aedile magistrate between the ranks of quaestor and praetor; his duties generally related to city administration
assemblies groupings of the Roman citizens convened to carry out specific tasks. There were four main assemblies: (a) the centuriate assembly (comitia centuriata), organized in ‘centuries’ according to wealth, convened to elect senior magistrates and to pass legislation; (b) the curiate assembly (comitia curiata) based originally on the thirty curiae or parishes; (c) the tribal assembly (comitia tributa), representing the thirty-five Roman ‘tribes’, convened to elect junior magistrates and to pass limited legislation; and (d) the plebeian council (concilium plebis), convened to elect tribunes of the plebs and plebeian aediles, and to pass plebiscita, which were binding on the whole state
augur a member of one of the four priestly colleges with expertise in divination based on the characteristics and behaviour of birds
augury of safety an obscure ritual involving a query to the gods whether it was permissible to offer prayers for the safety of the nation. The ritual had been revived by Augustus
auspices strictly speaking, interpretation of the flight of birds, also applied more generally to interpretation of other phenomena; auspices would be taken at the outset of major undertakings
auxiliaries elements of the Roman army made up of non-citizens, distinguished from legionaries, who were citizens
censor magistrate charged with public morality, most importantly in supervising the citizen list and the rolls of the Senate; in the imperial period, the emperors discharged the duties of the censor
centurion the commander of a legionary ‘century’, consisting originally of 100 men but by the imperial period of 80
civic crown a crown made of oak-leaves awarded for saving the life of a citizen
cognomen the third element of a Roman name
cohort an operational unit of the Roman army, ten to a legion; the term is also used of independent units of the auxiliaries
colony originally a settlement of Roman citizens, usually veterans; later the status could be conferred on other towns as a mark of distinction
consul the senior Roman magistrate, elected in pairs. During the republic, consuls exercised military command. In the imperial period, the consuls appointed at the beginning of the year (ordinarii) would routinely step down at some point in the year and their places were taken by substitutes (suffecti). The emperor regularly held the consulship
Curia the Senate House in Rome; the word can be applied to the specific official building in the Forum Romanum or to whichever building was used by the Senate at any given time
curule the term was originally applied to a special chair on which certain senior magistrates were allowed to sit; it was eventually applied to the senior magistrates entitled to use it, especially the consuls, praetors and the patrician aediles, and, on occasion, priests (see 2.83)
decurion member of a local senate
denarius silver coin, worth four sesterces
dictator a magistrate elected during the republic in an emergency; he would hold office for six months
equestrian an order originally related to service in the cavalry, whose members are often referred to as ‘knights’. It required a property qualification of 400,000 sesterces. Although not eligible for the Roman Senate, members of the order played an important part in the administration of the empire in the imperial period, and held certain key offices, such as the prefectures of Egypt and of the praetorian guard
fasces a bundle of rods binding an axe that symbolized the authority of senior magistrates to impose punishment; they were carried by a lictor during a magistrate’s progress, the rank of the magistrate indicated by the number of fasces
fasti official lists of important events in Rome or in other cities, in the form of a calendar; often published on inscribed tablets
Father of the Nation in the republic, this title was conferred first on Cicero for exceptional service to the state. It was awarded to Augustus in 2 BC. He considered it his most significant honour and initially refused it. Tiberius seems never to have accepted the title, although it is found on coins and inscriptions outside Italy; even Caligula delayed accepting it
fire and water from the early period the formal sentence of exile in Rome was defined as an interdiction of fire and water (aquae et ignis interdictio)
fiscus the private funds of the emperor, paradoxically derived from sources that were essentially public, and used for public expenditures
flamen member of a specialized priesthood, with responsibility for a specific god. The chief flamens were those of Jupiter (the Flamen Dialis), Mars and Quirinus, and flamens were also assigned to the cult of deified emperors
Game of Troy a complicated cavalry manoeuvre, supposedly of great antiquity, performed by young men, described by Virgil in the Aeneid (5.545–603). Its popularity under the Julio-Claudians is explained to some degree by the fictitious connection between Iulus (son of the Trojan founder of the Roman people, Aeneas) and Julius Caesar
imagines the funeral masks of distinguished ancestors were kept displayed on house walls; during funerals of a member of the family they were worn by actors who walked in the procession
Imperator during the republic a victorious general would be given the salutation of Imperator (Commander) by his troops and awarded a crown of bay-leaves in the field; legionary commanders served as Augustus’ legates and the salutations that followed their successes became the prerogative of the emperor
imperium the power to command, vested for a fixed period in magistrates of a certain rank
knight, see EQUESTRIAN
legate a flexible term with three main applications: (a) an individual delegated to a particular task; (b) the officer in charge of a legion; (c) the governor of an imperial province
legion the major operational unit of the Roman army, made up of between five and six thousand men, all Roman citizens, commanded by a legate appointed by the emperor; each legion eventually had a hundred and twenty cavalry attached to it
lector attendant who preceded a magistrate and carried the fasces maiestas, see TREASON LAW
maniple strictly speaking, a military unit made up of two centuries (each of eighty men); Tacitus often uses the term loosely to refer generally to a unit of soldiers
oath of obedience on 1 January of each year, an oath was taken to uphold the acts of the emperor, and of earlier emperors; it eventually became the practice for senior magistrates to take an annual oath to uphold the acta of the emperors, an extension in some ways of the republican practice of magistrates taking an oath to uphold the laws
ovation a lesser triumph; the victorious commander would wear myrtle rather than laurel, and enter the city on foot
patrician member of an exclusive branch of the Roman aristocracy that controlled power in the early republic; the rank could only be inherited for most of the republican period, but as the numbers fell new grants of patrician status were made by Julius Caesar and his successors
plebeian tribune magistrate originally elected to protect the plebeians against the patricians; during the republic, the office was important because of the right to veto and to initiate legislation, while the person of the holder was inviolate; in the imperial period the importance declined and the rank became a routine stage between the quaestorship and praetorship
plebs originally, the order of citizens who were not patrician; Tacitus tends to use the term broadly of the common people of Rome, those not in the equestrian or senatorial classes
Pontifex Maximus the senior priest of Rome; from 12 BC the office was held by the emperor
pontiffs members of one of the four priestly colleges of Rome
praenomen the first element in the name of a Roman man, the ‘given’ name; there was a very limited number of such names
praetor the magistrate second in seniority after the consul. His main task was to preside over the courts. In the early republic praetors governed provinces, and Tacitus is fond of the archaic use of the term (see e.g. 1.74, 2.77, 4.43, 12.60, where it is translated as ‘governor’). In the administration of his legal duties the praetor peregrinus (literally, the ‘foreign’ praetor) had responsibility for lawsuits in which one of the parties was a foreigner, as distinct from the praetor urbanus (literally, the ‘urban’ praetor), who dealt with cases involving citizens
praetorian guard the imperial guard, originally made up of nine cohorts, commanded by a prefect or pair of prefects; the term ‘praetorian’ could also be used of the authority of an ex-praetor
prefect this term means basically ‘the person placed in charge’, and could have a range of applications, both military and administrative. The more significant military praefecturae are prefecture of an auxiliary unit or of the fleet, prefecture of the camp (the holder was second in rank to the legionary legate and had authority over the troops in the legate’s absence), and prefecture of the praetorian guard or of the fire service (vigiles). The more significant administrative praefecturae are the governorship of Egypt or of smaller administrative districts (the latter had the titles of ‘procurator’ (q.v.) from Claudius on), and the prefecture of the grain supply (praefectus annonae). All these praefecturae were held by equestrians, but a small number were held by senators, the most important being the ancient republican office of city prefect (praefectus urbi). By the late republic the city prefect’s duties were largely ritual, but his functions were revived by Augustus, and he was given responsibility for maintaining order in the city and commanding the city police (the cohortes urbanae); he was allowed summary justice in dealing with minor criminal cases and gradually assumed responsibility for more serious cases
Prince of the Youth ‘leader of the youth’, a title first given to Gaius and Lucius Caesar and eventually used for all intended heirs to the principate
proconsul the governor of a public province, chosen by lot
procurator a highly flexible term. It could be used of a private agent or bailiff on an estate. At the other end of the scale, from Claudius on, the term is used of governors of smaller administrative districts, like Judaea. There were also procurators who oversaw financial matters relating to the imperial properties within the provinces, but, in a process that is not too clear, some of them eventually assumed official administrative duties, as ‘provincial’ procurators, serving in subordinate roles to the governors in both the imperial and public provinces. The position was held by equestrians or freedmen
propraetor the governor of a province with the rank of praetor; legates (governors) of even major imperial provinces held this rank, so as to be outranked by the consular authority of the emperor
province originally, the term referred to the sphere of competence of a magistrate, but it came to have a more geographical character, designating individual overseas territories governed by Rome. Following the Augustan settlement provinces were of two types: (a) ‘imperial’, in the less-settled part of the empire, housing elements of the Roman army, with governors appointed directly by the emperor; governors were usually of the senatorial class, and bore the title of legate, but some smaller districts were governed by equestrians with the rank of procurator from Claudius on (the title of prefect is usual earlier); Egypt was a major imperial province in its own class, governed by an equestrian prefect; (b) ‘public’, in the more stable areas, with rare exceptions not housing troops; public provinces were governed by proconsuls, men of the senatorial class elected by lot. These latter provinces are sometimes misleadingly referred to as ‘senatorial’
publicani a company of men in each province who collected state revenues for a profit, and often proved ruthless in exacting the maximum return; they are the ‘publicans’ of the New Testament
quaestor the lowest of the major magistracies, granting the holder membership of the Senate; their duties were mainly financial, although two were elected annually as quaestors of the emperor
quindecimvir a member of a board of fifteen, one of the four priestly colleges; their main responsibility was the consultation of the Sibylline Books and the organization of the Secular Games; Tacitus held the office (II.II)
relegation a limited form of banishment that entailed the loss of property but not of citizen rights
Secular Games celebrated in Rome for three days and nights to mark the end of one era (saeculum) and the beginning of another; they were held on 21 April, the traditional birthday of the city
Senate the senior governing body of the Roman state, made up of ex-magistrates of the rank of quaestor and above, or of other individuals deemed worthy by the censor or by the emperor. In the Augustan period, the number was approximately six hundred, each with a census rating of one million sesterces. The term is used also for governing bodies outside of Rome. Resolutions of the Senate (consulta) did not yet in the Julio-Claudian period have the force of law, but technically had to be enacted by the popular assembly
sesterce (sestertius) the highest-value base-metal Roman coin, made of an alloy of zinc and copper; used by the Romans as the basic unit to express monetary values, with the symbol HS. Monetary equivalence is a dubious concept, but it might be noted that the annual pay of a legionary ‘private’ in the Julio-Claudian period was 900 HS
Sibylline Books sacred works containing oracular verses, supposedly sold to Tarquinius Priscus by one of the Sibyls, prophetic priestesses who delivered their prophecies in a state of ecstasy
sortition the taking of lots; governors of senatorial provinces were normally chosen by lot, although the process was not totally random; the key provinces of Africa and Asia were assigned by a lot taken only among senior senators
toga the traditional public garb of respectable Roman men, made of fine white wool. Young boys wore the toga praetexta, distinguished by a purple border. At about the age of 14, they put it aside in favour of a plain white version, the toga virilis, in a ceremony that marked the transition to manhood. The wearing of the toga praetexta was resumed by those entering into curule magistracies
tortoise formation a tactic in which the shields were linked into a kind of protective shell above the heads of the soldiers
treason law the laws against treason (maiestas) were the main source of fear and resentment under the principate. Under the republic, they seem initially to have been aimed against incompetence rather than criminality. By the time of Sulla they were used to restrain ambitious generals. From Augustus on, they offered protection against verbal abuse and slander (although such protection existed under the republic, if never invoked), with the corollary that an insult to the emperor or his family was an insult to the state; also, penalties grew increasingly severe; later in Tiberius’ reign, banishment or the death penalty were not uncommon
treasury the state treasury, housed in the temple of Saturn on the Capitoline Hill, a repository for senatorial documents; the term is used also of the ‘military’ treasury established by Augustus to fund the pensions of veterans
tribune (military) an officer, six to a legion, acting as adjutants to the legate; five were equestrians, professional soldiers serving long-term; one would be a young man from a senatorial family, for whom the office was a stage in a public career
tribunician authority emperors did not assume the actual office of tribune of the plebs, but were granted the tribunes’ authority (tribunicia potestas) and their sacrosanctity; this authority was, in many ways, the constitutional foundation of the imperial position, and emperors dated their accession from the time of its bestowal
triumph the procession led by a victorious commander through the streets of the city of Rome up to the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill; the procession would be accompanied by war booty and prisoners of war. The triumph conferred enormous prestige on the celebrant and in the imperial period was restricted to members of the imperial family
triumphal honours/insignia (ornamenta triumphalia) legates of the emperor could not celebrate personal triumphs and their victories were recognized by the right to wear the garb of the triumphator
triumvir the term is most commonly used of the three members of the triumvirate, the pact of Marcus Antonius, Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian concluded in 43 BC
vexillarii soldiers belonging to a vexillatio or subdivision of a legion
vigiles members of a fire service organized by Augustus for Rome in ad 6; the service consisted of seven cohorts, commanded by an equestrian prefect; occasionally the vigiles were called upon for broader duties related to law and order
vows a reciprocal arrangement in Roman religion, whereby the individual promised certain offerings to the gods on the understanding that the gods would first provide a service