One of the most noted writers and pseudo-mystics of his time, Iamblichus was born in Coele-Syria to a family of Chalcis. Porphyry influenced his education at Rome, where he developed a knowledge of neoplatonism, a subject that he later taught, perhaps at Apamea. lam-blichus earned his fame as both a writer and a mystic. His extant works include a Vita Pythagorae (Life of Pythagoras), a defense of magic (De Mysteriis), several mathematical treaties, a book on rhetoric, and Protrepticus, using other authors. He is reported to have written commentaries on Plato and Aristotle (not extant) and a work on the oracles of Chaldea. As a mystic, lamblichus supposedly possessed the power to perform miracles and to levitate. He displayed an interest in theurgy (supernatural or divine intervention in human affairs), ritualistic magic, and ceremony. He differed with Porphyry in his disdain for Plotinus and his Neoplatonism.
Lazyges Tribe of Sarmatians who settled on the Danube frontier and had dealings with Rome from the first century c. E. They were probably among the first of the Sarmatians to advance from their original homes around the Sea of Azov, being driven westward through southern Russia along the Dnieper. After several migrations the lazyges reached the area along the Danube and the Theiss, where the plains afforded room and the surrounding mountains defense. The lazyges were counted among the client states of the Roman Empire from the time of the Flavians into the third century, with a number of incidents proving that imperial control was not always effective. During Domitian’s wars with
Dacia, the Sarmatians joined their Germanic neighbors in raids followed by a full-scale invasion of Pannonia in 92. They defeated the local legion, the XXI Rapax, and required the personal efforts of the emperor in order to be subdued.
Other battles took place mainly as a result of the general chaos on the borders during the wars of Marcus Aurelius (see marcomannic wars). The lazyges also considered the Dacians as bitter enemies and attempted to seize Dacian territory even when the country had been converted into an imperial province.
Iberia Kingdom in the Caucasus, situated between the Caspian and black seas. It was known for its beauty and fertility, while the Iberians themselves were noted for their civilization, especially when compared to their barbaric neighbors to the north and to the Armenians in the south. Connections were made with the Roman Empire and the Parthians through trade and agriculture. Pompey the Great launched an expedition against the Iberians in 65 B. C.E.; according to the historian Tacitus, the three kingdoms of the region, Albania, Iberia, and Colchis, were protected in the name of Rome. Tiberius later requested Iberian aid against the Parthian King Arta-banus. The domain was still in existence during the reign of Caracalla (211-217 c. e.), when its king Pharasmanes visited Rome. Iberia was frequently confused in the ancient histories with the kingdom of the BOSPORUS, which was also located near the Black Sea.
Icelus (d. 69 c. e.) Freedman of Rome
Icelus was one of Emperor Galba’s former slaves who
Won his freedom as a reward for service and for being a long-time lover of the aging general. He took the name of Marcianus as a free man and became a key adviser to Galba when the general was governor of Hispania Tarra-conensis. According to Suetonius, he may have been imprisoned in Rome just before the fall of Nero, but was released in time to allow the dead ruler to be buried properly and to prepare Rome for Galba’s triumphant arrival. Throughout Galba’s reign, Icelus fought with two important state officers: Cornelius laco and Titus VINIUS. He differed with his rivals on virtually every issue, especially that of the succession. When Icelus was unable to put forward a candidate, Piso was named Galba’s heir (Laco’s choice). Otho then conspired to take the throne, and Icelus was included on his list of condemned. He died by public execution.
Iceni A leading tribe of Britain (britannia), living in the far northeast (modern Suffolk and Norfolk); their capital was called Venta Icenorum (Caistor) and was located near Norwich. The Iceni were one of the first allies of Rome, following the invasion of Britain by Claudius in 47 C. E., a decision they regretted almost immediately, as the ruthless and expansionist imperial policy was revealed by the governor appointed in 50 C. E., Publius Ostorius Scapula. The Roman advance into the tribal regions of Britain caused fighting, and the call came from Scapula even to clients of the empire to surrender all weapons. Proud and resenting this dishonor, the Iceni revolted, only to be routed.
Peace returned for the next 11 years as the Iceni king Prasutagus and his wife boudicca ruled their people without major incident. In 61, Prasutagus died, bequeathing his domain to Caesar in the hopes of avoiding annihilation. The Romans jumped at the chance to take over the Iceni lands. Centurions pillaged the kingdom, flogged Boudicca and outraged her daughters. Unable to endure these and other cruelties, the Iceni revolted under the command of the queen. They were eventually defeated by General Suetonius Paulinus, and their territory, conquered by Rome, was added to the province of Britannia.
Ides Name given to the middle day or days of the Roman month. According to tradition, these days were normally placed under the care of the god Jupiter and were celebrated in his name. The one exception of this custom was March, for its Ides was celebrated to honor both Jupiter and Anna Perenna.
See also calendar.
Idumaea District of judaea to the south of Jerusalem, stretching from Gaza to the Dead Sea and including a small part of Arabia Petrae; known in the Old Testament as Edom. Its inhabitants, called Edomites, made incursions into Judea, and for centuries afterward the Jews of
Judaea considered the Edomites to be foreigners, a fact of some importance during the years of the dynasty of Antipater of Idumaea.
It was as Idumaea, the Greek form of Edom, that the region was included in the territory of Roman-occupied Judaea. Idumaea achieved supremacy in Jewish affairs with the rise of antipater of idumaea in the middle of the first century B. C.E. This minister of state became the power behind the throne, propping up the moribund Hasmonaean line. Antipater’s son, herod the great, first served as governor of Galilee and then, in 40 B. C.E., retreated to Idumaea to establish a line of defense against the invading Parthians. His cornerstone of defense was the mountain fortress of masada, the strongest citadel in Palestine.
After Herod died in 4 B. C.E., his vast kingdom was carved up and granted to his sons by Augustus. Archelaus, one heir, received Judaea, Samaria, and Idumaea, where he ruled as an ethnarch. His successor was Agrippa I, whose administration became unpopular, owing to his reputation and to the continued unwillingness of the Jewish people to accept the family of Antipater. In the following years, Idumaea suffered as the Jewish REBELLION (66-70 C. E.) ravaged much of the province. Masada once more proved strategically essential, enduring a long siege.
Ignatius (St. Ignatius) (c. 35-107 c. e.) Bishop of Antioch; one of the earliest Christian martyrs, whose letters on the road to Rome and whose death left an impression on the second-century church and beyond
According to the theologian Origen, Ignatius was the pupil of St. John and the second bishop of Antioch. According to the historian Eusebius, however, he was the third, following Euodius, although Euodius is generally ranked as the first bishop of Antioch. As bishop of Antioch, Ignatius was arrested and sent for execution to Rome. On the way he began writing epistles to the Christian communities, in which he reaffirmed the honors of martyrdom, the greatness of Christ and the need to remain steadfast in the face of unorthodox elements and influences. These letters were the subject of intense scholarly debate during the Middle Ages and in the 19th century
See also Christianity.
Ilerda Spanish city that was the site of a series of battles fought from April to July in 49 B. C.E., between the legions of Julius caesar and the Pompeian generals, Lucius Afranius and Marchus Petreius, in the Civil War of 49-45 B. C.E. After setting out from Italy in March with the declaration, “I am off to meet an army without a leader and when I come back I shall meet a leader without an army,” Caesar hoped to destroy the forces of POMPEY in the West. He trapped Lucius Domitius Aheno-barbus in massilia and then moved on Spain with an army of 37,000. With lightning speed the Caesareans captured the important passes of the Pyrenees ahead of the Pompeians, who withdrew, hoping for a better opportunity to use their 60,000 men to advantage.
Caesar chose to pursue them cautiously and both sides maneuvered, refusing to give battle. Afranius and Petreius were less skilled than Caesar and were soon forced to retreat to Ilerda with their larger legions. Once trapped there, the Pompeians watched as Caesar surrounded the city, cut off the water supply and starved them into submission. On July 2, Ilerda surrendered. Caesar was able to recruit thousands of soldiers as a result, while destroying bloodlessly one of Pompey’s largest field forces. A mere demonstration was all that would be necessary to pacify the rest of Spain.
Illyricum (Dalmatia) Territory stretching from northeastern Italy to Macedonia, and from the Danube along the Moesian border to Epirus. In the days of the Roman Empire this vast region on the east shore of the Adriatic was divided into two provinces: Illyricum (also called Dalmatia) and Pannonia. While pannonia evolved into a major frontier province along the Danube, all of Illyricum provided a land route for imperial trade and communications with Greece and Asia Minor.
Rome’s interest in Illyricum had existed since its first political and economic expansion in the third century B. C.E., when it came into contact with the peoples of the Illyrian kingdom and at the Celticized tribes of the Del-matae. When their pirate activity interfered with Roman shipping, direct intervention resulted in the so-called Illyrian Wars in 228-227 and in 219 b. c.e. In time, the Illyrians became allies of Rome, siding with them against the Carthaginians and especially against Macedonia in the Second Punic War.
Future relations were less pleasant, as another conflict in 168 B. C.E. proved the general supremacy of the Roman army and the fall of the Illyrians. Local destabilization occurred when the Danubian tribes assumed a greater importance in strategic affairs. Several expeditions kept them in line, but the Delmatae remained a major factor, especially at the time of Julius Caesar’s acquisition of the governorship of Illyricum in 59 b. c.e.
Caesar visited Illyricum during the winters of his Gallic Wars, spending time at Aquileia, but his attention was focused on Gaul from 58 to 51, and he left the Illyrians and Delmatae unmolested. Because of their proximity to Pompey’s political bases in Greece, most of the Illyrian tribes fell under Pompey’s influence. When the Civil War erupted between Pompey and Caesar, they sided with the Pompeians, defeating Caesar’s lieutenants in 51 and in 48-47 B. C.E. Furthermore, the Illyrian threat was considered in the planning of the Caesareans for their campaign against Pompey in 49-48, during the civil war, first
TRIUMVIRATE.
Following the defeat of Pompey in 48, Caesar first concluded a peace with the Delmatae but then, in 45-44, unleashed P Vatinius in combat. His successes against the tribe were extended by Octavian (AUGUSTUS) in the years 35-33 B. C.E. These sorties were very limited, however, and aimed solely at certifying Roman ownership of the area. In 27 B. C.E. this mastery was confirmed as Illyricum was added to the provinces of the empire.
The senatorial province status of Illyricum would not last long. Warfare raged across the land as Tiberius fought the Bellum Pannonicum (the Pannonian War) from 13 to 9 B. C.E., in which he seized Pannonia, suppressed the Illyrians and punished the Delmatae. Sometime around 11 B. C.E., Illyricum was proclaimed an imperial province to ease in defense and the provincial administration. Every resource available to the Danubian legions was needed in 6 C. E., when the Delmatae and their neighboring tribes rose up again (see bato [1] and bato [2]). Bitter fighting characterized this three-year struggle in all parts of Illyricum. By 9 C. E., however, the power of the Delmatae was broken, and all resistance shattered. To be certain of this, Augustus divided the large province; henceforth there were Illyricum Superius and Illyricum Inferius, known in the time of Vespasian as Illyricum (Dalmatia) and Pannonia.
As an imperial province, Illyricum was placed under the authority of a legate, who maintained order initially with two legions. His seat was at salona, and the boundary of the province ran from the edge of Italy and the Save River on the north, to Macedonia in the south. In the west was the Adriatic, with Salona on the coast, and to the east was moesia.
The importance of Illyricum rested in its key location on the communication lane from the East to Italy and as a support for the provinces on the ever troubled Danube frontier. Thus, Romanization and pacification proceeded there at an accelerated rate. The legions and their auxiliaries introduced Latin culture. Latin proved supreme over native dialects, and cities slowly replaced the villages and Celtic communities, except in the Dalmatian highlands, where the old ways died slowly. Roads were begun by Augustus and continued by Tiberius, who made Illyricum’s links with Pannonia, Moesia, Macedonia, NORICUM, RAETIA and the Italian city of Aquileia one of the key elements of the Danubian line of defense.
By the middle of the first century C. E., one legion was removed and sent to Moesia. During Domitian’s reign a second was found to be unnecessary. While some garrisons were vital, the process of Romanization created an environment of suitable social harmony.
Legions throughout the empire found the province an excellent source for recruits. Throughout the second century C. E. the tough, intelligent, and reliable Illyrians injected a new vitality into the legions. They became a source of stability in military affairs and formed the principle pool of officers in the third century. This was the final political achievement of Illyricum and, indeed, the growing provinces of the Danube. With the third century came the great crises of economic decline, internal anarchy, and barbarian invasions. Generals emerged as emperors, marching against other generals and usurpers. Few years of Roman history were as black as the middle of the third century, as rulers fell in battle or were overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of the tasks facing them.
The Illyrian and Danubian officers of the army were the ones to stabilize the situation. Claudius ii GOTHicus (268-270), aurelian (270-275), and probus (276-282) were born to Illyrian families, and each helped to repair the damage of war, disease, and financial ruin. More importantly, they laid the foundations for the reign of an emperor born to a poor Dalmatian family, Diocletian.
He redesigned the entire empire, resurrecting its fortunes and setting it upon a path of order that would last for another century. His gift to Illyricum was to retire to his estates at split, near salona. under the new imperial provincial system, Illyricum was included in the diocese of pannonia.
It was unfortunate that a province so influential to the imperial rebirth in the third and fourth centuries should suffer so severely in the fifth. Illyricum was ravaged by the barbarians and also served as the cause of a disagreement between the Eastern and Western Empires. The debate was over jurisdiction, an issue made irrelevant by the demise of the West.
Imagines Masks made of wax and other materials as portraits of deceased Romans; kept by the family and descendants for use in other funeral processions. At the time of a funeral, all imagines were taken from their shrines and given to actors who had been hired for the occasion. During the funeral procession the actors would surround the bier of the corpse, wearing the masks and representing the spirits of those who had gone before. This ceremony was considered essential and socially important to ensure a proper burial.
See also death.
Immunitas The freedom granted to a colony, community, or individual from paying taxes, local or imperial, seeing service in the legions, or performing other required duties. During the time of the Republic, the immunitas was granted by the Senate to many cities as an addition to their libertas. It was also given to allies and to members of the Italian Confederacy. During the period of the empire, the emperor and the senate determined the granting or revocation of the immunitas. Nero, for example, gave it to Greece, along with its freedom, but Vespasian rescinded it. Other cases involved full exemption or temporary declarations. The island of Cos (Kos) was given immunitas by Claudius in 54 c. e. because of its great mythological history and because of the intercession of a native son, Xenophon, who was the imperial physician at the time. Byzantium also received a five-year right to be spared from tribute in order to ease its financial problems. As was obvious, immunitas followed no fixed pattern and could be adjusted to meet the demands of a specific situation. Roman colonies were not immediately included, although they usually benefited from the lUS ITALICUM. Individuals also held immunitas, normally as a result of special status with Rome. Such a person or group would reap the inscribed benefits; depending upon the imperial decree, or lex senatus consultum, such rights could become hereditary.
See also lus latii; taxation; tributum.
Imperator Originally, an honor paid to a general who had won a great victory; later conferred upon the supreme head of the empire. In the days of the Republic, a victorious general received the title with the cheers (SALUTATIO) of his soldiers until he celebrated his triumph. The Senate could also grant such a tribute, as conferred upon Sulla, Pompey, and Julius Caesar. Sulla and Pompey received the honor more than once, and Caesar used it permanently. Augustus was given the title in 29 B. c.E. by the Senate, and it was incorporated into his name and was claimed by his successors, despite the fact that they had no military honors or victories. In 69 c. E., Otho took the throne by assassination, with the acclamation of the Praetorian Guard, and assumed the dignifying title, while Vespasian claimed it for the imperial household. Tradition developed that a ruler was given the imperator for the individual successes of his generals. (Claudius was, by the end of his life, Imperator XXVII.) The title was also claimed by proconsuls and governors. Junius Blaesus, the proconsul of Africa, was the last to hold the position of imperator without royal rank, in 22 c. e. a rebellious general might also use the traditional SALUTATIO of the legions to lay claim to the throne. Imperial coinage remains the best evidence for the title in practice.
Imperial Cult Also, Cult of the Emperors; the systematic religio-political practice of honoring the emperors and the Roman state. Viewing the emperors as divine and worthy of prayers and honors, the cult was of considerable political value, enhancing the status of Rome within the provinces and ensuring the obedience of all imperial subjects. The notion of ruler-worship was pervasive in the ancient world; it was traditionally observed in most Asian nations and exalted to a high degree in Egypt. The Hellenic world followed the custom, adding a pantheon of highly anthropomorphic deities, to the extent that certain royal men were seen as gods. Alexander the Great used such cultic practices, and Ptolemy was deified by his own heir. Initially, the Romans rebelled at such an excess, but Roman generals had become associated with gods and goddesses by the second century B. C.E., after major triumphs. The conquered tribes in the provinces took up the custom of calling the senators of Rome their “saviors” and looked upon them as gods. Pompey the Great, Marc Antony, and Julius Caesar all attained a semidivine status.
AUGUSTUS, however, exploited the full potential of deification of the emperor in order to deal with the expanse of the empire and the diversity of its inhabitants. In Egypt, Greece, and parts of Asia Minor and in Gaul, as well as in Africa, the imperial cult was fostered in the name of Roman et Augustus. Roman supremacy and unity were the result, and out of this early practice came the Cult of the Emperors.
After Caesar’s death in 44 B. C.E., Octavian (Augustus) officially proclaimed him a god, Divus Julius, and in 27 B. C.E., Octavian received the auspicious title of divi filius. Public holidays henceforth were proclaimed on his birthday, his house was dedicated to Jupiter, and in 12 b. c.e. prayers and oaths were given to him. Finally, his funeral was dramatized as the scene of his resurrection and immorality.
This Imperial Cult evolved along two different paths in the empire. In the East, the Romans were able to adapt to the traditional forms of divine kingship, while in the West, where no such practice existed, Rome invented one. Romans and Italians accepted the cult as part of the Roman state religion, but with little enthusiasm. Throughout Asia, Bithynia, Greece (Achaea and Macedonia) and in most of Asia Minor, temples to the divine Julius and Roma were constructed. At the same time, the koinon, or city assemblies, were joined into concilia to administer the cultic ceremonies and to act as local provincial councils. The concilia in the Asian provinces were granted a wide latitude in the form and style of worship ceremonies. Pergamum, Ephesus, Smyrna, and Tarsus erected the earliest temples to Rome and Augustus and to succeeding rulers and empresses, including Tiberius, Livia, and Hadrian.
In the West, the concilia were used to impress Roman culture upon the subjugated peoples. In Gaul, Britain, along the Danube, and in Germany, the concilia acted as the leading proponents of intensive Romanization. In 12 B. C.E., Drusus the Elder consecrated the altar of Roma et Augustus at LUGDUNUM (Lyons), and from that point on the city was the cult center for the Gallic provinces. Another altar was erected before 4 C. E. in Oppidum Ubio-rum for all of Germania. By the end of the first century more altars appeared in Gallia Narbonensis and in Spain, Africa, Dacia, and throughout the Danubian frontier.
Just as the concilia did not survive the changes of the second and third centuries, the Imperial Cult suffered from the isolation of the emperors from the provinces and the instability of many regions. Local gods became more attractive to the populace in the distant realms of the empire’s Eastern provinces, while the West had been so Romanized that such a cult was superfluous.
Imperium The ancient term used to describe the powers possessed by the supreme administrative authority of the Roman state. Imperium extended to matters of life and death, as well as law, military command, and all decisions of policy. Its bestowal on an individual conveyed a supreme but temporary power. By tradition the first kings of Rome held the imperium, but after their removal and the acceptance of the Republic, such authority passed into the hands of elected officials. Consuls, praetors, and specially chosen officers could be granted the imperium for a set time period, normally one year or the time necessary for the completion of a particular task, such as Pompey’s military commission in 67 b. c.e.
Throughout the Republic, the nature of the imperium evolved. The privileges of such an office might be withheld by dictators such as Sulla, or the amassing of foreign holdings might require that governors be given an imperium to administer their own territories. Such an imperium, however, ceased at the borders of their region, and the imperium had no power within the boundary (pomerium) of Rome itself. In 27 b. c.e., Augustus reformed this system in such a way that he ultimately gained control over the entire Rome Empire when he worked out an agreement with the Senate to divide the Roman world between imperial and senatorial provinces. He retained control, as proconsul, of those regions on the frontier that required legions, extending his imperium outside of Rome and within as well. In 23 b. c.e., when Augustus resigned the consulship, he was allowed to maintain this in perpetuity. At the same time, he was granted control over the imperial provinces above that of the governors (iMPERlUM MAIUS). Augustus was now master of the most important provinces and the very heart of the imperial administration. The imperium was voted to Augustus for five years in 18 and 13 b. c.e., and for 10 in 27 and 8 b. c.e. and in 3 and 13 C. E. Subsequent emperors received their imperium from the Senate upon gaining the throne, although approval was probably pro forma.
Imperium maius Also, maius imperium; a term denoting the special power conferred upon certain individuals to conduct a mission with an authority superior to a governor’s (IMPERIUM proconsulares) in a given region or in the entire empire. During the Republic, the Senate had the exclusive right to grant the imperium maius, but during the empire the rulers not only possessed it in perpetuity but also shared it with the others. Such authority was granted rarely during the Republic, and Pompey was denied the privilege in 57 b. c.e. In 43 b. c.e., however, Brutus and Cassius were given that rank in the East. Augustus was voted the imperium maius in 23 b. c.e. as part of his settlement with the Senate over the division of the Roman Empire (see imperium); Augustus’s maius extended over every province under imperial jurisdiction. On occasion he shared the imperium maius with a reliable lieutenant, such as Marcus Agrippa in 18 b. c.e. and again in 13 B. C.E., when Agrippa traveled to the pannonian area to settle its affairs. Tiberius assumed the imperium maius in 13 C. E. as the designated heir of Augustus. Others granted this power in the first century c. E. were Germanicus in 17 and Corbulo in 63, both assigned to the troublesome East.
Imperium proconsulares A type of the imperium pertaining to the powers of a proconsul in charge of a province. in principle, such an imperium gave a governor administrative control over the territory under his command, with two major restrictions. First, the imperium proconsulare of one proconsul could not be greater than that of any other unless the emperor provided him with a special status (see IMPERIUM maius). Secondly, all authority of the imperium ended when the official crossed the POMERIUM, or the sacred boundary of Rome. Any official visiting Rome was subject to the laws and magistrates of the city.
Incitatus The horse of Emperor gaius caligula. The emperor treated the chariot horse with his usual excesses, allowing him to live in a marble stable, to sleep in an ivory stall and to wear purple blankets and jeweled collars. incitatus was given furniture, slaves, and guards who were ordered to patrol the nearby streets and enforce quiet among the human residents so that the animal could sleep in peace. Caligula frequently had the horse to dinner, feeding him golden barley and toasting his health with golden goblets. He even promised to make incitatus a consul but was assassinated before he could do so.
India Originally, the name applied by the Romans to all the nations of modern Asia, but in time designating the land that carried on extensive trade with the empire. india was known to the Romans from accounts about Darius (the Persian ruler), Alexander the Great, and Seleucus I, all of whom sent embassies or traveled to india personally. inevitably, economic ties developed, as the region possessed many rare, exotic, and fabled items. Trade was disrupted, however, by the rise of the hostile parthian Empire and the attempts by the tribes of Arabia Felix to dominate trade. under the empire, relations with the Parthians improved. The expeditions of aelius gallus, though largely unsuccessful, reduced Arab reluctance to trade, and land routes were improved in the north and south. Aqaba served as a port for these ventures.
In 20 B. C.E., envoys from India arrived in Rome to make overtures of friendship, which resulted in a treaty. According to Dio, the gifts from the indians included tigers, an animal never seen by the Romans, and an armless boy, who performed marvelous feats with his legs and toes, presumable due to a mastery of yoga. For the next two and one-half centuries a lucrative and busy system of exchange was in existence. From india, Rome received spices of a wide variety, silk from China, perfumes and many precious stones and gems. Caligula wore a robe with indian jewels when he crossed his boat bridge at Bauli, and Septimius Severus used an altar adorned with ivory and stones from india in his ostentatious funeral procession for Pertinax in 193 C. E. In return, the Romans sent metals, cloth, glass, and, most importantly, gold, silver, and copper. in fact, so much coinage was exported during the first century C. E. that its effect upon the economy is still debated; one theory argues that this mammoth exportation of currency brought about the third century collapse and played a role in the general demise of the empire two centuries later, which further weakened trade. As the eastern frontiers closed with the rise of the Persian SASSANIDS, the links with India were terminated.
See also silk route; trade and commerce.
Industry The first Roman industry of any significance began in the second century b. c.e. as a result of the Roman victory in the Punic Wars against Carthage. The victory in the war brought expansion of Roman influence over Spain, Greece, and parts of Africa and Asia Minor and the acquisition of cheap labor in the form of slaves and prisoners. The capture of skilled workers made possible the development of key industries in italy that were discovered in other markets of the Mediterranean. Specialization in crafts and industries allowed Roman merchants to become competitive throughout the Hellenic world and in turn facilitated the rise of trade networks that eventually reached to Asia in the first century b. c.e., including China and India. To assist their work, craftspeople and traders formed guilds (collegia). The collegia wielded some influence, but their tendency to involve themselves in politics led to their suppression.
The networks of trade that spread outward from Rome and that grafted themselves onto pre-existing trade routes marked one of the distinguishing characteristics of Roman industry. Industries located on the Roman provinces, ranging from glass and agriculture to metalworking and pottery became so numerous and prosperous that they overshadowed the industries of Italy This decline of Italian industry was hastened by the decision on the part of the later Roman government to depend on provincial industries for needs in weapons, goods, and materials for administration. At the same time, government centralization, increases in taxes, and strict requirements that sons follow their fathers in the family trade, compelled Italian craftspeople to revive the long dormant custom of guilds in the first century C. E. In time, the renewed collegia were able to wrest from the government enough privileges and
An olive press in Pompeii (Courtesy Fr. Felix Just, S. J.)
Economic advantages that the Italian craftspeople were able to protect their work and ensure the survival of many forms of industry after the demise of the Roman Empire in the West.
While collegia played a major role in industrial output, the darker reality of Rome’s craftwork was that in many industries—such as mining—most of the work was performed by slaves or condemned criminals ad metallum (to the mine). Other slaves were used as craftspeople because of their specialized skills. However, the majority of craftspeople were Roman citizens or freedmen who grew up learning their trade at the sides of their fathers and other members of the same craft guilds. The collegia provided a social milieu for craftspeople, ensuring not only employment but funeral services and care for surviving family.
Individual provinces became noted for certain industries, encouraged by both provincial administration and the increasingly centralized imperial bureaucracy. There was metalwork from Gaul, luxury items from the East, and agriculture throughout the West, Egypt, and Africa. Syria profited from its glassmaking and weaving and from its prime location on the trade routes with the East. Spain provided glassware and the mineral needs of most of the empire, including gold, silver, and copper for currency. Individual artisans produced pottery, leather, metal, bricks, glass, and other goods in provincial centers, while the economies of independent cities in Asia, Achaea, and Italy were supervised by the correctores.
Britain and Gaul perhaps best epitomized the blend of imperial and provincial industry In Britain, agriculture and minerals were used locally but were also exported to the Continent. Small industries produced pottery and metalwork for domestic use. The province was thus vital as a self-sufficient entity and as a minor player in the economics of the empire. Because of Gaul’s strategic location as the western gateway to Britain, Spain, and especially Germany, it developed multi-provincial ties. Its agricultural produce fed Germanic legions and the inhabitants of the camps on the Rhine, while workshops and factories pursued traditional Gallic crafts, including woodworking, silversmithing, pottery making, glasswork, and the forging of iron. Gallic pottery was highly regarded throughout the empire. Local commerce provided a smaller, secondary market.
Suggested Readings: Casson, Lionel. Ancient Trade and Society. Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, 1984; D’Arms, John H. Commerce and Social Standing in Ancient Rome. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1981; Duncan-Jones, Richard. Structure and Scale in the Roman Economy. Cambridge, U. K.: Cambridge University Press, 1990; -. The Economy of the Roman
Empire: Quantitative Studies. Cambridge, U. K.: Cambridge University Press, 1982; Finley, M. I. The Ancient Economy. second edition. London: Hogarth, 1985; Frayn, Joan M. Sheep-rearing and the Wool Trade in Italy During the Roman Period. Liverpool U. K.: F Cairns, 1984; Greene, Kevin. The Archaeology of the Roman Economy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.
Informers See delatores.
Ingenuus (fl. third century c. e.) Governor of Pannonia and a usurper in 260
Following the defeat and capture of Emperor Valerian by the Persians, Ingenuus challenged Valerian’s son and successor, Gallienus, and declared himself emperor at Sir-mium with the help of his legions from Moesia. His attempt was short-lived, however, as Gallienus defeated him that same year at the battle of mursa major.
Ingiuomerus (fl. early first century c. e.) Uncle of the chieftain Arminius and a leader of the Cherusci Ingiuomerus acquired a formidable reputation as an enemy of Rome and formed a union with Arminius in 15 C. E. to oppose the advances of the Roman troops of GER-MANICUS. Ingiuomerus lived up to his reputation in battle but was wounded after leading an assault on Germani-cus’s camp. In 16 c. e. both Ingiuomerus and arminius narrowly escaped capture, evading the enemy with the help of their CHERUSCI, who allowed them to get away. The following year the Germans themselves divided as MAROBODUUS struggled with the tribes not under his control. Ingiuomerus deserted his nephew and joined Maro-boduus, sharing in his defeat at the hands of Arminius and the Cherusci and suebi.
Innocent I (d. 417 c. e.) Pope from 401 to 417 Innocent was born at Albano, Italy, and was possibly the son of St. Anastasius I. He served Anastasius as his deacon and was elected his successor on December 21, 401. A pontiff of considerable ability, personal strength, and morality, Innocent proved an important figure in establishing the primacy of the Roman see. He demanded, for example, that all disputes within the church be settled by him, setting important precedents in jurisdiction and authority. In 404, he called for the restoration of St. John Chrysostom as patriarch of Constantinople and later he secured ecclesiastical control over Illyricum, which had passed under Eastern jurisdiction in 388. The heresy of Pelagianism was condemned in 417, and its founder, Pelagius, was excommunicated. Innocent also emerged as a formidable political figure, working to have Emperor Honorius issue decrees against the Donatists. In 410, however, Innocent could not prevent the sack of Rome by the Visigoths, despite his efforts at Ravenna to negotiate a settlement. Returning to Rome in 412 after being spared the horrors of the invasions, his absence was considered providential. Innocent is considered by many historians to be the first pope, with his predecessors who ruled with less authority, being counted as bishops of Rome.
Insula A series of houses formed into blocks of rooms and used in those major cities of the empire where the Italian influence was predominant. In ROME the insula was the main style of living quarters and developed as a response to the crowded population of the capital. Insulae normally had the same outward appearance, that of a tall, square set of floors; within, however, some variety in architectural planning could be exhibited. There might be a large mansion covering many rooms, which could be sublet. By law they were limited in height to 70 feet. Other internal styles included many small apartments; one room or more; even whole floor suites. While insulae were both necessary and inevitable, they contributed to the massive overpopulation of Rome and to its filthy, squalid, tenementlike nature. What was worse, any small fire would quickly spread from one connected insula to anther, as happened in 36 c. e. on the Aventine and, of course, in the great fire of 64. The inhabitants of these buildings had very little hope of escape from such fires because of their height and the poor quality of the structures.
See also domus.
Ionia Famous area of Asia Minor; included in the province of Asia in the Roman Empire. The area occupied the central west coast on the Aegean and included such cities as Ephesus and Smyrna.
See also asia.
Ionian Sea See Adriatic sea.
Ireland See hibernia.
Irenaeus (c. 130-200 c. e.) Bishop of Lyons and one of the first theologians in early Christianity Probably born in smyrna, Irenaeus listened as a boy to the profound Christian message of Polycarp. Subsequently St. Irenaeus studied in Rome, entered the clergy and became a presbyter at Lyons. In 177 he was sent to Rome, narrowly missing the initial persecution of Christians in Lyons, which claimed the local bishop, Pothinus. Irenaeus returned the following year and was chosen to succeed the martyred prelate as leader of the Lyons Christian community, a position that he held until the end of his days. From his see, he served as a defender of orthodoxy in Christian doctrine, composing Adversus omnes Haereses (Against All Heresies), a brilliant attack upon GNOSTICISM. This work was translated from the original Greek into Latin, Armenian, and other languages. He may have suffered martyrdom, a common fate of major figures in the church at that time.
Isaac the Great (St. Sahak) (c. 350-439) Saint and famed katholikos (also catholicos, or head) of the Armenian Church
Isaac was very important in promoting Armenian cultural independence and a sense of national literature. The son of St. Narses, he was a descendant of St. Gregory the Illuminator. Isaac was educated at Constantinople and, after the death of his wife, he became a monk. In 390, he was appointed katholicos of Armenia, the 10th to hold the office. He fostered monasticism among the Armenians, converting his residence into a monastery, and secured the recognition by Constantinople that the Armenian Church had patriarchal rights, thereby freeing Armenian Christianity from the control of the Greeks. Isaac was crucial in organizing a group of scholars, with the help of his auxiliary bishop, Mesrop Mastots, that translated Greek and Syriac works, especially the Bible, into Armenian. It is possible that he also composed Armenian hymns and, perhaps, the Armenian liturgy. Deposed by the Persians in 425, he was able to regain his see in 432 through popular insistence. He is known as St. Sahak in the Armenian Church.
Isauria A region of Asia Minor situated roughly between pisidia and cilicia, to the west of the Taurus Mountains and comprising a part of that range’s western slope. Traditionally the Isaurians were a fierce people, specializing in robbery. They were initially defeated by Lucius Servilius Vatia in 75 B. C.E., their territory subsequently falling under Roman rule. Isauria passed into the jurisdiction first of CAPPADOCIA, but under Antoninus Pius it was given to Cilicia. Two small cities served as the local economic centers: New Isaura and Old Isaura.
Although supposedly subjugated, the Isaurians refused to surrender their old ways. In 6 C. E., they resumed their marauding of surrounding communities and were again defeated. Two centuries later, in the reign of Severus Alexander (c. 222), the Isaurians rose up briefly, continuing to make trouble into the reign of Probus, who had to build a fortress in order to keep them pacified in 278. So resilient did they prove that they were mentioned in 404 c. e. by St. John Chrysostom in his letters from his place of exile in the Taurus Mountains. A campaign had to be mounted and lasted three years (404-407), but was wholly insufficient to stop them.
Emperor Leo found the best way to end their threats. In order to put the Isaurians to constructive use and to counter the same Germanic military influence that overwhelmed the West, Leo recruited native peoples in the East to serve in his army. The Isaurians were probably chosen to fill the ranks of the newly created Palace Guard, the excubitors. Leo married (c. 466) Ariadne, the daughter of Tarasicodissa, a chief of the Isaurians. Tarasi-codissa took the name zeno and played a major role in court politics. In November of 474 he succeeded to the throne when Zeno’s grandson, Leo II, died. The Isaurians, who now controlled the palace, were very unpopular because of their reputations and previous crimes. A palace revolt led by Basiliscus ousted Zeno, who simply retired to Isauria as its king. Basiliscus proved even more unpopular, and in 476, Zeno returned and ruled the empire until 491.
Isidorus See bucolici.
Isis One of the most popular and enduring goddesses of the ancient world. Isis was originally one of the great deities of Egypt. She was the sister and consort of Osiris, and put him together after he had been dismembered by his evil brother, Set. She was later impregnated by the dead Osiris, giving birth to Horus, who took revenge upon Set.
Isis evolved as a fertility goddess and as a universal Mother figure. By the second century B. C.E., traders and sailors were carrying her cultic influences throughout the known world. Within the Greek domains Isis became identified with Demeter, her statues assuming the usual Grecian motif. They soon appeared in the cities of Africa, Asia Minor, and Spain. Before long she arrived in Italy and entered Rome toward the end of the Republic.
Popular resistance to foreign cults had always been a part of the Roman makeup (see apollo and cybele), but Isis was more successful than other deities. Her followers moved from Pompeii, and sometime before 50 b. c.e. a temple in her honor was erected in Rome. The great moment of Roman acceptance came in the reign of Gaius caligula, who built a large temple to her in the campus Martius. She thus earned the title of Isis Campensis.
As was true of most of the highly popular cults in the Roman Empire, the temple of Isis offered elaborate ceremonies and complex mysteries. Her highly disciplined priests, dressed in white linen garments, performed beautiful rituals, accompanied by music. A well organized spiritual structure made Isis’s devotional doctrines even more exciting and easily propagated. Isis endured for many centuries, replaced only by the Madonna of christian belief. An interesting example of the Hellenization of Isis is found in a novel of the late first century C. E., by Xenophon of Ephesus. He combined the character of Apollo and Isis into one story of two lovers who evade hardships through her constant intervention.
See also religion.
Issus Small town, near the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean, where a battle was fought in 194 c. E. between the legions of Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger for control of the Eastern provinces of the empire. After assuming the purple in Rome in 193, Severus, with his Pannonian legions, passed into Asia Minor, winning the battles of CYZICUS and nicaea. By 194, Severus was marching toward Syria, when Niger himself arrived with reinforcements.
The location of this final confrontation was the same as at that historic battle of 333 b. c.e. between Alexander the Great and Darius the Persian. Just as earlier, the invader, Severus, was outnumbered by his opponents, for Niger possessed a vast host. While Niger commanded his troops personally, however, Severus entrusted his troops to P. cornelius Anullinus.
According to the historian Dio, the battle initially favored Niger because of his superior numbers and would have gone against the Severans had a storm not erupted. Lightning struck and rain drenched the field. Niger’s troops were more adversely affected because of the wind. unable to overcome both nature and the enemy, these troops began a retreat that quickly degenerated into a rout. Some 20,000 soldiers died on Niger’s side as Severus proved triumphant. Niger tried to flee but was slain outside of Antioch. Severus could now turn his attention to Clodius Albinus, his opponent in the West.
Istria Also called Histria; a land at the north of the Adriatic, between venetia on the Timavus River and ILLYRICUM on the Arsia. The Istrian territory extended into the Julian Alps. The Istri were reputed to be a fierce, warlike and territorially possessive people. They resented the founding of aquileia by the Romans, and war was common until c. claudius Pulcher defeated them in 177 B. C.E. Although there would be small insurrections in the future, Istria became part of the important province of ITALIA, and Aquileia served as the largest port on the Adriatic.
Italia Homeland of the Romans, for centuries distinguished by special status, honors, and rights. originally, “Italia” referred only to the southern half of the peninsula, where the Italians or Vitalians resided. In succeeding years, however, the territorial possessions of the Romans increased so greatly that by the time of the empire, “Italy” stretched from Sicily to the alps, including the once barbarian gallia cisalpina.
Although the Romans came to dominate the Mediterranean and beyond, Italia itself was not easily acquired and was composed of numerous peoples, some never fully assimilated, and a complex internal social strata. Indeed, the final organization and pacification of Italy did not occur until the late first century b. c.e. Even then, many tribal complexes remained. The oldest people known to ancient tradition were the Pelasgians or Siculi, who came from a Greek line and could be called the first inhabitants. More famous were the Etruscans, who mastered the lands between the Tiber and the Alps. There were also the Umbrians, the Latini, Sabines, Apulians, and a host of smaller clans, including the Volsci, Baeligni, Marsi, Hernici, and Sallentini. Far to the south there lived as well Greek colonists. All were defeated and subjugated by the Romans through many wars.
In recognition of the tapestry of Italia’s cultures, Augustus, in 27 b. c.e., established a system of 11 districts:
I. Campania and Latium
II. The region of Calabria, Apulia, and the Hirpini
III. Lucania and Bruttium
IV Samnium (The region of the Marsi, Frentani, Marrucini, Paeligni, Vestini, and Sabines)
V. Picenum
VI. Umbria
VII. Etruria
VIII. Gallia Cispadana
IX. Liguria
X. Eastern Gallia Traspadana, Venetia, Istria (Aquileia), and Carnia
XI. Western Gallia Transpadana
ROME was excluded from the jurisdiction of the districts. All land within Italia benefited from the full protection of law and participated in the lUS italicum. Such advantages allowed inhabitants to live in considerable prosperity but fostered economic expansion as well.
Since the second century b. c.e., Italy had grown from a primitive country to the leading financial power in the empire. Its industries enjoyed a monopoly in the first century C. E., and its merchants controlled trade everywhere. Equally, Italia was blessed with abundant beauty, agricultural goods, and a fortunate location. Exports included metalworks from CAMPANIA, silver from CAPUA, and pottery from PUTEOLI, Cumae, and Campania. If Rome was the political center of the world, Italy was the industrial one. Wealth allowed the cities of POMPEII, Capua, AQUILEIA, and others to achieve considerable prestige. The villa system of the Republican age endured, as well as the great figures of the time who built these retreats from the world. They fled to luxurious estates in Campania, at bauli, and baiae, and life throughout the region was generally good.
In the second century C. E. Italia’s status changed. The decline of the region was rooted in numerous events, all of which reflected upon the state of the empire itself. Economic decentralization threatened Italian supremacy, peace in Asia and Africa reduced the number of slaves and cheap labor available for Italia’s industries, and thousands of Italians had departed for better lives in the colonies, bringing a crisis of depopulation. No longer were the Roman legions Italian, and by the second century, even the emperors were of foreign birth.
Most serious of all was the philosophy of the central imperial government that the Roman Empire was a united fabric of provinces. Hadrian had already set a wider perimeter by traveling for most of his long reign (117-138 C. E.) to the cities of the West, the East, and of Africa. Economic production elsewhere was encouraged. COLOGNE soon made better glassware, Africa better lamps, and the Gallic artisans proved superior in pottery and metal goods. Sensing the need to respond to the demands of a new era, the cities in northern Italia, Aquileia, and Mediolanum (Milan), adapted to meet the needs of new markets in Raetia, Noricum, Pannonia, and Illyricum, and thus survived by supplying wine, glass, and weapons to the legions on the Danube. Southern Italia showed no such initiative. Ominously, the north suffered a prefiguring of the fifth century when, around 170 C. E., the QUADI and marcomanni burst across the Danube and besieged Aquileia while ravaging parts of Gallia Transpadana and Istria.
Caracalla (ruled 211-217 C. E.) then dealt two crushing blows to Italian pride. He appointed the financial officers of the state, the curatores, to the cities of Italia. Each CURATORE supervised the finances of a municipality, determining if the funds were being used properly. The passing of the Constitutio Antoniniana ended Italia’s unique legal and social status forever by granting citizenship to every inhabitant of the empire. Under the next emperors and throughout the third century C. E., the duties of the CORRECTORES expanded as their jurisdiction came to encompass geographical boundaries instead of legal matters only.
DIOCLETIAN, however, was responsible for the administrative decline. In reorganizing the provinces of the empire circa 300 C. E., Italia was declared part of the diocese of Italiae, under the governorship of two vicarii, one in the north and the other in the south. Aside from the loss of prestige, tax rights, and political independence, Italia suffered as well by being ignored by both Diocletian and his eventual, powerful successor, Constantine the GREAT. Diocletian refused to live in Rome, preferring Nicomedia, and visited Italy only in 303, after he had
Been on the throne for 20 years. Constantine, born in Serbia, conquered the Italians in 312 when he defeated MAXENTIUS at the MILVIAN BRIDGE, but he chose Serdica as his initial headquarters before building his new capital, CONSTANTINOPLE. This city on the Bosporus became the heart of the empire.
Italy remained the home of the emperors of the West, who lived in Rome, Mediolanum (Milan), and eventually RAVENNA. Such attractions drew the VANDALS and the HUNS, who poured into the province. With the fall in 476 C. E. of ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS at the hands of ODOACER, the barbarian king, Italia came under the rule of foreigners.
See also colonies, etruria, Herculaneum, pompeii, TIBER, UMBRIA, VESUVIUS, viae.
Suggested Readings: Clarke, J. R. Houses of Roman Italy 100 B. C.E.—C. E. 250. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991; Clayton, Peter Treasures of Ancient Rome. New York: Random House, 1986; Grimal, Pierre. Roman Cities. Translated and edited by G. Michael Woloch. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1983; Harris, William V. Rome in Etruria and Umbria. Oxford, U. K., Clarendon Press, 1971; Neeve, P W de. Peasants in Peril: Location and Economy in Italy in the Second Century b. c.e. Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben, 1984; Potter, T. W Roman Italy. London: British Museum Publications, 1987; Salmon, Edward Togo. The Making of Roman Italy. Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press, 1982.
Italicus (fl. mid-first century C. E.) Son of the Cheruscan Prince Flavius and a Chatti princess, and nephew of the famous leader of the German Cherusci, Arminius
Italicus was born in Rome, as his father had been unable to return home because of his loyalties to the Romans. In 47 C. E., CLAUDIUS gave Italicus an escort and gold, sending him to take over the vacant throne of the cherusci. A civil war had decimated the aristocracy, and Italicus was welcomed initially as a suitable chieftain. However, his imperial associations made the establishment of a permanent sovereignty difficult, for elements in the Cherusci refused to accept him. A battle ensued, and Italicus and his followers were victorious. For a number of years he remained the head of the tribe, but, growing arrogant, he was eventually expelled. With the aid of the LANGOBARDI, Italicus returned but reigned as a notoriously bad king.
Mon throughout the empire and could often be consulted in libraries.
It is likely that itineraries were first developed in early Roman history, but the surviving examples date from the first century c. E. A few notable examples have survived, but the most notable is the Itinerarium Antonini-anum, also called Itinerarium Provinciarum Antonini Augusti (Antonine itinerary). Dating probably to the late third century, the Itinerarium Antoniniarum collected 225 routes, mainly for troop movements, along the major roads of the empire. It offers details on where to stop at mansiones along the routes of the cursus publicus, with a variety of proposed intineraries, although there is clear information on the shortest route that might be taken between two locations. The longest route described is that between Rome and Egypt and was perhaps included in the plan of Emperor Caracalla’s proposed journey to Egypt in 214-15. Included with the Itinerarium Antonini-anum was the Imperatoris Antonini Augusti itinerarium maritimum, an itinerary on sea travel.
The Ravenna Cosmography, a compilation by an 11th-century monk that was originally the work of a cleric in Ravenna around 700, made use of earlier Roman documents from as far back as the fifth century. It provides a list of stops, river names, and other information for travelers. Copy errors are abundant, however.
In the later empire, itineraria were created to provide Christian pilgrims with maps and routes to the holy city of Jerusalem. Among the best known of these are the Itinerarium Burdigalense sive Hierosolymitanum (Jerusalem or Bordeaux itinerary) and the Peregrinatio Aetheriae (Journey of Aetheriae). The Bordeaux itinerary gives details to pilgrims journeying from Bordeaux to Jerusalem, with stops at Milan, Constantinople, and Antioch and with an alternate return route home. The text offers descriptions, annotations, and distances between the sites. The Peregrinatio Aetheriae, also called the Itinerarium Ege-riae, dates to 400 and is an account of a nun who made a pilgrimage to the East, with visits to Constantinople, Egypt, and Edessa. The nun wrote the book for her fellow sisters in Hispania. Aside from its great value in terms of Roman cartography and travel, the Peregrinatio also preserves details on the liturgical life of the Holy Land during the period, as well as examples of Late and Vulgar Latin.
See also NOTITIA DIGNITATEM and PEUTINGER TABLE.
Italy See italia.
Itineraria Maps or guides that provided lists of stations along a road, distances to various points, and other useful information that might be of value to the Roman traveler. The itinerarium was the land equivalent of the periploi, which provided similar details for ocean travel. Carved on stone or bronze tablets, or written on papyrus or parchment, the intineraria were quite com-luga The Roman name for JUNO, as the goddess of marriage.
Ius civile Roman civil law. The ius civile denoted the laws, statutes, and regulations governing Roman citizens, which were different from those applied to foreigners (the lUS gentium). In the first century b. c.e., scaevola organized the ius civile into a mammoth collection of 18 books, while Servius Sulpicius a short time later amassed the sum of Roman legalism into 180 books. The ius civile was frequently amended and clarified by the edicts of the PRAETORS and by the jurists throughout the era of the empire.
World History
