Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/670

Rh 65C ROMILIUS. reached the court that Manuel had been defeated and taken prisoner. The emperor was artfully persuaded by some false friends to refrain from taking the command once more, and matters would have taken a bad turn, but for the rare shrewdness •f Manuel. It happened that Chrysoscul, the victorious Titrkish general, pretended to have a better right to the sultanship than Alp-Arslan, and Manuel was no sooner aware of it than, a real Comnene as he was, he persuaded him to desert the sultan, and fly with him to Constantinople, promising him the assistance of the emperor for the recovery of his rights. The vanquished thus led his victor to Constantinople, to the utmost asto- nishment of the court. Rornanus took as much advantage of this strange incident as circumstances ■would allow ; and, in 1071, again set out in person against Alp-Arslan. But little acquainted with human baseness, he left maiiy of his real friends at home, and took with him many a secret enemy invested with high power. He penetrated as far as the Araxes, not without a manly resistance from the Turks and many a partial defeat of his ge- nerals. His position in those wild regions became dangerous, but he stoutly refused the peace cifered to him by the sultan. Upon this a pitched battle was fought at Manzicert on the Araxes (26th of August, 1071) ; and owing to the treachery of some of his officers, no less than to the valour of Alp- Arslan, Romanus lost the day and his liberty. It has been said that the noble sultan ill-treated his captive, but this is not true, on the contrary he re- ceived him well, and discoursed with him as a friend. *■' What would you have done with me," asked the sultan, " if I had been your prisoner ? " infidel, "and according to the precepts of your own religion, which commands humanity and forgive- ness of injuries." Alp-Arslan accordingly gave him 10,000 pieces of gold, and all those prisoners whom the emperor chose to pick out. Upon this a peace was concluded on equitable terms, except a ransom of 1,500,000, and an annual tribute of .360,000 pieces of gold. Romanus shed tears when he took leave of his noble victor, who allowed him to return to Constantinople betore the conditions of the treaty of peace were fulfilled. The news of this disaster caused a complete revolution in the capital, so that when Romanus appeared at its gates, he was refused admittance. Michael Parapinaces had been raised to the imperial dignity, but Ro- manus did his utmost to crush him and recover his throne. He was not successful. Twice defeated in pitched battles, he at last surrendered, and was put to death by order of Michael. Romanus left three sons, of whom Nicephorus made himself conspicuous in after years. The reign of Romanus Diogenes, though short, is full of higlily interesting events, especially of military adventures, such as those of the noble Scot Ursel or Russell Baliol ; but space forbids us to enter upon these details. (Zonar. vol. ii. p. 277, &c. ; Glycas, p. 326, &c. ; Manass. p. 131 ; Bryenn. p. 112, &.C., in the Paris editions.) [VV. P.] T.ROMI'LIUS ROCUS VATICA'NUS, was consul B. c. 455, with C. Veturius Geminus Cicu- rinus, and was a member of the first decemvirate, B, c. 451 (Liv. iii. 31, 33 ; Dionys. x. 33, &c. ; 56). Respecting the events in the year of his consulship, see CicuRiNUS, No. 4. He was condemned along ROMULUS. with his colleague, and sentenced to pay a heavy fine. ROMI'LIUS MARCELLUS, one of the cen- turions of the army in Germany, who espoused the cause of Galba, and was in consequence put to death. (Tac. Hist. i. 56, 59.) ROMI'LIUS PO'LLIO. [Poixio.] ROMU'LIUS DENTER, is said to have been appointed praefectus urbi by Romulus. (Tac. Ann. vi. 11.) RO'MULUS, the founder of the city of Rome. It is unnecessary in the present work to prove that all the stories about Romulus are mythical, and merely represent the traditional belief of the Roman people respecting their origin. Romulus, which is only a lengthened form of Romus, is simply the Roman people represented as an indi- vidual, and must be placed in the same category as Aeolus, Dorus, and Ion, the reputed ancestors of the Aeolians, Dorians, and lonians, owing to the universal practice of antiquity to represent nations as springing from eponymous ancestors. But although none of the tales about Romulus can be received as an historical fact, yet it is of importance to know the general belief of the Roman people respecting the life of the founder of their city. It is, however, very difficult to ascertain the original form of the legend ; since poets, on the one hand, embellished it with the creations of their own fancy, and historians, on the other hand, omitted many of its most marvellous incidents, in order Ik> reduce it to the form of a probable history. The various tales related respecting the foundation of Rome may be reduced to two classes, one of Greek and the other of native origin. The former bring Romulus into close connection with Aeneas. A ie^ Greek writers make Aeneas the founder of Rome, and speak of his wife under the name of Roma ; others represent Romulus as his son or a remote descendant ; but the greater part make him his grandson by his daughter Ilia, In most of these accounts the twin brothers are spoken of, but they appear under the names of Romulus and. Romus, not Remus (comp. Dionys. i. 72, 73; Plut. Rom. 2, 3 ; Serv. ad Virg. Jen. i. 274 ; Festus, s.v. Roma). These accounts, however, scarcely deserve the name of traditions, as Nie- buhr has remarked ; they are for the most part the inventions of Greek writers, who were ignorant of the native legend, but having heard of the fame of Rome, wished to assign to it an origin. The old Roman legend was of a very dif- ferent kind. It was preserved in popular poems, which were handed down from generation to generation, and some of which were in existence in the time of Dionysius (i. 79) ; and it seems to have been recorded in prose in its most ge- nuine form by the annalist Q. Fabius Pictor, who lived during the second Punic War. This legend probably ran nearly as follows: — At Alba Longa there reigned a succession of kings, descended from lulus, the son of Aeneas. One of the last of these kings left two sons, Numitor and Amulius. The latter, who was the younger, deprived Numi- tor of the kingdom, but allowed him to live in the enjoyment of his private fortune. Fearful, how- ever, lest the heirs of Numitor might not submit so quietly to his usurpation, he caused his only son to be murdered, and made his daughter* Silvia
 * Beaten you to death," was the Byzantine's answer.
 * ' I will treat you differently," replied the barbarian
 * Many writers call her Rhea ur Rea Silvia. N ie-