Showing posts with label Roman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roman. Show all posts

Friday, April 30, 2021

O tempora! O mores!

 Latin for "Oh the times! Oh the habits!"

In the Roman Senate Cicero said this to decry the times he lived in.



Wednesday, July 1, 2015

cognomen

The cognomen (/kɒɡˈnmɛn/, /ˈkɒɡnəmən/; Latin: [koːŋˈnoːmen]; Latin plural cōgnōmina; con- "together with" and (g)nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name (the family name, or clan name) in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. Outside of this particular use of the word, the term has taken on a variety of other meanings in the contemporary era.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

magister officiorum

The magister officiorum (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in Greek: μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the late Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, until it disappeared in the 12th century.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

litter


The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of persons. Examples of litter vehicles include lectica (ancient Rome), jiao [较] (China), sedan chairs (England), palanquin (also known as palki Bengali'পালকি' ) (Bangladesh, India), Woh (วอ, chinese style known as giao เกี้ยว) (Thailand), gama (Korea) and tahtırevan (Turkey).

Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more men, some being enclosed for protection from the elements. Larger litters, for example those of the Chinese emperors, may resemble small rooms upon a platform borne upon the shoulders of a dozen or more men. To most efficiently carry a litter, porters will attempt to transfer the load to their shoulders, either by placing the carrying poles upon their shoulders, or the use of a yoke to transfer the load from the carrying poles to the shoulder.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Tetrarchy


The term Tetrarchy (Greek: "leadership of four [people]") describes any system of government where power is divided among four individuals, but usually refers to the tetrarchy instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire. This Tetrarchy lasted until c.313, when internecine conflict eliminated most of the claimants to power, leaving Constantine in the West and Licinius in the East.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Sacrosanctity

Sacrosanctity was a right of tribunes in Ancient Rome to not be harmed physically. Plebeians took an oath to regard anyone who laid hands on a tribune as an outlaw liable to be killed without penalty. The term comes from the phrase sacer esto ("let him be accursed") and reflects that violation of a tribune's sacrosanctity was not only a secular offense, but a religious offense as well.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

chrysargyron

In the Eastern Roman Empire, chrysargyron, also called chrysargyrum or collatio lustralis, was an unpopular tax levied every four years, on people of all stations, rich and poor, slaves and freemen; even on animals and pets. It was collected during the first hundred and seventy years of the Eastern Roman Empire. The term originated from the Greek words for gold (χρυσος) and silver (αργυρος), which initially were the required forms of payment.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Asses

The as (plural asses) was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, named after the homonymous weight unit (12 unciae = ounces), but not immune to weight depreciation.

Monday, October 19, 2009

aeneid


The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem written by Virgil in the late 1st century BC (29–19 BC) that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is written in dactylic hexameter. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas' wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem's second half tells of the Trojans' ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed.

synanthrope

 A synanthrope (from ancient Greek σύν sýn "together, with" and ἄνθρωπος ánthrōpos "man") is an organism that evolve...