1.
Luigi Canina
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Luigi Canina was an Italian archaeologist and architect. Luigi Canina, Italian architect and archeologist, was born in Casale Monferrato in 1795 and he was a pupil of Ferdinando Bonsignore in Turin, and settled in Rome in 1818. Among his works are, some construction at the Villa Borghese, Casino Vagnuzzi outside of Porta del Popolo in Egyptian style, in 1843, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Honorary member. Canina is also noted for his studies of history and archeology, a column opposite the basilica of Saint Sebastian on the Appian Way close to Rome records Caninas work in rescuing many Roman ruins and turning the road into the archeological park that it is today. In England he restored interiors at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, larchitettura antica descritta e dimostrata coi monumenti, Volume 6, Sezione II, Architettura Greca, Parte Terza. Larchitettura antica descritta e dimostrata coi monumenti, Sezione I, Architettura Egiziani, larchitettura antica descritta e dimostrata coi monumenti, Volume 1. Indicazione topografica di Roma antica in corrispondenza dell ´epoca imperiale, 4th edition, ricerche sull architettura piu propria dei tempi cristiani e applicazione della medesima ad una idea di sostituzione della chiesa Cattedrale di San Giovanni in Torino. Esposizione storica e topografica del Foro romano e sue adiacenze, 2nd edition, larchitettura Romana descritta e dimostrata coi monumenti, Part I. Descrizione di Cere antica ed in particolare del monumento sepolcrale nellanno 1836 da S. E. il Sig and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Canina, Luigi. Sistri, Augusto, ed. Luigi Canina, 1795–1856, Architetto e Teorico del Classicismo
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Via Latina
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The Via Latina was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mons Algidus and it follows, too, a far more natural line of communication, without the engineering difficulties that the arrow-straight Via Appia had to overcome. As a through-route, it preceded the Via Labicana, though the latter may have been preferred in later times, at Fregellae, it crossed the Liri, and then passed through Aquino and Cassino, both comparatively low-lying towns. In later times, however, there was in all probability a shortcut by Rufrae along the line taken by the modern highroad and railway. The distance from Rome to Casilinum was 129 Roman miles by the Via Appia,135 Roman miles by the old Via Latina through Venafrum,126 Roman miles by the shortcut past Rufrae. Tombs of Via Latina This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Latina. T. Ashby in Papers of the British School at Rome iv
4.
Tiber
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It drains a basin estimated at 17,375 square kilometres. The river has achieved lasting fame as the watercourse of the city of Rome. The river rises at Mount Fumaiolo in central Italy and flows in a southerly direction past Perugia. However, it does not form a delta, owing to a strong north-flowing sea current close to the shore, to the steep shelving of the coast. The source of the Tiber consists of two springs 10 metres away from each other on Mount Fumaiolo and these springs are called Le Vene. The springs are in a beech forest 1,268 metres above sea level, during the 1930s, Benito Mussolini placed an antique marble Roman column at the point where the river arises, inscribed QUI NASCE IL FIUME SACRO AI DESTINI DI ROMA. There is an eagle on the top of this column, the first miles of the Tiber run through Valtiberina before entering Umbria. It is probable that the genesis of the name Tiber was pre-Latin, like the Roman name of Tibur, the same root is found in the Latin praenomen Tiberius. There are also Etruscan variants of this praenomen in Thefarie and Teperie, the legendary king Tiberinus, ninth in the king-list of Alba Longa, was said to have drowned in the river Albula, which was afterward called Tiberis. Yet another etymology is from *dubri-, water, considered by Alessio as Sicel and this root *dubri- is widespread in Western Europe e. g. Dover, Portus Dubris. According to the legend, Jupiter made him a god and guardian spirit of the river and this gave rise to the standard Roman depiction of the river as a powerfully built reclining god, also named Tiberinus, with streams of water flowing from his hair and beard. The Tiber was also believed to be the river into which Romulus and Remus were thrown as infants, according to legend, the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC on the banks of the Tiber about 25 kilometres from the sea at Ostia. The island Isola Tiberina in the centre of Rome, between Trastevere and the ancient center, was the site of an important ancient ford and was later bridged. Legend says Romes founders, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, were abandoned on its waters, the river marked the boundary between the lands of the Etruscans to the west, the Sabines to the east and the Latins to the south. Benito Mussolini, born in Romagna, adjusted the boundary between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, so that the springs of the Tiber would lie in Romagna and it was later used to ship stone, timber and foodstuffs to Rome. During the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, the harbour at Ostia became a key naval base and it later became Romes most important port, where wheat, olive oil, and wine were imported from Romes colonies around the Mediterranean. Wharves were also built along the riverside in Rome itself, lining the riverbanks around the Campus Martius area, the Romans connected the river with a sewer system and with an underground network of tunnels and other channels, to bring its water into the middle of the city. Wealthy Romans had garden-parks or horti on the banks of the river in Rome up through the first century BC and these may have been sold and developed about a century later
5.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
6.
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
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Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
8.
Forum Boarium
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The Forum Boarium was the cattle forum venalium of Ancient Rome. It was located on a piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the docks of Rome, the Forum Boarium experienced intense commercial activity. The Forum Boarium was the site of the first gladiatorial contest at Rome which took place in 264 BC as part of aristocratic funerary ritual—a munus or funeral gift for the dead. Marcus and Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva put on a combat in honor of their deceased father with three pairs of gladiators. The site was also a religious center housing the Temple of Hercules Victor, the Temple of Portunus, the Temple of Hercules Victor or Hercules Olivarius, is a circular peristyle building dating from the 2nd century BC. It consists of a colonnade of Corinthian columns arranged in a ring around the cylindrical cella. These elements originally supported an architrave and roof which have disappeared and it is the earliest surviving marble building in Rome. For centuries, this was known as the Temple of Vesta, the Temple of Portunus is a rectangular building built between 100 and 80 BC. It consists of a portico and cella mounted on a podium reached by a flight of steps. The four Ionic columns of the portico are free-standing, while the six columns on the long sides and it is built of tuff and travertine with a stucco surface. This temple was for centuries known as the Temple of Fortuna Virilis, sources claim the Forum was the site for placement of a statue by the sculptor Myron, which had been looted from Aegina. While the source mentions a cow, it may have been a group of Theusus defeating the Minotaur. At the end of the Roman Empire, the area became overtaken with shops, both temples were deconsecrated and converted to Christian churches. Across the street is the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin famous for its Bocca della Verità, the project also included new landscaping for the site. However, the Arch of Janus is still unrestored, lacus Curtius, Forum Boarium Virtual Tour and Pictures of Boarium Forum Forum Boarium background information
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Tiber Island
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The Tiber Island is the only island in the Tiber river which runs through Rome. Tiber Island is located in the bend of the Tiber. The island is boat-shaped, approximately 270 metres long and 67 metres wide, being a seat of the ancient temple of Asclepius and later a hospital, the island is associated with medicine and healing. The island has been linked to the rest of Rome by two bridges since antiquity, and was once called Insula Inter-Duos-Pontes which means the island between the two bridges. The Ponte Fabricio, the original bridge in Rome, connects the island from the northeast to the Field of Mars in the rione SantAngelo. The Ponte Cestio, of only some original parts survived. There is a legend says that after the fall of the hated tyrant Tarquinius Superbus. His body then settled onto the bottom where dirt and silt accumulated around it, another version of the legend says that the people gathered up the wheat and grain of their despised ruler and threw it into the Tiber, where it eventually became the foundation of the island. In ancient times, before Christianity spread through Rome, Tiber Island was avoided because of the stories associated with it. Only the worst criminals and the ill were condemned there. This however changed when a temple was built on the island, Tiber Island was once the location of an ancient temple to Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. Accounts say that in 293 BC, there was a plague in Rome. Upon consulting the Sibyl, the Roman Senate was instructed to build a temple to Aesculapius, the Greek god of healing, the delegation went on board a ship to sail out and obtain a statue. Following their belief system, they obtained a snake from a temple and it immediately curled itself around the ships mast and this was deemed as a good sign by them. Upon their return up the Tiber river, the snake slithered off the ship and they believed that this was a sign from Aesculapius, a sign which meant that he wanted his temple to be built on that island. This location may have chosen for the Aesculapius Temple because it was separate from the rest of the city. The island eventually became so identified with the temple it supported that it was modeled to resemble a ship as a reminder of how it came to be. Travertine facing was added in mid or late first century by the banks to resemble a ships prow and stern, walls were put around the island, and it came to resemble a Roman ship
10.
Aventine Hill
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The Aventine Hill is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the rione, or ward. The Aventine Hill is the southernmost of Romes seven hills and it has two distinct heights, one greater to the northwest and one lesser to the southeast, divided by a steep cleft that provides the base for an ancient roadway between the heights. During the Republican era, the two hills may have recognized as a single entity. Most Roman sources trace the name of the hill to a legendary king Aventinus, Servius identifies two kings of that name, one ancient Italic, and one Alban, both said to have been buried on the hill in remote antiquity. Servius believes that the hill was named after the ancient Italic king Aventinus, the Aventine was a significant site in Roman mythology. In Virgils Aeneid, a cave on the Aventines rocky slope next the river is home to the monstrous Cacus, killed by Hercules for stealing Geryons cattle. In Romes founding myth, the divinely fathered twins Romulus and Remus hold a contest of augury, whose outcome determines the right to found, name and lead a new city, and to determine its site. In most versions of the story, Remus sets up his tent on the Aventine. Each sees a number of birds that signify divine approval. Romulus goes on to found the city of Rome at the site of his successful augury, an earlier variant, found in Ennius and some later sources, has Romulus perform his augury on one of the Aventine Hills. Remus performs his elsewhere, perhaps on the height, the lesser of the Aventines two hills, which has been tentatively identified with Ennius Mons Murcus. The less fortunate Remus, who lost not only the contest but later, his life, remained on the Aventine, according to Roman tradition, the Aventine was not included within Romes original foundation, and lay outside the citys ancient sacred boundary. The Roman historian Livy reports that Ancus Marcius, Romes fourth king, defeated the Latins of Politorium, the Roman geographer Strabo credits Ancus with the building of a city wall to incorporate the Aventine. Others credit the same wall to Romes sixth king, Servius Tullius, the remains known as the Servian Wall used stone quarried at Veii, which was not conquered by Rome until c.393 BC, so the Aventine might have been part-walled, or an extramural suburb. The Aventine appears to have functioned as some kind of staging post for the legitimate ingress of foreign peoples, during the late regal era, Servius Tullius built a temple to Diana on the Aventine, as a Roman focus for the new-founded Latin League. The Aventines outlying position, its association with Latins and plebeians. The temple overlooked the Circus Maximus and the Temple of Vesta and it became an important repository for plebeian and senatorial records
11.
Ancus Marcius
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Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth king of Rome. He was the son of Marcius, who may be identified with Numa Marcius, according to Festus, Marcius had the surname of Ancus from his crooked arm. Upon the death of the king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex. Ancus Marcius was believed by the Romans to have been the namesake of the Marcii and he waged war successfully against the Latins, and a number of them were settled on the Aventine Hill. According to Livy the war was commenced by the Latins who anticipated Ancus would follow the pious pursuit of peace adopted by his grandfather, the Latins initially made an incursion on Roman lands. When a Roman embassy sought restitution for the damage, the Latins gave a contemptuous reply, Ancus accordingly declared war on the Latins. The declaration is notable since, according to Livy, it was the first time that the Romans had declared war by means of the rites of the fetials, Ancus Marcius marched from Rome with a newly levied army and took the Latin town of Politorium by storm. Its residents were removed to settle on the Aventine Hill in Rome as new citizens, following the Roman traditions from wars with the Sabines, when the other Latins subsequently occupied the empty town of Politorium, Ancus took the town again and demolished it. The Latin villages of Tellenae and Ficana were also sacked and demolished, the war then focused on the Latin town of Medullia. The town had a garrison and was well fortified. Several engagements took place outside the town and the Romans were eventually victorious, Ancus returned to Rome with much booty. More Latins were brought to Rome as citizens and were settled at the foot of the Aventine near the Palatine Hill, by the temple of Murcia. Ancus Marcius incorporated the Janiculum into the city, fortifying it with a wall and connecting it with the city by a bridge across the Tiber. On the land side of the city he constructed the Fossa Quiritium and he also built Romes first prison, the Mamertine prison. He expanded the temple of Jupiter Feretrius to reflect these territorial successes, according to a reconstruction of the Fasti Triumphales, Ancus Marcius celebrated at least one triumph, over the Sabines and Veientes. Ancus Marcius was succeeded by Lucius Tarquinius Priscus who would later be executed by the sons of Ancus Marcius, patrician Marcius Rex -family is descended from Ancus Marcius and remained prominent during the republic and empire. Attribution Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Ancus Marcius
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Janiculum
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The Janiculum is a hill in western Rome, Italy. The Janiculum is one of the best locations in Rome for a view of central Rome with its domes. The Villa Lante al Gianicolo by Giulio Romano is an important early building by the Mannerist master, the Janiculum was a center for the cult of the god Janus, its position overlooking the city made it a good place for augurs to observe the auspices. In Roman mythology, Janiculum is the name of an ancient town founded by the god Janus, in Book VIII of the Aeneid by Virgil, King Evander shows Aeneas the ruins of Saturnia and Janiculum on the Capitoline Hill near the Arcadian city of Pallanteum. Virgil uses these ruins to stress the significance of the Capitoline Hill as the center of Rome. According to Livy, the Janiculum was incorporated into ancient Rome during the time of king Ancus Marcius to prevent an enemy from occupying it and it was fortified by a wall, and a bridge was built across the Tiber to join it to the rest of the city. During the war between Rome and Clusium in 508 BC, it is said that the forces of Lars Porsena occupied the Janiculum and laid siege to Rome. The Aurelian Walls were continued up the hill by the emperor Aurelian to include the mills used to grind grain to provide bread flour for the city. The mills were supplied from an aqueduct, where it plunged down a steep hill, thus the site resembles Barbegal, although excavations in the late 1990s suggest that they may have been undershot rather than overshot in design. The mills were in use in AD537, when the Goths besieging the city cut off their water supply, but they were later restored and may have remained in operation until at least the time of Pope Gregory IV. Several monuments to Garibaldi and to the fallen in the wars of Italian independence are on the Janiculum, daily at noon, a cannon fires once from the Janiculum in the direction of the Tiber as a time signal. This tradition goes back to December 1847, when the cannon of the Castel SantAngelo gave the sign to the surrounding belltowers to start ringing at midday, in 1904, the ritual was transferred to the Janiculum and continued until 1939. On 21 April 1959, popular appeal convinced the Commune of Rome to resume the tradition after a twenty-year interruption, the hill is featured in the third section of Ottorino Respighis famous orchestral piece The Pines of Rome. The crest of the Janiculum is dominated by the 1895 equestrian Monument to Garibaldi and this site was chosen for its proximity to the Villa Doria Pamphili, where Garibaldi mounted a military defense of the short-lived Roman Republic in late April 1849. The hill also features a number of statues and monuments of prominent Italians, a 2011 guide published by the local Associazione Amilcare Cipriani group, after an extensive restoration of these monuments, lists a total of 84 busts on the hill
13.
Etruscan civilization
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The Etruscan civilization is the modern name given to a powerful and wealthy civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany, western Umbria, and northern Lazio. Culture that is identifiably Etruscan developed in Italy after about 800 BC, the latter gave way in the 7th century BC to a culture that was influenced by ancient Greece, Magna Graecia, and Phoenicia. The decline was gradual, but by 500 BC the political destiny of Italy had passed out of Etruscan hands, the last Etruscan cities were formally absorbed by Rome around 100 BC. Politics were based on the city, and probably the family unit. In their heyday, the Etruscan elite grew very rich through trade with the Celtic world to the north and the Greeks to the south, archaic Greece had a huge influence on their art and architecture, and Greek mythology was evidently very familiar to them. The study also excluded recent Anatolian connection, the ancient Romans referred to the Etruscans as the Tuscī or Etruscī. Their Roman name is the origin of the terms Tuscany, which refers to their heartland, and Etruria, which can refer to their wider region. In Attic Greek, the Etruscans were known as Tyrrhenians, from which the Romans derived the names Tyrrhēnī, Tyrrhēnia, the word may also be related to the Hittite Taruisa. The Etruscans called themselves Rasenna, which was syncopated to Rasna or Raśna, the origins of the Etruscans are mostly lost in prehistory, although Greek historians as early as the 5th century BC, repeatedly associated the Tyrrhenians with Pelasgians. Strabo as well as the Homeric Hymn to Dionysus make mention of the Tyrrhenians as pirates, pliny the Elder put the Etruscans in the context of the Rhaetian people to the north and wrote in his Natural History, Adjoining these the Noricans are the Raeti and Vindelici. All are divided into a number of states, the Raeti are believed to be people of Tuscan race driven out by the Gauls, their leader was named Raetus. Historians have no literature and no original Etruscan texts of religion or philosophy, therefore, much of what is known about this civilization is derived from grave goods, another source of genetic data on Etruscan origins is from four ancient breeds of cattle. Analyzing the mitochondrial DNA of these and seven other breeds of Italian cattle, the other Italian breeds were linked to northern Europe. Etruscan expansion was focused both to the north beyond the Apennine Mountains and into Campania, some small towns in the sixth century BC disappeared during this time, ostensibly consumed by greater, more powerful neighbours. However, it is certain that the structure of the Etruscan culture was similar to, albeit more aristocratic than. The mining and commerce of metal, especially copper and iron, led to an enrichment of the Etruscans and to the expansion of their influence in the Italian peninsula and the western Mediterranean Sea. Here, their interests collided with those of the Greeks, especially in the sixth century BC and this led the Etruscans to ally themselves with Carthage, whose interests also collided with the Greeks. Around 540 BC, the Battle of Alalia led to a new distribution of power in the western Mediterranean, from the first half of the 5th century BC, the new political situation meant the beginning of the Etruscan decline after losing their southern provinces
14.
Ostia Antica
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Ostia Antica is a large archeological site, close to the modern suburb of Ostia, that was the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome, which is approximately 30 kilometres to the northeast. Ostia is a derivation of os, the Latin word for mouth, at the mouth of the River Tiber, Ostia was Romes seaport, but due to silting the site now lies 3 kilometres from the sea. The site is noted for the excellent preservation of its ancient buildings, magnificent frescoes, Ostia may have been Romes first colonia. An inscription seems to confirm the establishment of the old castrum of Ostia in the 7th century BC, the oldest archaeological remains so far discovered date back to only the 4th century BC. The most ancient buildings currently visible are from the 3rd century BC, notably the Castrum, Ostia was a scene of fighting during the period of the civil wars Sullas first civil war between Gaius Marius and Sulla during the 1st century BC. In 87 BC, Marius attacked the city in order to cut off the flow of trade to Rome, forces led by Cinna, Carbo and Sertorius crossed the Tiber at three points before capturing the city and plundering it. After his victory here, Marius moved on to attack and capture Antium, Aricia, in 68 BC, the town was sacked by pirates. During the sack, the port was set on fire, the war fleet was destroyed. Within a year, the pirates had been defeated, the town was then re-built, and provided with protective walls by the statesman and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero. During Julius Caesars time as Dictator, one of his improvements to the city was his establishment of better supervision of the supply of grain to Rome and he proposed better access to grain by the use of a new harbor in Ostia along with a canal from Tarracina. The town was developed during the first century AD under the influence of Tiberius. The town was also enriched by the construction of a new harbor on the northern mouths of the Tiber. The new harbor, not surprisingly called Portus, from the Latin for harbor, was excavated from the ground at the orders of the emperor Claudius. This harbor became silted up and needed to be supplemented later by a built by Trajan finished in the year 113 AD, it has a hexagonal form. Moreover, it must remember also that at a short distance. These elements took business away from Ostia itself and began its commercial decline, Ostia itself was provided with all the services a town of the time could require, in particular, a famous lighthouse. By 1954 eighteen mithraea had been discovered, Mithras had his largest following among the population that were the majority of this port town. Archaeologists also discovered the public latrinae, organised for collective use as a series of seats that allow us to imagine today that their function was also a social one
15.
Latin
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
16.
Julius Caesar
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Gaius Julius Caesar, known as Julius Caesar, was a Roman politician, general, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed an alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to power as Populares were opposed by the Optimates within the Roman Senate. Caesars victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, extended Romes territory to the English Channel, Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both the Channel and the Rhine, when he built a bridge across the Rhine and crossed the Channel to invade Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, with the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused the order, and instead marked his defiance in 49 BC by crossing the Rubicon with the 13th Legion, leaving his province, Civil war resulted, and Caesars victory in the war put him in an unrivalled position of power and influence. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a programme of social and governmental reforms and he centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed dictator in perpetuity, giving him additional authority. But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March 44 BC, a new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesars adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to power after defeating his opponents in the civil war. Octavian set about solidifying his power, and the era of the Roman Empire began, much of Caesars life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources, Caesar is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest military commanders in history. Caesar was born into a family, the gens Julia. The cognomen Caesar originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by Caesarean section. The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations, that the first Caesar had a head of hair, that he had bright grey eyes. Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favored this interpretation of his name, despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential, although they had enjoyed some revival of their political fortunes in the early 1st century BC. Caesars father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia and his mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family. Little is recorded of Caesars childhood, in 85 BC, Caesars father died suddenly, so Caesar was the head of the family at 16
17.
Rhine
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The largest city on the river Rhine is Cologne, Germany, with a population of more than 1,050,000 people. It is the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe, at about 1,230 km, with an average discharge of about 2,900 m3/s. The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the inland frontier of the Roman Empire and, since those days. The many castles and fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway in the Holy Roman Empire, in the modern era, it has become a symbol of German nationalism. The variant of the name of the Rhine in modern languages are all derived from the Gaulish name Rēnos, spanish is with French in adopting the Germanic vocalism Rin-, while Italian, Occitan and Portuguese retain the Latin Ren-. The Gaulish name Rēnos belongs to a class of river names built from the PIE root *rei- to move, flow, run, the grammatical gender of the Celtic name is masculine, and the name remains masculine in German, Dutch and French. The Old English river name was variously inflected as masculine or feminine, the length of the Rhine is conventionally measured in Rhine-kilometers, a scale introduced in 1939 which runs from the Old Rhine Bridge at Constance to Hoek van Holland. The river length is shortened from the rivers natural course due to a number of canalisation projects completed in the 19th and 20th century. The total length of the Rhine, to the inclusion of Lake Constance and its course is conventionally divided as follows, The Rhine carries its name without distinctive accessories only from the confluence of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein near Tamins-Reichenau. Above this point is the catchment of the headwaters of the Rhine. It belongs almost exclusively to the Swiss Canton of Graubünden, ranging from Gotthard Massif in the west via one valley lying in Ticino, traditionally, Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass in the Gotthard region is seen as the source of the Vorderrhein and the Rhine as a whole. The Hinterrhein rises in the Rheinwald valley below Mount Rheinwaldhorn, the Vorderrhein, or Anterior Rhine, springs from Lai da Tuma, near the Oberalp Pass and passes the impressive Ruinaulta formed by the largest visible rock slide in the alps, the Flims Rockslide. A multiday trekking route is signposted along the young Rhine called Senda Sursilvana, the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur, or Posterior Rhine, starts from the Paradies Glacier, near the Rheinwaldhorn. One of its tributaries, the Reno di Lei, drains the Valle di Lei on politically Italian territory, after three main valleys separated by the two gorges, Roflaschlucht and Viamala, it reaches Reichenau. The Vorderrhein arises from numerous source streams in the upper Surselva, one source is Lai da Tuma with the Rein da Tuma, which is usually indicated as source of the Rhine, flowing through it. Into it flow tributaries from the south, some longer, some equal in length, such as the Reno di Medel, the Rein da Maighels, and the Rein da Curnera. The Cadlimo Valley in the Canton of Ticino is drained by the Reno di Medel, all streams in the source area are partially, sometimes completely, captured and sent to storage reservoirs for the local hydro-electric power plants. In its lower course the Vorderrhein flows through a gorge named Ruinaulta through the Flims Rockslide, the whole stretch of the Vorderrhein to the Rhine confluence near Reichenau-Tamins is accompanied by a long-distance hiking trail called Senda Sursilvana
18.
Via Cassia
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The Via Cassia was an important Roman road striking out of the Via Flaminia near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and passing not far from Veii traversed Etruria. The Via Cassia passed through Baccanae, Sutrium, Vulsinii, Clusium, Arretium, Florentia, Pistoria, and Luca, joining the Via Aurelia at Luna. The Via Amerina was a road that broke off from the Via Cassia near Baccanae, and held north through Falerii, Tuder, and Perusia, rejoining the Via Cassia at Clusium. As the new military and strategic route, the Via Amerina became the core of Imperial Italy. For an overview of the location of Roman bridges, see List of Roman bridges, there are the remains of several Roman bridges along the road, including the Ponte San Lorenzo and Ponte San Nicolao. The road was used as part of the road race cycling route for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Roman bridge Roman engineering 1960 Summer Olympics official report
19.
Veii
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Veii was, in ancient times, an important Etruscan city 16 km north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome, many other sites associated with and in the city-state of Veii are in Formello, immediately to the north. Formello is named after the channels that were first created by the Veians. Veii was the richest city of the Etruscan League and on the border of Etruria. It was alternately at war and in alliance with the Roman Republic for over 300 years and it eventually fell in the Battle of Veii to Roman general Camilluss army in 396 BC. Veii continued to be occupied after its capture by the Romans, the site of Veii is a tuff elevation of 190 hectares. The Valchetta flows a few miles eastward to join the Tiber River on the side of Labaro along the Via Flaminia. Veii might be considered to be on the bank of the Tiber. Its proximity to the Tiber and the route to the interior. The site is now an area, part of the Parco di Veio established by the regional authority of Lazio in 1997. The largest visible monument is the temple of Apollo of 510 BC, also, tumuli and tombs have been found cut into the rock. Tombs were cut into tuff. but tumuli were not, the most famous is the Grotta Campana, uncovered in 1843, a chamber tomb with the oldest known Etruscan frescoes. There are additionally long tunnels leading into the mound of the city, the walls of Veii, of which small sections remain, bordered the two intersecting streams using the streambeds as a ditch, with a wall across the plateau closing the triangle. Veii is well known for its statuary including the Apollo of Veii of 510 BC, every Etruscan stronghold was built on an elevation, and Veii was no exception. An archaeological site, Piazza dArmi, marks the location today, the settlement and the growth of the city by conurbation can be traced by demographic analysis of the cemeteries and settlements on and around the plateau. The earliest evidence of dates from the 10th century BC in the Late Bronze Age. Small settlements were scattered over an area than the plateau. In the 9th century BC, the Early Iron Age, the finds are localized to the plateau but appear to be associated with independent settlements, each with its own cemetery
20.
Pons Aemilius
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The Pons Aemilius, today called Ponte Rotto, is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome, Italy. Preceded by a version, it was rebuilt in stone in the 2nd century BC. It once spanned the Tiber, connecting the Forum Boarium with Trastevere, the oldest piers of the bridge were probably laid when the Via Aurelia was constructed in the mid-2nd century BC. Titus Livius recorded that a bridge in the same location existed in 192 BC. The first stone bridge was constructed by Censor Marcus Fulvius Nobilior in the year 179 BC, the bridges piers date from this early period, although its arches were constructed in 142 BC. The bridge kept its place for several hundred years, although it was repaired, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, the bridge was damaged several times by floods, with each flood taking a greater and greater toll on the overall structure. It was first severely damaged in 1230 AD, after which it was rebuilt by Pope Gregory XI, finally, floods in 1575 and 1598 carried the eastern half away, resulting in its abandonment as a functioning bridge for several centuries. For many years, it was used as a fishing pier, in 1853, Pope Pius IX had the remnants of the bridge connected to the mainland via an iron footbridge, but the heavy metal weakened the structural integrity of the stone. The remaining half was demolished in 1887 to make room for the Ponte Palatino, list of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, pp. 67f. ISBN 0-521-39326-4 Media related to Ponte Rotto at Wikimedia Commons Pons Aemilius at Structurae The Waters of Rome, Tiber River Bridges and the Development of the Ancient City of Rome
21.
Cloaca Maxima
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The Cloaca Maxima is one of the worlds earliest sewage systems. Constructed in Ancient Rome in order to drain marshes and remove the waste of one of the worlds most populous cities, it carried effluent to the River Tiber. The name literally means Greatest Sewer, according to tradition it may have been initially constructed around 600 BC under the orders of the king of Rome, Tarquinius Priscus. The Cloaca Maxima originally was built by the Etruscans as an open-air canal, over time, the Romans covered over the canal and turned it into a sewer system for the city. This public work was achieved through the use of Etruscan engineers. Underground work is said to have carried out on the sewer by Tarquinius Superbus, Romes seventh. Although Livy describes it as being tunnelled out beneath Rome, he was writing centuries after the event and this open drain would then have been gradually built over, as building space within the city became more valuable. The continuous supply of running water helped to remove wastes and keep the sewers clear of obstructions, the aqueduct system was investigated by the general Frontinus at the end of the 1st century AD, who published his report on its state directly to the emperor Nerva. There were many branches off of the sewer, but all seem to be official drains that would have served public toilets, bath-houses. Private residences in Rome, even of the rich, would have relied on some sort of arrangement for sewage. The Cloaca Maxima was well maintained throughout the life of the Roman Empire and even today drains rainwater and debris from the center of town, below the ancient Forum, Velabro and Foro Boario. In more recent times, the passages have been connected to the modern-day sewage system. The Cloaca Maxima was thought to be presided over by the goddess Cloacina, the outfall of the Cloaca Maxima into the River Tiber is still visible today near the bridge Ponte Rotto, and near Ponte Palatino. There is a going down to it visible next to the Basilica Julia at the Forum. Some of it is visible from the surface opposite the church of San Giorgio al Velabro. The system of Roman sewers was much imitated throughout the Roman Empire, the sewer system in Eboracum—the modern-day English city of York—was especially impressive and part of it still survives. Rinne The Waters of Rome, The Cloaca Maxima and the Monumental Manipulation of Water in Archaic Rome by John N. N. Hopkins Rome, Cloaca Maxima
22.
Servian Wall
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The Servian Wall was an ancient Roman defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. It is presumed that the wall is named after the sixth Roman King, due to the ease with which the Gauls entered the city, it is conjectured that at some time previous to this, Rome had been forced by its Etruscan rulers to dismantle any significant prior defenses. The wall was built from blocks of tuff quarried from the Grotta Oscura quarry near Romes early rival Veii. In addition to the blocks, some sections of the structure incorporated a deep fossa, or ditch in front of it, along part of its topographically weaker northern perimeter was an agger, a defensive ramp of earth heaped up to the wall along the inside. This thickened the wall, and also gave defenders a base to stand while repelling any attack, the wall was also outfitted with defensive war engines, including catapults. The Servian Wall was formidable enough to repel Hannibal during the Second Punic War, Hannibal famously invaded Italy across the Alps with elephants, and had crushed several Roman armies in the early stages of the war. However, the wall was never put to the test as Hannibal only once, in 211 BC, brought his Carthaginian army to Rome as part of a feint to draw the Roman army from Capua. When it was clear that this had failed, he turned away, without approaching closer than 3 miles to Rome, as a Roman army sallied out of the Servian walls, during the Roman civil wars, the Servian walls were repeatedly overrun. The wall was maintained through the end of the Republic. By this time, Rome had already begun to grow outside the original Servian Wall. The organization of Rome into regions under Augustus placed regions II, III, IV, VI, VIII, X, the wall became unnecessary as Rome became well protected by the ever-expanding military strength of the Republic and of the later Empire. As the city continued to grow and prosper, it was essentially unwalled for the first three centuries of the Empire, when German tribes made further incursions along the Roman frontier in the 3rd century AD, Emperor Aurelian had the larger Aurelian Walls built to protect Rome. Sections of the Servian Wall are still visible in various locations around Rome, the largest section is preserved just outside Termini Station, the main railway station in Rome. Another notable section on the Aventine incorporates an arch for a defensive catapult from the late Republic, the following lists the gates that are believed to have been built, clockwise from the westernmost. Porta Flumentana – this gate was where the via Aurelia entered Rome after crossing the Tiber River, porta Carmentalis – the western end of the Capitoline. Porta Fontinalis – led from the end of the Capitoline into the Campus Martius along the via Lata. Porta Sanqualis – on the Quirinal, porta Salutaris – on the Quirinal. Porta Quirinalis – on the Quirinal, porta Collina – the northernmost gate, on the Quirinal, leading to the via Salaria
23.
Capitoline Hill
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The Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was known as Mons Saturnius, dedicated to the god Saturn. The word Capitolium first meant the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus later built here, Ancient sources refer the name to caput and the tale was that, when laying the foundations for the temple, the head of a man was found. Some sources even saying it was the head of some Tolus or Olus, the Capitolium was regarded by the Romans as indestructible, and was adopted as a symbol of eternity. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, influenced by Roman architecture and Roman republican times, the word Capitolium still lives in the English word capitol. The Capitol Hill in Washington, D. C. is widely assumed to be named after the Capitoline Hill, at this hill, the Sabines, creeping to the Citadel, were let in by the Roman maiden Tarpeia. For this treachery, Tarpeia was the first to be punished by being flung from a cliff overlooking the Roman Forum. This cliff was named the Tarpeian Rock after the Vestal Virgin. The Sabines, who immigrated to Rome following the Rape of the Sabine Women, the Vulcanal, an 8th-century BC sacred precinct, occupied much of the eastern lower slopes of the Capitoline, at the head of what would later become the Roman Forum. The summit was the site of a temple for the Capitoline Triad, started by Romes fifth king, Tarquinius Priscus and it was considered one of the largest and the most beautiful temples in the city. The city legend starts with the recovery of a human skull when foundation trenches were being dug for the Temple of Jupiter at Tarquins order, recent excavations on the Capitoline uncovered an early cemetery under the Temple of Jupiter. There are several important temples built on Capitoline hill, the temple of Juno Moneta, the temple of Virtus, the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus is the most important of the temples. It was built in 509 BC and was nearly as large as the Parthenon, the hill and the temple of Jupiter became the symbols of Rome, the capital of the world. The Temple of Saturn was built at the foot of Capitoline Hill in the end of the Forum Romanum. According to legend Marcus Manlius Capitolinus was alerted to the Gallic attack by the geese of Juno. Vespasians brother and nephew were also besieged in the temple during the Year of Four Emperors, the Tabularium, located underground beneath the piazza and hilltop, occupies a building of the same name built in the 1st century BC to hold Roman records of state. The Tabularium looks out from the rear onto the Roman Forum, the main attraction of the Tabularium, besides the structure itself, is the Temple of Veiovis. During the lengthy period of ancient Rome, the Capitoline Hill was the geographical and ceremonial center, however, by the Renaissance, the former center was an untidy conglomeration of dilapidated buildings and the site of executions of criminals
24.
Horatius Cocles
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In 509 BC, the army of Clusium marched on Rome and attacked the city. Concentrating his forces on the Etruscan side of the Tiber, Porsena assaulted the Janiculum, an Etruscan garrison was detailed to hold it. Porsenas army made for the Pons Sublicius, but found there a Roman line of battle across the bend of the river, Porsena drew up a line of battle opposite it, apparently without hindrance, relying on numerical superiority to cow the Romans. The Tarquins commanded the Etruscan left wing facing the troops of Spurius Lartius and Titus Herminius, octavius Mamilius took the Etruscan right commanding rebel Latins, facing Marcus Valerius Volusus and Titus Lucretius Tricipitinus. Porsena commanded the Etruscan center, facing the two consuls, after a considerable time, Valerius and Lucretius having been carried wounded off the field in full view of the troops, the army was struck by a panic and ran for the bridge. The enemy effected a slaughter at first among the troops milling around at the entrance to the bridge and he was a patrician, and the nephew of consul Marcus Horatius Pulvillus and had lost an eye in a previous battle. He was also said to have been a descendant of one of the Horatii who had fought the Curiatii of Alba Longa. Livy defines his station in the defense as on guard at the bridge when he saw the Janiculum taken by a sudden assault, the three defenders of the bridge withstood sword and missile attacks until the troops had all crossed. In the abbreviated and skeptical version of Livy, no battle took place, but his own men, a panic-struck mob, were deserting their posts and throwing away their arms. Cocles, in view, was the only man in the entire army with the courage to stand up. Dionysius goes on to say, Herminius and Lartius, their defensive arms being now rendered useless by the continual blows they received, began to retreat gradually. They called on Horatius to retreat but perceiving the tactical difficulty of allowing the enemy to cross he stood his ground, directing them to tell the consuls to tear up the bridge. The enemy view of him as a madman determined to commit suicide taking them with him protected him to some extent, finally wounded all over and having received a spear in the buttocks he heard a shout from the other bank that the bridge was torn up. He leaped with his arms into the river and swimming across and he emerged upon the shore without having lost any of his arms. Wounded as he was Horatius was honorably crowned and conducted into the city by a crowd while the populace streamed into the streets to see him. A bronze statue was erected to him in the comitium because of his heroic act. Every citizen of Rome gave him one days ration of food, although Dionysius of Halicarnassus does not explain what logistically such a contribution should mean and how, Horatius was now disabled and could not by law remain in the army or hold public office. Polybius brief notice of the story uses Horatius as an example of the men who have devoted themselves to inevitable death, to save the lives of other citizens
25.
Livy
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Livy and Augustuss wife, Livia, were from the same clan in different locations, although not related by blood. Livy was born as Titus Livius in Patavium in northern Italy, there is a debate about the year of Titus Livius birth,64 BC or more likely 59 BC. At the time of his birth, his city of Patavium was the second wealthiest on the Italian peninsula. Patavium was a part of the province of Cisalpine Gaul at the time, in his works, Livy often expressed his deep affection and pride for Patavium, and the city was well known for its conservative values in morality and politics. Livy’s teen years were during the 40s BC, a time that coincided with the wars that were occurring throughout the Roman world. The governor of Cisalpine Gaul at the time, a man called Asinius Pollio, had tried to bring Patavium into the camp of Marcus Antonius, the wealthier citizens of Patavium refused to contribute money and arms to Asinius Pollio, and went into hiding. Therefore, Livy and the residents of Patavium did not end up supporting Marcus Antonius in his campaign for control over Rome. Later on, Asinius Pollio made a jibe at Livys patavinity and his jibe at Livy and his patavinity, however, may have been said because the city of Patavium had rejected Asinius Pollio, and he still harboured harsh feelings toward the city as a whole. Titus Livius probably went to Rome in the 30s BC, and it is likely that he spent an amount of time in the city after this. During his time in Rome, he was never a senator nor held any other governmental position and his elementary mistakes in military matters show that he was never a soldier. However, he was educated in philosophy and rhetoric and it seems that Livy had the financial resources and means to live an independent life. He devoted a part of his life to his writings. Livy was known to give recitations to small audiences, but he was not heard of to engage in declamation and he was familiar with the emperor Augustus, formerly Octavian, and the imperial family. Octavian was one of the three men fighting for the control of Rome during the Civil Wars in the 40s BC, Octavian gained power after defeating Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra, and was later given the honorary name of Augustus. Considering that Augustus came to be known as the greatest Roman emperor in the eyes of the Romans and it is said that Livy was the one who encouraged the future emperor Claudius, who was born in 10 BC, to explore the writing of history during his childhood. Livy himself was married and had at least one daughter and one son, Livy’s most famous work was his history of Rome. In it he explains the history of the city of Rome. Because he was writing under the emperor Augustus, Livy’s history emphasizes the great triumphs of Rome and he wrote his history with embellished accounts of Roman heroism in order to promote the new type of government implemented by Augustus when he became emperor
26.
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
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Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is commonly known as Tarquin the Proud, from his cognomen Superbus, ancient accounts of the Regal period mingle history and legend. His reign is described as a tyranny that justified the abolition of the monarchy, Tarquin was the son or grandson of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, and Tanaquil. According to an Etruscan tradition, the hero Macstarna, usually equated with Servius Tullius, defeated and killed a Roman named Gnaeus Tarquinius and this may recollect an otherwise forgotten attempt by the sons of Tarquin the elder to reclaim the throne. To forestall further dynastic strife, Tullius married his daughters, known to history as Tullia Major and Tullia Minor, to Lucius Tarquinius, the future king and their sister, Tarquinia, married Marcus Junius Brutus, and was the mother of Lucius Junius Brutus. The elder Tullia was of mild disposition, yet married the ambitious Lucius Tarquinius, after the murder of their siblings, Lucius and Tullia were married. Together, they had three sons, Titus, Arruns, and Sextus, and a daughter, Tarquinia, who married Octavius Mamilius, Tullia encouraged her husband to advance his own position, ultimately persuading him to usurp the throne. Tarquin solicited the support of the senators, especially those from families who had received their senatorial rank under Tarquin the Elder. He bestowed presents upon them, and spread criticism of Servius the king, in time, Tarquin felt ready to seize the throne. He went to the senate-house with a group of armed men, sat himself on the throne, and summoned the senators to attend upon King Tarquin. The kings retainers fled, and as he made his way, dazed and unattended, toward the palace, Tullia, meanwhile, drove in her chariot to the senate-house, where she was the first to hail her husband as king. But Tarquin bade her return home, concerned that the crowd might do her violence, as she drove toward the Urbian Hill, her driver stopped suddenly, horrified at the sight of the kings body, lying in the street. But in a frenzy, Tullia herself seized the reins, the kings blood spattered against the chariot and stained Tullias clothes, so that she brought a gruesome relic of the murder back to her house. The street where Tullia disgraced the dead king afterward became known as the Vicus Sceleratus, Tarquin commenced his reign by refusing to bury the dead Servius, and then putting to death a number of leading senators, whom he suspected of remaining loyal to Servius. By not replacing the slain senators, and not consulting the senate on matters of government, in another break with tradition, Tarquin judged capital crimes without the advice of counselors, causing fear amongst those who might think to oppose him. He made an ally when he betrothed his daughter to Octavius Mamilius of Tusculum. Early in his reign, Tarquin called a meeting of the Latin leaders to discuss the bonds between Rome and the Latin towns, the meeting was held at a grove sacred to the goddess Ferentina. At the meeting, Turnus Herdonius inveighed against the Tarquins arrogance, Tarquin then bribed Turnus servant to store a large number of swords in his masters lodging
27.
Roman Republic
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It was during this period that Romes control expanded from the citys immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, by the following century, it included North Africa, most of the Iberian Peninsula, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar. The exact date of transition can be a matter of interpretation, Roman government was headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates. Over time, the laws that gave exclusive rights to Romes highest offices were repealed or weakened. The leaders of the Republic developed a tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war, making military. Many of Romes legal and legislative structures can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states, the exact causes and motivations for Romes military conflicts and expansions during the republic are subject to wide debate. While they can be seen as motivated by outright aggression and imperialism and they argue that Romes expansion was driven by short-term defensive and inter-state factors, and the new contingencies that these decisions created. In its early history, as Rome successfully defended itself against foreign threats in central and then northern Italy, with some important exceptions, successful wars in early republican Rome generally led not to annexation or military occupation, but to the restoration of the way things were. But the defeated city would be weakened and thus able to resist Romanizing influences. It was also able to defend itself against its non-Roman enemies. It was, therefore, more likely to seek an alliance of protection with Rome and this growing coalition expanded the potential enemies that Rome might face, and moved Rome closer to confrontation with major powers. The result was more alliance-seeking, on the part of both the Roman confederacy and city-states seeking membership within that confederacy. While there were exceptions to this, it was not until after the Second Punic War that these alliances started to harden into something more like an empire and this shift mainly took place in parts of the west, such as the southern Italian towns that sided with Hannibal. In contrast, Roman expansion into Spain and Gaul occurred as a mix of alliance-seeking, in the 2nd century BC, Roman involvement in the Greek east remained a matter of alliance-seeking, but this time in the face of major powers that could rival Rome. This had some important similarities to the events in Italy centuries earlier, with some major exceptions of outright military rule, the Roman Republic remained an alliance of independent city-states and kingdoms until it transitioned into the Roman Empire. It was not until the time of the Roman Empire that the entire Roman world was organized into provinces under explicit Roman control
28.
Clusium
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Clusium was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the site. The current municipality of Chiusi partly overlaps this Roman walled city, the Roman city remodeled an earlier Etruscan city, Clevsin, found in the territory of a prehistoric culture, possibly also Etruscan or proto-Etruscan. The site is located in northern central Italy on the west side of the Apennines, Chiusi is situated on a hill above the valley of the Clanis river near lake Clusium, both of which features had those names in antiquity. The Clanis is part of the Tiber drainage system and was navigable by boat from there, Rome was also accessed by the via Cassia, which was built over an Etruscan road. By the time it appears in the Livys History, it is already a major Etruscan city being petitioned for assistance against the partisans of ancient Rome. About its life prior to time, Livy only makes a brief statement that it was once called Camars. Different theories exist of the citys origin, villanovan pottery has been found at Chiusi. One common type is an urn dating to the 8th century BC. These urns are in the shape of wattle-and-daub huts with thatched roofs and this style of architecture is so different from classical Etruscan that many Etruscologists have denied a continuity. On the other hand, it is clear that the people of the received a strong impetus from Greek colonies such as Cumae. The minority theory is currently the Proto-Italic, in this theory, Etruscans from the coast or from the Aegean resettled and renamed an Umbrian city called Camars, which the exponents believe means marshland in Italic. On enclosing the city with a wall they changed the name to enclosure, using an Etruscanized form, Clevsin, of the passive participle, clusus, of Latin cludere. Clevsin and Camars are more comfortable in their Etruscan milieu as Etruscan words, the limited known Etruscan vocabulary includes camthi, the name of a magistracy, which might be segmented cam-thi, where –thi is a known locative ending. Ar, -arasi, -aras are plural endings of different cases, S and -isi are genitive and dative endings. A place of magistracies or offerings is entirely harmonious with Etruscan culture, the final resolution of the question waits for more evidence. It is believed that Clusium joined the Etruscan League of twelve cities in the 600s BC, the site of ancient Clusium was reoccupied in Roman and later times, obscuring and obliterating much of the Etruscan layers. For example, the ancient sources describe the tomb of Lars Porsena at Clusium as well as the sacking and levelling of the city by Sulla, much of what remains are its tombs and its underground passages, some of which might have been associated with the monument to Porsena. Lars Porsena was king of Clusium in 508 BC. Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and he had sought to regain the throne, firstly by the Tarquinian conspiracy and secondly by force of arms
29.
Lars Porsena
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Lars Porsena was an Etruscan king known for his war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium, there are no established dates for his rule, but Roman sources often place the war at around 508 BC. Lars Porsena came into conflict with Rome after the revolution that overthrew the monarchy there in 509 BC, resulting in the exile of the semi-legendary last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. The deposed monarch, whose family was of Etruscan origin, tried and failed to retake the throne a number of times before appealing to Porsena for assistance, at that time Clusium was said to be a very powerful Etruscan city. At this point, however, the histories diverge, other accounts, however, suggest that Lars Porsena actually succeeded in subduing the city, and that the Etruscans were only driven out some time afterwards. None of the accounts, however, suggests that Tarquinius Superbus was returned to the throne, thus, if Lars Porsena did indeed capture Rome, he may have done so with the intent of controlling it himself, not restoring the former dynasty. Accounts of the war include a number of matters directly concerning Porsena, one story tells that, during his siege of Rome, a Roman youth named Gaius Mucius sneaked into the Etruscan camp with the approval of the Senate, intent on assassinating Porsena. However, when Mucius came into the presence, he could not distinguish Porsena from his secretary. Through misrecognition Mucius stabbed the secretary and then tried to flee and he was immediately captured by the Etruscans and brought before Porsena, whereupon Mucius bluntly declared his identity and his intent. He advised Porsena that he was merely the first of 300 Roman youths who would attempt such a deed, to prove his valour, Mucius thrust his right hand into a sacrificial fire, thereby earning for himself and his descendants the cognomen Scaevola. Astonished and impressed by the mans courage, Porsena gave Mucius his freedom. According to Livy, Porsena sought peace by treaty immediately afterward, another tale of the war concerns the Roman hostages taken by Porsena as part of the treaty. One of the hostages, a woman named Cloelia, fled the Etruscan camp. Porsena demanded that she be returned, and the Romans consented, on her return, however, Porsena was so impressed by her bravery that he asked her to choose half the remaining hostages to be freed. She selected all the youngest Roman boys, afterwards the Romans gave Cloelia the unusual honour of a statue at the top of the Via Sacra, showing Cloelia mounted on a horse—that is, as an eques. Livy concludes most likely it is because, when Porsena departed Rome, in 507 BC, Porsena once again sent ambassadors to the Roman senate, requesting the restoration of Tarquinius to the throne. Legates were sent back to Porsena, to him that the Romans would never re-admit Tarquinius. Porsena agreed, telling Tarquinius to continue his exile elsewhere than Clusium, Porsena also restored to the Romans their hostages, and also the lands of Veii that had been taken from Rome by treaty
30.
Thomas Babington Macaulay
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Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, PC was a British historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer, his books on British history have been hailed as literary masterpieces, Macaulay held political office as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1848. He played a role in introducing English and western concepts to education in India. He supported the replacement of Persian by English as the language, the use of English as the medium of instruction in all schools. In his view, Macaulay divided the world into civilised nations and barbarism and he was wedded to the Idea of Progress, especially in terms of the liberal freedoms. He opposed radicalism while idealising historic British culture and traditions, Macaulay was the son of Zachary Macaulay, a Scottish Highlander, who became a colonial governor and abolitionist, and Selina Mills of Bristol, a former pupil of Hannah More. They named their first child after his uncle Thomas Babington, a Leicestershire landowner and politician, Thomas Macaulay was born in Leicestershire, England, where he was noted as a child prodigy. As a toddler, gazing out of the window from his cot at the chimneys of a local factory and he was educated at a private school in Hertfordshire and at Trinity College, Cambridge. Whilst at Cambridge he wrote poetry and won several prizes. In 1825 he published a prominent essay on Milton in the Edinburgh Review and he studied law and in 1826 he was called to the bar but showed more interest in a political than a legal career. Macaulay, who never married and had no children, was rumoured to have fallen in love with Maria Kinnaird. But in fact, Macaulays strongest emotional ties were to his youngest sisters, Margaret who died while he was in India, as Hannah grew older, he formed the same close attachment to Hannahs daughter Margaret, whom he called Baba. Macaulay retained a passionate interest in literature throughout his life. He likely had an eidetic memory, while in India, he read every ancient Greek and Roman work that was available to him. In his letters, he describes reading the Aeneid whilst on vacation in Malvern in 1851 and he also taught himself German, Dutch, and Spanish, and remained fluent in French. In 1830 the Marquess of Lansdowne invited Macaulay to become Member of Parliament for the borough of Calne. His maiden speech was in favour of abolishing the civil disabilities of the Jews in the UK, Macaulay made his name with a series of speeches in favour of parliamentary reform. After the Great Reform Act of 1832 was passed, he became MP for Leeds, in the Reform, Calnes representation was reduced from two to one, Leeds had never been represented before, but now had two members
31.
Lays of Ancient Rome
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Lays of Ancient Rome is a collection of narrative poems, or lays, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Four of these recount heroic episodes from early Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes, Macaulay also included two poems inspired by recent history, Ivry and The Armada. The Lays were composed by Macaulay in his thirties, during his time while he was the legal member of the Governor-General of Indias Supreme Council from 1834 to 1838. The Roman ballads are preceded by brief introductions, discussing the legends from a scholarly perspective, Macaulay explains that his intention was to write poems resembling those that might have been sung in ancient times. The Lays were first published by Longman in 1842, at the beginning of the Victorian Era and they became immensely popular, and were a regular subject of recitation, then a common pastime. The Lays were standard reading in British public schools for more than a century, winston Churchill memorised them while at Harrow School, in order to show that he was capable of mental prodigies, notwithstanding his lacklustre academic performance. The first poem, Horatius, describes how Publius Horatius and two companions, Spurius Lartius and Titus Herminius, held the Sublician bridge against the Etruscan army of Lars Porsena, King of Clusium. The three heroes are willing to die in order to prevent the enemy crossing the bridge. While the trio close with the front ranks of the Etruscans and this poem contains the often-quoted lines, Lartius and Herminius regain the Roman side before the bridge falls, but Horatius is stranded, and jumps into the river still wearing his full armor. Macaulay writes, He reaches the Roman shore, is rewarded, the fighting described by Macaulay is fierce and bloody, and the outcome is only decided when the twin gods Castor and Pollux descend to the battlefield on the side of Rome. This poem includes a number of finely described single-combats, in imitation of Homers Iliad. This poem describes the tragedy of Virginia, the daughter of Virginius. The wicked Appius Claudius, a member of one of Romes most noble patrician families and he initiates legal proceedings, claiming Virginia as his runaway slave, knowing that his claim will be endorsed by the corrupt magistracy over which he and his cronies preside. Driven to despair, Virginius resolves to save his daughter from Claudius lust by any means—even her death is preferable, when Romulus and Remus arrive in triumph at the house of their grandfather, Capys, the blind old man enters a prophetic trance. He foretells the future greatness of Romulus descendants, and their victory over their enemies in the Pyhrric and Punic wars. Originally composed in 1824, Ivry celebrates a battle won by Henry IV of France, Henry went on to issue the Edict of Nantes in 1598, granting tolerance to the French Protestants, and ending the French Wars of Religion. Lays of Ancient Rome has been reprinted on occasions, and is now in the public domain. An 1881 edition, lavishly illustrated by John Reinhard Weguelin, was frequently republished, countless schoolchildren have encountered the work as a means of introducing them to history, poetry, and the moral values of courage, self-sacrifice, and patriotism emphasized in Macaulays text
32.
Gaius Gracchus
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Gaius Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman Popularis politician in the 2nd century BC and brother of the reformer Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. Gaius Gracchus was born into a family who had a tradition in the politics of ancient Rome. His father, Tiberius Gracchus the Elder, was a man in Roman politics throughout the 2nd century BC and had built up a large. The family was attached to the Claudii faction in Roman politics despite his mothers background and it can be supposed, however, that both the Gracchi brothers would have come into contact with powerful members of both the Claudii and Cornelii Scipiones factions. Gaius Gracchus was the brother of Tiberius Gracchus, by about nine years. He was heavily influenced both by the policy of his older brother, and by his death at the hands of a senatorial mob. Plutarch suggests that it was the grief he had suffered encouraged him to speak out fearlessly, certainly aspects of his reforms, and especially his judicial reforms, seem to have been directed at the people responsible for his brothers death. Gaiuss political career began in 133 BC, when he served with Tiberiuss land-commission, in 126 BC, he became a quaestor in the Roman province of Sardinia, where his merits advanced his good reputation. During his quaestorship, he honed his skills in oratory, in one particularly harsh Sardinian winter, the Legate of the local garrison requisitioned supplies from the nearby towns, despite their objections. When they appealed and won the Senates approval to keep their supplies, fearing this as a ploy for popular approval, the Senate rebuffed envoys sent by Micipsa, king of Numidia, who had sent grain to Gaius based on their mutual regard. The Senate ordered the replacement, but also ordered that Gaius remain in his post. Gaius returned to Rome, to appeal the decision and he had used the Roman money to aid Sardinia, and had never position to line his own pockets. He was then accused of aiding in an Italian revolt at Fregellae and he cleared himself with ease and in 122 was elected to serve as a tribune for the following year. Gaius used his oratory, considered to be the best in Rome, to attack his opponents at every chance. He chastised the people for standing by while Tiberius and his supporters were beaten and cited the unlawful sentences of exile that followed, Gaius social reforms were far wider reaching than those of his brother Tiberius. Perhaps motivated by the fate of his brother, some of his earliest reforms dealt with the judiciary system and he set up two initial measures, the first of which prohibited a magistrate who had been deposed by the people from holding office a second time. Gaiuss second bill established the right of the people to prosecute any magistrate who had exiled citizens without a trial and these decisions were a direct response to the Senates actions in the aftermath of his brother Tiberiuss murder. Courts with capital punishment, not set up by the people, were now declared illegal by a measure which saw the former consul Popilius Laenas driven into exile
33.
Plutarch
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Plutarch was a Greek biographer and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist, Plutarchs surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers. Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the town of Chaeronea, about 80 km east of Delphi. The name of Plutarchs father has not been preserved, but based on the common Greek custom of repeating a name in alternate generations, the name of Plutarchs grandfather was Lamprias, as he attested in Moralia and in his Life of Antony. His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are mentioned in his essays and dialogues. Rualdus, in his 1624 work Life of Plutarchus, recovered the name of Plutarchs wife, Timoxena, from internal evidence afforded by his writings. A letter is still extant, addressed by Plutarch to his wife, bidding her not to grieve too much at the death of their two-year-old daughter, interestingly, he hinted at a belief in reincarnation in that letter of consolation. The exact number of his sons is not certain, although two of them, Autobulus and the second Plutarch, are often mentioned. Plutarchs treatise De animae procreatione in Timaeo is dedicated to them, another person, Soklarus, is spoken of in terms which seem to imply that he was Plutarchs son, but this is nowhere definitely stated. Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy at the Academy of Athens under Ammonius from 66 to 67, at some point, Plutarch took Roman citizenship. He lived most of his life at Chaeronea, and was initiated into the mysteries of the Greek god Apollo. For many years Plutarch served as one of the two priests at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the site of the famous Delphic Oracle, twenty miles from his home. By his writings and lectures Plutarch became a celebrity in the Roman Empire, yet he continued to reside where he was born, at his country estate, guests from all over the empire congregated for serious conversation, presided over by Plutarch in his marble chair. Many of these dialogues were recorded and published, and the 78 essays, Plutarch held the office of archon in his native municipality, probably only an annual one which he likely served more than once. He busied himself with all the matters of the town. The Suda, a medieval Greek encyclopedia, states that Emperor Trajan made Plutarch procurator of Illyria, however, most historians consider this unlikely, since Illyria was not a procuratorial province, and Plutarch probably did not speak Illyrian. Plutarch spent the last thirty years of his serving as a priest in Delphi. He thus connected part of his work with the sanctuary of Apollo, the processes of oracle-giving
34.
Argei
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The rituals of the Argei were archaic religious observances in ancient Rome that took place on March 16 and March 17, and again on May 14 or May 15. By the time of Augustus, the meaning of these rituals had become obscure even to those who practiced them. After all the stations were visited, the moved to the Pons Sublicius, the oldest known bridge in Rome. Both the figures and the stations or shrines were called Argei, the continuation of these rites into the later historical period when they were no longer understood demonstrates how strongly traditionalist the Romans were in matters of religion. Before the ritual commenced, an effigy was placed in each of the 27 shrines of the Argei throughout the Servian regions, the effigies were thought to absorb pollution within the area, and their subsequent sacrifice was a ritual purification of the city. The pontiffs and Vestals were the main celebrants, the exact route of the procession among the stations is unclear. According to Ovid, the ritual had been established as a sacrifice to the god Saturn as the result of a responsum from Jupiter Fatidicus, but the meaning of the ritual had already become obscure, and Ovid offers an antiquarian range of explanations. The responsum had prescribed human sacrifice, one man for one of the gentes living near the banks of the Tiber. This responsum predated the founding of Rome, Ovid puts another interpretation in the mouth of Tiber, the god who personified the river. Since these early inhabitants were of Greek origin, he said, they grew homesick in their old age, while this last interpretation appears irreconcilable with the previous, it may be reminiscent of burial practices in water which are attested in many parts of the world among primitive peoples. Dionysius of Halicarnassus also explains the ritual in terms of human sacrifice, the victims were men over sixty, hence the Roman expression sexagenarios de ponte, sexagenarians from the bridge. Alternative modern interpretations include a pre-Imperial rainmaking rite, or an annual re-enactment of the execution by drowning of 27 Greek war captives, navigium Isidis William Warde Fowler, The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic, pp. 113–120
35.
Servius Tullius
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Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 575–535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Romes first Etruscan king. Several traditions describe Servius father as divine, Livy depicts Servius mother as a captured Latin princess enslaved by the Romans, her child is chosen as Romes future king after a ring of fire is seen around his head. The Emperor Claudius discounted such origins and described him as an originally Etruscan mercenary, named Mastarna, Servius was a popular king, and one of Romes most significant benefactors. He had military successes against Veii and the Etruscans, and expanded the city to include the Quirinal, Viminal and Esquiline hills. He is traditionally credited with the institution of the Compitalia festivals, the building of temples to Fortuna and Diana and, less plausibly, despite the opposition of Romes patricians, he expanded the Roman franchise and improved the lot and fortune of Romes lowest classes of citizens and non-citizens. According to Livy, he reigned for 44 years, until murdered by his daughter Tullia, in consequence of this tragic crime and his hubristic arrogance as king, Tarquinius was eventually removed. This cleared the way for the abolition of Romes monarchy and the founding of the Roman Republic, before its establishment as a Republic, Rome was ruled by kings. In Roman tradition, Romes founder Romulus was the first, Servius Tullius was the sixth, and his successor Tarquinius Superbus was the last. The nature of Roman kingship is unclear, most Roman kings were elected by the senate, as to a lifetime magistracy, some were native Romans, others were foreign. Later Romans had a complex relationship with this distant past. In Republican mores and institutions kingship was abhorrent, and remained so, in name at least, Servius Tullius has been described as Romes second founder, the most complex and enigmatic of all its kings, and a kind of proto-Republican magistrate. The oldest surviving source for the political developments of the Roman kingdom and Republic is Ciceros De republica. Livys sources probably included at least some official state records, he excluded what seemed implausible or contradictory traditions, and arranged his material within an overarching chronology. Dionysius and Plutarch offer various alternatives not found in Livy, and Livys own pupil and she was given to Tanaquil, wife of king Tarquinius, and though slave, was treated with the respect due her former status. In one variant, she became wife to a client of Tarquinius. According to Tanaquil, this was a manifestation, either of the household Lar or Vulcan himself. Thus Servius was divinely fathered and already destined for greatness, despite his mothers status, for the time being, Tanaquil
36.
Sacellum
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In ancient Roman religion, a sacellum is a small shrine. The word is a diminutive from sacer, the numerous sacella of ancient Rome included both shrines maintained on private properties by families, and public shrines. A sacellum might be square or round, enclosure, however, is the shared characteristic, roofed over or not. The sacellum, notes Jörg Rüpke, was less complex and less elaborately defined than a temple proper. The meaning can overlap with that of sacrarium, a place where sacred objects were stored or deposited for safekeeping, the sacella of the Argei, for instance, are also called sacraria. In private houses, the sacrarium was the part of the house where the images of the Penates were kept, both sacellum and sacrarium passed into Christian usage. Other Latin words for temple or shrine are aedes, aedicula, fanum, delubrum and templum, each curia had its own sacellum overseen by the celeres, originally the bodyguard of the king, who preserved a religious function in later times. These were related to the ritual of the Argei, but probably there were other rites connected with these sacella, a case tried in September 50 BC indicates that a public sacellum might be encompassed by a private property, with the expectation that it remain open to the public. It was alleged that the defendant, Ap, claudius Pulcher, a censor at the time, had failed to maintain public access to a sacellum on his property. The following is an incomplete list of deities or groups of deities who had a known sacellum or sacrarium in the city of Rome, Sacellum of Janus, supposed to have been built by Romulus, which was square, contained the gods image, and had two gates. Sacellum of the Lares, one of four points in the boundary of Rome as established by Romulus. Sacrarium of Mars, which held the spear of Mars, in the Regia, Sacellum or aedes of Hercules, in the Forum Boarium. Sacellum of Caca, the sister of Cacus whom Hercules defeated, sacella or sacraria of the Argei Sacellum of Diana, on the lesser Caelian Hill, where a number of senators offered annual sacrifices. Sacellum or delubrum of Minerva capta, Captive Minerva, a shrine on the Caelian Hill that contained a statue of Minerva plundered from Falerii when that city was taken by the Romans in 241 BC, Sacellum of Jupiter Fagutalis, in the Lucus Fagutalis on the Esquiline Hill. Sacellum of Naenia, Sacellum of Pudicitia Patricia, Sacellum of Dea Murcia, at the foot of the Aventine Hill. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, the dictionary definition of sacellum at Wiktionary
37.
Vestal Virgin
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In ancient Rome, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being were regarded as fundamental to the continuance and they cultivated the sacred fire that was not allowed to go out. Livy, Plutarch, and Aulus Gellius attribute the creation of the Vestals as a state-supported priestesshood to king Numa Pompilius, according to Livy, Numa introduced the Vestals and assigned them salaries from the public treasury. Livy also says that the priestesshood of Vesta had its origins at Alba Longa, the 2nd century antiquarian Aulus Gellius writes that the first Vestal taken from her parents was led away in hand by Numa. Plutarch attributes the founding of the Temple of Vesta to Numa, ambrose alludes to a seventh in late antiquity. Numa also appointed the pontifex maximus to watch over the Vestals, the first Vestals, according to Varro, were named Gegania, Veneneia, Canuleia, and Tarpeia. In myth, Tarpeia, daughter of Spurius Tarpeius, was portrayed as traitorous, the Vestals became a powerful and influential force in the Roman state. When Sulla included the young Julius Caesar in his proscriptions, the Vestals interceded on Caesars behalf, augustus included the Vestals in all major dedications and ceremonies. They were held in awe, and attributed certain magical powers and this gift was preserved inviolate till the time of the degenerate moneychangers, who diverted the maintenance of sacred chastity into a fund for the payment of base porters. A public famine ensued on this act, and a bad harvest disappointed the hopes of all the provinces and it was sacrilege which rendered the year barren, for it was necessary that all should lose that which they had denied to religion. The College of the Vestals was disbanded and the fire extinguished in 394. Zosimus records how the Christian noblewoman Serena, niece of Theodosius, entered the temple and took from the statue of the goddess a necklace and placed it on her own neck. An old woman appeared, the last of the Vestals, who proceeded to rebuke Serena, according to Zosimus, Serena was then subject to dreadful dreams predicting her own untimely death. The chief Vestal oversaw the efforts of the Vestals, and was present in the College of Pontiffs, the Vestalis Maxima Occia presided over the Vestals for 57 years, according to Tacitus. The last known chief vestal was Coelia Concordia, who stepped down in 394 with the disbanding of the College of the Vestals, the Vestalium Maxima was the most important of Romes high priestesses. The Flaminica Dialis and the regina sacrorum each held unique responsibility for religious rites. According to Plutarch, there were only two Vestal Virgins when Numa began the College of the Vestals and this number later increased to four, and then to six. It has been suggested by some authorities that a seventh was added later, the Vestals were committed to the priestesshood before puberty and sworn to celibacy for a period of 30 years
38.
Forma Urbis Romae
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The Forma Urbis Romae or Severan Marble Plan is a massive marble map of ancient Rome, created under the emperor Septimius Severus between 203 and 211. Scholar Matteo Cadario gives specific years of 205-208, noting that the map was based on property records and it originally measured 18 m wide by 13 m high and was carved into 150 marble slabs mounted on an interior wall of the Temple of Peace. Created at a scale of approximately 1 to 240, the map was detailed enough to show the plans of nearly every temple, bath. The boundaries of the plan were decided based on the space on the marble. The map was oriented with south at the top, on the map are names and plans of public buildings, streets, and private homes. The creators used signs and details like columns and staircases, the Plan was gradually destroyed during the Middle Ages, with the marble stones being used as building materials or for making lime. In 1562, the young antiquarian sculptor Giovanni Antonio Dosio excavated fragments of the Forma Urbis from a site near the Church of SS, cosma e Damiano, under the direction of the humanist condottiere Torquato Conti, who had purchased excavation rights from the canons of the church. Conti made a gift of the fragments to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Little interest seems to have been elicited by the marble shards, part of the excavated plan showed a portion of the Forum of Augustus, interpreted as a working drawing or as a proof of the existence of a more ancient Forma Urbis. Piecing together the fragments of the plan is an activity that has engrossed scholars for centuries. Renaissance scholars managed to match and identify around 250 of the pieces, usually by recognizing famous landmarks such as the Colosseum, other scholars have re-interpreted the topography depicted on many fragments. A research project at Stanford University in 2002 had some success in positioning four fragments, a new piece of Forma Urbis Romae that completes the words Circus Flaminius has been uncovered in 2014 at the Palazzo Maffei Marescotti, a building owned by the Vatican. Topography of ancient Rome Henri Jordan Forma Urbis Romae, regionum XIIII Carettoni, Gianfilippo, Colini, Antonio, Cozza, Lucos, and Gatti, Guglielmo, eds. La pianta marmorea di Roma antica, Forma urbis Romae Rodríguez Almeida, Emilio. Aggiornamento topografico dei colli Oppio, Cispio e Viminale secondo la Forma Urbis marmorea, Rendiconti della Pontificia Accademia romana di Archeologia Vol XLVIII. Nuovi elementi di analisi e nuove ipotesi di lavoro, in Mélanges de lÉcole française de Rome 89/1, pp. 219-256. Miscellanea sulla «Forma Urbis» marmorea, + Rodríguez Almeida, E. Il Campo Marzio settentrionale, «Solarium» e «Pomerium», un nuovo frammento della Forma Urbis Marmorea. Un frammento di una nuova pianta marmorea di Roma, journal of Roman Archaeology, pp. 120-131
39.
Septimius Severus
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Septimius Severus, also known as Severus, was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa, as a young man he advanced through the cursus honorum—the customary succession of offices—under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of Emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors, after deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia, later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul, furthermore, he enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes, capturing their capital Garama, late in his reign he travelled to Britain, strengthening Hadrians Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 208 he invaded Caledonia, but his ambitions were cut short when he fell ill in late 210. Severus died in early 211 at Eboracum, succeeded by his sons Caracalla, with the succession of his sons, Severus founded the Severan dynasty, the last dynasty of the empire before the Crisis of the Third Century. Born on 11 April 145 at Leptis Magna as the son of Publius Septimius Geta and Fulvia Pia, Septimius Severus came from a wealthy and he had Italian Roman ancestry on his mothers side and descended from Punic - and perhaps also Libyan - forebears on his fathers side. His mothers ancestors had moved from Italy to North Africa, they belonged to the gens Fulvia, Septimius Severus had two siblings, an older brother, Publius Septimius Geta, and a younger sister, Septimia Octavilla. Severuss maternal cousin was Praetorian prefect and consul Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, Septimius Severus grew up in the town of Leptis Magna. He spoke the local Punic language fluently, but he was educated in Latin and Greek. Little else is known of the young Severus education, but according to Cassius Dio the boy had been eager for education than he had actually got. Presumably Severus received lessons in oratory, at age 17 he gave his first public speech, sometime around 162 Septimius Severus set out for Rome seeking a public career. At the recommendation of his relative Gaius Septimius Severus, the emperor Marcus Aurelius granted him entry into the senatorial ranks, membership of the senatorial order was a prerequisite to attain positions within the cursus honorum and to gain entry into the Roman Senate. Nevertheless, it appears that Severus career during the 160s met with some difficulties and it is likely that he served as a vigintivir in Rome, overseeing road maintenance in or near the city, and he may have appeared in court as an advocate. At the time of Emperor Marcus Aurelius he was the State Attorney, however, he omitted the military tribunate from the cursus honorum and had to delay his quaestorship until he had reached the required minimum age of 25. To make matters worse, the Antonine Plague swept through the capital in 166, with his career at a halt, Severus decided to temporarily return to Leptis, where the climate was healthier
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Roman bridge
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Roman bridges, built by ancient Romans, were the first large and lasting bridges built. Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as the basic structure, most utilized concrete as well, which the Romans were the first to use for bridges. As with the vault and the dome the Romans were the first to realize the potential of arches for bridge construction. A more complete survey by the Italian scholar Vittorio Galliazzo found 931 Roman bridges, mostly of stone, Roman arch bridges were usually semicircular, although a few were segmental. A segmental arch is an arch that is less than a semicircle, generally, Roman bridges featured wedge-shaped primary arch stones of the same in size and shape. The Romans built both single spans and lengthy multiple arch aqueducts, such as the Pont du Gard and Segovia Aqueduct. Their bridges featured from an early time onwards flood openings in the piers, e. g. in the Pons Fabricius in Rome, Roman engineers were the first and until the industrial revolution the only ones to construct bridges with concrete, which they called Opus caementicium. The outside was covered with brick or ashlar, as in the Alcántara bridge. The Romans also introduced segmental arch bridges into bridge construction, trajans bridge over the Danube featured open-spandrel segmental arches made of wood. This was to be the longest arch bridge for a thousand years both in terms of overall and individual span length, while the longest extant Roman bridge is the 790 m long Puente Romano at Mérida. The late Roman Karamagara Bridge in Cappadocia may represent the earliest surviving bridge featuring a pointed arch, early Roman arch bridges, influenced by the ancient notion of the ideal form of the circle, often describe a full circle, with the stone arch continuing underground. A typical example is the Pons Fabricius in Rome, later, Roman masonry bridges rested mostly on semi-circular arches, or, to a lesser extent, on segmental arches. In addition, a number of arch forms make rare appearances. Built in 142 BC, the Pons Aemilius, later named Ponte Rotto is the oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome and they were most of the time at least 2 metres above the body of water. An example of temporary military bridge construction are the two Caesars Rhine bridges, the largest rivers to be spanned by solid bridges by the Romans were the Danube and the Rhine, the two largest European rivers west of the Eurasian Steppe. The lower Danube was crossed by least two and the middle and lower Rhine by four different bridges, for rivers with strong currents and to allow swift army movements, pontoon bridges were also routinely employed. Going from the lack of records of pre-modern solid bridges spanning larger rivers. Catalogo generale, Vol.2, Treviso, Edizioni Canova, ISBN 88-85066-66-6 Gazzola, Piero, Ponti romani. org, Pontes longi - Roman bog bridges
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Ponte Sublicio
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Its building has been ascribed to King Ancus Marcius by Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. The name comes from the Volscian word sublica, meaning wood planks, in effect the bridge had been entirely built with wood and it is famous for the mythical episode of Horatius Cocles, during the first years of the Roman Republic. No remains have left of the ancient bridge, but it rose in correspondence to the present Via del Porto, the religious tradition prescribed that no other material than wood could be used. The bridge was held sacred and archaic ceremonies were played on it, among which the throw into the river of the Argei, the bridge withstood several restorations and reconstructions. On the imperial-age monetary depictions, the far ends of the bridge show arches with statues
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Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)
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The last event covered by Livy is the death of Drusus in 9 BC. About 25% of the work survives, the History of Rome originally comprised 142 books, thirty-five of which — Books 1–10 with the Preface and Books 21–45 — still exist in reasonably complete form. Damage to a manuscript of the 5th century resulted in gaps in Books 41 and 43–45, that is. Livy was abridged, in antiquity, to an epitome, which survives for Book 1, but was itself abridged in the century into the so-called Periochae. The Periochae survive for the work, except for books 136 and 137. In Oxyrhynchus, a summary of books 37–40 and 48–55 was found on a roll of papyrus that is now in the British Museum classified as P. Oxy. IV0668. There is another fragment, named P. Oxy. XI1379, which represents a passage from the first book, however the Oxyrhynchus Epitome is damaged and incomplete. The entire work covers the periods, Books 1–5 – The legendary founding of Rome, the period of the kings. Books 6–10 – Wars with the Aequi, Volsci, Etruscans, Books 11–20 – The period from 292 to 218 BC, including the First Punic War. Books 21–30 – The Second Punic War, from 218 to 202 BC, Books 31–45 – The Macedonian and other eastern wars from 201 to 167 BC. Books 46 to 142 are all lost, Books 46–70 – The period from 167 to the outbreak of the Social War in 91 BC, Books 71–90 – The civil wars between Marius and Sulla, to the death of Sulla in 78 BC. Books 91–108 – From 78 BC through the end of the Gallic War, Books 109–116 – From the Civil War to the death of Caesar. Books 117-133 – The wars of the triumvirs down to the death of Antonius, Books 134-142 – The rule of Augustus down to the death of Drusus. The first book has one of the most significant sources of the various accounts of the traditional legend of Romulus and Remus. His version of the legend is told in chapters 3-7 of the first book, Livy states that the twins were born to a vestal named Rea Silvia. Proca, her grandfather had willed the throne to his son Numitor but he was deposed by her uncle. She was forced to take the Vestal oath to prevent her from producing a rival to his rule and she became pregnant after taking her vows and claimed that she had been raped by Mars, the roman god of war. Livy speculates that the claim may have made to conceal an earthly affair
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Bridge
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A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles without closing the way underneath such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. There are many different designs that each serve a particular purpose, the Oxford English Dictionary traces the origin of the word bridge to an Old English word brycg, of the same meaning. The word can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰrēw-. The word for the game of the same name has a different origin. The first bridges made by humans were probably spans of cut wooden logs or planks and eventually stones, using a simple support, some early Americans used trees or bamboo poles to cross small caverns or wells to get from one place to another. Dating to the Greek Bronze Age, it is one of the oldest arch bridges still in existence, several intact arched stone bridges from the Hellenistic era can be found in the Peloponnese. The greatest bridge builders of antiquity were the ancient Romans, the Romans built arch bridges and aqueducts that could stand in conditions that would damage or destroy earlier designs. An example is the Alcántara Bridge, built over the river Tagus, the Romans also used cement, which reduced the variation of strength found in natural stone. One type of cement, called pozzolana, consisted of water, lime, sand, brick and mortar bridges were built after the Roman era, as the technology for cement was lost. In India, the Arthashastra treatise by Kautilya mentions the construction of dams, a Mauryan bridge near Girnar was surveyed by James Princep. The bridge was swept away during a flood, and later repaired by Puspagupta, the use of stronger bridges using plaited bamboo and iron chain was visible in India by about the 4th century. A number of bridges, both for military and commercial purposes, were constructed by the Mughal administration in India and this bridge is also historically significant as it is the worlds oldest open-spandrel stone segmental arch bridge. European segmental arch bridges date back to at least the Alconétar Bridge, rope bridges, a simple type of suspension bridge, were used by the Inca civilization in the Andes mountains of South America, just prior to European colonization in the 16th century. During the 18th century there were innovations in the design of timber bridges by Hans Ulrich Grubenmann, Johannes Grubenmann. The first book on bridge engineering was written by Hubert Gautier in 1716, a major breakthrough in bridge technology came with the erection of the Iron Bridge in Shropshire, England in 1779. It used cast iron for the first time as arches to cross the river Severn, with the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, truss systems of wrought iron were developed for larger bridges, but iron does not have the tensile strength to support large loads. With the advent of steel, which has a tensile strength, much larger bridges were built. In 1927 welding pioneer Stefan Bryła designed the first welded bridge in the world
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Ponte Milvio
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The Milvian Bridge is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge. A bridge was built by consul Gaius Claudius Nero in 206 BC after he had defeated the Carthaginian army in the Battle of the Metaurus, in 115 BC, consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus built a new bridge of stone in the same position, demolishing the old one. In 63 BC, letters from the conspirators of the Catiline conspiracy were intercepted here, in AD312, Constantine I defeated his stronger rival Maxentius between this bridge and Saxa Rubra, in the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge. During the Middle Ages, the bridge was renovated by a monk named Acuzio, during the 18th and 19th centuries, the bridge was modified by two architects, Giuseppe Valadier and Domenico Pigiani. The bridge was damaged in 1849 by Garibaldis troops, in an attempt to block a French invasion. In 2000s, the bridge began attracting couples, who use a lamppost on the bridge to attach love padlocks as a token of love, the ritual involves the couple locking the padlock to the lamppost, then throwing the key behind them into the Tiber. The ritual was invented by author Federico Moccia for his popular book, after April 13,2007, couples had to stop this habit because that day the lamppost, due to the weight of all padlocks, partially collapsed. However, couples decided to attach their padlocks elsewhere, in fact, all around the bridge, road posts and even garbage bins have been used to place these love padlocks. As an online replacement, a web site has been created allowing couples to use virtual padlocks, in 2007, the mayor of Rome introduced a 50 euro fine on couples found attaching padlocks to the bridge. Similar love padlocks traditions have appeared in Italy and the rest of Europe, in September 2012, the city council decided to remove all padlocks by force. There was a risk that the bridge would collapse under the weight. List of Roman bridges Roman architecture Roman engineering O’Connor, Colin, Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-39326-4 Media related to Ponte Milvio at Wikimedia Commons Pons Mulvius at Structurae Ritual draws sweethearts to Rome bridge article describing the padlock ritual Google Map
