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The cursus honorum was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The cursus honorum comprised a mixture of military and political administration posts; the ultimate prize for winning election to each "rung" in the sequence was to become one of the two consuls in a given year.
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Romans conquered most of this during the Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of effective sole rule in 27 BC. The western empire collapsed in 476 AD, but the eastern empire lasted until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
The Roman legion, the largest military unit of the Roman army, was composed of Roman citizens serving as legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry. After the Marian reforms in 107 BC the legions were formed of 5,200 men and were restructured around 10 cohorts, the first cohort being double strength. This structure persisted throughout the Principate and middle Empire, before further changes in the fourth century resulted in new formations of around 1,000 men.
The patricians were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders. By the time of the late Republic and Empire, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance. The social structure of ancient Rome revolved around the distinction between the patricians and the plebeians. The status of patricians gave them more political power than the plebeians, but the relationship between the groups eventually caused the Conflict of the Orders. This time period resulted in changing of the social structure of ancient Rome.
In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
A legate was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman army, equivalent to a high-ranking general officer of modern times. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer in command of a Roman legion.
The equites constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques.
A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elephant-mounted troops.
The cursus publicus was the state mandated and supervised courier and transportation service of the Roman Empire, the use of which continued into the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom. It was a system based on obligations placed on private persons by the Roman State. As contractors, called mancipes, they provided the equipment, animals, and wagons. In the Early Empire compensation had to be paid but this had fallen into abeyance in Late Antiquity when maintenance was charged to the inhabitants along the routes. The service contained only those personnel necessary for administration and operation. These included veterinarians, wagon-wrights, and grooms. The couriers and wagon drivers did not belong to the service: whether public servants or private individuals, they used facilities requisitioned from local individuals and communities. The costs in Late Antiquity were charged to the provincials as part of the provincial tax obligations in the form of a liturgy/munus on private individual taxpayers.
The contubernium was the smallest organized unit of soldiers in the Roman Army and was composed of ten legionaries, essentially the equivalent of a modern squad, although unlike modern squads contubernia seemed to serve no tactical role in battle. It was likely used to maintain morale and group solidarity by keeping soldiers in close contact with each other. The men within the contubernium were known as contubernales. Ten contubernia, each led by a decanus, were grouped into a centuria of 100 men, which was commanded by a centurion. Soldiers of a contubernium shared a tent, and could be rewarded or punished together as a unit.
A consul was the highest elected public official of the Roman Republic. Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the cursus honorum—an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspired—after that of the censor, which was reserved for former consuls. Each year, the Centuriate Assembly elected two consuls to serve jointly for a one-year term. The consuls alternated each month holding fasces when both were in Rome. A consul's imperium extended over Rome and all its provinces.
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Cornet is a military rank formerly used by the armed forces of some countries.
Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus was an officer of the Roman Imperial government in the first half of the 3rd century. Most likely of Oriental-Greek origins, he was a Roman citizen, probably of equestrian rank.
Aurelius/Iulius Marcellinus was a Roman soldier and Imperial functionary who had a brilliant equestrian career and was elevated to the Senate when he was chosen by the Emperor Aurelian as his consular colleague. His appointment as Consul is thought to have been a reward for his loyalty and steadfastness in 273 when, as Aurelian's deputy in charge of the eastern provinces of the Empire where the authority of the Imperial Government had only recently been restored, he resisted attempts to suborn him by a rebellious faction in the city of Palmyra.
Traianus Mucianus was a Roman soldier of Thracian origins of the second half of the Third Century AD who rose from the lowest ranks of the army to senior commands. He was almost certainly a remarkable soldier. However, the successive promotions he secured in the latter part of his career are thought to owe much also to the favour shown him by men highly placed in the Imperial entourage whose patronage secured him advantageous postings in the Imperial comitatus, the mobile field force under the direct command of the Emperor, that was undergoing massive expansion at this time.
During the Roman Republic, there were watchmen that served as firefighters. They used water buckets to put out fires and axes to tear down buildings near the fire in order to prevent the fire from spreading. The aediles and tresviri nocturni were also employed to fight fires. Roman Emperor Augustus created the Vigiles. The Vigiles were an organization of freedmen that fought fires. They would use buckets and water pumps. Emperor Nero also created "bucket brigades" to help fight fires.
Baking was a popular profession and source of food in ancient Rome. Many ancient Roman baking techniques were developed due to Greek bakers who traveled to Rome following the Third Macedonian War. Ancient Roman bakers could make large quantities of money. This may have contributed to receiving a negative reputation. Bakers used tools such as the fornax, testum, thermospodium, and the clibanus to make bread. Most Roman breads were made using sourdough. The most common way to leaven bread was using flour mixed with grain.
A Biarchus was a military position in the army of the Late Roman Empire. It was created after the military reforms of Diocletian. They are found throughout a variety of military positions in the Roman military. The Code of Justinian mentions the position of Biarchus as part of the Agentes in Rebus, which were the Imperial couriers. The name Biarchus is also found in the scholae palatina, auxilia palatina, fabricae, vexillationes, and in the stratores. Their duties are unknown, but they may have related to food supply. The biarchus was subordinate to the centenarius and the ducenarius but above the circitor in the command structure of the Roman military. This position replaced the role of the Optio.
References
- ↑ "Cassius Dio, Roman History 55.13". lexundria.com. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- ↑ Watson, George Ronald; Campbell, Brian (2015-12-22). "ducenarii". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.2311. ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5 . Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- ↑ Bagnall, Roger S; Brodersen, Kai; Champion, Craige B; Erskine, Andrew; Huebner, Sabine R, eds. (2013-01-21). The Encyclopedia of Ancient History (1 ed.). Wiley. doi:10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah19067.pub2. ISBN 978-1-4051-7935-5. S2CID 246027280.