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Alexandria
Alexandria (Arabic: الإسكندرية Al Iskandariyya, Coptic: Ⲣⲁⲕⲟⲧⲉ Rakotə, Greek: Αλεξάνδρεια Alexándria, Koine Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ κατ' Αἴγυπτον IPA: [ɑlɛˈksɑndɾiɑ e kɑt ˈɛʝypton] "Alexandria in Egypt", Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه [eskendeˈrejːæ]) is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about 32 km (20 mi) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypt's imports and exports. Alexandria is also an important tourist resort. It is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the new Library of Alexandria). It is an important industrial centre because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez.
Alexandria was founded around a small pharaonic town c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great. It remained Egypt's capital for nearly a thousand years, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (Fustat was later absorbed into Cairo). Alexandria was known because of its Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its library (the largest library in the ancient world); and the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbor of Alexandria, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhacotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.
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Aqua Claudia
Coordinates: 41°50′46″N 12°33′40″E / 41.846°N 12.561°E / 41.846; 12.561
Aqua Claudia was an aqueduct of ancient Rome that, like the Anio Novus, was begun and finished by Emperor Claudius in 52 AD. Its main springs, the Caeruleus and Curtius, were situated 300 paces to the left of the thirty-eighth milestone of the Via Sublacensis. After being in use for ten years, the supply failed, and was interrupted for nine years, until Emperor Vespasian restored it in 71, and ten years later Titus once more.
The channel length was 45–46 miles (ca. 69 km, most of which was underground), and volume at the springs was 191,190 cubic metres in 24 hours. Following Nero's completion of the Arcus Neroniani, one of the aqueduct's branches, the Aqua Claudia could provide all 14 Roman districts with water. Directly after its filtering tank, near the seventh mile of the Via Latina, it finally emerged onto arches, which increase in height as the ground falls towards the city. It is also one of the two ancient aqueducts that flowed through the Porta Maggiore, the other being the Anio Novus. It is described in some detail by Frontinus in his work published in the later first century, De aquaeductu. The church of San Tommaso in Formis was later built into the side of the acqueduct.
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British Museum
Coordinates: 51°31′10″N 0°07′37″W / 51.519459°N 0.126931°W / 51.519459; -0.126931
The British Museum, in London, is widely considered to be one of the world's greatest museums of human history and culture. Its permanent collection, numbering some eight million works, is amongst the finest, most comprehensive, and largest in existence and originates from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.
The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury, on the site of the current museum building. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries was largely a result of an expanding British colonial footprint and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum (Natural History) in South Kensington in 1887. Some objects in the collection, most notably the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, are the objects of intense controversy and of calls for restitution to their countries of origin.
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Camulodunum
Coordinates: 51°53′31″N 0°53′53″E / 51.892°N 0.898°E / 51.892; 0.898
Camulodunum is the Roman name for the ancient settlement which is today's Colchester, a town in Essex, England. Camulodunum is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain as recorded by the Romans, existing as a Celtic settlement before the Roman conquest, when it became the first Roman town, and eventually a settlement of discharged Roman soldiers, known as Colonia Claudia Victricensis. There is archaeological evidence of settlement 3,000 years ago. Its Celtic name was "Camulodunon", meaning "the Fortress of Camulos" (Camulos being a British god equated with the Roman Mars). This name was modified to the Roman spelling of "Camulodunum".
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Carthage
Carthage (Latin: Carthago or Karthago, Ancient Greek: Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Arabic: قرطاج Qarṭāj, Berber: ⴽⴰⵔⵜⴰⵊⴻⵏ Kartajen, Etruscan: *Carθaza, Modern Hebrew: קרתגו Qartágo, from the Phoenician Qart-ḥadašt meaning New City (Aramaic: קרתא חדאתא, Qarta Ḥdatha), implying it was a 'new Tyre', is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC. It is currently a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia, with a population of 20,715 (2004 Census).
The first civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic (a form of the word "Phoenician") or Carthaginian. The city of Carthage is located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the centre of Tunis. According to Greek historians it was founded by Canaanite-speaking Phoenician colonists from Tyre (in modern Lebanon) under the leadership of Elissa who was renamed (Queen Dido) in Virgil's Aeneid. It became a large and rich city and thus a major power in the Mediterranean. The resulting rivalry with Syracuse, Numidia, and Rome was accompanied by several wars with respective invasions of each other's homeland.
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Domus Aurea
The Domus Aurea (Latin, "Golden House") was a large landscaped portico villa. Designed to take advantage of artificially created landscapes, Domus Aurea was built by the Emperor Nero in the heart of ancient Rome, after the great fire in 64 AD had cleared away the aristocratic dwellings on the slopes of the Palatine Hill.
Built of brick and concrete in the few years between the fire and Nero's suicide in 68, the extensive gold leaf that gave the villa its name was not the only extravagant element of its decor: stuccoed ceilings were applied with semi-precious stones and ivory veneers, while the walls were frescoed, coordinating the decoration into different themes in each major group of rooms.Pliny the Elder watched it being built and mentions it in his Naturalis Historia.
Suetonius claims this of Nero and the Domus Aurea:
Though the Domus Aurea complex covered parts of the slopes of the Palatine, Esquiline and Caelian hills, with a man-made lake in the marshy bottomlands, the estimated size of the Domus Aurea is an approximation, as much of it has not been excavated. Some scholars place it at over 300 acres (1.2 km2), while others estimate its size to have been under 100 acres (0.40 km2). Suetonius describes the complex as "ruinously prodigal" as it included groves of trees, pastures with flocks, vineyards and an artificial lake— rus in urbe, "countryside in the city".
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Germany
Germany (
i/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] (
listen)), is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Judea
Coordinates: 31°41′56″N 35°18′23″E / 31.69889°N 35.30639°E / 31.69889; 35.30639
Judea or Judæa (
/dʒuː.ˈdiː.ə/; from Hebrew: יהודה, Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh "Tribe of Judah", Greek: Ιουδαία, Ioudaía; Latin: Iudaea) was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael) from the 8th century BCE (Assyrian rule) to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.
The name Judea is a Greek and Roman adaptation of the name "Judah", which originally encompassed the territory of the Israelite tribe of that name and later of the ancient Kingdom of Judah. Judea was sometimes used as the name for the entire region, including parts beyond the river Jordan. It was the name in use in English until the Jordanian occupation of the area in 1948. Jordan called the area of Judea and Samaria ad-difa’a al-gharbiya (translated into English as the "West Bank"). "Yehuda" is the Hebrew term used for the area in modern Israel since the region was conquered and occupied by Israel in 1967.
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Lugdunum
Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugdunum (modern: Lyon, France) was an important Roman city in Gaul. The city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus. It served as the capital of the Roman province Gallia Lugdunensis. To 300 years after its foundation Lugdunum was the most important city to the west part of Roman Empire, after Rome[vague]. Two emperors, Claudius (Germanicus) and Caracalla, were born in Lugdunum.
The original Roman city was situated west of the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, on the Fourvière heights. By the late centuries of the empire much of the population was located in the Saône River valley at the foot of Fourvière.
The Roman city was originally founded as Colonia Copia Felix Munatia, a name invoking prosperity and the blessing of the gods. The city became increasingly referred to as Lugdunum (and occasionally Lugudunum) by the end of the 1st century AD.
The etymology of Lugdunum is a latinization of the Gaulish place name Lugodunon. Gaulish was the predominant language of the region when conquered by the Romans. While dunon means hill fort, the source of Lug is uncertain. The most commonly offered meaning is the Celtic god named Lug, whose messenger was the crow (lugus), and who was associated with the cock (rooster), ultimately to become the symbol of France. Most references to Mercurius in Gaul really refer to Lug, as he was the Celtic god that the Romans considered to be Mercury (see interpretatio graeca for more about this practice). Lug was popular in Ireland and Britain, but there is no evidence of his cult or worship in Lugdunum, except for the apparent use of crows as an early symbol of the city. An alternative derivation is that lug refers to the Celtic word for light (a cognate of Latin lux and English light), with roughly the same meaning as Clermont (clarus mons). During the Middle Ages, Lugdunum was transformed to Lyon by natural sound change.
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Lycia
Lycia ( /ˈlɪʃə/;Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 Trm̃mis; Greek: Λυκία) was a geopolitical region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey, and Burdur Province inland. Known to history since the records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age, it was populated by speakers of the Luwian language group. Written records began to be inscribed in stone in the Lycian language (a later form of Luwian) after Lycia's involuntary incorporation into the Achaemenid Empire in the Iron Age. At that time (546 BC) the Luwian speakers were decimated, and Lycia received an influx of Iranian speakers.
Lycia fought for the Persians in the Persian Wars, but on the defeat of the Achaemenid Empire by the Greeks, it became intermittently a free agent. After a brief membership in the Athenian Empire, it seceded and became independent (its treaty with Athens had omitted the usual non-secession clause), was under the Persians again, revolted again, was conquered by Maussollus of Caria, returned to the Persians, and went under Macedonian hegemony at the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great. Due to the influx of Greek speakers and the sparsity of the remaining Lycian speakers, Lycia was totally Hellenized under the Macedonians. The Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage.
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Pavia
Pavia (Italian: [paˈviːa] ( listen); Lombard Pavia; Latin: Ticinum) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000. The city was also the capital of the Kingdom of the Lombards from 568 to 774.
Pavia is the capital of a fertile eponymous province known for agricultural products including wine, rice, cereals, and dairy products. Although there are a number of industries located in the suburbs, these tend not to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the town. The town also is home to the ancient University of Pavia. The University, together with the IUSS (Institute for Advanced Studies of Pavia), the Ghislieri College, the Borromeo College, the Nuovo College, the Santa Caterina College and the EDiSU, belongs to the Pavia Study System. Furthermore, Pavia is the see city of the Roman Catholic diocese of Pavia. The city possesses a vast amount of artistic and cultural treasures, including several important churches and museums, such as the well-known Certosa di Pavia.
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Porta Maggiore
Coordinates: 41°53′29″N 12°30′55″E / 41.891512°N 12.515144°E / 41.891512; 12.515144
The Porta Maggiore ("Larger Gate"), or Porta Prenestina, is one of the eastern gates in the ancient but well-preserved 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome.
Through the gate ran two ancient roads: the Via Praenestina and the Via Labicana. The Via Prenestina was the eastern road to the ancient town of Praeneste (modern Palestrina). The Via Labicana (now called the Via Casilina) heads southeast from the city.
The Porta Maggiore is by far the best urban site to visit for an understanding and view of the ancient aqueducts. It is a monumental double archway built of white travertine (a type of limestone). It was first known as the Porta Prenestina, perhaps a reference to the road over which is passes (the Via Praenestina). The "gate," built in 52 by the emperor Claudius, was originally intended to provide a decorative section of support for two aqueducts, the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus. At that time these aqueducts crossed the ancient Via Labicana and Praenestina roads thereby providing the opportunity to create at this location a sort of triumphal arch to the conquest of nature and its conqueror, the emperor Claudius. The two channels of these aqueducts, (the Aqua Claudia and Aqua Anio Novus), one lying on top of the other, can be seen in cross-section running through the travertine attic at the top of the gate (see illustration above).
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Portus
Porto (Italian) or Portus (Latin) was a town in Lazio or Latium, just south of Rome, Italy. It was an ancient harbour on the right bank of the mouth of the Tiber.
Rome's original harbour was Ostia. Claudius constructed the first harbour on the Portus site, 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Ostia, enclosing an area of 69 hectares (170 acres), with two long curving moles projecting into the sea, and an artificial island, bearing a lighthouse, in the centre of the space between them. The foundation of this lighthouse was provided by filling one of the massive Obelisk ships, used to transport an obelisk from Egypt to adorn the spina of Vatican Circus, built during the reign of Caligula. The harbour thus opened directly to the sea on the north-west and communicated with the Tiber by a channel on the south-east. The object was to obtain protection from the prevalent south-west wind, to which the river mouth was exposed. Though Claudius, in the inscription which he caused to be erected in A.D. 46, boasted that he had freed the city of Rome from the danger of inundation, his work was only partially successful: in 62 AD Tacitus speaks of a number of grain ships sinking within the harbour during a violent storm. Nero gave the harbour the name of "Portus Augusti".
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River Alde
The River Alde is a river in Suffolk, England, with a source near Laxfield in the same area as the River Blyth. Initially a stream, it becomes tidal and widens considerably when it reaches Snape. It meanders east past Aldeburgh, after which this part of the river was named. The river becomes the known as the River Ore as it approaches Orford where it once entered the sea; however the mouth of the river has now been pushed some five miles further south as shingle has accumulated over hundreds of years after which it splits to form Havergate Island and is joined by its tributary, the Butley River, before reaching the sea at Shingle Street.
The lower reaches of the river passes through marshland and shingle or sand beaches. The shingle spit that blocks the river, Orford Ness, is now some 10 miles in length and is owned by the National Trust, previously being a secret military base where tests with radar were carried out. The main area through which the River Alde flows is open countryside in private ownership, much of it arable farmland.
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Rome
Rome (/ˈroʊm/; Italian: Roma pronounced [ˈroːma] ( listen); Latin: Rōma) is a city and special comune ("Roma Capitale") in Italy. Rome is the capital of Italy and the capital of Lazio (Latin: Latium). With 2.8 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi), it is also the country's largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. Between 3.2 and 3.7 million people live in the Rome metropolitan area. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.
Rome's history spans two and a half thousand years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was the dominant power in Western Europe and the lands bordering the Mediterranean for over seven hundred years from the 1st century BC until the 7th century AD and the city is regarded as one of the birthplaces of western civilization. Since the 1st century AD Rome has been the seat of the Papacy and, after the end of Byzantine domination, in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. In 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic.
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Saxmundham
Coordinates: 52°12′54″N 1°29′13″E / 52.215°N 1.487°E / 52.215; 1.487
Saxmundham is a small market town in Suffolk, England. It is set in the valley of the River Fromus, a tributary of the River Alde, approximately 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Ipswich and 5 miles (8.0 km) west of the coast at Sizewell. The town is bypassed by the A12 and is served by Saxmundham railway station on the East Suffolk Line.
The town's name allegedly derives from the Saxon "Seizmond's Home". The earliest recorded mention of Saxmundham is in the Domesday Book of 1086 which mentions three churches. It has had a market charter since at least 1272 AD[citation needed] and carries on the tradition to this day.
Brother Eadulf, has become Saxmundham's most famous international fictional character. He appears in the best-selling Sister Fidelma mysteries written by Peter Tremayne (nom de plume of the Celtic scholar and author Peter Beresford Ellis). Brother Eadulf is companion and assistant to Sister Fidelma and often plays a crucial part in resolving the mystery. He is introduced as originally the hereditary gerefa (magistrate) of "Seaxmund's Ham in the land of the South Folk." He attends the famous Synod of Whitby in 664 AD and joins Sister Fidelma in solving a murder of one of the delegates (Absolution by Murder, 1994). He has since appeared in most of the novels and some of the short stories although the Saxmundham area has been used as a setting in only one of the novels - The Haunted Abbot (2002). Peter Tremayne chose Saxmundham as Eadulf's place of origin because of local connections, the nearness of the town to an ancient royal burial site of the East Angles as well as the East Anglian historic connections with Irish Christian missionaries. He has appeared in all but two of the Sister Fidelma series of mystery novels, set in 7th century Ireland.
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South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area (635780 km² or 245476.030 mi²). The region is also known as Dravida as is used in the National anthem.
South India lies in the peninsular Deccan Plateau and is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the west, the Indian Ocean in the south and the Bay of Bengal in the east. The geography of the region is diverse, encompassing two mountain ranges, the Western and Eastern Ghats, and a plateau heartland. The Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra and Kaveri rivers are important non-perennial sources of water.
A majority of Indians from the southern region speak one of the Dravidian languages: Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Tulu, and Kodava. During its history, a number of dynastic kingdoms ruled over parts of South India whose invasions across southern and southeastern Asia impacted the history and cultures of modern sovereign states such as Sri Lanka, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. The region was colonised by Britain and gradually incorporated into the British Empire.
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Tiber Island
The Tiber Island (Italian: Isola Tiberina, Latin: Insula Tiberina), is a boat-shaped island which has long been associated with healing. It is an ait, and is one of the two islands in the Tiber river, which runs through Rome; the other one, much larger, is near the mouth. The island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber. It is approximately 270 m. long and 67 m. wide.
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 only original bridge in Rome, connects the island from the northeast to the Field of Mars in the rione Sant'Angelo (left bank). The Ponte Cestio, of which only some original parts survived, connects the island to Trastevere on the south (right bank).
There is a legend which says that after the fall of the hated tyrant Tarquinius Superbus (510 BC), the angry Romans threw his body into the Tiber. His body then settled onto the bottom where dirt and silt accumulated around it and eventually formed Tiber Island. 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.
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Trento
Trento listen (help·info) (traditional English: Trent; Italian: Trento, pronounced [ˈtrɛnto] or [ˈtrento][citation needed]; local dialects: Trènt; German: Trient) is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino. In the 16th century the city was the location of the Council of Trent.
Trento is a major educational, scientific, financial and political centre in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Northern Italy in general. The University of Trento ranks highly out of Italy's top 30 colleges, coming 1st in the Italian Ministry of Education ranking, 1st in Engineering area according to Censis-La Repubblica ranking and 5th in the Il Sole 24 Ore ranking of Italian universities, and amongst the 500 best in the world according to the Times Higher Education, coming 252nd. The city contains a picturesque Medieval and Renaissance historic centre, with ancient buildings such as Trento Cathedral and the Castello del Buonconsiglio.
Modern-day Trento is a cosmopolitan city, with highly-developed and organized modern social services.[citation needed] The city often ranks extremely highly out of all 103 Italian cities for quality of life, standard of living, and business and job opportunities, coming 1st, 6th and 2nd respectively. Trento is also one of the nation's wealthiest and most prosperous, with its province being one of the richest in Italy, although poorer than its neighbours Lombardy and South Tyrol, with a GDP per capita of €29,500 and a GDP (nominal) of €14.878 billion.
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Troy
Coordinates: 39°57′27″N 26°14′20″E / 39.9575°N 26.23889°E / 39.9575; 26.23889
Troy (Ancient Greek: Ἴλιον, Ilion, and Τροία, Troia; Latin: Trōia and Īlium;Hittite: Wilusa or Truwisa;Turkish: Truva) was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida. It is best known for being the setting of the Trojan War described in the Greek Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer. Metrical evidence from the Iliad and the Odyssey seems to show that the name Ἴλιον (Ilion) formerly began with a digamma: Ϝίλιον (Wilion). This was later supported by the Hittite form Wilusa.
A new city called Ilium was founded on the site in the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. It flourished until the establishment of Constantinople and declined gradually during the Byzantine era.
In 1865, English archaeologist Frank Calvert excavated trial trenches in a field he had bought from a local farmer at Hisarlık, and in 1868, Heinrich Schliemann, wealthy German businessman and archaeologist, also began excavating in the area after a chance meeting with Calvert in Çanakkale. These excavations revealed several cities built in succession. Schliemann was at first skeptical about the identification of Hissarlik with Troy, but was persuaded by Calvert and took over Calvert's excavations on the eastern half of the Hissarlik site, which was on Calvert's property. Troy VII has been identified with the Hittite Wilusa, the probable origin of the Greek Ἴλιον, and is generally (but not conclusively) identified with Homeric Troy.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Aemilianus
Aemilianus (Latin: Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus Augustus; c. 207/213 – 253), also known as Aemilian, was Roman Emperor for three months in 253.
Commander of the Moesian troops, he obtained an important victory against the invading Goths and was, for this reason, acclaimed Emperor by his army. He then moved quickly to Italy, where he defeated Emperor Trebonianus Gallus, only to be killed by his own men when another general, Valerian, proclaimed himself Emperor and moved against Aemilian with a larger army.
Aemilian was born in the Roman province of Africa. According to the 4th century source Epitome de Caesaribus, he was born at Girba (modern Djerba, an island off the coast of Tunisia) and was a Moor; a reference in the same source hints that he was born around 207. The 12th century historian Joannes Zonaras, who calls him a Libyan (that is, coming from western Egypt-eastern Libya) rather than a Moor, and another chronicle of the 13th century hold that he was forty at the time of his death in 253.
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Agrippina the Elder
Vipsania Agrippina or most commonly known as Agrippina Major or Agrippina the Elder (Major Latin for the elder, Classical Latin: AGRIPPINA•GERMANICI, 14 BC – 17 October 33) was a distinguished and prominent Roman woman of the first century AD. Agrippina was the wife of the general and statesman Germanicus and a relative to the first Roman Emperors.
She was the second granddaughter of the Emperor Augustus, sister-in-law, stepdaughter and daughter-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, mother of the Emperor Caligula, maternal second cousin and sister-in-law of the Emperor Claudius and the maternal grandmother of the Emperor Nero.
Agrippina was born as the second daughter and fourth child to Roman Statesman and Augustus’ ally Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. Agrippina’s mother Julia was the only natural child born to Augustus from his second marriage to noblewoman Scribonia.
Her father’s marriage to Julia was his third marriage. From Agrippa’s previous two marriages, Agrippina had two half-sisters: Vipsania Agrippina and Vipsania Marcella Agrippina. Vipsania Agrippina was Agrippa’s first daughter and first child from his first marriage to Pomponia Caecilia Attica. She became Tiberius's first wife and was the mother of his natural son Drusus Julius Caesar.
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Alexander Severus
Severus Alexander (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus; 1 October 208 – 18 or 19 March 235) was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235. Alexander was the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly fifty years of civil wars, foreign invasion, and collapse of the monetary economy.
Alexander was the heir apparent to his cousin, the eighteen-year-old Emperor who had been murdered along with his mother by his own guards, who, as a mark of contempt, had their remains cast into the Tiber river. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and powerful Julia Maesa, who had arranged for Elagabalus' acclamation as emperor by the famed Third Gallic Legion. It was the rumor of Alexander's death that triggered the assassination of Elagabalus and his mother .
As emperor, Alexander's peace time reign was prosperous. In military conflict against the rising Sassanid Empire, there are mixed accounts, though the Sassanid threat was checked; however, when campaigning against Germanic tribes of Germania, Alexander apparently alienated his legions by engaging in diplomacy and bribery, and they assassinated him.
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Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus (Greek: Ἀλέξιος Α' Κομνηνός, 1056 – 15 August 1118—note that some sources list his date of birth as 1048), was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders, the future emperor Alexios I Komnenos being the first to be thus honoured. Inheriting a collapsing empire and faced with constant warfare during his reign against both the Seljuq Turks in Asia Minor and the Normans in the western Balkans, Alexios was able to halt the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Turks were also the catalyst that triggered the Crusades.
Alexios was the son of Ioannis Komnenos and Anna Dalassena, and the nephew of Isaac I Komnenos (emperor 1057–1059). Alexios' father declined the throne on the abdication of Isaac, who was accordingly succeeded by four emperors of other families between 1059 and 1081. Under one of these emperors, Romanos IV Diogenes (1067–1071), Alexios served with distinction against the Seljuq Turks. Under Michael VII Doukas Parapinakes (1071–1078) and Nikephoros III Botaneiates (1078–1081), he was also employed, along with his elder brother Isaac, against rebels in Asia Minor, Thrace, and in Epirus.
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Alexios II Komnenos
Alexios II Komnenos or Alexius II Comnenus (Greek: Αλέξιος Β’ Κομνηνός, Alexios II Komnēnos) (10 September 1169 – 24 September 1183, Constantinople), Byzantine emperor (1180–1183), was the son of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos and Maria, daughter of Raymond, prince of Antioch. He was the long-awaited male heir, and was named Alexius as a fulfilment of the AIMA prophecy.
On Manuel's death in 1180, Maria, who became a nun under the name Xene, took the position of regent (according to some historians). She excluded her young son from power, entrusting it instead to Alexios the prōtosebastos (a cousin of Alexios II), who was popularly believed to be her lover. Friends of the young Alexios II now tried to form a party against the empress mother and the prōtosebastos; Alexios II's half-sister Maria, wife of Caesar John (Renier of Montferrat), stirred up riots in the streets of the capital.
Their party was defeated (May 2, 1182), but Andronikos Komnenos, a first cousin of Emperor Manuel, took advantage of these disorders to aim at the crown, entered Constantinople, where he was received with almost divine honours, and overthrew the government. His arrival was celebrated by a massacre of 80,000 Latins in Constantinople, especially the Venetian merchants, which he made no attempt to stop. He allowed Alexios II to be crowned, but was responsible for the death of most of the young emperor's actual or potential defenders, including his mother, his half-sister and the Caesar, and refused to allow him the smallest voice in public affairs.
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Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos (Greek: Αλέξιος Γ' Άγγελος) (c. 1153–1211) was Byzantine Emperor from 1195 to 1203.
Alexios III Angelos was the second son of Andronikos Angelos and Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa. Andronicus was himself a son of Theodora Komnene Angelina, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Thus Alexios Angelos was a member of the extended imperial family. Together with his father and brothers, Alexios had conspired against Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos (c. 1183), and thus he spent several years in exile in Muslim courts, including that of Saladin.
His younger brother Isaac was threatened with execution under orders of their first-cousin once-removed Andronikos I Komnenos on September 11, 1185. Isaac made a desperate attack on the imperial agents and killed their leader Stephen Hagiochristophorites. He then took refuge in the church of Hagia Sophia and from there appealed to the populace. His actions provoked a riot, which resulted in the deposition of Andronikos I and the proclamation of Isaac as Emperor. Alexios was now closer to the imperial throne than ever before.
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Alexios IV Angelos
Alexios IV Angelos (or Alexius IV Angelus) (Greek: Αλέξιος Δ' Άγγελος) (c. 1182 – February 8, 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from August 1203 to January 1204. He was the son of Emperor Isaac II Angelus and his first wife Irene. His paternal uncle was Emperor Alexius III Angelus.
The young Alexios was imprisoned in 1195 when Alexios III overthrew Isaac II in a coup. In 1201, two Pisan merchants were employed to smuggle Alexius out of Constantinople to the Holy Roman Empire, where he took refuge with his brother-in-law Philip of Swabia,King of Germany.
While there he met with Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, Philip's cousin, who had been chosen to lead the Fourth Crusade, but had temporarily left the Crusade during the siege of Zara to visit Philip. Boniface and Alexios discussed diverting the Crusade to Constantinople so that Alexios could be restored to his father's throne; in return, Alexios would give them 10,000 Byzantine soldiers to help fight in the Crusade, maintain 500 knights in the Holy Land, the service of the Byzantine navy (20 ships) in transporting the Crusader army to Egypt, as well as money to pay off the Crusaders' debt to the Republic of Venice with 200,000 silver marks. Additionally, he promised to bring the Greek Orthodox Church under the authority of the pope. Alexios accompanied Boniface back to the Crusader fleet, which had moved on to Corcyra, and the Venetians were in favour of the plan when they learned of it. In 1202 the fleet arrived at Constantinople. Alexios was paraded outside the walls, but the citizens were apathetic, as Alexios III, though a usurper and illegitimate in the eyes of the westerners, was an acceptable emperor for the Byzantine citizens.
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Alexios V Doukas
Alexios V Doukas, surnamed Mourtzouphlos (Greek: Ἀλέξιος Δούκας Μούρτζουφλος, d. December 1205, Constantinople) was Byzantine Emperor (5 February – 12 April 1204) during the second and final siege of Constantinople by the participants of the Fourth Crusade. He was related to the imperial Doukas family.
His nickname "Mourtzouphlos" referred to either his bushy, overhanging eyebrows or his sullen character. The term has the meaning of one being crestfallen, depressed, despondent, downcast, gloomy, sullen and evidently frowning, scowling.
A Byzantine nobleman, he had risen to the court position of protovestiarios by the time of the Fourth Crusade. He had been married twice but was now allegedly the lover of Eudokia Angelina, a daughter of Emperor Alexios III Angelos. His participation in the attempted usurpation of John Komnenos the Fat in 1200 had caused him to be imprisoned until the accession of Isaac II Angelos, who was restored to the throne after having been deposed and imprisoned by his brother Alexios III, and his son Alexios IV Angelos, who were placed on the throne by the intervention of the Fourth Crusade in July 1203.
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Anastasios II
Artemius Anastasius (Greek: Ἀρτέμιος Ἀναστάσιος Β΄), known in English as Anastasios II or Anastasius II, (died 719), was the Byzantine Emperor from 713 to 715.
Anastasios was originally named Artemios (Ἀρτέμιος), and had served as a bureaucrat and Imperial secretary for his predecessors. After the Opsikian army in Thrace had overthrown Emperor Philippicus, they acclaimed Artemius as Emperor. He chose Anastasius as his regnal name. Soon after his accession, Anastasius II imposed discipline on the army and executed those officers who had been directly involved in the conspiracy against Philippicus.
Anastasios upheld the decisions of the Sixth Ecumenical Council and deposed the Monothelete Patriarch John VI of Constantinople, replacing him with the orthodox Patriarch Germanus in 715. This also put an end to the short-lived local schism with the Catholic Church.
The Empire was threatened by the Arabs both by land and sea (they penetrated as far as Galatia in 714), and Anastasios attempted to restore peace by diplomatic means. His emissaries having failed in Damascus, he undertook the restoration of Constantinople's walls and the construction of a new fleet. However, the death of the Caliph al-Walid I in 715 gave Anastasius an opportunity to turn the tables on the enemy. He had his fleet concentrate on Rhodes with orders not only to resist the approach of the enemy, but to destroy their naval stores, and dispatched an army under Leo the Isaurian, afterwards emperor, to invade Syria.
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Anthemius
Procopius Anthemius (c. 420 – 11 July 472) was Western Roman Emperor from 467 to 472.
Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: the resurgent Visigoths, under Euric, whose domain straddled the Pyrenees; and the unvanquished Vandals, under Geiseric, in undisputed control of North Africa. He was killed by Ricimer, his own general of German descent, who contested power with him.
Anthemius belonged to a noble family, the gens Procopia, which gave several high officers, both civil and military, to the Eastern Roman Empire. His mother Lucina,[citation needed] born c. 400,[citation needed] descended from Flavius Philippus, Praetorian prefect of the East in 346, and was the daughter of the influential Flavius Anthemius, Praetorian prefect of the East (404–415) and Consul in 405. His father was Procopius, magister militum per Orientem from 422 to 424, who was descended from the Procopius who had been a nephew of Emperor Constantine I and a usurper against the Eastern Emperor Valens (365–366).
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Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor (PIR2 A 885), also known as Antonia the Younger or simply Antonia (31 January 36 BC - September/October AD 37) was the younger of two daughters of Roman politician Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. Tacitus Ann. 4.44.2 and 12.54.2 may have confused the two Antonia sisters (of whom the younger is far more famous). The problem is even more complex: an even older Antonia was born to a previous wife of Antony. That daughter is properly Antonia Maior (the Elder) while the woman usually called Antonia the Younger is in fact Antonia Tertia.
The woman usually called Antonia the Younger was the younger niece of the Emperor Augustus, sister-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, mother of the Emperor Claudius, and both maternal great-grandmother and paternal great-aunt of the Emperor Nero. She was additionally the maternal great-aunt of the Empress Valeria Messalina and Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix, and paternal grandmother of Claudia Antonia, Claudia Octavia, and Britannicus.
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Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius (Latin: Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161), also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne. Almost certainly, he earned the name "Pius" because he compelled the Senate to deify his adoptive father Hadrian; the Historia Augusta, however, suggests that he may have earned the name by saving senators sentenced to death by Hadrian in his later years.
He was born as the only child of Titus Aurelius Fulvus, consul in 89 whose family came from Nemausus (modern Nîmes). He was born near Lanuvium and his mother was Arria Fadilla. Antoninus’ father and paternal grandfather died when he was young and he was raised by Gnaeus Arrius Antoninus, his maternal grandfather, reputed by contemporaries to be a man of integrity and culture and a friend of Pliny the Younger. His mother married Publius Julius Lupus (a man of consular rank) suffect consul in 98, and two daughters, Arria Lupula and Julia Fadilla, were born from that union.
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Antonius Felix
Marcus Antonius Felix (Felix in Greek: ο Φηλιξ, born between 5/10-?) was the Roman procurator of Iudaea Province 52-58, in succession to Ventidius Cumanus.
Felix was the younger brother of the Greek freedman Marcus Antonius Pallas. Pallas served as a secretary of the treasury during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. Felix was a Greek freedman either of Claudius, according to which theory Josephus (Antiq. xx. 7) calls him Claudius Felix, or for Claudius's mother Antonia Minor, a daughter of Triumvir Mark Antony to Octavia Minor and niece of Emperor Augustus. According to Tacitus, Pallas and Felix descended from the Greek Kings of Arcadia.
Felix’s cruelty and licentiousness, coupled with his accessibility to bribes (see Book of Acts 24:26), led to a great increase of crime in Judaea. The period of his rule was marked by internal feuds and disturbances, which he put down with severity.
After Paul the Apostle was arrested in Jerusalem and rescued from a plot against his life, the local Roman chiliarch Claudius Lysias transferred him to Caesarea, where he stood trial before Felix. On at least one further occasion Felix and his wife Drusilla heard Paul discourse, and later on frequently sent for Paul and talked with him (Acts 24:24-26). When Felix was succeeded as procurator, having already detained Paul for two years, he left him imprisoned as a favor to the Jews (Acts 24:27).
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Arcadius
Arcadius (Latin: Flavius Arcadius Augustus; Greek: Ἀρκάδιος; 377/378 – 1 May 408) was the Byzantine Emperor from 395 until his death in 408. He was the eldest son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Western Emperor Honorius. A weak ruler, his reign was dominated by a series of powerful ministers and by his wife, Aelia Eudoxia.
Arcadius was born in Hispania, the elder son of Theodosius I and Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of Honorius, who would become a Western Roman Emperor. His father declared him an Augustus and co-ruler for the Eastern half of the Empire in January, 383. His younger brother was also declared Augustus in 393, for the Western half.
As emperors, Honorius was under the control of the Romanized Vandal magister militum Flavius Stilicho while Arcadius was dominated by one of his ministers, Rufinus. Stilicho is alleged by some to have wanted control of both Emperors, and is supposed to have had Rufinus assassinated by Gothic mercenaries in 395; though definite proof of Stilicho's involvement in the assassination is lacking, the intense competition and political jealousies engendered by the two figures compose the main thread of the first part of Arcadius' reign. Arcadius' new advisor, the eunuch Eutropius, simply took Rufinus' place as the power behind the Eastern imperial throne.
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Arnaldo Momigliano
Arnaldo Dante Momigliano KBE (September 5, 1908, Caraglio, Piemont–September 1, 1987, London) was an Italian historian known for his work in historiography, characterized by Donald Kagan as the "world’s leading student of the writing of history in the ancient world."
He became Professor of Roman history at the University of Turin in 1936, but as a Jew soon lost his position due to the anti-Jewish Racial Laws enacted by the Fascist regime in 1938, and moved to England, where he remained. After a time at Oxford University, he went to University College London, where he was Professor from 1951 to 1975. Momigliano visited regularly at the University of Chicago where he was named Alexander White Professor in the Humanities, and at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. He wrote reviews for The New York Review of Books.
In addition to studying the ancient Greek historians and their methods, he also took an interest in modern historians, such as Edward Gibbon, and wrote a number of studies of them. With respect to identifying and explaining the forces held responsible for the gradual disintegration of the Roman Empire, Momigliano stressed the wasteful futility of that[clarification needed] endeavor while redirecting his students' focus:
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Artabasdos
Artavasdos, Latinized as Artabasdos or Artabasdus (Greek: Ἀρταύασδος or Ἀρτάβασδος, from Armenian: Արտավազդ, Artavazd, Ardavazt), was Byzantine Emperor of Armenian descent from June 741 or 742 until November 743. His reign constitutes an usurpation against Constantine V, who had retained control of several themes in Asia Minor.
The Armenian Artabasdus was appointed governor (stratēgos) of the Armeniac theme (Θέμα Άρμενιάκων, Thema Armeniakōn, was the successor of the Army of Armenia. It occupied the old areas of the Pontus, Armenia Minor and northern Cappadocia, with its capital at Amasea) by Emperor Anastasius II in c. 713. After Anastasius' fall, Artabasdus made an agreement with his colleague Leo, the governor of the Anatolic theme, to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. This agreement was sealed with the engagement of Leo's daughter Anna to Artabasdos, and the marriage took place after Leo III ascended the throne in March 717.
Artabasdos was awarded the rank of kouropalates ("master of the palace") and became commander (count, komēs) of the Opsikion theme, while retaining control of his original command. In June 741 or 742, after the accession of Leo's son Constantine V on the throne, Artabasdus resolved to seize the throne and attacked his brother-in-law while the latter was traversing Asia Minor to fight the Arabs on the eastern frontier. While Constantine fled to Amorion, Artabasdus seized Constantinople amid popular support and was crowned emperor.
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Atia Balba Caesonia
Atia Balba Caesonia[citation needed] (85 BC – 43 BC), sometimes referred to as Atia Balba Secunda to differentiate her from her two sisters,[citation needed] was a Roman noblewoman. She was the daughter of Julius Caesar's sister Julia Caesaris, mother of the Emperor Augustus, step-grandmother of the Emperor Tiberius, great-grandmother of the Emperor Claudius, great-great grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, and great-great-great-grandmother of the Emperor Nero. The name Atia Balba was also borne by the other two daughters[citation needed] of Julia Caesaris and her husband praetor Marcus Atius Balbus. They were Atia’s older sister Atia Balba Prima[citation needed], and her younger sister was Atia Balba Tertia. In former portrayals of the ancient history the mother of Augustus, Atia, was still described as the elder one from two sisters.
Atia married Gaius Octavius, the Roman governor of Macedonia. Their children were Octavia Minor and Gaius Octavius Thurinus (later known as Augustus). In 59 BC, Atia's husband Gaius Octavius died on his way to Rome to stand for the consulship and Atia married Lucius Marcius Philippus, a consul of 56 BC and a supporter of Julius Caesar. He raised Atia's children alongside his own son and daughter from a previous marriage and arranged Octavia's first marriage, to the consul and senator Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor. Atia and Philippus carefully tutored and educated their children.
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Aufidia
Aufidia or Alfidia (flourished 1st century BC) was a woman of Ancient Rome. She was a daughter to Roman Magistrate Marcus Aufidius Lurco and an unknown mother. She was a member of the gens Aufidia, a Roman family of Plebs status which appeared in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, and became a family of consular rank. Her father originally came from Fundi (modern Fondi, Italy).
She married the future praetor, Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus. They had at least two children: a daughter Livia Drusilla (58 BC-29) and a son Marcus Livius Drusus, who served as a Roman consul. Livia was to become the first Roman Empress and third wife of the first Roman Emperor Augustus. Aufidia would be the maternal grandmother to Roman Emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero and Roman General Nero Claudius Drusus. The Roman Emperors Caligula, Claudius and Nero were her direct descendants.
Deborah Moore appears as Alfidia, the mother of a fictionalized Livia, in two 2007 episodes of the HBO/BBC series Rome. In A Necessary Fiction, she is present when a married Livia catches the eye of young Octavian, and both women are pleased when he insists that Livia divorce her current husband to marry him. Later, in De Patre Vostro, Alfidia lightly questions Octavian's sister Octavia's loyalty to her family at dinner, and is present when Octavian's mother Atia of the Julii finally puts daughter-in-law Livia in her place.
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Augustus
Augustus ( /ɔːˈɡʌstəs/;Classical Latin: [awˈɡʊstʊs]; Latin: Imperator Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD. Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar in 44 BC via his last will and testament, and between then and 27 BC was officially named Gaius Julius Caesar. In 27 BC the Senate awarded him the honorific Augustus ("the revered one"), and thus consequently he was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus.
The young Octavius came into his inheritance after Caesar's assassination in 44 BC. In 43 BC, Octavian joined forces with Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in a military dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate. As a triumvir, Octavian ruled Rome and many of its provinces. The triumvirate was eventually torn apart under the competing ambitions of its rulers: Lepidus was driven into exile, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by Octavian's fleet under the command of Agrippa in 31 BC.
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Aurelian
Aurelian (Latin: Lucius Domitius Aurelianus Augustus; 9 September 214 or 215 – September or October 275), was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following year he conquered the Gallic Empire in the west, reuniting the Empire in its entirety. He was also responsible for the construction of the Aurelian Walls in Rome, and the abandonment of the province of Dacia. His successes effectively ended the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century, earning him the title Restorer of the World. Although Domitian was the first Emperor who had demanded to be officially hailed as dominus et deus (master and god), these titles never occurred in written form on official documents until the reign of Aurelian.
Aurelian was born in Serdica (today Sofia in Bulgaria) in Moesia or what was later called Dacia Ripensis to an obscure provincial family; his father was tenant to a senator named Aurelius, who gave his name to the family. Aurelian probably joined the army in 235 at around age twenty. He distinguished himself in several wars during the tumultuous mid-century; his successes as a cavalry commander ultimately made him a member of emperor Gallienus' entourage. In 268, Aurelian and his cavalry participated in general Claudius' victory over the Goths at the Battle of Naissus. Later that year Gallienus traveled to Italy and fought Aureolus, his former general and now usurper for the throne. Driving Aureolus back into Mediolanum, Gallienus promptly besieged his adversary in the city. However, while the siege was ongoing the Emperor was assassinated. One source says Aurelian, who was present at the siege, participated and supported general Claudius for the purple – which is plausible.
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Avitus
Eparchius Avitus (c. 385 – after 17 October 456 or in 457) was Western Roman Emperor from 8 or 9 July 455 to 17 October 456. A Gallic-Roman aristocrat, he was a senator and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military administration, as well as Bishop of Piacenza.
A representative of the Gallic-Roman aristocracy, he opposed the reduction of the Western Roman Empire to Italy alone, both politically and from the administrative point of view. For this reason, as Emperor he introduced several Gallic senators in the Imperial administration; this policy, however, was opposed by both the Senatorial aristocracy and by the people of Rome, which had suffered because of the Vandalic sack of the city in 455.
Avitus had a good relationship with the Visigoths, in particular with their king Theodoric II, who was a friend of his and who acclaimed Avitus Emperor, but the possibility of a strong and useful alliance between Visigoths and Romans ended when Theodoric invaded Roman Hispania and then refused to help Avitus against the rebel Roman generals who deposed him.
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Balbinus
Balbinus (Latin: Decimus Caelius Calvinus Balbinus Pius Augustus; c. 165 – 29 July 238), was Roman Emperor with Pupienus for three months in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors.
Not much is known about Balbinus before his elevation to emperor. It has been conjectured that he descended from Publius Coelius Balbinus Vibullius Pius, the consul ordinarius of 136 or 137, and wife Aquilia. If this were true, he was also related to the family of Q. Pompeius Falco, which supplied many politicians of consular rank throughout the 3rd century, and to the 1st-century politician, engineer and author Julius Frontinus, as well as a descendant of a first cousin of Trajan. He was a patrician from birth, and was the son (either by birth or adoption) of ... Caelius Calvinus, who was legate of Cappadocia in 184. He was one of the Salii priests of Mars. According to Herodian he had governed provinces, but the list of seven provinces given in the Historia Augusta, as well as the statement that Balbinus had been both Proconsul of Asia and of Africa, are likely to be mere invention. He had certainly been twice consul; his first consulate is not certainly known but is believed to have been about 203 or in July 211; he was consul for the second time in 213 as colleague of Caracalla, which suggests he enjoyed that emperor's favour.
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Barbara Levick
Barbara M. Levick (born 1931) is a British historian, specializing in ancient history. She was educated at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and, since 1959, has been a Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford (now emeritus). She is a prolific writer and occasional broadcaster on Roman history.
Levick is best known to the general public for her biographies of Roman emperors:
Two Pisidian Colonial Families. In: The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 48, No. 1/2 (1958), pp. 74–78
Acerbissima Lex Servilia. In: The Classical Review, New Series, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Dec., 1967), pp. 256–258
A Cry from the Heart from Tiberius Caesar?. In: Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Vol. 27, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1978), pp. 95–101
Poena Legis Maiestatis. In: Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Vol. 28, No. 3 (3rd Qtr., 1979), pp. 358–379
Claudius Speaks: Two Imperial Contretemps. In: Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Vol. 38, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1989), pp. 112–116
Abdication and Agrippa Postumus. In: Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Vol. 21, No. 4 (4th Qtr., 1972), pp. 674–697
The Beginning of Tiberius' Career. In: The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Nov., 1971), pp. 478–486
Cicero, Brutus 43. 159 ff., and the Foundation of Narbo Martius. In: The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 21, No. 1 (May, 1971), pp. 170–179
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Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian (Greek: Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, Basíleios hō Makedṓn; Armenian: Բարսեղ Ա Մակեդոնացի, Barsegh A Makedonatsi; 830/835 – August 29, 886) was a Byzantine Emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the Imperial court, and usurped the Imperial throne from Emperor Michael III (r. 842–867). Despite his humble origins, he showed great ability in running the affairs of state, leading a revival of Imperial power and to a renaissance of Byzantine art. He was perceived by the Byzantines as one of their greatest emperors, and the dynasty he founded, the Macedonian (Greek: Μακεδονική δυναστεία), ruled over what is regarded as the most glorious and prosperous era of the Byzantine Empire.
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Basil II
Basil II (Greek: Βασίλειος Β΄, Basileios II; 958 – December 15, 1025) was a Byzantine Emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from January 10, 976 to December 15, 1025. He was known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian,
The first part of his long reign was dominated by civil war against powerful generals from the Anatolian aristocracy. Following their submission, Basil oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the Byzantine Empire's eastern frontier, and above all, the final and complete subjugation of Bulgaria, the Empire's foremost European foe, after a prolonged struggle. For this he was nicknamed by later authors as "the Bulgar-slayer" (Greek: Βουλγαροκτόνος, Boulgaroktonos), by which he is popularly known. At his death, the Empire stretched from Southern Italy to the Caucasus and from the Danube to the borders of Palestine, its greatest territorial extent since the Muslim conquests, four centuries earlier.
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Basiliscus
Basiliscus (Latin: Flavius Basiliscus Augustus; Greek: Βασιλίσκος) (d. 476/477) was Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor from 475 to 476. A member of the House of Leo, he came to power when Emperor Zeno had been forced out of Constantinople by a revolt.
Basiliscus was the brother of Empress Aelia Verina, the wife of Emperor Leo I (457–474). His relationship with the Emperor allowed him to pursue a military career that, after minor initial successes, ended in 468, when he led the disastrous Roman invasion of Vandal Africa, in one of the largest military operations of Late Antiquity.
Basiliscus succeeded in seizing power in 475, exploiting the unpopularity of Emperor Zeno, the "barbarian" successor to Leo, and a plot organised by Verina that had caused Zeno to flee Constantinople. However, during his short rule, Basiliscus alienated the fundamental support of the Church and the people of Constantinople, promoting the Miaphysite christological position in opposition to the Chalcedonian faith. Also, his policy of securing his power through the appointment of loyal men to key roles antagonised many important figures in the imperial court, including his sister Verina. So, when Zeno tried to regain his empire, he found virtually no opposition, triumphantly entering Constantinople, and capturing and killing Basiliscus and his family.
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Britannicus
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus (12 February AD 41 — 11 February AD 55) was the son of the Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Valeria Messalina. He became the heir-designate of the empire at his birth, less than a month into his father's reign. He was still a young boy at the time of his mother's downfall and Claudius' marriage to Agrippina the Younger. This allowed Agrippina's older son Nero to eclipse him in the public's mind. He lived only months into his step brother Nero's reign, murdered just before his 14th birthday.
Britannicus was probably born on 12 February 41 to the Roman Emperor Claudius and his wife Valeria Messalina. He was the oldest surviving son of his father at birth, Claudius's son by his first marriage to Plautia Urgulanilla having died at the age of 14 nearly two decades before. He was accordingly named Tiberius Claudius Germanicus, sharing his father's praenomen as recognition of his status as heir. Britannicus' father had been reigning for less than a month, and his position was boosted greatly by the arrival of a successor. To mark the birth, the emperor issued sestertii with the obverse Spes Augusta - the hope of the imperial family. Two years later, in 43, Claudius was granted the honorific "Britannicus" by the senate as a reward for his conquest of Britain. The emperor refused it for himself, but accepted it on behalf of his young son. This is the name by which the boy became known to posterity. According to Suetonius, Claudius doted extensively on Britannicus. He carried him around at public events, and shouted "Good luck to you, my boy!" to elicit a similar response from the crowds. He was supposedly a precocious child.
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British people
British people (also referred to as the British, Britons, or informally as Brits or Britishers) are citizens or natives of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, of any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants.British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which can be acquired, for instance, by birth in the UK or by descent from British nationals. When used in a historical context, the term British people refers to the ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain south of the Forth.
Although early assertions of being British date from the Late Middle Ages, the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 triggered a sense of British national identity. The notion of Britishness was forged during the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and the First French Empire, and developed further during the Victorian era. The complex history of the formation of the United Kingdom created a "particular sense of nationhood and belonging" in Great Britain; Britishness became "superimposed on much older identities", of English, Scots and Welsh cultures, whose distinctiveness still resist notions of a homogenised British identity. Because of longstanding ethno-sectarian divisions, British identity in Northern Ireland is controversial, but it is held with strong conviction by unionists.
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Caligula
Caligula (Latin: Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; 31 August AD 12 – 24 January AD 41), also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most beloved public figures. The young Gaius earned the nickname Caligula (meaning "little soldier's boot", the diminutive form of caliga, n. hob-nailed military boot) from his father's soldiers while accompanying him during his campaigns in Germania.
When Germanicus died at Antioch in 19 AD, his wife Agrippina the Elder returned to Rome with her six children where she became entangled in an increasingly bitter feud with Tiberius. This conflict eventually led to the destruction of her family, with Caligula as the sole male survivor. Unscathed by the deadly intrigues, Caligula accepted the invitation to join the emperor on the island of Capri in 31, where Tiberius himself had withdrawn five years earlier. At the death of Tiberius in 37, Caligula succeeded his great-uncle and adoptive grandfather.
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Caracalla
Caracalla (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus; 4 April 188 – 8 April 217) was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, for a short time he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he had him murdered in 211. Caracalla is remembered as one of the most notorious and unpleasant of emperors because of the massacres and persecutions he authorized and instigated throughout the Empire.
Caracalla's reign was also notable for the Constitutio Antoniniana (also called the Edict of Caracalla), granting Roman citizenship to all freemen throughout the Roman Empire for the purpose of increasing tax revenue, according to historian Cassius Dio. He is also one of the emperors who commissioned a large public bath-house (thermae) in Rome. The remains of the Baths of Caracalla are still one of the major attractions of the Italian capital.
Caracalla, of mixed Punic–Roman–Berber and Syrian descent, was born Lucius Septimius Bassianus in Lugdunum, Gaul (now Lyon, France), the son of the later Emperor Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. At the age of seven, his name was changed to Marcus Aurelius Septimius Bassianus Antoninus to create a connection to the family of the philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius. He was later given the nickname Caracalla, which referred to the Gallic hooded tunic he habitually wore and which he made fashionable.
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Carinus
Carinus (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Carinus Augustus; died 285), was Roman Emperor 282 to 285. The elder son of emperor Carus, he was appointed Caesar and co-emperor of the western portion of the empire upon his father's accession. Official accounts of his character and career have been filtered through the propaganda of his successful opponent, Diocletian.
He fought with success against the Germanic Quadi tribes, but soon left the defence of the Upper Rhine to his legates and returned to Rome, where the surviving accounts, which demonize him, assert that he abandoned himself to all kinds of debauchery and excess. More certainly, he also celebrated the annual ludi Romani on a scale of unexampled magnificence.
After the death of Carus, the army in the East demanded to be led back to Europe, and Numerian, the younger son of Carus, was forced to comply. During a halt at Chalcedon, Numerian was found dead, and Diocletian, commander of the body-guards, claimed that Numerian had been assassinated and was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers.
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Carus
Carus (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Carus Augustus; c. 224 – July or August 283), was Roman Emperor from 282 to 283. During his short reign, Carus fought the Germanic tribes and Sarmatians along the Danube frontier with success. During his campaign against the Sassanid Empire he sacked their capital Ctesiphon, but died shortly thereafter. He was succeeded by his sons Carinus and Numerian; creating a dynasty which, though short-lived, granted further stability to a resurgent empire.
Carus, whose name before the accession may have been Marcus Numerius Carus, was born, probably, at Narbo (modern Narbonne) in Gaul, but was educated at Rome. He was a senator, and had filled various civil and military posts before he was appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard by the emperor Probus in 282. After the murder of Probus at Sirmium, Carus was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers. Although Carus severely avenged the death of Probus, he was himself suspected of having been an accessory to the deed. He does not seem to have returned to Rome after his accession, but contented himself with an announcement of the fact to the Senate.
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Cassius Chaerea
Cassius Chaerea (died 41) was a centurion in the army of Germanicus and served in the Praetorian Guard under the emperor Caligula, whom he eventually assassinated.
According to Tacitus, before his service in the Praetorians, he distinguished himself with his bravery and skill in helping to subdue the mutiny on the German frontier immediately after the death of Augustus.
Cassius was disturbed by the increasingly unbalanced emperor, and angered at Caligula's mocking of his voice and his supposed or real effeminacy, possibly due to a wound to his genitalia suffered while serving Caligula's father, Germanicus. It is reported that whenever Caligula had Chaerea kiss his ring, Caligula would, according to Suetonius, "hold out his hand to kiss, forming and moving it in an obscene fashion." He was also made to use degrading watch-words at night, including "Venus" (slang for a male eunuch) and "Priapus" (erection).
Unable to bear this any longer, Chaerea planned to assassinate Caligula during the Palatine games held in January. Cassius' plot was one of several that formed around the same time and eventually coalesced into one broad conspiracy including Praetorians, Senators, and Equestrians. On January 24, Cassius struck, and Caligula was killed. At the same time, Caligula's wife Caesonia and daughter Julia Drusilla (daughter of Caligula) were murdered, completing the task of destroying the emperor's family. Cassius was sympathetic to his fellow conspirators in the Senate, and so wanted the destruction of the principate.
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Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (Ancient Greek: Δίων ὁ Κάσσιος, c. AD 150 – 235 , known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio (Dione. lib) was a Roman consul and a noted historian writing in Greek. Dio published a history of Rome in 80 volumes, beginning with the legendary arrival of Aeneas in Italy through the subsequent founding of Rome (753 BC), the formation of the Republic (509 BC), and the creation of the Empire (31 BC), up to AD 229; a period of about 1,400 years. Of the 80 books, written over 22 years, many survive into the modern age intact or as fragments, providing modern scholars with a detailed perspective on Roman history.
Cassius Dio was the son of Cassius Apronianus, a Roman senator. He was born and raised at Nicaea in Bithynia. Byzantine tradition holds that Dio's mother was the daughter or sister of the Greek orator and philosopher Dio Chrysostom; this relationship has been disputed. His praenomen is usually held to have been Lucius, but a Macedonian inscription published in 1970 shows it as Cl., presumably Claudius. Although a Roman citizen, he wrote in Greek. Dio always maintained a love for his hometown of Nicaea, calling it 'his home', as opposed to his description of his villa in Italy ('my residence in Italy').
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Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English-born American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.
Laughton was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, the son of Robert Laughton and his wife Elizabeth (née Conlon), Yorkshire hotel keepers. His mother was a devout Roman Catholic of Irish descent. He attended Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit school, in Lancashire. He served during World War I (in which he was gassed) first with the 2/1st Battalion of the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Regiment and later with the 7th Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment.
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Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( /ˈsɪsɨroʊ/; Classical Latin: [ˈkɪkɛroː]; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC; sometimes anglicized as Tully), was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, orator, political theorist, Roman consul and constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.
He introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary (with neologisms such as humanitas, qualitas, quantitas, and essentia) distinguishing himself as a linguist, translator, and philosopher.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance. According to Polish historian Tadeusz Zieliński, "Renaissance was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of Classical antiquity." The peak of Cicero's authority and prestige came during the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, and his impact on leading Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, David Hume, and Montesquieu was substantial. His works rank among the most influential in European culture, and today still constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of Roman history, especially the last days of the Roman Republic.
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Claudia Antonia
Claudia Antonia (Classical Latin: ANTONIA•CLAUDII•CAESARIS•FILIA) (ca. AD 30–AD 66) was the daughter of the Roman Emperor Claudius and his second wife Aelia Paetina. Antonia was a great great-niece of the Emperor Augustus, great-niece of the Emperor Tiberius, first cousin of the Emperor Caligula, half-sister to Claudia Octavia and Britannicus, cousin, stepsister and sister-in-law of the Emperor Nero.
Until 37, she was raised by her paternal grandmother Antonia Minor (who died that year). From then until 43, she was raised by her father. In 43, she first married Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, (a descendant from Pompeia, the daughter of triumvir Pompey), a man of the highest birth. His parents were consul Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi and Scribonia. According to Suetonius he died several years later, because he was stabbed to death while in bed with a favorite boyfriend. Cassius Dio states that the Empress Valeria Messalina (out of her fear, of Pompeius being a rival to Britannicus) ordered his execution, so that Antonia could marry Messalina's half-brother Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix.
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Claudia Octavia
Claudia Octavia (Classical Latin: CLAVDIA•OCTAVIA) (late AD 39 or early AD 40 – 9 June AD 62) was an Empress of Rome. She was a great-niece of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal first cousin of the Emperor Caligula, daughter of the Emperor Claudius, and stepsister and first wife of the Emperor Nero. Asteroid 598 Octavia is named after her.
Octavia was the only daughter of the Emperor Claudius by his third marriage to his second cousin Valeria Messalina. She was named for her great-grandmother Octavia the Younger, the second eldest and full-blooded sister of the Emperor Augustus. Her elder half-sister was Claudia Antonia, Claudius's daughter through his second marriage to Aelia Paetina, and her full sibling was Britannicus, Claudius's son with Messalina.
She was born in Rome. As a young girl, her father betrothed her to future praetor Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus, who was a descendant of Augustus.
Octavia's mother was executed in 48, for conspiring to murder her father. Claudius later remarried her paternal first cousin and his own niece Agrippina the Younger. Agrippina the Younger had a son from her first marriage: Nero (at that time known as Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus)
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Claudius
Claudius (Latin: Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. Because he was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, his family ostracized him and excluded him from public office until his consulship, shared with his nephew Caligula in 37. Claudius' infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges of Tiberius and Caligula's reigns; potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to his being declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult male of his family.
Despite his lack of experience, Claudius proved to be an able and efficient administrator. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing many new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the Empire. During his reign the Empire conquered Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia and Judaea, and began the conquest of Britain. Having a personal interest in law, he presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day. However, he was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, particularly by the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position; this resulted in the deaths of many senators. These events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers, though more recent historians have revised this opinion. After his death in 54, his grand-nephew and adopted son Nero succeeded him as Emperor.
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Claudius Gothicus
Claudius II (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Valerius Claudius Augustus; May 10, 213 – January 270), commonly known as Claudius Gothicus, was Roman Emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alamanni and scored a crushing victory against the Goths at the Battle of Naissus. He died after succumbing to a smallpox plague that ravaged the provinces of the Empire.
Claudius' origin is uncertain. Born on May 10, 213, he was either from Sirmium in Pannonia Inferior or from Naissus Dardania (in Moesia Superior).
Claudius had served with the Roman army for all his adult life, making his way up the military hierarchy until the Emperor Gallienus made him the commander of his elite cavalry force. In September 268 he found himself assigned as a military tribune with the Emperor, besieging the usurper Aureolus in Milan. There, the troops proclaimed him Emperor, amid charges, never proven, that he murdered his predecessor Gallienus. However, he soon proved to be less than bloodthirsty, as he asked the Roman Senate to spare the lives of Gallienus' family and supporters. He was less magnanimous toward Rome's enemies, however, and it was to this that he owed his popularity.
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Commodus
Commodus (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192), was Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180. His name changed throughout his reign; see changes of name for earlier and later forms. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded his father since Titus succeeded Vespasian in 79. Commodus was the first (and up until 337 the only) emperor "born in the purple"; i.e., born during his father's reign.
Commodus was born on 31 August AD 161, as Commodus, in Lanuvium, near Rome. He was the son of the reigning emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and Aurelius' first cousin, Faustina the Younger. Commodus had an elder twin brother, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, who died in 165. On 12 October 166, Commodus was made Caesar together with his younger brother, Marcus Annius Verus. The latter died in 169, having failed to recover from an operation, which left Commodus as Marcus Aurelius' sole surviving son. He was looked after by his father's physician, Galen, in order to keep Commodus healthy and alive. Galen treated many of Commodus' common illnesses. Commodus received extensive tuition at the hands of what Marcus Aurelius called "an abundance of good masters." The focus of Commodus' education appears to have been intellectual, possibly at the expense of military training.
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Constans
Constans (Latin: Flavius Julius Constans Augustus) (c.323–350), was Roman Emperor from 337 to 350. He defeated his brother Constantine II in 340, but anger in the army over his personal life and preference for his barbarian bodyguards saw the general Magnentius rebel, resulting in Constans’ assassination in 350.
Constans was the third and youngest son of Constantine the Great and Fausta, his father's second wife. He was educated at the court of his father at Constantinople under the tutelage of the poet Aemilius Magnus Arborius.
On 25 December 333, Constantine I elevated Constans to the rank of Caesar at Constantinople. Prior to 337, Constans became engaged to Olympias, the daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Ablabius, although the marriage never came to pass. With Constantine’s death in 337, Constans and his two brothers, Constantine II and Constantius II divided the Roman world between themselves, after first disposing of virtually all of the relatives of their father who could possibly have a claim on the throne. The army proclaimed them Augusti on September 9, 337. Almost immediately, Constans was required to deal with a Sarmatian invasion in late 337, over whom he won a resounding victory.
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Constantine IV
Constantine IV (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Δ', Kōnstantinos IV, Latin: Constantinus IV), (c. 652 – September 685), sometimes incorrectly called Pogonatos, "the Bearded", by confusion with his father; was Byzantine Emperor from 668 to 685. His reign saw the first serious check to nearly 50 years of uninterrupted Islamic expansion, while his calling of the Sixth Ecumenical Council saw the end of the monothelitism controversy in the Byzantine Empire.
The eldest son of Constans II, Constantine IV had been named a co-emperor with his father in 654. He had been given the responsibility of managing the affairs at Constantinople during his father’s extended absence in Italy and became senior Emperor when Constans was assassinated in 668. His mother was Fausta, daughter of patrician Valentinus.
The first task before the new Emperor was the suppression of the military revolt in Sicily under Mezezius which had led to his father's death. Within 7 months of his accession, Constantine IV had dealt with the insurgency with the support of Pope Vitalian. But this success was overshadowed by troubles in the east.
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Constantine Laskaris
Constantine Laskaris (Greek Κωνσταντίνος Λάσκαρης) was Byzantine Emperor for a few months from 1204 to early 1205.
Constantine Laskaris was born of a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family. Virtually nothing is known of him prior to the events of the Fourth Crusade. He found favour after his brother Theodore married into the imperial family, becoming the son-in-law of Emperor Alexius III.
During the first siege of Constantinople in 1203 he was given command of the best body of troops available and led the Greek defenders on sorties against the entrenched Crusaders. None were successful in their goal of lifting the siege, and finally Constantine was ordered to attack the Burgundians who were on guard at the time.
The Greeks issued forth from the city, but were soon driven back to the gates, notwithstanding the stones that the defenders on the walls threw down onto the advancing Crusaders. Constantine himself was captured whilst mounted on his horse by William of Neuilly and probably kept for ransom, which was the usual practice of the times. At some point he was released, as he was soon swept up in the events of the second siege of Constantinople in 1204.
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Constantine V
Constantine V (718 – September 14, 775) was Byzantine Emperor from 741 to 775; Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Ε΄, Kōnstantinos V); (he was denigrated by his enemies as Kopronymos or Copronymus meaning the dung-named).
Constantine was born in Constantinople, the son and successor of Emperor Leo III and Maria. In August 720 he was associated on the throne by his father, who had him marry Tzitzak, daughter of the Khazar khagan Bihar. His new bride was baptized as Irene (Eirēnē, "peace") in 732. Constantine V succeeded his father as sole emperor on April 19, 741.
Constantine was crossing Asia Minor to campaign against the Umayyad Caliphate under Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik on the eastern frontier in June 741 or 742. But during this course Constantine was attacked by the forces of his brother-in-law Artabasdos, the stratēgos of the Armeniac theme. Artabasdos was the husband of Anna, an older sister of Constantine.
Defeated, Constantine sought refuge in Amorion, while the victor advanced on Constantinople and was accepted as Emperor. While Constantine now received the support of the Anatolic and Thracesian themes, Artabasdos secured that of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, in addition to his own Armeniac soldiers.
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Constantine VI
Constantine VI (Ancient Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Ϛ΄, Kōnstantinos VI) (771–802) was Byzantine Emperor from 780 to 797.
Constantine VI was the only child of Emperor Leo IV and Irene. Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father in 776, and succeeded as sole emperor at the age of nine under the regency of Irene in 780.
In 782 he was betrothed to Rotrude, a daughter of the Frankish King Charlemagne by his third wife Hildegard. Irene herself broke off the engagement in 788. In 787 Constantine had signed the decrees of the Second Council of Nicaea, but he appears to have had iconoclast sympathies. By then Constantine had turned 16 years old, but his mother did not relinquish executive authority to him.
After a conspiracy against Irene was suppressed in the spring of 790 she attempted to get official recognition as empress. This backfired and with military support Constantine finally came to actual power in 790, after the Armeniacs rebelled against Irene. Nevertheless, she was allowed to keep the title of Empress, which was confirmed in 792.
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Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Ζ΄ Πορφυρογέννητος, Kōnstantinos VII Porphyrogennētos; September 2, 905 – November 9, 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959. He was the son of the emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor, the emperor Alexander.
Most of his reign was dominated by other co-regents: from 913 until 919, he was under the regency of his mother, while from 920 until 945, he shared his throne with Romanos Lekapenos, whose daughter Helena he married, and his sons. Constantine VII is best known for his four books, De Administrando Imperio, De Ceremoniis, De Thematibus and Vita Basilii.
His nickname alludes to the Purple Room of the Imperial palace, decorated with porphyry, where legitimate children of reigning emperors were normally born. Constantine was also born in this room, although his mother Zoe had not been married to Leo at that time. Nevertheless, the epithet allowed him to underline his position as the legitimized son, as opposed to all others who claimed the throne during his lifetime. Sons born to a reigning Emperor held precedence in the Eastern Roman line of succession over elder sons not born "in the purple".
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Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Η΄, Kōnstantinos VIII) (960 – 11 November 1028) was reigning Byzantine Emperor from 15 December 1025 until his death. He was the son of the Emperor Romanos II and Theophano, and the younger brother of the eminent Basil II, who died childless and thus left the rule of the Byzantine Empire in his hands.
As a youth, Constantine VIII had been engaged to a daughter of Emperor Boris II of Bulgaria, but in the end he married a Byzantine aristocrat named Helena. By her he had three daughters: Eudokia, who became a nun, Zoe, future empress, and Theodora.
Constantine VIII had been crowned with his brother by their father from 962; he was then only an infant. However, for some 63 out of the 68 years of his life he was eclipsed by other emperors, including Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes, and Basil II. Even when his elder brother became senior emperor, Constantine was perfectly content to enjoy all the privileges of Imperial status without concerning himself with state affairs. On occasion Constantine participated in his brother's campaigns against rebel nobles. In 989, he acted as mediator between Basil II and Bardas Skleros. Otherwise he spent his life in the search of pleasure and entertainment, including spectator sports at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, or amusing himself with riding and hunting.
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Constantine X Doukas
Constantine X Doukas (or Ducas) (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Ι΄ Δούκας, Kōnstantinos X Doukas) (1006 – May 1067) was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 1059 to 1067.
Constantine Doukas was the son of Andronikos Doukas, a Paphlagonian nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Moesia. Addicted to endless debates about philosophy and theology, Constantine gained influence after he married, as his second wife, Eudokia Makrembolitissa, the niece of Patriarch Michael Keroularios. In 1057, Constantine supported the usurpation of Isaac I Komnenos, but gradually sided with the court bureaucracy against the new emperor's reforms. In spite of this tacit opposition, Constantine was chosen as successor by the ailing Isaac in November, 1059, under the influence of Michael Psellos. Isaac abdicated and on November 24, 1059, Constantine X Doukas was crowned emperor.
The new emperor quickly associated two of his young sons in power, Michael VII Doukas and Konstantios Doukas, appointed his brother John Doukas as kaisar (Caesar) and embarked on a policy favorable to the interests of the court bureaucracy and the church. Severely undercutting the training and financial support for the armed forces, Constantine X fatally weakened Byzantine defences (by disbanding the Armenian local militia of 50,000 men) at a crucial point of time, coinciding with the westward advance of the Seljuk Turks and their Turcoman allies. Undoing many of the necessary reforms of Isaac I, he bloated the military bureaucracy with highly paid court officials and crowded the Senate with his supporters.
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Constantius Chlorus
Constantius I (Latin: Marcus Flavius Valerius Constantius Herculius Augustus; c. 31 March 250 – 25 July 306), commonly known as Constantius Chlorus, was Roman Emperor from 293 to 306. He was the father of Constantine the Great and founder of the Constantinian dynasty. As Caesar he defeated the usurper Allectus in Britain and campaigned extensively along the Rhine frontier, defeating the Alamanni and Franks. Upon becoming Augustus in 305, Constantius launched a successful punitive campaign against the Picts beyond the Antonine Wall. However, Constantius died suddenly in Eburacum (York) the following year. His death sparked the collapse of the tetrarchic system of government inaugurated by the Emperor Diocletian.
Born in Dardania, the Historia Augusta claimed Constantius was the son of Eutropius, a noble from northern Dardania, in the province of Moesia Superior, and Claudia, a niece of the emperors Claudius II and Quintillus. Modern historians suspect this maternal connection to be a genealogical fabrication created by his son Constantine I, and that his family were of humble origins. His father, however, might have been the brother of Eutropia, wife of Maximian.
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Constantius II
Constantius II (Latin: Flavius Julius Constantius Augustus; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361), was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death.
In 340, Constantius' brothers clashed over the western provinces of the empire. The resulting conflict left Constantine II dead and Constans as ruler of the west until he was overthrown and assassinated in 350 by the usurper Magnentius. Unwilling to accept Magnentius as co-ruler, Constantius marched against him. Magnentius was defeated at the battles of Mursa Major and Mons Seleucus, committing suicide after the latter. This left Constantius as sole ruler of the empire.
His subsequent military campaigns against Germanic tribes were successful: he defeated the Alamanni in 354, and campaigned across the Danube against the Quadi and Sarmatians in 357. Contrastingly, in the east, the two decade old war against the Sassanids continued with mixed results.
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Constantius III
Flavius Constantius (died 2 September 421), commonly known as Constantius III, was Western Roman Emperor for seven months in 421. A prominent general and politician, he was the power behind the throne for much of the 410s, and in 421 briefly became co-emperor of the Western Empire with Honorius.
Constantius was born in Naissus (modern-day Niš, Serbia) and was probably a career soldier, who reached the rank of magister militum under Honorius.
In 411 he defeated Gerontius, the general of usurper Maximus, and Constantine III, another usurper, in Arles. Constantine had revolted against Honorius (407), but then he had broken his relationship with general Gerontius, who had proclaimed Maximus Emperor in opposition to both Honorius and Constantine (409). Gerontius had then besieged Constantine in the city of Arles (411), but the arrival of the troops of Constantius from Italy had put him in serious trouble, being at the same time a besieger and a besieged. Gerontius was abandoned by his troops and then killed in Hispania.
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Decius
Trajan Decius (Latin: Gaius Messius Quintus Decius Augustus; ca. 201 – June 251), was Roman Emperor from 249 to 251. In the last year of his reign, he co-ruled with his son Herennius Etruscus until they were both killed in the Battle of Abrittus.
Decius, who was born at Budalia, now Martinci, Serbia near Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica), in Lower Pannonia was one of the first among a long succession of future Roman Emperors to originate from the province of Illyricum in the Danube. Unlike some of his immediate imperial predecessors such as Philip the Arab or Maximinus, Decius was a distinguished senator who had served as consul in 232, had been governor of Moesia and Germania Inferior soon afterwards, served as governor of Hispania Tarraconensis between 235–238, and was urban prefect of Rome during the early reign of Emperor Philip the Arab (Marcus Iulius Phillipus).
Around 245, Emperor Philip entrusted Decius with an important command on the Danube. By the end of 248 or 249, Decius was sent to quell the revolt of Pacatianus and his troops in Moesia and Pannonia; the soldiers were enraged because of the peace treaty signed between Philip and the Sassanids. Once arrived, the troops forced Decius to assume the imperial dignity himself instead. Decius still protested his loyalty to Philip, but the latter advanced against him and was killed near Verona, Italy. The Senate then recognized Decius as Emperor, giving him the attribute Traianus as a reference to the good emperor Trajan. As the Byzantine historian Zosimus later noted:
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Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE ( /ˈdʒækəbi/; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor and film director.
A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet,Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in Much Ado About Nothing. His stage work also included playing Edward II,Octavius Caesar,Richard III, and Cyrano de Bergerac.
In addition to being a founder member of the Royal National Theatre and winning several prestigious theatre awards, Jacobi has also enjoyed a successful television career, starring in the critically praised adaptation of Roberts Graves' I, Claudius, for which he won a BAFTA; the titular role in the acclaimed medieval drama series Brother Cadfael, and Stanley Baldwin in The Gathering Storm. Though principally a stage actor, Jacobi has appeared in a number of films, such as Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), Gladiator (2000), Gosford Park (2001), The Golden Compass (2007), The King's Speech (2010), My Week with Marilyn (2011), and the forthcoming Hippie Hippie Shake. Like Laurence Olivier, he holds two knighthoods, Danish and British.
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Diadumenian
Diadumenian (Latin: Marcvs Opellivs Antoninvs Diadvmenianvs Avgvstvs) (14/19 September 208 – 218), was the son of the Roman Emperor Macrinus, and served his father briefly as Caesar (May 217–218) and as Augustus (in 218).
Diadumenian was born on the 14th of September 208 or, according to Historia Augusta, on the 19th of September because he shared the same birthday with the Emperor Antoninus Pius. His mother was Empress Nonia Celsa, although little is known of her: she is only mentioned by the Historia Augusta. He was born Marcus Opellius Diadumenianus, but his name was changed and added Antoninus to solidify connection to the family of Marcus Aurelius as done by Caracalla.
Diadumenian had little time to enjoy his position or to learn anything from its opportunities because the legions of Syria revolted and declared Elagabalus ruler of the Roman Empire. When Macrinus was defeated on 8 June 218, at Antioch, Diadumenian's death followed his father's.
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Didius Julianus
Didius Julianus (Latin: Marcus Didius Severus Julianus Augustus; 30 January 133 or 2 February 137 – 1 June 193), was Roman Emperor for three months during the year 193. He ascended the throne after buying it from the Praetorian Guard, who had assassinated his predecessor Pertinax. This led to the Roman Civil War of 193–197. Julianus was ousted and sentenced to death by his successor, Septimius Severus.
Julianus was born to Quintus Petronius Didius Severus and Aemilia Clara. Julianus's father came from a prominent family in Mediolanum (Milan) and his mother was an African woman, of Roman descent. Clara came from a family of consular rank. His brothers were Didius Proculus and Didius Nummius Albinus. His date of birth is given as 30 January 133 by Cassius Dio and 2 February 137 by the Historia Augusta. Didius Julianus was raised by Domitia Lucilla, mother of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. With Domitia's help, he was appointed at a very early age to the vigintivirate, the first step towards public distinction. He married a Roman woman called Manlia Scantilla and about 153, Scantilla bore him a daughter and only child Didia Clara.
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Diocletian
Diocletian (Latin: Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus; c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305. Born to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia, Diocletian rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the Emperor Carus. After the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on campaign in Persia, Diocletian was proclaimed Emperor. The title was also claimed by Carus' other surviving son, Carinus, but Diocletian defeated him in the Battle of the Margus. With his accession to power, Diocletian ended the Crisis of the Third Century. He appointed fellow officer Maximian Augustus his senior co-emperor in 285.
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Domitian
Domitian (Latin: Titus Flavius Caesar Domitianus Augustus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.
Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War. This situation continued under the rule of his father Vespasian, who became emperor in 69 following the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. While Titus effectually reigned as co-emperor with his father, Domitian was left with honours but no responsibilities. Vespasian died in 79 and was succeeded by Titus, whose own reign came to an unexpected end when he was struck by a fatal illness in 81. The following day Domitian was declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard, commencing a reign which lasted fifteen years – longer than any man who had ruled since Tiberius.
As Emperor, Domitian strengthened the economy by revaluing the Roman coinage, expanded the border defenses of the Empire, and initiated a massive building program to restore the damaged city of Rome. Significant wars were fought in Britain, where his general Agricola attempted to conquer Caledonia (Scotland), and in Dacia, where Domitian was unable to procure a decisive victory against king Decebalus. Domitian's government exhibited totalitarian characteristics; he saw himself as the new Augustus, an enlightened despot destined to guide the Roman Empire into a new era of brilliance. Religious, military, and cultural propaganda fostered a cult of personality, and by nominating himself perpetual censor, he sought to control public and private morals. As a consequence, Domitian was popular with the people and army but considered a tyrant by members of the Roman Senate. According to Suetonius, he was the first Roman Emperor who had demanded to be addressed as dominus et deus (master and god).
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Elagabalus
Elagabalus (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus; ca. 203 – 11 March 222), also known as Heliogabalus, was Roman Emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was Syrian on his mother's side, the son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. Early in his youth he served as a priest of the god El-Gabal in his hometown, Emesa. Upon becoming emperor he took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus and was called Elagabalus only after his death.
In 217, the emperor Caracalla was assassinated and replaced by his Praetorian prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. Caracalla's maternal aunt, Julia Maesa, successfully instigated a revolt among the Third Legion to have her eldest grandson, Elagabalus, declared emperor in his place. Macrinus was defeated on 8 June 218, at the Battle of Antioch. Elagabalus, barely fourteen years old, became emperor, initiating a reign known mainly for sexual scandal and religious controversy.
During his rule, Elagabalus showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos. He replaced the traditional head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter, with a god held in comparable esteem in Syria, Deus Sol Invictus (in Greek: Helios, hence the name Heliogabulus). He forced leading members of Rome's government to participate in religious rites celebrating this deity, rites over which he personally presided. Elagabalus was married as many as five times, lavished favours on courtiers popularly thought to have been his homosexual lovers, employed a prototype of whoopee cushions at dinner parties, and was reported to have prostituted himself in the imperial palace. Reports of his behaviour estranged the Praetorian Guard, the Senate, and the common people alike.
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Florianus
Florianus (Latin: Marcus Annius Florianus Augustus; died 276), also known as Florian, was Roman Emperor for a few months in 276.
Florian was reportedly a maternal half-brother to the Emperor Marcus Claudius Tacitus. Appointed Praetorian Prefect in Tacitus's army in his campaign against the Goths, according to the available sources, he was chosen by the army in the West to succeed Tacitus in 276, without the Roman Senate consensus. However he minted coins bearing the "SC" legend, thus showing some bonds to the Senate.
He was fighting against the Heruli when the army in the East elected Probus. He had the support of Italia, Gaul, Hispania, Britain, Africa, and Mauretania. The two rival emperors met in battle in Cilicia. Florianus had the larger army, but Probus was a more experienced general, and avoided a direct clash. Florian's western army was unused to the dry and hot eastern climate and Probus likely secured a small victory, and Florian was assassinated by his own troops near Tarsus once their confidence was lost. Florianus died in September 276, having been emperor for only eighty-eight days.
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Gaius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (20 BC – 21 February AD 4), most commonly known as Gaius Caesar or Caius Caesar, was the oldest son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. He was born between 14 August and 13 September 20 BC or according to other sources in 23 September 20 BC with the name Gaius Vipsanius Agrippa, but when he was adopted by his maternal grandfather Roman Emperor Augustus, his name was changed to Gaius Julius Caesar.
Gaius was adopted along with his brother Lucius Caesar in 17 BC by their maternal grandfather, the Roman Emperor Augustus, who named the two boys his heirs. In 6 BC the Roman plebs agitated for Gaius to be created consul, despite the fact that he was only 14 and had not yet assumed the toga virilis. As a compromise, it was agreed that he should have the right to sit in the Senate House, and he was made consul designatus with the intention that he should assume the consulship in his twentieth year. Gaius was at this point created "Prince of Youth" ("princeps iuventutis"), an honorific that made him one of the symbolic heads of the equestrian order. Lucius, three years his junior, was granted the same honours after the appropriate interval had elapsed. Temples and statues were erected in their honour (as in the case of the Maison Carrée in Nîmes). In 1 BC he was made army commander in the East and made a peace treaty with Phraates V on an island in the river Euphrates. In 1 AD, he was made Consul with Lucius Aemilius Paullus as his colleague.
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Gaius Octavius
Gaius Octavius (about 100 BC-59 BC) was an ancestor to the Roman Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was the father of the Emperor Augustus, step-grandfather of the Emperor Tiberius, great-great grandfather of the Emperor Caligula, great-grandfather of the Emperor Claudius, and great-great-great grandfather of the Emperor Nero. He descended from an old, wealthy equestrian branch of the Octavii family. Despite being from a wealthy family, his family was plebeian, rather than patrician. As a novus homo ("new man"), he was not of a senatorial family.
His grandfather, Gaius Octavius, fought as a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War. His father Gaius Octavius was a municipal magistrate who lived to an advanced age. He was distantly related to Gnaeus Octavius, the consul of 87 BC who led the opposition to Lucius Cornelius Cinna.
Octavius' first wife was named Ancharia. The two had a child (named Octavia Major). It is not known how the marriage ended, although it is possible that Ancharia died during child birth. He later married the niece of Julius Caesar, Atia Balba Caesonia. How they met is not known, although Atia's family (through her father, the Balbi) lived close to Velitrae, which was the ancestral home of the Octavii. They had two children: Octavia Minor and the Emperor Augustus, the latter of whom was born in 63 BC.
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Gaius Silius
Gaius Silius (died 24 AD) was a Roman general and politician who became consul in 13 AD.
The son of Publius Silius Nerva, Silius was elected consul in 13 AD, alongside Lucius Munatius Plancus. At the end of his tenure in office, he was appointed imperial legate of Germania Superior, under the overall command of Germanicus, and was the officer in charge of the four upper Rhine legions which did not mutiny upon the death of the emperor Augustus. Once the mutiny was suppressed, Silius continued to serve loyally under Germanicus, participating in the Roman retaliation campaign (from 14-16 AD) against a Germanic alliance in the aftermath of the disaster at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. His successes earned him an honorary triumph in 15 AD.
In 16 AD, Germanicus sent Silius against the Chatti with 30,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry, defeating them in the process., after which Tiberius appointed him as a taxation auditor in Gaul.[dubious – discuss] He continued in his role as governor of Upper Germany until 21 AD, during which he put down a revolt in Gaul when a faction of Treveri, led by Julius Florus and allied with the Aeduan Julius Sacrovir, led a rebellion of Gaulish debtors against the Romans in 21 AD. With two legions Silius defeated Sacrovir’s rebel forces (numbering 40,000) twelve miles outside of Augustodunum.
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Galba
Galba (Latin: Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar Augustus; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January 69), was Roman Emperor for seven months from 68 to 69. Galba was the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, and made a bid for the throne during the rebellion of Julius Vindex. He was the first emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors.
He was born as Servius Sulpicius Galba near Terracina, "on the left as you go towards Fundi" in the words of Suetonius.
Through his paternal grandfather ("more eminent for his learning than for his rank — for he did not advance beyond the grade of praetor" and who "published a voluminous and painstaking history", according to Suetonius), who predicted his rise to power (Suetonius, 4), he was descended from Servius Sulpicius Galba. Galba's father attained the consulship, and although he was short, hunchbacked and only an indifferent speaker, was an industrious pleader at the bar.
His mother was Mummia Achaica, the granddaughter of Catulus and great-granddaughter of Lucius Mummius Achaicus. They only had one other child, an elder son called Gaius who left Rome after squandering the greater part of his estate, and committed suicide because Tiberius would not allow him to take part in the allotment of the provinces in his year. On his father's remarriage to Livia Ocellina, Galba was adopted by her and took her names, remaining Lucius Livius Ocella Sulpicius Galba until becoming emperor.
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Galerius
Galerius (Latin: Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus Augustus; c. 260 – April or May 311), was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign he campaigned, aided by Diocletian, against the Sassanid Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across the Danube against the Carpi, defeating them in 297 and 300. Although he was a staunch opponent of Christianity, Galerius ended the Diocletianic Persecution when he issued an edict of toleration in 311.
Galerius was born in Serdica, though some modern scholars consider the strategic site where he later built his palace named after his mother – Felix Romuliana (Gamzigrad) – his birth and funeral place. His father was a Thracian and his mother Romula was a Dacian woman, who left Dacia because of the Carpians' attacks. He originally followed his father's occupation, that of a herdsman, where he got his surname of Armentarius (Latin: armentum, herd).
He served with distinction as a soldier under Emperors Aurelian and Probus, and in 293 at the establishment of the Tetrarchy, was designated Caesar along with Constantius Chlorus, receiving in marriage Diocletian's daughter Valeria (later known as Galeria Valeria), and at the same time being entrusted with the care of the Illyrian provinces. After a few years Danube campaign against Sarmatians and Goths he receive a command of the legions on the eastern Imperial limits. Soon after his appointment, Galerius would be dispatched to Egypt to fight the rebellious cities Busiris and Coptos.
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Gallienus
Gallienus (Latin: Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus Augustus; c. 218 – 268) was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis. His record in dealing with those crises is mixed, as he won a number of military victories but was unable to keep much of his realm from seceding.
Based on the testimony of John Malalas and the Epitome de Caesaribus that Gallienus was about 50 years old at the time of his death, it is generally considered he was born around 218, son of Valerian and Mariniana, a woman possibly of senatorial rank and possibly a daughter of Egnatius Victor Marinianus, and brother of Valerianus Minor. Inscriptions on coins connect him with Falerii in Etruria and this may well have been his birthplace; it has yielded many inscriptions relating to his mother's family, the Egnatii.
He married to Cornelia Salonina about ten years before his accession to the throne. She was the mother of three princes, Valerian II (who died in 258), Saloninus (who, after becoming co-emperor, died in 260 by the hand of his general Postumus), and Marinianus (killed in 268, shortly after his father was assassinated).
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Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19), commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle. He received the agnomen Germanicus in 9 BC, when it was posthumously awarded to his father in honour of his victories in Germania.
His own campaigns in Germania made him famous after avenging the defeat at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and retrieving the legion's eagles lost during the battle. Germanicus was the grandson-in-law and great-nephew of the Emperor Augustus, nephew and adoptive son of the Emperor Tiberius, father of the Emperor Caligula, brother of the Emperor Claudius, and the maternal grandfather of the Emperor Nero.
Germanicus was born in Rome in 15 BC. His parents were the general Nero Claudius Drusus (son of Empress Livia Drusilla, third wife of Emperor Augustus) and Antonia Minor (the younger daughter of the triumvir Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, sister of Augustus). Livilla was his younger sister and the future Emperor Claudius was his youngest brother.
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Giancarlo Badessi
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Glycerius
Glycerius (c. 420 – after 480) was a Western Roman Emperor from 473 to 474. Elevated by his Magister militum, Gundobad, Glycerius’ elevation was rejected by the court at Constantinople, and he was ousted by Julius Nepos. He later served as the bishop of Salona in the early Catholic Church.
Sources on Glycerius are scarce and scanty. It is known that, at the time of his elevation to the throne, he was the comes domesticorum, the commander of the Imperial guard of the court at Ravenna. Previous to this posting, he had been the military commander in Dalmatia.
In 472, the Western Roman Empire was plagued by a civil war between Emperor Anthemius and his Magister militum (commander in chief of the army), Ricimer. Ricimer killed the Emperor and put Olybrius on the throne, but in a short time both Ricimer and Olybrius were dead. The Eastern Roman Emperor, Leo I the Thracian, tarried in choosing his successor, so the Germanic elements of the army, represented by the new Magister militum and Patrician, Gundobad (a nephew of Ricimer's), elected Glycerius Emperor on March 3 or 5, 473 in Ravenna.
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Gordian I
Gordian I (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus Augustus; c. 159 – 12 April 238) was Roman Emperor for one month with his son Gordian II in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Caught up in a rebellion against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he was defeated by forces loyal to Maximinus before committing suicide.
Little is known on the early life and family background of Gordian. There is no reliable evidence on his family origins. His family were of Equestrian rank, who were modest and very wealthy. Gordian was said to be related to prominent senators. His praenomen and nomen Marcus Antonius suggest that his paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship under the Triumvir Mark Antony, or one of his daughters, during the late Roman Republic. Gordian’s cognomen ‘Gordianus’ suggests that his family origins were from Anatolia, especially Galatia and Cappadocia.
According to the Augustan History, his mother was a Roman woman called Ulpia Gordiana and his father Roman Senator Maecius Marullus. While modern historians have dismissed his father's name as false, there may be some truth behind the identity of his mother. Gordian's family history can be guessed through inscriptions. The name Sempronianus in his name may indicate a connection to his mother or grandmother. In Ankara Turkey, a funeral inscription has been found that names a Sempronia Romana, daughter of a named Sempronius Aquila (an imperial secretary). Romana erected this undated funeral inscription to her husband (whose name is lost) who died as a praetor-designate. Gordian might have been related to the gens Sempronia.
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Gordian II
Gordian II (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus Augustus; c. 192 – April 12, 238), was Roman Emperor for one month with his father Gordian I in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Seeking to overthrow the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he died in battle outside of Carthage.
Born c. 192, Gordian II was the only known son of Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus the Elder. His family were of Equestrian rank, who were modest and very wealthy. Gordian was said to be related to prominent senators. His praenomen and nomen Marcus Antonius suggest that his paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship under the Triumvir Mark Antony, or one of his daughters, during the late Roman Republic. Gordian’s cognomen ‘Gordianus’ suggests that his family origins were from Anatolia, especially Galatia and Cappadocia.
According to the notoriously unreliable Historia Augusta, his mother was a Roman woman called Fabia Orestilla, born circa 165, who the Augustan History claims was a descendant of Roman Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius through her father Fulvus Antoninus. Modern historians have dismissed this name and her information as false. There is some evidence to suggest that Gordian's mother may have been the granddaughter of Greek Sophist, consul and tutor Herodes Atticus. His younger sister was Antonia Gordiana, who was the mother of Emperor Gordian III.
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Gordian III
Gordian III (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius Augustus; 20 January 225 – 11 February 244), was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole legal Roman emperor throughout the existence of the united Roman Empire. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before his acclamation. Gordian had assumed the name of his maternal grandfather in 238.
Following the murder of Emperor Alexander Severus in Moguntiacum (modern Mainz), the capital of the Roman province Germania Inferior, Maximinus Thrax was acclaimed Emperor, despite strong opposition of the Roman senate and the majority of the population. In response to what was considered in Rome as a rebellion, Gordian's grandfather and uncle, Gordian I and II, were proclaimed joint emperors in the Africa Province. Their revolt was suppressed within a month by Cappellianus, governor of Numidia and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax. The elder Gordians died, but public opinion cherished their memory as peace loving and literate men, victims of Maximinus' oppression.
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Gratian
Gratian ([pronunciation?]; Latin: Flavius Gratianus Augustus; 18 April/23 May 359 – 25 August 383) was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers. In 378, Gratian's generals won a decisive victory over the Lentienses, a branch of the Alamanni, at the Battle of Argentovaria. Gratian subsequently led a campaign across the Rhine, the last emperor to do so, and attacked the Lentienses, forcing the tribe to surrender. That same year, his uncle Valens was killed in the Battle of Adrianople against the Goths – making Gratian essentially ruler of the entire Roman Empire. He favoured Christianity over traditional Roman religion, refusing the divine attributes of the Emperors and removing the Altar of Victory from the Roman Senate.
Gratian was the son of Emperor Valentinian I by Marina Severa, and was born at Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia) in Pannonia. He was named after his grandfather Gratian the Elder. Gratian was first married to Flavia Maxima Constantia, daughter of Constantius II. His second wife was Laeta. Both marriages remained childless. His stepmother was Empress Justina and his paternal half siblings were Emperor Valentinian II, Galla and Justa.
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Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes (Greek: Ἕλληνες, [ˈelines]), are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and other regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world.
Greek colonies and communities have been historically established in most corners of the Mediterranean, but Greeks have always been centered around the Aegean Sea, where the Greek language has been spoken since antiquity. Until the early 20th century, Greeks were uniformly distributed between the Greek peninsula, the western coast of Asia Minor, Pontus, Egypt, Cyprus and Constantinople; many of these regions coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of the ancient Greek colonization.
In the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), a large-scale population exchange between Greece and Turkey transferred and confined Christians from Turkey, except Constantinople (effectively ethnic Greeks) into the borders of the modern Greek state and Cyprus. Other ethnic Greek populations can be found from southern Italy to the Caucasus and in diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today, most Greeks are officially registered as members of the Greek Orthodox Church.
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Hadrian
Hadrian (Latin: Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus 24 January 76 – 10 July 138), was a Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in all his tastes. He was the third of the so-called Five Good Emperors.
Hadrian was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus to an ethnically Italian family in Italica near Seville. His predecessor Trajan was a maternal cousin of Hadrian's father. Trajan never officially designated an heir, but according to his wife Pompeia Plotina, Trajan named Hadrian emperor immediately before his death. Trajan's wife and his friend Licinius Sura were well-disposed towards Hadrian, and he may well have owed his succession to them.
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Halotus
Halotus (c.20-30 AD – c.70-80 AD) was a servant to the Roman Emperor Claudius (August 1 10 BC – October 13 54), the fourth member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He served Claudius as a taster and as a chief steward, and it was because of his occupation, which entailed close contact with Claudius at all times, that he is and was a suspect in the murder of the latter by poison. Along with Agrippina the Younger, the wife of Claudius, Halotus was considered one of the most likely to have committed the murder, although speculation by ancient historians suggest that he may have been working under orders of Agrippina.
Following the death of Claudius, much public outrage ensued, and there was a clear desire in the general public that Halotus, and several other suspects (such as Tigellinus, another servant who served Claudius), be executed. However, Nero, who succeeded the throne, allowed Halotus to continue as chief steward and taster; Halotus served Nero until the latter's death in 68, and Galba's assumption of the throne.
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Heraclius
Heraclius (Latin: Flavius Heraclius Augustus, Greek: Φλάβιος Ἡράκλειος, c. 575 – February 11, 641) was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.
He was responsible for introducing Greek as the Eastern Empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.
Heraclius' reign was marked by several military campaigns. The year Heraclius came to power, the empire was threatened on multiple frontiers. Heraclius immediately took charge of the ongoing war against the Sassanids. The first battles of the campaign ended in defeat for the Byzantines; the Persian army fought their way to the Bosphorus. However, because Constantinople was protected by impenetrable walls and a strong navy, Heraclius was able to avoid total defeat. Soon after, he initiated reforms to rebuild and strengthen the military. Heraclius drove the Persians out of Asia Minor and pushed deep into their territory, defeating them decisively in 627 at the Battle of Nineveh. The Persian king Khosrau II was assassinated soon after and peace was restored to the two deeply strained empires.
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Heraklonas
Constantinus Heraclius (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Ἡράκλειος), known in English as Heraklonas, Heraclonas, or Heracleonas (626–641), was the son of Heraclius and his niece Martina, and was Byzantine Emperor briefly between February and September 641.
He was baptised and officially reigned as Constantinus Heraclius, but the diminutive nickname Heraklonas (Ἡρακλωνᾶς), little Heraclius, became established in Byzantine texts and has become standard in historiography.
Heraklonas was probably born at Lazica while his father was on campaign against Khosrau II of the Sassanid Empire. He was probably the fourth son of Martina and Herakleios, but the first one born free of physical deformity and eligible for the throne.
Towards the end of Heraclius' reign he obtained through his mother’s influence the title of Augustus on July 4, 638, and after his father’s death was proclaimed joint emperor with his older half-brother Constantine III (Herakleios Constantine).
The premature death of Constantine III, in May 641, left Heraklonas sole ruler. But a suspicion that he and Martina had murdered Constantine led soon after to a revolt under the general Valentinus, who forced Heraklonas to accept his young nephew Constans II as co-ruler. Martina intended to balance this setback with the coronation of her younger son the Caesar David (Tiberios) as emperor.
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Herennius Etruscus
Herennius Etruscus (Latin: Quintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius Augustus; ca. 227 – June 251), was Roman emperor in 251, in a joint rule with his father Decius. Emperor Hostilian was his younger brother.
Herennius was born in near Sirmium in Pannonia (now Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia), during one of his father's military postings. His mother was Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla, a Roman lady of an important senatorial family. Herennius was very close to his father and accompanied him in 248, as a military tribune, when Decius was appointed by Philip the Arab to deal with the revolt of Pacatianus in the Danube frontier. Decius was successful on defeating this usurper and felt confident to begin a rebellion of his own in the following year. Acclaimed emperor by his own troops, Decius marched into Italy and defeated Philip near modern Verona. In Rome, Herennius was declared heir to the throne and received the title of princeps iuventutis (prince of youth).
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Hostilian
Hostilian (Latin: Gaius Valens Hostilianus Messius Quintus Augustus; 230? – 251) was Roman emperor in 251. Hostilian was born in Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia) in Illyricum sometime after 230, as the son of the future emperor Decius by his wife Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla. He was the younger brother of emperor Herennius Etruscus.
Following his father's accession to the throne, Hostilian received the treatment of an imperial prince, but was always kept in the shade of his brother Herennius, who enjoyed the privileges of being older and heir. In the beginning of 251, Decius elevated his son Herennius to co-emperor and Hostilian succeeded him in the title of princeps iuventutis (prince of youth). Decius and Herennius then set out on campaign against king Cniva of the Goths, to punish him for raids on the Danubian frontier. Hostilian remained in Rome due to his inexperience, and empress Herennia was named regent.
The campaign proved to be a disaster: both Herennius and Decius died in the Battle of Abrittus and became the first two emperors to be killed by a foreign army in battle. The armies in the Danube acclaimed Trebonianus Gallus emperor, but Rome acknowledged Hostilian's rights. Since Trebonianus was a respected general, there was fear of another civil war of succession, despite the fact that he chose to respect the will of Rome and adopted Hostilian. But later in 251, the Plague of Cyprian broke out in the Empire and Hostilian died in the epidemic. He was the first emperor in 40 years to die of natural causes, one of only 13. His death opened the way for the rule of Trebonianus with his natural son Volusianus.
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Irene of Athens
Irene Sarantapechaina (Greek: Ειρήνη Σαρανταπήχαινα), known as Irene of Athens or Irene the Athenian (Greek: Ειρήνη η Αθηναία) (c. 752 – 9 August 803) was a Byzantine empress regnant from 797 to 802, having previously been empress consort from 775 to 780, and empress dowager and regent from 780 to 797. It is often claimed she called herself "basileus" (βασιλεύς), 'emperor'. In fact, she normally referred to herself as "basilissa" (βασίλισσα), 'empress', although there are three instances of the title "basileus" being used by her.
Irene was born to a noble Greek family of Athens, the Sarantapechos family. Although she was an orphan, her uncle, Constantine Sarantapechos, was a patrician and possibly strategos of the theme of Hellas. She was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on 1 November 769, and was married to his son Leo IV on 17 December. Although she appears to have come from a noble family, there is no clear reason as to why she would have been chosen as Leo's bride, leading some scholars to speculate that she was selected in a bride-show, in which eligible women were paraded before the bridegroom, until one was finally selected.
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Isaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos (or Comnenus) (Greek: Ισαάκιος A' Κομνηνός, Isaakios I Komnēnos) (c. 1007 – 1061) was Byzantine Emperor from 1057 to 1059, and the first reigning member of the Komnenos dynasty. His brief reign saw an attempt to restore the Byzantine Empire’s military capability and reputation.
He was the son of Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, the strategos autokrator of the East under Emperor Basil II who in 978 defended Nicaea against Bardas Skleros, and one of his two wives, whose names are unknown, and who on his deathbed in 1020 commended his two surviving sons Isaakios and Ioannes to the emperor's care. Basil had them carefully educated at the monastery of Stoudion, and afterwards advanced them to high official positions. He also had an older son, Nikephoros, who died in 1026, and a daughter, born in 1012 and married around 1031 to Michael Dokeianos, Catepan of Italy, deceased in 1050. It is said that their name was derived from the city of Komne, near Philippopolis, where they were landowners, and that they were of Armenian ancestry from Paphlagonia, which is supported by the use of the name Manuel instead of Emmanouel.
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Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos (or Angelus) (Greek: Ισαάκιος Β’ Άγγελος, Isaakios II Angelos) (September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204.
His father Andronikos Dukas Angelos, a military leader in Asia Minor (c. 1122 – aft. 1185), married bef. 1155 Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa (c. 1125 – aft. 1195). Andronikos Dukas Angelos was the son of Konstantinos Angelos, Admiral of Sicily (c. 1085 – aft. July 1166, son of Manolis Angelos from Philadelphia) and Theodora Komnene (b. 15 January 1096/1097) who was the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Eirene Doukaina. Thus, Isaac was a member of the extended imperial clan.
During the brief reign of Andronikos I Komnenos, Isaac was involved (alongside his father and brothers) in the revolt of Nicaea and Prousa. Atypically, the Emperor did not punish him for this disloyalty, and Isaac remained at Constantinople.
On September 11, 1185, during Andronikos' absence from the capital, the latter's lieutenant Stephanos Hagiochristophorites moved to arrest Isaac. Isaac killed Hagiochristophorites and took refuge in the church of Hagia Sophia. Andronikos, in some ways a capable ruler, was hated for his cruelty and his efforts to keep the aristocracy obedient. Isaac appealed to the populace, and a tumult arose which spread rapidly over the whole city. When Andronikos arrived he found that during his absence he had lost popular support, and that Isaac had been proclaimed emperor. Andronikos attempted to flee by boat but was apprehended. Isaac handed him over to the people of the City, and he was killed on 12 September 1185.
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Jews
The Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים ISO 259-3 Yhudim Israeli pronunciation [jehuˈdim]), also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and an ethnoreligious group, originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation.Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos is equal to those born into it, have been absorbed into the Jewish people throughout the millennia.
In Jewish tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the second millennium BCE. The modern State of Israel defines itself as a Jewish state in its Basic Laws, and Israel's Law of Return states: "Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh." Israel is the only country where Jews are a majority of the population. Jews achieved political autonomy twice before in ancient history. The first of these periods lasted from 1350 to 586 BCE, and encompassed the periods of the Judges, the United Monarchy, and the Divided Monarchy of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, ending with the destruction of the First Temple. The second was the period of the Hasmonean Kingdom spanning from 140 to 37 BCE. Since the destruction of the First Temple, most Jews have lived in diaspora. A minority in every country in which they live (except Israel), they have frequently experienced persecution throughout history, resulting in a population that has fluctuated both in numbers and distribution over the centuries.
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Joannes
Ioannes, known in English as Joannes, was a Roman usurper (423–425) against Valentinian III.
On the death of the Emperor Honorius (August 15, 423), Theodosius II, the remaining ruler of the House of Theodosius hesitated in announcing his uncle's death. In the interregnum, Honorius's patrician at the time of his death, Castinus, elevated Joannes as emperor.
Joannes was a primicerius notariorum or senior civil servant at the time of his elevation. Procopius praised him as "both gentle and well-endowed with sagacity and thoroughly capable of valorous deeds." Unlike the Theodosian emperors, he tolerated all Christian sects. His control over Gaul was insecure: his pretorian prefect of that region was slain at Arles in an uprising of the soldiery there. And Comes Bonifacius, in control of the African provinces, held back the grain fleet from Rome.
"The events of Johannes' reign are as shadowy as its origins," writes John Matthews, who then provides a list of the ruler's known actions in a paragraph. Joannes was proclaimed at Rome and praetorian games were provided at the expense of a member of the gens Anicia. Johannes then moved his base of operations to Ravenna, knowing full well that the Eastern Empire would strike from that direction. There is a mention of an expedition against Africa, but its fate, presumed unsuccessful, is unrecorded. In Gaul, he appears to have caused offense by submitting clerics to secular courts. And that is all.
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John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes or Tzimisces, (Greek: Ιωάννης Α΄ Τζιμισκής, Iōannēs I Tzimiskēs; Armenian: Հովհաննես Ա Չմշկիկ Hovhannes A Čmškik, Armenian pronunciation: [hovɑˈnɛs tʃʰəməʃˈkik]; circa 925 – January 10, 976) was Byzantine Emperor from December 11, 969 to January 10, 976. A brilliant and intuitive general, John's short reign saw the expansion of the Empire's borders and the strengthening of Byzantium itself.
John was born into the Kourkouas clan, a family of Armenian origin. Scholars have speculated that his nickname "Tzimiskes" was derived either from the Armenian Chmushkik, meaning "red boot", or from an Armenian word for "short stature." A more favorable explanation is offered by the medieval Armenian historian Matthew of Edessa, who states that "Tzimiskes was from the region of Khozan, from the area which is now called Chmushkatzag." Khozan was located in the region of Paghnatun, in the Byzantine province of Fourth Armenia (Sophene).
Tzimiskes was born sometime in 925 to an unnamed member of the Kourkouas family by the sister of the future Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas. Both the Kourkouai and the Phokadai were distinguished Cappadocian families, and among the most prominent of the emerging military aristocracy of Asia Minor. Several of their members had served as prominent army generals, most notably the great John Kourkouas, who conquered Melitene and much of Armenia.
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John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos (or Comnenus) (Greek: Ίωάννης Β΄ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs II Komnēnos) (September 13, 1087 – April 8, 1143) was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs ("John the Good" or "John the Beautiful"), he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. The second Emperor of the Komnenian restoration of the Byzantine Empire, John was a pious and dedicated man who was determined to undo the damage his Empire had suffered at the battle of Manzikert, half a century earlier.
John has been assessed as the greatest of the Komnenian emperors. In the course of his twenty-five year reign, John made alliances with the Holy Roman Empire in the west, decisively defeated the Pechenegs in the Balkans, and personally led numerous campaigns against the Turks in Asia Minor. John's campaigns fundamentally changed the balance of power in the east, forcing the Turks onto the defensive and restoring to the Byzantines many towns, fortresses and cities right across the peninsula. In the southeast, John extended Byzantine control from the Maeander in the west all the way to Cilicia and Tarsus in the east. In an effort to demonstrate the Byzantine emperor's role as the leader of the Christian world, John marched into Muslim Syria at the head of the combined forces of Byzantium and the Crusader states; yet despite the great vigour with which he pressed the campaign, John's hopes were disappointed by the treachery of his Crusader allies, who deliberately failed to fight against the Muslim enemy at the crucial moment. Also under John, the empire's population recovered to about 10 million people.
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John IV Laskaris
John IV Doukas Laskaris (or Ducas Lascaris) (Greek: Ιωάννης Δ΄ Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Iōannēs IV Doukas Laskaris) (December 25, 1250 – c. 1305) was emperor of Nicaea from August 18, 1258 to December 25, 1261. This small empire was one of the Greek states formed from the remaining fragments of the Byzantine Empire, after the capture of Constantinople by Western European Christians during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
John was a son of Theodore II Doukas Laskaris and Elena of Bulgaria. His maternal grandparents were Emperor Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and his second wife Anna Maria of Hungary. Anna was originally named Mária and was the eldest daughter of Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania.
John IV was only seven years old when he inherited the throne on the death of his father. The young monarch was the last member of the Laskarid dynasty, which had done much to restore the Byzantine Empire. His regent was originally the bureaucrat George Mouzalon, but that position was usurped by the aristocrat Michael Palaiologos, who later made himself co-emperor as Michael VIII on January 1, 1259. (Michael was, in fact, John's second cousin once removed, since they were both descended from Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera.)
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John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos (or Palaeologus) (Greek: Ίωάννης Ε' Παλαιολόγος, Iōannēs V Palaiologos) (18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.
John V was the son of Emperor Andronikos III and his wife Anna, the daughter of Count Amadeus V of Savoy by his second wife Maria of Brabant. His long reign was marked by the gradual dissolution of imperial power amid numerous civil wars and the continuing ascendancy of the Ottoman Turks.
Coming to the throne at age nine, his reign began with immediate civil war between his designated regent, his father's friend John Kantakouzenos, and a self-proclaimed council of regency composed of his mother Anna, the patriarch John XIV Kalekas, and the megas doux Alexios Apokaukos. It was during this civil war in 1343 that Anna pawned the Byzantine crown jewels for 30,000 Venetian ducats. From 1346 to 1349, the Black Plague devastated Constantinople.
Victorious in 1347, John Kantakouzenos ruled as co-emperor until John V's attack on his son Matthew in 1352 led to a second civil war. It was this conflict that saw the Ottoman Empire acquire its first European territory at Çimpe and Gallipoli. Able to retake Constantinople in 1354, John V was able to remove and tonsure John VI; by 1357, he had deposed Matthew as well.
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John VII Palaiologos
John VII Palaiologos (or Palaeologus) (Greek: Ιωάννης Ζ' Παλαιολόγος, Iōannēs VII Palaiologos) (1370 – 22 September 1408) was Byzantine Emperor for five months in 1390.
John VII Palaiologos was the son of Emperor Andronikos IV Palaiologos and Keratsa of Bulgaria, a daughter of Emperor Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria and Theodora of Wallachia. He should not be confused with his cousin John VIII Palaiologos, the son of his uncle Manuel II, who succeeded his father.
When his father Andronikos IV usurped the throne from his father John V Palaiologos in 1376, John VII was associated as co-emperor. Both father and son were overthrown and partly blinded in 1379, but Andronikos IV kept his imperial status and was granted Selymbria (Silivri) as his domain by John V. When Andronikos IV died in 1385, John VII perhaps succeeded to his father's position.
On April 14, 1390 John VII Palaiologos ousted to his grandfather John V and maintained himself on the throne for five months, until John V was restored by his son Manuel with the help of the Republic of Venice
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Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg (29 May 1894 – 22 December 1969) — born Jonas Sternberg — was an Austrian-American film director. He is particularly noted for his distinctive mise en scène, use of lighting and soft lens, and seven-film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich.
Von Sternberg was born Jonas Sternberg to a Jewish family in Vienna. When he was two years old the family moved to America, and he spent most of his childhood in New York City and Lynbrook, New York. His father, Moses (Morris) Sternberg, a former soldier in the army of Austria-Hungary, twice tried to make a home for the family in the US before finding employment as a lace worker. (The false aristocratic title 'von' was added in 1925 by actor/co-producer Elliott Dexter during the production of By Divine Right, supposedly to "even up" the credits as they appeared on screen. Sternberg did not protest, since it invited comparison with his hero, Erich von Stroheim.[citation needed]).
Von Sternberg dropped out of Jamaica High School and worked as an errand boy in a lace warehouse. He later obtained a job cleaning and repairing movie prints, and by about 1915 found himself working for William A. Brady at the World Film Company at Fort Lee, New Jersey, mentored by Emile Chautard and other French-speaking directors and cinematographers at World. Chautard hired him as assistant director in 1919 for a version of The Mystery of the Yellow Room, and Sternberg made his directorial debut in 1925 with The Salvation Hunters, called by some the first American independent film.[who?]
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Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus (37 – c. 100), also called Joseph ben Matityahu (Biblical Hebrew: יוסף בן מתתיהו, Yosef ben Matityahu), was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70.
His most important works were The Jewish War (c. 75) and Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94).The Jewish War recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation (66–70). Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for an ostensibly Roman audience. These works provide valuable insight into 1st century Judaism and the background of Early Christianity (See main article Josephus on Jesus).
Josephus introduces himself in Greek as Iōsēpos (Ιώσηπος), son of Matthias, an ethnic Jew, a priest from Jerusalem" in his first book. He was the second-born son of Matthias and his wife, who was an unnamed Jewish noblewoman. His older brother, his full-blooded sibling, was also called Matthias. The mother of Josephus was an aristocratic woman who descended from royalty and of the former ruling Hasmonean Dynasty. Josephus’ paternal grandparents were Josephus and his wife, an unnamed Jewish noblewoman. His paternal grandparents were distant relatives of each other, as they were both direct descendants of Simon Psellus. Josephus came from a wealthy, aristocratic family and through his father, he descended from the priestly order of the Jehoiarib, which was the first of the 24 orders of Priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. Through his father, Josephus was a descendant of the High Priest Jonathon. Jonathon may have been Alexander Jannaeus, the High Priest and Hasmonean ruler who governed Judea from 103 BC-76 BC. Born and raised in Jerusalem, Josephus was educated alongside his brother.
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Julia Antonia
Julia Caesaris (104 BC-after 39 BC) or Julia Antonia (known from the sources to distinguish her from the other Juliae Caesares) was a daughter to consul Lucius Julius Caesar III and mother to the future triumvir and deputy of Caesar, Mark Antony. She was a sister to consul Lucius Julius Caesar IV. Her mother is unknown. She was born and raised in Rome. Julia was a cousin to Julius Caesar.
Julia married Marcus Antonius Creticus, a man of a senatorial family. Their sons were the Triumvir Mark Antony, Gaius Antonius and Lucius Antonius. Because of their kinship through her, Gaius Julius Caesar was obliged to promote the political careers of her sons, despite his distaste for their father and his generally low opinion of their abilities. After Julia’s first husband died in 74 BC, she married Publius Cornelius Lentulus (Sura), a politician, who in 63 BC, was involved in the Catiline conspiracy and was executed on the orders of Cicero.
Julia had raised her sons through her marriages. Plutarch describes her as one of ‘most nobly born and admirable women of her time,’ though most other sources are considerably less flattering (and likely more accurate). The following clause from Plutarch - Antony, Clause 1 describes her relationship with her first husband:
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Julian the Apostate
Julian (Latin: Flavius Claudius Julianus Augustus, Greek: Φλάβιος Κλαύδιος Ἰουλιανός Αὔγουστος; 331/332 – 26 June 363), commonly known as Julian the Apostate, or also Julian the Philosopher, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363 and a noted philosopher and Greek writer.
A member of the Constantinian dynasty, he was made Caesar over the western provinces, by Constantius II in 355, where he campaigned successfully against the Alamanni and Franks. Most notable was his crushing victory over the Alamanni in 357 at the Battle of Argentoratum - despite being outnumbered. In 360 he was acclaimed Augustus by his soldiers, sparking a civil war between Julian and Constantius. However, Constantius died before the two could face each other in battle, naming Julian as his rightful successor. In 363, Julian embarked on an ambitious campaign against the Sassanid Empire. Though initially successful, Julian was mortally wounded in battle and died shortly after.
Julian was a man of unusually complex character: he was "the military commander, the theosophist, the social reformer, and the man of letters". He was the last non-Christian ruler of the Roman Empire and it was his desire to bring the Empire back to its ancient Roman values in order to save it from dissolution. He purged the top-heavy state bureaucracy and attempted to revive traditional Roman religious practices at the cost of Christianity. His rejection of Christianity in favour of Neoplatonic paganism caused him to be called Julian the Apostate (Ἀποστάτης or Παραβάτης "Transgressor") by the church. He was the last emperor of the Constantinian dynasty, the empire's first Christian dynasty.
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Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (Classical Latin: [ˈɡaː.i.ʊs ˈjuː.lɪ.ʊs ˈkaj.sar], July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.
In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed a political alliance that was to dominate Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power through populist tactics were opposed by the conservative elite within the Roman Senate[citation needed], among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar's conquest of Gaul, completed by 51 BC, extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine. Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both when he built a bridge across the Rhine and conducted the first invasion of Britain.
These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse Pompey's standing. The balance of power was further upset by the death of Crassus in 53 BC. Political realignments in Rome finally led to a standoff between Caesar and Pompey, the latter having taken up the cause of the Senate. Ordered by the Senate to stand trial in Rome for various charges, Caesar marched on Rome with one legion—legio XIII—from Gaul to Italy, crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC. This sparked a civil war from which he emerged as the unrivaled leader of the Roman world.
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Julius Nepos
Julius Nepos (c. 430 – 480) was Western Roman Emperor de facto from 474 to 475 and de jure until 480. Some historians consider him to be the last Western Roman Emperor, while others consider the western line to have ended with Romulus Augustulus in 476.
In contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, and its line of Emperors, survived this historical period relatively intact.
Nepos, already the ruler of Roman Dalmatia, was nominated by the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I in early 474, to replace the Western Emperor Glycerius, who was regarded as a usurper. It was probably Nepos' marriage to the emperor Leo's wife's niece which earned him the agnomen of "Nepos" (nephew).
Glycerius surrendered in June 474, shortly after Nepos' arrival in Italy. Nepos spared Glycerius' life, and appointed him bishop of Salona. After this Nepos ruled, briefly, over the whole of the remaining Western Roman Empire; still centered on Italy, the Empire's heartland, and including his native Dalmatia, and the remaining parts of Roman Gaul. Nepos' rule in Italy ended in 475, when he was deposed by his magister militum, Orestes. After fleeing from Italy and Orestes without opposition, Nepos returned to Dalmatia, over which he retained control.
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Justin I
Justin I (Latin: Flavius Iustinus Augustus, Ancient Greek: Ἰουστίνος; c. 450 – 1 August 527) was Byzantine Emperor from 518 to 527. He rose through the ranks of the army and ultimately became its Emperor, in spite of the fact he was illiterate and almost 70 years old at the time of accession. His reign is significant for the founding of the Justinian Dynasty that included his eminent nephew Justinian I and for the enactment of laws that de-emphasized the influence of the old Roman nobility. His consort was Empress Euphemia.
Justin was a peasant and a swineherd by occupation from the Latinophone region of Dardania, which is part of the Diocese of Illyricum. He was born in a hamlet near Bederiana in Naissus (modern Niš, South Serbia). He was of Thraco-Roman stock, and bore, like his companions and members of his family (Zimarchus, Dityvistus, Boraides, Bigleniza, Sabatius, etc.) a Thracian name, and who never learned to speak more than rudimentary Greek. His sister Vigilantia (b. ca 455) married Sabbatius and had two children:Petrus Sabbatius Justinian I (b. 483) and Vigilantia (b. ca 490), married to Dulcissimus and had Praejecta (b. ca 520), married to the senator Areobindus and Justin II (b. ca 520).
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Justin II
Justin II (Latin: Flavius Iustinus Iunior Augustus;Ancient Greek: Φλάβιος Ἰουστίνος ὁ νεότερος; c. 520 – 5 October 578) was Byzantine Emperor from 565 to 578. He was the husband of Sophia, nephew of Justinian I and the late Empress Theodora, and was therefore a member of the Justinian Dynasty. His reign is marked by war with Persia and the loss of the greater part of Italy. He presented the Cross of Justin II to Saint Peter's, Rome.
He was a son of Vigilantia and Dulcidio (or Dulcissimus), respectively the sister and brother-in-law of Justinian. His siblings included Marcellus and Praejecta.
Justinian I died on the night of 14 to 15 November 565. Callinicus, the praepositus sacri cubiculi, seems to have been the only witness to his dying moments, and later claimed that Justinian had designated "Justin, Vigilantia's son" as his heir in a deathbed decision. The disambiguation was needed because there was another nephew and candidate for the throne, Justin, son of Germanus. Modern historians suspect Callinicus may have fabricated the last words of Justinian to secure the succession for his political ally. As Robert Browning observed: "Did Justinian really bring himself in the end to make a choice, or did Callinicus make it for him? Only Callinicus knew."
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Justinian I
Justinian I ( /dʒʌˈstɪniən/) (Latin: Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus Augustus, Ancient Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ἰουστινιανός) (c. 482 – 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.
One of the most important figures of Late Antiquity and the last Roman Emperor to speak Latin as a first language, Justinian's rule constitutes a distinct epoch in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The impact of his administration extended far beyond the boundaries of his time and domain. Justinian's reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general Belisarius swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, extending Roman control to the Atlantic Ocean. Subsequently Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic Kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the Empire after more than half a century of barbarian control.
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Justinian II
Justinian II (Greek: Ιουστινιανός Β΄, Ioustinianos II, Latin: Justinianus II) (669 – 11 December 711), surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus (ὁ Ῥινότμητος, "the slit-nosed"), was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. Justinian II was an ambitious and passionate ruler who was keen to restore the Empire to its former glories, but he responded poorly to any opposition to his will and lacked the finesse of his father, Constantine IV. Consequently, he generated enormous opposition to his reign, and it resulted in his deposition in 695 in a popular uprising, and he only returned to the throne in 705 with the help of a Bulgar and Slav army. His second reign was even more despotic than the first, and it too saw his eventual overthrow in 711, abandoned by his army who turned on him before killing him.
Justinian II was the eldest son of Emperor Constantine IV and Anastasia. His father raised him to the throne as joint emperor in 681 on the fall of his uncles Heraclius and Tiberius. In 685, at the age of sixteen, Justinian II succeeded his father as sole emperor.
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Leo I the Thracian
Leo I (Latin: Flavius Valerius Leo Augustus) (401 – 18 January 474) was Byzantine Emperor from 457 to 474. A native of Dacia Aureliana near historic Thrace, he was known as Leo the Thracian (Greek: Λέων ο Θράξ).
Ruling the Eastern Empire for nearly 20 years from 457 to 474, Leo proved to be a capable ruler, overseeing many ambitious political and military plans, aimed mostly for the aid of the faltering Western Roman Empire and recovering its former territories. He is notable for being the first Eastern Emperor to legislate in Greek rather than Latin.
Born as Leo Marcellus in the year 401 to a Thraco-Roman family (of the Daci or Bessi tribe), he served in the Roman army, rising to the rank of comes. He was the last of a series of emperors placed on the throne by Aspar, the Alan serving as commander-in-chief of the army, who thought Leo would be an easy puppet ruler. Instead, Leo became more and more independent from Aspar, causing a tension that would have culminated in the assassination of the barbarian.
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Leo III the Isaurian
Leo III the Isaurian also known as the Syrian or the Iconoclast (Greek: Λέων Γ΄, Leōn III), (c. 685 – 18 June 741) was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to a period of instability, successfully defended the Empire against the invading Umayyads, and forbade the veneration of icons (see Iconoclasm).
Leo, whose original name was Konon, was born in Germanikeia (Maraş/Turkey) in the Syrian province of Commagene. Some, including the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes, have claimed that Konon's family had been resettled in Thrace, where he entered the service of Emperor Justinian II, when the latter was advancing on Constantinople with an army of 15,000 horsemen provided by Tervel of Bulgaria in 705.
After the victory of Justinian II, Leo was dispatched on a diplomatic mission to Alania and Lazica to organize an alliance against the Umayyad Caliphate under Al-Walid I. Leo was appointed commander (stratēgos) of the Anatolic theme by Emperor Anastasius II. On his deposition Leo joined with his colleague Artabasdus, the stratēgos of the Armeniac theme, in conspiring to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. Artabasdus was betrothed to Anna, daughter of Leo as part of the agreement.
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Leo IV the Khazar
Leo IV the Khazar (Greek: Λέων Δ΄, Leōn IV) (25 January 750 – 8 September 780) was Byzantine Emperor from 775 to 780 CE.
Leo was the son of Emperor Constantine V by his first wife, Irene of Khazaria (Tzitzak), the daughter of a Khagan of the Khazars (thought to be Bihar). Crowned co-emperor by his father in 751 Leo then married Irene, an Athenian from a noble family, in December 769. In 775 Constantine V died, leaving Leo as sole emperor.
On 24 April 776 Leo, following the precedent set by his father and grandfather, appointed his son, Constantine VI, co-emperor. This led to an uprising of Leo’s five half-brothers, including Caesar Nikephoros, who had hoped to gain the throne themselves. The uprising was put down quickly, with the conspirators being beaten, tonsured, and exiled to Cherson under guard.
Leo IV was raised as an iconoclast under his father but was married to Irene, an iconodule. Realizing the division in his realm he pursued a path of conciliation towards the iconodules, previously declared heretical under imperial policy. Leo allowed monks, persecuted and deported under his father, to return to their monasteries, and he was anointed by some among the orthodox as “Friend to the Mother of God” for allowing monks to retain images of the Theotokos. In addition to the concessionary actions Leo also appointed an iconophile sympathizer, Paul of Cyprus, to the position of patriarch of Constantinople upon the death of the predecessor. At the end of his reign, Leo reversed his stance of toleration.
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Leo V the Armenian
Leo V the Armenian (Greek: Λέων Ε΄ ὁ Ἀρμένιος, Leōn V ho Armenios; Armenian: Լևոն Ե Հայ; 775 – 25 December 820) was Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed the throne. He ended the decade-long war with the Bulgars, and initiated the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. He was assassinated by supporters of Michael the Amorian, one of his most trusted generals, who succeeded him on the throne.
Leo was the son of the patrician Bardas, who was of Armenian descent (according to a later source, Leo was also of Assyrian descent). Leo served in 803 under the rebel general Bardanes Tourkos, whom he deserted in favor of Emperor Nikephoros I. The Emperor rewarded Leo with two palaces, but later exiled him for marrying the daughter of another rebel, the patrician Arsaber. On the other hand, a contemporary source says that one general Leo of the Armeniakon theme was punished for his humiliating defeat by the Arabs during which he also lost the salaries of his thematic units (a modern scholar suggests that this Leo is not the same with the emperor). Punishment also included depriving of his military rank, beating and hair cutting.
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Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher (Greek: Λέων ΣΤ΄ ὁ Σοφός, Leōn VI ho Sophos, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well-read, leading to his surname. During his reign, the renaissance of letters begun by his predecessor Basil I continued, but the Empire also saw several military defeats in the Balkans against Bulgaria and against the Arabs in Sicily and the Aegean.
Born to the empress Eudokia Ingerina, Leo was either the illegitimate son of Emperor Michael III or the second son of his successor, Basil I the Macedonian. Eudokia was both Michael III's mistress and Basil’s wife. In 867, Michael was assassinated by Basil, who succeeded him as Emperor. As the second eldest son of the Emperor, Leo was associated on the throne in 870 and became the direct heir on the death of his older half-brother Constantine in 879. However, Leo and Basil did not like each other; a relationship that only deteriorated after Eudokia's death, when Leo, unhappy with his marriage to Theophano Martiniake, took up a mistress in the person of Zoe Zaoutzaina. Basil married Zoe off to an insignificant official, and later almost had Leo blinded when he was accused of conspiring against him. On August 29, 886, Basil died in a hunting accident, though he claimed on his deathbed that there was an assassination attempt in which Leo was possibly involved.
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Leontios
Leontios (or Leontius) (Greek: Λεόντιος, Latin: LEONTIVS) (died 15 February 706) was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. He came to power by overthrowing the Emperor Justinian II, but was overthrown in his turn by Tiberios III. His actual and official name was Leo (Λέων, Leōn), but he is known by the name used for him in Byzantine chronicles.
Leontios was born in Isauria. A professional soldier from an early age, he rose swiftly through the ranks and was appointed strategos (military governor) of the Anatolic theme during the reign of Emperor Constantine IV.
In 686 Leontios was chosen by Justinian II to lead the Byzantine army against the Arabs in Georgia and Armenia. Ruthless even by the standards of the day, Leontios carried the war further into Azerbaijan and Caucasian Albania. His successes eventually forced the negotiation of a treaty between Byzantium and the Arabic Caliph Abd al-Malik with substantial Arabic concessions and tributes to the Byzantine Emperor.
Leontios was less successful when war against the Arabs was renewed in 692. Leading a substantial Byzantine army, he was defeated at the Battle of Sebastopolis when a large Slavic contingent deserted and left his remaining forces exposed. Furious at the loss of the army, the Emperor Justinian imprisoned Leontius for two years.
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Libius Severus
Flavius Libius Severus Serpentius (Lucania, c. 420 – 15 August 465) was Western Roman Emperor from November 19, 461 to his death.
A Roman senator from Lucania Severus was one of the last Western Emperors, emptied of any effective power (the real power was in the hands of the powerful magister militum Ricimer), and unable to solve the many problems affecting the Empire; the sources describe him as a pious and religious man.
On August 7, 461, the magister militum (Commander in Chief) of the Western Roman army, Ricimer, had Emperor Majorian killed, thus leaving the western throne empty. A struggle for the succession thus ensured, with the Eastern Emperor, Leo I the Thracian, the King of the Vandals, Gaiseric, and Ricimer himself involved. The Eastern Emperor traditionally had the right to accept his "colleague," for the Empire was nominally still united.
Ricimer needed a weak Emperor on the throne, in order to control him: his barbaric descent barred him from taking the throne for himself. Gaiseric had captured the wife and the two daughters of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III – Licinia Eudoxia, Placidia and Eudocia – during the sack of Rome (455), and, through the marriage of one of them, Eudocia, with his son Huneric, he had entered the imperial family. Gaiseric's candidate to the Western throne was Olybrius, who had married Placidia and was thus a member of his family.
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Licinius
Licinius I (Latin: Gaius Valerius Licinianus Licinius Augustus c. 263 – 325), was Roman Emperor from 308 to 324. For the majority of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan that granted official toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire. He was finally defeated at the Battle of Adrianople, before being executed on the orders of Constantine I.
Born to a Dacian peasant family in Moesia Superior, Licinius accompanied his close childhood friend, the future emperor Galerius, on the Persian expedition in 298. He was trusted enough by Galerius that in 307 he was sent as an envoy to Maxentius in Italy to attempt to reach some agreement about his illegitimate status. Galerius then trusted the eastern provinces to him when he went to deal with Maxentius personally after the death of Flavius Valerius Severus.
Upon his return to the east, Galerius elevated Licinius to the rank of Augustus in the West on November 11, 308. He received as his immediate command the provinces of Illyricum, Thrace and Pannonia.
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Livia
Livia Drusilla, (Classical Latin: LIVIA•DRVSILLA, LIVIA•AVGVSTA) (30 January 58 BC– 28 September AD 29), after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus, as well as his advisor. She was the mother of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of the Emperor Claudius, paternal great-grandmother of the Emperor Caligula, and maternal great-great grandmother of the Emperor Nero. She was deified by Claudius who acknowledged her title of Augusta.
She was born on 30 January 59 or 58 BC as the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus by his wife Aufidia, a daughter of the magistrate Marcus Aufidius Lurco. The diminutive Drusilla often found in her name suggests that she was a second daughter.Marcus Livius Drusus was her brother. She was probably married in 43 BC. Her father married her to Tiberius Claudius Nero, her cousin of patrician status who was fighting with him on the side of Julius Caesar's assassins against Octavian. Her father committed suicide in the Battle of Philippi, along with Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, but her husband continued fighting against Octavian, now on behalf of Mark Antony and his brother. Her first child, the future Emperor Tiberius, was born in 42 BC. In 40 BC, the family was forced to flee Italy in order to avoid Octavian's proscriptions and joined with Sextus Pompeius in Sicily, later moving on to Greece.
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Livy
Titus Livius Patavinus (59 BC – AD 17) — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Books from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own time. He was on familiar terms with the Julio-Claudian family, advising Augustus's grandnephew, the future emperor Claudius, as a young man not long before 14 AD in a letter to take up the writing of history. Livy and Augustus's 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, now modern Padua. There is a debate about the year of Titus Livius' birth, 64 BC or more likely 59 BC. At the time of Livy’s birth, his home city of Patavium was the second wealthiest city in 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.
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Locusta
Locusta was a Roman serial killer during the 1st century AD.
Locusta was born in the Roman province of Gaul. In AD 54, she may have been hired by Agrippina the Younger to kill the Emperor Claudius, possibly with a poisoned dish of mushrooms. In 55, she was convicted of poisoning another victim. When Nero learnt of this he sent a tribune of the Praetorian Guard to rescue her from execution. In return for this she was ordered to poison Britannicus. She succeeded on her second try, Nero rewarding her with immunity from execution while he lived, rewarding her with a vast estate and even sending students to her. Seven months after Nero's suicide, Locusta was condemned to die by Galba in January 69. It is said that she was raped by a specially trained giraffe after which she was torn apart by wild animals. Apuleius described her life and she is mentioned by Suetonius.Juvenal also mentioned Locusta in Book 1 of his Satires.
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Lollia Paulina
Lollia Paulina (died c. 49 CE) was a Roman Empress for six months in CE 38 as the third wife and consort of the Emperor Caligula. Outside of her short term as an Empress, she was a noble Roman woman who lived in the 1st century Roman Empire.
Lollia Paulina's father was Marcus Lollius Paulinus, who was a formal consul, and her mother was Volusia Saturnina, a sister of senator and consul Lucius Volusius Saturninus. Her maternal grandmother was a distant relative to Emperor Tiberius. Her father's maternal uncle was senator and consul Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus and paternal grandfather was the general Marcus Lollius Paulinus. Paulina's younger sister was Lollia Saturnina who was married to the consul Decimus Valerius Asiaticus and by whom she had a son. Paulina became rich after inheriting her relative's estates.
Paulina's first husband, Publius Memmius Regulus, was suffect consul in CE 31 and a Roman Governor. Tacitus describes him as a man of 'dignity, who was a person of influence and good name'. Regulus died in CE 62.
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Lucius Caesar
Lucius Julius Caesar (17 BC - 20 August AD 2), most commonly known as Lucius Caesar, was the second son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. He was born between 14 of June and 15 July 17 BC with the name Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa, but when he was adopted by his maternal grandfather Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus, his name was changed to Lucius Julius Caesar. In the year of his birth, his maternal grandfather Caesar Augustus adopted him and his brother Gaius Caesar. He and his brother were raised and educated by their grandparents.
As he and Gaius were the heirs to Augustus they had promising legal and military careers. Lucius died in Gaul of an illness on August 20, 2 AD, at the age of 19. His death was followed 18 months later by the death of his brother Gaius on February 21, 4 AD. His younger brother Agrippa Postumus was consequently adopted by Augustus along with Tiberius.
It has been suggested by Tacitus that there may be been foul play involved in the death of Lucius and that Lucius' step mother Livia may have had a hand in his death. Livia's presumed motive may have been to orchestrate the accession of her own son Tiberius as heir to Augustus.
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Lucius Junius Brutus
Lucius Junius Brutus was the founder of the Roman Republic and traditionally one of the first consuls in 509 BC. He was claimed as an ancestor of the Roman gens Junia, including Marcus Junius Brutus and Decimus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Caesar's assassins.
Prior to the establishment of the Roman Republic, Rome had been ruled by kings. Brutus led the revolt that overthrew the last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, after the rape of the noblewoman (and kinswoman of Brutus) Lucretia at the hands of Tarquin's son Sextus Tarquinius. The account is from Livy's Ab urbe condita and deals with a point in the history of Rome prior to reliable historical records (virtually all prior records were destroyed by the Gauls when they sacked Rome under Brennus in 390 BC or 387 BC).
Brutus was the son of Tarquinia, daughter of Rome's fifth king Lucius Tarquinius Priscus and sister to Rome's seventh king Tarquinius Superbus.
According to Livy, Brutus had a number of grievances against his uncle the king, amongst them was the fact that Tarquin had put to death a number of the chief men of Rome, including Brutus' brother. Brutus avoided the distrust of Tarquin's family by feigning slow-wittedness (in Latin brutus translates to dullard).
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Lucius Verus
Lucius Verus (Latin: Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus; 15 December 130 – 169), was Roman co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, from 161 until his death.
Lucius Verus was the first born son to Avidia Plautia and Lucius Aelius Verus Caesar, the first adopted son and heir of Roman Emperor Hadrian (76–138). He was born and raised in Rome. Verus had another brother Gaius Avidius Ceionius Commodus and two sisters Ceionia Fabia and Ceionia Plautia. His maternal grandparents were the Roman Senator Gaius Avidius Nigrinus and the unattested noblewoman Ignota Plautia. Although his adoptive paternal grandparents were the Roman Emperor Hadrian and Roman Empress Vibia Sabina, his biological paternal grandparents were the consul Lucius Ceionius Commodus and noblewoman Aelia or Fundania Plautia.
When his father died in early 138, Hadrian chose Antoninus Pius (86–161) as his successor. Antoninus was adopted by Hadrian on the condition that Verus and Hadrian’s great-nephew Marcus Aurelius was to be adopted by Antoninus as his sons and heirs.
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Macrinus
Macrinus (Latin: Marcus Opellius Severus Macrinus Augustus; ca. 165 – June 218), was Roman Emperor from 217 to 218. Macrinus was of Berber (Indigenous people of North Africa) descent and the first emperor to become so without membership in the senatorial class.
Born in Caesarea (modern Cherchell, Algeria) in the Roman province of Mauretania to an equestrian family, Macrinus received an education which allowed him to ascend to the Roman political class. Over the years he earned a reputation as a skilled lawyer. Under the emperor Septimius Severus he became an important bureaucrat. Severus' successor Caracalla appointed him prefect of the Praetorian guard.
While Macrinus likely enjoyed the trust of Caracalla, this may have changed when, according to tradition, he was prophesied to depose and succeed the Emperor. Rumors spread regarding Macrinus' alleged desire to take the throne for himself. Given Caracalla's tendency towards murdering political opponents, Macrinus probably feared for his own safety should the Emperor become aware of this prophecy. According to Dio, Caracalla had already taken the step of re-assigning members of Macrinus' staff.
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Majorian
Majorian (Latin: Flavius Julius Valerius Majorianus Augustus; ca. 420 – August 7, 461), was the Western Roman Emperor from 457 to 461.
A prominent general of the Late Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was one of the last emperors to make a concerted effort to restore the Western Roman Empire. Possessing little more than Italy, Dalmatia, and some territory in northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned rigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies.
After defeating a Vandal attack on Italy, Majorian launched a campaign against the Visigothic Kingdom in southern Gaul. Defeating king Theodoric II at the Battle of Arelate, Majorian forced the Goths to abandon their possessions in Septimania and Hispania and return to federate status immediately. Majorian then attacked the Burgundian Kingdom, defeating them at the Siege of Lugdunum, expelling them from the Rhone valley and reducing them to federate status.
In 460, Majorian left Gaul to consolidate his hold on Hispania. His generals launched a campaign against the Suebic Kingdom in northwest Hispania, defeating them at the battles of Lucus Augusti and Scallabis and reducing them to federate status as well. His fleet for his campaign to restore Africa to the empire from the Vandals was destroyed due to treachery.
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Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos (or Comnenus) (Greek: Μανουήλ Α' Κομνηνός, Manouēl I Komnēnos) (28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180) was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean.
Eager to restore his empire to its past glories as the superpower of the Mediterranean world, Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy. In the process he made alliances with the Pope and the resurgent west, invaded Italy, successfully handled the passage of the dangerous Second Crusade through his empire, and established a Byzantine protectorate over the Crusader states of Outremer.
Facing Muslim advances in the Holy Land, he made common cause with the Kingdom of Jerusalem and participated in a combined invasion of Fatimid Egypt.
Manuel reshaped the political maps of the Balkans and the east Mediterranean, placing the kingdoms of Hungary and Outremer under Byzantine hegemony and campaigning aggressively against his neighbours both in the west and in the east. However, towards the end of his reign Manuel's achievements in the east were compromised by a serious defeat at Myriokephalon, which in large part resulted from his arrogance in attacking a well-defended Seljuk position.
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Marcian
Marcian (Latin: Flavius Marcianus Augustus; 392 – 27 January 457) was Byzantine Emperor from 450 to 457. Marcian's rule marked a recovery of the Eastern Empire, which the Emperor protected from external menaces and reformed economically and financially. On the other side, the isolationistic policies of Marcian left the Western Roman Empire without help against barbarian attacks, which materialized in the Italian campaigns of Attila and in the Vandal sack of Rome (455).
Marcian was born in 392 in Illyricum or Thracia. The son of a soldier, he spent his early life as an obscure soldier, member of a military unit located at Philippopolis. Marcian was dispatched with his unit for a war against the Sassanids (probably the Roman-Sassanid war of 421–422), but along the road East he fell ill in Lycia; at this time he might have already been tribunus and commander of his unit.
After recovering from his illness, he went to Constantinople, where he served for fifteen years as domesticus under the generals Ardaburius and Aspar. In 431/434, while fighting in Africa under Aspar, Marcian was taken prisoner by the Vandals; according to a later legend, he was brought before King Geiseric (428–477), who knew by an omen that Marcian was to be Emperor and was released on his oath never to take up arms against the Vandals.
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Marcus Atius
Marcus Atius Balbus (105 BC – 51 BC) was the son and heir of an elder Marcus Atius Balbus (148 BC – 87 BC) and Pompeia. Pompeia was a sister to consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, father of triumvir Pompey. The family of the elder Balbus came from a Roman senatorial family plebs status from Aricia (modern Ariccia, Italy). ‘Balbus’ in Latin means stammer. The younger Balbus was born and raised in Aricia.
Balbus married Julia Minor, second eldest sister of dictator Gaius Julius Caesar. Julia bore Balbus three daughters and they were:
He served as a praetor in 62 BC and he managed to obtain the government of Sardinia. Under Caesar in 59 BC, Balbus was appointed along with Pompey on a board of commissioners under Julian Law to divide estates in Campania among the commoners. Cicero stated that Pompey would say as a joke about Balbus, that he was not a person of any importance.
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Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180 AD), was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. During his reign, the Empire defeated a revitalized Parthian Empire; Aurelius' general Avidius Cassius sacked the capital Ctesiphon in 164. Aurelius fought the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians with success during the Marcomannic Wars, but the threat of the Germanic tribes began to represent a troubling reality for the Empire. A revolt in the East led by Avidius Cassius failed to gain momentum and was suppressed immediately.
Marcus Aurelius' Stoic tome Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a philosophy of service and duty, describing how to find and preserve equanimity in the midst of conflict by following nature as a source of guidance and inspiration.
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Mark Antony
Mark Antony (Latin: M·ANTONIVS·M·F·M·N) (January 14, 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC) was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar. After Caesar's assassination, Antony formed an official political alliance with Octavian (the future Augustus) and Lepidus, known to historians today as the Second Triumvirate.
The triumvirate broke up in 33 BC. Disagreement between Octavian and Antony erupted into civil war, the final war of the Roman Republic, in 31 BC. Antony was defeated by Octavian at the naval Battle of Actium, and in a brief land battle at Alexandria. He and his lover Cleopatra committed suicide shortly thereafter. His career and defeat are significant in Rome's transformation from Republic to Empire.
A member of the Antonia clan (gens), Antony was born on January 14, 83 BC. He was the homonymous and thus presumably the eldest son of Marcus Antonius Creticus (praetor 74 BC, proconsul 73–71 BC) and grandson of the noted orator Marcus Antonius (consul 99 BC, censor 97–6 BC) who had been murdered during the Marian Terror of the winter of 87–6 BC.
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Maxentius
Maxentius (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius Augustus; c. 278 – 28 October 312) was Roman Emperor from 306 to 312. He was the son of former Emperor Maximian, and the son-in-law of Emperor Galerius.
Maxentius' exact date of birth is unknown; it was probably around 278. He was the son of the Emperor Maximian and his wife Eutropia.
As his father became emperor in 285, he was regarded as crown prince who would eventually follow his father on the throne. He seems not to have served in any important military or administrative position during Diocletian's and his father's reign, though. Early (the exact date is unknown) he married Valeria Maximilla, the daughter of Galerius. He had two sons, Valerius Romulus (ca. 295 – 309) and an unknown one.
In 305, Diocletian and Maximian resigned, and the former caesares Constantius and Galerius became Augusti. Although with Constantine and Maxentius two sons of emperors were available, they were left out from the new tetrarchy, and Severus and Maximinus Daia were appointed Caesars. Some sources (Lactantius, Epitome) state that Galerius hated Maxentius and used his influence on Diocletian that Maxentius be ignored in the succession; maybe Diocletianus also thought that he was not qualified for the military duties of the imperial office. Maxentius retired to an estate some miles from Rome.
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Maximian
Maximian (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius Augustus; c. 250 – c. July 310) was Roman Emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent most of his time on campaign. In the late summer of 285, he suppressed rebels in Gaul known as the Bagaudae. From 285 to 288, he fought against Germanic tribes along the Rhine frontier. Together with Diocletian, he launched a scorched earth campaign deep into Alamannic territory in 288, temporarily relieving the Rhine provinces from the threat of Germanic invasion.
The man he appointed to police the Channel shores, Carausius, rebelled in 286, causing the secession of Britain and northwestern Gaul. Maximian failed to oust Carausius, and his invasion fleet was destroyed by storms in 289 or 290. Maximian's subordinate, Constantius, campaigned against Carausius' successor, Allectus, while Maximian held the Rhine frontier. The rebel leader was ousted in 296, and Maximian moved south to combat piracy near Hispania and Berber incursions in Mauretania. When these campaigns concluded in 298, he departed for Italy, where he lived in comfort until 305. At Diocletian's behest, Maximian abdicated on May 1, 305, gave the Augustan office to Constantius, and retired to southern Italy.
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Maximinus Thrax
Maximinus Thrax (Latin: Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus Augustus; c. 173 – 238), also known as Maximinus I, was Roman Emperor from 235 to 238.
Maximinus is described by several ancient sources, though none are contemporary except Herodian's Roman History. Maximinus was the first emperor never to set foot in Rome. He was the first of the so-called barracks emperors of the 3rd century; his rule is often considered to mark the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century. He died at Aquileia whilst attempting to put down a Senatorial revolt.
Most likely Maximinus was of Thraco-Roman origin (believed so by Herodian in his writings). According to the notoriously unreliable Augustan History (Historia Augusta), he was born in Thrace or Moesia to a Gothic father and an Alanic mother, an Iranian people of the Scythian-Sarmatian branch; however, the supposed parentage is highly unlikely, as the presence of the Goths in the Danubian area is first attested after the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century. British historian Ronald Syme, writing that "the word 'Gothia' should have sufficed for condemnation" of the passage in the Augustan History, felt that the burden of evidence from Herodian, Syncellus and elsewhere pointed to Maximinus having been born in Moesia. The references to his "Gothic" ancestry might refer to a Thracian Getae origin (the two populations were often confused by later writers, most notably by Jordanes in his Getica), as suggested by the paragraphs describing how "he was singularly beloved by the Getae, moreover, as if he were one of themselves" and how he spoke "almost pure Thracian".
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Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon (19 February 1911 - 23 November 1979) was an Indian-born British actress. She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). After her success in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), she travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel Goldwyn. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Dark Angel (1935). A traffic collision in 1937 caused facial injuries that could have ended her career, but she soon followed this with her most renowned performance in Wuthering Heights (1939).
Estelle Merle Thompson was born in Bombay, British India on 19 February 1911. According to some sources, her birth name was Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson. Merle was given "Queenie" as a nickname, in honour of Queen Mary, who visited India along with King George V in 1911.
Over the years, Oberon obscured her parentage. Some sources claim Merle's parents as Charlotte Selby, a Eurasian from Ceylon with partial Māori heritage, and Arthur Terrence O'Brien Thompson, a British mechanical engineer from Darlington, who worked in Indian Railways.
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Michael I Rangabe
Michael I Rhangabe (Greek: Μιχαῆλ A' Ῥαγγαβέ, Mikhaēl I Rhangabe; died 11 January 844) was Byzantine Emperor from 811 to 813.
Michael was the son of the patrician Theophylact Rhangabe, the admiral of the Aegean fleet. He married Prokopia, the daughter of the future Emperor Nikephoros I, and received the high court dignity of kouropalatēs after his father-in-law's accession in 802.
Michael survived Nikephoros' disastrous campaign against Krum of Bulgaria, and was considered a more appropriate candidate for the throne than his severely injured brother-in-law Staurakios. When Michael's wife Prokopia failed to persuade her brother to name Michael as his successor, Michael's supporters forced Staurakios to abdicate in his favor on 2 October 811.
Michael I attempted to carry out a policy of reconciliation, abandoning the exacting taxation instituted by Nikephoros I. While reducing imperial income, Michael generously distributed money to the army, the bureaucracy, and the Church. Elected with the support of the Orthodox party in the Church, Michael diligently persecuted the iconoclasts and forced the Patriarch Nikephoros to back down in his dispute with Theodore of Stoudios, the influential abbot of the monastery of Stoudios. Michael's piety won him a very positive estimation in the work of the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor.
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Michael II
Michael II (Greek: Μιχαήλ Β', Mikhaēl II), surnamed the Amorian (ὁ ἐξ Ἀμορίου) or the Stammerer (ὁ Τραυλός or ὁ Ψελλός), reigned as Byzantine Emperor from December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, and the first ruler of the Phrygian or Amorian dynasty.
Born in Amorium, Michael began his career as a soldier, rising to high ranks due to the favour of his old colleague, Leo V the Armenian (r. 813–820). Nevertheless, Michael masterminded a conspiracy which overthrew and murdered Leo in Christmas 820. Immediately Michael faced the long revolt of Thomas the Slav, which almost cost him his throne and which was not completely suppressed until spring 824. The later years of Michael's reign were marked by two major military disasters with long-term effects, the beginning of the Muslim conquest of Sicily, and the fall of Crete to the Saracens. Domestically, Michael supported and strengthened the resumption of official iconoclasm, which had begun under Leo V.
Michael was born in 770 in Amorium in Phrygia, into a family of professional peasant-soldiers who received for their military service land from government. His family belonged to the Judeo-Christian sect of the Athinganoi, whose members were Cappadocians who adopted Jewish rituals. The Athinganoi were numerous in Anatolia and together with the Greeks and Armenians formed the backbone of the Byzantine army of that era.
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Michael III
Michael III (Greek: Μιχαήλ Γ΄, Mikhaēl III ), (January 19, 840 – September 23/24, 867), Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian Dynasty, also known as the Phrygian Dynasty. He was given the disparaging epithet the Drunkard (ὀ Μέθυσος) by the hostile historians of the succeeding Macedonian dynasty, but modern historical research has rehabilitated his reputation to some extent, demonstrating the vital role his reign played in the resurgence of Byzantine power in the 9th century.
Michael was the youngest child of Emperor Theophilos and Theodora. Already crowned co-ruler by his father in 840, Michael III had just turned two years old when he succeeded as sole emperor on January 20, 842.
During his minority, the empire was governed by a regency headed by his mother Theodora, her uncle Sergios, and the minister Theoktistos. The empress had iconodule sympathies and deposed Patriarch John VII of Constantinople and replaced him with the iconodule Methodios in 843. This put an end to the second spell of Iconoclasm. As the emperor was growing up, the courtiers around him fought for influence. Increasingly fond of his uncle Bardas, Michael invested him with the title kaisar (Caesar – at the time a title second only to emperor) and allowed him to murder Theoktistos in November 855. With Bardas' support, and that of another uncle the successful general Petronas, Michael III overthrew the regency on March 15, 856, and relegated his mother and sisters to a monastery in 857.
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Michael V
Michael V "the Caulker" or Kalaphates (Greek: Μιχαήλ Ε΄ Καλαφάτης, Mikhaēl V Kalaphatēs), (1015 – 24 August 1042), was Byzantine emperor for 4 months in 1041–1042, as the nephew and successor of Michael IV and the adoptive son of his wife, the Empress Zoe.
Michael V was the son of Stephen by Maria, a sister of Emperor Michael IV. His father had been a caulker (hence the son's nickname), before becoming an admiral under Michael IV and botching an expedition to Sicily. Although the emperor preferred another of his nephews, the future Michael V was advanced as heir to the throne by his other uncle John the Eunuch and the Empress Zoe. Shortly before his death, Michael IV granted Michael V the title of Kaisar (Caesar), and, together with Zoe, adopted his nephew as son. On 10 December 1041, Michael V succeeded to the throne.
Determined to rule on his own, Michael V came into conflict with his uncle John the Eunuch, whom he almost immediately banished to a monastery. Michael now reversed his uncle's decisions, and recalled the nobles and courtiers who had been exiled during the previous reign, including the future patriarch Michael Keroularios and the general George Maniakes. Maniakes was promptly sent back to Southern Italy in order to contain the advance of the Normans.
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Michael VII Doukas
Michael VII Doukas or Ducas (Greek: Μιχαήλ Ζ΄ Δούκας, Mikhaēl VII Doukas), nicknamed Parapinakēs (Παραπινάκης), was Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078.
Michael VII was the eldest son of Constantine X Doukas and Eudokia Makrembolitissa, and was born c. 1050, in Constantinople. He had been associated with his father on the throne late in 1059, together with or shortly before his newly born brother Konstantios Doukas. When Constantine X died in 1067, Michael VII was 17 years old and should have been able to rule by himself. He exhibited little interest in politics, and his mother Eudokia and uncle John Doukas governed the empire as effective regents.
On January 1, 1068, Eudokia married the general Romanos Diogenes, who now became senior co-emperor alongside Michael VII, Konstantios, and another brother, Andronikos. When Romanos IV was defeated and captured by Alp Arslan of the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in August 1071, Michael VII remained in the background, while the initiative was taken by his uncle John Doukas and his tutor Michael Psellos. They conspired to keep Romanos from regaining power after his release from captivity, while he himself felt under no obligation to honor the agreement that Romanus struck with the Sultan. After the dispatch of Eudokia to a monastery, Michael VII was crowned again on October 24, 1071 as senior emperor.
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Mika Waltari
Mika Toimi Waltari ( pronunciation (help·info)) (19 September 1908 – 26 August 1979) was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel The Egyptian (Finnish: Sinuhe egyptiläinen).
Waltari was born in Helsinki and lost his father, a Lutheran pastor, at the age of five. As a boy, he witnessed the Finnish Civil War in Helsinki. Later he enrolled in the University of Helsinki as a theology student, according to his mother's wishes, but soon abandoned theology in favour of philosophy, aesthetics and literature, graduating in 1929. While studying, he contributed to various magazines and wrote poetry and stories, getting his first book published in 1925. In 1927 he went to Paris where he wrote his first major novel Suuri illusioni ('The Grand Illusion'), a story of bohemian life. In terms of style, the novel is considered to be the Finnish equivalent to the works of the American writers of the Lost Generation. (In Waltari's historical novel The Adventurer, taking place in the 16th century, the hero is a Finn who goes to Paris during his twenties and lives there a rather bohemian life). Waltari also was, for a while, a member of the liberal literary movement Tulenkantajat, though his political and social views later turned conservative. He was married in 1931 and had a daughter, Satu, who also became a writer.
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Milonia Caesonia
Milonia Caesonia (died 24 January CE 41) was a Roman empress and the fourth and last wife of the Roman Emperor Caligula.
Milonia Caesonia was born between 2 and 4 June in an unknown year near the beginning of the Common Era.
Coming from modest origins, Caesonia was a daughter of Vistilia. Her younger half-brother was the Roman Consul and General Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Her niece, Domitia Longina, married the future Roman Emperor Domitian.
Little is written of Caesonia. Suetonius says that when Caligula married her she was neither beautiful nor young, and was the mother of three daughters by another man. He describes her as a woman of reckless extravagance and wantonness, whom nevertheless Caligula loved passionately and faithfully.
Cassius Dio says that Caligula began an affair with Caesonia prior to their marriage (in either late 39 or early 40). She was pregnant when they married and gave birth to Julia Drusilla only one month later; Suetonius, on the other hand, says she gave birth on their wedding day. Cassius Dio states that the Roman public was not pleased with Caligula's marriage to Caesonia.
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Nero
Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus); 15 December 37 – 9 June 68) was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death. During his reign, Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire. He ordered theaters built and promoted athletic games. During his reign, the redoubtable general Corbulo conducted a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire. His general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a revolt in Britain and also annexed the Bosporan Kingdom to the Empire, beginning the First Roman–Jewish War.
In 64, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. In 68, the rebellion of Vindex in Gaul and later the acclamation of Galba in Hispania drove Nero from the throne. Facing assassination, he committed suicide on 9 June 68. His death ended the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, sparking a brief period of civil wars known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Nero's rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance. He is known for many executions, including those of his mother and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother, Britannicus.
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Nero Claudius Drusus
Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (14 January 38 BC – 14 September 9 BC), born Decimus Claudius Drusus also called Drusus, Drusus I, Nero Drusus, or Drusus the Elder was a Roman politician and military commander. He was a fully patrician Claudian on his father's side but his maternal grandmother was from a plebeian family. He was the son of Livia Drusilla and the stepson of her second husband, the Emperor Augustus. He was also brother of the Emperor Tiberius, father of the Emperor Claudius, paternal grandfather of the Emperor Caligula, and maternal great-grandfather of the Emperor Nero. He launched the first major Roman campaigns across the Rhine and began the conquest of Germania, becoming the first Roman general to reach the Weser and Elbe rivers. In 12 BC, Drusus led a successful campaign into Germania, subjugating the Sicambri. Later that year he led a naval expedition against Germanic tribes along the North Sea coast, conquering the Batavi and the Frisii, and defeating the Chauci near the mouth of the Weser. In 11 BC, he conquered the Usipetes and the Marsi, extending Roman control to the Upper Weser. In 10 BC, he launched a campaign against the Chatti and the resurgent Sicambri, subjugating both. The following year he conquered the Mattiaci, while defeating the Marcomanni and the Cherusci, defeating the latter near the Elbe. However, Drusus died later that year, depriving Rome of one its best generals.
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Nerva
Nerva (Latin: Marcus Cocceius Nerva Caesar Augustus; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98), was Roman Emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became Emperor at the age of sixty-five, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Under Nero, he was a member of the imperial entourage and played a vital part in exposing the Pisonian conspiracy of 65. Later, as a loyalist to the Flavians, he attained consulships in 71 and 90 during the reigns of Vespasian and Domitian respectively.
On 18 September 96, Domitian was assassinated in a palace conspiracy involving members of the Praetorian Guard and several of his freedmen. On the same day, Nerva was declared emperor by the Roman Senate. This was the first time the Senate elected a Roman Emperor. As the new ruler of the Roman Empire, he vowed to restore liberties which had been curtailed during the autocratic government of Domitian.
Nerva's brief reign was marred by financial difficulties and his inability to assert his authority over the Roman army. A revolt by the Praetorian Guard in October 97 essentially forced him to adopt an heir. After some deliberation Nerva adopted Trajan, a young and popular general, as his successor. After barely fifteen months in office, Nerva died of natural causes on 27 January 98. Upon his death he was succeeded and deified by Trajan.
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Nikephoros I
Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I, Logothetes or Genikos (Greek: Νικηφόρος Α΄, Nikēphoros I, "Bringer of Victory"; died July 26, 811) was Byzantine Emperor from 802 to 811, when he was killed in the Battle of Pliska.
A patrician from Seleucia Sidera, Nikephoros was appointed finance minister (logothetēs tou genikou) by the Empress Irene. With the help of the patricians and eunuchs he contrived to dethrone and exile Irene, and to be chosen as Emperor in her stead on October 31, 802. He crowned his son Staurakios co-emperor in 803.
His rule was endangered by Bardanes Tourkos, one of his ablest generals, who revolted and received support from other commanders, notably the later emperors Leo V the Armenian and Michael II the Amorian in 803.
But Nikephoros gained over the latter two, and by inducing the rebel army to disperse achieved the submission of Bardanes, who was blinded and relegated to a monastery. A conspiracy headed by the patrician Arsaber had a similar issue.
Nikephoros embarked on a general reorganization of the Empire, creating new themes in the Balkans (where he initiated the re-Hellenization by resettling Greeks from Anatolia) and strengthening the frontiers. Needing large sums to increase his military forces, he set himself with great energy to increase the Empire's revenue. By his rigorous tax imposts he alienated the favour of his subjects, and especially of the clergy, whom he otherwise sought to control firmly. Although he appointed an iconodule, Nikephoros as patriarch, Emperor Nikephoros was portrayed as a villain by ecclesiastical historians like Theophanes the Confessor.
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Nikephoros II Phokas
Nikephoros II Phokas (Latinized: Nicephorus II Phocas) (Νικηφόρος Β΄ Φωκᾶς, Nikēphoros II Phōkas) (c. 912 – 10–11 December 969) was a Byzantine Emperor (963–969) whose brilliant military exploits contributed to the resurgence of Byzantine Empire in the tenth century.
Nikephoros Phokas was born in about 912 and belonged to a Cappadocian family which had produced several distinguished generals, including Nikephoros' father (Bardas Phokas), brother (Leo Phokas), and grandfather (Nikephoros Phokas the Elder), who had all served as commanders of the field army (domestikos tōn scholōn). His mother, whose name is unknown, was a member of another powerful Anatolian clan, the Maleinoi.
Nikephoros joined the army at an early age. He was appointed the military governor of the Anatolikon Theme in 945 under Emperor Constantine VII. When his father, Bardas was wounded in battle in 953, Nikephoros was promoted to supreme commander on the eastern frontier. In the war with the Abbasid Caliphate under Al-Muti, Nikephoros began with a severe defeat in 954, from which he recovered in the following years by victories in Syria, starting in 957.
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Numerian
Numerian (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus Augustus; died November 284), was a Roman Emperor from 282 to 284 with his older brother Carinus. They were sons of Carus, a general raised to the office of praetorian prefect under Emperor Probus in 282.
In 282, the legions of the upper Danube in Raetia and Noricum proclaimed Numerian's father, the praetorian prefect Marcus Aurelius Carus, emperor, beginning a rebellion against the emperor Probus. Probus' army, stationed in Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia), decided they did not wish to fight Carus, and assassinated Probus instead. Carus, already sixty, wished to establish a dynasty; and immediately elevated Carinus and Numerian to the rank of Caesar.
In 283, Carus raised Carinus to the title Caesar, left him in charge of the West, and moved with Numerian and his praetorian prefect Arrius Aper to the East, to wage war against the Sassanid Empire. (The Sassanids had been embroiled in a succession dispute since the death of Shapur, and were in no position to oppose Carus' advance.) According to Zonaras, Eutropius, and Festus, Carus won a major victory against the Persians, taking Seleucia and the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon (near modern Al-Mada'in, Iraq), cities on opposite banks of the Tigris. In celebration, Numerian, Carus, and Carinus all took the title Persici maximi. Carus died in July or early August, reportedly due to a strike of lightning.
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Olybrius
Anicius Olybrius (died October 22 or November 2, 472) was Western Roman Emperor from April or May 472 to his death. He was in reality a puppet ruler, put on the throne by the Roman general of Germanic descent Ricimer, and was mainly interested in religion, while the actual power was held by Ricimer and his nephew Gundobad.
Olybrius was born in Rome, in the ancient and powerful gens Anicia, of Italian descent.
According to an hypothesis, which gathers the consensus of the historians, he was related to the Consul Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius, whose wife and cousin, Anicia Juliana, had the same name Olybrius gave to his own daughter. Other historians consider this a weak clue, as "Juliana" was a common name in the gens Anicia, and because Hermogenianus seems to have begotten only one daughter, who took chastity vows; other possible fathers have therefore been proposed: either Flavius Anicius Probus (suggested by Settipani) or, according to some clues, Petronius Maximus.
Olybrius married Placidia, younger daughter of Western Emperor Valentinian III and of his wife Licinia Eudoxia, thus creating a bond between a member of the senatorial aristocracy and the House of Theodosius. The year of their wedding is not recorded, although the historian Priscus implies it took place before the Vandal sack of Rome (June 2–16, 455). Oost has pointed out that in his chronicle Hydatius wrote Placidia was unmarried as of 455.
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Otho
Otho (Latin: Marcus Salvius Otho Caesar Augustus; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69), was Roman Emperor for three months, from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors.
Otho belonged to an ancient and noble Etruscan family, descended from the princes of Etruria and settled at Ferentinum (modern Ferento, near Viterbo) in Etruria. His paternal grandfather, Marcus Salvius Otho, whose father was a Roman knight but whose mother was of lowly origin and perhaps not even free-born, was raised in Livia's household and rose to senatorial rank through her influence, although he did not advance beyond the rank of praetor. His father was Lucius Otho.
The future Emperor appears first as one of the most reckless and extravagant of the young nobles who surrounded Nero. This friendship was brought to an end in 58 because of his wife, the noblewoman Poppaea Sabina. Otho introduced his beautiful wife to the Emperor upon Poppaea's insistence, who then began an affair that would eventually lead to her premature death. After securely establishing this position as his mistress, she divorced Otho and had the Emperor send him away to the remote province of Lusitania (which is now parts of both modern Portugal and Extremadura).
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Pertinax
Pertinax (Latin: Publius Helvius Pertinax Augustus; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman Emperor for three months in 193. He is known as the first emperor of the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. A high-ranking military and Senatorial figure, he tried to restore discipline in the Praetorian Guards, whereupon they rebelled and killed him. Upon his death he was succeeded by Didius Julianus, whose reign was similarly short.
His career before becoming emperor is documented in the Historia Augusta and confirmed in many places by existing inscriptions. Born in Alba Pompeia in Italy, the son of freedman Helvius Successus, originally Pertinax made his way as a grammaticus (teacher of grammar), but he eventually decided to find a more rewarding line of work and through the help of patronage he was commissioned an officer in a cohort.
In the Parthian war that followed, he was able to distinguish himself, which resulted in a string of promotions, and after postings in Britain (as military tribune of the Legio VI Victrix) and along the Danube, he served as a procurator in Dacia. He suffered a setback as a victim of court intrigues during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, but shortly afterwards he was recalled to assist Claudius Pompeianus in the Marcomannic Wars. In 175 he received the honor of a suffect consulship and until 185, Pertinax was governor of the provinces of Upper and Lower Moesia, Dacia, Syria and finally governor of Britain.
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Petronius Maximus
Flavius Petronius Maximus (possibly Flavius Anicius Petronius Maximus) (c. 396 – 31 May 455) was Western Roman Emperor for two and one-half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman magister militum, Flavius Aëtius, and the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III. Maximus was killed during the events that culminated in the Vandal sack of Rome in 455.
Petronius Maximus was born in about 396. Although he was of obscure origin, it is now believed that he belonged to the Anicii family. Related to later Emperor Olybrius, Maximus was the son of Anicius Probinus, the son of Anicia Faltonia Proba and Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus, who was Prefect of Illyricum in 364, Prefect of Gaul in 366, Prefect of Italy in 368–375 and again in 383 and consul in 371.
Maximus achieved a remarkable career early on in his life. His earliest known office was praetor, held about 411; around 415 he served as a tribunus et notarius, which was an entry position to the imperial bureaucracy, and led to his serving as Comes sacrarum largitionum (Count of the Sacred Largess) between 416 and 419.
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Philip the Arab
Philip the Arab (Latin: Marcus Julius Philippus Augustus; c. 204 – 249), also known as Philip or Philippus Arabs, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He came from Syria, and rose to become a major figure in the Roman Empire. He achieved power after the death of Gordian III, quickly negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire. During his reign, Rome celebrated its millennium.
Among early Christian writers Philip had the reputation of being sympathetic to the Christian faith. It was even claimed that he converted to Christianity, becoming the first Christian emperor, but this is disputed. He supposedly tried to celebrate Easter with Christians in Antioch, but the bishop Babylas made him stand with the penitents. Philip and his wife received letters from Origen.
Philip was overthrown and killed following a rebellion led by his successor Decius.
Little is known about Philip's early life and political career. He was born in what is today Shahba, about 55 miles (89 km) southeast of Damascus, in the Trachonitis district, then in the Roman province of Arabia. Philip, who received the nickname "the Arab" because his family hailed from the Roman province of Arabia, was the son of a Julius Marinus, a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance.
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Philippikos Bardanes
Philippikos or Philippicus (Greek: Φιλιππικός), was Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 711 to 713.
Philippicus was originally named Bardanes (Greek: Βαρδάνης, Vardanis; Armenian: Վարդան, Vardan), and was the son of the patrician Nikephorus, who was of Armenian extraction from an Armenian colony in Pergamum.
Relying on the support of the Monothelite party, he made some pretensions to the throne on the outbreak of the first great rebellion against Emperor Justinian II; these led to his relegation to Cephalonia by Tiberius Apsimarus, and subsequently to his banishment, by order of Justinian, to Cherson. Here Bardanes, taking the name of Philippicus, successfully incited the inhabitants to revolt with the help of the Khazars. The successful rebels seized Constantinople and Justinian fled (to be assassinated soon afterward, unable to rally substantial support in the provinces); Philippikos took the throne.
Among his first acts were the deposition of the orthodox patriarch Cyrus of Constantinople, in favour of John VI, a member of his own sect, and the summoning of a conciliabulum of Eastern bishops, which abolished the canons of the Sixth Ecumenical Council. In response the Roman Church refused to recognize the new Emperor and his patriarch. Meanwhile Tervel of Bulgaria plundered up to the walls of Constantinople in 712. When Philippicus transferred an army from the Opsikion theme to police the Balkans, the Umayyad Caliphate under Al-Walid I made inroads across the weakened defenses of Asia Minor.
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Phocas
Phocas (Latin: Flavius Phocas Augustus; Greek: Φωκᾶς, Phokas) was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.
Almost nothing is known of Phocas's early life, although he may have been a native of Thrace. The name of his father is unknown. His mother was named Domentia (or Domentzia). He had at least two brothers, Comentiolus and Domentziolus.
By 600, he was a subaltern officer in the Byzantine army that served during Maurice's Balkan campaigns, and apparently was viewed as a leader by his fellow soldiers. He was a member of a delegation sent by the army in that year to Constantinople to submit grievances to the government. The Avars had defeated the Byzantines in 598, had taken a large number of prisoners, and demanded a ransom. Maurice refused to pay and all the prisoners were killed, causing consternation among the army. The delegation's complaints were rejected, and, according to several sources, Phocas himself was slapped and humiliated by prominent court officials at this time.
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Plautia Urgulanilla
Plautia Urgulanilla (fl. 1st century) was the first wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius. They married sometime around the year 9 CE, when Claudius was 18 years old. According to Suetonius, Claudius divorced her in 24 on grounds of adultery by Plautia and his suspicions of her involvement in the murder of her sister-in-law Apronia.
Her father was Marcus Plautius Silvanus, a general who was consul for the year 2 BC. He had been honored with a triumph.
Urgulanilla was named for her grandmother, Urgulania, a close friend of the Empress Livia Drusilla.
She gave birth to a son, Claudius Drusus, whose betrothal to a daughter of Sejanus instilled unfulfilled expectations in the prefect Claudius. Claudius Drusus died young.
Urgulanilla had a daughter, Claudia, who was born five months after her divorce from Claudius. As Claudia was widely known to be the illegitimate daughter of the freedman, Boter, Claudius repudiated the child and he had her laid at Urgulanilla's doorstep. Her adopted nephew was Tiberius Plautius Silvanus Aelianus.
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Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (23 AD – August 25, 79 AD), better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian. Spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an encyclopedic work, Naturalis Historia, which became a model for all such works written subsequently. Pliny the Younger, his nephew, wrote of him in a letter to the historian Tacitus:
Pliny is referring to the fact that Tacitus relied on his uncle's now missing work on the History of the German Wars. Pliny the Elder died on August 25, 79 AD, while attempting the rescue by ship of a friend and his family from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that had just destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The prevailing wind would not allow his ship to leave the shore. His companions attributed his collapse and death to toxic fumes; but they were unaffected by the fumes, suggesting natural causes.
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Pupienus
Pupienus (Latin: Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus Augustus; born c. 165/170 – 29 July 238), also known as Pupienus Maximus, was Roman Emperor with Balbinus for three months in 238, during the Year of the Six Emperors. The sources for this period are scant, and thus knowledge of the emperor is limited. In most contemporary texts Pupienus is referred by his agnomen "Maximus" rather than by his cognomen (family name) Pupienus.
The Historia Augusta, whose testimony is not to be trusted unreservedly, paints Pupienus as an example of advancement through the cursus honorum due to military success. It claims he was the son of a blacksmith, was adopted by one Pescennia Marcellina (otherwise unknown), and who started his career as a Centurio primus pilus before becoming a Tribunus Militum, and then a Praetor. He was in fact part of the aristocracy, albeit a minor one, and possibly quite recently. Hailing from the Etruscan city of Volterra, it has been speculated that Pupienus was the son of Marcus Pupienus Maximus, a Senator who was the first member of his family to enter the Senate, and wife Clodia Pulchra.
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Quintillus
Quintillus (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus Augustus; c. 220 – April 270), commonly known as Quintillus, was Roman Emperor for less than a year in 270.
Quintillus was born at Sirmium in Illyricum. Originally coming from a low born family, Quintillus came to prominence with the accession of his brother Claudius II Gothicus to the imperial throne in 268. He had possibly been made Procurator of Sardinia during his brother’s reign, and upon the death of his brother in 270, Quintillus was declared emperor either by the Senate or by his brother’s soldiers.
Eutropius reports Quintillus to have been elected by soldiers of the Roman army immediately following the death of his brother. The choice was reportedly approved by the Roman Senate. Joannes Zonaras reports him elected by the Senate itself. Records however agree that the legions which had followed Claudius in campaigning along the Danube were either unaware or disapproving of Quintillus' elevation. They instead elevated their current leader Aurelian as emperor.
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Richard Kiley
Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for his voice work, as narrator of various documentary series, and for having played Don Quixote in the original 1965 production of the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha. Kiley was the first to sing and record "The Impossible Dream", the hit song from the show. In the 1953 hit musical Kismet, he played the Caliph, and introduced the song "Stranger in Paradise". He won three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and two Tony Awards during his career.
Kiley was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised Roman Catholic. He graduated from Mt. Carmel High School in 1940, and after a year at Loyola University Chicago he left to study acting at Chicago's Barnum Dramatic School. In the late 40s, he performed in Chicago-area summer stock theaters with actors such as Alan Furlan. Following a stint in the Navy, he returned to Chicago working as an actor and announcer on radio before moving to New York City. In New York he studied singing with Ray Smolover.
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Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves (also known as Robert Ranke Graves and most commonly Robert Graves) 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, scholar/translator/writer of antiquity specializing in Classical Greece and Rome, and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works. Graves's poems—together with his translations and innovative analysis and interpretations of the Greek myths, his memoir of his early life, including his role in the First World War, Goodbye to All That, and his pseudo-historical study of poetic inspiration, The White Goddess—have never been out of print.
He earned his living from writing, particularly popular historical novels such as I, Claudius, King Jesus, The Golden Fleece, and Count Belisarius. He also was a prominent translator of Classical Latin and Ancient Greek texts; his versions of The Twelve Caesars and The Golden Ass remain popular today for their clarity and entertaining style. Graves was awarded the 1934 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for both I, Claudius and Claudius the God.
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Roman civil wars
There were several Roman civil wars, especially during the late Republic. The most famous of these are the war in the 40s BC between Julius Caesar and the optimate faction of the senatorial elite initially led by Pompey and the subsequent war between Caesar's successors, Octavian and Mark Antony in the 30s BC. Following is a list of civil wars in ancient Rome.
After 30 BC, the Roman Empire was unified under leadership of Octavian. In 27 BC Octavian was granted the title of Augustus by the Senate. These two dates are considered to mark the end of the Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire. The period of rule by the Caesars was known as the "Pax Augusti" (peace of Augustus), and was the beginning of the era known as the "Pax Romana" (Roman Peace). The next serious Roman civil war would not be fought until after Nero's suicide in 68 AD, the year before the year of the four emperors.
From the rule of the Flavian Dynasty until the Year Of The Five Emperors, the Roman Empire experienced an extended period of internal peace and harmony later known as the time of The Five Good Emperors - Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius and Marcus Aurelius.
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Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period (starting at about 27 BC). The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor. If a man was "proclaimed emperor" this normally meant he was proclaimed augustus, or (for generals) imperator (from which English emperor ultimately derives). Several other titles and offices were regularly accumulated by emperors, such as caesar, princeps senatus, consul and Pontifex Maximus. The power of emperors was generally based on the accumulation of powers from republican offices and the support of the army.
Roman emperors refused to be considered "kings", instead claiming to be leaders of a republic, however nominal. The first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically Republican, his successor, Tiberius, could not convincingly make the same claim. Nonetheless, the Republican institutional framework (senate, consuls, magistracies etc.) was preserved until the very end of the Western Empire.
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Roman emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period (starting at about 27 BC). The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor. If a man was "proclaimed emperor" this normally meant he was proclaimed augustus, or (for generals) imperator (from which English emperor ultimately derives). Several other titles and offices were regularly accumulated by emperors, such as caesar, princeps senatus, consul and Pontifex Maximus. The power of emperors was generally based on the accumulation of powers from republican offices and the support of the army.
Roman emperors refused to be considered "kings", instead claiming to be leaders of a republic, however nominal. The first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically Republican, his successor, Tiberius, could not convincingly make the same claim. Nonetheless, the Republican institutional framework (senate, consuls, magistracies etc.) was preserved until the very end of the Western Empire.
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Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos (or Romanus I Lecapenus) (Greek: Ρωμανός Α΄ Λακαπήνος, Rōmanos I Lakapēnos; Armenian: Ռոմանոս Ա Լակապենոս, Romanos I Lakapenos) (circa 870 – June 15, 948) was Byzantine Emperor from 920 until his deposition on December 16, 944.
Romanos Lekapenos, the son of an Armenian peasant Although he did not receive any refined education (for which he was later abused by his son-in-law Constantine VII), Romanos advanced through the ranks of the army during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise. In 911 he was general of the naval theme of Samos and later served as admiral of the fleet (droungarios tou ploimou). In this capacity he was supposed to participate in the Byzantine operations against Bulgaria on the Danube in 917, but he was unable to carry out his mission. In the aftermath of the disastrous Byzantine defeat at the Battle of Acheloos in 917 by the Bulgarians, Romanos sailed to Constantinople, where he gradually overcame the discredited regency of Empress Zoe Karvounopsina and her supporter Leo Phokas.
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Romanos II
Romanos (or Romanus) II (Greek: Ρωμανός Β΄, Rōmanos II) (938 – 15 March 963) was a Byzantine Emperor. He succeeded his father Constantine VII in 959 at the age of twenty-one, and died suddenly in 963.
Romanos II was a son of Emperor Constantine VII and Helena Lekapene, the daughter of Emperor Romanos I and his wife Theodora. Named after his maternal grandfather, Romanos was married, as a child, to Bertha, the illegitimate daughter of Hugh of Arles, King of Italy, who changed her name to Eudokia after her marriage. On April 6, 945, after the fall of the Lekapenoi, Constantine VII crowned his son Romanos co-emperor.[citation needed][clarification needed] With Hugh out of power in Italy and dead by 947, and Bertha herself dying in 949, Romanos secured the promise from his father that he would be allowed to select his own bride. Romanos' choice fell on an innkeeper's daughter named Anastaso, whom he married in 956 and renamed Theophano.
In November 959 Romanos II succeeded his father on the throne, among rumors that he or his wife had contributed to the death of Constantine VII by poisoning him. Romanos purged his father's courtiers of his enemies and replaced them with his friends and those of his wife. Among the persons removed from court were the Empress Mother, Helena, and her daughters, all of them being sent to a nunnery. Nevertheless, many of Romanos' appointees were able men, including his chief adviser, the eunuch Joseph Bringas.
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Romanos III Argyros
Romanos III Argyros (or Romanus III Argyrus) (Greek: Ρωμανός Γ΄ Αργυρός, Rōmanos III Argyros) (968 – 11 April 1034) was Byzantine emperor from 15 November 1028 until his death.
Romanos Argyros was the son of an unnamed member of the Argyros family and a great-grandson of Emperor Romanos I. His sister Maria had married Giovanni Orseolo, a Venetian lord in Dalmatia. He also had a brother, Basil Argyros. Under Basil II Romanos served as judge, and under Constantine VIII he became urban prefect of Constantinople. Romanos attracted the attention of Constantine VIII, who forced him to divorce his wife (sending her into a monastery) and to marry the emperor's daughter Zoe. The marriage took place on November 12, 1028, and three days later Constantine VIII died, leaving Romanos III as emperor.
The new emperor showed great eagerness to make his mark as a ruler, but was mostly unfortunate in his enterprises. He spent large sums upon new buildings and in endowing the monks, and in his endeavour to relieve the pressure of taxation disorganized the finances of the state. Idealizing Marcus Aurelius, Romanos aspired to be a new "philosopher king", and similarly desired to imitate the military prowess of Trajan.
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Romanos IV Diogenes
Romanos (or Romanus) IV Diogenes (Greek: Ρωμανός Δ΄ Διογένης, Rōmanos IV Diogenēs) was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy who, after his marriage to the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa was crowned Byzantine emperor and reigned from 1068 to 1071. During his reign he was determined to halt the decline of the Byzantine military and stop Turkish incursions into the Byzantine Empire, but in 1071 he was captured and his army routed at the Battle of Manzikert. While still captive he was overthrown in a palace coup, and when released he was quickly defeated and detained by members of the Doukas family. In 1072, he was blinded and sent to a monastery where he died of his wounds.
Romanos Diogenes was the son of Constantine Diogenes and a member of a prominent and powerful Cappadocian family, connected by birth to most of the great aristocratic nobles in Asia Minor. His mother was an anonymous daughter of Basil Argyros, brother of the emperor Romanos III. Courageous and generous, but also quite impetuous, Romanos's military talents had seen him rise with distinction in the army, including serving on the Danubian frontier but he was eventually convicted of attempting to usurp the throne of the sons of Constantine X Doukas in 1067. While waiting to receive his sentence from the regent Eudokia Makrembolitissa, he was summoned into her presence and advised that she had pardoned him and that furthermore she had chosen him to be her husband and the guardian of her sons as emperor. She took this course of action firstly due to her concern that unless she managed to find a powerful husband, she could easily lose the regency to any unscrupulous noble, and secondly because she was infatuated with the popular Romanus. Her decision was met with little protest as the Seljuk Turks had overrun much of Cappadocia and had even taken the important city of Caesarea, meaning that the army needed to be placed under the command of an able and energetic general.
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Romulus Augustulus
Romulus Augustus (born perhaps around 460 – died after 476, possibly alive around 500), is sometimes considered the last Western Roman Emperor (although by other accounts the last Western Roman Emperor was Julius Nepos), reigning from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. His deposition by Odoacer traditionally marks the end of the Western Roman Empire, the fall of ancient Rome, and the beginning of the Middle Ages in Western Europe.
He is also known by his nickname "Romulus Augustulus", though he ruled officially as Romulus Augustus. The Latin suffix -ulus is a diminutive; hence, Augustulus effectively means "Little Augustus".
The historical record contains few details of Romulus' life. He was installed as emperor by his father Orestes, the Magister militum (master of soldiers) of the Roman army after deposing the previous emperor Julius Nepos. Romulus, little more than a child, acted as a figurehead for his father's rule. Reigning for only ten months, Romulus was then deposed by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer and sent to live in the Castellum Lucullanum in Campania; afterwards he disappears from the historical record.
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Saloninus
Publius Licinius Cornelius Saloninus Valerianus (c. 242 – 260) was Roman Emperor in 259 or 260.
Saloninus was born around the year 242. His father was the later emperor Gallienus, his mother Cornelia Salonina, a Greek from Bithynia. In 258 Saloninus was appointed Caesar by his father (just like his older brother Valerian II, who had died around 258) and sent to Gaul to make sure his father's authority was respected there. (The title Caesar in Imperial nomenclature indicated that the holder was the Crown Prince and first in line of succession after the Augustus, the title reserved for the ruling Emperor). Like Valerian II, who was made the ward of Ingenuus, governor of the Illyrian provinces, Saloninus was put under the protection of the praetorian prefect Silvanus (otherwise named as Albanus) As Caesar in Gaul Saloninus had his main seat in Cologne.
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Scott Rudin
Scott Rudin (born July 14, 1958) is an American film producer and a theatrical producer. In 2012, Rudin became one of the few people who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award, the first producer to do so.
Scott Rudin was born in New York City, NY, on July 14, 1958, and raised in a Jewish family in the town of Baldwin on Long Island. At the age of sixteen, he started working as an assistant to theatre producer Kermit Bloomgarden. Later, he worked for producers Robert Whitehead and Emanuel Azenberg. In lieu of attending college, Rudin took a job as a casting agent and ended up starting his own company. His newly minted firm cast numerous Broadway shows, including Annie (1977) for Mike Nichols. He also cast PBS's Verna: USO Girl (1978), starring Sissy Spacek and William Hurt, and the films King of the Gypsies (1978), The Wanderers (1979), Simon (1980) with Alan Arkin and Resurrection (1980). Rudin is openly homosexual.
In 1980, Rudin moved to Los Angeles, taking up employment at Edgar J. Scherick Associates, where he served as producer on a variety of films including I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1981), the NBC miniseries Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982) and the Oscar-winning documentary He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin' (1983).
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Sejanus
Lucius Aelius Seianus (20 BC – October 18, AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus, was an ambitious soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. An equestrian by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, of which he was commander from AD 14 until his death in AD 31.
While the Praetorian Guard was formally established under Emperor Augustus, Sejanus introduced a number of reforms which saw the unit evolve beyond a mere bodyguard into a powerful and influential branch of the government involved in public security, civil administration, and ultimately political intercession; changes which would have a lasting impact on the course of the Principate.
During the 20s, Sejanus gradually accumulated power by consolidating his influence over Tiberius and eliminating potential political opponents, including the emperor's son, Drusus Julius Caesar. When Tiberius withdrew to Capri in 26, Sejanus was left in control of the entire state mechanism as de facto ruler of the empire. For a time the most influential and feared citizen of Rome, Sejanus suddenly fell from power in 31, the year his career culminated with the consulship. Amidst suspicions of conspiracy against Tiberius, Sejanus was arrested and executed, along with his followers.
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Seneca the younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca; ca. 4 BC – AD 65) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero. While he was later forced to commit suicide for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to assassinate Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors, he may have been innocent. His father was Seneca the Elder and his elder brother was Gallio.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was born in Cordoba, in the Baetica, the southern highly romanized province of Spain. One of his revisionist modern biographers, however, Miriam Griffin says in her biography of Seneca that "the evidence for Seneca's life before his exile in 41 is so slight, and the potential interest of these years, for social history as well as for biography, is so great that few writers on Seneca have resisted the temptation to eke out knowledge with imagination." Griffin also states, apparently inferring from ancient sources, that Seneca was born in either 8, 4, or 1 BC. She thinks he was born between 4 and 1 BC and was a resident in Rome by AD 5. Seneca says that he was carried to Rome in the arms of his mother's stepsister. Griffin says that, allowing for rhetorical exaggeration, means "it is fair to conclude that Seneca was in Rome as a very small boy." Be that as it may, it is clear that he was in Rome at a relatively early stage in his life.
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Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca; ca. 4 BC – AD 65) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero. While he was later forced to commit suicide for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to assassinate Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors, he may have been innocent. His father was Seneca the Elder and his elder brother was Gallio.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was born in Cordoba, in the Baetica, the southern highly romanized province of Spain. One of his revisionist modern biographers, however, Miriam Griffin says in her biography of Seneca that "the evidence for Seneca's life before his exile in 41 is so slight, and the potential interest of these years, for social history as well as for biography, is so great that few writers on Seneca have resisted the temptation to eke out knowledge with imagination." Griffin also states, apparently inferring from ancient sources, that Seneca was born in either 8, 4, or 1 BC. She thinks he was born between 4 and 1 BC and was a resident in Rome by AD 5. Seneca says that he was carried to Rome in the arms of his mother's stepsister. Griffin says that, allowing for rhetorical exaggeration, means "it is fair to conclude that Seneca was in Rome as a very small boy." Be that as it may, it is clear that he was in Rome at a relatively early stage in his life.
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Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus (Latin: Lucius Septimius Severus Augustus; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211), also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through 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.
After solidifying his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. 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 and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern frontier of the empire. Late in his reign he traveled to Britain, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 208 he invaded Caledonia modern Scotland, but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill in late 210. Severus died in early 211 at Eboracum, succeeded by his sons Caracalla and Geta. With the succession of his sons, Severus founded the Severan dynasty, the last dynasty of the empire before the Crisis of the Third Century.
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Sextus Martinianus
Sextus Marcius Martinianus (usually rendered in English as Martinian; died 325) was Roman Emperor from July to September 18, 324. He had been appointed co-emperor by Licinius.
In 324, as the second civil war between Licinius and Constantine I was at its height, the situation for Licinius was not promising. Following his defeat at the Battle of Adrianople, he decided to replace Constantine (in name only) as western Augustus. As his replacement he named Martinian co-emperor, as he had previously appointed Valens during his earlier war with Constantine. Prior to his elevation, which took place some time after the Battle of Adrianople (July 3, 324), Martinian was serving as magister officiorum at Licinius' court.
In the wake of Licinius's defeat at Adrianople Licinius sent Martinian, with an army including Visigothic auxiliaries, to Lampsacus (on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont or Dardanelles) to prevent Constantine from crossing from Thrace into Mysia and Bithynia in Asia Minor. A naval battle in the Hellespont resulted in the destruction of Licinius' navy by Constantine's eldest son Crispus. Following this defeat Licinius withdrew his forces from Byzantium, which was being besieged by Constantine, to Chalcedon on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphoros. Constantine then crossed over to Asia Minor, using a flotilla of light transports in order to evade the forces of Martinian. Licinius recalled Martinian from Lampsacus to reinforce his main army. On September 18 Licinius was defeated for the last time at the Battle of Chrysopolis.
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Staurakios
Staurakios or Stauracius (Greek: Σταυράκιος; died January 11, 812) was Byzantine Emperor from July 26 to October 2, 811 in succession to his father, Nikephoros I, who had fallen at the Battle of Pliska. His rule was cut short by a severe wound suffered in the same battle, and he was forced into retirement in a monastery by his brother-in-law, Michael I Rangabe, where he died soon after.
The son of Emperor Nikephoros I, Staurakios had been crowned as co-emperor by his father in December 803. The chronicler Theophanes the Confessor, on top of stating that he was completely unfit to become co-emperor also claimed that Staurakios was guilty of rape, a claim perhaps colored by his hostility to Nikephoros I. On 20 December 807, the Athenian Theophano, a relative of the deposed Empress Irene, was selected by Nikephoros as Staurakios' wife from a company of young ladies, assembled from around the Empire in a bride show. The two were married that same day. During his father’s reign, he had been given command of the elite tagma of the Hikanatoi.
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Tacitus
Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56 – AD 117) was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors. These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus in AD 14 to (presumably) the death of emperor Domitian in AD 96. There are substantial lacunae in the surviving texts, including one four books long in the Annals.
Other writings by him discuss oratory (in dialogue format, see Dialogus de oratoribus), Germania (in De origine et situ Germanorum), and the life of his father-in-law Agricola, mainly focusing on his campaign in Britannia (see De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae).
Tacitus is considered to be one of the greatest Roman historians. He lived in what has been called the Silver Age of Latin literature, and as well as the brevity and compactness of his Latin prose, he is known for his penetrating insights into the psychology of power politics.
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Theodore I Laskaris
Theodoros I Komnenos Laskaris (Greek: Θεόδωρος Α' Λάσκαρις, Theodōros I Laskaris) (c. 1174/1175–1221/August, 1222) was Emperor of Nicaea (1204–1221 or 1205–1222).
Theodore Laskaris was born to the Laskaris, a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family of Constantinople. He was the son of Manuel Laskaris (b. c. 1140) and wife Ioanna Karatzaina (b. c. 1148). He had four older brothers: Manuel Laskaris (d. aft. 1256), Michael Laskaris (d. 1261/1271), Georgios Laskaris and Constantine Laskaris (d. aft. March 19, 1205), Emperor of Byzantium (1204–1205); and two younger brothers: Alexios Laskaris, Latin military leader against the Bulgars who fought with the French against John III Doukas Vatatzes and was imprisoned and blinded, and Isaakios Laskaris.
According to "The Latins in the Levant. A History of Frankish Greece (1204–1566)" (1908) by William Miller, the seven brothers may also have had a sister. Miller identified said sister with the wife of Marco I Sanudo and mother of Angelo Sanudo. He based this theory on his own interpretation of Italian chronicles. The "Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople" (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza rejected the theory based on the silence of Byzantine primary sources.
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Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris (Greek: Θεόδωρος Β΄ Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Theodōros II Doukas Laskaris) (1221/1222 – August 18, 1258) was emperor of Nicaea, 1254–1258.
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris was the only son of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Eirene Laskarina, the daughter of Emperor Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Angelina, a daughter of Emperor Alexios III Angelos and Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina. Theodore was born in late 1221 or early 1222, reportedly on the very day his father ascended the throne.
Theodore II received a scholarly education by Nicephorus Blemmydes and remained devoted to science and art throughout his life. In contrast with earlier practice, Theodore II was not crowned co-emperor with his father, though he assisted in the government since c. 1241. On the death of John III on November 4, 1254, Theodore II was acclaimed emperor by the army and the court, but was crowned only after the appointment of a new patriarch, Arsenios Autoreianos, in 1255.
The succession of Theodore II was exploited by the Bulgarians, who invaded Thrace under the leadership of the young and inexperienced Michael Asen I of Bulgaria in 1255. In spite of his own scholarly predisposition, Theodore II immediately marched against the Bulgarians and inflicted a crushing defeat on them. During his second expedition in 1256, he managed to conclude a favorable peace with Bulgaria, which may have plunged the latter into a crisis of leadership. Theodore II followed up his victory against Bulgaria by expanding his control in the west, where he annexed Durazzo and Servia, effectively outflanking his rivals in Epirus.
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Theodosios III
Theodosios III or Theodosius III (Greek: Θεοδόσιος Γ΄), was Byzantine Emperor from 715 to 25 March 717.
Theodosius was a financial officer and tax collector in the southern portion of the theme of Opsikion. According to one theory he was the son of the former Emperor Tiberius III. When the thematic troops rebelled against Emperor Anastasius II, he was chosen as emperor. Theodosius did not readily accept this choice and according to the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor even attempted to hide in the forests near Adramyttium. Eventually he was found and was acclaimed emperor in May 715.
Theodosius and his troops immediately laid siege to Constantinople. Six months later, in November, they gained entry the city. Theodosius showed himself remarkably moderate in his treatment of his predecessor and his supporters. Through the intercession of Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople Anastasius II was convinced to abdicate and become a monk in Thessalonica.
Little is known of Theodosius' short reign. He immediately faced an Arab invasion deep into Anatolia and the advance of the Arab fleet. In 716 he concluded a treaty with Tervel of Bulgaria favorable to the Bulgarians in effort to secure support against the Arab invasion. This policy paid off in 719, when they helped relieve the Second Arab siege of Constantinople.
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Theodosius I
Theodosius I (Latin: Flavius Theodosius Augustus; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland south of the Danube within the empire's borders. He also issued decrees that effectively made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire.
He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church as Saint Theodosius. He defeated the usurpers Magnus Maximus and Eugenius and fostered the destruction of some prominent pagan temples: the Serapeum in Alexandria, the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, and the Vestal Virgins in Rome. After his death, Theodosius' sons Arcadius and Honorius inherited the East and West halves respectively, and the Roman Empire was never again re-united.
Theodosius was born in Cauca or Italica, Hispania, to senior military officer Theodosius the Elder. He accompanied his father to Britannia to help quell the Great Conspiracy in 368. He was military commander (dux) of Moesia, a Roman province on the lower Danube, in 374. However, shortly thereafter, and at about the same time as the sudden disgrace and execution of his father, Theodosius retired to Spain. The reason for his retirement, and the relationship (if any) between it and his father's death is unclear. It is possible that he was dismissed from his command by the emperor Valentinian I after the loss of two of Theodosius' legions to the Sarmatians in late 374.
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Theodosius II
Theodosius II (Latin: Flavius Theodosius Junior Augustus; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), commonly surnamed Theodosius the Younger, or Theodosius the Calligrapher, was Byzantine Emperor from 408 to 450. He is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code, and for the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. He also presided over the outbreak of two great christological controversies, Nestorianism and Eutychianism.
Theodosius was born in 401 as the only son of Emperor Arcadius and his Frankish-born wife Aelia Eudoxia. In 408, his father died and the seven-year-old boy became Emperor of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire.
Government was at first by the Praetorian Prefect Anthemius, under whose supervision the Theodosian land walls of Constantinople were constructed.
In 414, Theodosius' older sister Pulcheria was proclaimed Augusta and assumed the regency. By 416 Theodosius was capable of ruling himself, but his sister remained a strong influence on him. In June 421, Theodosius married Aelia Eudocia, a woman of Greek origin. The two had a daughter named Licinia Eudoxia.
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Tiberios III
Tiberios III (or Tiberius III) (Greek: Τιβέριος Γ') (died 15 February 706) was Byzantine emperor from 698 to 21 August 705. Although his rule was considered generally successful, especially in containing the Arab threat to the east, he was overthrown by the former emperor Justinian II and subsequently executed.
Tiberius was a Germanic naval officer from the region of Pamphylia and originally named Apsimaros (Αψίμαρος), who rose to the position of droungarios of the Cibyrrhaeotic Theme. He participated in the failed campaign to regain Carthage in 698. As admiral John the Patrician retreated from Carthage to Crete, the fleet rebelled, deposed and murdered their commander, and chose Apsimaros as his replacement. Changing his name to Tiberios, Apsimaros sailed on Constantinople which was suffering from a plague and proceeded to besiege it.
His revolution attracted the support of the Green faction, as well as detachments from the field army and the imperial guard, and officers loyal to him opened the gates of the city and proclaimed him emperor, after which his troops the proceeded to pillage the city. When he was firmly established on the throne, he commanded that the nose of deposed Emperor Leontius be cut off, and ordered him to enter the monastery of Psamathion. Leontios had also mutilated his predecessor Justinian II in the same fashion three years earlier.
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Tiberius
Tiberius (Latin: Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March 37 AD), was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian. Tiberius would later marry Augustus' daughter Julia the Elder (from his marriage to Scribonia) and even later be adopted by Augustus, by which act he officially became a Julian, bearing the name Tiberius Julius Caesar. The subsequent emperors after Tiberius would continue this blended dynasty of both families for the next forty years; historians have named it the Julio-Claudian dynasty. In relations to the other emperors of this dynasty, Tiberius was the stepson of Augustus, great-uncle of Caligula, paternal uncle of Claudius, and great-great uncle of Nero.
Tiberius was one of Rome's greatest generals, conquering Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and temporarily Germania; laying the foundations for the northern frontier. But he came to be remembered as a dark, reclusive, and sombre ruler who never really desired to be emperor; Pliny the Elder called him tristissimus hominum, "the gloomiest of men." After the death of Tiberius’ son Drusus Julius Caesar in 23 he became more reclusive and aloof. In 26, against better judgement, Tiberius exiled himself from Rome and left administration largely in the hands of his unscrupulous Praetorian Prefects Lucius Aelius Sejanus and Quintus Naevius Sutorius Macro. Caligula, Tiberius' grand-nephew and adopted grandson, succeeded the emperor upon his death.
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Tiberius Gemellus
Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero Gemellus, known as Tiberius Gemellus (10 October AD 19–AD 37 or 38) was the son of Drusus and Livilla, the grandson of the Emperor Tiberius, and the cousin of the Emperor Caligula. Gemellus is a nickname meaning "the twin". His twin brother, Tiberius Claudius Caesar Germanicus II Gemellus, died in infancy in 23 AD.
Gemellus' father Drusus died mysteriously when Gemellus was only four. It is believed that Drusus died at the hands of the Praetorian Prefect, Lucius Aelius Sejanus. His mother Livilla was put to death because she had been plotting with Sejanus to overthrow Tiberius, and also because she may have worked with Sejanus to poison her husband.
Little is known about Gemellus' life, as he was largely ignored by most of the Imperial family, so much so that one of the major landmarks of his youth, the toga virilis, wasn't celebrated until he was eighteen. The normal age to celebrate this was fourteen years.
At the age of twelve Gemellus was summoned to the island of Capri where Tiberius lived, along with his cousin Caligula. Tiberius made both Caligula and Gemellus joint-heirs, but it was clear that Tiberius favored Caligula over his own grandson. Livilla had been Sejanus' lover for a number of years before their deaths, and many believed that both Gemelli were really Sejanus's sons.
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Titus
Titus (Latin: Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81), was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father.
Prior to becoming Emperor, Titus gained renown as a military commander, serving under his father in Judaea during the First Jewish-Roman War. The campaign came to a brief halt with the death of emperor Nero in 68, launching Vespasian's bid for the imperial power during the Year of the Four Emperors. When Vespasian was declared Emperor on 1 July 69, Titus was left in charge of ending the Jewish rebellion. In 70, he successfully laid siege to and destroyed the city and Temple of Jerusalem. For this achievement Titus was awarded a triumph; the Arch of Titus commemorates his victory to this day.
Under the rule of his father, Titus gained notoriety in Rome serving as prefect of the Praetorian Guard, and for carrying on a controversial relationship with the Jewish queen Berenice. Despite concerns over his character, Titus ruled to great acclaim following the death of Vespasian in 79, and was considered a good emperor by Suetonius and other contemporary historians. As emperor, he is best known for completing the Colosseum and for his generosity in relieving the suffering caused by two disasters, the Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 and a fire in Rome in 80. After barely two years in office, Titus died of a fever on 13 September 81. He was deified by the Roman Senate and succeeded by his younger brother Domitian.
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Trajan
Trajan ( /ˈtreɪdʒən/; Latin: Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus Augustus; 18 September 53 – 9 August 117), was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against a revolt on the Rhine led by Antonius Saturninus.
In September 96, Domitian was succeeded by Marcus Cocceius Nerva, an old and childless senator who proved to be unpopular with the army. After a brief and tumultuous year in power, a revolt by members of the Praetorian Guard compelled him to adopt the more popular Trajan as his heir and successor. Nerva died on 27 January 98, and was succeeded by his adopted son without incident.
As a civilian administrator, Trajan is best known for his extensive public building program which reshaped the city of Rome and left multiple enduring landmarks such as Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Market and Trajan's Column. Early in his reign, he annexed the Nabataean kingdom, creating the province of Arabia Petraea. His conquest of Dacia enriched the empire greatly — the new province possessed many valuable gold mines.
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Trebonianus Gallus
Trebonianus Gallus (Latin: Gaius Vibius Afinius Trebonianus Gallus Augustus; 206 – August 253), also known as Gallus, was Roman Emperor from 251 to 253, in a joint rule with his son Volusianus.
Gallus was born in Italy, in a family with respected ancestry of Etruscan senatorial background. He had two children in his marriage with Afinia Gemina Baebiana: Gaius Vibius Volusianus, later Emperor, and a daughter, Vibia Galla. His early career was a typical cursus honorum, with several appointments, both political and military. He was suffect consul and in 250 was nominated governor of the Roman province of Moesia Superior, an appointment that showed the confidence of Emperor Trajan Decius in him. In Moesia, Gallus was a key figure in repelling the frequent invasion attacks by the Gothic tribes of the Danube and became popular with the army, catered to during his brief Imperial rule by his official image: military haircut, gladiatorial physique, intimidating stance (illustration, left).
In June 251, Decius and his co-emperor and son Herennius Etruscus died in the Battle of Abrittus, at the hands of the Goths they were supposed to punish for raids into the empire. According to rumours supported by Dexippus (a contemporary Greek historian) and the Thirteenth Sibylline Oracle, Decius' failure was largely owing to Gallus who had conspired with the invaders. In any case, when the army heard the news, the soldiers proclaimed Gallus emperor, despite Hostilian, Decius' surviving son, ascending the imperial throne in Rome. This action of the army, and the fact that Gallus seems to have been on good terms with Decius' family, makes Dexippus' allegation improbable. Gallus did not back down from his intention to become emperor, but accepted Hostilian as co-emperor, perhaps to avoid the damage of another civil war.
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Urgulania
Urgulania (fl. 24 AD), was a prominent noblewoman during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, and a friend of the empress Livia. She was the mother of Marcus Plautius Silvanus (consul in 2 BC), who had distinguished himself with Tiberius in the Balkans. She was the grandmother to Plautia Urgulanilla, the first wife of the emperor Claudius, and another Plautius Silvanus, the suspect in a famous murder case.
Due to her closeness with Livia, Tacitus asserts that she held herself above the law. He relates the tale of a man named Lucius Piso who sued Urgulania in the courts. She refused her summons, and instead traveled to the palace where she had Livia issue a statement against Piso's actions. Livia called Tiberius and guard to come and stay with them, which forced Piso to go to them instead of the court. Livia paid a settlement and the matter was closed. Tacitus also states that at a trial where she was called as a witness, Urgulania demanded that the praetor take her deposition in her own home. Even Vestals did not have this privilege.
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Valens
Valens ([pronunciation?]; Latin: Flavius Julius Valens Augustus; 328 – 9 August 378) was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne. Valens, sometimes known as the Last True Roman, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Adrianople, which marked the beginning of the collapse of the decaying Western Roman Empire.
Valens and his brother Valentinian were both born in Cibalae (in present-day Croatia) into an Illyrian family in 328 and 321 respectively. They had grown up on estates purchased by their father Gratian the Elder in Africa and Britain. While Valentinian had enjoyed a successful military career prior to his appointment as emperor, Valens apparently had not. He had spent much of his youth on the family's estate and only joined the army in the 360s, participating with his brother in the Persian campaign of Emperor Julian.
In February 364, reigning Emperor Jovian, while hastening to Constantinople to secure his claim to the throne, was asphyxiated during a stop at Dadastana, 100 miles east of Ankara. Among Jovian's agents was Valentinian, a tribunus scutariorum. He was proclaimed Augustus on 26 February, 364. Valentinian felt that he needed help to govern the large and troublesome empire, and, on 28 March of the same year, appointed his brother Valens as co-emperor in the palace of Hebdomon. The two Augusti travelled together through Adrianople and Naissus to Sirmium, where they divided their personnel, and Valentinian went on to the West.
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Valentinian I
Valentinian I (Latin: Flavius Valentinianus Augustus; 321 – 17 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west.
During his reign, Valentinian fought successfully against the Alamanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians. Most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 367 at the Battle of Solicinium. His brilliant general Count Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa and the Great Conspiracy, a coordinated assault on Britain by Picts, Scots, and Saxons. Valentinian was also the last emperor to conduct campaigns across both the Rhine and Danube rivers. Valentinian rebuilt and improved the fortifications along the frontiers – even building fortresses in enemy territory.
Due to the successful nature of his reign and almost immediate decline of the empire after his death, he is often considered the "last great western emperor". He founded the Valentinian Dynasty, with his sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeding him in the western half of the empire.
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Valentinian II
Flavius Valentinianus (371 – 15 May 392), commonly known as Valentinian II, was Roman Emperor from 375 to 392 A.D.
Flavius Valentinianus was born to Emperor Valentinian I and his second wife, Justina. He was the half-brother of Valentinian’s other son, Gratian, who had shared the imperial title with his father since 367. He had three sisters Galla, Grata and Justa. The elder Valentinian died on campaign in Pannonia in 375. Neither Gratian (then in Trier) nor his uncle Valens (emperor for the East) were consulted by the army commanders on the scene. Instead of merely acknowledging Gratian as his father’s successor, Valentinian I’s generals acclaimed the four-year old Valentinian augustus on 22 November 375. The army, and its Frankish general Merobaudes, may have been uneasy about Gratian's lack of military ability, and so raised a boy who would not immediately aspire to military command.
Gratian, forced to accommodate the generals who supported his half-brother, governed the trans-alpine provinces (including Gaul, Hispania, and Britain), while Italy, part of Illyricum, and Africa were under the rule of Valentinian. In 378, their uncle, the Emperor Valens, was killed in battle with the Goths at Adrianople, and Gratian invited the general Theodosius to be emperor in the East. As a child, Valentinian II was under the influence of his Arian mother, the Empress Justina, and the imperial court at Milan, an influence contested by the Catholic bishop of Milan, Ambrose.
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Valentinian III
Valentinian III (Latin: Flavius Placidius Valentinianus Augustus; 2 July 419 – 16 March 455), was Western Roman Emperor from 425 to 455. His reign is marked by the ongoing dismemberment of the Western Empire.
Valentinian was born in the western capital of Ravenna, the only son of Galla Placidia and Flavius Constantius. His mother was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius, while his father was at the time a Patrician and the power behind the throne.
Through his mother, Valentinian was a descendent both of Theodosius I, who was his maternal grandfather, and of Valentinian I, who was the father of his maternal grandmother. It was also through his mother's side of the family that he was the nephew of Honorius and first cousin to Theodosius II (the son of Honorius' brother Arcadius), who was eastern emperor for most of Valentianian's life. Valentinian had a full sister, Justa Grata Honoria, who was probably born in 417 or 418 (the history of Paul the Deacon mentions her first when mentioning the children of the marriage, suggesting she was the eldest). His mother had previously been married to Ataulf of the Visigoths, and had borne a son, Theodosius, in Barcelona in 414; but the child had died early in the following year, thus eliminating an opportunity for a Romano-Visigothic line.
wn.com/Valentinian_III -
Valeria Messalina
Valeria Messalina, sometimes spelled Messallina, (c. 17/20 – 48) was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Claudius. She was also a paternal cousin of the Emperor Nero, second cousin of the Emperor Caligula, and great-grandniece of the Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation for promiscuity, she conspired against her husband and was executed when the plot was discovered.
Messalina was the first daughter and second child of Domitia Lepida the Younger and her first cousin Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus. Messalina's father was the son of Marcus Valerius Messala Barbatus Appianus, a Claudius Pulcher by birth (son of Appius Claudius Pulcher, consul 38 BC) adopted by Marcus Valerius Messala, cos. suff. 32 BC. His mother was Claudia Marcella Minor. Messalina's elder brother, Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, served as consul in AD 58. Her mother was the youngest child of the consul Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and Antonia Major. Domitia Lepida had two siblings: Domitia Lepida the Elder, and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Domitius was the first husband of the future Augusta Agrippina the Younger and the biological father of the Princeps Nero, making Nero Messalina's first cousin despite a seventeen year age difference. Messalina's grandmothers Claudia Marcella and Antonia Major were half sisters. Claudia Marcella, Messalina's paternal grandmother, was the daughter of Augustus' sister Octavia the Younger by her marriage to Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor. Antonia Major, Messalina's maternal grandmother, was the elder daughter of Octavia by her marriage to Mark Antony, and was Claudius' maternal aunt.
wn.com/Valeria_Messalina -
Valerius Valens
Aurelius Valerius Valens (died 317) was Roman Emperor from late 316 to March 1, 317. Valens had previously been dux limitis (duke of the frontier) in Dacia.
In the first civil war between Licinius and Constantine I, the latter won an overwhelming victory at the battle of Cibalae on October 8, 316. (some historians date it in 314), Licinius fled to Adrianople where, with the help of Valens, gathered a second army. There, early in December 316, he elevated Valens to the rank of Augustus, presumably in order to secure his loyalty. Much later, Licinius would use the same trick (with just as little success) in the second civil war with Constantine, by appointing Martinianus co-emperor.
Despite the literary sources referring to Valens as a junior emperor (Caesar), the numismatic evidence indicates his Augustan rank.
After Licinius's indecisive defeat at Campus Ardiensis in later 316 / early 317, Constantine was still in the dominant position from which he was able to force Licinius to recognize him as the senior emperor, depose Valens and appoint their sons as Caesars. According to Petrus Patricius, he explicitly expressed his anger from the elevation of Valens by saying the following to the envoy of Mestrianus:
wn.com/Valerius_Valens -
Vespasian
Vespasian (Latin: Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus; 17 November 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman Emperor from AD 69 to AD 79. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Although he attained the standard succession of public offices, holding the consulship in AD 51, Vespasian became more reputed as a successful military commander, participating in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43, and subjugating Judaea during the Jewish rebellion of AD 66.
While Vespasian was preparing to besiege the city of Jerusalem during the latter campaign, emperor Nero committed suicide, plunging the empire into a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. After the emperors Galba and Otho perished in quick succession, Vitellius became Emperor in April AD 69. In response, the armies in Egypt and Judaea declared Vespasian emperor on 1 July. In his bid for imperial power, Vespasian joined forces with Mucianus, the governor of Syria, and Primus, a general in Pannonia. Primus and Mucianus led the Flavian forces against Vitellius, while Vespasian gained control of Egypt. On 20 December, Vitellius was defeated, and the following day Vespasian was declared Emperor by the Roman Senate.
wn.com/Vespasian -
Vetranio
Vetranio (d. c. 360), born in the province of Moesia in a part of the region located in modern Serbia, is sometimes but incorrectly referred to as Vetriano. He was an experienced soldier and officer when he was asked by Constantina, the sister of Roman Emperor Constantius II, to proclaim himself Caesar (March 1, 350). Her brother Constans had been killed by Magnentius earlier that year and she probably thought Vetranio could protect her family and herself against the usurper. Vetranio accepted and coins were minted in his name, showing the title of Augustus (full emperor), rather than Caesar. Constantius first seemed to accept the new Emperor and sent him money to raise an army, as well as his regalia.
Constantius, who was on a campaign against the Persians when Magnentius came to power, returned to the West and met with Vetranio. Vetranio subsequently abdicated on December 25, 350. He was allowed to live the remainder of his years as a private citizen on a state pension in Prusa ad Olympium, Bithynia.
wn.com/Vetranio -
Vitellius
Vitellius (Latin: Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Augustus; 24 September 15 – 22 December 69), was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed Emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
Vitellius was the first to add the honorific cognomen Germanicus to his name instead of Caesar upon his accession; the latter name had fallen into disrepute in many quarters because of the actions of Nero.
His claim to the throne was soon challenged by legions stationed in the eastern provinces, who proclaimed their commander Vespasian emperor instead. War ensued, leading to a crushing defeat for Vitellius at the Second Battle of Bedriacum in northern Italy. Once he realised his support was wavering, Vitellius prepared to abdicate in favour of Vespasian, but was executed in Rome by Vespasian's soldiers on 22 December 69.
He was the son of Lucius Vitellius Veteris and his wife Sextilia, and had one brother, Lucius Vitellius the Younger. Suetonius recorded two different accounts of the origins of the Vitellius (gens), one making them descendants of past rulers of Latium, the other describing them as of lowly origins.
wn.com/Vitellius -
Volusianus
Volusianus (Latin: Gaius Vibius Volusianus Augustus; died August 253), also known as Volusian, was a Roman Emperor from 251 to 253.
He was son to Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus by his wife Afinia Gemina Baebiana. He is known to have had a sister, Vibia Galla.
The death of Decius in early June 251 led to Trebonianus Gallus' elevation to the throne. Gallus adopted Decius' son Hostilian and made him co-ruler. Volusianus was named Caesar and Princeps Juventutis. Later in 251 Hostilian died of the plague and Volusianus replaced him as Augustus and co-ruler.
Father and son were both killed in 253 by mutinous troops in Interamna.
Media related to Volusianus at Wikimedia Commons
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Wikipedia Persondata
wn.com/Wikipedia_Persondata -
Zoe Porphyrogenita
Zoe (in Greek: Ζωή, Zōē, meaning "Life") (c. 978 – June 1050) reigned as Byzantine Empress alongside her sister Theodora from April 19 to June 11, 1042. In addition, she was also enthroned as the Empress Consort to a series of co-rulers beginning with Romanos III in 1028 until her death in 1050 whilst married to Constantine IX.
Zoe was one of the few Byzantine empresses who was Porphyrogenita, or "born into the purple" (that is, she was born to a reigning emperor). She was the second daughter of Constantine VIII and Helena, daughter of Alypius. Her father had become co-emperor in 962, and sole emperor in 1025. His reign as sole emperor lasted for only three years, from December 15, 1025 to November 15, 1028.
Her position as an eligible imperial princess saw her considered as a possible bride for the Holy Roman Emperor in the west, Otto III in 996. A second embassy sent in 1001, headed by Arnulf, Archbishop of Milan was tasked with selecting Otto’s bride from among Constantine’s three daughters. The eldest, Eudocia, was disfigured by smallpox, while the youngest, Theodora, was a very plain girl. Arnulf therefore selected the attractive 23-year-old Zoe, to which her uncle, Basil II agreed. in January 1002 she accompanied Arnulf back to Italy, only to discover when the ship reached Bari that Otto III had died, forcing her to return home. Another opportunity arose in 1028, when an embassy from the Holy Roman Empire arrived in Constantinople with a proposal for an imperial marriage. Constantine VIII and the fifty-year-old Zoe rejected the idea out of hand when it was revealed that the intended groom Henry, the son of Conrad II was only ten years old.
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Claudius Filmography
Claudius Filmography
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I, Claudius: A Touch Of Murder (Episode 1/12)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 97:46
- Updated: 04 Jan 2013
The first two episodes were combined into one (titled "A Touch of Murder") on the original BBC telecast, as well as on the current DVD release. "Family Affairs" is the title given by PBS to what is now the second half of the first episode. A Touch Of Murder: Rome, 24-23 BC. Emperor Augustus begins to favour his nephew Marcellus over his friend Agrippa, who leaves Rome in protest. Livia wants her son Tiberius to become Augustus' heir, so she secretly poisons Marcellus, who eventually dies. Augustus has Agrippa return to Rome, and to seal their renewed friendship, he gives Julia, Marcellus' widow, to Agrippa to be his wife, infuriating Livia. The Second Half of 1/12, Family Affairs: Rome, 9 BC. Nine years have passed. Agrippa is dead and Tiberius has been forced to marry Julia. Tiberius' brother Drusus, a general on campaign who favors a return to the Republic, smashes his leg by falling off a horse. His condition worsens under the oversight of Livia's personal physician and he dies in the presence of his wife, Antonia, and their recently born son Claudius. Augustus looks forward to sharing his power with his grandsons Lucius and Gaius when they come of age. I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time. It starred Derek Jacobi as Claudius, with Siân Phillips, Brian Blessed, John Hurt, and Patrick Stewart. I, Claudius ...
http://wn.com/I,_Claudius_A_Touch_Of_Murder_Episode_1_12
The first two episodes were combined into one (titled "A Touch of Murder") on the original BBC telecast, as well as on the current DVD release. "Family Affairs" is the title given by PBS to what is now the second half of the first episode. A Touch Of Murder: Rome, 24-23 BC. Emperor Augustus begins to favour his nephew Marcellus over his friend Agrippa, who leaves Rome in protest. Livia wants her son Tiberius to become Augustus' heir, so she secretly poisons Marcellus, who eventually dies. Augustus has Agrippa return to Rome, and to seal their renewed friendship, he gives Julia, Marcellus' widow, to Agrippa to be his wife, infuriating Livia. The Second Half of 1/12, Family Affairs: Rome, 9 BC. Nine years have passed. Agrippa is dead and Tiberius has been forced to marry Julia. Tiberius' brother Drusus, a general on campaign who favors a return to the Republic, smashes his leg by falling off a horse. His condition worsens under the oversight of Livia's personal physician and he dies in the presence of his wife, Antonia, and their recently born son Claudius. Augustus looks forward to sharing his power with his grandsons Lucius and Gaius when they come of age. I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time. It starred Derek Jacobi as Claudius, with Siân Phillips, Brian Blessed, John Hurt, and Patrick Stewart. I, Claudius ...
I Claudius ep1 A Touch of Murder (1/10)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:47
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
go watch the whole episode here! www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/I_Claudius_ep1_A_Touch_of_Murder_1_10
go watch the whole episode here! www.youtube.com
- published: 27 Sep 2008
- views: 83763
- author: zeusbark
I Claudius Episode 01 A touch of murder (Complete!).avi
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 97:46
- Updated: 07 Jan 2013
First chapter of the I Claudius series, complete! Hope you enjoy
http://wn.com/I_Claudius_Episode_01_A_touch_of_murder_Complete!avi
First chapter of the I Claudius series, complete! Hope you enjoy
- published: 19 Mar 2011
- views: 26488
- author: zeusbark
I, Claudius - Half Wit Beats Senate
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:58
- Updated: 03 Jan 2013
This is a scene from Episode 10 of the series I, Claudius. Claudius (Derek Jacobi) is made emperor after the assassination of Caligula and addresses senators who oppose it. Out of a brilliant series full of brilliant scenes and performances, this may be the best one, it's certainly my favorite.
http://wn.com/I,_Claudius_Half_Wit_Beats_Senate
This is a scene from Episode 10 of the series I, Claudius. Claudius (Derek Jacobi) is made emperor after the assassination of Caligula and addresses senators who oppose it. Out of a brilliant series full of brilliant scenes and performances, this may be the best one, it's certainly my favorite.
- published: 06 Jul 2008
- views: 49505
- author: cunnilinguslover
I, Claudius A Televison Epic - part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:50
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
Interviews with the cast and crew.
http://wn.com/I,_Claudius_A_Televison_Epic_part_1
I Claudius episode 6 (1/6) Queen of Heaven
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:46
- Updated: 28 Nov 2012
This is the sixth episode of the series "I Claudius" this is one of my personal favorites, Derek Jacobi plays a great role. More episodes coming soon! subscribe and comment.
http://wn.com/I_Claudius_episode_6_1_6_Queen_of_Heaven
This is the sixth episode of the series "I Claudius" this is one of my personal favorites, Derek Jacobi plays a great role. More episodes coming soon! subscribe and comment.
- published: 11 Oct 2008
- views: 28707
- author: zeusbark
"A God in Colchester" (1/6) I Claudius episode 11
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:05
- Updated: 04 Jan 2013
Eleventh episode of the series I Claudius. I always feel bad for Claudius in this episode. Wait for the last episode of the series next week
http://wn.com/A_God_in_Colchester_1_6_I_Claudius_episode_11
Eleventh episode of the series I Claudius. I always feel bad for Claudius in this episode. Wait for the last episode of the series next week
- published: 25 Oct 2008
- views: 48475
- author: zeusbark
I, Claudius: Reign of Terror (Episode 7/12)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 51:14
- Updated: 24 Dec 2012
Rome, AD 30-31. Tiberius has retired to Capri. Sejanus has divorced his wife and approaches Tiberius about marrying Livilla. Tiberius refuses but suggests that he could marry Livilla's daughter Helen. This infuriates Livilla, who poisons Helen. Sejanus sets his final plans for taking power in motion by conniving in the banishment of Agrippina and her son Nero and having her other son Drusus arrested. Antonia discovers letters between Sejanus and her daughter implicating them in several deaths. Claudius smuggles the evidence to Tiberius. At Caligula's suggestion, Tiberius orders Macro to murder Sejanus, his family, and his followers. I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time. It starred Derek Jacobi as Claudius, with Siân Phillips, Brian Blessed, John Hurt, and Patrick Stewart. I, Claudius follows the history of Rome, narrated by the elderly Claudius, from the death of Marcellus, nephew and son-in-law of Augustus, in the first episode to Claudius' own death in the last. The series opens with Augustus, the emperor of Rome, attempting to find an heir, and his wife Livia plotting to elevate her own son Tiberius to this position. The plotting and double-crossing continue for many decades, through the conspiracy of Sejanus and the rule of the lunatic emperor Caligula, culminating in Claudius' seemingly accidental rise to ...
http://wn.com/I,_Claudius_Reign_of_Terror_Episode_7_12
Rome, AD 30-31. Tiberius has retired to Capri. Sejanus has divorced his wife and approaches Tiberius about marrying Livilla. Tiberius refuses but suggests that he could marry Livilla's daughter Helen. This infuriates Livilla, who poisons Helen. Sejanus sets his final plans for taking power in motion by conniving in the banishment of Agrippina and her son Nero and having her other son Drusus arrested. Antonia discovers letters between Sejanus and her daughter implicating them in several deaths. Claudius smuggles the evidence to Tiberius. At Caligula's suggestion, Tiberius orders Macro to murder Sejanus, his family, and his followers. I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time. It starred Derek Jacobi as Claudius, with Siân Phillips, Brian Blessed, John Hurt, and Patrick Stewart. I, Claudius follows the history of Rome, narrated by the elderly Claudius, from the death of Marcellus, nephew and son-in-law of Augustus, in the first episode to Claudius' own death in the last. The series opens with Augustus, the emperor of Rome, attempting to find an heir, and his wife Livia plotting to elevate her own son Tiberius to this position. The plotting and double-crossing continue for many decades, through the conspiracy of Sejanus and the rule of the lunatic emperor Caligula, culminating in Claudius' seemingly accidental rise to ...
- published: 04 Nov 2011
- views: 2878
- author: MrMilitaria3
I, Claudius - Derek Jacobi Acceptance speech BAFTA 1976
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:17
- Updated: 06 Jan 2013
In 1976 Derek Jacobi won his firs BAFTA for the stunning interpretation of the emperor Claudius in the "I, Claudius" 13 parts series. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED SDJ Fanforum forums.delphiforums.com
http://wn.com/I,_Claudius_Derek_Jacobi_Acceptance_speech_BAFTA_1976
In 1976 Derek Jacobi won his firs BAFTA for the stunning interpretation of the emperor Claudius in the "I, Claudius" 13 parts series. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED SDJ Fanforum forums.delphiforums.com
- published: 15 Apr 2009
- views: 22468
- author: rosapurpurea
I Claudius Episode 2 Waiting in the wings (Complete!).avi
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 50:08
- Updated: 05 Jan 2013
Second chapter of the I Claudius saga, single video, no audio lag. Hope you enjoy this
http://wn.com/I_Claudius_Episode_2_Waiting_in_the_wings_Complete!avi
Second chapter of the I Claudius saga, single video, no audio lag. Hope you enjoy this
- published: 19 Mar 2011
- views: 31305
- author: zeusbark
I Claudius episode 1 A Touch of Murder opening
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:47
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
Opening of the 1976 BBC television series I Claudius, starring Derek Jacobi
http://wn.com/I_Claudius_episode_1_A_Touch_of_Murder_opening
Opening of the 1976 BBC television series I Claudius, starring Derek Jacobi
- published: 24 May 2009
- views: 34559
- author: Pinxejas
I Claudius episode 6 (2/6) Queen of Heaven
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:54
- Updated: 04 Sep 2012
This is the sixth episode of the series "I Claudius" this is one of my personal favorites, Derek Jacobi plays a great role. More episodes coming soon! subscribe and comment.
http://wn.com/I_Claudius_episode_6_2_6_Queen_of_Heaven
This is the sixth episode of the series "I Claudius" this is one of my personal favorites, Derek Jacobi plays a great role. More episodes coming soon! subscribe and comment.
- published: 12 Oct 2008
- views: 22479
- author: zeusbark
I, Claudius, Messalina competes with prostitute
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:02
- Updated: 05 Jan 2013
x
http://wn.com/I,_Claudius,_Messalina_competes_with_prostitute
I, Claudius - Livia and Claudius
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:47
- Updated: 03 Jan 2013
The scene where Livia forbids Claudius from giving a public reading of his work.
http://wn.com/I,_Claudius_Livia_and_Claudius
The scene where Livia forbids Claudius from giving a public reading of his work.
- published: 02 Sep 2007
- views: 71638
- author: morniexutulie
I, Claudius - Livia and Tiberius
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:21
- Updated: 26 Apr 2012
Requested, Livia reminds Tiberius of the omen she had about Tiberius.
http://wn.com/I,_Claudius_Livia_and_Tiberius
Requested, Livia reminds Tiberius of the omen she had about Tiberius.
- published: 06 Aug 2007
- views: 15534
- author: morniexutulie
I, Claudius- Caligula speech
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:27
- Updated: 05 Jan 2013
Caligula speaks to the Senate when he returns from his 'battle against Neptune'
http://wn.com/I,_Claudius_Caligula_speech
Caligula speaks to the Senate when he returns from his 'battle against Neptune'
- published: 04 Feb 2008
- views: 87377
- author: morniexutulie
I, Claudius. Augustus gets angry at Julia's whorishness
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:55
- Updated: 04 Jan 2013
A favorite part of mine from "I, Claudius"
http://wn.com/I,_Claudius_Augustus_gets_angry_at_Julia's_whorishness
A favorite part of mine from "I, Claudius"
- published: 05 May 2007
- views: 54032
- author: Ilovethingstoogreek
Monsterpiece Theater - Me Claudius
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:52
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
From Season 11, many people claim that this was to be the first. Now I don't mean to sound political, but I would always disagree with that.
http://wn.com/Monsterpiece_Theater_Me_Claudius
From Season 11, many people claim that this was to be the first. Now I don't mean to sound political, but I would always disagree with that.
- published: 07 Mar 2008
- views: 64704
- author: jonnytbirdzback
Hamlet- Patrick Stewart as Claudius
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:40
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
New York - March 3, 2010 - This May, experience William Shakespeares greatest work like never before as the BBC releases to DVD the star-studded theatrical event, Hamlet. Featuring David Tennant (Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as Hamlet and Patrick Stewart (X-Men trilogy, Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Claudius, no recent stage production in Britain has attracted the excitement and resounding praise as this engrossing masterpiece from the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company. Hailed by the Daily Telegraph, without doubt one of the finest productions of Hamlet I have ever seen, led by an actor of extraordinary courage and charisma who has made a persuasive claim to true greatness. Tennants interpretation was recognized as defining the role for a generation, and Stewarts complex Claudius won the Olivier award, Britains highest stage honor. Airing on PBSs Great Performances April 28, 2010, and arriving on DVD just two days later, Tennant and Stewart reprise their stage roles in this specially shot screen version - filmed on location rather than in the theater - which breathes new life into Shakespeares greatest play.
http://wn.com/Hamlet_Patrick_Stewart_as_Claudius
New York - March 3, 2010 - This May, experience William Shakespeares greatest work like never before as the BBC releases to DVD the star-studded theatrical event, Hamlet. Featuring David Tennant (Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as Hamlet and Patrick Stewart (X-Men trilogy, Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Claudius, no recent stage production in Britain has attracted the excitement and resounding praise as this engrossing masterpiece from the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company. Hailed by the Daily Telegraph, without doubt one of the finest productions of Hamlet I have ever seen, led by an actor of extraordinary courage and charisma who has made a persuasive claim to true greatness. Tennants interpretation was recognized as defining the role for a generation, and Stewarts complex Claudius won the Olivier award, Britains highest stage honor. Airing on PBSs Great Performances April 28, 2010, and arriving on DVD just two days later, Tennant and Stewart reprise their stage roles in this specially shot screen version - filmed on location rather than in the theater - which breathes new life into Shakespeares greatest play.
- published: 23 Apr 2010
- views: 6777
- author: BBCFanable
Caligula's dance "I Claudius Best Moments"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:24
- Updated: 01 Jan 2013
This is a short from the BBC series "I Claudius" in this short Caligula summons Claudius, and 2 of his brother's in law to attend to the palace immediately. They all think they are going to be killed, but Caligula just wanted them to attend to a dress rehearsal. When I watched this I couldn't stopped laughing, I thought this was the funniest thing ever. This series is great, and it's a shame that it is so expensive to buy, and that one can't just watch it on TV. I bought the series, and am thinking of uploading the whole thing to youtube. If you think I should upload the whole series send me a private message, or post a comment.
http://wn.com/Caligula's_dance_I_Claudius_Best_Moments
This is a short from the BBC series "I Claudius" in this short Caligula summons Claudius, and 2 of his brother's in law to attend to the palace immediately. They all think they are going to be killed, but Caligula just wanted them to attend to a dress rehearsal. When I watched this I couldn't stopped laughing, I thought this was the funniest thing ever. This series is great, and it's a shame that it is so expensive to buy, and that one can't just watch it on TV. I bought the series, and am thinking of uploading the whole thing to youtube. If you think I should upload the whole series send me a private message, or post a comment.
- published: 09 Aug 2008
- views: 141965
- author: zeusbark
Decapitation of Messalina "I Claudius Best Moments"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:02
- Updated: 06 Jan 2013
This is after Claudius signs her death sentence without knowing.
http://wn.com/Decapitation_of_Messalina_I_Claudius_Best_Moments
This is after Claudius signs her death sentence without knowing.
- published: 14 Dec 2008
- views: 104763
- author: zeusbark
Claudius Linton - Crying Time video!!!!!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:24
- Updated: 05 Jan 2013
Music video for ROOTS MASTER Claudius Linton.
http://wn.com/Claudius_Linton_Crying_Time_video!!!!!
Music video for ROOTS MASTER Claudius Linton.
- published: 03 Apr 2008
- views: 9333
- author: syncretistvideo
Sesame Street - Me Claudius (HQ)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:51
- Updated: 31 Aug 2012
A high quallity version, uploaded by request.
http://wn.com/Sesame_Street_Me_Claudius_HQ
A high quallity version, uploaded by request.
- published: 25 Jun 2010
- views: 15133
- author: wattamack4
photo: AP / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
08 Jan 2013
MOSCOW, January 8 (RIA Novosti) – At least 17 billion Earth-size planets may inhabit the Milky Way galaxy, SPACE.com reported citing a new study by US astronomers ... That translates to a minimum of 17 billion planets as there are about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way ... Over a hundred of candidates have been confirmed as planets so far, NASA said....(size: 1.7Kb)
photo: WN / Imran Nissar
06 Jan 2013
ISLAMABAD - The Pakistani military is accusing forces from neighboring India of crossing the boundary between the two sides' forces in Kashmir and attacking a Pakistani border post, killing a soldier. The military's public relations office said in a statement Sunday that another Pakistani soldier was critically wounded in the incident early Sunday. They said troops are still exchanging gunfire in the area ... All rights reserved ... Parker ... ....(size: 4.3Kb)
photo: UN / Evan Schneider
06 Jan 2013
LONDON -- They have barely 3,000 inhabitants and far more sheep than people. They are more than 8,700 miles from London. For much of the year, they are bitterly cold and wind-swept, with only open sea and ice between them and Antarctica ... But the Falkland Islands, the focus of a short war between Britain and Argentina in 1982, have been in the headlines again recently ... Their arguments suggest what has long been evident ... Ms ... Mr ... Cameron said....(size: 5.1Kb)
photo: US Army / Sgt. Christopher Bonebrake
07 Jan 2013
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. When Congress granted President Lyndon B. Johnson absolute powers to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression," Congress could have also included "all necessary vanities." The 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which greatly escalated a foreign imperial war in Vietnam, added fuel to the bonfires of vanity....(size: 5.2Kb)
photo: AP / New South Wales Rural Fire Service
08 Jan 2013
SYDNEY - Firefighters battled scores of wildfires raging across southeast Australia on Tuesday with officials evacuating national parks and warning that blistering temperatures and high winds had led to "catastrophic" fire conditions in some areas. Enlarge. A charred vehicle sits near the remains of a destroyed home following a wildfire near Dunalley, east of the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013 ... Editorial ... ....(size: 6.3Kb)
noodls
08 Jan 2013
(Source. SETI Institute). Twenty-three hundred years ago, hordes of mice, snakes, and insects fled the Greek city of Helike on the Gulf of Corinth (map). "After these creatures departed, an earthquake occurred in the night," wrote the ancient Roman writer Claudius Aelianus ... distributed by ... (noodl....(size: 1.9Kb)
Bloomberg
07 Jan 2013
“The die is cast,” declared Julius Caesar when he crossed the Rubicon in 49 B.C. and led his troops from Gaul, where he was governor, into Italy. What he did was illegal, and so was the game he was referring to. Despite the ban, playing dice was wildly popular in ancient Rome. Emperor Claudius, one of Caesar’s successors, even wrote a book on it ... The wing of the museum in which they are on view seems particularly apt ... Information ... ....(size: 4.9Kb)
The Times of India
06 Jan 2013
LONDON. Some 2,000 Anglo-Indians from various parts of the world, including families from Britain, gathered in Kolkata on Sunday for a week-long reunion of a fast-fading community. Phyllis Griffiths grew up in Jamshedpur before moving to west London's Southall area, where she married a Welshman ... Another meet was at Rangers Club, made famous by the legendary hockey star Leslie Claudius, who died last month ... ....(size: 2.7Kb)
The Examiner
06 Jan 2013
. In the 1600s the American Pit Bull Terrier served as a farm and cattle herding breed. They were raised to be gentle, loyal companions, with the strength to perform essential tasks in an agricultural setting ... But why?View slideshow. Adoptable pit bull mixes in Connecticut ... Emperor Claudius and his Roman soldiers were so impressed with the dogs’ strength and fighting abilities that they crossed dogs from Britain with those of Rome ... ....(size: 4.2Kb)
The Telegraph India
06 Jan 2013
The demise of Leslie Claudius saddened me immensely (Great from golden era loses the fight, Dec 21) ... In stepped a pleasing customs officer, Leslie Claudius ... Claudius smiled and immediately put me at ease ... I had to pay only a nominal duty and happily went home after thanking Claudius profusely.. Claudiuss gesture touched my heart. I salute Claudius ......(size: 6.3Kb)
The Examiner
05 Jan 2013
Murder by mushrooms! No, this is not a new Agetha Christie book but it is how Emperor Claudius died in ancient Rome. He was murdered when someone gave him a poison mushroom in his dinner and this is the first known case of someone being killed by eating a poisonous mushroom ... As far as vitamins are concerned, mushrooms are loaded with the important B vitamins such as vitamin B2, B3, and B5 ... Steps ... ....(size: 2.0Kb)
The Gleaner
05 Jan 2013
LAYING THE FOUNDATION. These three performances in particular laid the foundation for popular acts like Sister Scully with a medley of songs which included I Saw the Light, Hard Road to Travel and Some Sweet Day, While Montego Bay's own Claudius England, known for songs such as Done for me, So what and Cover Me, continues to show extraordinary growth ... ....(size: 2.3Kb)
noodls
05 Jan 2013
(Source. England Hockey). Hero Hockey India League today announced the panel of Technical Officials for its inaugural season, which will be held from 14 January to 10 February 2013 ... Anderson will be supported by five Assistant Tournament Directors - Claudius De Sale, Muneer Mohammad, Shakeel Qureshi (all from India), Ian McKay (Scotland) and Howard Pollard (England) ... distributed by ... (noodl. 17113519) ....(size: 2.9Kb)
Deccan Herald
04 Jan 2013
Anderson will be supported by five Assistant Tournament Directors -- Claudius De Sale, Muneer Mohammad, Shakeel Qureshi (all from India), Ian McKay (Scotland) ......(size: 0.8Kb)
Indian Express
04 Jan 2013
Englishman Barry Anderson was today appointed Tournament Director of the inaugural Hero Hockey India League scheduled from January 14 to February 10 ... Anderson will be supported by five Assistant Tournament Directors Claudius De Sale, Muneer Mohammad, Shakeel Qureshi (all from India), Ian McKay (Scotland) and Howard Pollard (England) ... contd. PAGE. 12 . Single Page Format ....(size: 1.7Kb)
Screen Daily
04 Jan 2013
Period drama up against Excuse Me, Teddy Bear, You and Me Forever, and A Hijacking for Best Film. A Royal Affair, an 18th century drama starring Mads Mikkelsen, has secured six nominations for Denmark’s Bodil Awards, which the Danish Critics’ Association will hand out on March 16 at Copenhagen’s Bremen Theatre ... Best Film. Excuse Me (Undskyld jeg forstyrrer). Dir. Henrik Ruben Genz ... Dir ... Dir ... Dir ... Emilie Claudius Kruse, for You and Me Forever....(size: 7.0Kb)
The New York Times
04 Jan 2013
When their best-laid schemes of mice and men, and authors and writing, went awry, the members of the Swedish Academy made the best of what they thought was a bad situation in 1962 ... Graves, whose novels included “I, Claudius,” was nonetheless regarded primarily as a poet and Olsson, The Guardian said, was reluctant to give the prize to an Anglo-Saxon poet until Ezra Pound, whose work he greatly admired, died ... Related Posts ... ....(size: 9.6Kb)
The Times of India
03 Jan 2013
KOLKATA. The last day of Christmas celebrations at Bow Barracks was marked by a new beginning - a New Year resolution to move out of the shadows of their colonial past - as Errol O' Brien unveiled his new book, The Anglo-Indian Way, on Thursday ... Well, not any more ... When I went to Les Claudius to give him the draft, his face had changed much since the time I spoke to him about the book," said the author ... ....(size: 2.5Kb)
For other people named Claudius, see Claudius (disambiguation).
| Claudius | |
|---|---|
| 4th Emperor of the Roman Empire | |
_01.jpg) |
|
| Reign | 24 January 41 – 13 October 54 |
| Full name | Tiberius Claudius Drusus (from birth to 4); Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus (from 4 to accession); Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (as emperor) |
| Born | 1 August 10 BC |
| Birthplace | Lugdunum, Gaul |
| Died | 13 October 54(54-10-13) (aged 63) |
| Buried | Mausoleum of Augustus |
| Predecessor | Caligula |
| Successor | Nero, stepson by 4th wife, Agrippina |
| Consort to | Plautia Urgulanilla Aelia Paetina Valeria Messalina Agrippina the Younger |
| Offspring | Claudius Drusus Claudia Antonia Claudia Octavia Britannicus; Nero (adoptive) |
| Royal House | Julio-Claudian |
| Father | Nero Claudius Drusus |
| Mother | Antonia Minor |
Claudius (Latin: Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus;[1] 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. Because he was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, his family ostracized him and excluded him from public office until his consulship, shared with his nephew Caligula in 37. Claudius' infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges of Tiberius and Caligula's reigns; potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to his being declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult male of his family.
Despite his lack of experience, Claudius proved to be an able and efficient administrator. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing many new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the Empire. During his reign the Empire conquered Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia and Judaea, and began the conquest of Britain. Having a personal interest in law, he presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day. However, he was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, particularly by the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position; this resulted in the deaths of many senators. These events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers, though more recent historians have revised this opinion. After his death in 54, his grand-nephew and adopted son Nero succeeded him as Emperor.
Contents |
Family and early life[link]
| Roman imperial dynasties | |||
| Julio-Claudian dynasty | |||
| Chronology | |||
| Augustus | 27 BC – 14 AD | ||
| Tiberius | 14 AD – 37 AD | ||
| Caligula | 37 AD – 41 AD | ||
| Claudius | 41 AD – 54 AD | ||
| Nero | 54 AD – 68 AD | ||
| Family | |||
| Gens Julia Gens Claudia Julio-Claudian family tree Category:Julio-Claudian dynasty |
|||
| Succession | |||
| Preceded by Roman Republic |
Followed by Year of the Four Emperors |
||
Claudius was born on 1 August 10 BC in Lugdunum to Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia on the day of the dedication of the altar to Augustus at the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls. He had two older siblings named Germanicus and Livilla. Antonia may have had two other children who died young. His maternal grandparents were Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, Augustus' sister, and therefore the great-great grandnephew of Gaius Julius Caesar. His paternal grandparents were Livia, Augustus' third wife, and Tiberius Claudius Nero. During his reign, Claudius revived the rumor that his father Drusus was actually the illegitimate son of Augustus, to give the false appearance that Augustus was Claudius' paternal grandfather.
In 9 BC, Drusus unexpectedly died on campaign in Germania, possibly from illness. Claudius was then left to be raised by his mother, who never remarried. When Claudius' disability became evident, the relationship with his family turned sour. Antonia referred to him as a monster, and used him as a standard for stupidity. She seems to have passed her son off on his grandmother Livia for a number of years.[2] Livia was little kinder, and often sent him short, angry letters of reproof. He was put under the care of a "former mule-driver"[3] to keep him disciplined, under the logic that his condition was due to laziness and a lack of will-power. However, by the time he reached his teenage years his symptoms apparently waned and his family took some notice of his scholarly interests. In 7, Livy was hired to tutor him in history, with the assistance of Sulpicius Flavus. He spent a lot of his time with the latter and the philosopher Athenodorus. Augustus, according to a letter, was surprised at the clarity of Claudius' oratory.[4] Expectations about his future began to increase.
Ironically, it was his work as a budding historian that destroyed his early career. According to Vincent Scramuzza and others, Claudius began work on a history of the Civil Wars that was either too truthful or too critical of Octavian.[5] In either case, it was far too early for such an account, and may have only served to remind Augustus that Claudius was Antony's descendant. His mother and grandmother quickly put a stop to it, and this may have convinced them that Claudius was not fit for public office. He could not be trusted to toe the existing party line. When he returned to the narrative later in life, Claudius skipped over the wars of the second triumvirate altogether. But the damage was done, and his family pushed him to the background. When the Arch of Pavia was erected to honor the Imperial clan in 8, Claudius' name (now Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus after his elevation to paterfamilias of Claudii Nerones on the adoption of his brother) was inscribed on the edge—past the deceased princes, Gaius and Lucius, and Germanicus' children. There is some speculation that the inscription was added by Claudius himself decades later, and that he originally did not appear at all.[6]
When Augustus died in 14, Claudius — then 23 — appealed to his uncle Tiberius to allow him to begin the cursus honorum. Tiberius, the new Emperor, responded by granting Claudius consular ornaments. Claudius requested office once more and was snubbed. Since the new Emperor was not any more generous than the old, Claudius gave up hope of public office and retired to a scholarly, private life.
Despite the disdain of the Imperial family, it seems that from very early on the general public respected Claudius. At Augustus' death, the equites, or knights, chose Claudius to head their delegation. When his house burned down, the Senate demanded it be rebuilt at public expense. They also requested that Claudius be allowed to debate in the Senate. Tiberius turned down both motions, but the sentiment remained. During the period immediately after the death of Tiberius' son, Drusus, Claudius was pushed by some quarters as a potential heir. This again suggests the political nature of his exclusion from public life. However, as this was also the period during which the power and terror of the Praetorian Sejanus was at its peak, Claudius chose to downplay this possibility.
After the death of Tiberius the new emperor Caligula (the son of Claudius' brother Germanicus) recognized Claudius to be of some use. He appointed Claudius his co-consul in 37 in order to emphasize the memory of Caligula's deceased father Germanicus. Despite this, Caligula relentlessly tormented his uncle: playing practical jokes, charging him enormous sums of money, humiliating him before the Senate, and the like. According to Cassius Dio Claudius became very sickly and thin by the end of Caligula's reign, most likely due to stress.[7] A possible surviving portrait of Claudius from this period may support this.
Assassination of Caligula[link]
On 24 January, 41, Caligula was assassinated in a broad-based conspiracy involving the Praetorian commander Cassius Chaerea and several Senators. There is no evidence that Claudius had a direct hand in the assassination, although it has been argued that he knew about the plot — particularly since he left the scene of the crime shortly before his nephew was murdered.[8] However, after the deaths of Caligula's wife and daughter, it became apparent that Cassius intended to go beyond the terms of the conspiracy and wipe out the Imperial family. In the chaos following the murder, Claudius witnessed the German guard cut down several uninvolved noblemen, including many of his friends. He fled to the palace to hide. According to tradition, a Praetorian named Gratus found him hiding behind a curtain and suddenly declared him princeps.[9] A section of the guard may have planned in advance to seek out Claudius, perhaps with his approval. They reassured him that they were not one of the battalions looking for revenge. He was spirited away to the Praetorian camp and put under their protection.
The Senate quickly met and began debating a change of government, but this eventually devolved into an argument over which of them would be the new Princeps. When they heard of the Praetorians' claim, they demanded that Claudius be delivered to them for approval, but he refused, sensing the danger that would come with complying. Some historians, particularly Josephus,[10] claim that Claudius was directed in his actions by the Judean King Herod Agrippa. However, an earlier version of events by the same ancient author downplays Agrippa's role[11] — so it is not known how large a hand he had in things. Eventually the Senate was forced to give in and, in return, Claudius pardoned nearly all the assassins.
As Emperor[link]
Claudius took several steps to legitimize his rule against potential usurpers, most of them emphasizing his place within the Julio-Claudian family. He adopted the name "Caesar" as a cognomen — the name still carried great weight with the populace. In order to do so, he dropped the cognomen "Nero" which he had adopted as paterfamilias of the Claudii Nerones when his brother Germanicus was adopted out. While he had never been adopted by Augustus or his successors, he was the grandson of Octavia, and so felt he had the right. He also adopted the name "Augustus" as the two previous emperors had done at their accessions. He kept the honorific "Germanicus" in order to display the connection with his heroic brother. He deified his paternal grandmother Livia in order to highlight her position as wife of the divine Augustus. Claudius frequently used the term "filius Drusi" (son of Drusus) in his titles, in order to remind the people of his legendary father and lay claim to his reputation.
Because he was proclaimed Emperor on the initiative of the Praetorian Guard instead of the Senate — the first Emperor thus proclaimed — Claudius' repute suffered at the hands of commentators (such as Seneca). Moreover, he was the first Emperor who resorted to bribery as a means to secure army loyalty.[12] Tiberius and Augustus had both left gifts to the army and guard in their wills, and upon Caligula's death the same would have been expected, even if no will existed. Claudius remained grateful to the guard, however, issuing coins with tributes to the Praetorians in the early part of his reign.
Expansion of the Empire[link]
Under Claudius, the Empire underwent its first major expansion since the reign of Augustus. The provinces of Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia, and Judea were annexed under various circumstances during his term. The annexation of Mauretania, begun under Caligula, was completed after the defeat of rebel forces, and the official division of the former client kingdom into two Imperial provinces.[13] The most far-reaching conquest was the conquest of Britannia.[14]
In 43, Claudius sent Aulus Plautius with four legions to Britain (Britannia) after an appeal from an ousted tribal ally. Britain was an attractive target for Rome because of its material wealth — particularly mines and slaves. It was also a haven for Gallic rebels and the like, and so could not be left alone much longer. Claudius himself travelled to the island after the completion of initial offensives, bringing with him reinforcements and elephants. The latter must have made an impression on the Britons when they were displayed in the large tribal centre of Camulodunum.
He left after 16 days, but remained in the provinces for some time. The Senate granted him a triumph for his efforts, as only members of the Imperial family were allowed such honours. Claudius later lifted this restriction for some of his conquering generals. He was granted the honorific "Britannicus" but only accepted it on behalf of his son, never using the title himself. When the British general Caractacus was captured in 50, Claudius granted him clemency. Caractacus lived out his days on land provided by the Roman state, an unusual end for an enemy commander.
Claudius conducted a census in 48 that found 5,984,072 Roman citizens,[15] an increase of around a million since the census conducted at Augustus' death. He had helped increase this number through the foundation of Roman colonies that were granted blanket citizenship. These colonies were often made out of existing communities, especially those with elites who could rally the populace to the Roman cause. Several colonies were placed in new provinces or on the border of the Empire in order to secure Roman holdings as quickly as possible.
Judicial and legislative affairs[link]
Claudius personally judged many of the legal cases tried during his reign. Ancient historians have many complaints about this, stating that his judgments were variable and sometimes did not follow the law.[16] He was also easily swayed. Nevertheless, Claudius paid detailed attention to the operation of the judicial system. He extended the summer court session, as well as the winter term, by shortening the traditional breaks. Claudius also made a law requiring plaintiffs to remain in the city while their cases were pending, as defendants had previously been required to do. These measures had the effect of clearing out the docket. The minimum age for jurors was also raised to 25 in order to ensure a more experienced jury pool.[17]
Claudius also settled disputes in the provinces. He freed the island of Rhodes from Roman rule for their good faith and exempted Troy from taxes. Early in his reign, the Greeks and Jews of Alexandria sent him two embassies at once after riots broke out between the two communities. This resulted in the famous "Letter to the Alexandrians", which reaffirmed Jewish rights in the city but also forbade them to move in more families en masse. According to Josephus, he then reaffirmed the rights and freedoms of all the Jews in the Empire.[18] One of Claudius's investigators discovered that many old Roman citizens based in the modern city of Trento were not in fact citizens.[19] The Emperor issued a declaration that they would be considered to hold citizenship from then on, since to strip them of their status would cause major problems. However, in individual cases, Claudius punished false assumption of citizenship harshly, making it a capital offense. Similarly, any freedmen found to be impersonating equestrians were sold back into slavery.[20]
Numerous edicts were issued throughout Claudius' reign. These were on a number of topics, everything from medical advice to moral judgments. Two famous medical examples are one promoting Yew juice as a cure for snakebite,[21] and another promoting public flatulence for good health.[22] One of the more famous edicts concerned the status of sick slaves. Masters had been abandoning ailing slaves at the temple of Aesculapius to die, and then reclaiming them if they lived. Claudius ruled that slaves who recovered after such treatment would be free. Furthermore, masters who chose to kill slaves rather than take the risk were liable to be charged with murder.[23]
Public works[link]
Claudius embarked on many public works throughout his reign, both in the capital and in the provinces. He built two aqueducts, the Aqua Claudia, begun by Caligula, and the Anio Novus. These entered the city in 52 and met at the famous Porta Maggiore. He also restored a third, the Aqua Virgo.
He paid special attention to transportation. Throughout Italy and the provinces he built roads and canals. Among these was a large canal leading from the Rhine to the sea, as well as a road from Italy to Germany — both begun by his father, Drusus. Closer to Rome, he built a navigable canal on the Tiber, leading to Portus, his new port just north of Ostia. This port was constructed in a semicircle with two moles and a lighthouse at its mouth. The construction also had the effect of reducing flooding in Rome.
The port at Ostia was part of Claudius' solution to the constant grain shortages that occurred in winter, after the Roman shipping season. The other part of his solution was to insure the ships of grain merchants who were willing to risk travelling to Egypt in the off-season. He also granted their sailors special privileges, including citizenship and exemption from the Lex Papia-Poppaea, a law that regulated marriage. In addition, he repealed the taxes that Caligula had instituted on food, and further reduced taxes on communities suffering drought or famine.
The last part of Claudius' plan was to increase the amount of arable land in Italy. This was to be achieved by draining the Fucine lake, which would have the added benefit of making the nearby river navigable year-round.[24] A tunnel was dug through the lake bed, but the plan was a failure. The tunnel was crooked and not large enough to carry the water, which caused it to back up when opened. The resultant flood washed out a large gladiatorial exhibition held to commemorate the opening, causing Claudius to run for his life along with the other spectators. The draining of the lake was revisited many times in history, including by Emperors Trajan and Hadrian, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Middle Ages. It was finally achieved by the Prince Torlonia in the 19th century, producing over 160,000 acres (650 km2) of new arable land.[25] He expanded the Claudian tunnel to three times its original size.
Claudius and the Senate[link]
Because of the circumstances of his accession, Claudius took great pains to please the Senate. During regular sessions, the Emperor sat among the Senate body, speaking in turn. When introducing a law, he sat on a bench between the consuls in his position as Holder of the Power of Tribune (The Emperor could not officially serve as a Tribune of the Plebes as he was a Patrician, but it was a power taken by previous rulers). He refused to accept all his predecessors' titles (including Imperator) at the beginning of his reign, preferring to earn them in due course. He allowed the Senate to issue its own bronze coinage for the first time since Augustus. He also put the Imperial provinces of Macedonia and Achaea back under Senate control.
Claudius set about remodeling the Senate into a more efficient, representative body. He chided the senators about their reluctance to debate bills introduced by himself, as noted in the fragments of a surviving speech:
If you accept these proposals, Conscript Fathers, say so at once and simply, in accordance with your convictions. If you do not accept them, find alternatives, but do so here and now; or if you wish to take time for consideration, take it, provided you do not forget that you must be ready to pronounce your opinion whenever you may be summoned to meet. It ill befits the dignity of the Senate that the consul designate should repeat the phrases of the consuls word for word as his opinion, and that every one else should merely say 'I approve', and that then, after leaving, the assembly should announce 'We debated'.[26]
In 47 he assumed the office of Censor with Lucius Vitellius, which had been allowed to lapse for some time. He struck the names of many senators and equites who no longer met qualifications, but showed respect by allowing them to resign in advance. At the same time, he sought to admit eligible men from the provinces. The Lyon Tablet preserves his speech on the admittance of Gallic senators, in which he addresses the Senate with reverence but also with criticism for their disdain of these men. He also increased the number of Patricians by adding new families to the dwindling number of noble lines. Here he followed the precedent of Lucius Junius Brutus and Julius Caesar.
Nevertheless, many in the Senate remained hostile to Claudius, and many plots were made on his life. This hostility carried over into the historical accounts. As a result, Claudius was forced to reduce the Senate's power for efficiency. The administration of Ostia was turned over to an Imperial Procurator after construction of the port. Administration of many of the empire's financial concerns was turned over to Imperial appointees and freedmen. This led to further resentment and suggestions that these same freedmen were ruling the Emperor.
Several coup attempts were made during Claudius' reign, resulting in the deaths of many senators. Appius Silanus was executed early in Claudius' reign under questionable circumstances. Shortly after, a large rebellion was undertaken by the Senator Vinicianus and Scribonianus, the governor of Dalmatia and gained quite a few senatorial supporters. It ultimately failed because of the reluctance of Scribonianus' troops, and the suicide of the main conspirators. Many other senators tried different conspiracies and were condemned. Claudius' son-in-law Pompeius Magnus was executed for his part in a conspiracy with his father Crassus Frugi. Another plot involved the consulars Lusiius Saturninus, Cornelius Lupus, and Pompeius Pedo.
In 46, Asinius Gallus, the grandson of Asinius Pollio, and Statilius Corvinus were exiled for a plot hatched with several of Claudius' own freedmen. Valerius Asiaticus was executed without public trial for unknown reasons. The ancient sources say the charge was adultery, and that Claudius was tricked into issuing the punishment. However, Claudius singles out Asiaticus for special damnation in his speech on the Gauls, which dates over a year later, suggesting that the charge must have been much more serious. Asiaticus had been a claimant to the throne in the chaos following Caligula's death and a co-consul with the Statilius Corvinus mentioned above. Most of these conspiracies took place before Claudius' term as Censor, and may have induced him to review the Senatorial rolls. The conspiracy of Gaius Silius in the year after his Censorship, 48, is detailed in the section discussing Claudius' third wife, Messalina. Suetonius states that a total of 35 senators and 300 knights were executed for offenses during Claudius' reign.[27] Needless to say, the necessary responses to these conspiracies could not have helped Senate-emperor relations.
Secretariat and centralization of powers[link]
Claudius was hardly the first emperor to use freedmen to help with the day-to-day running of the Empire. He was, however, forced to increase their role as the powers of the Princeps became more centralized and the burden larger. This was partly due to the ongoing hostility of the Senate, as mentioned above, but also due to his respect for the senators. Claudius did not want free-born magistrates to have to serve under him, as if they were not peers.
The secretariat was divided into bureaus, with each being placed under the leadership of one freedman. Narcissus was the secretary of correspondence. Pallas became the secretary of the treasury. Callistus became secretary of justice. There was a fourth bureau for miscellaneous issues, which was put under Polybius until his execution for treason. The freedmen could also officially speak for the Emperor, as when Narcissus addressed the troops in Claudius' stead before the conquest of Britain. Since these were important positions, the senators were aghast at their being placed in the hands of former slaves. If freedmen had total control of money, letters, and law, it seemed it would not be hard for them to manipulate the Emperor. This is exactly the accusation put forth by the ancient sources. However, these same sources admit that the freedmen were loyal to Claudius.[28] He was similarly appreciative of them and gave them due credit for policies where he had used their advice. However, if they showed treasonous inclinations, the Emperor did punish them with just force, as in the case of Polybius and Pallas' brother, Felix. There is no evidence that the character of Claudius' policies and edicts changed with the rise and fall of the various freedmen, suggesting that he was firmly in control throughout.
Regardless of the extent of their political power, the freedmen did manage to amass wealth through their positions. Pliny the Elder notes that several of them were richer than Crassus, the richest man of the Republican era.[29]
Religious reforms[link]
Claudius, as the author of a treatise on Augustus' religious reforms, felt himself in a good position to institute some of his own. He had strong opinions about the proper form for state religion. He refused the request of Alexandrian Greeks to dedicate a temple to his divinity, saying that only gods may choose new gods. He restored lost days to festivals and got rid of many extraneous celebrations added by Caligula. He re-instituted old observances and archaic language. Claudius was concerned with the spread of eastern mysteries within the city and searched for more Roman replacements. He emphasized the Eleusinian mysteries which had been practiced by so many during the Republic. He expelled foreign astrologers, and at the same time rehabilitated the old Roman soothsayers (known as haruspices) as a replacement. He was especially hard on Druidism, because of its incompatibility with the Roman state religion and its proselytizing activities.[citation needed]
It is also reported that at one time he expelled the Jews from Rome, probably because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus.[30] Claudius opposed proselytizing in any religion, even in those regions where he allowed natives to worship freely. The results of all these efforts were recognized even by Seneca, who has an ancient Latin god defend Claudius in his satire.[31]
Public games and entertainments[link]
According to Suetonius, Claudius was extraordinarily fond of games. He is said to have risen with the crowd after gladiatorial matches and given unrestrained praise to the fighters.[32] Claudius also presided over many new and original events. Soon after coming into power, Claudius instituted games to be held in honor of his father on the latter's birthday.[33] Annual games were also held in honor of his accession, and took place at the Praetorian camp where Claudius had first been proclaimed Emperor.[34] Claudius performed the Secular games, marking the 800th anniversary of the founding of Rome. Augustus had performed the same games less than a century prior. Augustus' excuse was that the interval for the games was 110 years, not 100, but his date actually did not qualify under either reasoning.[34] Claudius also presented naval battles to mark the attempted draining of the Fucine lake, as well as many other public games and shows.
At Ostia, in front of a crowd of spectators, Claudius fought a killer whale which was trapped in the harbor. The event was witnessed by Pliny the Elder:
A killer whale was actually seen in the harbor of Ostia, locked in combat with the emperor Claudius. She had come when he was completing the construction of the harbor, drawn there by the wreck of a ship bringing leather hides from Gaul, and feeding there over a number of days, had made a furrow in the shallows: the waves had raised up such a mound of sand that she couldn't turn around at all, and while she was pursuing her banquet as the waves moved it shorewards, her back stuck up out of the water like the overturned keel of a boat. The Emperor ordered that a large array of nets be stretched across the mouths of the harbor, and setting out in person with the Praetorian cohorts gave a show to the Roman people, soldiers showering lances from attacking ships, one of which I saw swamped by the beast's waterspout and sunk. — "Historia Naturalis" IX.14–15.[35]
Claudius also restored and adorned many of the venues around Rome. The old wooden barriers of the Circus Maximus were replaced with ones made of gold-ornamented marble.[34] A new section of the Circus was designated for seating the senators, who previously had sat among the general public.[34] Claudius rebuilt Pompey's Theater after it had been destroyed by fire, organizing special fights at the re-dedication which he observed from a special platform in the orchestra box.[34]
Marriages and personal life[link]
Claudius' love life was unusual for an upper-class Roman of his day, in that he was the only one out of the first 15 emperors not to take men or boys, but only women as lovers. Suetonius and the other ancient authors used this against Claudius. They accused him of being dominated by these same women and wives, of being uxorious, and of being a womanizer.
Claudius married four times, after two failed betrothals. The first betrothal was to his distant cousin Aemilia Lepida, but was broken for political reasons. The second was to Livia Medullina, which ended with Medullina's sudden death on their wedding day.
Plautia Urgulanilla[link]
Plautia Urgulanilla was the granddaughter of Livia's confidant Urgulania. During their marriage she gave birth to a son, Claudius Drusus. Unfortunately, Drusus died of asphyxiation in his early teens, shortly after becoming engaged to Junilla, the daughter of Sejanus. Claudius later divorced Urgulanilla for adultery and on suspicion of murdering her sister-in-law Apronia. When Urgulanilla gave birth after the divorce, Claudius repudiated the baby girl, Claudia, as the father was one of his own freedmen.
Aelia Paetina[link]
Soon after (possibly in 28), Claudius married Aelia Paetina, a relative of Sejanus, if not Sejanus's adoptive sister. During their marriage, Claudius and Paetina had a daughter, Claudia Antonia. He later divorced her after the marriage became a political liability, although Leon (1948) suggests it may have been due to emotional and mental abuse by Paetina.
Valeria Messalina[link]
Some years after divorcing Aelia Paetina, in 38 or early 39, Claudius married Valeria Messalina, who was his first cousin once removed and closely allied with Caligula's circle. Shortly thereafter, she gave birth to a daughter Claudia Octavia. A son, first named Tiberius Claudius Germanicus, and later known as Britannicus, was born just after Claudius' accession. This marriage ended in tragedy. The ancient historians allege that Messalina was a nymphomaniac who was regularly unfaithful to Claudius — Tacitus states she went so far as to compete with a prostitute to see who could have the most sexual partners in a night[36] — and manipulated his policies in order to amass wealth. In 48, Messalina married her lover Gaius Silius in a public ceremony while Claudius was at Ostia.
Sources disagree as to whether or not she divorced the Emperor first, and whether the intention was to usurp the throne. Scramuzza, in his biography, suggests that Silius may have convinced Messalina that Claudius was doomed, and the union was her only hope of retaining rank and protecting her children.[37] The historian Tacitus suggests that Claudius's ongoing term as Censor may have prevented him from noticing the affair before it reached such a critical point.[38] Whatever the case, the result was the execution of Silius, Messalina, and most of her circle.[39] Claudius made the Praetorians promise to kill him if he ever married again.[citation needed]
Agrippina the Younger[link]
Despite this declaration, Claudius did marry once more. The ancient sources tell that his freedmen pushed three candidates:
- Caligula's third wife Lollia Paulina
- Claudius's divorced second wife Aelia Paetina
- Claudius's niece Agrippina the Younger
According to Suetonius, Agrippina won out through her feminine wiles.[40] The truth is likely more political. The attempted coup d'etat by Silius and Messalina had probably made Claudius realize the weakness of his position as a member of the Claudian but not the Julian family. This weakness was compounded by the fact that he did not have an obvious adult heir, Britannicus being just a boy. Agrippina was one of the few remaining descendants of Augustus, and her son Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (the future Emperor Nero) was one of the last males of the Imperial family. Future coup attempts could rally around the pair, and Agrippina was already showing such ambition. It has been suggested in recent times that the Senate may have pushed for the marriage to end the feud between the Julian and Claudian branches.[41] This feud dated back to Agrippina's mother's actions against Tiberius after the death of her husband Germanicus (Claudius's brother), actions which Tiberius had gladly punished. In any case, Claudius accepted Agrippina, and later adopted the newly mature Nero as his son.
Nero was made joint heir with the underage Britannicus, married to Octavia and heavily promoted. This was not as unusual as it seems to people acquainted with modern hereditary monarchies. Barbara Levick notes that Augustus had named his grandson Postumus Agrippa and his stepson Tiberius as joint heirs.[42] Tiberius named Caligula joint heir with his grandson Tiberius Gemellus. Adoption of adults or near adults was an old tradition in Rome when a suitable natural adult heir was unavailable. This was the case during Britannicus' minority. S.V. Oost suggests that Claudius had previously looked to adopt one of his sons-in-law to protect his own reign.[43] Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix, married to his daughter Claudia Antonia, was only descended from Octavia and Antony on one side — not close enough to the Imperial family to prevent doubts (that did not stop others from making him the object of a coup attempt against Nero a few years later). Besides which, he was the half brother of Valeria Messalina, and at this time those wounds were still fresh. Nero was more popular with the general public as the grandson of Germanicus and the direct descendant of Augustus.
Claudius' affliction and personality[link]
The historian Suetonius describes the physical manifestations of Claudius' affliction in relatively good detail.[44] His knees were weak and gave way under him and his head shook. He stammered and his speech was confused. He slobbered and his nose ran when he was excited. The Stoic Seneca states in his Apocolocyntosis that Claudius' voice belonged to no land animal, and that his hands were weak as well;[45] however, he showed no physical deformity, as Suetonius notes that when calm and seated he was a tall, well-built figure of dignitas.[44] When angered or stressed, his symptoms became worse. Historians agree that this condition improved upon his accession to the throne.[46] Claudius himself claimed that he had exaggerated his ailments to save his own life.[47]
The modern diagnosis has changed several times in the past century. Prior to World War II, infantile paralysis (or polio) was widely accepted as the cause. This is the diagnosis used in Robert Graves' Claudius novels, first published in the 1930s. Polio does not explain many of the described symptoms, however, and a more recent theory implicates cerebral palsy as the cause, as outlined by Ernestine Leon.[48] Tourette syndrome has also been considered a possibility.[49][50] Asperger Syndrome has also been theorized in recent years. [51] [52] As a person, ancient historians described Claudius as generous and lowbrow, a man who sometimes lunched with the plebeians.[53] They also paint him as bloodthirsty and cruel, overly fond of both gladiatorial combat and executions, and very quick to anger (though Claudius himself acknowledged the latter trait, and apologized publicly for his temper).[54] To them he was also overly trusting, and easily manipulated by his wives and freedmen.[55] But at the same time they portray him as paranoid and apathetic, dull and easily confused.[56] The extant works of Claudius present a different view, painting a picture of an intelligent, scholarly, well-read, and conscientious administrator with an eye to detail and justice. Thus, Claudius becomes an enigma. Since the discovery of his "Letter to the Alexandrians" in the last century, much work has been done to rehabilitate Claudius and determine where the truth lies.
Scholarly works and their impact[link]
Claudius wrote copiously throughout his life. Arnaldo Momigliano[57] states that during the reign of Tiberius — which covers the peak of Claudius' literary career — it became impolitic to speak of republican Rome. The trend among the young historians was to either write about the new empire or obscure antiquarian subjects. Claudius was the rare scholar who covered both. Besides the history of Augustus' reign that caused him so much grief, his major works included an Etruscan history and eight volumes on Carthaginian history, as well as an Etruscan Dictionary and a book on dice playing. (Claudius is actually the last person known to have been able to read Etruscan.) Despite the general avoidance of the Imperatorial era, he penned a defense of Cicero against the charges of Asinius Gallus. Modern historians have used this to determine both the nature of his politics and of the aborted chapters of his civil war history.
He proposed a reform of the Latin alphabet by the addition of three new letters, two of which served the function of the modern letters W and Y. He officially instituted the change during his censorship, but they did not survive his reign. Claudius also tried to revive the old custom of putting dots between successive words (Classical Latin was written with no spacing). Finally, he wrote an eight-volume autobiography that Suetonius describes as lacking in taste.[58] Since Claudius (like most of the members of his dynasty) heavily criticized his predecessors and relatives in surviving speeches,[59] it is not hard to imagine the nature of Suetonius' charge.
Unfortunately, none of the actual works survive. They do live on as sources for the surviving histories of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Suetonius quotes Claudius' autobiography once, and must have used it as a source numerous times. Tacitus uses Claudius' own arguments for the orthographical innovations mentioned above, and may have used him for some of the more antiquarian passages in his annals. Claudius is the source for numerous passages of Pliny's Natural History.[60]
The influence of historical study on Claudius is obvious. In his speech on Gallic senators, he uses a version of the founding of Rome identical to that of Livy, his tutor in adolescence. The detail of his speech borders on the pedantic, a common mark of all his extant works, and he goes into long digressions on related matters. This indicates a deep knowledge of a variety of historical subjects that he could not help but share. Many of the public works instituted in his reign were based on plans first suggested by Julius Caesar. Levick believes this emulation of Caesar may have spread to all aspects of his policies.[61] His censorship seems to have been based on those of his ancestors, particularly Appius Claudius Caecus, and he used the office to put into place many policies based on those of Republican times. This is when many of his religious reforms took effect and his building efforts greatly increased during his tenure. In fact, his assumption of the office of Censor may have been motivated by a desire to see his academic labors bear fruit. For example, he believed (as most Romans) that his ancestor Appius Claudius Caecus had used the censorship to introduce the letter "R"[62] and so used his own term to introduce his new letters.
Death[link]
The consensus of ancient historians was that Claudius was murdered by poison — possibly contained in mushrooms or on a feather — and died in the early hours of 13 October 54. Accounts vary greatly. Some claim Claudius was in Rome[63] while others claim he was in Sinuessa.[64] Some implicate either Halotus, his taster, Xenophon, his doctor, or the infamous poisoner Locusta as the administrator of the fatal substance.[65] Some say he died after prolonged suffering following a single dose at dinner, and some have him recovering only to be poisoned again.[63] Nearly all implicate his final wife, Agrippina, as the instigator. Agrippina and Claudius had become more combative in the months leading up to his death. This carried on to the point where Claudius openly lamented his bad wives, and began to comment on Britannicus' approaching manhood with an eye towards restoring his status within the imperial family.[66] Agrippina had motive in ensuring the succession of Nero before Britannicus could gain power.
In modern times, some authors have cast doubt on whether Claudius was murdered or merely succumbed to illness or old age.[67] Some modern scholars claim the universality of the accusations in ancient texts lends credence to the crime.[68] But history in those days could not be objectively collected or written, so sometimes amounted to committing whispered gossip to parchment, often years after the events, when everyone who cared was dead. Claudius' ashes were interred in the Mausoleum of Augustus on 24 October, after a funeral in the manner of Augustus.
After death[link]
Divine honours[link]
Already, while alive, he received the widespread private worship of a living Princeps[69] and was worshipped in Britannia in his own temple in Camulodunum.
Claudius was deified by Nero and the Senate almost immediately.[70] Those who regard this homage as cynical should note that, cynical or not, such a move would hardly have benefited those involved, had Claudius been "hated", as some commentators, both modern and historic, characterize him. Many of Claudius' less solid supporters quickly became Nero's men. Claudius' will had been changed shortly before his death to either recommend Nero and Britannicus jointly or perhaps just Britannicus, who would have been considered an adult man according to Roman law only a few months later.
Views of the new regime[link]
Agrippina had sent away Narcissus shortly before Claudius' death, and now murdered the freedman. The last act of this secretary of letters was to burn all of Claudius' correspondence — most likely so it could not be used against him and others in an already hostile new regime. Thus Claudius' private words about his own policies and motives were lost to history. Just as Claudius had criticized his predecessors in official edicts (see below), Nero often criticized the deceased Emperor and many of Claudius' laws and edicts were disregarded under the reasoning that he was too stupid and senile to have meant them.[71] Seneca's Apocolocyntosis reinforces the view of Claudius as an unpleasant fool and this remained the official view for the duration of Nero's reign. Eventually Nero stopped referring to his deified adoptive father at all, and realigned with his birth family. Claudius' temple was left unfinished after only some of the foundation had been laid down. Eventually the site was overtaken by Nero's Golden House.[72]
Flavian and later perspectives[link]
The Flavians, who had risen to prominence under Claudius, took a different tack. They were in a position where they needed to shore up their legitimacy, but also justify the fall of the Julio-Claudians. They reached back to Claudius in contrast with Nero, to show that they were good associated with good. Commemorative coins were issued of Claudius and his son Britannicus — who had been a friend of the Emperor Titus (Titus was born in 39, Britannicus was born in 41). When Nero's Golden House was burned, the Temple of Claudius was finally completed on the Caelian Hill.[72] However, as the Flavians became established, they needed to emphasize their own credentials more, and their references to Claudius ceased. Instead, he was lumped with the other Emperors of the fallen dynasty. His State cult in Rome probably continued until the abolition of all such cults of dead Emperors by Maximinus Thrax in 237–238.[73] The Feriale Duranum, probably identical to the festival calendars of every regular army unit, assigns him a sacrifice of a steer on his birthday, the Kalends of August.[74] and such commemoration (and consequent feasting) probably continued until the Christianization and disintegration of the army in the late fourth century.[75]
Views of ancient historians[link]
The main ancient historians Tacitus, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio all wrote after the last of the Flavians had gone. All three were senators or equites. They took the side of the Senate in most conflicts with the Princeps, invariably viewing him as being in the wrong. This resulted in biases, both conscious and unconscious. Suetonius lost access to the official archives shortly after beginning his work. He was forced to rely on second-hand accounts when it came to Claudius (with the exception of Augustus' letters which had been gathered earlier) and does not quote the Emperor. Suetonius painted Claudius as a ridiculous figure, belittling many of his acts and attributing the objectively good works to his retinue.[76]
Tacitus wrote a narrative for his fellow senators and fitted each of the Emperors into a simple mold of his choosing.[77] He wrote Claudius as a passive pawn and an idiot—going so far as to hide his use of Claudius as a source and omit Claudius' character from his works.[78] Even his version of Claudius' Lyons tablet speech is edited to be devoid of the Emperor's personality. Dio was less biased, but seems to have used Suetonius and Tacitus as sources. Thus the conception of Claudius as the weak fool, controlled by those he supposedly ruled, was preserved for the ages.
As time passed, Claudius was mostly forgotten outside of the historians' accounts. His books were lost first, as their antiquarian subjects became unfashionable. In the 2nd century, Pertinax, who shared his birthday, became Emperor, overshadowing commemoration of Claudius.[79]
In modern literature and film[link]
The best known fictional representation of the Emperor Claudius were the books I, Claudius and Claudius the God (published in 1934 and 1935) by Robert Graves, both written in the first-person to give the reader the impression that they are Claudius' autobiography. Graves employed a fictive artifice to suggest that they were recently discovered, genuine translations of Claudius' writings. Claudius' extant letters, speeches, and sayings were incorporated into the text (mostly in the second book, Claudius the God) in order to add authenticity.
In 1937, director Josef von Sternberg attempted a film version of I, Claudius, with Charles Laughton as Claudius. Unfortunately, the lead actress Merle Oberon suffered a near-fatal accident and the movie was never finished. The surviving reels were featured in the BBC documentary The Epic That Never Was (1965), revealing some of Laughton's most accomplished acting. The motion picture rights for a new film passed producer Scott Rudin.[80] In 2011, it was announced rights for a miniseries adaptation passed to HBO and BBC2. Anne Thomopoulos and Jane Tranter, producers of the popular HBO/BBC2 Rome miniseries, are attached to the new I, Claudius project.
Graves's two books were the basis for a British television adaptation produced by the BBC. The series starred Derek Jacobi as Claudius and was broadcast in 1976[81] on BBC2. It was a substantial critical success, and won several BAFTA awards. The series was later broadcast in the United States on Masterpiece Theatre in 1977. The DVD release of the television series contains the The Epic that Never Was documentary.
Claudius has been portrayed in film on several other occasions, including in the 1979 motion picture Caligula, the role being performed by Giancarlo Badessi in which the character was depicted as an idiot, in contrast to Robert Graves' portrait of Claudius as a cunning and deeply intelligent man who is perceived by others to be an idiot. Barry Jones also portrayed him sympathetically in Demetrius and the Gladiators.
On television, the actor Rodrigo Adrian La Fuente Soto portrayed Claudius in the 1968 British television series The Caesars while the 1985 made-for-television miniseries A.D. features actor Richard Kiley as Claudius. There is also a reference to Claudius' suppression of one of the coups against him in the movie Gladiator, though the incident is entirely fictional.
In literature, Claudius and his contemporaries appear in the historical novel The Roman by Mika Waltari. Canadian-born science fiction writer A. E. van Vogt reimagined Robert Graves' Claudius story in his two novels Empire of the Atom and The Wizard of Linn.
Ancestry[link]
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See also[link]
Footnotes[link]
- ^ In Classical Latin, Claudius' name would be inscribed as TIBERIVS CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS.
- ^ Dio Hist. LX 2
- ^ Suet. Claud. 2. Suet Claud. 4 indicates the reasons for choosing this tutor, as outlined in Leon (1948).
- ^ Suet. Claud. 4.
- ^ Scramuzza (1940) p. 39.
- ^ Stuart (1936).
- ^ Dio Rom. Hist. LX 2. Suhr (1955) suggests that this must refer to before Claudius came to power.
- ^ Major (1992)
- ^ Josephus Antiquitates Iudiacae XIX. Dio Rom. Hist. LX 1.3
- ^ Josephus Ant. Iud. XIX.
- ^ Josephus Bellum Iudiacum II, 204–233.
- ^ Suetonius, Claud. 10
- ^ Pliny 5.1–5.2, Cassius Dio, 60.8, 60.9
- ^ Scramuzza, Chap. 9
- ^ Scramuzza, Chap. 7, p. 142
- ^ Suet. Claud. 15. Dio Rom. Hist. LXI 33.
- ^ Scramuzza (1940), Chap. 6
- ^ Josephus Ant. Iud. XIX.5.3 (287).
- ^ Scramuzza (1940), Chap. 7, p.129
- ^ Scramuzza (1940), Chap. 7
- ^ Suetonius, Claud. 16
- ^ Suetonius, Claud. 32
- ^ Suetonius, Claud. 51
- ^ Tacitus Ann. XII 57
- ^ Scramuzza (1940), Chap. 9, pp. 173–4
- ^ English translation of Berlin papyrus by W.D. Hogarth, in Momigliano (1934).
- ^ Suet. Claud. 29.
- ^ Tac. Ann. XII 65. Seneca Ad Polybium.
- ^ Pliny Natural History 134.
- ^ There is some debate about what actually happened. It is reported by Suetonius and in Acts (18:2), Cassius Dio minimizes the event and Josephus—who was reporting on Jewish events—does not mention it at all. Some scholars hold that it didn't happen, while others have only a few missionaries expelled for the short term.
- ^ Seneca Apocolo. 9.
- ^ Suet. Claud. 12
- ^ Suet. Claud. 11
- ^ a b c d e Suet. Claud. 21
- ^ Translation of Pliny's Historia Naturalis
- ^ Tac. Ann. XI 10. Also Dio Rom. Hist. LXI 31, and Pliny Nat. Hist. X 172.
- ^ Scramuzza (1940) p. 90. Momigliano (1934) pp. 6–7. Levick (1990) p. 19.
- ^ Tac. Ann. XI. 25, 8.
- ^ Farquhar, Michael (2001). A Treasure of Royal Scandals, p.212. Penguin Books, New York. ISBN 0-7394-2025-9.
- ^ Suet. Claud. 26.
- ^ Scramuzza (1940) pp. 91–92. See also Tac. Ann. XII 6, 7; Suet. Claud. 26.
- ^ Levick (1990) p. 70. See also Scramuzza (1940) p. 92.
- ^ Oost (1958).
- ^ a b Suet. Claud. 30.
- ^ Seneca Apocolo. 5, 6.
- ^ Suet. Claud. 31.
- ^ Suet. Claud. 38.
- ^ Leon (1948).
- ^ Burden, George. The Imperial Gene, The Medical Post, 16 July 1996. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
- ^ Murad A. (2010). A neurological mystery from history: the case of Claudius Caesar. J Hist Neurosci. 19(3):221-7.doi: 10.1080/09647040902872775 PMID 20628951
- ^ [1], "Claudius" , July 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ [2], "Did Emperor Claudius Have Asperger's Syndrome?", 23 January 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ^ Suet. Claud. 5, 21, 40; Dio Rom. Hist. LX 2, 5, 12, 31.
- ^ Suet. Claud. 34, 38. Tacitus Ann. XII 20.
- ^ Suet. Claud. 29. Dio Rom. Hist. LX 2, 8.
- ^ Suet. Claud. 35, 36, 37, 39, 40. Dio Rom. Hist. LX 2, 3.
- ^ Momigliano (1934) pp. 4–6.
- ^ Suet. Claud. 41.
- ^ See Claudius' letter to the people of Trent (linked below), in which he refers to the "obstinate retirement" of Tiberius. See also Josephus Ant Iud. XIX, where an edict of Claudius refers to Caligula's "madness and lack of understanding."
- ^ See Momigliano (1934) Chap. 1, note 20 (p. 83). Pliny credits him by name in Book VII 35.
- ^ Levick (1978).
- ^ Ryan (1993) refers to the historian Varro's account of the introduction
- ^ a b Suet. Claud. 44
- ^ Tac. Ann. XII 66
- ^ Accounts of his death: Suet. Claud. 43, 44. Tac. Ann. XII 64, 66–67. Josephus Ant. Iud. XX 148, 151. Dio Rom. Hist. LX 34. Pliny Natural History II 92, XI 189, XXII 92.
- ^ Suet. Claud. 43
- ^ Scramuzza (1940) pp. 92–93 says that tradition makes every emperor the victim of foul play, so we can't know if Claudius was truly murdered. Levick (1990) pp. 76–77. raises the possibility that Claudius was killed by the stress of fighting with Agrippina over the succession, but concludes that the timing makes murder the most likely cause.
- ^ Levick (1990); also as opposed to the murder of Augustus, which is only found in Tacitus and Dio where he quotes Tacitus. Suetonius, an inveterate gossip, doesn't mention it at all.
- ^ Gradel I. Emperor worship and Roman religion. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2002. ISBN 978-0-19-927548-9
- ^ Suet. Nero 9
- ^ Suet. Nero 33
- ^ a b Levick (1990)
- ^ Gradel I. Emperor worship and Roman religion. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2002. ISBN 978-0-19-927548-9 p.356-341
- ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6mce147Z_EEC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=Feriale+Duranum&source=bl&ots=ckDSAJPV1I&sig=3gZlhAPS7XDc_IJ3BX3oevMq1Cg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MU9vT57wCebF0QX63rWNAg&ved=0CHAQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Feriale%20Duranum&f=false
- ^ Gradel I. Emperor worship and Roman religion. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2002. ISBN 978-0-19-927548-9 p.367
- ^ Scramuzza, p. 29
- ^ Vessey (1971)
- ^ Griffin (1990). Ann. XI 14 is a good example. The digression on the history of writing is certainly Claudius' own argument for his new letters, and fits in with his personality and extant writings. Tacitus makes no attribution.
- ^ Levick. Claudius p. 194
- ^ "I, Claudius (2009) – Synopsis". http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-synopsis/i-claudius.1/. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074006/
References[link]
- Baldwin, B. (1964). "Executions under Claudius: Seneca’s Ludus de Morte Claudii". Phoenix 18 (1): 39–48.
- Griffin, M. (1990). "Claudius in Tacitus". Classical Quarterly 40 (2): 482–501.
- Levick, B.M. (1978). "Claudius: Antiquarian or Revolutionary?" American Journal of Philology, 99 (1): 79–105.
- Levick, Barbara (1990). Claudius. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Leon, E.F. (1948). "The Imbecillitas of the Emperor Claudius", Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 79 79–86.
- McAlindon, D. (1957). "Claudius and the Senators", American Journal of Philology, 78 (3): 279–286.
- Major, A. (1992). "Was He Pushed or Did He Leap? Claudius' Ascent to Power", Ancient History, 22 25–31.
- Momigliano, Arnaldo (1934). Claudius: the Emperor and His Achievement Trans. W.D. Hogarth. Cambridge: W. Heffer and Sons.
- Oost, S.V. (1958). "The Career of M. Antonius Pallas", American Journal of Philology, 79 (2): 113–139.
- Osgood, Josiah (2010). Claudius Caesar : image and power in the early Roman empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-88181-4.
- Ruth, Thomas De Coursey (1916). The Problem of Claudius. Johns Hopkins University Dissertation.
- Ryan, F.X. (1993). "Some Observations on the Censorship of Claudius and Vitellius, AD 47–48", American Journal of Philology, 114 (4): 611–618.
- Scramuzza, Vincent (1940). The Emperor Claudius Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Stuart, M. (1936). "The Date of the Inscription of Claudius on the Arch of Ticinum" American Journal of Archaeology 40 (3): 314–322.
- Suetonius (1979). The Twelve Caesars. Robert Graves, trans. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-044072-0.
- Suhr, Elmer G. (1955). "A Portrait of Claudius". American Journal of Archaeology 59 (4): 319–322.
- Vessey, D.W.T.C. (1971). "Thoughts on Tacitus' Portrayal of Claudius" American Journal of Philology 92 (3) 385–409.
External links[link]
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- Ancient Sources
- Suetonius
- Tacitus
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- Josephus
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- Modern Biographies
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Roman emperor |
| Date of birth | 1 August 10 BC |
| Place of birth | Lugdunum |
| Date of death | 13 October 54(54-10-13) , |
| Place of death | Rome |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is about the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution. For other uses, see Reign of Terror (disambiguation).
The Reign of Terror (5 September 1793 – 28 July 1794) (the latter is date 10 Thermidor, year II of the French Revolutionary Calendar),[1] also known simply as The Terror (French: la Terreur), was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of the revolution." The death toll ranged in the tens of thousands, with 16,594 executed by guillotine (2,639 in Paris),[2] and another 25,000 in summary executions across France.[3]
The guillotine (called the "National Razor") became the symbol of the revolutionary cause, strengthened by a string of executions: Marie Antoinette, King Louis XVI, the Girondins, Philippe Égalité (Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans) and Madame Roland, as well as many others, such as pioneering chemist Antoine Lavoisier, lost their lives under its blade. During 1794, revolutionary France was beset with conspiracies by internal and foreign enemies. Within France, the revolution was opposed by the French nobility, which had lost its inherited privileges. The Roman Catholic Church was generally against the Revolution, which had turned the clergy into employees of the state and required they take an oath of loyalty to the nation (through the Civil Constitution of the Clergy). In addition, the First French Republic was engaged in a series of wars with neighboring powers intent on crushing the revolution to prevent its spread.
The extension of civil war and the advance of foreign armies on national territory produced a political crisis and increased the rivalry between the Girondins and the more radical Jacobins. The latter were eventually grouped in the parliamentary faction called the Mountain, and they had the support of the Parisian population. The French government established the Committee of Public Safety, which took its final form on 6 September 1793 in order to suppress internal counter-revolutionary activities and raise additional French military forces. Through the Revolutionary Tribunal, the Terror's leaders exercised broad dictatorial powers and used them to instigate mass executions and political purges. The repression accelerated in June and July 1794, a period called "la Grande Terreur" (the Great Terror), and ended in the coup of 9 Thermidor Year II (27 July 1794), leading to the Thermidorian Reaction, in which several protagonists of the Reign of Terror were executed, including Saint-Just and Robespierre.
Contents |
Origins and causes[link]
After the resolution of the foreign wars during 1791–1793, the violence associated with the Reign of Terror increased significantly: only roughly 4% of executions had occurred before November 1793 (Brumaire, Year I), thus signaling to many that the Reign of Terror might have had additional causes.[4] These could have included inherent issues with revolutionary ideology,[5] and/or the need of a weapon for political repression in a time of significant foreign and civil upheaval,[4] leading to many different interpretations by historians.
File:Heads on pikes.jpg
Aristocratic heads on pikes.
Many historians have debated the reasons why the French Revolution took such a radical turn during the Reign of Terror of 1793–1794. The public was frustrated that the social equality and anti-poverty measures that the Revolution originally promised were not coming to fruition. Jacques Roux’s “Manifesto of the Enraged” in 25 June 1793 describes the extent to which, four years into the Revolution, these goals were largely unattained by the common people.[6] The foundation of the Terror is centered on the April 1793 creation of the Committee of Public Safety and its militant Jacobin delegates. The National Convention believed that the Committee needed to rule with “near dictatorial power” and the Committee was delegated new and expansive political powers to quickly respond to popular demands.[7]
Those in power believed the Committee of Public Safety was an unfortunate, but necessary and temporary reaction to the pressures of foreign and civil war.[8] Historian Albert Mathiez argues that the authority of the Committee of Public Safety was based on the necessities of war, as those in power realized that deviating from the will of the people was a temporary emergency response measure in order to secure the ideals of the Republic. According to Mathiez, they “touched only with trepidation and reluctance the regime established by the Constituent Assembly” so as not to interfere with the early accomplishments of the Revolution.[9]
Similar to Mathiez, Richard Cobb introduces the competing circumstances of revolt and reeducation within France as an explanation for the Terror. Counterrevolutionary rebellions taking place in Lyon, Brittany, Vendée, Nantes and Marseille were threatening the Revolution with royalist ideas.[10] Cobb writes, “the revolutionaries themselves, living as if in combat… were easily persuaded that only terror and repressive force saved them from the blows of their enemies.”[11] Terror was used in these rebellions both to execute inciters and to provide a very visible example to those who might be considering rebellion. Cobb agrees with Mathiez that the Terror was simply a response to circumstances, a necessary evil and natural defense, rather than a manifestation of violent temperaments or excessive fervor. At the same time, Cobb rejects Mathiez’s Marxist interpretation that elites controlled the Reign of Terror to the significant benefit to the bourgeoisie. Instead, Cobb argues that “social struggles” between the classes were seldom the reason for revolutionary actions and sentiments.[12]
Francois Furet, however, argues that circumstances could not have been the sole cause of the Reign of Terror because “the risks for the Revolution were greatest” in the middle of 1793 but at that time “the activity of the Revolutionary Tribunal was relatively minimal.”[13] Widespread terror and a consequent rise in executions came after external and internal threats were vastly reduced. Therefore Furet suggests that ideology played the crucial role in the rise of the Reign of Terror because “man’s regeneration” became a central theme for the Committee of Public Safety as they were trying to instill ideals of free will and enlightened government in the public.[14] As this ideology became more and more pervasive, violence became a significant method for dealing with counterrevolutionaries and the opposition because for fear of being labeled a counterrevolutionary themselves, “the moderate men would have to accept, endorse and even glorify the acts of the more violent.”[15]
The Terror[link]
On 2 June 1793, Paris sections – encouraged by the enragés Jacques Roux and Jacques Hébert – took over the Convention, calling for administrative and political purges, a low fixed price for bread, and a limitation of the electoral franchise to sans-culottes alone. With the backing of the National Guard, they persuaded the Convention to arrest 29 Girondist leaders, including Jacques Pierre Brissot.[16] On 13 July the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat – a Jacobin leader and journalist known for his violent rhetoric – by Charlotte Corday resulted in a further increase in Jacobin political influence.[17]
Georges Danton, the leader of the August 1792 uprising against the King, was removed from the Committee. On 27 July Maximilien Robespierre, known in Republican circles as "the Incorruptible" for his ascetic dedication to his ideals, made his entrance, quickly becoming the most influential member of the Committee as it moved to take radical measures against the Revolution's domestic and foreign enemies.[18]
Meanwhile, on 24 June the Convention adopted the first republican constitution of France, the French Constitution of 1793. It was ratified by public referendum, but never put into force; like other laws, it was indefinitely suspended by the decree of October that the government of France would be "revolutionary until the peace".[19]
On 25 December 1793 Robespierre stated:
The goal of the constitutional government is to conserve the Republic; the aim of the revolutionary government is to found it... The revolutionary government owes to the good citizen all the protection of the nation; it owes nothing to the Enemies of the People but death... These notions would be enough to explain the origin and the nature of laws that we call revolutionary ... If the revolutionary government must be more active in its march and more free in his movements than an ordinary government, is it for that less fair and legitimate? No; it is supported by the most holy of all laws: the Salvation of the People.[citation needed]
On 5 February 1794 Robespierre stated, more succinctly that "Terror is nothing else than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible."[20]
| “ | The government in a revolution is the despotism of liberty against tyranny. | ” |
|
— Maximilien Robespierre, 1794[21]
|
The result was policy through which the state used violent repression to crush resistance to the government. Under control of the effectively dictatorial Committee, the Convention quickly enacted more legislation. On 9 September the Convention established sans-culottes paramilitary forces, the revolutionary armies, to force farmers to surrender grain demanded by the government. On 17 September the Law of Suspects was passed, which authorized the charging of counter-revolutionaries with vaguely defined crimes against liberty. On 29 September the Convention extended price-fixing from grain and bread to other essential goods, and also fixed wages. The guillotine became the symbol of a string of executions: Louis XVI had already been guillotined before the start of the terror; Marie-Antoinette, the Girondists, Philippe Égalité, Madame Roland and many others lost their lives under its blade.[22] The Revolutionary Tribunal summarily condemned thousands of people to death by the guillotine, while mobs beat other victims to death. Sometimes people died for their political opinions or actions, but many for little reason beyond mere suspicion, or because some others had a stake in getting rid of them.[23] Among people who were condemned by the revolutionary tribunals, about 8 percent were aristocrats, 6 percent clergy, 14 percent middle class, and 72 percent were workers or peasants accused of hoarding, evading the draft, desertion, rebellion.[24] Maximilien Robespierre, "frustrated with the progress of the revolution,"[25] saw politics in a rather tyrannical way because "any institution which does not suppose the people good, and the magistrate corruptible, is evil."[26]
Another anti-clerical uprising was made possible by the installment of the Revolutionary Calendar on 24 October. Hébert's and Chaumette's atheist movement initiated a religious campaign in order to dechristianise society. The program of dechristianisation waged against Catholicism, and eventually against all forms of Christianity, included the deportation or execution of clergy; the closing of churches; the rise of cults and the institution of a civic religion; the large scale destruction of religious monuments; the outlawing of public and private worship and religious education; the forced abjurement of priests of their vows and forced marriages of the clergy; the word "saint" being removed from street names; and the War in the Vendée.[27] The enactment of a law on 21 October 1793 made all suspected priests and all persons who harbored them liable to death on sight.[27] The climax was reached with the celebration of the goddess "Reason" in Notre Dame Cathedral on 10 November. Because dissent was now regarded as counterrevolutionary, extremist enragés such as Hébert and moderate Montagnard indulgents such as Danton were guillotined in the Spring of 1794.[citation needed] On 7 June Robespierre, who favoured deism over Hébert's atheism and had previously condemned the Cult of Reason, recommended that the Convention acknowledge the existence of God. On the next day, the worship of the deistic Supreme Being was inaugurated as an official aspect of the Revolution. Compared with Hébert's somewhat popular festivals, this austere new religion of Virtue was received with signs of hostility by the Parisian public.[citation needed]
The End of the Reign[link]
The repression brought thousands of suspects before the Paris Revolutionary Tribunal, whose work was expedited by the Law of 22 Prairial (10 June 1794). As a result of Robespierre's insistence on associating Terror with Virtue, his efforts to make the republic a morally united patriotic community became equated with the endless bloodshed. Finally, after 26 June's decisive military victory over Austria at the Battle of Fleurus, Robespierre was overthrown on 9 Thermidor (27 July).
The fall of Robespierre was brought about by a combination of those who wanted more power for the Committee of Public Safety, and a more radical policy than he was willing to allow, with the moderates who opposed the Revolutionary Government altogether. They had, between them, made the Law of 22 Prairial one of the charges against him, and after his fall, advocating Terror would mean adopting the policy of a convicted enemy of the Republic, endangering the advocate's own head. Before his execution, Robespierre tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide by shooting himself, but the bullet merely shattered his jaw, and Robespierre was guillotined the next day.[28]
The reign of the standing Committee of Public Safety was ended. New members were appointed the day after Robespierre's execution, and term limits were imposed (a quarter of the committee retired every three months); its powers were reduced piece by piece.
This was not an entirely or immediately conservative period; no government of the Republic envisaged a Restoration, and Marat was reburied in the Pantheon in September.[citation needed]
Gallery[link]
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Mass shootings at Nantes, 1793
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Drownings at Nantes, 1793
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Nine emigrants go to the guillotine, 1793
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"The Last Cart" before the 9th Thermidor, 1794
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Revolutionary Tribunal
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ Terror, Reign of; Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Linton, Dr Marisa. "The Terror in the French Revolution". Kingston University. http://www.port.ac.uk/special/france1815to2003/chapter1/interviews/filetodownload,20545,en.pdf. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ Donald Greer, The Incidence of the Terror during the French Revolution : A Statistical Interpretation, Cambridge (United States), Harvard University Press, 1935
- ^ a b Greer, Donald. Incidence of the Terror During the French Revolution: A Statistical Interpretation. 1935. Peter Smith Pub Inc. ISBN 978-0-8446-1211-9
- ^ Edelstein, Dan. The Terror of Natural Right. 2009. New York: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-18438-8.
- ^ "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution". http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/557/.
- ^ Connelly, Owen (2006). The Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon, 1792–1815. New York: Routledge Publishing. pp. 39.
- ^ Mathiez, Albert. “A Realistic Necessity,” in The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations. Selected and Edited by Frank Kafker, James M. Lauz, and Darline Gay Levy. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company, 2002. Pg 189.
- ^ Mathiez, Albert. “A Realistic Necessity,” Pg 192.
- ^ Palmer, R. R. Twelve Who Ruled: The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989.
- ^ Cobb, Richard. “A Mentality Shaped by Circumstance,” in The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations. Selected and Edited by Frank Kafker, James M. Lauz, and Darline Gay Levy. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company, 2002. Pg 200.
- ^ Cobb, Richard. “A Mentality Shaped by Circumstance,” Pg 204.
- ^ Furet, Francois. “A Deep-rooted Ideology as Well as Circumstance,” in The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations. Selected and Edited by Frank Kafker, James M. Lauz, and Darline Gay Levy. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company, 2002. Pg 222.
- ^ Furet, Francois. “A Deep-rooted Ideology as Well as Circumstance,” Pg 224.
- ^ Palmer, R. R. Twelve Who Ruled: The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution. Pg 172.
- ^ Jones, Peter. The French Revolution 1787-1804. Pearson Education, 2003, p. 57.
- ^ Faria, Miguel (15 July 2004). "Bastille Day and the French Revolution, Part I:The Ancien Régime and the Storming of the Bastille". Hacienda Publishing. http://haciendapublishing.com/articles/bastille-day-and-french-revolution-part-i-ancien-r%C3%A9gime-and-storming-bastille. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
- ^ Faria, Miguel (21 July 2004). "Bastille Day and the French Revolution, Part II: Maximilien Robespierre --- The Incorruptible". Hacienda Publishing. http://haciendapublishing.com/articles/bastille-day-and-french-revolution-part-ii-maximilien-robespierre-incorruptible. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
- ^ Faria, Miguel (21 July 2004). "Bastille Day and the French Revolution, Part II: Maximilien Robespierre --- The Incorruptible". Hacienda Publishing. http://haciendapublishing.com/articles/bastille-day-and-french-revolution-part-ii-maximilien-robespierre-incorruptible. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
- ^ <Pageant of Europe| editor= Raymond P. Stearns| date= 1947>
- ^ Modern History SourceBook, by Paul Halsall, 1997, Web Link
- ^ Faria, Miguel (21 November 2004). "Rewriting the French Revolution, Part II". Hacienda Publishing. http://haciendapublishing.com/articles/rewriting-french-revolution-%E2%80%94-part-ii. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
- ^ Faria, Miguel (21 July 2004). "Bastille Day and the French Revolution, Part II: Maximilien Robespierre --- The Incorruptible". Hacienda Publishing. http://haciendapublishing.com/articles/bastille-day-and-french-revolution-part-ii-maximilien-robespierre-incorruptible. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
- ^ "French Revolution". History.com. The History Channel. http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=209830. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
- ^ Modern History SourceBook, Paul Halsall August 1997; Robespierre: On the Moral and Political Principles of Domestic Policy.
- ^ 24 April 1793 – Declaration des droits de l'homme.
- ^ a b Latreille, A.. "French Revolution". New Catholic Encyclopedia. 5 (Second Ed. 2003 ed.). Thomson-Gale. pp. 972–973. ISBN 0-7876-4004-2.
- ^ Merriman, John(2004). "Thermidor"(2nd ed.). A history of modern Europe: from the Renaissance to the present,p 507. W.W. Norton & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-393-92495-5
Further reading[link]
Primary sources[link]
- Cléry, Jean-Baptiste; Henry Essex Edgeworth (1961) [1798]. Sidney Scott. ed. Journal of the Terror. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. OCLC 3153946.
Secondary sources[link]
- Andress, David (2006). The Terror: The Merciless War for Freedom in Revolutionary France. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-27341-3.
- Beik, William (August 2005). "The Absolutism of Louis XIV as Social Collaboration: Review Article". Past and Present (188): 195–224.
- Kerr, Wilfred Brenton (1985). Reign of Terror, 1793–1794. London: Porcupine Press. ISBN 0-87991-631-1.
- Moore, Lucy (2006). Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-720601-1.
- Steel, Mark (2003). Vive La Revolution. London: Scribner. ISBN 0-7432-0806-4.
- Reviewed by Adam Thorpe in The Guardian, 23 December 2006.
- Palmer, R. R. (2005). Twelve Who Ruled: The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-12187-7.
- Jordan, David P. (1985). The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre. New York: Free Press. pp. 150–164. ISBN 0-02-916530-X.
- Schama, Simon (1989). Citizens – A Chronicle of the French Revolution. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 678–847. ISBN 0-394-55948-7.
- Scott, Otto (1974). Robespierre, The Fool as Revolutionary – Inside the French Revolution. Windsor, New York: The Reformer Library. ISBN 978-1-887690-05-8.
- Loomis, Stanley (1964). Paris in the Terror. New York: Dorset Press. ISBN 0-88029-401-9.
- Hibbert, Christopher (1981). The Days of the French Revolution. New York: Quill-William Morrow. ISBN 978-0-688-16978-7.
- Censer, Jack, and Lynn Hunt (2001). Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
- Hunt, Lynn (1984). Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Kafker, Frank, James M. Lauz, and Darline Gay Levy (2002). The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company.
- Popkin, Jeremy D. (2002). A Short History of the French Revolution. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
External links[link]
- The Terror from In Our Time (BBC Radio 4)
- Reign of Terror from Khanacademy
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Derek Jacobi | |
|---|---|
 Jacobi on stage performing "A Voyage Round My Father" in Wyndham's Theatre, London (December 2006). |
|
| Born | Derek George Jacobi (1938-10-22) 22 October 1938 (age 73) Leytonstone, London, England |
| Alma mater | Cambridge University |
| Occupation | Actor/Director |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Partner | Richard Clifford (March 2006–present) |
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE ( /ˈdʒækəbi/; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor and film director.
A "forceful, commanding stage presence",[1] Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet,[2] Uncle Vanya,[3] and Oedipus the King.[4] He received a Tony Award for his performance in Much Ado About Nothing. His stage work also included playing Edward II,[4] Octavius Caesar,[4] Richard III,[4] and Cyrano de Bergerac.[3]
In addition to being a founder member of the Royal National Theatre[2] and winning several prestigious theatre awards, Jacobi has also enjoyed a successful television career, starring in the critically praised[2] adaptation of Roberts Graves' I, Claudius, for which he won a BAFTA; the titular role in the acclaimed medieval drama series Brother Cadfael,[5] and Stanley Baldwin in The Gathering Storm. Though principally a stage actor, Jacobi has appeared in a number of films, such as Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), Gladiator (2000), Gosford Park (2001), The Golden Compass (2007), The King's Speech (2010), My Week with Marilyn (2011), and the forthcoming Hippie Hippie Shake. Like Laurence Olivier, he holds two knighthoods, Danish and British.[1]
Contents |
Early life[link]
Jacobi, an only child, was born in Leytonstone, London, England, the son of Daisy Gertrude (née Masters), a secretary who worked in a drapery store in Leyton High Road, and Alfred George Jacobi, who ran a sweet shop and was a tobacconist in Chingford.[6] His great-grandfather on his father's side had emigrated to England from Germany during the 19th century.[7] His family was working class.[8] Although a war baby, Jacobi describes his childhood as happy. In his teens he went to the Leyton County High School and became an integral part of the drama club, The Players of Leyton.
While in the sixth-form, he starred in a production of Hamlet, which was taken to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and very well regarded.[9] At 18, he won a scholarship to the University of Cambridge, where he read history at St John's College and earned his degree. Younger members of the university at the time included Ian McKellen (who had a crush on him – "a passion that was undeclared and unrequited", as McKellen relates it)[10] and Trevor Nunn. During his studies at Cambridge, Jacobi played many parts including Hamlet, which was taken on a tour to Switzerland where he met Richard Burton. As a result of his performance of Edward II at Cambridge, he was invited to become a member of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre immediately upon his graduation in 1960.
Career[link]
Early work[link]
Jacobi quickly came to the fore, and his talent was recognised by Laurence Olivier. He invited the young man back to London to become one of the founding members of the new National Theatre, even though at the time Jacobi was relatively unknown. He played Laertes in the National Theatre's inaugural production of Hamlet opposite Peter O'Toole in 1963. Olivier cast him as Cassio in the successful National Theatre stage production of Othello, a role that Jacobi repeated in the 1965 film version. He played Andrei in the NT production and film of Three Sisters (1970), both starring Olivier. On 27 July 1965, Jacobi played Brindsley Miller in the first production of Peter Shaffer's Black Comedy. It was presented by the National Theatre at Chichester and subsequently in London.
After eight years at the National Theatre, Jacobi left in 1971 to pursue different roles and mediums of expression. In 1972, he starred in the BBC serial Man of Straw, directed by Herbert Wise. Most of his theatrical work in the 70s was with the touring classical Prospect Theatre Company, with which he undertook many roles, including Ivanov, Pericles, Prince of Tyre and A Month in the Country opposite Dorothy Tutin (1976).
Although Jacobi's name was becoming known and he was increasingly busy with stage and screen acting, his big breakthrough came in 1976 when he played the title role in the BBC's series I, Claudius. He cemented his increasing reputation with his performance as the stammering, twitching Emperor Claudius winning him many plaudits. In 1979, thanks to his international popularity, he took Hamlet on a theatrical world tour through England, Egypt, Greece, Sweden, Australia, Japan and China, playing Prince Hamlet. He was invited to perform the role at Kronborg Castle, Denmark, better known as Elsinore Castle, the setting of the play. In 1978 he played in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of Richard II, with Sir John Gielgud and Dame Wendy Hiller.
Later career[link]
In 1980, Jacobi took the leading role in the BBC's Hamlet, made his Broadway debut in The Suicide (a run shortened by Jacobi's return home to England due to the death of his mother), and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). From 1982 to 1985 he played four demanding roles simultaneously: Benedick in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, for which he won a Tony for its Broadway run (1984–1985); Prospero in The Tempest; Peer Gynt; and Cyrano de Bergerac which he brought to the US and played in repertory with Much Ado About Nothing on Broadway and in Washington DC (1984–1985). In 1986, he made his West End debut in Breaking the Code by Hugh Whitemore, with the role of Alan Turing, which was written with Jacobi specifically in mind. The play was taken to Broadway. In 1988 Jacobi alternated in West End the title roles of Shakespeare's Richard II and Richard III in repertoire.
His TV career saw him measure with Inside the Third Reich (1982), where he played Hitler; Mr Pye (1985); and Little Dorrit (1987), from Charles Dickens's book; The Tenth Man (1988) with Anthony Hopkins and Kristin Scott Thomas. In 1982, he starred as the voice of Nicodemus in the animated film, The Secret of NIMH. In 1990, he starred as Daedalus in episode 4 of Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Greek Myths.
Jacobi continued to play Shakespeare roles, notably in Kenneth Branagh's 1989 film of Henry V (as the Chorus), and made his directing debut as Branagh's director for the 1988 Renaissance Theatre Company's touring production of Hamlet, which also played at Elsinore and as part of a Renaissance repertory season at the Phoenix Theatre in London. The 1990s saw Jacobi keeping on with repertoire stage work in Kean at the Old Vic, Becket in the West End (the Haymarket Theatre) and Macbeth at the RSC in both London and Stratford.
He was appointed the joint artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre, with the West End impresario Duncan Weldon in 1995 for a three-year tenure. As an actor at Chichester, he also starred in four plays, including his first Uncle Vanya in 1996 (he played it again in 2000, which he brought to Broadway for a limited run). Jacobi's work during the 1990s included the 13-episode series TV adaptation of the novels by Ellis Peters, Cadfael (1994–1998) and a televised version of Breaking the Code (1996). Film appearances included performances in Kenneth Branagh's Dead Again (1991), Branagh's full-text rendition of Hamlet (1996) as King Claudius, John Maybury's Love is the Devil (1998), a portrait of painter Francis Bacon, as Senator Gracchus in Gladiator (2000) with Russell Crowe, and as "The Duke" opposite Christopher Eccleston and Eddie Izzard in a post-apocalyptic version of Thomas Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy (2002).
In 2001, Jacobi won an Emmy Award by mocking his Shakespearean background in the television sitcom Frasier episode "The Show Must Go Off", in which he played the world's worst Shakespearean actor: the hammy, loud, untalented Jackson Hedley. This was his first guest appearance on an American television programme.
Since 2000[link]
Jacobi has narrated audio book versions of the Iliad, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis and two abridged versions of I, Claudius by Robert Graves. In 2001, he provided the voice of "Duke Theseus" in The Children's Midsummer Night's Dream film. In 2002, Jacobi toured Australia in The Hollow Crown with Sir Donald Sinden, Ian Richardson and Dame Diana Rigg. Jacobi also played the role of Senator Gracchus in Gladiator and starred in the 2002 miniseries The Jury. He is also the narrator for the BBC children's series In the Night Garden.
In 2003, he was involved with Scream of the Shalka, a webcast based on the science fiction series Doctor Who. He played the voice of the Doctor's arch-nemesis the Master alongside Richard E. Grant as the Doctor. In the same year, he also appeared in Deadline, an audio drama also based on Doctor Who. In that, he played Martin Bannister, an ageing writer who makes up stories about "the Doctor", a character who travels in time and space, the premise being that the series had never made it on to television. Jacobi later followed this up with an appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Utopia" (June 2007); he appears as the kindly Professor Yana, who by the end of the episode is revealed to actually be the Master. Jacobi admitted to Doctor Who Confidential he had always wanted to be on the show: "One of my ambitions since the '60s has been to take part in a Doctor Who. The other one is Coronation Street. So I've cracked Doctor Who now. I'm still waiting for Corrie."[11]
In 2004, Jacobi starred in Friedrich Schiller's Don Carlos at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, in an acclaimed production, which transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in London in January 2005. The London production of Don Carlos gathered rave reviews. Also in 2004, he starred as Lord Teddy Thursby in the first of the four-part BBC series The Long Firm, based on Jake Arnott's novel of the same name. In Nanny McPhee (2005), he played the role of the colourful Mr. Wheen, an undertaker. He played the role of Alexander Corvinus in the 2006 movie Underworld: Evolution.
In March 2006, BBC Two broadcast Pinochet in Suburbia, a docudrama about former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and the attempts to extradite him from Great Britain; Jacobi played the leading role. In September 2007, it was released in the U.S., retitled Pinochet's Last Stand. In 2006, he appeared in the children's movie Mist, the tale of a sheepdog puppy, he also narrated this movie. In July–August 2006, he played the eponymous role in A Voyage Round My Father at the Donmar Warehouse, a production which then transferred to the West End.
In February 2007, his feature film The Riddle, directed by Brendan Foley, in which he stars alongside Vinnie Jones and Vanessa Redgrave, was screened at Berlin EFM. Jacobi plays twin roles, first a present day London tramp and then the ghost of Charles Dickens. In March 2007, the BBC's children's programme In the Night Garden started its run of 100 episodes, with Jacobi as the narrator. He played Nell's grandfather in ITV's Christmas 2007 adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop, and returned to the stage to play Malvolio in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (2009) for the Donmar Warehouse at Wyndham's Theatre in London.[12] The role won him the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.[13] He appears in five 2009 films: Morris: A Life with Bells On, Hippie Hippie Shake, Endgame, Adam Resurrected and Charles Dickens's England. In 2010 he returned to I, Claudius, as Augustus in a radio adaptation. In 2011, he was part of a medieval epic, Ironclad, which also starred James Purefoy and Paul Giamatti, as the ineffectual Reginald de Cornhill, castellan of Rochester castle.
Jacobi starred in Michael Grandage's production of King Lear (London, 2010), giving what The New Yorker called "one of the finest performances of his distinguished career".[14] In May 2011 he reprised this role at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[15]
He is listed as a principle star in the April 2012 twelve-part mini-series Titanic: Blood and Steel.[16]
Shakespeare authorship involvement[link]
Jacobi has been publicly involved in the Shakespeare authorship question. He supports the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship, according to which Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford wrote the works of Shakespeare.[17][18] Jacobi has given an address to the Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre promoting Oxford as the Shakespeare author[19] and wrote forewords to two books on the subject in 2004 and 2005.[20][21]
In 2007, Jacobi and fellow Shakespearean actor and director Mark Rylance initiated a "Declaration of Reasonable Doubt" on the authorship of Shakespeare's work, to encourage new research into the question.
In 2011, Jacobi accepted a role in the film Anonymous, starring Rhys Ifans and Vanessa Redgrave. In the film Jacobi plays a playwright who raises, through his work, the Oxfordian theory. Jacobi allows that making the film was "a very risky thing to do", and imagines that "the orthodox Stratfordians are going to be apoplectic with rage".[22]
Personal life[link]
In March 2006, he registered his civil partnership with Richard Clifford,[23] four months after civil partnerships were introduced in the United Kingdom. They live in north London.
Honours[link]
- 1985: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom)
- 1989: Knight 1st class of the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark)
- 1994: Knight Bachelor, for services to Drama (United Kingdom)[24]
Awards[link]
- 2008: Helen Hayes Tribute for Lifetime Achievement at the 24th Annual Helen Hayes Awards
- Theatre
- 1983: London Evening Standard Award for Best Actor, for Much Ado About Nothing
- 1984: Tony Award for Best Actor, for Much Ado About Nothing
- 2009: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, for Twelfth Night
- Television
- 1976: BAFTA Award for Best Actor, for I, Claudius
- 1989: Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special, for The Tenth Man
- 2001: Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, for Frasier (episode "The Show Must Go Off")
- Film
- 1988: Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor, for Little Dorrit
- 1998: Edinburgh International Film Festival for Best British Performance, for Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
- 1999: Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor, for Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
- Ensemble
- 2002: Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Acting Ensemble, for Gosford Park
- 2002: Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble Cast, for Gosford Park
- 2002: Online Film Critics Society Awards for Best Ensemble, for Gosford Park
- 2002: Satellite Award for Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble, for Gosford Park
- 2002: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture, for Gosford Park
- 2011: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, for The King's Speech
Filmography[link]
- Othello (1965) – Cassio
- Interlude (1968) – Paul
- Three Sisters (1970) – Andrei
- The Strauss Family (TV) (1972) – Joseph Lanner
- Blue Blood (1973) – Gregory
- The Day of the Jackal (1973) – Caron
- The Pallisers (TV) (1974) – Lord Fawn
- The Odessa File (1974) – Klaus Wenzer
- I, Claudius (TV) (1976) – Claudius
- Philby, Burgess and MacLean – Spy Scandal of the Century (TV) (1977) – Guy Burgess
- The Medusa Touch (1978) – Townley
- Richard II (TV) (1978) – Richard II
- The Human Factor (1979) – Arthur Davis
- Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (TV) (1980) – Hamlet
- Charlotte (1981) – Daberlohn
- The Secret of NIMH (1982) – Nicodemus (voice)
- Inside the Third Reich (TV) (1982) – Adolf Hitler
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (TV) (1982) – Frollo
- Enigma (1983) – Kurt Limmer
- Cyrano de Bergerac (TV) (1985) – Cyrano de Bergerac
- Mr Pye (TV) (1986) – Mr. Pye
- Breaking the Code (1986) – Alan Turing
- The Secret Garden (TV) (1987) – Archibald Craven
- The Tenth Man (TV) (1988) – The impostor
- Little Dorrit (TV) (1988) – Arthur Clennam
- Henry V (1989) – Chorus
- The Fool (1990) – Mr. Frederick/Sir John
- Dead Again (1991) – Franklyn Madson
- Cadfael (TV) (1994–1998) – Brother Cadfael
- Looking for Richard (1996) – Himself
- Breaking the Code (TV) (1996) – Alan Turing
- Hamlet (1996) – Claudius
- Basil (1998) – Father Frederick
- Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998) – Francis Bacon
- Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (1999) – Father Leonor Fousnel
- Edvard Grieg – What Price Immortality? (1999)
- The Wyvern Mystery (TV) (2000) – Squire Fairfield
- Up at the Villa (2000) – Lucky Leadbetter
- Jason and the Argonauts (TV) (2000) – Phineas
- Gladiator (2000) – Gracchus
- The Body (2001) – Father Lavelle
- Gosford Park (2001) – Probert
- The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky (2001) – voice of Nijinsky
- Revelation (2001) – Librarian
- Frasier (US TV) (2001) "The Show Must Go Off" – Jackson Hedley
- The Jury (TV) (2002) – George Cording QC
- The Gathering Storm (BBC) (2002) – Stanley Baldwin
- Revengers Tragedy (2002) – The Duke
- Two Men Went to War (2002) – Major Merton
- Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites (2003) – Voice
- London (TV) (2004) – Tacitus
- Strings (2004) – Nezo (voice)
- The Long Firm (TV) (2004) – Lord Edward 'Teddy' Thursby
- Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (TV) (2004) – Colonel Protheroe
- Bye Bye Blackbird (2005) – Lord Dempsey
- Nanny McPhee (2005) – Mr. Wheen
- Underworld: Evolution (2006) – Alexander Corvinus
- Doctor Who (TV) (2007) – Professor Yana / The Master
- The Riddle (2007) – The Tramp / Charles Dickens
- Airlock Or How To Say Goodbye In Space (2007) – President
- The Golden Compass (2007) – Magisterial Emissary
- In the Night Garden (2007 – 2010) – Narrator
- The Old Curiosity Shop (TV) (2007) – Grandfather
- A Bunch of Amateurs (2008) – Nigel
- Morris: A Life with Bells On (2009) – Quentin Neely
- Endgame (2009) – Rudolf Agnew
- Adam Resurrected (2009) – Dr. Nathan Gross
- The Winter's Tale (
upcoming2009) – Antigonus - Charles Dickens's England (2009) – Himself
- Hippie Hippie Shake (upcoming, 2010) – Judge
- There Be Dragons (2010) – Honorio
- Ironclad (2010) – Cornhill
- The King's Speech (2010) – Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang
- Hereafter (2010) – Himself
- Anonymous (2011) – Narrator (Prologue)
- My Week with Marilyn (2011) – Sir Owen Morshead
- The Borgias (TV) (2011) – Cardinal Orsini
- Titanic: Blood and Steel (TV) (2012) - Lord Pirrie
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ a b "Jacobi, Sir Derek". Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to Shakespeare. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2008. http://www.britannica.com/shakespeare/article-9343265. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
- ^ a b c Wheatley, Jane (18 December 2008). "First knight of nerves for Derek Jacobi and A Bunch of Amateurs". The Times (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article5356211.ece. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Derek Jacobi Credits, Broadway" InternetBroadwayDatabase.com, accessed 4 September 2011
- ^ a b c d "Derek Jacobi Biography" FilmReference.com, accessed 4 September 2011
- ^ "Derek Jacobi" bbc.co.uk, accessed 4 September 2011
- ^ "Derek Jacobi Biography (1938–)". filmreference. 2008. http://www.filmreference.com/film/93/Derek-Jacobi.html. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
- ^ Jasper Rees (15 July 2002). "Crown him with many crowns". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/07/16/btjaco14.xml&sSheet=/arts/2002/07/20/ixstagetop.html. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
- ^ Sally Vincent (19 September 2006). "I already knew I was a tetchy beast". The Guardian (London). http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1875816,00.htm. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
- ^ Wheatley, Jane."First knight of nerves for Derek Jacobi and A Bunch of Amateurs" TimesOnline.co.uk, 18 December 2008
- ^ Steele, Bruce C. (11 December 2001). "The Knight's Crusade: playing the wizard Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings may make Sir Ian McKellen the world's best-known gay man. And he's armed and ready to carry the fight for equality along with him (Cover Story)". The Advocate: pp. 36–38, 40–45. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2001_Dec_25/ai_83451265.
- ^ Doctor Who Confidential episode 40 "'Ello, 'Ello, 'Ello"
- ^ Billings, Joshua."Star-Crossed, Review of Twelfth Night, Donmar West End" oxonianreview.org, (Issue 8.3), 9 February 2009
- ^ Staff (8 March 2009). "Speeches: And the Laurence Olivier Winners Said". WhatsonStage.com. http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821236545161&title=Speeches%3A+And+the+Laurence+Olivier+Winners+Said. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ^ Lahr, John (3 January 2011). "Crazy Love". The New Yorker: 74–75. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/theatre/2011/01/03/110103crth_theatre_lahr. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
- ^ Ben Brantley (5 May 2011). "Fantasies Aside, Life’s Tough At the Top". The New York Times. http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/theater/reviews/king-lear-with-derek-jacobi-at-bam-review.html?. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1695366/
- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa. "Who Was Shakespeare? That Is (Still) the Question: Campaign Revives Controversy of Bard's Identity." The Observer. 9 September 2007.
- ^ Horwitz, Jane. "Backstage: What the Stars Had to Get Over to Get their 'Goat' on at Rep Stage." Washington Post. 9 June 2010.
- ^ Jacobi, Derek. "Address to the Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre at Concordia University" authorshipstudies.org, accessed 4 September 2011
- ^ Malim, Richard (ed). "Foreword" Great Oxford: Essays on the Life and Work of Edward De Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, 1550–1604. Parapress Limited, 2004. p. 3.
- ^ Anderson, Mark. "Shakespeare" by Another Name: The Life of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, the Man Who Was Shakespeare. Gotham Books, 2005. pp. xxiii–xxiv.
- ^ Horwitz 2010.
- ^ "The pink list 2007: The IoS annual celebration of the great and the gay", Independent on Sunday, 6 May 2007
- ^ London Gazette: no. 53527. p. 2. 30 December 1993. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Derek Jacobi |
- Derek Jacobi at the Internet Broadway Database
- Derek Jacobi at the Internet Movie Database
- "Jacobi, Sir Derek (George)", Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007. Accessed 22 October 2008.
- Sir Derek Jacobi at A Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company by Simon Trowbridge
- 2006 Interview with Derek Jacobi on Theatre.com[dead link]
- BBC – Drama Faces – Derek Jacobi
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jacobi, Derek |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | English actor and film director |
| Date of birth | 22 October 1938 |
| Place of birth | Leytonstone, London, England |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Derek_Jacobi
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
For other people named Patrick Stewart, see Patrick Stewart (disambiguation).
| Sir Patrick Stewart OBE |
|
|---|---|
 Stewart at the 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon 2012 |
|
| Born | Patrick Stewart[1] (1940-07-13) 13 July 1940 (age 71)[2] Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1959—present |
| Influenced by | Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ian Richardson and Ian Holm[3] |
| Spouse | Sheila Falconer (1966–90) Wendy Neuss (2000–03) |
| Website | |
| patrickstewart.org | |
Sir Patrick Stewart, OBE (born 13 July 1940) is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television. He is most widely known for his television and film roles, such as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and its successor films, Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series, and as the voice of Avery Bullock in American Dad!.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Stewart was born on 13 July 1940[2] in Mirfield,[4] near Dewsbury in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He is the son of Gladys (née Barrowclough), a weaver and textile worker, and Alfred Stewart, a Regimental Sergeant Major in the British Army who served with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and previously worked as a general labourer and as a postman.[5]
In a 2008 interview, Stewart said: "My father was a very potent individual, a very powerful man who got what he wanted. It was said that when he strode onto the parade ground, birds stopped singing. It was many, many years before I realised how my father inserted himself into my work. I've grown a moustache for Macbeth. My father didn't have one, but when I looked in the mirror just before I went on stage I saw my father's face staring straight back at me."[3]
Stewart grew up in a poor household rife with domestic violence from his father, an experience which influenced his later political and ideological beliefs.[6] In 2006, Stewart made a short video against domestic violence for Amnesty International, in which he recollected his father's physical attacks on his mother and the effect it had on him as a child, and he has given his name to a scholarship at the University of Huddersfield, where he is Chancellor, to fund post-graduate study into domestic violence.[7][8] His childhood experiences also led him to become the patron of Refuge, a UK charity for abused women.[9] In October 2011 he presented a BBC Lifeline Appeal on behalf of Refuge, talking about his own experience of domestic violence and interviewing a woman whose daughter was murdered by her ex-husband. [10]
| “ | I believed that no woman would ever be interested in me again. I prepared myself for the reality that a large part of my life was over. | ” |
|
—Patrick Stewart, regarding his becoming bald as a teenager[11] |
||
Stewart attended Crowlees Church of England Junior and Infants School.[12] He attributes his acting career to an English teacher named Cecil Dormand who "put a copy of Shakespeare in my hand [and] said, 'Now get up on your feet and perform'".[13] In 1951, aged 11, he entered Mirfield Secondary Modern School (now Mirfield Free Grammar School),[14] where he continued to study drama. At age 15, Stewart dropped out of school and increased his participation in local theatre. He acquired a job as a newspaper reporter and obituary writer,[15] but after a year, his employer gave him an ultimatum to choose acting or journalism.[16] He quit the job. His brother tells the story that Stewart would attend rehearsals during work time and then invent the stories he reported. Stewart also trained as a boxer.[15]
Career[link]
Early works[link]
Following a period with Manchester's Library Theatre, he became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966, staying with them until 1982. He was as an Associate Artist of the company in 1968.[17] He appeared next to actors such as Ben Kingsley and Ian Richardson. In January 1967, he made his debut TV appearance on Coronation Street as a Fire Officer. In 1969, he had a brief TV cameo role as Horatio, opposite Ian Richardson's Hamlet, in a performance of the gravedigger scene as part of episode six of Sir Kenneth Clark's Civilisation television series.[18] He made his Broadway debut as Snout in Peter Brook's legendary[19] production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, then moved to the Royal National Theatre in the early 1980s. Over the years, Stewart took roles in many major television series without ever becoming a household name. He appeared as Lenin in Fall of Eagles; Sejanus in I, Claudius;[20] Karla in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People; Claudius in a 1980 BBC adaptation of Hamlet. He even took the romantic male lead in the 1975 BBC adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's North and South (wearing a hairpiece). He also took the lead, playing Psychiatric Consultant Dr. Edward Roebuck in a BBC TV series called Maybury in 1981.
He also had minor roles in several films such as King Leondegrance in John Boorman's Excalibur (1981),[20] the character Gurney Halleck in David Lynch's 1984 film version of Dune[20] and Dr. Armstrong in Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce (1985).
While not wealthy, Stewart had a comfortable lifestyle as an actor; however, he found that despite a lengthy career, his reputation was not great enough to bring a production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to West End theatre. Stewart thus in 1987 agreed to work in Hollywood, after Robert H. Justman, producer for a revival of a long-cancelled television show, saw him while attending a literary reading at UCLA.[21][22] Stewart knew nothing about the original show, Star Trek, or its iconic status in American culture. He was reluctant to sign the standard contract of six years, but did so as he believed that the new show would quickly fail and he would return to his London stage career after making some money.[23][24][25]
[edit] Star Trek: The Next Generation
When Stewart began his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–94) the Los Angeles Times called him an unknown British Shakespearean actor. Stewart was unprepared for the long hours of television production,[25] had difficulty in fitting in with his less-disciplined castmates,[23] and his "spirits used to sink" when required to memorise and recite Treknobabble.[25] He came to better understand the cultural differences between the stage and television, remains close friends with his fellow Star Trek actors,[23] and his favourite technical line became "space-time continuum".[25] Marina Sirtis credited Stewart with "at least 50%, if not more" of the show's success because others emulated his professionalism and dedication to acting.[26]
| “ | It really wasn’t until the first season ended [when] I went to my first Star Trek convention ... [I] had expected that I would be standing in front of a few hundred people and found that there were two and a half thousand people and that they already knew more about me than I could ever possibly have believed. | ” |
|
—Stewart, on when he realised he had become famous[25] |
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Besides making him immediately wealthy due to the show's great success[24]—Stewart calculated during one break during filming the show that he made more money during that break than from 10 weeks of Woolf in London[21]—Stewart received a 1995 Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series". From 1994 to 2002, he also portrayed Picard in the films Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek Nemesis (2002); and in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's pilot episode "Emissary".
When asked in 2011 for the highlight of his career, he chose Star Trek: The Next Generation, "because it changed everything [for me]."[27] He has also said he is very proud of his work on Star Trek: The Next Generation, for its social message and educational impact on young viewers. On being questioned about the significance of his role compared to his distinguished Shakespearean career, Stewart has said that
The fact is all of those years in Royal Shakespeare Company – playing all those kings, emperors, princes and tragic heroes – were nothing but preparation for sitting in the captain's chair of the Enterprise.[28]
The accolades Stewart has received include the readers of TV Guide in 1992 choosing him with Cindy Crawford, of whom he had never heard, as television's "most bodacious" man and woman.[11][29] Stewart considered this an unusual distinction considering his age and baldness.[30] In an interview with Michael Parkinson, he expressed gratitude for Gene Roddenberry's riposte to a reporter who said, "Surely they would have cured baldness by the 24th century," to which Roddenberry replied, "In the 24th century, they wouldn't care."[31][32]
Other notable works[link]
Film and television[link]
Stewart has said that he would never have joined The Next Generation had he known that it would air for seven years:[25]
No, no. NO. And looking back now it still frightens me a little bit to think that so much of my life was totally devoted to Star Trek and almost nothing else.[25]
Stewart became so typecast as Picard that he has found obtaining other Hollywood roles difficult. The main exception is the X-Men film series. The films' success has resulted in another lucrative regular genre role in a major superhero film series. Stewart's character, Charles Xavier, is very similar to Picard and himself; "a grand, deep-voiced, bald English guy".[24] He has also since voiced the role in three video games, X-Men Legends, X-Men Legends II and X-Men: Next Dimension. Other film and television roles include the flamboyantly gay Sterling in the 1995 film Jeffrey and King Henry II in The Lion in Winter, for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance and an Emmy Award nomination for executive-producing the film. He portrayed Captain Ahab in the 1998 made-for-television film version of Moby Dick, receiving Emmy Award[33] and Golden Globe Award nominations for his performance. He also starred as Scrooge in a 1999 television film version, receiving a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his performance.
In late 2003, during the eleventh and final season of NBC's Frasier, Stewart appeared on the show as a gay Seattle socialite and Opera director who mistakes Frasier for a potential lover. In July 2003, he appeared in Series 02 (Episode 09) of Top Gear in the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment. He achieved 1:50 in the Liana. In 2005, he was cast as Professor Ian Hood in an ITV thriller 4-episode series Eleventh Hour, created by Stephen Gallagher. The first episode was broadcast on 19 January 2006. He also, in 2005, played Captain Nemo in a two part adaptation of The Mysterious Island. Stewart also appeared as a nudity obsessed caricature of himself in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's television series Extras, as a last-minute replacement for Jude Law. For playing himself, he was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2006 for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.[34]
Stewart is a fairly frequent guest voice on FoX's animated comedy, Family Guy, appearing with the rest of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation in the episode "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven," and has appeared on several other occasions, often voicing himself, but occasionally voicing other characters.
In 2011, Stewart appeared in the feature length documentary The Captains alongside William Shatner, who also wrote and directed the film. In the film, Shatner interviews actors who have portrayed captains within the Star Trek franchise. The film pays a great deal of attention to Shatner's interviews with Stewart at his home in Oxfordshire as well as at a Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada; Stewart reveals the fear and personal failings that came along with his tenure as a Starfleet captain, but also the great triumphs he believes accompanied his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.[35]
Stage[link]
After The Next Generation began, Stewart soon found that he missed acting on the stage.[24] Although he remained associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the lengthy filming for the show prevented Stewart from participating in most other works. He instead began writing one-man shows that he performed in California universities and acting schools. Stewart found that one—a version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol in which he portrayed all 40-plus characters—was ideal for him because of its limited performing schedule.[36] In 1991, Stewart performed it on Broadway,[24] receiving a nomination for that year's Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show.[37] He staged encore performances in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, again for the benefit of survivors and victims' families in the 11 September attacks, and a 23-day run in London's West End in December 2005. For his performances in this play, Stewart has received the Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performance in 1992 and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment for Solo Performance in 1994. He was also the co-producer of the show, through the company he set up for the purpose: Camm Lane Productions, a reference to his birthplace in Camm Lane, Mirfield.
Shakespeare roles during this period included Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest, on Broadway in 1995, a role he would reprise in Rupert Goold's 2006 production of The Tempest as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Complete Works Festival.[38] In 1997, he took the role of Othello with the Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.) in a race-bending performance, in a "photo negative" production of a white Othello with an otherwise all-black cast. Stewart had wanted to play the title role since the age of 14, so he and director Jude Kelly inverted the play so Othello became a comment on a white man entering a black society.[39][40]
| “ | [London theatre] critics ... have showered him with perhaps the highest compliment they can conjure. He has, they say, overcome the technique-destroying indignity of being a major American television star. | ” |
|
—The New York Times, 2008[23] |
||
His years in the United States had left Stewart a "gaping hole in his CV" for a Shakespearean actor, as he had missed the opportunity to play such notable roles as Hamlet, Romeo, and Richard III.[24][23] He played Antony again opposite Harriet Walter's Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the Novello Theatre in London in 2007 to excellent reviews.[23] During this period, Stewart also addressed the Durham Union Society on his life in film and theatre. When Stewart began playing Macbeth in the West End in 2007, some said that he was too old for the role; however, he and the show again received excellent reviews, with one critic calling Stewart "one of our finest Shakespearean actors".[24][23]
He was named as the next Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre based at St Catherine's College, Oxford in January 2007.[41] In 2008, Stewart played King Claudius in Hamlet alongside David Tennant. He won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for the part. When collecting his award, he dedicated the award "in part" to Tennant and Tennant's understudy Edward Bennett, after Tennant's back injury and subsequent absence from four weeks of Hamlet disqualified him from an Olivier nomination.[42] Stewart has expressed interest in appearing in Doctor Who.[43]
In 2009, Stewart appeared alongside Ian McKellen as the lead duo of Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), in Waiting for Godot. Stewart had previously only appeared once alongside McKellen on stage, but the pair had developed a close friendship while waiting around on set filming the X-Men films.[44] Stewart stated that performing in this play was the fulfilment of a 50 year ambition, having seen Peter O'Toole appear in it at the Bristol Old Vic while Stewart was just 17.[44] Reviewers stated that his interpretation captured well the balance between humour and despair that characterises the work.[45]
Voice acting[link]
Known for his strong and authoritative voice, Stewart has lent his voice to a number of projects. He has narrated recordings of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, C. S. Lewis's The Last Battle (conclusion of the series The Chronicles of Narnia), Rick Wakeman's Return to the Centre of the Earth; as well as numerous TV programs such as High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman. Stewart provided the narration for Nine Worlds, an astronomical tour of the solar system and nature documentaries such as The Secret of Life on Earth[46] and Mountain Gorilla.[47] He is also heard as the voice of the Magic Mirror in Disneyland's live show, Snow White – An Enchanting Musical. He also was the narrator for the American release of Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real. He is narrator for two fulldome video shows produced and distributed by Loch Ness Productions, called MarsQuest and The Voyager Encounters.
He also was a voice actor on the animated films The Prince of Egypt, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Chicken Little, The Pagemaster, and on the English dubbings of the Japanese anime films Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki and Steamboy. He voiced the pig Napoleon in a TV adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm and guest starred in the Simpsons episode "Homer the Great" as Number One. Patrick also narrated the prologue and epilogue for the Disney's Nightmare Before Christmas, which also appears on the film's soundtrack. He was originally going to do the voice for Jafar in Aladdin, but couldn't finish due to scheduling conflicts. He said in interviews that not voicing Jafar was the biggest mistake in his career.
More recently, he has played a recurring role as CIA Deputy Director Avery Bullock, lending his likeness as well as his voice on the animated series American Dad! as well as making (as of 6 August 2011) eight guest appearances on Family Guy in various roles: first in "Peter's Got Woods", second in "No Meals on Wheels" when Peter likens something to when he once swapped voices with him for a day, third in "Lois Kills Stewie" as his American Dad! character Bullock, fourth in "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" as himself, fifth in "And Then There Were Fewer" as a cat that proclaims himself a professor, sixth in "Halloween on Spooner Street as Dick Pump, seventh in "The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair" as Susie Swanson and eighth in the DVD version of It's A Trap! as Captain Picard. In 2006, Stewart voiced Bambi's father, the Great Prince of the Forest in Disney's direct-to-video sequel, Bambi II.
He lent his voice to the Activision-produced Star Trek computer games Star Trek: Armada, Armada II, Star Trek: Starfleet Command III, Star Trek: Invasion, Bridge Commander, and Elite Force II, all reprising his role as Captain Picard. Stewart reprised his role as Picard in Star Trek: Legacy for both PC and Xbox 360, along with the four other 'major' Starfleet captains from the different Star Trek series.
In addition to voicing his characters from Star Trek and X-Men in several related computer and video games, Stewart worked as a voice actor on games unrelated to both franchises, such as Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for which in 2006 he won a Spike TV Video Game Award for his work as Emperor Uriel Septim. He also lent his voice to several editions of the Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia.
His voice talents also appeared in a number of commercials including the UK TV Adverts for Domestos 5x Longer Bleach and Moneysupermarket.com, an advertisement for Shell fuel, and an American advertisement for the prescription drug Crestor. He also voiced the UK and Australian TV advertisements for the PAL version of Final Fantasy XII.[48]
Stewart used his voice for Pontiac and Porsche cars and MasterCard Gold commercials in 1996, and Goodyear Assurance Tyres in 2004. He also did voice-overs for RCA televisions. He provided the voice of Max Winters in TMNT in March 2007. In 2008, he is also the voice of television advertisements for Currys and Stella Artois beer. In 2010, he is the voice in television advertisements for National Car Rental.[49]
He voiced the narrator of the Electronic Arts computer game, The Sims Medieval, for the game's introduction cinematic and trailer released on 22 March 2011.[50] He also voiced the story plaques and trailer of the MMOG LEGO Universe.
Personal life[link]
Stewart and his first wife, Sheila Falconer, have two children: Daniel Stewart and Sophie Alexandra.[51] Stewart and Falconer divorced in 1990.[52] In 1997, he became engaged to Wendy Neuss, one of the producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and they married on 25 August 2000, divorcing three years later.[52][n 1] Four months prior to his divorce from Neuss, Stewart played opposite actress Lisa Dillon in a production of The Master Builder, and the two were romantically involved until 2007.[53][54]
Having lived in Los Angeles for many years, Stewart moved back to England in 2004. In an interview with the BBC's Gavin Esler, he said this was because he was homesick and because he wanted to return to work in the theatre.[6] In the same year, Stewart was appointed as Chancellor[55] of the University of Huddersfield and subsequently as a Professor of Performing Arts in July 2008. In spite of his hectic acting schedule, Stewart takes his university role seriously and regularly attends graduation ceremonies in the UK and Hong Kong, as well as teaching master classes for drama students during his visits.[56] Stewart was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2001 New Year Honours list, after receiving which he said, "I'm very touched and very pleased with this and it was a delightful morning."[57] Stewart was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to drama.[58][59] He acknowledged the "unlooked-for honour" and paid tribute to his former English teacher who encouraged him to perform.[13]
His politics are rooted in his belief in fairness and equality.[6] He considers himself a social democrat and is a member of the Labour Party.[60][61] He stated, "My father was a very strong trade unionist and those fundamental issues of Labour were ingrained into me."[60] He has been critical of the Iraq War and recent UK government legislation in the area of civil liberties, in particular, its plans to extend detention without charge to 42 days. He signed an open letter of objection to this proposal in March 2008.[62] Stewart identifies himself as a feminist.[63] Additionally, he has publicly advocated for the right to assisted suicide.[64]
Stewart is president of Huddersfield Town Academy, the local football club's project for identifying and developing young talent. He is a lifelong supporter of the club.[65] In an interview with American Theatre, Stewart was asked if he could be something other than an actor, what would he be. He stated "From time to time, I have fantasies of becoming a concert pianist. I've been lucky enough through the years to work very closely with the great Emanuel Ax. I've said to him that if I could switch places with anyone it would be with him."[3]. Stewart is also something of a petrol-head; has an MSA Competition Licence and is competing in the 2012 Silverstone Classic Celebrity Challenge race.
Stewart's son Daniel is a television actor,[66] and has appeared alongside his father in the 1993 made for television film Death Train, and the 1992 Star Trek episode "The Inner Light" playing his son.[n 2]
In July 2011 Stewart received an honourary doctorate of letters from the University of East Anglia.[67][68]
Theatrical performances[link]
The Royal Shakespeare Company[link]
Stewart has been a prolific actor in performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in more than 60 productions.[69] His first appearance was in 1966 in The Investigation and in the years that followed he became a core member of the company, taking on three or four major roles each season.[70] In 2008, he played Claudius in Hamlet. His most recent role there was in spring 2011, when he played Shylock in Rupert Goold's avant garde production of The Merchant of Venice.
Other[link]
 |
This section may need to be updated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished. Please see the talk page for more information. (January 2011) |
- 1995: Played Prospero in The Tempest for the New York Shakespeare Festival, with the production later transferring to Broadway.
- 1997: The Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.), Stewart in a race-bending performance,[39] in a "photo negative" production of a white Othello with an otherwise all-black cast.[40][71]
- 2000: On 9 April 2000, Stewart opened in Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mt. Morgan at the Broadway Ambassador Theatre. Lukewarm reviews and poor box office convinced the producers (including the Shubert Organisation) to post a closing notice and, in memorably impassioned Saturday matinée and evening curtain speeches, Stewart accused them of not being supportive, stating "Arthur Miller and I no longer have confidence in our producers' commitment to promote and publicise this extraordinarily provocative and vastly entertaining play."[72] They subsequently took the matter to Actors Equity, which ruled that Stewart had to apologise publicly for his outburst.
- 2001: Played George in Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Guthrie in Minneapolis. Also portrayed Robert Johnson in J.B. Priestley's play Johnson Over Jordan at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.
- 2003: Played the lead role of Halvard Solness in Henrik Ibsen's play The Master Builder at the Albery Theatre, London. Portrayed Davies in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker in Broadway's American Airlines Theatre[73]
- 2006: Portrayed Prospero in The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and then the Novello Theatre, and Mark Antony in Antony and Cleopatra at the Swan Theatre, for the Royal Shakespeare Company as part of the cycle performing all Shakespeare's works in a year.
- 2007: He appeared at Chichester Festival Theatre[74] during the Summer 07 Festival playing the title role in Rupert Goold's acclaimed revival of Macbeth in the Minerva studio theatre,[75] and as a grizzled Malvolio with a Scottish accent and kilt in Philip Franks' inventive main house staging of Twelfth Night. The Chichester production of Macbeth transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in London's Shaftesbury Avenue,[76][77] where his performance won him the Best Actor Award in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2007. Goold also received the Best Director Award for the production.[78]
- 2008: The title role in Macbeth at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City.
- 2008: The title role in Macbeth at the Lyceum Theatre, New York City. Stewart was nominated for the 2008 Tony award for Leading Actor in a Play, but lost out to fellow Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance.[79]
- 2008: The roles of Claudius and the Ghost in Hamlet alongside David Tennant as the eponymous Hamlet with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.[80] This was later made into a television play and broadcast on BBC1 on 26 December 2009.[81] The same production was broadcast in the U.S. as part of PBS' Great Performances series on 28 April 2010.[82]
- 2009: Performed in Waiting for Godot in one of the two lead roles, Stewart as Vladimir (Didi) alongside Ian McKellen as Estragon (Gogo).[83]
- 2010: Performed the part of William Shakespeare in Bingo: Scenes of Money and Death by Edward Bond at the Chichester Festival Theatre, transferring to the Young Vic Theatre in February of the following year. This was a role he had first performed in 1976 at the Other Place, Stratford.[70]
- 2010: Played Robert in a Broadway production of David Mamet's A Life in the Theatre in 2010.
Filmography[link]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Coronation Street | Fire Officer | 1 Episode |
| 1974 | Fall of Eagles | Vladimir Lenin | Television mini-series |
| 1974 | Antony and Cleopatra | Enobarbus | Television film |
| 1975 | Hedda | Ejlert Løvborg | |
| 1975 | Hennessy | Tilney | |
| 1976 | I, Claudius | Sejanus | Television mini-series |
| 1979 | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | Karla | Television mini-series |
| 1980 | Little Lord Fauntleroy | Wilkins | |
| 1980 | Hamlet, Prince of Denmark | Claudius | Television film |
| 1981 | Excalibur | Leondegrance | |
| 1982 | Plague Dogs, TheThe Plague Dogs | Major | Voice role |
| 1982 | Smiley's People | Karla | Television mini-series |
| 1984 | Uindii | Mr. Duffner | |
| 1984 | Dune | Gurney Halleck | |
| 1985 | Lifeforce | Dr. Armstrong | |
| 1985 | Wild Geese II | Russian General | |
| 1985 | Code Name: Emerald | Colonel Peters | |
| 1985 | Doctor and the Devils, TheThe Doctor and the Devils | Professor Macklin | |
| 1985 | Walls of Glass | ||
| 1986 | Lady Jane | Henry Grey/Duke of Suffolk | |
| 1987-1994 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Captain Jean-Luc Picard | Television series |
| 1987 | Devil's Disciple, TheThe Devil's Disciple | Anthony Anderson | |
| 1991 | L.A. Story | Mr. Perdue/ Maitre D' at L'Idiot | |
| 1993 | Robin Hood: Men in Tights | King Richard | |
| 1993 | Death Train | Malcolm Philpott | Television film |
| 1994 | Gunmen | Loomis | |
| 1994 | Star Trek Generations | Captain Jean-Luc Picard | |
| 1994 | Pagemaster, TheThe Pagemaster | Adventure | Voice role |
| 1994 | Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos | King Richard | Voice role / Video game |
| 1994 | In Search of Dr. Seuss | Sgt. Mulvaney | Puppet-voice over / Television film |
| 1995 | Jeffrey | Sterling | |
| 1995 | Let It Be Me | John | |
| 1995 | Simpsons, TheThe Simpsons | Number 1 | Episode: "Homer the Great" |
| 1995 | 500 Nations | Voice role / Television mini-series | |
| 1996 | Star Trek: First Contact | Captain Jean-Luc Picard | |
| 1996 | Canterville Ghost, TheThe Canterville Ghost | Sir Simon de Canterville | Television film |
| 1997 | Conspiracy Theory | Dr. Jonas | |
| 1997 | Masterminds | Rafe Bentley | |
| 1998 | Star Trek: The Experience: The Klingon Encounter | Captain Jean-Luc Picard | Voice role |
| 1998 | Dad Savage | Dad Savage | |
| 1998 | Moby Dick | Captain Ahab | Television film |
| 1998 | Safe House | Mace Sowell | |
| 1998 | Star Trek: Insurrection | Captain Jean-Luc Picard | Also associate producer |
| 1998 | Prince of Egypt, TheThe Prince of Egypt | Pharaoh Seti I | Voice role |
| 1999 | Christmas Carol, AA Christmas Carol | Ebenezer Scrooge | Television film |
| 1999 | Animal Farm | Napoleon | Voice role / Television film |
| 2000 | X-Men | Professor Charles Xavier | |
| 2001 | Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius | King Goobot | Voice role |
| 2002 | Star Trek Nemesis | Captain Jean-Luc Picard | |
| 2002 | King of Texas | John Lear | Television film |
| 2002 | X-Men: Next Dimension | Professor Charles Xavier | Voice role / Video game |
| 2003 | X2: X-Men United | Professor Charles Xavier | |
| 2003 | Lion in Winter, TheThe Lion in Winter | King Henry II | Television film |
| 2003 | Frasier | Alastair Burke | |
| 2004 | Boo, Zino & The Snurks | Albert Drollinger | Voice role |
| 2004 | Steamboy | Dr. Lloyd Steam | English dubbing |
| 2005 | Game of Their Lives, TheThe Game of Their Lives | Older Dent McSkimming | |
| 2005 | Chicken Little | Mr. Woolensworth | Voice role |
| 2005 | Mysterious Island | Nemo | Television film |
| 2005 | Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind | Lord Yupa | English dubbing |
| 2005 | Snow Queen, TheThe Snow Queen | The Raven | Voice role / Television film |
| 2005-present | American Dad | Avery Bullock | Voice role / Television cartoon |
| 2005 | Extras | Himself | Television Series |
| 2006 | Bambi II | The Great Prince/Stag | Voice role |
| 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand | Professor Charles Xavier | |
| 2006 | Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, TheThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | Emperor Uriel Septim VII | Voice role / video game |
| 2007 | TMNT | Max Winters/Yaotl | Voice role |
| 2007 | Earth | Narrator | Voice role |
| 2009 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine[84] | Professor Charles Xavier | Cameo |
| 2009 | Hamlet | Claudius/the Ghost | Television film |
| 2010 | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow | Zobek / Narrator | Voice role |
| 2010 | Macbeth | Macbeth | Television film |
| 2010 | Family Guy | Dick Pump | Voice Role |
| 2011 | Family Guy | Himself | Voice Role |
| 2011 | Gnomeo & Juliet | William Shakespeare | Voice role |
| 2011 | Family Guy | Susie Swanson's inner monologue | Voice Role |
| 2011 | The Captains | Himself / Captain Jean-Luc Picard | |
| 2012 | Richard II | John of Gaunt | TV film |
| 2013 | Dorothy of Oz | Tugg | Voice role |
Notes[link]
- ^ In William Shatner's 2011 film The Captains, Stewart stated: "I have two major regrets, and they're both to do with the failure of – my failure in – my marriages."
- ^ Patrick Stewart's regular Star Trek character Captain Picard had no children in the series (barring an impostor in the episode "Bloodlines"). In the episode "The Inner Light", Daniel Stewart played Batai, son of Kamin, an alternate persona which Picard had unknowingly taken on for the purposes of that single episode's plot.
References[link]
- ^ People of Today: Debrett, London, 2007
- ^ a b "– Patrick Stewart Biography". Patrickstewart.org. 13 July 1940. http://www.patrickstewart.org/psn/biography.asp. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "Twenty Questions". American Theatre (magazine) (Theatre Communications Group) 25 (3): 96. 2008. ISSN 8750-3255.
- ^ Chadwick, Lauren (26 October 2007). "Stewart honoured". Mirfield Reporter (Dewsbury, England). http://www.mirfieldreporter.co.uk/news/Stewart-honoured.3417457.jp. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
- ^ Barratt, Nick (13 January 2007). "Family detective – An investigation into our hidden histories. This week: Patrick Stewart". The Daily Telegraph (UK: Telegraph Media Group Limited). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1435150/Family-detective.html. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
- ^ a b c "Patrick Stewart – back on stage". BBC News (BBC). 16 December 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/4534792.stm. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
- ^ Stewart, Patrick (May 2006). "Turning the Tide". Amnesty International. http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10633. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
- ^ Atkinson, Neil (10 September 2009). "Hollywood star Patrick Stewart backs domestic violence scholarship project". Huddersfield Examiner. http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2009/09/10/hollywood-star-patrick-stewart-backs-domestic-violence-scholarship-project-86081-24650695/2/. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
- ^ Stewart, Patrick (November 2009). "Patrick Stewart: the legacy of domestic violence". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/nov/27/patrick-stewart-domestic-violence. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ^ Stewart, Patrick (October 2011). "BBC Lifeline Appeal". BBC (UK). http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016bt8s. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Bold, Bald Actor Voted TV's Most Bodacious Man". Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah). 13 July 1992. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/236846/BOLD-BALD-ACTOR-VOTED-TVS-MOST-BODACIOUS-MAN.html. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ "Heartfelt hello from an old pal... Hollywood star Patrick calls after message", Jenny Parkin, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 19 December 2003
- ^ a b "BBC News – Star Trek star Patrick Stewart knighted at Palace". BBC Online. 2 June 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10217872.stm. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
- ^ Revealed in interview on the 'Parkinson' show, ITV-1, 12 May 2007
- ^ a b Frakes, Jonathan (2005). Star Trek: First Contact Special Edition DVD commentary (DVD). Paramount Pictures.
- ^ "Patrick Stewart Biography". The Patrick Stewart Network. 2007. http://www.thepsn.org/psn/biography.asp. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
- ^ "Patrick plays the Ghost and Claudius in Hamlet.". Royal Shakespeare Company. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5mTfSweX9. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ Kenneth Clark (1969). Civilisation (Television production). London, UK.: BBC.
- ^ Bennett, Susan (1996). Performing nostalgia: shifting Shakespeare and the contemporary past. London: Routledge. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-415-07326-4.
- ^ a b c Nemecek, Larry (1992). "Rebirth". In Stern, Dave. The Star Trek The Next Generation Companion. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020: Pocket Books. p. 18. ISBN 0-671-79460-4.
- ^ a b Brady, James (5 April 1992). "In Step With: Patrick Stewart". Parade: p. 21. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UlhPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5604%2C1577738. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ^ "Robert Justman – Co-Producer Co-Creator of Star Trek". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/interviews/justman/printpage.html. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lyall, Sarah (27 January 2008). "To Boldly Go Where Shakespeare Calls". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/theater/27lyal.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Appleyard, Bryan (4 November 2007). "Patrick Stewart: Keep on Trekkin'". The Sunday Times (London: News Corp.). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article2785374.ece. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Patrick Stewart – Jean Luc Picard, Captain of the Enterprise". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/interviews/stewart/printpage.html. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ "Marina Sirtis – Star Trek: The Next Generation's empathetic Counsellor". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/interviews/sirtis/printpage.html. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ BBC (23 April 2011). "Five Minutes With: Patrick Stewart". BBC: p. 1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13160867. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ Tyler McLeod (17 August 1997). "Patrick Stewart at the controls". CANOE. http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Artists/S/Stewart_Patrick/1997/08/17/pf-761995.html. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
- ^ "Jonathan Frakes – The Next Generation's Number One, Will Riker, and Trek director". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/interviews/frakes/printpage.html. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ "Patrick Stewart: The spirit of Enterprise". The Independent (London). 30 June 2003. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/patrick-stewart-the-spirit-of-enterprise-542354.html. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ the mag (25 August 2008). "mental_floss Blog » 3 Bald encounters on the set of Star Trek". Mentalfloss.com. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/17880. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ "at 0:34". Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXOK-ZVJMaU. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ Patrick Stewart Emmy Winner
- ^ The 60th Primetime Emmys[dead link]
- ^ "Exclusive Clips from William Shatner's 'The Captains'". Trekmovie.com. http://trekmovie.com/2011/07/18/exclusive-clips-from-william-shatners-the-captains-how-to-watch-doc-for-free-online/.
- ^ Collins, Glenn (15 December 1991). "A Voice That Launched a Thousand Trips". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/15/theater/theater-a-voice-that-launched-a-thousand-trips.html. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ^ "1991–1992 38th Drama Desk Awards". http://www.dramadesk.com/1991_1992dd.html. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
- ^ "The Tempest". Royal Shakespeare Company. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080115221701/http://www.rsc.org.uk/newsandevents/events/2193.aspx. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
- ^ a b "The Issue of Race and Othello". Bcs.bedfordstmartins.com. http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/jacobus/content/cat_960/RaceAndOthello.htm?v=category&i=00960.01&s=00960&n=99000&o=. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Othello by William Shakespeare directed by Jude Kelly". The Shakespeare Theatre Company. http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/details.aspx?id=44&source=l. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
- ^ "Patrick Stewart named Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor at Oxford". University of Oxford. 17 January 2007. Archived from the original on 26 May 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080526203531/http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/po/070117.shtml. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
- ^ Staff (8 March 2009). "Speeches: And the Laurence Olivier Winners Said". WhatsonStage.com. http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821236545161&title=Speeches%3A+And+the+Laurence+Olivier+Winners+Said. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ^ Beth Hilton (27 September 2007). "Patrick Stewart keen to star in 'Who'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a76476/patrick-stewart-keen-to-star-in-who.html. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
- ^ a b Cavendish, Dominic (31 March 2009). "Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart on Waiting For Godot". The Daily Telegraph (UK). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/dominiccavendish/5083707/Sir-Ian-McKellen-and-Patrick-Stewart-on-Waiting-For-Godot.html. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
- ^ Wolf, Matt (7 May 2009). "McKellen and Stewart Deliver a ‘Godot’ With a Difference". New York Times. http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/arts/08iht-LON8.html. Retrieved 8 July 2009. "...the two tramps suspended in the limbo that, broadly speaking, is life. But in my extensive experience of this play, I’ve never seen a staging as attuned to the presence of mortality that underpins even Beckett’s jauntiest repartee."
- ^ The Secret of Life on Earth (1993)
- ^ "Mountain Gorilla (2010)". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tky2t. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ Boyes, Emma (15 February 2007). "Patrick Stewart voicing FFXII ads". Gamespot.com. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6165967.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=morenews&tag=morenews;title;1. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ "Watch Patrick Stewart’s Family Guy Cat Cameo + New Car Rental Commercial V.O.". 27 September 2010. http://trekmovie.com/2010/09/27/watch-patrick-stewarts-cat-cameo-in-family-guy-season-premiere-new-car-rental-commercial-v-o/. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- ^ "Cue the Patrick Stewart Voiceover: The Sims Machine Marches On". 25 March 2011. http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=147403. Retrieved 26 March 2011. .
- ^ Simpson, Richard (9 May 2009). "Patrick Stewart reprises his sugar daddy role as he steps out with a new flame less than half his age". London: mailonline.com. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1179528/Patrick-Stewart-reprises-sugar-daddy-role-steps-new-flame-half-age.html. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
- ^ a b "PASSAGES: Ritter Remembered at Tribute". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,627109,00.html. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
- ^ Tumposky, Ellen (14 February 2008). "Patrick Stewart boldly goes to 'Macbeth'". NY Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/arts/2008/02/15/2008-02-15_patrick_stewart_boldly_goes_to_macbeth.html?print=1&page=all
- ^ Wheatley, Jane (14 July 2008). "Patrick Stewart: from captain to Hamlet". Times Online (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article4317650.ece. Retrieved 22 May 2010
- ^ "Welcome from our Chancellor Patrick Stewart". www.hud.ac.uk. University of Huddersfield. http://www.hud.ac.uk/uni/patrick_stewart/pstranscript.html. Retrieved 16 December 2006.
- ^ "Patrick Stewart agrees to second term as University Chancellor". www.hud.ac.uk. University of Huddersfield. http://www2.hud.ac.uk/news/2009news/04_patrick_stewart_agrees_to_second_term_university_chancellor.php. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "Star Trek captain collects OBE, BBC Showbiz". BBC News. 12 July 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1435994.stm. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ "Patrick Stewart leads arts honours with a knighthood". BBC News. 31 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8434903.stm. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59282. p. 1. 31 December 2009.
- ^ a b "Patrick Stewart: The X factor actor". The Independent (UK). 30 April 2006. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/patrick-stewart-the-x-factor-actor-475978.html.
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- ^ "UK: Consensus against 42 days pre-trial detention grows as more names signal opposition". www.amnesty.org.uk. Amnesty international, UK. 31 March 2008. http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17706. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
- ^ "Patrick Stewart, Actor". Fawcett Society. http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=445. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
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- ^ "Huddersfield Town Academy role for Sir Patrick Stewart". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 5 March 2010. http://www.examiner.co.uk/huddersfield-town-fc/huddersfield-town-news/2010/03/05/huddersfield-town-academy-role-for-sir-patrick-stewart-86081-25966217/. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
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- ^ a b Trowbridge, Simon (2008). Stratfordians: a Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Oxford, England: Editions Albert Creed. pp. 471–473. ISBN 978-0-9559830-1-6.
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- ^ Charles Spencer (4 June 2007). "Hair-raising atmosphere of evil". The Daily Telegraph (UK). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/06/04/btmacbeth104.xml. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
- ^ Dominic Cavendish (16 July 2007). "Shakespeare is coursing through me". The Daily Telegraph (UK). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/07/16/btpatrick116.xml. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
- ^ Charles Spencer (23 July 2007). "This Malvolio scales the comic heights". The Daily Telegraph (UK). Archived from the original on 11 January 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080111010651/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/arts/2007/07/23/btmalvolio12.xml. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
- ^ Charles Spencer (28 November 2007). "Winning performances on the West End stage". Evening Standard. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23423447-details/Winning+performances+on+the+West+End+stage/article.do. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
- ^ "Meet the nominees". American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards. 15 June 2008. http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/index.html. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
- ^ Billington, Michael (6 August 2008). "Hamlet: Courtyard, Stratford-upon-Avon". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/aug/06/theatre.rsc. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
- ^ "Hamlet – Explore the play in this RSC production with David Tennant". BBC. 14 December 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/hamlet/. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ Lyons, Margaret (28 April 2010). "David Tennant, Patrick Stewart star in 'Hamlet' tonight | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/04/28/david-tennant-patrick-stewart-hamlet/. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ "Theare Royal Haymarket Company: Waiting for Godot". http://www.eft.co.uk/kings_theatre/event.aspx?evtid=171.
- ^ "Film Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine". Filmjournal.com. 30 April 2009. http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/reviews/major-releases/e3id5be315f15f95c42d5b30a4d0852820f. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
Further reading[link]
- Schulman, Michael (15 November 2010). "The Talk of the Town: The Boards: Roommates". The New Yorker 86 (36): 36–?. http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2010/11/15/101115ta_talk_schulman. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
External links[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Patrick Stewart |
- Patrick Stewart at the Internet Broadway Database
- Patrick Stewart at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Patrick Stewart at the Internet Movie Database
- Patrick Stewart at AllRovi
- Patrick Stewart at the TCM Movie Database
- Patrick Stewart at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
- Trek star's space travel unease BBC interview
- Interview with Sue Lawley on Desert Island Discs
- "Hardtalk Sir Patrick Stewart". BBC. 25 January 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00mzjx1. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- Mirfield – Patrick Stewart's birthplace
- Patrick Stewart interview (www.independent.co.uk)
- Patrick Stewart at Emmys.com
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Stewart, Patrick |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | actor |
| Date of birth | 13 July 1940 |
| Place of birth | Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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Claudius (Latin: Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. Because he was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, his family ostracized him and excluded him from public office until his consulship, shared with his nephew Caligula in 37. Claudius' infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges of Tiberius and Caligula's reigns; potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to his being declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult male of his family.
Despite his lack of experience, Claudius proved to be an able and efficient administrator. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing many new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the Empire. During his reign the Empire conquered Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia and Judaea, and began the conquest of Britain. Having a personal interest in law, he presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day. However, he was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, particularly by the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position; this resulted in the deaths of many senators. These events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers, though more recent historians have revised this opinion. After his death in 54, his grand-nephew and adopted son Nero succeeded him as Emperor.
