B. C. E. and a victorious general during the reign of Augustus (27 B. C.E.-14 C. E.) known to historians as Lentulus the Augur
Lentulus emerged from honored but poor origins to hold vast riches and considerable influence. After the consulship, he served as proconsul of Asia (2-1 b. c.e.) and later defeated the Getae, earning a triumphal insignia. In 14
C. E., Lentulus accompanied Drusus the Younger to Pan-nonia, where the legions were in a state of mutiny It was the hope of Tiberius that he would serve as an adviser and support to the young prince, but his presence infuriated the soldiers, who rushed upon him. Drusus saved him from certain death and pulled him out of harm’s way, so Lentulus escaped with only a minor injury He remained a friend to Tiberius, one of the few that the grim ruler would have in his lifetime.
He received the position of augur and was still in office in 22. Two years later, despite his age, he faced an accusation of plotting to murder the emperor. The Senate was horrified. Lentulus laughed out loud at the charge, and Tiberius paid him the greatest compliment by declaring: “I am not worthy to live if Lentulus hates me as well.” Only Seneca had harsh words for Lentulus, calling him rich and greedily stupid, so slow in speech that, miserly though he was, he parted with words with greater reluctance than with money Dio wrote of his mild disposition and Tacitus of his patience in bearing his early penniless state. He left his money to Tiberius.
Lentulus Gaetulicus, Gnaues Cornelius (d. 39 c. e.) Consul in 26 c. e. and son of the consul of 1 b. c.e.
Lentulus served for nearly 10 years as the legate of GERMANIA Superior. He earned the love of his troops with his genuine goodness and with the mildness of his discipline, a favor that spread to the legions of Germania Inferior under the command of his father-in-law, Lucius Apro-nius. This legionary devotion saved his career and his life. A long-time associate of SEJANUS, Lentulus was indicted in 34 for having supported the fallen prefect. In a letter written to Tiberius, Lentulus defended his alliance with Sejanus as having originated with the emperor, therefore not of his own will. Mindful of Lentulus’s position with the Rhine legions, Tiberius halted all attempts at prosecution. Thus Lentulus was the only member of
Sejanus’s powerful circle not to be executed. Left unmolested at his post, Lentulus remained in Germany until 39 C. E., when he became involved in a plot to assassinate Gaius Caligula at Moguntiacum (Mainz). Caligula heard of the plot and put him to death. Lentulus was also a writer of erotic poetry.
Leo I (c. 401-474 c. e.) Emperor of the East from 457 to 474 C. E.; called “the Great”
Leo emerged from obscurity to rule the East with a firm hand, while the Western Empire faced its final collapse. He was born in Thrace, entering the service of the Alan MAGISTER MILITUM, ASPAR. Under the patronage of this powerful German he eventually commanded the legion of the Mattiarii seniores. In 457 the Emperor Marcian died, leaving no heir. While Anthemius was supported by the Senate at Constantinople, he lacked the approval of Aspar, who was searching for a more pliable candidate. He chose Leo, forced the government to accept him, and had him crowned on February 7, at the Hebdomon Palace in the capital. All that Aspar hoped to achieve was soon ruined by this handpicked ruler.
Leo initially allowed Aspar to remain supreme in the court and in the East, as the magister had no rival. His son Ardaburius was named magister militum for the Eastern Empire as well. Leo, however, had witnessed the catastrophic effect of having Germans and other barbarians in the imperial administration. He was determined to avoid that during his reign and therefore set out against them slowly and carefully. Leo initiated a program to reduce Aspar’s influence and to find a suitable counterbalance, understanding the strength of the Germans both militarily and politically in his domain. The provinces in Asia Minor provided the first part of the solution. Leo recruited soldiers from all over Anatolia but focused especially on the wild and dangerous warriors from ISAURIA. They formed the bulk of his new army, and their chief Tarasicodissa (later called zeno) proved a reliable opponent for Aspar. Leo married Zeno to his daughter Aelia Ariadne (in 466 or 467), and by 468, Zeno was probably a magister militum in his own right.
Meanwhile, a massive effort was made against the Vandal King geiseric in Africa. This last attempt at a unified war between the Eastern and Western Empires on one side and the Vandals on the other was not entrusted to Aspar but to Leo’s brother-in-law, basiliscus. The decision to name Basiliscus to this exalted command came as result of the prodding of Empress Aelia Verina and the determination to isolate Aspar. It was a poor selection. Launched in 468, the combined operation was a disaster brought about by Basiliscus’s sheer incompetence and by Geiseric’s brilliance. The treasury at Constantinople was nearly emptied, and the Western Empire lost its last hope for recovery. The disastrous expedition did not slow the determination of Leo to press ahead with Aspar’s fall. Zeno served as consul and was sent to repulse a Hunnic invasion of Thrace sometime in 470. In his absence, however, Aspar insisted that Leo fulfill a long-standing promise, namely, to raise one of his sons, Patricius, to the rank of Caesar and to wed him to Princess Leontia. Leo had to agree but the situation worsened when Aspar’s supporters tried to win over the Isaurians. Zeno returned at once from Thrace in 471; sensing danger, Aspar and Ardaburius tried to flee to the safety of the church. They could not manage an escape, and both died at the hands of the palace eunuchs. Patricius got away with only a wound.
With the great Germanic influence removed from Constantinople, Leo was able to recognize the position of Aspar’s barbarian allies. He allowed them to hold territories and titles but knew that they no longer threatened his power. Stable as he was, Leo also tried to reorganize the West. He named Anthemius to the throne there in 467 and Julius Nepos in 474. He also defended Christian orthodoxy, using Aspar’s Arianism as a useful weapon in bringing about his downfall. Zeno and Ariadne had a son, Leo II. In October 473, Leo elevated that young prince to the rank of Augustus and then died on February 3, 474.
Leo II (467-474 c. e.) Grandson of leo I The son of the Isaurian MAGISTER MILITUM, zeno, and Aelia Ariadne, Leo was born in 467 at Constantinople, and in october of 473 was elevated to the rank of coruler of the Eastern Empire. When LEO I died on February 3, 474, Leo II was proclaimed his successor and received the crown on February 9. True power rested in the hands of his father, as the throne actually passed into Zeno’s hands on November 17, 474, when Leo II died, probably from an illness.
Leo I (d. 461 C. E.) Pope from 440 to 461 c. e.
One of the two popes, with St. Gregory I (r. 590-604), to be given the title “the Great.” Little is known with certainty about his early years. He was born in Rome, served as a deacon, and was a staunch opponent of Pelagianism. While serving as a deacon, he wielded considerable influence during the pontificates of St. Celestine I (422-432) and Sixtus III (432-440) and was elected the successor to Sixtus while away in Gaul. He was consecrated on September 29, 440, and took as the primary policy of his long pontificate the aggrandizement of the papacy throughout Christendom, the full recognition of the primacy of the bishop of Rome as the successor of St. Peter. He maintained the obedience of those dioceses around him and worked to secure his jurisdiction over the sees in Gaul (France) and Spain. He was also successful in winning the trust of the African bishops by providing them with advice and regulations aimed at curbing various irregularities then afflicting the church there. An important development was Leo’s obtaining from Emperor Valentinian III (r. 425-455) a rescript granting him full jurisdiction over the West. He thus received vast powers in the Western Empire, and, although his authority was not recognized in the East, such was the force of his personality and the heightened gravitas of the papacy that Leo was inexorably drawn into the major theological crisis that had erupted in the Eastern Empire over the nature of Christ. He sent his famous Tome to Flavian of Constantinople on June 13, 449, condemning Eutyches and elucidating clearly the important teaching that Christ had two natures in his one Person. Three legates were sent to the Council of Ephesus (449), where the pope fully expected the Tome to be read. Instead, it was rejected; Eutyches was fully restored to favor; and Flavian deposed as patriarch. Leo called the Council of Ephesus the Latrocinium, or Robber Council, and used his full authority to reverse its acts. At the Council of Chalcedon (451), his Tome was read and given full approval; the decrees of Ephesus were rescinded; and the doctrine concerning the Person of Christ formally proclaimed. Chal-cedon marked a major triumph for Leo, particularly the declaration by the council members that “Peter has spoken through Leo. ...” In keeping with his principle concerning the Roman see, however, he rejected Canon 28 of the Chalcedonian decrees granting broad patriarchal rights to Constantinople.
Leo was also of enormous help to the increasingly weak imperial government. When, in 452, Attila the Hun was poised to sack all of Italy, the pope bravely met him at Mantua and convinced him to withdraw. Three years later, the Vandals under King Geiseric invaded, and Leo greeted the king at the gates of Rome. While unable to prevent the sack of the city, he did win from Geiseric the promise not to burn or massacre. Leo died on November 10, 461, and was buried in St. Peter’s. Of his writings, there are extant 143 letters and 96 sermons. He may have contributed prayers to both the Leonine and Gelasian Sacramentaries.
Lepcis Magna Also known as Leptis Magna; this seaport was one of the major cities of Roman AFRICA and, despite a flood in 1987, remains a very significant archaeological site. About 75 miles east of modern Tripoli, Lep-cis Magna was founded by Phoenician traders as a colony perhaps around 600 b. c.e. When Rome conquered the Carthaginians in 146 b. c.e., it assumed control over all of Africa, and in 46 b. c.e., after the battle of Thapsus, Julius Caesar seized tripolitania outright. Under Emperor Augustus (ruled 27 B. C.E.-14 C. E.) its position on the coast was improved by roads connecting with desert caravan routes into the interior. Carthaginian in origin, the city was allowed to maintain a local council, answerable to the magistrates of Rome.
Attempts were made to Romanize the inhabitants throughout the first century C. E., and a temple (one of three) was erected to Roma et Augustus, housing the imperial CULT. Roman architecture soon dominated, and both Latin and the native Punic tongues were used in official inscriptions. With little stress, Lepcis Magna was transformed rapidly into a Latin community, allowing all of the inhabitants to reap benefits from the resulting imperial favor. The title of municipium was given to Lepcis Magna at the end of the first century c. E. as a result of its prosperity. Continued building programs extended into the first and second centuries C. E., and then the city entered its Golden Age, the reward for having one of its own sons, Septimius severus, on the Roman throne. The city had a forum, temples, and markets, and economic advancement brought developmental freedom. Earlier, a temple to Magna Mater was built around 72 C. E., and a theater already had been erected by a wealthy citizen named Rufus in 1 C. E., containing columns of limestone (later replaced) and high vaulting.
With the start of the second century C. E. the ambitions of the architects increased to match the sizable capital available. No longer was limestone the normal medium of expression. Marble was imported and put to use. Although the Arch of Trajan (109-110 C. E.) was of limestone, the foremost achievement of the city at this time was the Baths of Hadrian, dedicated in 126/127 and fashioned out of marble. Based on the Trajanic baths in Rome, the Baths of Hadrian used the characteristic arrangement then in vogue. All of the proper rooms were included: the frigidarium, natatio, caldarium, and the tepi-darium (see baths). Colonnades, mosaic-covered vaultings, and ingeniously crafted tubes and spaces for cool and hot air added refined touches.
Septimius Severus had left Lepcis Magna in 160 to pursue his political career. Throughout his reign (193-211 C. E.) Severus was generous to Africa and lavishly bestowed favors upon the city of his birth. Lepcis Magna (as Carthage and Utica) received wider rights under the IUS ITALICUM, befitting a Roman colony. Furthermore, his gifts of money and buildings changed the appearance of the city drastically. From the Baths of Hadrian was carved a grand road to the new harbor. Colonnades lined the route, and at an intersection there was a nymphaeum, complete with a magnificent fountain. Far larger, however, was the Severan Forum, 656 square feet in size, with high columns and a temple and basilica. The basilica was adorned with Corinthian columns. The small Hunting Baths were also erected in this era, distinct from the others by barrel vaulting. Out of gratitude to their mighty patron, and in honor of his visit in 203, the community hired artisans to carve the famous Arch of Severus, located near the Arch of Trajan. Their debt to Severus was considerable, and never again would the city enjoy such splendor, as the collapse of the empire took its toll.
Lepida, Aemilia (d. 36 c. e.) Married to Drusus (2), son of Germanicus, sometime around 29 c. e.
Lepida proved utterly faithless, succumbing to the advances of sejanus, the ambitious prefect of the praetorian GUARD, who was plotting the destruction of
Drusus and Germanicus’s entire family. Sejanus reportedly seduced Aemilia, and she went to Tiberius and accused her husband of numerous crimes, resulting in his dismissal from service at Capri, eventual arrest, imprisonment, and death (in 33). After the fall of Sejanus in 31 C. E., Aemilia was allowed to remain unpunished because of her family name. In 36, however, she was indicted for adultery with a slave. Knowing that her conviction was assured, she killed herself three years after the death of Drusus. There were references to her in the last books of Tacitus’s Annals.
Lepida, Domitia (d. 54 c. e.) Granddaughter of Marc Antony by Antonia (2); mother of Empress Messallina Long accustomed to the highest levels of Roman society, her brother was Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, and she was aunt to Nero, the sister-in-law of Agrippina the YOUNGER. In 41 C. E., she became the relative of Claudius when he married messallina. When the empress’s scandalous behavior caused her downfall in 48, Lepida journeyed to the Gardens of Lucullus to be with her daughter in the last hours of her life. Although she apparently differed with Messallina over her actions, Tacitus remarked upon Lepida’s loyalty during that tragic time. She remained a fixture of palace life during the remainder of Claudius’s reign and found in Agrippina a cruel and bitter enemy, loathing her as well. Lepida considered herself the equal of Agrippina in age, beauty, wealth, and temper. To prove her claims she worked tirelessly to gain control of Nero. The battle between the women raged for years, even to the time when he gained the throne. In 54, Lepida was condemned for having used incantations against Agrippina and for threatening the peace with her slave gangs in Calabria. She was executed for her crimes.
Lepidus, Marcus Aemilius (1) (d. 13 b. c.e.) Son of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the consul of 78 b. c.e.
Lepidus used his family name and influence to reach high positions in the Late Republic. In 49 b. c.e., he served as praetor before throwing his support behind Julius Caesar in the Civil War with Pompey As a reward he held a consulship in 46 and then, in 44, the governorship of Gallia Narbonensis and Hispania Citerior. When Caesar was assassinated in 44, Lepidus emerged as one of the most feared men in Roman politics. He was near Rome at the time of Caesar’s murder and immediately allied himself with Marc Antony, rendering him great service in stabilizing the city With Antony’s help he assumed the office of pontifex maximus, long held by Caesar, before returning to his provinces to prepare for the inevitable war.
It came in 43, and Antony, defeated at the battle of mutina, fled to Lepidus. Both men gathered together all available legions and marched on Rome. They were met by Octavian (Augustus) in northern Italy The three formed the second triumvirate in October of that year, thus dividing the world between them. Lepidus retained control of Gallia Narbonensis and Hispania Citerior but gained Hispania ulterior and held a second consulship in 42. By that time, however, the true power was in the hands of Antony and Octavian. Thus, after the battle of PHILIPPI in 42, a new separation of the provinces was made. Lepidus lost his European possessions and was granted only Africa. He held these territories until 36, living in the shadow of the other triumvirs.
Octavian had need of him in 36, to bring reinforcements to Italy for use against Sextus Pompey, the pirate son of Pompey Lepidus arrived a Sicily with 14 legions and helped to negotiate the surrender of a large part of Pompey’s army. His activities as a mere subordinate to Octavian galled him, however, and with the troops at hand he made war on his equal. Octavian won the conflict easily, and Lepidus was stripped of his titles, losing both the triumviral and proconsular authority. Only his office of pontifex maximus was left to him, and he retired to his estate at Circeii, enduring harsh treatment from Octavian, who disliked him. After Lepidus died in 13 B. C.E., his office of pontifex maximus was taken by Octavian, who had become “Augustus.”
Lepidus, Marcus Aemilius (2) (d. c. 30 b. c.e.) Son of the Triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (1)
Lepidus tried unsuccessfully to murder Augustus in 30 B. C.E. The plot was a disaster, and Lepidus was known as the first would-be assassin of an emperor, which gave Augustus yet another reason to torment and harass Lep-idus’s father.
Lepidus, Marcus Aemilius (3) (d. 39 c. e.) Courtier during the reign of Gaius Caligula
Lepidus became the long-time favorite and lover of the emperor. He was married to Gaius’s sister drusilla (1), but shared her with her brother while he engaged in affairs with her sisters, Agrippina and Julia. Lepidus was named publicly as the heir to the throne, but he grew afraid for his life and plotted to assassinate Caligula. The emperor learned of the conspiracy and put Lepidus and LENTULUS gaeticulus to death. The event was celebrated with gifts of money and three daggers, which were sent to the Temple of Mars ultor.
Lepidus, Paullus Aemilius (late first century b. c.e.) Nephew of the Triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (1)
During the proscriptions of the Second Triumvirate in 43 B. C.E., both Paullus and his father were on the lists. Eventually forgiven, he became a figure in the Augustan prin-cipate. In 22 b. c.e. the emperor appointed him and L. Munatius Plancus to the rank of censors. They were thus the last two holders of censorial powers under the
Republican form. Interestingly, when Lepidus and Plan-cus ascended the platform to perform one of their duties, the structure collapsed, a sign that all was not well with the office. In time, Augustus, as emperor, assumed most of their duties.
Lex The sophisticated legal system of the Romans (see law). Among the many enactments of the Romans, who were the supreme legalists of the ancient world, was a broad-ranging series of laws (plural, leges), covering many topics and situations. Following is a list of some of those laws that were promulgated in the imperial era or survived from the days of the Republic.
Acilia Calpurnia de ambitu See Calpurnia de ambitu below.
Aelia Sentia Passed in 4 c. e. under the magistrates
S. Aelius Catus and C. Sentius Saturninus, the lex Aelia Sentia finished the work of the lex Fufia Caninia (2 b. c.e.). By this law specific rules were established governing the manumission of slaves, reducing the discretion of an owner to release a slave unless certain conditions could be met. A board of officials examined the suitability of a candidate for release, determining whether or not such an individual should be allowed on moral or social grounds to become a Roman citizen.
See also slavery.
Annales A law setting age limits for all political appointments.
See also consul; cursus honorum.
Antonia de actis confirmandis Actually a series of enactments decreed under the auspices of marc ANTONY during his period as a member of the Second Triumvirate. He assumed this authority immediately after Caesar’s assassination in 44 B. C.E., using it to abolish the office of dictator, and to make changes in the provincial administrations throughout the Roman world. There were other facets to his power under this law.
Calpurnia de ambitu A legislative reformist, C. Cornelius, succeeded in passing in 67 c. E. a series of acts of which the lex Calpurnia de ambitu had far reaching effects. Any magistrate found to be corrupt while in office was subject to a rigorous fine and was banished from holding public office forever. The other Cornelian edict, the lex Cornelia, as it was commonly known, proved instrumental in establishing the notion of set law; all judicial officials were answerable to a higher legal authority, the law itself.
Cassia de plebeis in patricious adlegendis According to Suetonius and Dio, Caesar received the right to make changes in the sociopolitical structure of Rome as he saw fit. Among these changes was the authority to appoint new patricians. He
Used the so-called Cassian law to bring the Senate back to full strength. The legislation was still in effect in 48 C. E., when Claudius used it to add more patricians to the senatorial class.
Clodiae The name used to describe the often arbitrary edicts proposed by P clodius pulcher in the violent year of 58 b. c.e.
Cornelia See Calpurnia de ambitu, above.
Fufia Caninia Passed in 2 b. c.e., the lex Fufia Caninia was designed to curb the mass manumission of slaves by the will of a deceased owner. No longer could a dead slaveholder free all of his surviving slaves at once. From that point on only a percentage of all slaves could benefit from such a posthumous gift. In 4 C. E., a more severe version of this law was decreed; see Aelia Sentia, above.
De imperio Vespasian A very important lex—only the last section survives on a bronze tablet—delineating in clear, legal terms the authority of Vespasian. It is a landmark document because of Vespasian’s assumption of broad constitutional and imperial rights without the natural status established by Augustus.
See AUCTORITAS.
Gabiniae A group of enactments sponsored by then-tribune Aulus gabinius in 67 b. c.e. Although Gabinius was the political puppet of pompey the GREAT, several of his laws were genuinely beneficial. First, he proposed that all moneylenders be forbidden from granting loans to the embassies of foreign states or provincials in Rome. They had been using funds to bribe senators and magistrates into hearing their pleas or cases first.
To add further to the legislation, he had another law passed that forbade all delays in the hearing of appeals from foreigners. The period of one month, February, was regulated. Favors were consequently prohibited. Finally, Gabinius helped lay the legal groundwork for the demise of the Republic by having Pompey granted, under the lex Gabinia de piratis persequendis, an IMPERIuM to clear the seas of pirates. Pompey’s political strength became awesome, and the trend had begun for ambitious men to reach for more than the Republic had to offer them.
Julia agraria The title of Julius Caesar’s proposed reform of the agrarian law in 59 b. c.e.; it caused a furor.
Julia de adulteriis coercendis One of the more famous statutes enacted during the time of Augustus, which treated incidents of adultery (see MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE). By its stipulation, a man could divorce his wife on the grounds of adultery but had to seek such proceedings within sixty days of the act or his spouse was virtually immune to prosecution.
Julia de ambitu Another regulation on the conduct of public officials. Any corrupt official, as of 18 was required to step down and to remain out of service for five years. In 8 B. C.E., another demand was made that all candidates make a deposit of money that could be lost upon their conviction of wrongdoing.
Julia de maiestate A statute born in the good years of Augustus’s reign but twisted into an appalling instrument of tyranny in the reign of Tiberius. The lex Julia de maiestate provided the means to prosecute and condemn an individual for treason (maiestas). This was a well known law, gaining fame because of the many trials conducted under its jurisdiction and because of Tacitus’s description of the trials in his Annals.
Julia de maritandis ordinibus The law resulting (with the lex Papia Poppaea) from the concerns of both Caesar and Augustus as to the dwindling population. In essence, the law gave handsome benefits to men who married and reared children, while supposedly inflicting penalties upon those who divorced or remained bachelors. The only widow exempted from enforced marriage was Lady Antonia. The lex Julia de maritandis, however, was rendered impractical because of the continued refusal of many of Rome’s wealthiest upper strata to get married. Furthermore, it provided the DELATORES, or informers, with yet another means of committing extortion or blackmail and profiting from the destruction of others.
See also marriage and divorce.
Junia Petronia One of the laws passed to govern the status of slaves during the early empire. By the lex Junia Petronia, whenever a trial was held to determine the question of a slave’s freedom, any tied jury would mean a victory for the slave.
See also slavery.
Licinia de provincia Caesaris Passed in 55 b. c.e., this decree was partially the result of the Conference of Luca in 56, between member of the first triumvirate: Julius Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey By the lex Licinia, Caesar was allowed to retain his control over Gaul for five more years. it was a defeat for cicero and L. domitius ahenobarbus (1), while aiding Caesar in his final pacification of the Gallic tribes.
Malacitana The lex Malacitana granted the status of the ius Latii to the provinces of spain, by order of vespasian.
Manciana A law, found on inscriptions and difficult to date, which was passed specifically for Africa, with the intent of encouraging farmers to reclaim wasteland and return it to a fertile condition. The rent was reduced, and other rights were granted, such as hereditary ownership. The basic precepts
Of the lex Manciana were increased by Hadrian in the second century to invigorate all of Africa.
See also lus emphyteuticum.
Munatia Aemilia A special decree passed in 42 B. C.E., giving the members of the second triumvirate—Octavian (Augustus), Antony, and Lepidus —the strength to grant, at will, full citizenship and total exemption from taxes.
Papia Poppaea By 9 c. e., it was clear that the lex Julia maritandis ordinibus was not successful in increasing marriages or the birth rate of Rome. Augustus decided to formulate another, clearer statute. The result was the lex Papia Poppaea. New categories of celibacy were allowed and the long-held legal view that a childless marriage constituted no union at all (the so-called orbi) was eased. Widows and divorced women could now wait to remarry, up to two years for the former and a year and a half for the latter. Other inducements were increased for child bearing and marriage; see marriage and divorce.
Petronia While the lex Aelia Sentia and the lex Fufia Caninia restricted the nature of slavery in Rome, the lex Petronia, issued perhaps in the middle of the first century b. c.e., tried to protect the lives of slaves. No longer could an owner murder slaves at will or send them against wild animals.
Rufrena A decree, proposed in 42 b. c.e. (if actually accepted as a law in the official sense), that ordered the placing of Caesar’s statues in all of the temples and cities in the Roman world. The historian Dio wrote that while Caesar lived his statues were already decorating many buildings and temples. The lex Rufrena simply continued the honors already paid to Caesar, while setting him firmly on the path to deification.
Titia The law by which the second triumvirate was formed. Signed on November 27, 43 b. c.e., by Marc Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian (Augustus), the pact lasted until December 31, 38 B. C.E. Although that date should have ended the triumvirate, the group continued.
Vatinius The enactment, sponsored by P Vatinius in 59 B. C.E., giving Julius Caesar command over Gallia Cisalpina, Gallia Transalpina, and Illyricum for five years. This was a major law, for it sent Caesar to wage war upon the Gallic tribes, thus allowing him to earn a reputation as the foremost military intellect of his era. This, in turn, marked him as the man destined to control Rome.
Libanius (314-393 c. e.) Greek rhetorician and teacher; one of the most famous pagan intellectuals in imperial history Libanius was born to a wealthy family in Antioch, studying in Athens from 336 to 340. After teaching there for a time, he moved to Constantinople, where he offered rhetorical training (342-343), and then to Nicomedia. His sojourn in that city was brought to an end in 348 by a summons from Constantius II, who offered him the seat of RHETORIC director in Athens. Despite his popularity with the court and with many government officials, as well as gifts of favor from the emperor, Libanius declined. He returned home, instead, to accept the position of professor of rhetoric at Antioch, remaining there for the rest of his life. During his years as a noted intellectual, Liban-ius came to know many emperors. Julian became a friend during his visit to Antioch in 362-363, and his subsequent death was a bitter blow to Libanius, who had admired the emperor’s paganism, even as they differed on the speculative aspects of neoplatonism. Under Theodosius I, Libanius received great acclaim and, sometime during the reign (378-395), was granted an honorary praetorian prefecture.
Libanius was a traditionalist, cultured and genuinely interested in the freedom of the individual. Through his intervention he saved many political figures and common citizens in Antioch. When fighting an injustice he used his oratorical skills to crush opponents. While a pagan, Libanius trained the finest minds of the next generation, including Christians: St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Theodore of Mopsuestia and perhaps Ammianus Marcellinus. He poured out a vast amount of written work, including his oratories, which provided a deep, personal, and authentic look at the fourth century’s people and events. More than 1,600 letters survive, as well as rhetorical exercises, declamations, and 64 speeches, covering a variety of topics.
See also sophistry.
Libellatici Name used for those Christians who, during the persecutions under Emperor Trajanus Decius of 249-251, purchased from officials of the Roman state certificates called libelli pacts that declared that the holder had made the required sacrifices to pagan idols. Condemned by the church, the libellatici were ranked among the lapsi, those who had turned from the faith during the persecutions. Their punishment and required penance, however, were lighter than for those Christians who had made actual sacrifices to pagan gods.
Libellis, a An office on the imperial staff that was charged with writing petitions to the emperor from cities, provinces or individuals. The hearing of petitions was an important part of governmental business, and the a libel-lis wielded considerable influence in determining those requests actually heard. In the early empire the post was held by an imperial freedman. From the time of Hadrian, any such official was an Equestrian. During the late empire the a libellis was known as the magister libellorum or the libellis respondens.
Liberators Term used to denote the party of assassins responsible for the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 B. C.E., thus “liberating” Rome from the tyranny of the dictator. The movement was epitomized by its two leaders: Gaius CASSIUS Longinus and Marcus Brutus. Through the vengeance of Marc Antony and Octavian and the formation of the SECOND TRIUMVIRATE, the Liberators’ cause was destroyed and died at the battle of philippi on October 22, 42 B. C.E.
Liberius (d. 366 c. e.) Bishop of Rome from 352 to 366 The reign of Liberius was embroiled in the Arian controversy. He succeeded Julius as bishop of Rome in 352 and three years later was banished by Constantius II because he refused to join in the condemnation of St. Athanasius. Under intense pressure, quite probably duress as well, he finally agreed to put his signature on Arian documents in 357 and was allowed to return to Rome. Upon his return he built a large church on the Esquiline Hill, the Basilica Liberiana (now called Santa Maria Maggiore).
See also arianism.
Libitina First of the names given to the Roman deity later known as proserpina. Libitina as an ancient goddess who was associated with death, especially burials. An undertaker in Rome was called a libitinarius.
Libius Severus (d. 465 c. e.) Emperor of the West from 461 to 465
Libius Severus came originally from Lucania but nothing else of his origins survived. When Majorian died in 461, the formidable German MAGISTER MILITUM, ricimer ran the Western Empire for three months before finally choosing a suitable heir to the throne, Libius Severus, who seemed a manageable puppet. The Senate naturally agreed with Ricimer, electing Severus emperor on November 19. Nevertheless, he faced insurmountable obstacles in the numerous political factions of the empires, both East and West. LEO I, at Constantinople, opposed his election and used Count (comes) marcellinus OF DALMATIA to put pressure on Severus’ imperial administrators. The Vandals, meanwhile, under King GEISERIC, were plotting Severus’s downfall. Geiseric supported OLYBRIUS, whose wife was Placidia (daughter of Emperor Valentinian III), as his choice for emperor, as the Vandal ruler already had close ties to Valentinian through the marriage of his son, Huneric, to Valentinian’s daughter Eudocia.
Such were the circumstances on November 14, 465, when Libius Severus died. His passing was the source of much speculation. Ricimer may have determined that his client had outlived his usefulness, or perhaps he saw the need to improve relations with Leo, and thus poisoned Severus, as was widely reported. Severus himself might have tried to instigate a palace coup and died in the attempt, or, least likely of all, his demise could have been from natural causes, a rare event in that era.
Libo, M. Drusus (d. 16 c. e.) Great-grandson of Pompey the Great
A young senator in the reign of Tiberius (14-37 C. E.), Libo became one of the earliest victims of the dreaded informers, the DELATORES, who became so common in the Tiberian principate. In 16 C. E., the dull-witted Libo was led into an involvement in Chaldaean magic and rituals by the scheming delator, Firmus Catus, who played upon his naivete. Rather foolishly, Libo celebrated his Pompeian origins and his connections to Scribonia, niece to Scribonia, the first wife of Augustus. Once evidence was accumulated, detailing his supposedly treasonous crimes, Tiberius was informed. With his usual deliberate nature, the emperor led Libo into a false sense of security, promoting him to a praetorship and inviting him to dinner. Then, at the appropriate moment, another informer, Ful-cinius Trio, impeached Libo, who was put on trial before the Senate. No one dared defend him as the prosecutor brought numerous witnesses, including his own slaves who had been sold to the treasury and were thus compelled to testify Despairing of any acquittal Libo killed himself after holding a farewell banquet. Ironically enough, Tiberius later commented that he would have spared him had he not committed suicide. Libo’s property was divided up among his accusers. His brother, L. Scri-bonius Libo, was consul in 16 c. E. M. Drusus Libo may have been the young noble mentioned by Dio. There he was called Lucius Scribonius Libo; he supposedly entered his trial in a litter, committed suicide and had his fortune broken apart. The details of this account match the one of Tacitus.
Library of Alexandria See Alexandria, library of
Liburnia Region of illyricum situated directly upon the ADRIATIC. The Liburnians were among the first of the Illyrian-Dalmatians to submit to Rome. For centuries they had a remarkable reputation as superb navigators and seamen, and Liburnian vessels roamed the Mediterranean, putting in at all of the major ports. Their light, fast SHIPS, called liburnicae, became part of the navy of Octavian (Augustus) and proved instrumental in gaining victory, under Agrippa, at the battle of Actium in 31 B. c.E. Subsequently, some Liburnians served in the Roman Imperial Navy, while others remained in native waters, some ravaging the Adriatic as pirates.
See also piracy.
World History
