Lustrum

to be hailed imperator in order to qualify for a triumph
    imperium the power to command, granted by the state to an individual, usually a consul, praetor or provincial governor
    legate a deputy or delegate
    lictor an attendant who carried the fasces – a bundle of birch rods tied together with a strip of red leather – that symbolised a magistrate's imperium; consuls were accompanied by twelve lictors, who served as their bodyguards, praetors by six; the senior lictor, who stood closest to the magistrate, was known as the proximate lictor
    manumission the emancipation of a slave
    Order of Knights see equestrian order
    pontifex maxiumus the chief priest of the Roman state religion, the head of the fifteen-member College of Priests, entitled to an official residence on the Via Sacra
    praetor the second most senior magistrate in the Roman republic, eight of whom were elected annually, usually in July, to take office the following January, and who drew lots to determine which of the various courts – treason, embezzlement, corruption, serious crime, etc – they would preside over; see also urban praetor
    prosecutions as there was no public prosecution system in the Roman republic, all criminal charges, from embezzlement to treason and murder, had to be brought by private individuals
    public assemblies the supreme authority and legislature of the Roman people was the people themselves, whether constitued by tribe (the
comitia tributa
, which voted on laws, declared war and peace, and elected the tribunes) or by century (the
comitia centuriata
, which elected the senior magistrates)
    quaestor a junior magistrate, twenty of whom were elected each year, and who thereby gained the right of entry to the senate; it was necessary for a candidate for the quaestorship to be over thirty and to show wealth of one million sesterces
    rostra a long, curved platform in the forum, about twelve feet high, surmounted by heroic statues, from which the Roman people were addressed by magistrates and advocates; its name derived from the beaks (
rostra
) of captured enemy warships set into its sides
    senaculum an open space in front of the senate house where it was traditional for senators to assemble before the start of a session
    senate not
the legislative assembly of the Roman republic – laws could only be passed by the people in a tribal assembly – but something closer to its executive, with 600 members who could raise matters of state and order the consul to take action or to draft laws to be placed before the people; once elected via the quaestorship (see quaestor ) a man would normally remain a senator for life, unless removed by the censors for immorality or bankruptcy, hence the average age was high (
senate
derived from
senex
= old)
    tribes the Roman people were divided into thirty-five tribes for the purposes of voting on legislation and to elect the tribunes; unlike the system of voting by century , the votes of rich and poor when cast in a tribe had equal weight
    tribune a representative of the ordinary citizens – the plebeians – ten of whom were elected annually each summer and took office in December, with the power to propose and veto legislation, and to summon assemblies of the people; it was forbidden for anyone other than a plebeian to hold the office
    triumph an elaborate public celebration of homecoming, granted by the senate to honour a victorious general, to qualify for which it was necessary for him to retain his military imperium – and as it was forbidden to enter Rome whilst still possessing military authority, generals wishing to triumph had to wait outside the city until the senate granted them a triumph
    urban praetor the head of the justice system, senior of all the praetors, third in rank in the republic after the two consuls

DRAMATIS PERSONAE
    AFRANIUS, LUCIUS an ally of Pompey's from his home region of Picenum; a legate in the war against Mithradates; later Pompey's nominee for the consulship
    ARRIUS, QUINTUS a former praetor and military commander, closely allied to Crassus
    ATTICUS, TITUS POMPONIUS Cicero's closest friend; brother-in law to Quintus Cicero, who is married to his sister, Pomponia
    AURELIA mother of Julius Caesar
    BIBULUS, MARCUS CALPURNIUS Caesar's colleague as consul, and his staunch opponent
    CAESAR, GAIUS JULIUS effectively the leader of the populist faction in Rome; six years Cicero's junior; married to Pompeia, with whom he lives along with his mother, Aurelia, and daughter,