the end of the Western Roman Empire, although Romulus deposition did not cause any significant disruption at the time. Rome had already lost its hegemony over the provinces, Germans dominated the Roman army, Italy would suffer far greater devastation in the next century when Emperor Justinian I reconquered it
8.
Zeno (emperor)
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Zeno the Isaurian, originally named Tarasis Kodisa Rousombladadiotes /ˈtærəsᵻs/, was Eastern Roman Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which succeeded to some extent in foreign issues. His reign saw the end of the Western Roman Empire under Romulus Augustus, Zenos original name was Tarasis, and more accurately Tarasikodissa in his native Isaurian language. Tarasis was born in Isauria, at Rusumblada, later renamed Zenonopolis in Zenos honour and his father was called Kodisa, his mother Lallis, his brother Longinus. Tarasis had a wife, Arcadia, whose name indicates a relationship with the Constantinopolitan aristocracy, the Isaurians were a people who lived inland from the Mediterranean coast of Anatolia, in the core of the Taurus Mountains. Like most borderland tribes, they were looked upon as barbarians by the Romans even though they had been Roman subjects for more than five centuries. However, being Orthodox Christians rather than Arians, as the Goths and other Germanic tribes were, they were not formally barred from the throne. According to some scholars, in the mid-460s, Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I wanted to balance the weight of the Germanic component of the army and he thought that Tarasis and his Isaurians could be that counterweight, and called him, with many Isaurians, to Constantinople. This interpretation, however, has been contested, by mid-460s, Arcadia and Zeno had been living at Constantinople for some time, where also Lallis and Longinus lived, the latter married to a Valeria, possibly a woman of aristocrat rank. Through these letters, which Tarasis gave to Leo, the Emperor could dismiss Ardabur, as reward for his loyalty, which Leo praised with Daniel the Stylite, Tarasis was appointed comes domesticorum, an office of great influence and prestige. This appointment could mean that Tarasis had been a protector domesticus, either at Leos court in Constantinople, or attached at Ardaburs staff in Antioch. In 465, Leo and Aspar quarreled about the appointment of consuls for the year, it was on this occasion that Tarasis position was strengthened, as he became friend. To make himself acceptable to the Roman hierarchy and the population of Constantinople, Tarasis adopted the Greek name of Zeno. In mid-late 466, Zeno married Ariadne, elder daughter of Leo I and Verina, as there is no reference to a divorce with Arcadia, she should have died in those years. Zeno, however, was not present at the birth of his son, as in 467, Zeno, as member of the protectores domestici, did not take part in the disastrous expedition against the Vandals, led in 468 by Leos brother-in-law Basiliscus. The following year, during which he held the honour of the consulate, he was appointed magister militum per Thracias, the sources do not clearly state what enemy he fought there, and historians had proposed either Goths or Huns, or the rebels of Anagastes. What happened was that Leo sent some of his soldiers with Zeno to protect him. Zeno was informed of their intention and fled to Serdica, and because of this episode, after the attack, Zeno did not return to Constantinople, where Aspar and Ardabur were and had still considerable power
9.
Byzantine Emperor
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This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Emperors listed below up to Theodosius I in 395 were sole or joint rulers of the entire Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire was the direct legal continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire following the division of the Roman Empire in 395. All Byzantine emperors considered themselves to be the rightful Roman emperor in direct succession from Augustus, the title of all Emperors preceding Heraclius was officially Augustus, although other titles such as Dominus were also used. Their names were preceded by Imperator Caesar and followed by Augustus, following Heraclius, the title commonly became the Greek Basileus, which had formerly meant sovereign but was then used in place of Augustus. Following the establishment of the rival Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe, in later centuries, the Emperor could be referred to by Western Christians as the Emperor of the Greeks. Towards the end of the Empire, the standard formula of the Byzantine ruler was in Christ, Emperor. For Roman emperors before Constantine I, see List of Roman emperors, family tree of the Byzantine emperors List of Roman emperors List of Roman usurpers List of Byzantine usurpers List of Roman and Byzantine empresses
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Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nepos, Julius". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "
Media related to Julius Nepos at Wikimedia Commons
