B. c.e.) Brother-in-law of Gaius Maecenas by his sister Terentia
Murena earned the dislike of Emperor Augustus by his forceful, disrespectful, and loud manner. In 22 b. c.e., he supposedly joined a plot to assassinate Augustus. The conspiracy was discovered, and Murena, without a trial, was put to death. Gaius Maecenas felt that such a sentence by a regime noted for its clemency was severe. Murena’s execution was one of the causes for the decline in friendship between Maecenas and Augustus.
Mursa Major Site in modern Croatia where a battle was fought in 351 C. E. between Emperor Constantius II and the usurper Magnentius. Mursa Major (modern Dsi-jek, Yugoslavia) was one of the bloodiest battles in Roman history By 351 the temporary peace between the emperor of the East and Magnentius was at an end. Magnentius, hoping to seize the initiative, gathered his army, including Germanic contingents and totaling around
100,000 men, and entered Noricum to confront Constantius in Illyricum. Constantius, with a like number of troops, accepted battle near Altrans, and received a setback. He retreated, making an offer of an armistice, which was rejected by his opponent.
Seeking to finish off Constantius, Magnentius pushed eastward from Aquileia into Illyricum. By skillful maneuvering he placed his legions behind a surprised Constantius who turned at bay Organizing quickly, the Eastern emperor put to use his superior cavalry. His horsemen crushed Magnentius’s right flank, bringing a decisive victory, but only after an entire day of slaughter. Both sides lost nearly 30,000 casualties each. Magnentius withdrew to Aquileia. Mursa Major proved the devastating effect of massed heavy cavalry, an omen of the terrible battles to come with the barbarians. Further, the 60,000 dead were irreplaceable, at a time when the Roman Empire would need every soldier that it could find.
Music The Romans brought considerable enthusiasm to the pursuit of music but little creative ingenuity. The Latin flute was a Roman product, but all else was inherited from the Etruscans or borrowed from the Greeks. Etruscan composition was based heavily on the flute, so much so that subsequently the Romans made it their principal instrument. King Numa established a guild of flutists, which was used at all public sacrifices. Diversity arrived shortly after the Punic Wars, as Greek culture gained ascendancy in Rome and Italy, introducing stringed instruments. Greek music became very popular, joined by the dance.
Although musical training was part of the education of most Roman youths, the actual performance of the music was always considered a profession suited to foreigners or the lower classes. Slaves, freedmen, and members of the base levels of the social strata were responsible for the preservation of music invariably Greek in taste. They performed at the houses of the wealthy, powerful, and noble, or at concerts that were very popular at the start of the empire. At games (lUDl) and gladiatorial contests, musicians very often provided introductory music or intermission entertainment. A considerable change in the status of music took place during the reign of Nero. He not only fancied himself as a brilliant musician but also patronized the art, staging lavish contests for musicians on the Greek model. Here the emperor would sing, winning every competition easily. His personal involvement left an excellent picture of the harpists of the era. There was a specific form of dress, as well as strict rules of etiquette. A musician, especially a singer, could not clear his throat. Perspiration was to be wiped away only by his own arm, and handkerchiefs were forbidden. Also, no sweat was allowed to drip from the nose of a performer.
It would not have been surprising if the Romans had no desire to hear another note after the tyrannical demonstrations of Nero (trapping people in buildings for days to hear his feeble plays; special gifts to the Greeks). Nevertheless, Domitian ordered an Odeum to be constructed on the Campus Martius, to house his various musical extravaganzas, especially his own musical festival, held first in 86 C. E. and every four years subsequently.
Musonianus, Strategius (fl. fourth century c. e.) Imperial minister who made himself useful to both Constantine the Great and Constantius II
Originally called only Strategius, he was a Christian and learned in Greek and Latin. He earned the name Musoni-anus while aiding Constantine in various ecclesiastical matters. His career blossomed under Constantius, and at the Council of Sardica in 343 he was the emperor’s representative, holding the rank of COMES (count). By 353 he had probably served as proconsul of Constantinople and as proconsul of Achaea, where, through his influence, the famed orator Libanius was offered the chair for rhetoric at the university In 354 he was promoted to Praetorian prefect of the Orient, serving Gallus Caesar until that prince’s fall later that year. During his time in the East (354-358), Musonianus passed numerous laws, conducted trials and became a friend of Libanius, receiving from him a panegyric. Constantius replaced him in 358 (around August) for having entered into negotiations with the Persians without imperial permission. Musoni-anus retired to Constantinople, where he died before 371. Ammianus Marcellinus wrote that he had a reputation for being mild, well-spoken but bent on amassing wealth.
Mutationes Relay stations situated along the major roads of the empire and used by members of the cursus publicus, or imperial post. A mutatio provided official personnel, such as soldiers and holders of the diploma, the official document of government service, with a change of horses, mules, or oxen. Smaller than the mansiones, the mutationes did not provide food or a bed for a night.
Mutina A town (present-day Modena) in nort h e mItaly that was the site of a battle in 43 b. c.e. Located upon the Via Aemilia in Gallia Cisalpina, its date of founding is uncle ar, except that there was an Etruscan presence, and by the late third century b. c.e. the Romans were using it as a strategic base. In 183 b. c.e. Mutina became a colony, basing its economy on a successful wool industry The town’s most famous moment came in 43 b. c.e. , when it figured prominently in the early stages of the Civil War with a confrontation between Marc Antony and brutus albinus. Following his surprise loss at Forum Galloru m on April 14, 43 b. c.e. , Antony re t u rned to Mutina to keep a watchful eye on Brutus, who was trapped there. He found it necessary to defeat the advancing legions of the Republican cause, under the dying Vibius pansa caetron-IANUS, Aulus HIRTIUS, and Octavian (au gu stu s), to ensure the eventual surrender of the starving Brutus. Thus, on April 21, he gave battle. Despite their excellent central position, Antony’s troops lacked the spirit needed to overcome the enemy, and Hirtius and octavian fought their way through his lines and into his camp, while a sort i e f rom Mutina nearly annihilated Antony and his suddenly trapped arm y. Forced to quit the field, he withdrew his remnant legions to Gallia Transalpina. No pursuit was mounted. Brutus could not do so with hungry units, and only octavian remained as general, as Pansa died of his wounds, joined by Hirtius, who fell in the fray The Senate had won the battle, but lost two consuls in the pro c e s s.
Mysia Large region of north w e s t e mAsia Minor. Mysia was a very ancient land, figuring in the Trojan Wars and, because of its location, active in virtually every era of the history of the Persian Empire and the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Romans occupied Mysia in 133 b. c.e., making it a district of the province of ASIA. I ncluded in its jurisdiction was the major city of pergamum.
World History
