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79-622: Claudius had particular affinities with Lugdunum (Lyon). He was born there, and it housed the Imperial cult centre: as both Emperor and a "native" of the city, he was probably seen as its patron. He made the inscribed speech before the Roman Senate in 48 AD. It was a proposal to allow monied, landed citizens from further Gaul to enter the Senatorial class, and thus the Senate itself , once they had reached

158-496: A constitution which conferred executive powers upon three consuls, elected for a period of ten years. In reality, the first consul, Bonaparte, dominated his two colleagues and held supreme power, soon making himself consul for life (1802) and eventually, in 1804, emperor . The office was held by: The short-lived Bolognese Republic , proclaimed in 1796 as a French client republic in the Central Italian city of Bologna , had

237-644: A Provisional Government: Rome was occupied by France (11 July – 28 September 1799) and again by Naples (30 September 1799 – 23 June 1800), bringing an end to the Roman Republic. Among the many petty local republics that were formed during the first year of the Greek Revolution , prior to the creation of a unified Provisional Government at the First National Assembly at Epidaurus , were: Note: in Greek ,

316-408: A consul ( French : consul or consule ) was an office equivalent to the échevins  [ fr ] of the north and roughly similar with English aldermen . The most prominent were those of Bordeaux and Toulouse , which came to be known as jurats and capitouls , respectively. The capitouls of Toulouse were granted transmittable nobility. In many other smaller towns the first consul

395-399: A demonstration of their gratitude. Claudius is known to have visited the city in 43 AD and in 47 AD. ″Of course, I can foresee the objection which will arise in everyone's mind, will be the first to be raised against me... But do not rebel against the proposal I am making, and do not regard it as a dangerous novelty. Look instead at how many changes have taken place in this city, and how, from

474-577: A government consisting of nine consuls and its head of state was the Presidente del Magistrato , i.e., chief magistrate , a presiding office held for four months by one of the consuls. Bologna already had consuls at some parts of its Medieval history. The French-sponsored Roman Republic (15 February 1798 – 23 June 1800) was headed by multiple consuls: Consular rule was interrupted by the Neapolitan occupation (27 November – 12 December 1798), which installed

553-644: A government to reside in a foreign country and represent its interests there." The Devil's Dictionary defines Consul as "in American politics, a person who having failed to secure an office from the people is given one by the Administration on condition that he leave the country". In most governments, the consul is the head of the consular section of an embassy, and is responsible for all consular services such as immigrant and non-immigrant visas , passports , and citizen services for expatriates living or traveling in

632-608: A military and strategic standpoint. Cities like Augusta Treverorum ( Trier ) eclipsed Lugdunum in importance. The status of the western provinces declined further when Constantine made Byzantium (later named Constantinople after his death) the capital of the Eastern part of the Empire. As the Western Empire disintegrated in the 5th century, Lugdunum became the principal city of the Kingdom of

711-509: A name invoking prosperity and the blessing of the gods. The city became increasingly referred to as Lugdunum (and occasionally Lugudunum ) by the end of the 1st century AD. During the Middle Ages , Lugdunum was transformed to Lyon by natural sound change. Lugdunum is a Latinization of the Gaulish *Lugudunon , meaning "Fortress (or hill) of (the god) Lugus " or, alternately, "Fortress of

790-730: A political alliance. Albinus was a former legate of Britannia and commanded legions in Britain and Gaul. Septimius Severus commanded the Pannonian legions, and led them successfully against Didius Julianus near Rome in 193, and defeated Pescennius Niger in 194. Severus consolidated his power in Rome and broke his alliance with Albinus. The Senate supported Severus and declared Albinus a public enemy. Clodius Albinus had settled with his army near Lugdunum early in 195. There, he had himself proclaimed Augustus and made plans to counter Severus. Albinus reopened

869-520: A position to assist you.″ ″But it's time, Tiberius Caesar Germanicus, to discover to the Conscript Fathers what your speech tend toward, because you've already reached the extrem boundary of the Gaul of Narbonne .″ ″All these distinguished young men on whom I cast my eyes, you do not regret seeing them among the senators any more, than Persicus, a man of noble race and my friend, do not regrets reading on

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948-504: A public interrogation in the forum by the tribune and town magistrates. The Christians publicly confessed their faith and were imprisoned until the arrival of Legate of Lugdonensis, who gave his authority to the persecution. About 40 of the Christians were savagely martyred—tortured, dying in prison, beheaded, or killed by beasts in the arena as a public spectacle. Among the latter were Bishop Pothinus, Blandina , Doctor Attalus, Ponticus, and

1027-561: A supportive interest in the town, making its noblemen eligible to serve in the Roman Senate, as described above. During Claudius' reign, the city's strategic importance was enhanced by the bridging of the Rhône river. Its depth and swampy valley had been an obstacle to travel and communication to the east. The new route, termed the compendium , shortened the route south to Vienne and made the roads from Lugdunum to Italy and Germany more direct. By

1106-472: Is the very illustrious and powerful colonia of the Viennese, which has long been sending senators to this assembly. Was it not from this colonia, that Lucius Vestinus came, one of many, a rare ornament of the equestrian order , for whom I have a very special affection and whom I am keeping close to me at the moment for my own business? I beg you, honour his sons with the first functions of the priesthood, so that as

1185-587: Is thought to have visited at least three times between 16 and 8 BC. Drusus lived in Lugdunum between 13 and 9 BC. In 10 BC his son Claudius (the future emperor) was born there. Tiberius stopped in Lugdunum in 5–4 BC, on his way to the Rhine, and again in 21 AD, campaigning against the Andecavi . Caligula made a longer visit in 39–40, as documented by Suetonius . Claudius and Nero also contributed to

1264-623: The Galerian tribe . The aqueduct of the Monts d'Or , completed around 20 BC, was the first of at least four aqueducts supplying water to the city. Within 50 years Lugdunum increased greatly in size and importance, becoming the administrative centre of Roman Gaul and Germany . By the end of the reign of Augustus , Strabo described Lugdunum as the junction of four major roads (the Via Agrippa ): south to Narbonensis , Massilia and Italy , north to

1343-564: The Rhine river and Germany, northwest to the sea (the English Channel ), and west to Aquitania . The proximity to the frontier with Germany made Lugdunum strategically important for the next four centuries, as a staging ground for further Roman expansion into Germany, as well as the de facto capital city and administrative centre of the Gallic provinces. Its large and cosmopolitan population made it

1422-575: The Roman Republic (509 to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the highest level of the cursus honorum (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspired). Consuls were elected to office and held power for one year. There were always two consuls in power at any time. It was not uncommon for an organization under Roman private law to copy the terminology of state and city institutions for its own statutory agents. The founding statute, or contract, of such an organisation

1501-448: The consular dignity, and to which our ancestors had recourse in the difficult circumstances brought on by our civil disturbance or dangerous wars, or the plebeian tribunes , instituted to relax the interests of the people? When power passed from the consuls to the decemvirs , did it not return to the consuls when it was taken away from the decemvirate? Was not consular power passed on to six, then eight military tribunes ? Shall I tell of

1580-605: The neolithic era, and a Gallic settlement with continuous occupation from the 4th century BC, during the La Tène period. It was situated on the Fourvière heights above the Saône river. There was trade with Campania for ceramics and wine, and use of some Italic-style home furnishings before the Roman conquest. The Romans controlled the southern portion of Gaul by the 2nd century BC, founding

1659-472: The -g- having become silent) with the similar-sounding Germanic word for "love", *luβ . Another early medieval folk-etymology of the name, found in gloss on the Latin poet Juvenal , connects the element Lugu- to the Latin word for "light", lux ( luci - in compounds) and translates the name as "Shining Hill" ( lucidus mons ). Archeological evidence shows Lugdunum was a pre- Gallic settlement as far back as

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1738-427: The 2nd century, Lugdunum prospered and grew to a population of 40,000 to 200,000 persons. Four aqueducts brought water to the city's fountains , public baths , and wealthy homes. The aqueducts were well engineered and included several siphons . It continued to be a provincial capital with additional government functions and services such as the mint and customs service. Lugdunum had at least two banks and became

1817-501: The 2nd century, led by a bishop Pothinus —who probably was Greek. In 177 it also became the first in Gaul to suffer persecution and martyrdom . The event was described in a letter from the Christians in Lugdunum to counterparts in Asia, later retrieved and preserved by Eusebius . There is no record of a cause or a triggering event but mob violence against the Christians in the streets culminated in

1896-533: The Burgundians in 443 AD. The Lugdunum mint remained in operation under the new rulers. [REDACTED] Media related to Lugdunum at Wikimedia Commons Multimedia Resources of Lugdunum Consul Consul (abbrev. cos. ; Latin plural consules ) was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic , and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire . The title

1975-471: The Elder who, because of the stain of his blood (his father was Demaratus of Corinth , and his mother a Tarquinian of noble race, it is true, but her poverty had forced her to submit to such a husband), found himself rejected in his homeland from the career of honours; after emigrating to Rome, he became its king. The son of the slave Ocresia, if we are to believe our historians, Servius Tullius took his place on

2054-486: The Gaulish word for an eminence or high ground (τόπον ἐξέχοντα), dunon . An early interpretation of Gaulish Lugduno as meaning "Desired Mountain" is recorded in a gloss in the 9th-century Endlicher's Glossary , but this may in fact reflect a native Frankish speaker's folk-etymological attempt at linking the first element of the name, Lugu- (which, by the time this gloss was composed, would have been pronounced lu'u ,

2133-683: The Genoese Republic, the Republic of Pisa also took the form of "Consul" in the early stages of its government. The Consulate of the Republic of Pisa was the major government institution present in Pisa from 1087 to 1189. Despite losing space within the government since 1190 in favor of the Podestà , for some periods of the 13th century some citizens were again elected as consuls. Throughout most of southern France ,

2212-476: The Lyonnais to punish nearby Vienne. Vienne quickly laid down weapons and paid a "ransom" to forestall plundering. Meanwhile, Vitellius arrived in Lugdunum, where, according to Tacitus , he formally declared himself Imperator , punished unreliable soldiers, and celebrated with feasts, and with games in the amphitheater. Fortunately for Lugdunum, the would-be emperor and his army hurried into Italy, defeated Otho , and

2291-519: The Roman gods. Additional religious cults came with the oriental immigrants, who brought the eastern mystery religions to the Rhône valley. A major shrine of the Phrygian goddess Cybele was built in nearby Vienne, and she also seems to have found special favor in Lugdunum in the late 1st century and 2nd century. The cosmopolitan hospitality to eastern religions may have allowed the first attested Christian community in Gaul to be established in Lugdunum in

2370-497: The analysis of hindsight. His text broadly reaches the same conclusions but otherwise differs considerably from the version presented in the Lyon tablet, which includes many circumstantial details and may have been a verbatim transcript from an original Senate document. The proposal was carried by the Senate. The elite of Lugdunum may have had the tablet made to celebrate their new status and as

2449-412: The battle: although this was one of the largest battles involving Roman armies known, this number is assumed to be an exaggeration. Albinus committed suicide in a house near the Rhône; his head was sent to Rome as a warning to his supporters. His defeated cohorts were dissolved and the victorious legions punished those in Lugdunum who had supported Albinus, by confiscation, banishment, or execution. The city

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2528-502: The beginning of his third consulate ; the historian Suetonius described the visit as characteristic of this emperor's strange and extravagant reign. Spectacles were staged at the amphitheater to honor and entertain Caligula and his guest, Ptolemy , king of Mauretania (whom the emperor later had murdered). A rhetoric contest was held in which the losers were required to expunge their work with their tongues. He auctioned furniture brought from

2607-501: The champion" (if *lugus is a common noun cognate with Old Irish lug "warrior, hero, fighter"). The Celtic god Lugus was apparently popular in Ireland and Britain as is found in medieval Irish literature as Lug(h) and in medieval Welsh literature as Lleu (also spelled Llew). According to Pseudo-Plutarch , Lugdunum takes its name from an otherwise unattested Gaulish word lugos , that he says means "raven" (κόρακα), and

2686-748: The city continued, there seems to have been a population shift from the Fourviere heights where the original Roman city was situated to the river valley below. Other evidence suggests other cities surpassed Lugdunum as trading centers. Though the Western Roman Empire persisted until 476 AD, the border regions extending along the Rhine River in Germany to the Danube River in Dacia became far more important from

2765-461: The city's importance and growth. In 12 BC, Drusus completed an administrative census of the area and dedicated an altar to his stepfather Augustus at the junction of the two rivers. Perhaps to promote a policy of conciliation and integration, all the notable men of the three parts of Gaul were invited. Caius Julius Vercondaridubnus , a member of the Aedui tribe, was installed as the first priest of

2844-516: The commercial and financial heart of the northwestern provinces as well. Lugdunum became an imperial mint during the reign of Augustus , in 15 BC, replacing mints in Hispania . It was probably chosen because of its convenient location between sources of silver and gold in Hispania and the legions on the Rhine and Danube . After 12 BC, it was the sole mint producing gold and silver coinage for

2923-480: The conflicts that followed the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. According to the historian Cassius Dio , in 43 BC the Roman Senate ordered Munatius Plancus and Lepidus , governors of central and Transalpine Gaul respectively, to found a city for a group of Roman refugees who had been expelled from Vienne (a town about 30 km or 20 miles to the south) by the Allobroges and were encamped at

3002-450: The confluence of the Saône and Rhône rivers. Dio Cassius says this was to keep them from joining Mark Antony and bringing their armies into the developing conflict. Epigraphic evidence suggests Munatius Plancus was the principal founder of Lugdunum. Lugdunum seems to have had a population of several thousand at the time of the Roman foundation. The citizens were administratively assigned to

3081-520: The country behind him in profound peace, and however, when he was called to this war, he was busy making the census in Gaul, a new operation and out of the habits of the Gauls . We know too well how difficult this operation still is for us, even though it involves nothing other than publicly establishing the state of our resources!...″ Lugdunum Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum , Latin: [ɫʊɡ(ʊ)ˈduːnʊ̃ː] ; modern Lyon , France )

3160-517: The deacon Sanctus of Vienne. Their ashes were thrown into the Rhône. Nevertheless, the Christian community either survived or was reconstituted, and under Bishop Irenaeus it continued to grow in size and influence. The 2nd century ended with another struggle for imperial succession. The emperor Pertinax was murdered in 193, and four generals again "contended for the purple". Two of the rivals, Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus , initially formed

3239-417: The end of 196. The armies fought an initial, inconclusive engagement at Tinurtium ( Tournus ), about 60 km (35 miles) up the Saône from Lugdunum. Albinus retreated with his forces toward Lugdunum. On 19 February 197, Severus again attacked Clodius Albinus to the northwest of the city. Albinus' army was defeated in the bloody and decisive Battle of Lugdunum . Dio Cassius described 300,000 men involved in

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3318-490: The end of his reign, the city's official name had become Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugudunenisium, abbreviated CCC AVG LVG . Nero also took an interest in the city. Citizens of Lugdunum contributed four million sesterces to the recovery after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. In the same year, the Lugdunum mint was closed and production shifted to Rome. A few years later, Nero contributed four million sesterces to

3397-415: The flower of the coloniae and the municipium , in other words the best and richest men, to be admitted to this assembly. But what? Isn't an Italian senator preferable to a provincial senator? What I think on this point, I will show, if this part of my proposal as censor is approved; but I do not think that the inhabitants of the provinces should be excluded from the Senate, if they can do it honour.″ ″This

3476-429: The highest. Among these were Genoese officials stationed in various Mediterranean ports, whose role included helping Genoese merchants and sailors in difficulties with the local authorities. Great Britain reciprocated by appointing consuls to Genoa from 1722. This institution, with its name, was later emulated by other powers and is reflected in the modern usage of the word (see Consul (representative) ). In addition to

3555-409: The historian Livy . This kind of pedantry is characteristic of Claudius and immediately identifies him as the speaker. Several interjections by senators are also recorded, mostly urging Claudius to get to the point. The style and substance of the speech suggest that Claudius was willing to publish himself as a scholarly, pedantic, tolerant upholder of ancient senatorial rights and values, eager to extend

3634-476: The honours, not only of command, but also of the priesthood, later communicated to the people? If I were to recount the wars waged by our ancestors, which made us what we are today, I would be afraid of appearing too arrogant and of taking vanity in the glory of our empire, which stretched as far as the ocean ; but I would prefer to return to this city...″ ″Undoubtedly, by a new custom, the divine Augustus , my great-uncle, and Tiberius Caesar , my uncle, wanted all

3713-443: The larger. The new provinces were grouped in larger administrative districts. Lugdunum became the capital of a much smaller region containing only two cities besides Lugdunum: Autun and Langres . The new governor bore the title of consularis. The mint was retained at Lugdunum, as was an administrative tax office and a state-run wool clothing factory. Lugdunum was no longer the chief city and administrative capital of Gaul. Although

3792-476: The mint at Lugdunum, for the first time in over a century, issuing coins celebrating his "clemency", as well as one dedicated to the "Genius of Lugdunum." He was joined by an army under Lucius Novius Rufus , the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis . They successfully attacked the German troops of Virius Lupus but were unable to deter them from supporting Severus. Severus brought his army from Italy and Germany toward

3871-518: The most cosmopolitan cities of Gaul, and inscriptions attest to a large foreign-born population, especially Italians, Greeks, and immigrants from the oriental provinces of Asia Minor and Syria-Palestine . There is evidence of numerous temples and shrines in Lugdunum. Traditional Gallic gods like mallet-bearing Sucellus and the mother goddesses called the Matres (depicted with cornucopiae ) continued to be worshiped somewhat syncretistically along with

3950-461: The necessary level of wealth. His argument evoked the Sabine origins of his own family, the gens Claudia , and the recent promotion to senatorial rank of men from Gallia Narbonensis . The text gives important insight into both the character of Claudius and Senate-emperor relations. Claudius goes into a long-winded digression on the early history of Rome – one which shows the effect of his tutelage under

4029-581: The new imperial cult sanctuary, which was subsequently known as the Junction Sanctuary or the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls . The altar , with its distinctive vertical end poles, was engraved with the names of 60 Gallic tribes, and was featured prominently on coins from the Lugdunum mint for many years. The "council of the three Gauls" continued to be held annually for nearly three centuries, even after Gaul

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4108-450: The origin, the forms of our Republic have varied.″ ″In principle, kings governed this city, but they did not pass on power to successors from their own family; others came from outside, some of them foreigners. So Romulus was succeeded by Numa from the land of the Sabines , our neighbour no doubt, but a stranger to us at the time. In the same way, Ancus Marcius was succeeded by Tarquin

4187-478: The palace in Rome, assigning prices and purchasers. When Caligula wanted to get rid of Herod Antipas , Jewish tetrarch of Galilee and Perea , he sent him to exile in Lugdunum. Claudius was born in Lugdunum in 10 BC and lived there for at least two years. As emperor, he returned in 43 AD en route to his conquest of Britain and stopped again after its victorious conclusion in 47. A fountain honoring his victory has been uncovered. He continued to take

4266-534: The period 69–192 AD, the city's population may have numbered 50,000 to 100,000, and possibly up to 200,000 inhabitants. The original Roman city was situated west of the confluence of the Rhône and Saône , on the Fourvière heights. By the late centuries of the empire much of the population was located in the Saône River valley at the foot of Fourvière. The Roman city was founded as Colonia Copia Felix Munatia ,

4345-443: The portraits of his ancestors the name Allobrogic ! If, then, you agree with me that this is the case, what else is there left for you to wish for, other than I make you touch with your finger the soil itself, beyond the boundary of the province of Narbonne, sending you senators, while we have no reason to repent counting people from Lyon among the members of our order? With hesitation, it is true, Conscript Fathers, I stepped out beyond

4424-413: The principal manufacturing center for pottery, metal working, and weaving in Gaul. Lyonnais terra cotta , pottery and wine were traded throughout Gaul, and many other items were crafted for export. The city itself was run by a "senate" of decurions (the ordo decurionum ) and a hierarchy of magistrates: quaestors , aediles , and duumvirs . The social classes of the time consisted of the decurions at

4503-495: The province of Gallia Transalpina in 121 BC. Gaul was conquered for the Romans by Julius Caesar between 58 and 53  BC . His description of the country in his De Bello Gallico is our principal written source of knowledge for pre-Roman Gaul, but there is no specific mention of the area in or around Lugdunum. Roman colonization of Lugdunum began during the War of Mutina , one of

4582-431: The provincial boundary you know and with which you are familiar; but it is time to openly plead the cause of Long Haired Gaul . If I am accused of this war it waged for ten years against the divine Julius , I would counter with a hundred years of inviolable loyalty and devotion in many of the critical circumstances in which we found ourselves. When Drusus , my father, subdued Germania , they ensured his safety by keeping

4661-454: The rebuilding of Lugdunum after a similarly devastating fire. Although the destructiveness of the fire is described in a letter from Seneca to Lucilius, archeologists have not been able to uncover a confirmatory layer of ash. The Lyonnais admiration of Nero was not universally shared; tyranny, extravagance, and negligence fostered resentment, and coups were planned. In March 68 AD, a Romanized Aquitainian named Caius Julius Vindex , who

4740-544: The republic, 14 March 1841 – 13 March 1844 (ruling jointly, but occasionally styled "first consul", "second consul"): Carlos Antonio López Ynsfrán (b. 1792 – d. 1862) + Mariano Roque Alonzo Romero (d. 1853) (the lasts of the aforementioned juntistas, Commandant-General of the Army) Thereafter all republican rulers were styled "president". In modern terminology, a consul is a type of diplomat . The American Heritage Dictionary defines consul as "an official appointed by

4819-433: The rivers of Gaul, and river traffic was heavy. The Lyonnais company of boatmen ( nautae ) was the largest and "most honored" in Gaul. Archeological evidence suggests the right bank of the Saône had the largest concentration of wharves, quays and warehouses. Lyonnais boatmen dominated the wine trade from Narbonensis and Italy, as well as oil from Spain, to the rest of Gaul. The heavy concentration of trade made Lugdunum one of

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4898-401: The same privileges to worthy provincials. The speech also contains references to other events during Claudius' reign, such as the fall of Valerius Asiaticus , whom Claudius singles out for condemnation. In his Annals , the later historian Tacitus reports a different version of the speech, probably based on various sources – including senatorial records – coupled with his own observations and

4977-464: The term for "consul" is "hypatos" (ὕπατος), which translates as "supreme one", and hence does not necessarily imply a joint office. In between a series of juntas and various other short-lived regimes, the young republic was governed by "consuls of the republic", with two consuls alternating in power every 4 months: After a few presidents of the Provisional Junta , there were again consuls of

5056-521: The throne between this prince and his son or grandson, authors vary on this point. If we follow the Tuscans, he was the companion of Cælius Vibenna , whose fate he always shared. Driven out by the vicissitudes of fortune with the remnants of Caelius' army, Servius left Etruria and came to occupy Caelian Hill , to which he gave this name in memory of his former leader; he himself changed his name, in Etruscan he

5135-461: The top, who could aspire to Senate status, followed by the knights ( equites ), and the Augustales, six of whom were in charge of the municipal imperial cult. This latter status was the highest distinction to which a wealthy freedman could aspire. Many of the wealthy merchants and craftsmen were freedmen. Below them were the workmen and slaves. The Rhône and Saône rivers were navigable, as were most of

5214-493: The whole Roman Empire, a position it retained until Nero moved production back to Rome in 64 AD. In its 1st century, Lugdunum was many times the object of attention or visits by the emperors or the imperial family, with its matrimonial regime of power using killing family members . Agrippa , Drusus , Tiberius , and Germanicus (born himself in Lugdunum) were among the gubernatorial generals who served in Lugdunum. Augustus

5293-399: The years go by, they may advance in dignity. May I be permitted to withhold as infamous the name of this thief whom I detest, of this prodigy in palestry, who brought the consulship into his house even before his colony had obtained the full right of Roman citizenship. I can say the same of his brother, worthy of pity perhaps, but made unworthy by this misfortune of being able to be a senator in

5372-537: Was a swamp often flooded) . In 48 AD, emperor Claudius asked the Senate to grant the notable men of the three Gauls the right to accede to the Senate. His request was granted and an engraved bronze plaque of the speech (the Claudian Tables ) was erected in Lugdunum. Today, the pieces of the huge plaque are the pride of the Gallo-Roman Museum in Lyon. Caligula spent time in Lugdunum in 39–40 AD, at

5451-569: Was an important Roman city in Gaul , established on the current site of Lyon . The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus , but continued an existing Gallic settlement with a likely population of several thousands. It served as the capital of the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis and was an important city in the western half of the Roman Empire for centuries. Two emperors, Claudius and Caracalla , were born in Lugdunum. In

5530-576: Was called lex , 'law'. The people elected each year were patricians , members of the upper class. While many cities, including the Gallic states and the Carthaginian Republic , had a double-headed chief magistracy, another title was often used, such as the Punic sufet , Duumvir , or native styles like Meddix . The city-state of Genoa , unlike ancient Rome, bestowed the title of consul on various state officials, not necessarily restricted to

5609-417: Was called Mastarna and took the name I have already pronounced, Servius Tullius, and he obtained the kingship for the greater good of the Republic. Later, the morals of Tarquin and his sons having made them odious to everyone, the monarchical government bored the spirits, and the administration of the Republic passed to consuls , annual magistrates.″ ″Shall I now recall the dictatorship , superior in power to

5688-515: Was definitely the mint of the Gallic Empire . Aurelian transferred minting from Trier to Lugdunum in 274 AD; it was the sole mint for the western empire. A major reorganization of imperial administration begun at the end of the 3rd century during the reign of Diocletian and completed a few decades later by Constantine further reduced the importance of Lugdunum. This reorganization standardized size and status of provinces, splitting many of

5767-650: Was divided into provinces . Southeastern Gaul became increasingly Romanized. By 19 AD at least one temple , and the first amphitheatre in Gaul (now known as the Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls) had been built down the slopes of the Croix-Rousse hill, next to the Vaise district where Gallic workers worked with precious metals, copper and also glass or pottery on both sides of the Saône lived (the space between Rhone and Saône

5846-522: Was governor of Gallia Lugdunensis led an uprising intended to replace Nero with Galba , a Roman governor of Spain . The citizens of Vienne , however, responded more enthusiastically than the Lyonnais, most of whom remained loyal to Nero. A small force from Vienne briefly besieged Lugdunum, but withdrew when Vindex was defeated by the Rhine legions a few weeks later at Vesontio . Despite the defeat of Vindex, rebellion grew. Nero committed suicide in June and Galba

5925-672: Was in turn defeated by Vespasian and the army of the East, bringing the chaos of the Year of the Four Emperors to an end. Under Vespasian , the city briefly resumed production of bronze coinage, ending a shortage in the money supply that had developed in the previous years. Despite a lack of imperial visits for most of the next century, Lugdunum prospered, until Septimius Severus and the Battle of Lugdunum (see below) brought devastation in 197 AD. In

6004-411: Was plundered or at least severely damaged by the battle. Legio I Minervia remained camped in Lugdunum from 198 to 211. Historical and archeological evidence indicates that Lugdunum never fully recovered from the devastation of this battle. When mints began to be set up outside Rome after 260 AD, there was a Gallic mint which may have been located at Lugdunum, but more likely at Trier , which

6083-465: Was proclaimed emperor. The loyalty of Lugdunum to Nero was not appreciated by his successor, Galba, who punished some of Nero's supporters by confiscations of property. In another turnabout for Lugdunum, Galba's policies were immediately unpopular, and in January 69 AD, the Rhine legions quickly threw their support to Vitellius as emperor. They arrived at friendly Lugdunum, where they were persuaded by

6162-569: Was the equivalent of a mayor today, assisted by a variable number of secondary consuls and jurats. His main task was to levy and collect tax. The Dukes of Gaeta often used also the title of "consul" in its Greek form " Hypatos " (see List of Hypati and Dukes of Gaeta ). After Napoleon Bonaparte staged a coup against the Directory government in November 1799, the French Republic adopted

6241-586: Was used in other European city-states through antiquity and the Middle Ages, in particular in the Republics of Genoa and Pisa , then revived in modern states , notably in the First French Republic . The related adjective is consular , from the Latin consularis . This usage contrasts with modern terminology, where a consul is a type of diplomat . A consul held the highest elected political office of

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