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Latin

Specialty Definition: Latin

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Specialty Definition: Catholicism

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Catholicism, from the Greek katholikos (καθολικος), meaning "general" or "universal", is a religious name applied to two strands of Christianity. In its general sense it is used by mainstream Christians who believe that they can claim to be part of the Apostolic Succession, in other words that they can claim a direct continuing link back to the early church of the Apostles.

In its narrower sense, it is used to refer to the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, the largest of the Christian denominations, or group of denominations, whose distinguishing characteristic is their acceptance of the authority of, and communion with, the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, and who accept his authority on matters of faith and morals, and his assertion of "full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church." [1] This denomination is often referred to as the Roman Catholic Church. Most people, both in and outside the Church, simply use the "Catholic Church" to refer to the Roman Catholic Church, even though there are other "Catholic" churches.

Meaning of "Catholicism"

The Creeds & Catholicism

The word Catholic appears in the main Christian creeds (prayer-like definitions of belief), notably the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed. Christians of most denominations, including most Protestants, affirm their faith in "one holy catholic and apostolic Church." This belief refers to their belief in the ultimate unity of all churches under one God and one Saviour. However in this context the word Catholic is used by such believers in a definitionary sense (i.e. universal), not as the name of a religious body. In this usage it is usually written with a lower-case c, while upper-case C refers to the sense discussed in this article.

Catholicism

The majority of Christian faiths do not describe themselves as "Catholic". In Western Christianity the principal faiths who regard themselves as "Catholic", beside the Roman Catholic Church, are the Old Catholic Church, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, and some elements of Anglicanism ("High Church Anglicans" or "Anglo-Catholics"). These groups hold beliefs and practice religious rituals similar to Roman Catholicism, but differ substantially from Roman Catholicism on the issue of the Bishop of Rome's status, power and influence.

The several churches of Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy consider themselves to be the catholic church, in the general, universal sense of the word. The Orthodox churches generally see the Latin "Catholics" as being heretical schismatics who left the "true catholic and apostolic church" (See, Great Schism). The patriarchs of Eastern Orthodoxy are autocephalous bishops, which roughly means that each of them is independent of the direct oversight of another bishop; or, put another way, these Christians are not in communion with the Pope and do not recognise his claim to be the head of the universal Church as an earthly institution. There are also Eastern Rite Catholics whose liturgy is similar to that of the Orthodox, and also allow married men to be ordained as priests, but who recognize the Roman Pope as the head of their church.

Some groups call themselves Catholic but are questionably so: for instance the Liberal Catholic Church, which originated as a breakaway group from the Old Catholic Church, but incorporated so much theosophy that it had little doctrinally in common with Catholicism anymore.

Roman Catholicism

The main and largest Catholic denomination is the "Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church", more commonly known as the "Roman Catholic Church". It is so named because its adherents are all in communion with the Pope and Bishop of Rome, and most parishes follow the Roman or Latin Rite in worship, although there are other rites.

In casual usage, when people speak of "Catholics" or "Catholicism," they usually but not always mean Roman Catholicism.

Anglo-Catholicism

The Anglican Communion, though one church, is in practice divided into two wings, "High Church Anglicans" also called the Anglo-Catholics and "Low Church Anglicans" also known as the Evangelical wing. Though all elements within the Anglican Communion recite the same creeds, Low Church Anglicans treat the word Catholic in the creed as a mere older word for universal, High Church Anglicans treat it as a name of Christ's church to which they, the Roman Catholic Church and others in the Apostolic Succession all belong.

Anglo-Catholicism holds beliefs and practice religious rituals similar to Roman Catholicism. The similar elements include a belief in seven sacraments, Transubstantiation as opposed to Consubstantiation, devotion to the Virgin Mary and saints, the description of their ordained clergy as "priests" - addressed as "Father" - the wearing of vestments in church liturgy, sometimes even the description of their Eucharistic celebrations as Mass. Their main source of difference with Roman Catholicism on the issue of the Bishop of Rome's status, power and influence. The development of the Anglo-Catholic wing of Anglicanism occurred largely in the nineteenth century and is strongly associated with the Oxford Movement. Two of its leading lights, John Henry Newman and Henry Edward Manning, both ordained Anglican clergymen, ended up joining the Roman Catholic Church, becoming cardinalss.

Though Catholicism as a term is generally taken to mean Roman Catholic, many Anglo-Catholics use the term to refer to them also, as part of the general (and not just Roman) Catholic Church. Indeed some Anglican churches, for example, St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, the "National Cathedral" of the Anglican Church of Ireland, refers to itself as part of the "Catholic Communion" and as a "Catholic Church" in notices in and around it.

History and Influence

The early Christian church became organized under five patriarchs, the bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople and Rome. The Bishop of Rome was recognized by the Patriarchs as "the first among equals," though his status and influence increased when Rome was the capital of the empire, with doctrinal or procedural disputes often referred to Rome for an opinion. But when the capital moved to Constantinople, his influence dwindled. While Rome claimed an authority descending from St. Peter (who died in Rome and was regarded as the first pope¹) and St. Paul, Constantinople had become the residence of the Emperor and the Senate. A series of complex difficulties (the fact that the bishop of Rome did not accept the emperor's claim of supremacy in ecclesiastical matters, doctrinal disputes, disputed Councils, and the evolution of the separate rites) led to the split in 1054 which divided the Church into the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East (Greece, Russia and much of the Slavic lands, Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, etc.); this is called the Great Schism. (Conversely, most Eastern Orthodox believe the split arose because the other patriarchs failed to recognize the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome in ecclesiastical matters, particularly regarding the addition of the filioque clause to the Nicene Creed.)

The next major split of the Catholic Church occurred in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation, during which many of the Protestant (protesting) denominations were formed.

Structure and Practice of the Roman Catholic Church

Organization by Office

Structurally Roman Catholicism is one of the world's most centralised religious faiths. Its head, the Pope, a quasi-absolute monarch, rules for life from Vatican City, an independent state in the centre of Rome known also in international diplomacy as the Holy See. He is selected by an elite group of Princes of the Church called Cardinals. The Pope alone selects and appoints all clergymen in the Church above the rank of priest. All members of the hierarchy are answerable to the Pope and to his papal court, called the Curia. Popes exercise what is called Papal Infallibility, that is the right to define definitive statements of Roman Catholic teaching on matters of faith and morals. In reality, since its declaration in the First Vatican Council in 1870, papal infallibility has only definitively been used once, by Pope Pius XII in the 1950s.

The Pope's authority comes from the belief that he is the lineal successor of St. Peter, and as such the Vicar of Christ on earth. The church has a hierarchical structure of offices or titles, in descending order:

• Pope, which is the bishop of Rome and also Patriarch of the West. Those who assist and advise him in leading the whole church are the Cardinals;
• Patriarchs are the heads of Catholic Churches other than the Latin Church. Some senior Roman Catholic archbishops are also called Patriarchs; among those possessing the title are the Archbishop of Lisbon and the Archbishop of Venice.
• Bishop (Archbishop and Suffragan Bishop): are the successors of the twelve apostles. They have received the fullness of sacramental orders;
• Priest (Monsignor is an honorary title for a priest, giving no extra sacramental powers); Initially there were no Priests per se. This position evolved from the suburban Bishops who were charged with distributing the sacraments but without full jurisdiction over the faithful.
• Deacon

There are also several more minor offices: Lector, Acolytes (since the Second Vatican Council, the office of Sub-deacon no longer exists). Religious orders have their own hierarchy and titles. These offices taken together constitute the clergy, and in the Western rite can only normally be occupied by unmarried men. However, in the Eastern rite married men are admitted as diocesan priests, but not as bishops or monastic priests; and on rare occasions married priests converting from other Christian groups have been permitted to be ordained in the Western rite. In the Western rite, married men may be ordained as permanent deacons but they may not remarry if their spouse dies or if the marriage is annulled.

The Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals from their ranks (the process of election, held in Sistine Chapel, is called a Conclave). Each Pope continues in office until death or until he resigns (which has happened only twice, and never since the Middle Ages).

Sacraments

The practice of the Catholic Church consists of seven sacraments (see also Catholic sacraments):

• Baptism,
• Confession,
• Eucharist,
• Confirmation,
• Holy Matrimony,
• Holy Orders, and
• Anointing of the Sick.

Within the Catholic faith, sacraments are gestures and words of Christ that impart sanctifying grace on the receiver. Baptism is given to infants and to adult converts who have not previously been validly baptised (the baptism of most Christian denominations is accepted as valid by the Catholic Church since the effect is thought to come straight from God regardless of the personal faith, but not intention, of the minister). Confession or reconciliation involves admitting sins to a priest and receiving penance (a task to complete in order to achieve absolution or forgiveness from God). The Eucharist (Communion), is the sacrifice of Christ, marked by partaking in the Body of Christ and the Blood of Christ which are believed to replace in everything but appearance the bread and wine used in the ceremony. The Roman Catholic belief that bread and wine are turned into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is called transubstantiation. In the sacrament of Confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit conferred in baptism is "strengthened and deepened" (see Catechism of the Catholic Church para. 1303) by the laying on of hands and anointing with oil. In the majority Latin Rite church, this sacrament is presided over by a bishop, and takes place in early adulthood. In the Eastern Catholic Churches (see below) the sacrament is called chrismation, and is ordinarily performed immediately after baptism by a priest. Holy Orders is the entering into the priesthood and involves a vow of chastity; the sacrament of Holy Orders is given in three degrees: that of the deacon (since Vatican II a permanent deacon may be married before becoming a deacon), that of the priest, and that of the bishop. Anointing of the Sick used to be known as "extreme unction" or the "last rites"; it involves the anointing of a sick person with a holy oil blessed specifically for that purpose and is no longer limited to the seriously ill or dying.

Rites

The Catholic Church is actually a federation of 24 self-governing (sui juris) Churches in communion with each other under the leadership of the Pope. By far the largest Church is the Latin Church, popularly called the Roman Catholic Church. The other 23 Churches are in the collective called Eastern Catholic Churches. Each Eastern Catholic Church is led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan (a chief Archbishop who does not hold the rank of Major Archbishop or Patriarch). The 24 Catholic Churches use among them six rites. The Roman rite is used only by the Latin (Roman Catholic) Church, and is used by the vast majority of Catholics (98%). There are also several Eastern Rites, which are used in parts of the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and by Catholic communities in other parts of the world that originate from there. There are also two other small Western rites, other than the Latin rite, the Ambrosian rite and the Mozarabic rite, which are used in a few places in Europe. In the Middle Ages there were many other Western rites, but almost all of them were replaced by the Latin rite by the Council of Trent. The Eastern rites originated with groups that left Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches to join the Roman Catholic church, but retained their own rites and traditions.

A listing of rites, with the Churches that use it, follows:

Roman

• Latin
• Ambrosian

Byzantine

• Albanian
• Belarussian
• Bulgarian
• Croatian
• Georgian
• Greek
• Hungarian
• Melkite
• Romanian
• Russian

• Ruthenian
• Slovak
• Serbian
• Ukrainian

Antiochene

• Maronite
• Malankarese
• Syriac

Chaldean

• Chaldean
• Syro-Malabarese

Armenian

• Armenian

Alexandrian

• Coptic
• Ge'ez

Historically, the church service in the Latin rite was conducted entirely in Latin, but local languages came into use with the Second Vatican Council (also called Vatican II), which occurred in 1962-5. Eastern rite Catholicism uses various languages, depending on the particular rite involved: Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, Romanian or Georgian in the Byzantine rite; Syriac in the Antiochene and Chaldean rites; Armenian in the Armenian rite; and Coptic or Ge'ez in the Alexandrian rite.

Organization by Region

The fundamental geographical and organizational unit of the Catholic Church is the diocese (in the Eastern Catholic Churches, the equivalent unit is called an eparchy). This is generally a defined geographical area, centered on a principal city, headed by a bishop. The primary church of a diocese is known as a cathedral from the cathedra or chair of the bishop that is one of the main symbols of his office. Within a diocese, a bishop exercises what is known as ordinary, or primary administrative authority. (Houses of some religious orders are semi-independent of the dioceses they are in; the religious superior of that order exercises ordinary jurisdiction over them.) While the Pope appoints bishops and reviews their performance, and a variety of other institutions govern or supervise certain activities, a bishop has a great deal of independence in administering a diocese. Certain dioceses, generally centered around large and important cities, are called archdioceses and are headed by an archbishop. In large dioceses and archdioceses, the bishop is often assisted by auxiliary bishops, full bishops and members of the College of Bishops who do not head a diocese of their own. Archbishops, suffragan bishops (usually shortened to just "bishops"), and auxiliary bishops are equally bishops; the different titles indicate what type (if any) of ecclesiastical unit they head. Many countries have vicariates that support their militaries (see military ordinariate).

Almost all dioceses were organized into groups known as provinces, each of which is headed by an archbishop. While provinces still exist, their role has largely been replaced by conferences of bishops, generally made up of all the dioceses of a particular country or countries. These groups handle a wide array of common functions, including supervision of liturgical texts and practices for the specific cultural and linguistic groups and relations with the governments in their area. The authority of these conferences to bind the actions of individual bishops is limited (traditional theologians consider this authority ultimately non-binding), however. Bishop's conferences started to appear early in the 20th century, and were officially recognized in the Second Vatican Council document Christus Dominus.

The College of Cardinals is the collection of Roman Catholic bishops who are special advisors to the Pope. Any priest can be appointed Cardinal, provided he "excelled in believe, moral and piety". If a cardinal is elected Pope who has not yet been ordained bishop he subsequently has to receive episcopal ordination. (C.f. Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis[1]) All cardinals under the age of 80 have the right to elect a new pope upon the a pope's death; the cardinals who may elect are almost always members of the clergy; however, the Pope has sometimes in the past awarded outstanding members of the Catholic laity (e.g., theologians) with membership in the College after they have passed electing age. Each cardinal is given some church or chapel (thus, cardinal bishop, cardinal priest, and cardinal deacon) in Rome to make him a member of the clergy of Rome. Many cardinals serve in the curia, which assists the Pope in Church administration. All cardinals who are not resident in Rome are diocesan bishops.

Dioceses are divided into local districts called parishes. All Catholics are expected to attend and support their local parish church. While the Catholic Church has developed an elaborate system of global governance, day to day Catholicism is lived in the local community, tied together in worship in the local parish. Local parishes are largely self supporting; a church, often in a growing or poor community, that is being supported by a diocese is known as a mission.

The Roman Catholic Church supports many orders (groups) of monks and nuns who are mainly non-priests living lives specially devoted to serving God. These are people who have grouped together under a certain system for the purpose of the perfection of virtue. This sometimes involves separation from the world for meditation and sometimes exceptional participation in the world, often in medical or educational work. Almost universally the Monks and Nuns take vows of poverty (no or limited personal ownership of property and money), chastity (no use of the sexual mechanisms), and obedience (to the superiors).

Distinctive doctrines

Catholics believe in the Trinity of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the divinity of Jesus, and the salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and through loving God above all things. Catholic views differ from Orthodox on several points, including the nature of the Petrine Ministry (the papacy), the nature of the Trinity and how that should be expressed in the Nicene Creed, and a juridical versus relational understanding of salvation and repentance. Catholics differ from Protestants in several points, including the necessity of penance, the meaning of communion, the composition of the canon of scripture, purgatory, and the means of salvation: Protestants believe that salvation is by faith alone (sola fide), while Catholics believe that faith is exhibited in good works. Stereotypically, this has led to a conflict over the doctrine of justification (the Reformation taught that "we are justified by faith alone"). Modern ecumenical dialogue has led to a number of consensus statements on the doctrine of justification between Roman Catholics and Lutherans, Anglicans, and others.

Liturgy and worship

The most important act of worship in the Roman Catholic Church is the Eucharistic liturgy, usually called the Mass. Mass is celebrated every Sunday morning in most Roman Catholic parishes; Catholics can however fulfill their Sunday devotion by attending a Mass on Saturday night. Catholics must also attend Mass on ten additional days every year, known as the Holy Day of Obligation. Additional Masses can be celebrated on any day of the liturgical year except for Good Friday. Most churches have daily Mass. The contemporary Mass is composed of two major parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the Liturgy of the Word, readings from the Bible are done; and a homily (like the Protestant sermon) is spoken. At Masses on Sundays and feast days, the Nicene Creed, which states the orthodox beliefs of Catholicism, is professed by all Catholics present. The Liturgy of the Eucharist includes the presentation of the gifts of bread and wine, the Eucharistic Prayer, during which the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, and the communion procession.

The liturgical reform movement has been responsible over the past forty years for a significant convergence of Latin Rite worship practices with that of Protestant churches. One feature of the new liturgical views has been a "return to the sources" (ressourcement), claimed as resulting from the rediscovery of ancient liturgical texts and practices, along with many new practices. The post-conciliar (post-Vatican II) reforms of the liturgy included the use of the vernacular (local) language, a greater emphasis on the Liturgy of the Word, and the clarification of symbolism. The most visible feature of the reforms is the posture of the priest. In the past, the priest faced the altar, with his back to the congregation. The reforms have turned the priest to face the people, with the altar between. This symbolises the desire for the Mass to become more people centered. Critics however have complained about the nature of the post-Vatican II Mass (known sometimes as the Novus Ordo Missae). In 2003, it was revealed that the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass was again being celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica (though not on the main altar) and that Pope John Paul II had begun celebrating Tridentine Masses in his private chapel in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

Contemporary Catholicism

The Catholic Church, like most Christian faiths, has experienced a steep decline in its worldwide influence in western society in the late 20th century; its exclusively male leadership structure and rigid doctrinal beliefs on matters to do with human sexuality have less appeal to a more secular western world where diversity in sexual practices and gender equality are the norm. In places where it once played a primary role, such as Quebec, Ireland, and Spain, it holds only a fraction of its former influence. At the same time, however, Roman Catholicism is experiencing a dramatic rise in membership in Africa and parts of Asia. While western missionaries once served as priests in African churches, by the late 20th century a growing number of western nations began to recruit African priests to balance their dwindling numbers of local clergy.

Pressure on traditional mores and practices

• birth control & pre-marital chastity
• homosexuality
• celibacy of the ordained

Ordination of women

As a result of feminism and other social and political movements that have removed barriers to the entry of women into professions that were traditionally male strongholds, in latter quarter of the twentieth century many women sought ordination into the Roman Catholic priesthood.

The traditionalist Roman Catholic position is that women cannot be priests or bishops, on account of the doctrine of apostolic succession. Priests and bishops are successors to the Apostles, and because Jesus Christ chose only men to be the twelve apostles, only men can become priests and bishops. On May 22, 1994, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (Priestly Ordination) which reaffirmed the traditionalist position, and concluded:

Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal Tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the Magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church's judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force.

Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Luke 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.

Within Roman Catholicism itself, debate on the subject now focuses on whether this statement is meant to invoke papal infallibility and raise the rule that women cannot be Roman Catholic priests to the level of an irreformable dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. That disagreement as to the status reached to the heart of the Church. While some elements around Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger implied strongly that the statement had invoked infallibility, many other elements, notably the Vatican's own press office, explicitly stated it was not, and should not be seen as, an infallible statement. (Disagreements between Ratzinger and official Vatican policy are a regular occurance. His Dominus Iesus statement, for example, disagreed in tone and content with Pope John Paul II's own encyclical on ecumanism. While it was stated that the Pope agreed with and approved Ratzinger's document, a dissenting senior Vatican official discovered on meeting the Pope that John Paul II had not fully read Ratzinger's document.)²

Critics accused some of those attached to Ratzinger's Congregation of trying to make the document sound infallible to try to kill off the debate, in effect spinning a fallible document as infallible. Such an accusation has been made in the pact, notably Pope Paul's encyclical, Humanæ Vitæ about which one conservative curial cardinal stated "the Holy Father has spoken. The issue is forever closed." However the refusal of Pope John Paul's own press spokesman, himself a conservative, to describe the statement as "infallible" has led to a general though not universal presumption that the document is not so. In addition, the Vatican itself formally states that since 1870, only one infallible teaching has been issued by a pope, namely Pope Pius XII's 1950 statement about the bodily assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven. By implication, neither Humanæ Vitæ nor Ordinatio Sacerdotalis are infallible.

What is missed in the debate is that "what has always been taught" is as infallible as a solemn definition that springs from the Pope's Infallible Magisterium. That which has always been taught by the Church is a part of its Universal Magisterium, which is as infallible as such solemn definitions as that used to define the Assumption of Mary.

Sexual abuse of children

Particular damage has been done to the institution and to its members' trust in it by acts of child sexual abuse by a small but persistent group of clergy. Allegations of abuse have been made against clergy in many parts of the world, with notorious cases hitting the headlines in Spain, Ireland, Canada and the United States. For the Church, the crisis has been two-fold. First, many Roman Catholics had an almost automatic sense of trust in the clergy. The revelation that this trust had been violated repeatedly fundamentally reshaped public attitudes towards the clergy. But secondly, the institution was damaged by the revelation that the Church's leadership seriously mishandled cases of abusers, using Canon Law and diocesan boundaries³ to help clergy avoid popular anger and even criminal sanction. For a full discussion, see Roman Catholic Church sex abuse allegations.

References

Notes

¹ Early lists of popes stated that the first pope was St. Linus. Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes (Yale Nota Bene, 2002) Appendix A.

² ibid.

³ Technically each diocese operates separately of its neighbours, while religious orders in each diocese are not answerable to or under the control of the local bishop. As a result suspicions about the behaviour of secular priests (priests belonging to the diocese) were not always reported to other dioceses or to religious order-run schools or hospitals, while abuse by religious priests (priests belonging to a religious order) was not always relayed by his order to the diocese and its schools. The most notorious example involved Fr. Brendan Smyth, a Norbertine Order priest in Ireland, whose activities (known about since 1945) were not reported to diocesian clergy let alone the police. In 1994, Brendan Smyth pleaded guilty to a sample set of 17 charges of sexual abuse of children in Belfast from a far longer list. A number of dioceses, the Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh and Smyth's own order publicly blamed each other and accepted no responsibility themselves for the failure to stop Smyth over 47 years.

See also

• Altar rails
• Beatification
• Christianity
• Crusade
• Ecumenical council
• History of Christianity
• Index Librorum Prohibitorum
• Inquisition
• Knights of Columbus
• List of religious topics
• Liturgical Year
• Mass
• Military Ordinariate
• Novus Ordo Missae
• Opus Dei
• Roman Catholicism's links with democracy and dictatorships
• Saint
• Santeria
• Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
• Traditional Catholicism
• Tridentine Mass
• Vatican City
• Witchhunt

Additional Reading

• Catechism of the Catholic Church - English translation (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2000). ISBN 1574551108 [1]
• H. W. Crocker III, Triumph - The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church: A 2,000-Year History (Prima Publishing, 2001). ISBN 0761529241
• Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes (Yale Nota Bene, 2002). ISBN 0300091656

External links

• The Holy See - The Vatican's Official Website
• Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Topical search engine for the Catechism
• New Advent
• Summa Theologica
• The Catholic Encyclopedia
• Catholic Answers (catholic.com)
• Apologia

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Catholicism."

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Latin

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Alternate meanings: See Latin (disambiguation)

Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire.

All Romance languages descend from a Latin parent, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. Moreover, in the Western world, Latin was a lingua franca, the learned language for scientific and political affairs, for more than a thousand years, being eventually replaced by French in the 18th century and English in the late 19th. It remains the formal language of the Roman Catholic Church to this day, which includes being the official national language of the Vatican. It is also still used to furnish the names used in the scientific classification of living things.

Latin has an extensive flectional system, which mainly operates by appending strings to a fixed stem. Inflection of nouns and adjectives is termed "declension", that of verbs, "conjugation". There are five declensions of nouns, and four conjugations for verbs. The six noun forms (or "cases") are nominative (used for subjects), genitive (show possession), dative (indirect objects), accusative (direct objects, some prepositions), ablative (used with some prepositions), and vocative (used to address someone). In addition, there exists in some nouns a locative case used to express place (normally expressed by the ablative with a preposition such as IN), but this hold-over from Indo-European is only found in the names of lakes, cities, towns, similar locales, and a few other words.

Romance languages are not derived from Classical Latin but rather from Vulgar Latin. Latin and Romance differ (for example) in that Romance had distinctive stress whereas Latin had distinctive length of vowels. In Italian and Sardo logudorese, there is distinctive length of consonants and stress, in Spanish only distinctive stress, and in French even stress is no longer distinctive.

Another major distinction between Romance and Latin is that Romance languages, excluding Romanian, have lost their case endings in most words (some pronouns being exceptions). Romanian is still equipped with several cases (though some, notably the ablative, are no longer represented).

Latin and English

English grammar is not a direct derivative of Latin grammar. Attempts to make English grammar fit Latin rules -- such as the contrived prohibition against the split infinitive -- have not worked successfully in regular usage. However, as many as half the words in English come to us through Latin, including many words of Greek origin, not to mention the thousands of French, Spanish, and Italian words of Latin origin that have also enriched English.

• Latin phonemes
• Latin declension
• Latin conjugation
• Latin lexicon
• List of Latin phrases
• Compound verbs in English consisting of Latin prefix and Latin verb
• List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names

See also

• Latin literature,
• Latin proverbs,
• List of Latin phrases,
• Brocards,
• Roman Empire,
• New Latin,
• Latin names of European cities,
• Latin names of European rivers.

External links

• The Perseus Project has many useful pages for the study of classical languages and literatures, including an interactive Latin dictionary.
• Ethnologue report for Latin
• Free online courses in Latin
  • http://www.sprachprofi.de.vu/latin
  • http://wikibooks.org/wiki/Latin
• The Latin Library contains many Latin etexts
• Textkit has Latin textbooks and etexts.

Please note that there is also a Latin Wikipedia

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latin."

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Latin (disambiguation)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The word Latin has more than one meaning.

• As a noun, Latin usually refers to the Latin language. Latins in linguistics is a jargon form for Romance languages, ie. languages descended from Latin.

• The Latins were an ancient people of central Italy, in the region known as Latium. The most important of the Latin cities was Rome - see the founding of Rome for some details. In mythology, the name came from the mythical king Latinus.

• Later, the western half of the Roman Empire was often referred to as Latin, as opposed to the Greek east. This term was also applied to the Roman Catholic church and western successor states, and especially to the crusaders. For instance the crusader kingdom in Constantinople is called the Latin Empire, and the kingdoms of Jerusalem and Acre were also known as Latin kingdoms.

• As an adjective, Latin can be used to refer to those of extraction from the Romance-speaking peoples of the Mediterranean, such as in terms such as "Latin America" and "Latin lover."

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latin (disambiguation)."

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Latin alphabet

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, as used by the English language consists of the following characters:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

The alphabet used for the Latin language had no J, U, or W.

History

The Latin alphabet derives mainly from the Etruscan alphabet. According to Hammarström (in Jensen 521), the letters for B, D, O, X hail from a Southern Italian Greek alphabet. However, there are Etruscan abecedaria with B, D, O, X (Sampson 108). Rix (203) claims that the sound values of those letters in Latin are to be attributed to Greek influence, the letters themselves were probably all present when the Romans took over the alphabet from the Etruscans (Wachter 33).

It is uncontested that the alphabet is mainly of Etruscan origin. The sound value of C proves that clearly. Etruscan had no voiced plosives, so this symbol - derived from the Greek gamma - came to stand for the unvoiced /k/ in Etruscan - as later in Latin. Jensen (521) notes that the letters C, K, Q were originally used in Latin according to Etruscan usage: C in front of /e, i/; K in front of /a/; Q in front of /u, o/. The letters thus stand for different allophones of /k/ (in the case of Latin, also /g/ and probably the phonemes /k_w/ and /g _w/ in the case of QU and GU). These spelling rules are due to the names of the letters: gamma or gemma; kappa; qoppa or quppa (Wachter 15). In Etruscan there was no /o/, so Q was used both in front of /o/ and /u/ in Latin. Y and Z were later additions taken from the Greek alphabet. G was created by Spurius Carvilius Ruga (who flourished around 230 BC) as a modification of C (Sampson 109). F (digamma) stood for /w/ in both Etruscan and Latin, but the Romans simplified the FH-/f/combination to F /f/. The semi-vowels /w, j/ and the vowels /u, u:, i, i:/ were written with the same letters, namely V and I respectively.

There was no 'U'; instead, there was the semi-vowel 'V'. There was no 'W', although 'V' was pronounced as the modern English 'W'. They didn't have the letter 'J', instead they had the semi-vowel 'I'.

Compare

• Greek alphabet
• Hebrew alphabet
• Cyrillic alphabet

See also

• Roman Naming Conventions

Use in other languages

In the course of its history, the Latin alphabet was used for new languages, and therefore, some new letters and diacritics were created, e.g.:

• the cedilla in ç (originally a little z written below the c) that symbolized /ts/ in Romance
• the hacek in Slavonic languages, used to mark palatalised versions of the base letter, e.g. č.
• the tilde in Spanish ñ or some Portuguese vowels (originally a little n written above the letter) used to mark the elision of a former N, and then later to mark nasalisation of the base letter.

Please see 'Alphabets derived from the Latin' for a more complete list.

W is a letter made up from two U's. It was added in late Roman times to represent a Germanic sound. U and J were originally not distinguished from V and I respectively. In Old English, thorn þ, edh ð and wynn ƿ - a Runic letter - were added. In modern Icelandic, thorn and edh are still used. The additional letters added in German are special presentations of earlier ligature forms (ae → ä, ue → ü or ſss → ß). French adds the circumflex to record elided consonants that were present in earlier forms and are often still present in the modern English cognate forms (Old French hostel → French hôtel = English hotel or Late Latin pasta → Middle French paste → French pâte and English paste).

Some Slavic languages use the latin alphabet rather than the Cyrillic. Among these, Polish uses a variety of ligatures with z to represent special phonetic values, and a dark l - ł - for a sound similar to w. Czech uses diacritics as in Dvořák. The Slavic regions which stayed with the Orthodox church generally use Cyrillic instead which is much closer to the Greek alphabet. Hausa uses three additional consonants: ɓ, ɗ and ƙ.

Collating in other languages

Alphabets derived from the Latin have varying collating rules:

• In French and English, characters with diaeresis (ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ) are treated just like their un-accented versions. If two words differ only by an accent in French, the one with the accent is greater.
• In German umlaut (Ä,Ö,Ü) are treated generally just like their non-umlauted versions; ß is always sorted as ss. This makes the alphabetic order Arg, Ärgerlich, Arm, Assistent, Aßlar, Assoziation. For phone directories and similar lists of names, the umlauts are to be collated like the letter combinations "ae", "oe", "ue". This makes the alphabetic order Udet, Übelacker, Uell, Ülle, Ueve, Üxküll, Uffenbach.
• In the Swedish alphabet, "W" is seen as a variant of "V" and not a separate letter. It is however recognised and maintained in names, like in "William". The alphabet also has three extra vowels placed at its end (..., X, Y, Z, Å, Ä, Ö). The same alphabet and collating rules are used for Finnish.
• The same extra vowels as in Swedish are also present in the Danish and Norwegian alphabets but in a different order and with different glyphs (..., X, Y, Z, Æ, Ø, Å). Also, "Aa" collates as an equivalent to "Å". The Danish alphabet sees "W" as a variant of "V".
• Some languages have more complex rules: for example, Spanish treated (til 1997) "CH" and "LL" as single letters, giving an ordering of CINCO, CREDO, CHISPA and LOMO, LUZ, LLAMA. This is not true anymore since in 1997 RAE adopted the more normal usage, and now LL is collated between LI and LO, and CH between CE and CI. The only Spanish specific collating question is Ñ (eñe) as a different letter collated after N.
• In Dutch the combination IJ was formerly to be collated as Y (or sometimes, as a separate letter Y < IJ < Z), but is currently mostly collated as 2 letters (II < IJ < IK). Note that a word starting with ij that is written with a capital I is also written with a capital J, e.g. the town IJmuiden (mun. Velsen) and the river IJssel.
• The Hungarian language has accents, umlauts, and double accents. The accent is ignored in collating, and the double accent, which indicates a long umlaut vowel, is treated as equal to the umlaut.
• In Icelandic, Þ is added, and D is followed by Ð.
• Both letters were also used by Anglo-Saxon scribes who also used the Runic letter Wynn to represent /w/.
• Þ (called thorn; lowercase þ) is also a Runic letter, some scholars derive it from Latin D.
• Ð (called eth; lowercase ð) is the letter D with an added stroke.
• In Polish, specifically Polish letters derived from the Latin alphabet are collated after their originals: A, Ą, B, C, Ć, D, E, Ę, ..., L, Ł, M, N, Ń, O, Ó, P, ..., S, Ś, T, ..., Z, Ź, Ż.
• In Czech, accented vowels are treated as their unaccented forms, but accented consonants (the ones with hacek) immediatelly follow their unaccented counterparts. The letter CH goes between H and I.
• In Esperanto, consonants with circumflex accents (ĉ, ĝ, ĥ, ĵ, ŝ), as well as ŭ (u with breve), are counted as separate letters and collated separately (c, ĉ, d, e, f, g, ĝ, h, ĥ, i, j, ĵ ... s, ŝ, t, u, ŭ, v, z).
• In Tatar, there are 9 additional letters. 5 of them are vowels, paired with main alphabet vowels as hard-smooth: a-ä, o-ö, u-ü, í-i, ı-e. The four remaining are consonants: ş is sh, ç is ch, ñ is ng and ğ is gh.
• In Croatian and related South Slavic languages, the five accented characters and two conjoined characters are sorted after the originals: ..., C, Č, Ć, D, DŽ, Đ, E, ..., L, LJ, M, N, NJ, O, ..., S, Š, T, ..., Z, Ž.

References

• Jensen, Hans. 1970. Sign Symbol and Script. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. Transl. of Die Schrift in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften. 1958, as revised by the author.
• Rix, Helmut. 1993. "La scrittura e la lingua" In: Cristofani, Mauro (hrsg.) 1993. Gli etruschi - Una nuova immagine. Firenze: Giunti. S.199-227.
• Sampson, Geoffrey. 1985. Writing systems. London (etc.): Hutchinson.
• Wachter, Rudolf. 1987. Altlateinische Inschriften: sprachliche und epigraphische Untersuchungen zu den Dokumenten bis etwa 150 v.Chr. Bern (etc.): Peter Lang.
• Biktaş, Şamil, 2003, Tuğan Tel.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latin alphabet."

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Latin America

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Latin America describes the American countries south of the United States, comprising all of South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Nations of this region where the English Language predominates (eg Jamaica, Belize, Guyana) are often excluded from this term. Most usually it only refers to the nations where the Spanish and Portuguese languages predominate.

A Latino is a person of Latin American heritage, or of the Latin-American culture.

Etymological note: Treating the term literally, one might expect the term to apply to cultures and regions in the Americas deriving from cultures speaking Romance languages (those descended from Latin). However, French-speaking areas of the Americas, such as Quebec and Acadia in Canada, as well as Haiti, are not considered part of Latin America. Yet this was the original intention of the term -- "Latin America" was first proposed during the French occupation of Mexico (1862-1867), when Napoleon III supported the Archduke Maximilian's pretensions to be emperor of Mexico. The French hoped that an inclusive notion of "Latin" America would support their cause. That Mexican citizens eventually expelled the French while retaining the term "Latino" is perhaps one of history's more charming ironies.

The alternative term IberoAmerica is sometimes used to refer to the nations formerly colonies of Spain and Portugal, these last two countries being located on the peninsula of Iberia.

Latin American countries include:

• Mexico
• El Salvador
• Belize
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Costa Rica
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Peru
• Chile
• Argentina
• Uruguay
• Paraguay
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Venezuela
• Cuba
• Dominican Republic
• Puerto Rico

In addition, Spain and Portugal are considered to be the Mother Countries of Latin America

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latin America."

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Latin American music

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Latin American music, or the music of Latin America, is sometimes called Latin music. It includes the music of many countries and comes in many varieties, from the down-home conjunto music of Northern Mexico to the sophisticated habanera of Cuba, from the symphonies of Heitor Villa-Lobos to the simple and moving Andean flute.

Music has played an important part in Latin America's turbulent recent history, for example the nueva cancion movement.

Latin music in the US

Latin music has long influenced American popular music, jazz, rhythm and blues and even country music. For an early example (1914), the bridge to "Saint Louis Blues"--"Saint Louie woman, with her diamond rings"--has a habanera beat, prompting Jelly Roll Morton to comment, "You've got to have that Spanish tinge." Many an American band has added a conga player, maracas, or other Latin percussion for just that reason.

The Argentine tango was a worldwide success in the 1930s. Tango dancers and records could be found from Los Angeles to Beijing. Singer Carlos Gardel is still a myth.

In more recent times, artists such as Carmen Miranda, Desi Arnaz, Xavier Cugat, and Pérez Prado ("The Mambo King") were popular with audiences of all cultures. Judy Garland's first hit, as a member of the "Gumm Sisters", was "La Cucaracha", right down to the line about marijuana.

It was common in dance halls in the 30s and 40s for a Latin orchestra, such as that of Vincent Lopez, to alternate with a big band because dancers insisted on it. Latin music was extremely popular with dancers, not only the samba, paso doble, rumba, and mambo, but even the conga. In the 50s, Perez Prado made the Cha-cha-cha famous, and the Afro-Cuban jazz of Dizzy Gillespie opened many ears to the harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic possibilities of Latin music and is still influential in salsa.

The "Spanish tinge" was also a common feature of rhythm and blues in the 50s. The monster hit "Little Darling" was driven by the clave beat and Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon" was a great success. Richie Valens, born Ricardo Valenzuela, blew the roof off the hit parade with "La Bamba", originally a Mexican wedding song.

Likewise, Tex-Mex and Tejano style featured the conjunto sound, resulting in such important music as "Tequila" by The Champs, "96 Tears" by Question Mark and the Mysterians, Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs, Thee Midniters, and the many combinations led by Doug Sahm, including the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornadoes. The Texas Tornadoes featured Freddy Fender, who brought Latin soul to country music. And the Tornadoes' Flaco Jiménez is a genuine conjunto hero, a third-generation accordionist whose grandfather learned the instrument from German settlers in Texas. Johnny Rodriguez is another Latin country star.

In the modern rock and roll era, Carlos Santana featured a full-blown Latin approach. Joe King Carrasco y las Coronas play punk rock Tex-Mex style. See also rock en español.

During the second part of the decade of the 1990s, Latin music exploded into the mainstream thanks to popular artists like Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez. While Latin music has been popular for many years, its current popularity in the mainstream may have come only after the untimely death of the popular Tex-Mex singer Selena. Many attribute Jennifer Lopez's discovery as a talented actress and artist as a result of her title role as Selena in the biographical movie of the same name. Selena was murdered by her fan-club president.

Nowadays, Latin music encompasses a broad spectrum of sounds, artists, genres, and tastes--from Rock en espanol (with groups like Mana and artists like Shakira) to new Latin hip-hop artists like J Lo (otherwise known as Jennifer Lopez) and Big Pun, to banda music played in Los Angeles, to salsa and merengue crossover artists such as Marc Anthony. Another important Latin American singer is Pilar Montenegro. Major record companies have branches specialized in the Spanish American market.

Not to be forgotten also is the fact that Latin America produced one of the greatest boy bands in history, Menudo, out of which Martin came from, and which spawned mass hysteria worldwide and a string of other groups (Such as Mexico's Magneto, Puerto Rico's Los Chicos and Venezuela's Los Chamos and Ufff that tried to imitate Menudo's success. Chayanne, now an international superstar, was a member of Los Chicos.

Menudo was preceded by another Edgardo Diaz creation, Spain's La Pandilla.

Although Spain isn't a part of Latin America, Spanish music and Latin American music strongly cross-fertilized each other, but Latin music also absorbed influences from English and American music, and. particularly, African music.

For an analysis of Latin music by country see:

• Music of Argentina
• Music of the Bahamas
• Music of Brazil
• Music of Colombia
• Music of Costa Rica
• Music of Cuba
• Music of the Dominican Republic
• Music of Haiti
• Music of Jamaica
• Music of Martinique and Guadeloupe
• Music of Mexico
• Music of Peru
• Music in Puerto Rico/Music of Puerto Rico
• Music of Trinidad and Tobago
• Music of Venezuela

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latin American music."

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Latin dances

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Most Latin dances originated in Latin America. Compared to typical Ballroom dances, Latin dances are generally faster-paced, more sensual, and devoid of travelling. Time is generally 4/4. Couples stand face-to-face. Music may be Latin American traditional or contemporary popular music.

Latin dances include:

• Cha cha
• Rumba
• Samba (comes in different flavors, particularly as danced in Brazil vs. international leisure and competitive dance)
• Paso Doble (of Spanish gypsy origin. Nowadays less seen outside competitive dancing.)
• Jive (basically a domesticated offspring of the Swing dances. See below for many more flavors of this, though.)
• Salsa (not a member of the modern International Latin section; instead, often seen practically forming a "Caribbean" section in its own right with Merengue, Bachata and others.)

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latin dances."

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Latin literature

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The literature of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire written in the Latin language. The periods of Latin literature are conventionally divided into "Golden" Latin, or Golden Age, which covers approximately the period from the start of the first century BC up to the mid-first century AD, and Silver Latin, which covers the remainder of the Classical period. Anything after the mid-second century comes under the blanket description of "late" Latin literature, and tends to be studied for the light it sheds on the development of Latin into the Romance languages rather than for its literary merit (though there are exceptions, eg. Augustine of Hippo.)

Early Latin literature

Poetry

Ennius

Comedy

Plautus

Terence

Golden Age

Poetry

Lucretius : On the Nature of Things

Catullus

Vergil : Aeneid

Horace

Ovid

Tibullus

Propertius

Prose

Julius Caesar : Gallic Wars

Cicero : Catiline Orations

Historiography

Nepos

Sallust

Livy

Silver Latin

Poetry

Manilius

Lucan

Statius

Prose

Petronius : Satyricon

Pliny the Elder : Natural History

Quintilian

Pliny the Younger

Aulus Gellius

Apuleius

Theater

Seneca

Satire

Juvenal

Martial

Historiography

Tacitus

Suetonius

Latin Literature in the Late Antique period

Ammianus Marcellinus

St Augustine of Hippo

Ausonius

Claudian

Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius

Paulinus of Nola

Sidonius Apollinaris

Sulpicius Severus

Mediæval and Christian Latin literature

Abelard

Aetheria

Albertus Magnus

St Thomas Aquinas : Pange Lingua : Summa Theologica

The Archpoet

Bede

Carmina Burana

Geoffrey of Monmouth

Gildas

Goliards

Gregory of Tours

Hiberno-Latin

St Isidore of Seville : Etymologiæ

St Jerome : Vulgate

Peter of Blois

Petrarch

Thomas of Celæno : Dies Iræ

Walter of Châtillon

See also: Mass (liturgy); Mass (music)

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latin literature."

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Latin names of European cities

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Until the Modern Era, Latin was the common language for scholarship and mapmaking. During the 19th and 20th centuries, German scholars in particular have made significant contributions to the study of historical place names, or Ortsnamenkunde. These studies have, in turn, contributed to the study of Genealogy. For genealogists and historians of pre-Modern Europe, knowing alternate names of places is vital to extracting information from both public and private records. Even specialists in this field point out, however, that the information can be easily taken out of context, since there is a great deal of repetition of place-names throughout Europe; reliance purely on apparent connections should therefore be tempered with valid historical methodology. One caveat that must be observed, however, is that even Latin place-names are not always exclusive to one place -- for example, there were several Roman cities whose names began with Colonia and then a more descriptive term. During the Middle Ages, these were often shortened to just Colonia. One of these, Colonia Agrippinensis, retains the name today in the form of Cologne.

This list includes Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Kurdistan northwest of Arbil,

This list excludes Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Britain, Channel Islands, Chechnya, Dagestan, Faeroe Islande, Iceland, Ireland, Kazakhstan, and Tatarstan.

The following table begins to offer equivalents to more modern place-names.

• Suggest adding other languages to table
• Arabic form of city names
• Greek form of city names

Following is a List of Cities stating the Latin and equivalent English name (s)

Latin	English Name, [(other name(s))] or [older name(s)], [province], [state]
Abellinum	Avellino (E of Naples)
Aberdonia, Aberdonium	Aberdeen, Scotland
Aboa	Turku, Finland
Abritum, Abrittus	Razgrad, Bulgaria
Acaunum	Saint-Maurice, Valais, Switzerland
Acharnae¹	Acharnes, (Acharnae) Menidi, Greece
Adrianopolis	Edirne, Turkey
Aegyssus	Tulcea, Romania
Aeminium	Coimbra, Portugal
Aquisgrana, Aquis Granum, Aquae Grani, Aquensis urbs, Granis aquae	Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle)
Ad Fines	Pfyn, Thurgau, Switzerland
Ad Mediam	Băile Herculane, Romania
Ad Pirum	Hrušica
Ad Mediam	Mehadia,Romania
Aegida, Capris, Caput Histriae	Koper, Slovenia
Aegina	Aegina, Greece
Agrigentum	Agrigento, Italy
Agrinium¹	Agrinio/Agrinion, Greece
(Colonia Claudia) Ara Agrippinensium	Cologne (Köln), Germany
Albintimilium	Ventimiglia
Albona	Labin
Alexandropolis¹	Alexandroupolis, Greece
Almyrus¹	Almyros some pref. Almyrus, Greece
Alostum	Aalst
Amivadum	Amersfoort
Ammurianum	Murano, Italy
Amphilochia¹	Amphilochia, Greece
Amphipolis¹	Amphipolis, Greece
Amphissa¹	Amphissa, Amfissa, Greece
Ancyra	Ankara, Turkey
Anderlacum	Anderlecht, Belgium
Antunacum	Andernach
Apuania	Massa Carrara
Apulum	Alba Iulia, Romania
Aqua Villae	Badenweiler, Germany
Aquae Flaviae	Chaves, Portugal
Aquae Helveticae	Baden, Aargau, Switzerland
Aquilia in Vestinis, Aquilia	L'Aquila, Italy
Aquincum	Budapest, Hungary
Arae Flaviae	Rottweil, Germany
Arandis	Garvão,Ourique, Portugal
Arbor Felix	Arbon, Thurgau, Switzerland
Arca Caesarea	Arqa, Lebanon
Arconisium	Racconigi
Ardea	Ardea
Arelate	Arles
Arenacum	Arnhem, Netherlands
Argentoratum	Strasbourg, France
Argos¹	Argos, Greece
Ariminum	Rimini, Italy
Assindria	Essen
Asturica Augusta	Astorga
Atalanta	Atalante (Atalanta), Greece
Aternum	Pescara, Italy
Athenae¹	Athens, Greece
Atrans	Trojane, Slovenia
Atrebatum	Arras
Augusta	Augusta
Augusta Argentorate	Strasbourg
Augusta Perusia	Perugia, Italy
Augusta Praetoria Salassorum	Aosta, Italy
Augusta Raurica	Kaiseraugst (Augst), Switzerland
Augusta Taurinorum	Turin, Italy
Augusta Treverorum	Trier (Treves), Germany
Augusta Vindelicorum	Augsburg, Germany
Aurelia	Orléans
Aurelia Aquensi	Baden-Baden, Germany
Aventicum	Avenches, Vaud, Switzerland
Aviarium	Aveiro, Portugal
Badena civitas	Baden, Germany
Baetulo	Badalona, Catalonia, Spain
Balsa	west of Tavira, Portugal
Bangertium	Bangor, England
Barcino	Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Basilia, Basilea	Basel, Basel-City, Switzerland
Batavis, Castra Batavorum, Castra Batava	Passau, Germany
Benacus	Garda
Beneventum	Benevento
Berolinum	Berlin, Germany
Berroea	Verroia, Berrea, Greece
Berytus	Beirut (Bayrut), Lebanon
Berzobis	Berzovia, Romania
Bobium, Ebovium	Bobbio, Italy
Bonna	Bonn, Germany
Borbetomagus	Worms, Germany
Boreana	Burano
Bracara Augusta	Braga, Portugal
Brema	Bremen, Germany
Brestum, Brestia, Brivates Portis	Brest
Brienzola	Brienz, Switzerland
Brigantium	Bregenz, Austria
Brigetio	Komárom-Szöny, Hungary
Brundisium	Brindisi
Brunsvicum	Brunswick (Braunschweig), Germany
Brixia	Brescia, Italy
Burdigala	Bordeaux, France
Caesar Augusta	Saragossa
Calatis	Mangalia, Romania
Calcaria	Tadcaster
Calisia	Kalisz, Poland
Callatis	Mangalia, Romania
Cambodunum	Kempten, Germany
Capua	Santa Maria di Capua Vetere, Italy
Carnium, Carnioburgum	Kranj, Slovenia
Carthago Nova	Cartagena
Carystus¹	Carystos/Carystus, Greece
Cassovia	Košice, Slovakia
Castra	Ajdovščina, Slovenia
Castra Regina	Regensburg, Germany
Castrum Novaesium	Neuss, Germany
Catalaunum, Catelaunorum	Chalons-sur-Marne, France
Celeia	Celje, Slovenia
Cenchreae¹	Kechries, some prefer Cenchreae (near Corinth), Greece
Centum Cellae	Civitavecchia
Chalcis¹	Chalkida (Chalkis, Euboea, Greece
Civitas Sancti Romuli	Sanremo, Sancti Remi, San Remu, San Remo
Civitas Victoriosa	Birgu, Malta
Clagenfurtum	Klagenfurt (Celovec), Austria
Clivia	Kleve, Germany
Conimbriga	Condeixa-a-Nova, South of todays Coimbra, Portugal
Colonia Ulpia Traiana, Sarmizegethusa	Ulpia Traiana, Romania
Colonia Ulpia Traiana, Vetera	Xanten, Germany
Comaromium	Komárno, Slovakia
(Castellum apud) Confluentes	Koblenz, Germany
Constantinopolis	Istanbul, Turkey
Corcyra³	Corfu, Greece
Corduba	Cordóba
Corinthus¹	Corinth, Greece
Costanc	Constance
Cracovia	Krakow, Poland
Curia	Chur, Graubünden, Switzerland
Damascus	Damascus, (Dimashq) Syria
Dantiscum, Gedanum, Gedania	Gdansk, Danzig
Damma, Dammum	Damme, Belgium
Damovilla	Damville
Delphi¹	Delphi, Greece
Deva	Chester, United Kingdom
Dertusa	Tortosa, Catalonia, Spain
Diadora	Zadar, Croatia
Dierna	Orsova, Romania
Diniensium civitas	Digne
Dioclea	Podgorica, Serbia and Montenegro
Divinium	Devin in Bratislava, Slovakia
Divio	Dijon, France
Dodona¹	Dodona, Greece
Dorylaeum	near Eskisehir, Turkey
Dresda	Dresden, Germany
Drobeta	Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania
Durovernum Cantiacorum	Canterbury, United Kingdom
Dyrrhachium	Durrës, Albania
Ebora	Evora, Portugal
Eboracum	York
Eburodunum	Yverdon-les-Bains, Vaud, Switzerland
Egara	Terrassa, Catalonia, Spain
Egiptania	Idanha-a-Velha, Portugal
Eindovia	Eindhoven, Netherlands
Elbinga, Elbingus, Elbinca, Elbangum, Elbingense castrum	Elbląg, formerly known as Elbing, Poland
Eleusis¹	Eleusis, Greece
Emda, Emetha	Emden
Emerita Augusta	Mérida
Emesa	Homs, Syria
Emona, Aemona, Labacum	Ljubljana, Slovenia
Eperiessinum, Fragopolis	Presov, Slovakia
Epidaurus¹	Epidaurus, Greece
Erfordia	Erfurt
Firmum (Picenum)	Fermo
Flanona	Plomin
Flaviacum	Saint-Germer, Flavigny
Florentia	Firenze (Florence), Italy
Flumen	Rijeka, Fiume, Terra Sancti Viti, Croatia
Formio	Rižana
Francofortum ad Moenum	Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Friburgum Brisgoviae	Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Gades	Cadiz
Gedania, Gedanum, Dantiscum	Gdansk, Danzig
Genava	Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Genoa	Genova, Italy
Gerulata	Rusovce in Bratislava, Slovakia
Gerunda	Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Gevalia	Gävle, Sweden
Glevum Colonia	Gloucester, United Kingdom
Goettinga	Göttingen, Germany
Goslaria	Goslar
Gorlicium	Görlitz, Germany / Zgorzelec, Poland
Gothia	Gothenburg (Göteborg), Sweden
Gythium	Gytheion, Greece
Hafnia	Copenhagen (København)
Hale Suevice	Hall in Schwaben
Halicarnassus¹	Bodrum, Turkey
Halifacium, Hortonium	Halifax, England
Hamburgum, Hammonia	Hamburg (Hammaburg), Germany
Hannovera	Hanover (Hannover), Germany
Heraclium¹	Iraklion, rarely Heraclion, Crete, Greece
Herbipolis	Würzburg, Germany
Herculaneum	Ercolano
Holmia (also: Stockholmia)	Stockholm, Sweden
Ilerda	Lleida, Catalonia, Spain
Iluro	Mataró, Catalonia, Spain
Interamna	Terni (Nahars)
Isthmia¹	Isthmia, Greece, slightly E of Corinth
Iuliacum	Jülich, Germany
Jader	Zadar, Croatia
Jassium	Iasi, Romania
Juenna	Podjuna
Juvavum	Salzburg, Austria
Labellum	Lavello
Lamego	Lamego, Portugal
Larnaca¹	Larnaca, Cyprus
Laugaricio	Trencin, Slovakia
Lauriacum	Lorch, Germany
Laurium	Laurion, (Laurium), Greece
Lentia	Linz, Austria
Leucas	Lefkada, Lefkas (Leucas), Greece
Lindaugia, Lindavia	Lindau, Germany
Lipsia	Leipzig, Germany
Lithopolis	Kamnik, Slovenia
Londinium	London, United Kingdom
Longatico, Longaticum	Logatec, Slovenia
Lousonna	Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland
Lubeca	Lübeck, Lubeke
Lugdunum	Lyon, France
Lugdunum Convenarum	Saint Bertrand de Comminges, France
Lupiae	Lecce, Italy
Lutetia	Paris, France
Magdeburgum	Magdeburg
Mantua	Mantova some Mantua, Italy
Marathon, Marathonis¹	Marathon, Greece
Marburgum	Maribor, Slovenia
Massilia	Marseille, France
Medicinum	Mézin
Mediolanum	Milan (Milano), Italy
Megalopolis¹	Megalopolis, Greece
Megara	Megara, (W of Athens) [Greece]]
Messana	Messina, slightly west of Reggio di Calabria
Misnia	Meissen
Mirobriga	Santiago do Cacém, Portugal
Moguncia, Moguntia, Mogontiacum	Mainz
Monachium	Munich (München), Germany
Monasterium	Bitolj, Republic of Macedonia
Monasterium Westphaliae	Münster, Germany
Mosa Traiectum	Maastricht, Netherlands
Mutina	Modena, Italy
Naissus	Niš, Serbia and Montenegro
Napoca	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Narbo	Narbonne
Naupactus	Na(u)fpaktos, Greece
Nauplium¹	Na(u)fplion, Greece
Nauportus	Vrhnika, Slovenia
Neapolis	Naples (Napoli), Italy
Neapolis-Aemonia	Novigrad, Croatia
Neosolium	Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
Nemausus	Nîmes, France
Nemea¹	Nemea, Greece
Neoplanta	Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro
Nesactium	Visače
Neviodunum	Drnovo, Slovenia
Nicomedia¹	Izmit, Turkey
Nola	Nola, ENE of Naples, Italy
Noreia	Neumarkt, Austria
Norimberga	Nuremberg, Germany
Nova Ionia (Athenae)	Nea Ionia (Athens) aka New Ionia, Greece
Nova Ionia (Thessalia)	Nea Ionia (Thessaly) aka New Ionia, Greece
Novae	Sishtov, Bulgaria
Noviomagus	Nijmegen, Noyon, Speyer
Noviodunum (Colonia Iulia Equestris)	Nyon, Vaud, Switzerland
Noviodunum	Isaccea, Tulcea, Romania
Novio Rito	Niort
Octodurum	Martigny, Valais, Switzerland
Odessus	Varna
Oenipons	Innsbruck, Austria
Olisipo	Lisbon(Lisboa), Portugal
Olmedum	Olmedo
Olympia¹	Olympia, Greece
Olympias¹	Olympias (Olympiada), Greece
Orchomenos¹	Orchomenus, Greece
Ossonoba	Faro, Portugal
Ovilava	Wels, Austria
Paeania¹	Paeania/Paiania, Greece
Pampalona, Pampelona	Pamplona
Panormus	Palermo, Italy
Parentium	Poreč, Croatia
Partiscum	Szeged, Hungary
Patavium	Padua (Padova), Italy
Patrae¹	Patras, Greece
Pax Iulia, Pax Augusta, Colonia Pacensis	Beja, Portugal
Petina	Pićan
Phalerum	Phaleron, Faliron, Greece
Philippi	Philippi, Greece
Piquentum	Buzet, Croatia
Piraeus	Piraeus, Greece
Pisaurum	Pesaro, Italy
Placentia	Piacenza, Italy
Poetovio	Ptuj, Slovenia
Pola	Pula, Croatia
Portus Alacer	Portalegre, Portugal
Portus Cale¹	Porto, Portugal
Portus Naonis	Pordenone
Posnania, Poznania	Poznan, Poland
Posonium	Bratislava, Slovakia
Potaissa	Turda, Romania
Potidaea¹	Potidaea (Potidaia), Greece
Prusa, Brusa	Bursa, Turkey
Pyrrhanum	Piran, Slovenia
Ragusa	Dubrovnik, Croatia
Ramboletium	Rambouillet, France
Regiomontium	Kaliningrad, Königsberg until 1945
Rhegium	Reggio di Calabria
Rugensis civitas	Riga, Latvia
Ratisbona	Regensburg
Rigomagus	Remagen, Germany
Risinium	Risan, Serbia and Montenegro
Rocium	Roč
Roma	Rome, Italy
Rotomagus	Rouen
Sablones	Venlo
Salamis¹, Cyprus	Salamis, Cyprus
Salamis¹, Graecia	Salamis, Greece
Salisburgium	Salzburg, Austria
Salmantica	Salamanca
Samarobriva	Amiens, France
Sandomir	Sandomierz, Poland
Saresberia/Serviodunum	Salisbury, England
Scalabis	Santarem, Portugal
Scodra	Shkodër, Albania
Scopium, Scupium	Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Serdica	Sofia, Bulgaria
Silva Ducis	's-Hertogenbosch/Den Bosch
Singidunum	Belgrade (Beograd), Serbia and Montenegro
Sinus	Sines, Portugal
Sipontum	Manfredonia
Siradia	Sieradz, Poland
Sirmium	Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia and Montenegro
Siscia	Sisak, Croatia
Solodurum/Salodurum	Solothurn, Switzerland
Spalatum	Split, Croatia
Sparta¹	Sparta, Greece
Spira	Speyer, Germany
Stabiae	Castellammare di Stabia
Stockholmia (also: Holmia)	Stockholm, Sweden
Stutgardia	Stuttgart, Germany
Syracusae¹	Syracuse (Siracusa)
Taurunum	Zemun, Serbia and Montenegro
Tapae	Poarta de Fier a Transilvaniei, Romania
Tarraco	Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain
Tegea	Tegea, Greece, near Tripoli
Tergestum	Trieste (Trst), Italy
Terracina	Terracina, Italy
Thebae (Boeotia/Athenae)	Theva (Thebes), Greece
Thermopylae¹	Thermopylae, Greece
Thessalonica, Salonica¹	Thessaloniki, Saloniki (Salonika),Makedonia, Greece
Tifernum Tiberinum	Citta di Castello
Toletum	Toledo, Spain
Tolosa	Toulouse, France
Tomis	Constanta, Romania
Tornacum	Tournai, Doornik
Traiectum	Utrecht, Netherlands
Traiectum ad Mosam	Maastricht
Trapezus	Trabzon, Trebizond
Tremonia	Dortmund, Germany
Tridentum	Trento, Italy
Tripolis (Graecia)	Tripoli, Greece
Tripolis (Lib.)	Tripoli, Lebanon
Tritium	Covilhã, Portugal
Troezen, Troezena¹	Troezen, Greece
Tubinga	Tübingen, Germany
Tulpiacum, Tolbiacum	Zülpich (Tolbiac)
Turicum	Zurich, Switzerland
Turoni, Metropolis civitas Turonum, Turonorum, Augusta Turonum, T(h)oronus, Turonica civitas, Caesarodunum	Tours, France
Tusculum	near Frascati, SE of Rome, Italy
Ulpiana	Ljipljan, Serbia and Montenegro
Uranopolis¹	Uranopoli, Greece some prefer Uranopolis
Urba	Orbe, Vaud, Switzerland
Urbs Notabilis	Mdina, Malta
Varadinum	Oradea, Romania
Varsovia	Warsaw, Poland
Veldidena	Wilten, Austria
Velitrae	Velletri
Veniatia	Vinhais, Portugal
Venta Belgarum	Winchester, United Kingdom
Venusia	Venosa
Verulamium	St. Alban's, United Kingdom
Vesontio	Besançon
Vetera, Colonia Ulpia Traiana	Xanten, Germany
Veterosolium, Vetusolium	Zvolen, Slovakia
Vibiscum	Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland
Villa Euracini	Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal
Villa Cardilio	Torres Novas, Portugal
Vindobona	Vienna, Austria
Vindonissa	Windisch, Aargau, Switzerland
Viseu	Viseu, Portugal
Vitudurum	Winterthur, Zurich, Switzerland
Virunum	Maria Saal (Gospa Sveta), Austria
Volaterrae	Volterra, Italy
Volsinium	Bolsena
Vratislavia	Wroclaw, Poland
Wormatia	Worms, Germany
Zycanthus, Zacynthus²	Zante (Zakynthos), Greece

• ¹ Latinized form of the Greek-derived name.
• ² Latinized form of the Asian-derived name via Greek.
• ³ Altered Latinized form of the Greek-derived name.

partial list

See also:

• List of Roman place names in Britain, includes Ireland, Faeroe Islands, and Iceland.
• Latin names of regions
• Latin names of European rivers
• Latin names of cities
• Latin names of geographical features
• Latin names of islands
• Latin names of lakes
• Latin names of mountains
• Latin names of rivers
• Roman place names

External link

• Place Names of Europe
• http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/contents.html

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latin names of European cities."

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Latin names of European rivers

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Following is a list of rivers stating the Latin and equivalent English name.

Latin	English, (other) and older names
Achelous¹	Achelous/Acheloos
Albis	Elbe (Labe, Łaba)
Alpheus¹	Alpheus River (Alfeiós/Alpheiós, Vardar)
Alutus	Olt
Anisus	Enns
Borysthenes	Dnieper (Dniepr)
Cephissus¹ (Athenae)	Cephissus River (Athens) (Kephissós, Kifissós)
Cephissus¹ (Boeotia)	Cephissus River (Boeotia)
Cephissus¹ (Eleusis)	Cephissus River (Eleusis)
Colapis	Kolpa (Kupa)
Crisus	Criş
Danuvius	Upper Danube (Donau, Donava, Dunărea)
Durius	Douro (Duero)
Dravus	Drave (Drau, Drava, Dráva)
Garumna	Garonne
Hierasus	Siret
Hypanis	Boh
Iberus	Ebre (Ebro)
Ister	Lower Danube (Donau, Donava, Dunărea)
Korkoras	Krka
Ligara, Ligera	Loire
Maris	Mureş
Matrona	Marne
Moenus	Main
Natiso	Natisone
Natissis	Noteć
Oenus	Inn
Ordessos	Argeş
Peneus¹ (Elea)	Peneus River (Elia) (Pineiós/Peneós)
Peneus¹ (Tempe)	Peneus River (Tempe) (Pineiós/Peneiós)
Pyretus	Prut
Rhenus	Rhine
Rodanus, Rhodanus	Rhône
Sabrina	Severn
Salla	Saale (Zala, Sala)
Samus	Someş
Savus	Sava
Sequana	Seine
Sontius, Aesontius	Soča (Isonzo)
Tagus	Tagus
Tamesis	Thames
Tiber, Tiberis	Tiber River (Tevere)
Tibicus	Timiş
Tisia	Tissa
Tyras	Dniester (Nistru)
Viadua, Viadrua, Odera	Odra (Oder)
Vistula	Vistula (Wisła, Weichsel)
Vurta	Warta

partial list

¹ - Latinized spelling of a Greek derived name

See also:

• Latin names of European cities
• Latin names of cities
• Latin names of geographical features
• Latin names of islands
• Latin names of lakes
• Latin names of mountains
• Latin names of regions
• Latin names of rivers
• List of Roman place names in Britain
• Romano-British
• Roman place names
• Roman sites in the United Kingdom

External Link

• http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/contents.html

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latin names of European rivers."

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Latin names of islands

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Here are some listings of islands in Latin, and English on the right.

Latin	[English], [other name], [older name], [island chain/region], [state/nation]
Aegina	Aegina, Greece (Aigina)
Insulis Aeolium?	Aeolian Islands
Amorgos	Amorgos, Aegean, Greece
Andros¹	Andros
Anticosti	Ile d'Anticosti, Quebec
Anticythera¹	Anticythera, Cythera, Greece
Antipoda¹	Antipodes
Insula Australis?	South Island, New Zealand
Balearica	Balearic Islands
Insula Borealis?	North Island, New Zealand
Britannia	Britain
Calymnus¹, Calymnos¹	Kalymnos, Dodecanese, Aegean, Greece
Canaris Insula	Canary Islands
Carpathos¹	Carpathos, Dodecanese, Greece
Cassos¹	Cassos, Dodecanese, Greece
Cauda?	Cauda (Gauda/Gaf(v)da), Greece
Cephallenia¹	Kefallinia, Cephallonia
Corcyra	Corfu, Ionian, Greece (Kerkyra)
Corsica	Corsica
Cos¹	Cos, Dodecanese, Aegean, Greece
Creta	Crete (Kriti/Krete)
Cuba	Cuba
Cyclades Ins.	Cyclades
Cyprus	Cyprus (Kypros)
Cynthos¹	Cynthos, Cyclades, Aegean, Greece
Cythera¹	Cythera, Kythera, Greece
Delos¹	Delos, Cyclades, Aegean, Greece
Dodecanesus	Dodecanese, Greece
Dominica	Dominica
Euboea¹	Euboea, Greece
Helena, former name of Macronesus	Makronisos (Macro-nesus)
Hibernia	Ireland (Eire)
Icaria¹	Icaria
Imbros	Imbros Island
Ionia Ins.	Ionian Islands
Ithaca¹	Ithaca
Lemnos¹	Lemnos
Leros	Leros, Aegean, Greece
Lesbos¹	Lesbos
Melitta¹	Malta
Myconos¹	Myconos
Nova Britannia Occidentalis	New West Britain, Papua New Guinea
Nova Caledonia	New Caledonia
Nova Hibernia	New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
Nova Terra	Newfoundland
Orcadia	Orkney Island, Scotland
Paros	Paros, Cyclades, Aegean, Greece
I. Prin. Eduardus	Prince Edward Island
Reg. Elis.	Queen Elizabeth Islands, Nunavut
Reg. Carlt.?	Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia
Rho¹	Ro, E of Rhodes, Greece
Rhodus	Rhodes, Dodecanese, Aegean, Greece
Salamis	Salamis, Greece
Sardinia	Sardinia
Scyrus, Scyros	Scyros, Sporades, Greece
Sicilia	Sicily
Skopelos, Sc?opelos	Skopelos, Sporades, Greece
Strophades	Strophades, S of Zante, Greece
Syros	Syros
Thasos	Thasos, Aegean, Greece
Zelandia	Zealand, Zeeland
Zycanthus, Zacynthus	Zante (Zakynthos), Ionian, Greece

See also

• Latin names of European cities
• Latin names of European rivers
• Latin names of cities
• Latin names of geographical features
• Latin names of lakes
• Latin names of mountains
• Latin names of regions
• Latin names of rivers
• List of Roman place names in Britain
• Roman Place names

External Links

http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/contents.html

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latin names of islands."

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Latium

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Lazio (Latium) is a region of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania and the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The regional capital is Rome. The region is divided into five provinces: Rome, Viterbo, Frosinone, Rieti, Latina.

The name of the region recalls the ancient population of Latins, from whom the Romanss originated.

Latium is extremely important for history, art, architecture, archaeology, religion, culture in general. The immense patrimony of the city of Rome is only a part of the real treasure that is spread over the hundreds of towns, villages, abbeys, churches, monuments, and other sites of the region.

In Roman mythology, Latium is an alternate name for Latinus, who gave his name to the above region.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Latium."

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List of Latin language poets

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Latin poets whose work has survived from antiquity:

Ausonius

Calpurnius

Catullus

Claudian

Ennius

Gallus

Horace

Juvenal

Lucan

Lucretius

Manilius

Martial

Nemesianus

Ovid

Persius

Propertius

Rutilius Namatianus

Statius

Tibullus

Virgil

Later Latin poets:

Petrarch

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Latin language poets."

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List of Latin proverbs

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The following is a list of some Latin and Roman proverbs and sayings, in alphabetical order, with English translations.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

• Ab imo pectore -- "With all [my] heart" (attributed to Julius Caesar)
• Absentem laedit, qui cum ebrio litigat. -- "He who quarrels with a drunk hurts an absentee."
• Acta est fabula -- "What happened is a fable," or "The fable is ended" (Augustus' last words)
• Ad astra per aspera - "To the stars through difficulties," motto of Kansas. (more frequently as "per aspera ad astra")
• Aegroto dum anima est, spes est. -- "As long as a sick person is conscious (or, has a good character, or reacts), there is still hope."
• Age quod agis - "Do what you do", in the sense of "Do well what you do" or "Be serious in what you do"
• Amor patriae nostra lex. -- "Love of the fatherland is our law."
• Alea iacta est. -- "The die is cast!" (Said by Julius Caesar when he crossed the Rubicon, contrary to law.)
• Ars longa, vita brevis. -- "Art is long, life is short."
• Asinus asinorum in saecula saeculorum. -- "The greatest jackass in eternity."
• Audaces fortuna iuvat -- "Luck helps those who're brave." (Vergil, Aeneis 10,284)
• Audiatur et altera pars. -- "The other part should be heard, too."
• Auri sacra fames. -- "The accursed hunger for gold." (Vergil, Aeneis 3,57; later quoted by Seneca quod non mortalia pectora coges, auri sacra fames -- "What aren't you able to bring men to do, miserable hunger for gold!")

B

• Beati pauperes spiritu -- "Lucky are those of a poor mind" (Sermon on the Mount)
• Beatus, qui prodest, quibus potest. -- "He is lucky who helps everyone he can." or, very differently, "He is lucky the one who gets ad advantage from those on which he has some power."
• Bene diagnoscitur, bene curatur. -- "Something that is well diagnosed can be cured well."
• Bis dat, qui cito dat. -- "He who gives quickly gives twice."
• Bis repetita non placent -- "Repetitions are not well-received." (Horace, Ars Poetica 365)
• Bona diagnosis, bona curatio. -- "Good diagnosis, good cure."
• Bona valetudo melior est quam maximae divitiae. -- "Good health is worth more than the greatest wealth."

C

• Carpe diem -- "Use the day" (Horace, Odes I,11,8)
• Cibi condimentum est fames. -- "Hunger is a spice for any meal."
• Concordia civium murus urbium. -- "Harmony of citizens is the wall of cities."
• Consuetudinis vis magna est. -- "The power of habit is great."
• Consuetudo altera natura est. -- "Habit is second nature."
• Contraria contrariis curantur. -- "Opposites are cured by their opposites."
• Contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis. -- "There's no herb against the power of death."
• Cuiusvis hominis est errare -- "Every human can err." (Cicero)
• Cura, ut valeas! -- "Take Care."

D

• De gustibus non est disputandum. -- "Matters of taste ought not to be disputed."
• De mortuis nihil nisi bene. -- "Of the dead, nothing but good."; "Say only good things about the dead."
• Delenda Carthago -- "Carthago must be destroyed" (Cato the elder)
• Deliriant isti Romani. -- "They are mad, those Romans"; -- René Goscinny, Asterix and Obelix comic
• Desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne - "The beautiful woman ends in a fish tail." (Horace, Ars poetica)
• Diem perdidi -- "I lost the day" (Emperor Titus, passed down in Suetonius's biography (8))
• Divide et impera. -- "Divide and govern."
• Donec eris felix multos numerabis amicos. -- "As long as you're happy, you'll have many friends." (Ovid, Tristia I,9,5)
• Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. -- Horace, Odes III, 2, 13 -- "It is sweet and honorable to die for the fatherland."
• Dum spiro, spero. -- "As long as I breathe, I hope."
• Dura lex, sed lex. -- "It may be a hard law, but it still is the law."
• Dura necessitas. -- "Necessity is harsh."

E

• E fructu arbor cognoscitur. -- "The tree can be recognized by its fruits."
• Errare humanum est. Perseverare diabolicum. -- "To err is human. To repeat error is of the Devil." (Seneca
• Et nunc reges, intelligite erudimini qui judicatis terram... -- "And now kings, be warned, you who judge on earth..." (Bible)
• Exegi monumentum aere perennius -- "I built a monument, more durable than ore" (Horace, Odes III, 30, 1)

F

• Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere -- "Lucky [is the person] who could realize things" (variant of Vergil, Georgica 2, 490)
• Festina lente ! "Make haste slowly" - proceed quickly but with caution, a motto of Augustus Caesar.
• Fide, sed qui, vide. -- "Trust but take care whom."
• Fluctuat nec mergitur -- "Shaken by the waves, but it will not sink" (inscription on Paris' coat of arms)
• Fortes fortuna uvat. or Audaces fortuna juvat. -- "Fortune favors the brave."

G

• Gloria victis. -- "Glory to the defeated."
• Gutta cavat lapidem non vi, sed saepe cadendo. -- "A drop drills the rock not with force but by falling repeatedly."

H

• Habent sua fata libelli. -- "Books have their fate."
• Hannibal ante portas. -- "Hannibal before the gates," i.e. wasting time while the enemy is already here.
• Hic Rhodus, hic salta. -- "It's Rhodos, jump here." Aesop
• Hodie mihi, cras tibi. -- "What's to me today, tomorrow to you."
• Homines quod volunt credunt. -- "Men believe what they want to." (Julius Caesar)
• Homo homini lupus est. -- "Man is a wolf to man." Hobbes
• Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. "I am human, so nothing that is human is foreign to me."

I

• Ignorantia iuris nocet. "Being ignorant of law harms."
• Ignorantia legis non excusat. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."
• Ignoti nulla cupido. "The unknown does not tempt."
• Inter arma enim silent leges (Musae). -- "During wars laws" (or "arts") "are silent." Cicero, Oratio Pro Annio Milone (IV)
• In dubio pro reo -- "When in doubt, in favour of the accused"
• In vino veritas. -- "There is truth in wine." That is, "Wine in excess will bring out truth."
• Ira furor brevis est -- "Anger is a short rage" (Horace, epistles I, 2, 62)
• Is fecit, cui prodest. -- "Done by the one who profits from it."
• Iurare in verba magistri. -- "Swear by teacher's words."
• Justitia omnibus. -- "Justice for all."

L

• Laborare est orare. -- "To work is to pray."
• Laborare omnia vincit. -- "Labor conquers all."

M

• Major e longinquo reverentia. -- "Viewed from a distance, everything is beautiful." Cornelius Tacitus, annals 1,47
• Manus manum lavat. -- "One hand washes the other."
• Medicus curat, natura sanat. -- "The doctor cares [for his patient], nature heals [him]."
• Memento mori. -- "Remember your mortality." Also, ironically, "Remember to die." it is the motto of the Friars of Trappa.
• Mens sana in corpore sano. -- "A healthy spirit in a healthy body." (This quotation is out of context: As quoted here, it appears to say that a healthy body is the prerequisite for a healthy spirit, but that's not how it was meant initially. The complete quote is Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano, which means "Let's hope that there is a healthy spirit in a healthy body."; Juvenal, Satires 10, 356)
• Morituri te salutant -- "Those who are doomed to die greet you" (traditional greeting of the gladiators prior to battle; passed on by Suetonius, Claudius 21)

N

• Naturo abhorret a vacuo. -- "Nature abhors a vacuum."
• Nec Hercules contra plures.
• Nemo me impune lacessit. -- "No-one attacks me with impunity," the Scots national motto.
• Neque ignorare medicum oportet quae sit aegri natura.
• Nihil lacrima citius arescit. -- "Nothing dries more quickly than a tear."
• Nil sine numini. -- "Nothing without Providence."
• Nomen est omen. -- "A name is an omen."
• Non fui, fui, non sum, non curo. -- "I was not, I was, I am not, I don't care." (found on tombstones abbreviated NFFNSNC)

• Non licet omnibus adire Corinthum -- "Not everybody is granted [the privilege of] going to Corinth" (Horace, epistles I, 17, 36)
• Non omnia possumus omnes. -- "All of us cannot do everything." (Vergil)
• Non scholae, sed vitae discimus. -- "We don't learn from school but from life." (Original quotation Seneca's is "Non vitae, sed scholae discimus")
• Non ut edam vivo, sed ut vivam edo. -- "I don't live to eat, but I eat to live."
• Non vestimentum virum ornat, sed vir vestimentum. -- "Not the raiment graces the man, but the man the raiment."
• Non vini vi no, sed vi no aquae.
• Nondum amabam, et amare amabam. -- "I did not love, even if I yearned to love."
• Nosce te ipsum! -- "Know thyself!"
• Nulla dies sine linea. -- "No day without a line."
• Nulla est medicina sine lingua Latina. -- "No medicine without Latin."
• Nulla regula sine exceptione. -- "No rule without exception."
• Nulla res tam necessaria est quam medicina. -- "Nothing is so necessary as medicine."
• Nunc est bibendum -- "Now it's time to drink" (Horace, Odes I, 37, 1)

O

• O fortunatos nimium sua si bona norint, agricolas -- "Oh fortunate farmers [i.e., non-mariners], if only they would see their luck" (Vergil, Georgica 2, 458ff.)
• O tempora! O mores! -- "Oh times! Oh morals!" (Cicero, Catilina I, 1, 2)
• Oculi plus vident quam oculus. -- "Several eyes see more than only one."
• Omnes homines sibi sanitatem cupiunt, saepe autem omnia, quae valetudini contraria sunt, faciunt. -- "All men wish to be healthy, but often they do everything that's disadvantageous to their health."
• Omnia mea mecum porto. -- "All that's mine I carry with me."
• Omnia vincit amor. -- "Love conquers all."
• Omnium artium medicina nobilissima est. -- "Medicine is the noblest of all arts."
• Optimum medicamentum quies est. -- "Peace is the best medicine."
• Ora et labora. -- "Pray and work."

P

• Panem et circenses -- "Bread and games" (Decimus Junius Juvenal, Satires 10, 81)
• Pax melior est quam iustissimum bellum. -- "Peace is better than the most just war."
• Pecunia not olet. -- "Money does not smell" (Remark by Roman emperor Vespasian on the plan to tax public urinals.)
• Per aspera ad astra. -- "Through hardships to the stars." (The motto of NASA.)
• Per scientiam ad salutem aegroti. -- "To heal the sick through knowledge."
• Plenus venter non studet libenter. -- "A full belly doesn't like studying."
• Plures crapula quam gladius perdidit. -- "Drunkenness takes more lives than the sword."
• Post cenam non stare sed mille passus meare. -- "Do not rest after dinner, but walk a mile."
• Post hoc non est propter hoc. -- "'After this' is not 'because of this'."
• Praesente medico nihil nocet. -- "In the presence of a doctor nothing can harm."
• Praevenire melius est quam praeveniri. -- "It is better to precede than to be preceded."
• Primum non nocere. -- "First, do no harm" (a physician's principle).

Q

• Qualis artifex pereo -- "What a great artist dies with me." (attributed to Nero by Suetonius)
• Quid novi ex Africa? -- "What's new from Africa?" (derived from an Aristotle quote)
• Quidquid agis, prudenter agas, et respice finem! -- "Whatever you do, may you do it prudently, and toe the line!"
• Quidquid discis, tibi discis. -- "Whatever you learn, you learn it for yourself."
• Quidquid id est timeo puellas et oscula dantes. -- "Whatever it is, I fear the girls, even when they kiss." (a variant on Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes)
• Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur. -- "Anything said in Latin sounds profound."
• Qui habet aures audiendi audiat -- "Those who have ears to hear, hear!" (Bible)
• Qui rogat, non errat. -- "Who asks isn't wrong."
• Qui scribit, bis legit. -- "Who writes, reads twice."
• Qui tacet, consentire videtur. -- "Who is silent seems to agree."
• Qui vult dare parva non debet magna rogare. -- "He who wishes to give little shouldn't ask for much."
• Quo errat demonstrator -- "Where the prover errs" (a pun on Quod erat demonstrandum)
• Quo vadis? -- "Where are you going?" (Bible)
• Quod erat demonstrandum -- "What was to be proven" (Euklid)
• Quod licet Iovis, non licet bovis. -- "All that is allowed to Jupiter is not necessarily allowed to an ox."
• Quod medicina aliis, aliis est acre venenum. -- "One person's medicine is another's foul poison."
• Quot capita, tot sententiae. -- "As many opinions as people."
• Quousque tandem? -- "For how much longer?" (Cicero)

R

• Reddite ergo quae sunt Caesaris, Caesari -- "Give Caesar what's Caesar's" (Bible)
• Repetitio est mater studiorum. -- "Repetition is the mother of study."

S

• Saepe morborum gravium exitus incerti sunt. -- "The effects of serious illnesses are often unknown."
• Salus aegroti suprema lex. -- "The well-being of the patient is the most important law."
• Sic transit gloria mundi. -- "Thus passes worldly glory." In Bible; repeated during the coronation of the Pope.
• Similia similibus curantur. -- "Like cures like."
• Sine labore non erit panis in ore. -- "Without work there won't be any bread in your mouth."
• Si decem habeas linguas, mutum esse addecet. -- "Even if you had ten tongues, you should hold them all."
• Si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses. -- "If you had kept your silence, you would have stayed a philosopher."
• Si vis pacem, para bellum. -- "If you want peace, prepare war." (Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris)
• Si vis pacem, para iustitiam. -- "If you want peace, prepare justice."
• Sol lucet omnibus -- "The sun shines for everyone" (Gaius Petronius Arbiter, Satyricon 100)
• Summum ius summa inuria. -- "More law, less justice." (Cicero, De officiis I, 10, 33)

T

• Tarde venientibus ossa. -- "For those who come late, only the bones."
• Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis. -- "The times are changed, and we are changed in them."
• Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes -- "I fear the Danaens even if they bring presents" (Vergil, Aeneis, 2, 49)
• Tres faciunt collegium. -- "Three makes a company."
• Tu quoque fili -- "You too, son" (Julius Caesar)

U

• Ubi concordia, ibi victoria. -- "Where there is harmony, there is victory."
• Ubi fumus, ibi ignis. -- "Where there's smoke, there's fire."
• Ubi tu Gaius, ibi ego Gaia. -- "Where you are, Gaius, there I, Gaia, will be." (This is said to have been a nuptial formula, but it is only known from Greek sources.)
• Una salus victis, nullam sperare salutem
• Unum castigabis, centum emendabis. -- "If you reprove one error, you will correct a hundred."
• Usus magister est optimus. -- "Practice makes perfect."
• Ut ameris, amabilis esto. -- "Be amiable, then you'll be loved."
• Ut sis nocte levis, sit cena brevis! -- "That your sleeping hour be peaceful, let your dining hour be brief!" (Sis is one hour before sunset.)

V

• Vade retro -- "Step back!" (Publius Terent, Formio I, 4, 203)
• Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas -- "Everything's vain" (Bible)
• Veni, vidi, vici -- "I came, I saw, I triumphed" (Julius Caesar, after defeating king Pharnakles near Zela in 47 BC)
• Ventis secundis, tene cursum. -- "Go with the flow."
• Verba docent, exempla trahunt. -- "Words instruct, illustrations lead."
• Veritas odium paret -- "Truth creates hatred" (Terence, Andria 68)
• Victrix causa diis placuit sed victa Catoni -- "The victorious cause pleased the gods, but the [female] defeated pleased Cato" (Lucanus, Pharsalia 1, 128)
• Video meliora proboque deteriora sequor -- "I see the better and acknowledge it, but I follow the worse (Ovid)
• Vinum et musica laetificant cor -- "Wine and music delight the heart" (Bible)
• Vox populi, vox dei. -- "The voice of the people is the voice of God."

See also

• List of Latin phrases
• Brocards

• proverb
• Chinese proverbs
• English proverbs
• French proverbs
• German proverbs
• Japanese proverbs
• Polish proverbs
• Portuguese proverbs
• Spanish proverbs

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Latin proverbs."

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Roman Empire

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Roman Empire, successor of the Roman Republic, controlled the Mediterranean world and much of Northern Europe after 31 B.C The last Roman emperor in the western half of the empire was deposed in 476. The eastern part of the empire continued without interruption, but with gradually shrinking territory, until 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks (See Byzantine Empire). Successor states in the west (the Frankish kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire) and the east (the Russian czars) used titles adopted from Roman practices well into the modern period.

The Roman Empire's influence on government, law, architecture, and many other aspects of life remains inescapable. See also: Roman culture

The rise of Augustus

As the Roman Republic (509 B.C - 31 B.C) came to an end, Gaius Octavius, great-nephew of Julius Caesar, solidified his position by his defeat of his only rival for power, Mark Antony, in the battle of Actium the following year. He had his work cut out for him; years of civil war had left Rome in a state of near-lawlessness. Moreover, Rome was not prepared to accept the control of a despot.

Octavius (or Octavian) was clever. First, he disbanded his armies, and held elections. Octavian was chosen for the powerful position of Consul. In 27 B.C, he officially returned power to the Senate of Rome, and offered to relinquish his own military supremacy and hegemony over Egypt. Not only did the senate turn him down, he was also given control of Spain, Gaul and Syria. Shortly thereafter, the Senate gave him the name Augustus.

Augustus knew that the power he needed to rule absolutely could not be derived from his Consulship, however. In 23 B.C, he renounced this office in favor of two other powers. First, he was granted the office of a tribune, which allowed him to convene the senate at will and lay business before it. Since the tribuneship was an office traditionally associated with the people, this consolidated his power further. Second, he received new authority in the form of an "Imperial" power, which gave him supreme authority in all matters pertaining to territorial governance. 23 B.C. is the date on which Augustus is usually said to have assumed the mantle of Emperor of Rome. He more typically used a civilian title, however, Princeps, or "First Citizen."

As Emperor, Augustus organized the affairs of his empire with aplomb; it is largely due to his genius that the Roman Empire lasted for as long as it did. He established standardized minting and taxation; he created a civil service structure consisting of knights and freedmen (former slaves). He also provided retirement benefits for soldiers.

He was a master propagandist, and his patronage of the Roman writers Horace, Livy and (especially) Virgil allowed him to cement his position through use of poetry and prose. His use of games and special events to celebrate himself and his family cemented his popularity.

Augustus also founded the world's first fire brigade, and created a regular police force for Rome.

In fact, Augustus's control of power throughout the Empire was so absolute that it allowed him to name his successor, a custom which had been abandoned and derided in Rome since the foundation of the Republic. At first, indications pointed toward his sister's son Marcellus, who had been married to Augustus's daughter Julia. However, he died of food poisoning in 23 B.C. Reports of later historians that this poisoning, and other later deaths, were caused by Augustus's wife Livia Drusilla are inconclusive at best.

After the death of Marcellus, Augustus married his daughter to his right hand man, Marcus Agrippa. This union produced three children, Gaius Caesar, Lucius Caesar, and Postumus Agrippa (so named because he was born after Marcus Agrippa died). Augustus's intent to make the first two children his heirs was apparent when he adopted them as his own children. Augustus also showed favor to his stepsons (Livia's children from her first marriage) Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus and Tiberius Claudius, after they had conquered a large portion of Central Europe.

After Agrippa died in 12 B.C, Livia's son Tiberius divorced his own wife and married Agrippa's widow. Tiberius shared in Augustus's tribunical powers, but shortly thereafter went into retirement. After the early deaths of both Gaius and Lucius in AD 4 and AD 2. respectively, and the earlier death of his brother Drusus (9 BC), Tiberius was recalled to Rome, where he was adopted by Augustus.

On AD August 19, 14, Augustus died. Shortly thereafter, the senate voted him into the pantheon of Roman gods (or deified him). Postumus Agrippa and Tiberius had been named co-heirs. However, Postumus had been banished, and was put to death around the same time. Who ordered his death is unknown, but the way was clear for Tiberius to assume the same powers that his stepfather had.

The heirs of Augustus: the Julio-Claudian Line

Tiberius

The early years of Tiberius's reign were peaceful and relatively benign. Tiberius secured the power of Rome and enriched the treasury. However, Tiberius's reign soon became characterized by paranoia and slander. In 19, he was blamed for the death of his nephew, the popular Germanicus. In 23, his own son Drusus died. More and more, Tiberius retreated into himself. He began a series of treason trials and executions. He left power in the hands of the commander of the guard, Aelius Sejanus. Tiberius himself retired to live at his villa on the island of Capri in 26, leaving Sejanus in charge. Sejanus carried on the persecutions with relish. He also began to consolidate his own power; in 31, he was named co-consul with Tiberius and married Livilla, the emperor's niece. At this point, he was hoist by his own petard; the Emperor's paranoia, which he had so ably exploited for his own gain, was turned against him. Sejanus was put to death, along with many of his cronies, the same year. The persecutions continued apace until Tiberius's death in 37.

Caligula

At the time of Tiberius's death, most of the people who might have succeeded him had been brutally murdered. The logical successor (and Tiberius's own choice) was his grandnephew, Germanicus's son Gaius (better known as Caligula). Caligula started out well, by putting an end to the persecutions and burning his uncle's records. Unfortunately, he quickly lapsed into illness. The Caligula that emerged in late 37 may have suffered from epilepsy, and was more probably insane. He ordered his soldiers to invade Britain, but changed his mind at the last minute and had them pick sea shells on the northern end of France instead. It is believed he carried on incestuous relations with his sisters. He had ordered a statue of himself to be erected in the Temple at Jerusalem, which would have undoubtedly led to revolt had he not been dissuaded. In 41, Caligula was assassinated by the commander of the guard Cassius Chaerea. The only member left of the imperial family to take charge was another nephew of Tiberius's, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, better known as the emperor Claudius.

Claudius

Claudius had long been considered a weakling and a fool by the rest of his family. He was, however, neither paranoid like his uncle Tiberius, nor insane like his nephew Caligula, and was therefore able to administrate with reasonable ability. He improved the bureaucracy and streamlined the citizenship and senatorial rolls. He also proceeded with the conquest and colonization of Britain (in 43), and incorporated more Eastern provinces into the empire. In Italy, he constructed a winter port at Ostia, thereby providing a place for grain from other parts of the Empire to be brought in inclement weather.

On the home front, Claudius was less successful. His wife Messalina cuckolded him; when he found out, he had her executed and married his niece, Agrippina the younger. She, along with several of his freedmen, held an inordinate amount of power over him, and very probably killed him in 54. Claudius was deified later that year. The death of Claudius paved the way for Agrippina's own son, the 16-year-old Lucius Domitus, or, as he was known by this time, Nero.

Nero

Initially, Nero left the rule of Rome to his mother and his tutors, particularly Lucius Annaeus Seneca. However, as he grew older, his desire for power increased; he had his mother and tutors executed. During Nero's reign, there were a series of riots and rebellions throughout the Empire: in Britain, Armenia, Parthia and Judaea. Nero's inability to manage the rebellions and his basic incompetence became evident quickly and in 68, even the Imperial guard renounced him. Nero committed suicide, and the year 69 (known as the Year of the Four Emperors) was a year of civil war, with the emperors Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian ruling in quick succession. By the end of the year, Vespasian was able to solidify his power as emperor of Rome.

The Flavian Emperors

Vespasian

Vespasian was a remarkably successful Roman general who had been given rule over much of the eastern part of the Roman Empire. He had supported the imperial claims of Galba; however, on his death, Vespasian became a major contender for the throne. After the suicide of Otho, Vespasian was able to hijack Rome's winter grain supply, placing him in a good position to defeat his remaining rival, Vitellius. On December 20, 69, some of Vespasian's partisans were able to occupy Rome. Vitellius was murdered by his own troops, and the next day, Vespasian was confirmed as Emperor by the Senate.

Vespasian was quite the autocrat, and gave much less credence to the Senate than his Julio-Claudian predecessors. This was typified by his dating his accession to power from July 1, when his troops proclaimed him emperor, instead of December 21, when the Senate confirmed his appointment. He would, in later years, expel dissident senators.

Vespasian was able to liberate Rome from the financial burdens placed upon it by Nero's excesses and the civil wars. By increasing tax rates dramatically (sometimes as much as doubling them) he was able to build up a surplus in the treasury and embark on public works projects. It was he who first commissioned the Roman Colosseum; he also built a forum whose centerpiece was a temple to Peace.

Vespasian was also an effective emperor for the provinces. His generals quelled rebellions in Syria and Germany. In fact, in Germany he was able to expand the frontiers of the empire, and a great deal more of Britain was brought under Roman rule. He also extended Roman citizenship to the inhabitants of Spain.

Another example of his monarchical tendencies was his insistence that his sons Titus Flavius and Domitian would succeed him; the imperial power was not seen as hereditary at this point. Titus, who had some military successes early in Vespasian's reign, was seen as the heir presumptive to the throne; Domitian was seen as somewhat less disciplined and responsible. Titus joined his father in the offices of censor and consul and helped him reorganize the senatorial rolls. Upon Vespasian's death in 79, Titus was immediately confirmed as Emperor.

Titus

Titus's short reign was marked by disaster: in 79, Vesuvius erupted in Pompeii, and in 80, a fire decimated much of Rome. His generosity in rebuilding after these tragedies made him very popular. Titus was very proud of his work on the vast amphitheater begun by his father. He held the opening ceremonies in the still unfinished edifice during the year 80, celebrating with a lavish show that featured 100 gladiators and lasted 100 days. However, it was during Domitian's reign that the Colosseum was completed. Titus died in 81, at the age of 41; it was rumored that his brother Domitian murdered him in order to become his successor.

Domitian

Domitian did not live up to the good name left for the family by his father and elder brother. While his offenses may have been exaggerated by hostile later generations, it is clear that he did not like to share power. It had become accepted by Domitian's time that the emperor would simultaneously hold many of the magistracies established during Republican times (for instance the censorship and the tribunate), but it was still customary for other politicians to have those powers as well. Domitian wanted to claim authority for himself alone, causing him to alienate the Senate as well as the people.

See also: Roman Emperors, Five good emperors, Pax romana, Byzantine Empire, Roman currency, Roman place names and Byzantine Emperors.

Ancient Historians of the Empire

Writing in Latin

Livy - his history is of the Roman Republic, but he wrote during the reign of Augustus

Suetonius

Tacitus

Ammianus Marcellinus

Writing in Greek

Eusebius of Caesarea

Sozomen

Latin Literature of the Empire

Apuleius

Augustine of Hippo

Horace

Virgil

18th and 19th century histories

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon (1776 - 1788)

Modern histories of the Roman Empire

• J.B. Bury, A History of the Roman Empire from its Foundation to the death of Marcus Aurelius (1913)
• M.I. Rostovteff, Economic History of the Roman Empire (2nd ed., 1957)
• A.H.M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire, 284-602 (1964)
  

nds:Römsche Riek simple:Roman Empire

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Roman Empire."

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Abbreviations & Acronyms: Latin

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Synonyms within Context: Latin

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Modern Usage: Latin

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Commercial Usage: Latin

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Image Slideshow: Latin

Photos: Latin More pictures...

Illustrations: Latin More pictures...

Computer Images: Latin More pictures...

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Photo Album: Latin

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	This mosaic shows the Caloris Basin (located half-way in shadow on the terminator).Caloris is Latin for heat and the basin is named this because it is nearthe subsolar point (the point closest to the sun) when Mercury is at perihelion (theclosest point in its orbit to the sun). Credit: NASA.		First page of "Opusculu[m] repertorii pro[g]nosticon in mutationes aeris..." This is a Latin translation of a work by Hippocrates of the effect of climate on health. It was published in 1485 and is the oldest book in the NOAA Central Library. Call number QC859 .H56 1485. Credit: Treasures of the Library.
	Portrait of the author - Daniel Schwenter, scholar; a mathematician and linguist familiar with Greek, Latin, Arabic, etc. "Geometriae practicae novae et auctae tractatus I[-IV] ..." by Schwenter, Daniel, 1585-1636. Vol II, page 1. Published posthumously in 1641. Credit: Treasures of the Library.		To increase the genetic diversity of U.S. corn, the Germplasm Enhancement for Maize (GEM) project seeks to combine exotic germplasm, such as this unusually colored and shaped maize from Latin America, with domestic corn lines. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Keith Weller..
	Photographed on 10 May 1963. This emblem features an image of the ship, along with a globe representing the World-wide missions of a fleet oiler. The Latin motto is translated: "Best in the World". Credit: NAVY.		Ships' insignia adopted in about 1965. Its design features symbols representing the ship's communications mission. The Latin motto "Ubi Actio Est", translated "where the action is", is printed on a strip of teletype tape. Credit: NAVY.
	I'm taking a trip to Latin America, Chief ... Credit: Library of Congress.		Some of the members of the Westinghouse Latin American Fraternity, on a large generator(?), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Latin American townscape in valley. Credit: Library of Congress.		Boston Normal and Girls' Latin School, Boston, Mass. Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Sounds Captioned with "Latin".

Play	Caption	Play	Caption
	Upbeat Latin jazz piece with horns, congas, and timbales.		A slow Latin jazz-style ballad with a guitar chordal solo.
	A Latin jazz style piece using lots of keyboards and auxiliary percussion. .		A synthesized accompaniment pad for a Latin jazz-style guitar solo.
	Typical Latin jazz piece featuring a tenor saxophone solo.		A pop excerpt very typical of an mid-1980's style with funk and Latin influences.
	Very typical montuno Latin jazz-style piece.		A Latin jazz style rhythm section playing in a Bossa Nova style.
	Very typical Latin jazz style incorporating a unison rhythm break.		Latin percussion section and keyboard chords played in a medium groove style.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Latin

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Use in Literature: Latin

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Non-Fiction Usage: Latin

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Speeches: Latin

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Usage Frequency: Latin

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Name Usage Frequency: Latin

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Usage in Company Names: Latin

Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.

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Expressions: Latin

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Latin

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Modern Translation: Latin

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Ancestral Language Translations: Latin

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Bible Trace: Latin

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Matched Bible Translations: Latin

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Derivations & Misspellings: Latin

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Anagrams: Latin

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