Cappadocia Strategically important province in eastern ASIA MINOR that was a buffer along the wild and unpredictable frontier separating the empire and the Parthian-Persian empires. The province offered a fertile environment for various cereals and fruits but was more suited to grazing herds of cattle, sheep, and horses. Severe winters and inhospitable terrain prevented the Cappadocians from developing as fully as their neighbors in GALATIA, Paphlagonia, and Lycaonia. Thus the region was governed for centuries by kings overseeing a feudal, horse-based culture that changed very little, despite contact with Hellenic and later Roman influence. Cappadocia’s position in Asia Minor ensured political involvement with Rome. POMPEY THE GREAT helped rebuild several cities following the Mithridatic wars (c. 65 b. c.e.), installing a line of client kings who ruled only briefly. Antony replaced them with the far more reliable archelaus, but by 17 c. e. the Romans were in control of the country.
Roman occupation not only dictated Cappadocian policy from then on, but allowed the empire to acquire as well a considerable portion of the province’s tax revenues. Cappadocia served as a procuratorial province until 72 C. E., when Emperor Vespasian deemed its strategic location to be too important. Henceforth, until the time of TRAJAN, Cappadocia was attached to Galatia, guarded by legions and run by a legate. Trajan preferred a more aggressive frontier policy and severed the connection with Galatia, replacing it with pontus sometime before 113. This organization remained intact for centuries.
Stability within Cappadocia’s borders allowed the province to keep its traditional territorial divisions. Urbanization came slowly and remained limited throughout the area. once the frontiers were strengthened with legions, and with the addition of roads, Cappadocia participated, albeit slowly, in the trade system of the empire. several cities were constructed, but only a few could be called developed in comparison with the other cities of Asia Minor. Two of the more important urban centers were Caesarea and trapezus (modern Trebizond). Caesarea served as the provincial capital. originally called Mozaca, it was rebuilt by Archelaus. Trapezus, a port on the Black Sea, was a trading post for the northern provincial lands. The Romans also founded large estates, the work of colonists. Formed from confiscated or purchased properties, these estates helped the economic strength of the province and were tiny islands of culture in a wild land. it is known that the Roman emperors maintained their own stud farms for horses in the province, controlling large sections of land into the fourth century.
In the middle of the third century Cappadocia witnessed a decline of imperial influence and a major shift of power in the East. In 251-252, shapur i, king of Persia, invaded Armenia, Syria, and Cappadocia. For the next years the province was a battleground for Persia and Rome. Emperor Valerian’s forces fell to Shapur in 259. From then on the Romans had only a fragile hold on the province, and Christianity was persecuted severely.
Capri Also called Caprae; an island south of Naples, just off the coast of Campania. Long held to be a beautiful island retreat, Emperor AUGUSTUS spent some time there, and his successor Tiberius chose the site for his self-imposed exile from Rome. He took it from the Neapolitans in 27 C. E. but reimbursed them with other territories. From 27 to 37 C. E., the emperor lived on Capri. The stories told of his lifestyle there, the murders, debaucheries, and orgies, overshadow the considerable architectural achievements of his Villa Jovi. Capri lost its appeal to the Roman emperors after Tiberius. commodus (ruled 177-192 C. E.) banished his wife and sister there. Tacitus described the island as isolated, with no harbors, mild in the winter and charming in the summer. A stunning view of Mount Vesuvius can still be seen from atop the hills of the small bay.
Capua Chief city of the Campania district of italy. It was located northeast from the coast, along the Via Appia and near the river Volturnus. Capua played a significant role in the Roman trade in metal goods and pottery. small factories of the area manufactured vessels of silver, and these were distributed throughout the empire.
Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) (188-217 C. E.) Ruler of Rome from 211 to 217 C. E.; the son of Septim-ius Severus and Julia Domna
Caracalla’s original name, Julius Bassianus, came from the syrian side of his family, although he was born in Gaul. in an attempt to strengthen his own imperial line, severus, in 195 c. e., appointed his son to the rank of Caesar (or junior emperor), two years before Caracalla’s great rival, his brother geta, would receive that same honor. in 197 Caracalla became emperor-designate as well, and in the following year received the powerful title of Augustus. All of this led to palace intrigues, and Cara-calla and Geta became bitter enemies, despite the efforts of Julia to keep the peace.
The Praetorian Prefect gaius plautianus conspired to improve his already considerable powers by wedding his daughter Plautilla to Caracalla in 202. Caracalla resisted the marriage and then treated his bride coldly, all the while plotting against her father. Accounts varied as to the manner by which Plautianus fell in 205, but the death of the prefect was greeted with joy by Caracalla, who exiled his wife and now waited for his father to die as well.
Severus campaigned in Britain from 208 to 211, but because of his father’s ill health, Caracalla was forced to conduct many of the campaigns in his place—earning the loyalty of the troops on the field. The name “Caracalla,” in fact, came from the hooded cloak that he wore. The troops followed him faithfully, and he turned to them when Severus died at Eburacum (York) in 211. However, the Guard and the legions swore their oaths to both sons of the dead emperor. herodian noted that the two brothers proposed to divide the empire between them. Caracalla found a more permanent solution by assassinating Geta on February 12, 212, in their mother’s apartment. To stem any problems with the legions and the praetorian Guard, Caracalla immediately gave them better pay
As emperor, Caracalla proved harsh, cruel, and obsessed with the fulfillment of his martial dreams, as evidenced by his constant style of dress—that of a simple soldier. Where his father had disliked the senate, Cara-calla displayed an outright hatred of the members of the legislative body Those aspects of the empire in which
Caracalla did meddle soon suffered greatly. When pap-INIAN, the jurist and prefect, was hacked to pieces by the Guard, Caracalla merely commented that the killer should have used an ax instead of a sword. The provincial distribution of the legions was changed so that no more than two could be stationed in any province, an indication that Caracalla feared revolt.
Caracalla was forced to take money from the imperial treasury to pay his military units and was compelled to use other means as well. He issued a new coinage to debase the currency; the aureus was reduced and the ANTONINIANUS was introduced. In 212, to gain further revenues, Caracalla decreed the Constitutio Antoniniana bestowing citizenship on nearly everyone in the Roman world. While it must have had limitations (slaves were automatically ineligible and others must have been excluded for various reasons), its immediate benefit was the considerable taxes that could be collected on inheritances and emancipation. Other methods of raising money were also employed. Dio noted that Caracalla spent freely on his soldiers but excelled in stripping, despoiling, and grinding down the rest of humanity. New taxes were instituted and old ones increased. Cities had to build him houses, amphitheaters, and race tracks whenever he visited. Of course, not every ounce of the collected gold went into the military coffers. Caracalla admired Alexander tremendously, seeing himself as the reincarnation of the Greek conqueror. He tried to be a general, emperor, and builder, with the result that Rome saw the creation of one of the grandest monuments in the city’s history The baths of Caracalla epitomized the grandiose vision of the emperor, putting into architectural splendor his material expectations.
In 213, he marched to the Danube and Rhine frontiers, defeating the barbarian confederation of the ala-MANNI on the Main River and adding forts to strengthen the LIMES (frontier). Beginning in 214, he planned to conquer the East, much as Alexander had in his own time. Sweeping triumphantly through Macedonia, he recruited a 16,000-man phalanx, similar to the ancient Macedonian phalanx. Illness prevented serious campaigning, and Caracalla retraced Alexander’s route to Egypt, where, in 215, he slaughtered many of Alexandria’s hostile inhabitants. So many died at his hands that he could not even write to the Senate the exact number. By 216, his eastern preparations were complete, and he set out again for Mesopotamia. Wintering in Edessa, Caracalla suffered a bout of paranoia. macrinus, one of the Praetorian prefects, watched as many of his companions died as the result of an imperial whim. A seer, the Egyptian Serapio, who openly predicted the emperor’s death and the succession of Macrinus, was thrown to the lions, survived and was slain. Caracalla confirmed his growing fear of the prefect in dispatches, which Macrinus managed to discover. With tribunes of the Guard, Macrinus killed Caracalla on April 8, 217 c. e., at Carrhae and became his successor.
Emperor Caracalla (Hulton/GettyArchive)
Caracalla, despite his growing mental instability, formalized the increasingly international stature of the empire. He favored the Gallic cloak, the German-style wig and certainly displayed the influences of his Syrian origins. His decree, the Constitutio Antoniniana, confirmed the changes taking place in the Roman world. Caracalla’s family would return to power in the person of Bassianus (218 c. E.)
Caratacus (fl. mid-first century c. e.) King of the Catu-vellauni from 41 to 51 c. e.
The British ruler Caratacus, also called Caractacus, resisted the conquest of his kingdom by Rome for eight years. He was the son of King Cunobellinus, along with Togodumnus and Amminius. At court Caratacus and Togodumnus championed the anti-Roman sentiment, in opposition to Amminius. In 41, Amminius fled the isles to Gaius Caligula, the same year in which Cunobellinus died. Claudius, in 43, determined that the time was right and invaded Britain with four legions under General Aulus Plautius. The brothers made the mistake of not opposing the Roman landing. They were soon defeated in the field, and Togodumnus died in battle. Claudius ended British resistance with his elephants, and Caratacus fled into Wales to stir up the tribes in that region. In 47, he lost another battle, this time to the general Ostorius Scapula. Only Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes, could help him, but in keeping with her treaty with Rome, she handed him over to the enemy. He was taken to Rome and brought before Claudius, where, according to Tacitus, he delivered a speech of such force that the emperor gave him his life.
Carausius, Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus (d. 293 c. e.) A major usurper during the late third century c. e., who controlled Britain and much of modern Gaul Carausius had humble origins in Messapia but won fame in the campaigns of Emperor Maximian against the Franks and the Bagaudae in 286. Looking for a competent officer to eradicate the Frank and Saxon pirates in the Channel, Maximian chose Carausius.
He proved a brilliant admiral but was accused of keeping recovered plunder for his own use and of pressing captured pirates into his own fleet. Sentenced to death, he sailed to Britain in late 286 or early 287, declaring himself independent of imperial control. The Britons greeted him cheerfully and helped him to consolidate his power. Ca-rausius soon began to seize large parts of the Gallic coast. In April of 289, Maximian finally moved against him, only to suffer defeat at Carausius’s hands. The emperor was reduced to making a treaty with him instead. Carausius declared his triumph, issuing at first an irregular and then an imperial coinage, with the presumptuous words: “Carausius and his brothers, Diocletian and Maximian.” Ironically, Carausius provided the tetrarchy exactly what it needed in Britain. He resisted the incursions of the Picts, repaired Hadrian’s Wall, and kept the regions secure. His independence, however, could not be tolerated, and Diocletian waited until the time was ripe to strike.
In 293, Emperor Constantius I Chlorus, Diocletian’s junior, launched a massive assault on Carausius’s holdings in Gaul. The port of Gesoriacum (Boulogne) was blockaded by Constantius, while Carausius’s main fleet remained in Britain to repel an invasion. The city fell, but just barely; reinforcements were prevented from arriving by a great mole stretched across the harbor. These initial setbacks were compounded as Constantius cleared the entire region of Gaul. Having lost his continental territories, Carausius suffered other political difficulties as well, until his chief minister, allectus, became disenchanted and killed him in 293, taking over his ships, troops, and his claim to supremacy in Britain.
Caria One of the districts of the Roman province of
ASIA.
Carinus, Marcus Aurelius (d. 285 c. e.) Joint emperor with his brother Numerian (late 283 to November 285)
Ruler of the West until defeated by the claimant Diocletian, CARUS ascended the throne in 282. His two adult sons, Carinus and Numerian, assumed leading roles in his reign. In early 283, Carus set off with Numerian for a campaign against Persia, while Carinus took up the reins of power in Rome, to maintain control of the West. He received the ranks of Augustus and coemperor later in the year. When Carus died, Carinus and Numerian became joint emperors, Carinus in the West and Nume-rian in the East.
He proved himself successful in the field against the Germans but did not inspire the legions in the East. Thus, when Numerian died, they chose Diocletian. Cari-nus prepared for civil war, defeating first Julianus, the rebelling governor of Venetia, before turning to the real threat. In a pitched and hard-fought battle in the Margus Valley of moesia, Carinus’s recently experienced troops had the upper hand. One of the emperor’s officers, however, chose that moment to exact revenge for Carinus’s seduction of his wife, and he killed him. Diocletian, as a result, became undisputed master of the empire.
Carna Roman divinity who, as her name would suggest (caro, flesh), was the protectoress of health and wellbeing. Her festival was on the 1st of July.
See also gods and goddesses of rome.
Carnuntum Town in Upper pannonia, east of Vin-dobona (modern Vienna); originally settled by a Celtic people, under later Roman occupation it became a strategically based colony. Its location was prized, not only because of its roads but also because legions could be stationed there in defense of the entire frontier of the Danube. As colonists from Rome, mostly veterans, established themselves in the region, Carnuntum boasted the largest amphitheater in Pannonia.
Carpentum A two-wheeled cart. Due to the congestion of wheeled traffic in the city of Rome, strict limitations were made on all such vehicles. The carpentum was no exception, and only a few very special people could ride in one during daylight hours. These included Vestal Virgins, priests on special days, and women of great distinction.
Carpi A sizeable group of free Dacians who lived outside of DACIA after the conquest of their homeland by TRAJAN in the early second century The Carpi led waves of barbarians who molested the Roman province throughout the third century and eventually regained much of their old lands in 271 c. e.
Carrhae Town in Mesopotamia, south of Edessa; site of the crushing defeat of crassus (1) at the hands of the Parthians in 53 b. c.e. In 217 C. E., Emperor caracalla was assassinated near here, and in 296, galerius faced a setback on the same site, in his campaign against the Persians.
The battle that took place in early May of 53 b. c.e., between the forces of the Triumvir Marcus Licinius Cras-sus (1) and the army of parthia, under the command of General surenas, was one of the worst defeats ever inflicted on the Roman legions.
In 55 b. c.e., the Parthians were being torn apart by internal conflict. The sons of phraates iv, Orodes and Mithridates, had murdered their father in 57 b. c.e. and were warring against each other. Orodes forced Mith-ridates to flee to Syria. Its Roman governor, Aulus gabi-nius, provided troops, and Mithridates marched back to Parthia, but was defeated and died in 54 b. c.e. Crassus sensed an opportunity to conquer the parthians while this internal disorder worked to his advantage. Despite the opposition of many in the Senate, the triumvir set out, crossing the Euphrates in late spring of 53 b. c.e. with about seven legions, cavalry, and auxiliaries totaling approximately 36,000 men. His lieutenants were his son, Publius crassus, and the future assassin CASSIUS. Orodes gave command of his Parthian forces to General Surenas. His units were smaller in number than the Romans, but the Parthian cavalry, legendarily accurate bowmen, gave surenas a distinct superiority.
With ample room to encircle the enemy, Surenas ambushed the Romans in the arid region of carrhae. Responding in the traditional manner, Crassus’s troops formed into a square. Publius was dispatched on a charge at the enemy to ensure enough time to dress the line completely Surenas, however, cunningly withdrew as Publius pursued him. Isolated from the main body, the detachment was cut to pieces, and Publius literally lost his head. The remaining Parthians rode across Crassus and his men, raining down arrows on their heads. That night crassus withdrew, abandoning 4,000 wounded to certain death. The Parthians continued their pursuit, and, with discipline collapsing under the heat of the Mesopotamian sun, Crassus was forced to agree to negotiations. He was killed during a meeting with Surenas, and his entire force was slaughtered. Crassus’s death was never fully explained. PLUTARCH argued that a Parthian, Pomaxathres, killed him, but Dio wrote that a servant stabbed him to avoid his capture. Surenas sent his head to Orodes and held a mock triumph with a Roman prisoner named Gaius Paccianus dressed to resemble Crassus.
Carrhae was a disaster of monumental proportions. Only 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers returned to Syria. Another 10,000 had been captured while the rest had died horribly. Parthia had destroyed one of the armies of the triumvirate and had gained the eagles of the fallen legions. No revenge was forthcoming from Rome, embroiled in its CIVIL wars, nor until the time of AUGUSTUS was any treaty made with the Parthians to return the symbols of legionary power.
Carthage Major city on the Mediterranean coast of AFRICA, at the tip of a peninsula near modern Tunis; eventually the capital of the Roman province of AFRICA pro-
CONSULARIS. For centuries Carthage had stood as the great rival to Rome. But after the conquest of the city in 146 B. C.E. by the Roman military leader Scipio Aemilianus, its walls were destroyed, and only a ruin identified its location. Carthage remained in this devastated condition for 30 years, until late in the second century b. c.e., when colonists began to repopulate the region. These inhabitants could reclaim the city only partially. Julius caesar sent more colonists to Carthage and launched an extensive rebuilding program in 44 b. c.e. Emperor Augustus, sometime around 29 b. c.e., continued the improvements. The proof of his success was documented with the fact that during his reign the capital of the province was moved from Utica to Carthage.
From that point on the city established its dominance over all of Africa. The only legion in Africa outside of Egypt was placed under the proconsul there, a policy changed by gaius caligula in 37 c. e.; he established the III Augusta Legion under a separate legate. This legion moved farther west in 200 c. E. to become part of the African province of numidia. The economic health and the relative security of Carthage made the presence of a legion there unnecessary Roads brought all of the major communities and outposts of the province right to the gates of the city. The economic base of the region was agricultural, and Carthage was able to provide the manufactured wares. Rome took much of the wealth of Africa for its own treasury, but enough remained in Carthage for massive construction programs and extensive building.
Little of the city survived the empire, but those sites uncovered as ruins show a major effort at Romanization of the territory The best example of such Romanization is the Antonine baths. Built between 145 and 162 c. e., they rivaled the Baths of Caracalla in size and in architectural beauty. Carthage thus reflected the growing importance of Africa to the empire. Annually the region exported some 500 million tons of corn to Rome. The schools of Carthage, especially those dedicated to law, produced advocati (courtroom lawyers) of considerable skill.
In 238 c. e., GORDIAN i, the governor of Africa, proclaimed himself emperor from his seat at Carthage. capellianus, the governor of Numidia, who was loyal to Emperor maximinus, marched on Carthage to dispute the claim. Though the citizens of the city remained loyal to Gordian and his son, they could not prevent their defeat. In 308, the prefect of Africa, Domitius Alexander, also revolted against Rome, threatening the imperial corn supply MAXENTIUS sent the Praetorian prefect Rufus VOLU-SIANUS to crush the rebels, and he not only defeated them but also sacked and pillaged the city in the process. Constantine rebuilt Carthage in the 320s.
CHRISTIANITY became entrenched successfully in Africa after 180 c. e., but persecution followed. tertul-LIAN was one of the first writers to detail the persecution and survival of the church in Africa. His successor proved a brilliant leader of the Christians; cyprian, who became bishop of Carthage, carried on the propagation of the faith in the face of outrages committed at the order of Emperor decius in the mid-third century.
Carthage proved a center of dogmatic controversy as well. Disagreements between the Carthaginian presbyters and the Roman Church surfaced. Augustine proved a powerful spokesman for orthodoxy, but the city was receptive to the heretical movements of the fourth and fifth centuries. The Donatists (see donatus and donatism) differed with Rome, and the church thus split apart. pelagius and his theories next surfaced in the region. Pope zosimus assembled a large council on May 1, 418, in Carthage, to bring about the end of Pelagian-ism there. His successor, celestine, further crushed the movement but also listened to the Carthaginian presbyter, Apiarius, in his complaints about his fellow Christian clerics.
In 429, the vandals led by geiseric invaded Africa. On October 19, 439, Carthage fell. Geiseric made the city his capital. Old landholders were stripped of their property and reduced to serfdom. More importantly, with an air of total independence, the Vandal kingdom elevated the status of arianism. The orthodox Christian creed and clergy were abolished.
Cartimandua (fl. mid-first century c. e.) Queen of Britain’s Brigantes
Her client status with Rome preserved her power for a time but eventually cost Cartimandua the kingdom. Following the conquest of southern Britain in 43 C. E., she opted for a treaty relationship. The Romans, who were always eager to nurture buffer client states, agreed. For the most part both sides remained faithful to the agreement.
In 51, the rebel King Caratacus fled to Cartimandua, but she offered him up to the Romans. Anti-Roman sentiment, however, grew to such an extent that her own marriage was threatened. Venutius, her husband, broke with her, and direct intervention by Rome was required on two occasions, between 52 and 57, to keep her on the throne.
She finally divorced Venutius and married Vellocatus, resulting in a Brigantian revolt. The brigantes sent Cartimandua into exile in 69. With Rome involved in its own civil war, help was not immediately forthcoming, although the queen was eventually given a haven and sanctuary. Rome’s best ally in Britain having fallen, however, Vespasian eventually sent Petillius cerealis to crush the Brigantes.
Carus, Marcus Aurelius (d. 283 c. e.) Roman emperor from 282 to 283
Probably from Narbo in Gaul, Carus rose through the ranks until 276, when he was elevated to prefect of the praetorian guard by Emperor probus. He remained loyal to his imperial master in 282, even when the troops mutinied against protracted and harsh service conditions. Commanding the legions in the province of Raetia, while Probus was away preparing for another campaign, Carus tried to prevent his own elevation to the throne by the disgruntled legions. When even the detachment sent to him by Probus defected to his cause, Carus had little choice in the matter. Mercifully, Probus died at the hands of his own men, sparing the nation a civil war. The senate was informed but not asked for its blessing, as the days of such influence were long past. Carus accepted the throne and arranged for the deification of Probus.
A dynasty seemed to be developing with the accession of Carus, as he had two able sons, carinus and numerian. Both received the title of Caesar; Carinus ruled the West, and Numerian campaigned with his father. The sarmatians and quadi were pushing across the Danube into Pannonia, and Carus crushed them in the field, slaughtering thousands. Early in 283, he and Numerian, along with the prefect of the Guard Arrius aper, marched east against the Persians. Seleucia fell and then Ctesiphon, the nation’s capital. Mesopotamia was recovered and restored to the Romans, and Carus assumed the title of Parthicus Maximus. At the behest of Aper, another war in the East was planned.
Mysteriously, the night following a violent storm near Ctesiphon, Carus was found dead in his bed. Accounts vary as to the nature of his demise. Disease may have taken its toll, though lightning was blamed by others. Aper, who already called himself Numerian’s father-in-law, may have had something to do with Carus’s passing. Numerian did not long survive his father.
Casca, Gaius (d. after 44 b. c.e.) Tribune in Rome in 44 B. C.E.
Casca issued a public statement to the effect that he was not in any way related to the other Gaius Casca, one of the assassins of Julius Caesar. He claimed to be a supporter of Caesar and was justifiably worried after Gaius Helvius cinna, who had been mistaken for another of Caesar’s assassins, Lucius Cornelius cinna, was murdered. Casca’s disavowal spared him from death.
Casca, Servilius (d. 42 b. c.e.) One of the assassins of Julius Caesar in 44 b. c.e.
It was said that Casca struck the first blow. Octavian (Augustus) allowed him to serve as tribune in 43 b. c.e., but when the future emperor marched on Rome, Casca fled the city. After the battle at philippi, Casca killed himself to avoid punishment.
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