The King's Gambit (31 page)

Tribe:
Originally, the three classes of patricians. Under
the Republic, all citizens belonged to tribes of which there were four city
tribes and thirty-one country tribes. New citizens were enrolled in an existing
tribe.

Tribune:
Representative of the plebeians with power to
introduce laws and to veto actions of the Senate. Only plebeians could hold the
office, which carried no imperium. Military tribunes were elected from among the
young men of senatorial or equestrian rank to be assistants to generals. Usually
it was the first step of a man's political career.

Triumph:
A magnificent ceremony celebrating military
victory. The honor could be granted only by the Senate and until he received
permission, the victorious general had to remain outside the city walls, as his
command ceased the instant he crossed the pomerium. The general, called the
triumphator, received royal, near-divine honors and became a virtual god for a
day. A slave was appointed to stand behind him and remind him periodically of
his mortality lest the gods become jealous.

Triumvir:
A member of a triumvirate--a board or college of
three men. Most famously, the three-man rule of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.
Later, the triumvirate of Antonius, Octavian and Lepidus.

Tunica:
A long, loose shirt, sleeveless or short-sleeved,
worn by citizens beneath the toga when outdoors and by itself indoors. The
tunica laticlava had a broad purple stripe from neck to hem and was worn by
Senators and patricians. The tunica angusticlava had a narrow stripe and was
worn by the equites. The tunica picta, purple and embroidered with golden palm
branches, was worn by a general when he celebrated a triumph.

Usus:
The most common form of marriage, in which a man and
woman lived together for a year without being separated for three consecutive
nights.

Via:
A highway. Within the city, viae were streets wide
enough for two wagons to pass one another. There were only two viae during the
Republic: the Via Sacra, which ran through the Forum and was used for religious
processions and triumphs, and the Via Nova, which ran along one side of the
Forum.

Vigile:
A night watchman. The vigiles had the duty of
apprehending felons caught committing crimes, but their main duty was as a fire
watch. They were unarmed except for staves and carried fire-buckets.