140-532: Vermilion (sometimes vermillion ) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide ). It is synonymous with red orange , which often takes a modern form, but is 11% brighter (at full brightness). Used first in English in the 13th century, the word vermilion came from the Old French word vermeillon , which
280-465: A cave at Twin Rivers, near Lusaka , Zambia . Ochre , iron oxide, was the first color of paint. A favored blue pigment was derived from lapis lazuli . Pigments based on minerals and clays often bear the name of the city or region where they were originally mined. Raw sienna and burnt sienna came from Siena , Italy , while raw umber and burnt umber came from Umbria . These pigments were among
420-626: A classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic military dictatorship during the Empire. Ancient Rome is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece , and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world . Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern language, religion, society, technology, law, politics, government, warfare, art, literature, architecture, and engineering. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created
560-518: A mercury sulfide , was originally made by grinding a powder of natural cinnabar . From the 17th century on, it was also synthesized from the elements. It was favored by old masters such as Titian . Indian yellow was once produced by collecting the urine of cattle that had been fed only mango leaves. Dutch and Flemish painters of the 17th and 18th centuries favored it for its luminescent qualities, and often used it to represent sunlight . Since mango leaves are nutritionally inadequate for cattle,
700-738: A Gallic army under the leadership of tribal chieftain Brennus , defeated the Romans at the Battle of the Allia and marched to Rome. The Gauls looted and burned the city, then laid siege to the Capitoline Hill, where some Romans had barricaded themselves, for seven months. The Gauls then agreed to give the Romans peace in exchange for 1000 pounds of gold. According to later legend, the Roman supervising
840-406: A Republic. Augustus ( r. 27 BC – AD 14 ) gathered almost all the republican powers under his official title, princeps , and diminished the political influence of the senatorial class by boosting the equestrian class . The senators lost their right to rule certain provinces, like Egypt, since the governor of that province was directly nominated by the emperor. The creation of
980-507: A banquet for its notable citizens, after which his soldiers killed all the guests. From the security of the temple of Sarapis, he then directed an indiscriminate slaughter of Alexandria's people. In 212, he issued the Edict of Caracalla , giving full Roman citizenship to all free men living in the Empire, with the exception of the dediticii , people who had become subject to Rome through surrender in war, and freed slaves. Mary Beard points to
1120-576: A black pigment since prehistoric times. The first known synthetic pigment was Egyptian blue , which is first attested on an alabaster bowl in Egypt dated to Naqada III ( circa 3250 BC). Egyptian blue (blue frit), calcium copper silicate CaCuSi 4 O 10 , made by heating a mixture of quartz sand, lime , a flux and a copper source, such as malachite . Already invented in the Predynastic Period of Egypt , its use became widespread by
1260-410: A computer display. The appearance of a pigment may depend on the brand and even the batch. Furthermore, pigments have inherently complex reflectance spectra that will render their color appearance greatly different depending on the spectrum of the source illumination , a property called metamerism . Averaged measurements of pigment samples will only yield approximations of their true appearance under
1400-483: A free path to reestablish his own power. In 83 BC he made his second march on Rome and began a time of terror: thousands of nobles, knights and senators were executed. Sulla held two dictatorships and one more consulship, which began the crisis and decline of Roman Republic. In the mid-1st century BC, Roman politics were restless. Political divisions in Rome split into one of two groups, populares (who hoped for
1540-672: A half century after these events, Carthage was left humiliated and the Republic's focus was now directed towards the Hellenistic kingdoms of Greece and revolts in Hispania . However, Carthage, having paid the war indemnity, felt that its commitments and submission to Rome had ceased, a vision not shared by the Roman Senate . The Third Punic War began when Rome declared war against Carthage in 149 BC. Carthage resisted well at
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#17327732808271680-516: A hundred days. These games included gladiatorial combats , horse races and a sensational mock naval battle on the flooded grounds of the Colosseum. Titus died of fever in 81 AD, and was succeeded by his brother Domitian . As emperor, Domitian showed the characteristics of a tyrant . He ruled for fifteen years, during which time he acquired a reputation for self-promotion as a living god. He constructed at least two temples in honour of Jupiter,
1820-628: A large proletariat often of impoverished farmers. The latter groups supported the Catilinarian conspiracy —a resounding failure since the consul Marcus Tullius Cicero quickly arrested and executed the main leaders. Gaius Julius Caesar reconciled the two most powerful men in Rome: Marcus Licinius Crassus , who had financed much of his earlier career, and Crassus' rival, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (anglicised as Pompey), to whom he married his daughter . He formed them into
1960-538: A long time to reach the north west coast, and in 60 AD he finally crossed the Menai Strait to the sacred island of Mona ( Anglesey ), the last stronghold of the druids . His soldiers attacked the island and massacred the druids: men, women and children, destroyed the shrine and the sacred groves and threw many of the sacred standing stones into the sea. While Paulinus and his troops were massacring druids in Mona,
2100-710: A military leader to defeat the Cimbri and the Teutones , who were threatening Rome. After Marius's retirement, Rome had a brief peace, during which the Italian socii ("allies" in Latin) requested Roman citizenship and voting rights. The reformist Marcus Livius Drusus supported their legal process but was assassinated, and the socii revolted against the Romans in the Social War . At one point both consuls were killed; Marius
2240-658: A new informal alliance including himself, the First Triumvirate ("three men"). Caesar's daughter died in childbirth in 54 BC, and in 53 BC, Crassus invaded Parthia and was killed in the Battle of Carrhae ; the Triumvirate disintegrated. Caesar conquered Gaul , obtained immense wealth, respect in Rome and the loyalty of battle-hardened legions. He became a threat to Pompey and was loathed by many optimates . Confident that Caesar could be stopped by legal means, Pompey's party tried to strip Caesar of his legions,
2380-519: A pair of tribunes who attempted to pass land reform legislation that would redistribute the major patrician landholdings among the plebeians. Both brothers were killed and the Senate passed reforms reversing the Gracchi brother's actions. This led to the growing divide of the plebeian groups ( populares ) and equestrian classes ( optimates ). Gaius Marius soon become a leader of the Republic, holding
2520-538: A period of turbulence. Archaeological evidence implies some degree of large-scale warfare. According to tradition and later writers such as Livy , the Roman Republic was established c. 509 BC , when the last of the seven kings of Rome, Tarquin the Proud , was deposed and a system based on annually elected magistrates and various representative assemblies was established. A constitution set
2660-528: A prelude to Caesar's trial, impoverishment, and exile. To avoid this fate, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River and invaded Rome in 49 BC. The Battle of Pharsalus was a brilliant victory for Caesar and in this and other campaigns, he destroyed all of the optimates leaders: Metellus Scipio , Cato the Younger , and Pompey's son, Gnaeus Pompeius . Pompey was murdered in Egypt in 48 BC. Caesar
2800-457: A range of warm hues, from bright orange-red to a duller reddish-purple that resembles fresh liver. Differences in hue are caused by the size of the ground particles of pigment. Larger crystals produce duller and less orange hues. Cinnabar pigment was a side product of the mining of mercury, and mining cinnabar was difficult, expensive, and dangerous, because of the toxicity of mercury. Greek philosopher Theophrastus of Eresus (371–286 BC) described
2940-619: A revolt in Mauretania and the Bar Kokhba revolt in Judea. This was the last large-scale Jewish revolt against the Romans, and was suppressed with massive repercussions in Judea. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed. Hadrian renamed the province of Judea " Provincia Syria Palaestina ", after one of Judea's most hated enemies. He constructed fortifications and walls, like the celebrated Hadrian's Wall which separated Roman Britannia and
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#17327732808273080-458: A rich Arabian city. Severus killed his legate, who was gaining respect from the legions; and his soldiers fell victim to famine. After this disastrous campaign, he withdrew. Severus also intended to vanquish the whole of Britannia. To achieve this, he waged war against the Caledonians . After many casualties in the army due to the terrain and the barbarians' ambushes, Severus himself went to
3220-646: A sea voyage to found a new Troy after the Trojan War . They landed on the banks of the Tiber River and a woman travelling with them, Roma, torched their ships to prevent them leaving again. They named the settlement after her. The Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid , where the Trojan prince Aeneas is destined to found a new Troy. Literary and archaeological evidence
3360-675: A series of checks and balances , and a separation of powers . The most important magistrates were the two consuls , who together exercised executive authority such as imperium , or military command. The consuls had to work with the Senate , which was initially an advisory council of the ranking nobility, or patricians , but grew in size and power. Other magistrates of the Republic include tribunes , quaestors , aediles , praetors and censors . The magistracies were originally restricted to patricians , but were later opened to common people, or plebeians . Republican voting assemblies included
3500-409: A slightly more greenish or reddish blue. The following are some of the attributes of pigments that determine their suitability for particular manufacturing processes and applications: Swatches are used to communicate colors accurately. The types of swatches are dictated by the media, i.e., printing, computers, plastics, and textiles. Generally, the medium that offers the broadest gamut of color shades
3640-403: A specific source of illumination. Computer display systems use a technique called chromatic adaptation transforms to emulate the correlated color temperature of illumination sources, and cannot perfectly reproduce the intricate spectral combinations originally seen. In many cases, the perceived color of a pigment falls outside of the gamut of computer displays and a method called gamut mapping
3780-697: A statue of Apollo and the temple of Divus Claudius ("the deified Claudius"), both initiated by Nero. Buildings destroyed by the Great Fire of Rome were rebuilt, and he revitalised the Capitol . Vespasian started the construction of the Flavian Amphitheater, commonly known as the Colosseum . The historians Josephus and Pliny the Elder wrote their works during Vespasian's reign. Vespasian
3920-433: A synthetic form of lapis lazuli . Ultramarine was manufactured by treating aluminium silicate with sulfur . Various forms of cobalt blue and Cerulean blue were also introduced. In the early 20th century, Phthalo Blue , a synthetic metallo-organic pigment was prepared. At the same time, Royal Blue , another name once given to tints produced from lapis lazuli, has evolved to signify a much lighter and brighter color, and
4060-461: A synthetic vermilion by combining sulfur and mercury was in use in Europe in the 9th century, but the pigment was still expensive. Since it was almost as expensive as gold leaf, it was used only in the most important decoration of illuminated manuscripts, while the less expensive minium , made with red lead , was used for the red letters and symbols in the text. Vermilion was also used by painters in
4200-546: A system of government called res publica , the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France . It achieved impressive technological and architectural feats, such as the empire-wide construction of aqueducts and roads , as well as more grandiose monuments and facilities. Archaeological evidence of settlement around Rome starts to emerge c. 1000 BC . Large-scale organisation appears only c. 800 BC , with
4340-497: A territory of some 780 square kilometres (300 square miles) with a population perhaps as high as 35,000. A palace, the Regia , was constructed c. 625 BC ; the Romans attributed the creation of their first popular organisations and the Senate to the regal period as well. Rome also started to extend its control over its Latin neighbours. While later Roman stories like the Aeneid asserted that all Latins descended from
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4480-513: A trademark. Colour Index International resolves all these conflicting historic, generic, and proprietary names so that manufacturers and consumers can identify the pigment (or dye) used in a particular color product. In the CII, all phthalocyanine blue pigments are designated by a generic color index number as either PB15 or PB16, short for pigment blue 15 and pigment blue 16; these two numbers reflect slight variations in molecular structure, which produce
4620-469: A year. The sales price is fixed by law to keep it from becoming impossibly expensive, and the price fixed is seventy sesterces a pound. In Rome, the precious pigment was used to paint frescoes, decorate statues, and even as a cosmetic . In Roman triumphs , the victors had their faces covered with vermilion powder, and the face of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill was also colored vermilion. Cinnabar
4760-448: Is clear on there having been kings in Rome, attested in fragmentary 6th century BC texts. Long after the abolition of the Roman monarchy, a vestigial rex sacrorum was retained to exercise the monarch's former priestly functions. The Romans believed that their monarchy was elective, with seven legendary kings who were largely unrelated by blood. Evidence of Roman expansion is clear in the sixth century BC; by its end, Rome controlled
4900-407: Is difficult to replicate on a computer display . Approximations are required. The Munsell Color System provides an objective measure of color in three dimensions: hue, value (or lightness), and chroma. Computer displays in general fail to show the true chroma of many pigments, but the hue and lightness can be reproduced with relative accuracy. However, when the gamma of a computer display deviates from
5040-733: Is known as sindoor . Sindoor is commonly used by married women in Hindu religion. Vermilion was also used by the native peoples of America, to paint ceramics, figurines, and murals, and for the decoration of burials. It was used in the Chavin civilization (400 BC – 200 AD), and in the Maya , Sican, Moche, and Inca empires. The major source was the Huancavelica mine in the Andes mountains in central Peru. The most dramatic example of vermilion use in
5180-459: Is the same for all viewing angles, whereas structural color is the result of selective reflection or iridescence , usually because of multilayer structures. For example, butterfly wings typically contain structural color, although many butterflies have cells that contain pigment as well. Ancient Rome In modern historiography , ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of
5320-536: Is used to approximate the true appearance. Gamut mapping trades off any one of lightness , hue , or saturation accuracy to render the color on screen, depending on the priority chosen in the conversion's ICC rendering intent . In biology , a pigment is any colored material of plant or animal cells. Many biological structures, such as skin , eyes , fur , and hair contain pigments (such as melanin ). Animal skin coloration often comes about through specialized cells called chromatophores , which animals such as
5460-433: Is usually mixed from Phthalo Blue and titanium dioxide , or from inexpensive synthetic blue dyes. The discovery in 1856 of mauveine , the first aniline dyes , was a forerunner for the development of hundreds of synthetic dyes and pigments like azo and diazo compounds. These dyes ushered in the flourishing of organic chemistry, including systematic designs of colorants. The development of organic chemistry diminished
5600-507: Is usually taken by historians as the beginning of Roman Empire. Officially, the government was republican, but Augustus assumed absolute powers. His reform of the government brought about a two-century period colloquially referred to by Romans as the Pax Romana . The Julio-Claudian dynasty was established by Augustus . The emperors of this dynasty were Augustus, Tiberius , Caligula , Claudius and Nero . The Julio-Claudians started
5740-593: Is very toxic, and should be used with great care. The colors are widely used in the art and decoration of Ancient Rome and the Byzantine Empire , then in the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages , in the paintings of the Renaissance , and in the art and lacquerware of China . The first documented use of vermilion pigment, made with ground cinnabar, dates to 8000–7000 BC, and was found at
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5880-417: Is widely used across diverse media. Reference standards are provided by printed swatches of color shades. PANTONE , RAL , Munsell , etc. are widely used standards of color communication across diverse media like printing, plastics, and textiles . Companies manufacturing color masterbatches and pigments for plastics offer plastic swatches in injection molded color chips. These color chips are supplied to
6020-689: The Historia Augusta give many accounts of his notorious extravagance. Elagabalus adopted his cousin Severus Alexander , as Caesar, but subsequently grew jealous and attempted to assassinate him. However, the Praetorian guard preferred Alexander, murdered Elagabalus, dragged his mutilated corpse through the streets of Rome, and threw it into the Tiber. Severus Alexander then succeeded him. Alexander waged war against many foes, including
6160-519: The comitia centuriata (centuriate assembly), which voted on matters of war and peace and elected men to the most important offices, and the comitia tributa (tribal assembly), which elected less important offices. In the 4th century BC, Rome had come under attack by the Gauls , who now extended their power in the Italian peninsula beyond the Po Valley and through Etruria. On 16 July 390 BC,
6300-549: The 4th Dynasty . It was the blue pigment par excellence of Roman antiquity ; its art technological traces vanished in the course of the Middle Ages until its rediscovery in the context of the Egyptian campaign and the excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum . Later premodern synthetic pigments include white lead (basic lead carbonate, (PbCO 3 ) 2 Pb(OH) 2 ), vermilion , verdigris , and lead-tin yellow . Vermilion,
6440-605: The Balkans , Crimea , and much of the Middle East, including Anatolia , Levant , and parts of Mesopotamia and Arabia . That empire was among the largest empires in the ancient world, covering around 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles) in AD 117, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants, roughly 20% of the world's population at the time. The Roman state evolved from an elective monarchy to
6580-475: The Chinese lacquer tree , or Toxicodendron vernicifluum , a relative of the sumac tree, which grew in regions of China, Korea , and Japan. The sap or resin of the tree, called urushiol , was caustic and toxic (it contained the same chemical compound as poison ivy ), but painted onto wood or metal, it hardened into a fine natural plastic, or lacquer surface. The pure sap was dark brown, but beginning in about
6720-708: The Colour Index International (CII) as a standard for identifying the pigments that they use in manufacturing particular colors. First published in 1925—and now published jointly on the web by the Society of Dyers and Colourists ( United Kingdom ) and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (US)—this index is recognized internationally as the authoritative reference on colorants. It encompasses more than 27,000 products under more than 13,000 generic color index names. In
6860-625: The Munsell color system became the foundation for a series of color models, providing objective methods for the measurement of color. The Munsell system describes a color in three dimensions, hue , value (lightness), and chroma (color purity), where chroma is the difference from gray at a given hue and value. By the middle 20th century, standardized methods for pigment chemistry were available, part of an international movement to create such standards in industry. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) develops technical standards for
7000-665: The Praetorian Guard and his reforms in the military, creating a standing army with a fixed size of 28 legions, ensured his total control over the army. Compared with the Second Triumvirate's epoch, Augustus' reign as princeps was very peaceful, which led the people and the nobles of Rome to support Augustus, increasing his strength in political affairs. His generals were responsible for the field command, gaining such commanders as Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa , Nero Claudius Drusus and Germanicus much respect from
7140-649: The Roman naming conventions ) tried to align himself with the Caesarian faction. In 43 BC, along with Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , Caesar's best friend, he legally established the Second Triumvirate . Upon its formation, 130–300 senators were executed, and their property was confiscated, due to their supposed support for the Liberatores . In 42 BC, the Senate deified Caesar as Divus Iulius ; Octavian thus became Divi filius ,
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#17327732808277280-595: The neolithic village of Çatalhöyük , in modern-day Turkey. Cinnabar was mined in Spain beginning in about 5300 BC. In China, the first documented use of cinnabar as a pigment was by the Yangshao culture (5000–4000 BC), where it was used to paint ceramics, to cover the walls and floors of rooms, and for ritual ceremonies. The principal source of cinnabar for the ancient Romans was the Almaden mine in northwest Spain, which
7420-612: The octopus and chameleon can control to vary the animal's color. Many conditions affect the levels or nature of pigments in plant, animal, some protista , or fungus cells. For instance, the disorder called albinism affects the level of melanin production in animals. Pigmentation in organisms serves many biological purposes, including camouflage , mimicry , aposematism (warning), sexual selection and other forms of signalling , photosynthesis (in plants), and basic physical purposes such as protection from sunburn . Pigment color differs from structural color in that pigment color
7560-807: The "five good emperors" Nerva , Trajan , Hadrian , Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius . Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius were part of Italic families settled in Roman colonies outside of Italy: the families of Trajan and Hadrian had settled in Italica ( Hispania Baetica ), that of Antoninus Pius in Colonia Agusta Nemausensis ( Gallia Narbonensis ), and that of Marcus Aurelius in Colonia Claritas Iulia Ucubi (Hispania Baetica). The Nerva-Antonine dynasty came to an end with Commodus , son of Marcus Aurelius. Nerva abdicated and died in 98 AD, and
7700-457: The 17th century, a new method of making the pigment was introduced, known as the Dutch method. Mercury and melted sulfur were mashed to make black mercury sulfide , then heated in a retort , producing vapors condensing as a bright, red mercury sulfide. To remove the sulfur, these crystals were treated with a strong alkali, washed, and finally ground under water to yield the commercial powder form of
7840-428: The 20th century, the cost and toxicity of vermilion led to its gradually being replaced by synthetic pigments, particularly cadmium red, which had a comparable color and opacity. In China, the color vermilion was also playing an important role in national culture. The color was mostly used in creating Chinese lacquerware , which was exported around the world, giving rise to the term "Chinese red". The lacquer came from
7980-420: The 20th century. As cadmium can also be toxic, some scientists propose replacing this with solid solutions of the perovskites CaTaO2N and LaTaON2. Genuine vermilion pigment today comes mostly from China; it is a synthetic mercuric sulfide, labeled on paint tubes as PR-106 (Red Pigment 106). The synthetic pigment is of higher quality than vermilion made from ground cinnabar, which has many impurities. The pigment
8120-715: The 2nd century BC, the Romans became the dominant people of the Mediterranean Sea . The conquest of the Hellenistic kingdoms brought the Roman and Greek cultures in closer contact and the Roman elite, once rural, became cosmopolitan. At this time Rome was a consolidated empire—in the military view—and had no major enemies. Foreign dominance led to internal strife. Senators became rich at the provinces ' expense; soldiers, who were mostly small-scale farmers, were away from home longer and could not maintain their land; and
8260-942: The 8th century it was made more commonly by a chemical process combining mercury and sulfur. Vermilion has significance in Taoist culture, and is regarded as the color of life and eternity. "Chinese red" appears in English in 1924. Pigment A pigment is a powder used to add color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly insoluble and chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored substances which are soluble or go into solution at some stage in their use. Dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic . Pigments of prehistoric and historic value include ochre , charcoal , and lapis lazuli . In 2006, around 7.4 million tons of inorganic , organic , and special pigments were marketed worldwide. According to an April 2018 report by Bloomberg Businessweek ,
8400-681: The Americas was the so-called Tomb of the Red Queen , located in Temple XIII, in the ruins of the Mayan city of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico. The temple is dated to between 600 and 700 AD. It was discovered in 1994 by Mexican archeologist Fanny López Jiménez . The body and all objects in the sarcophagus were covered with bright red vermilion powder made from cinnabar. The technique for making
8540-475: The CII schema, each pigment has a generic index number that identifies it chemically, regardless of proprietary and historic names. For example, Phthalocyanine Blue BN has been known by a variety of generic and proprietary names since its discovery in the 1930s. In much of Europe, phthalocyanine blue is better known as Helio Blue, or by a proprietary name such as Winsor Blue. An American paint manufacturer, Grumbacher, registered an alternate spelling (Thanos Blue) as
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#17327732808278680-430: The Capitoline and expanding to the Forum Boarium located between the Capitoline and Aventine Hills . The Romans themselves had a founding myth , attributing their city to Romulus and Remus , offspring of Mars and a princess of the mythical city of Alba Longa . The sons, sentenced to death, were rescued by a wolf and returned to restore the Alban king and found a city. After a dispute, Romulus killed Remus and became
8820-420: The Carthaginian intercession, Messana asked Rome to expel the Carthaginians. Rome entered this war because Syracuse and Messana were too close to the newly conquered Greek cities of Southern Italy and Carthage was now able to make an offensive through Roman territory; along with this, Rome could extend its domain over Sicily . Carthage was a maritime power, and the Roman lack of ships and naval experience made
8960-427: The Eastern part of the Roman territories. However, Marius's partisans managed his installation to the military command, defying Sulla and the Senate . To consolidate his own power, Sulla conducted a surprising and illegal action: he marched to Rome with his legions, killing all those who showed support to Marius's cause. In the following year, 87 BC, Marius, who had fled at Sulla's march, returned to Rome while Sulla
9100-413: The Empire in 165–180 AD. From Nerva to Marcus Aurelius, the empire achieved an unprecedented status. The powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. All the citizens enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth. The image of a free constitution was preserved with decent reverence. The Roman senate appeared to possess the sovereign authority, and devolved on
9240-463: The Flavian period was the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Titus . The destruction of the city was the culmination of the Roman campaign in Judea following the Jewish uprising of 66 AD. The Second Temple was completely demolished, after which Titus' soldiers proclaimed him imperator in honour of the victory. Jerusalem was sacked and much of the population killed or dispersed. Josephus claims that 1,100,000 people were killed during
9380-444: The Italian Alps , causing panic among Rome's Italian allies. The best way found to defeat Hannibal's purpose of causing the Italians to abandon Rome was to delay the Carthaginians with a guerrilla war of attrition, a strategy propounded by Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus . Hannibal's invasion lasted over 16 years, ravaging Italy, but ultimately Carthage was defeated in the decisive Battle of Zama in October 202 BC. More than
9520-437: The Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. Ancient Rome began as an Italic settlement, traditionally dated to 753 BC, beside the River Tiber in the Italian Peninsula . The settlement grew into
9660-411: The Mediterranean, Italy maintained a special status which made it domina provinciarum ("ruler of the provinces"), and – especially in relation to the first centuries of imperial stability – rectrix mundi ("governor of the world") and omnium terrarum parens ("parent of all lands"). The Flavians were the second dynasty to rule Rome. By 68 AD, the year of Nero's death, there
9800-412: The Plochere color list, which was formulated in 1948 and is used widely by interior designers. Chinese red or China red is the name used for the vermilion shade used in Chinese lacquerware . The shade of the color can vary from dark to light depending upon how the pigment is made and how the lacquer was applied. Chinese red was originally made from the powdered mineral cinnabar, but beginning in about
9940-404: The Renaissance as a very vivid and bright red, though it did have the weakness of sometimes turning dark with time. Florentine artist Cennino Cennini described it in his handbook for artists: This pigment is made by alchemy , prepared in a retort , which subject I will leave be since to put every method and recipe into my discussion would be too longwinded. The reason? Because if you care to take
10080-470: The Senate, they were severely restricted in political power. The Senate squabbled perpetually, repeatedly blocked important land reforms and refused to give the equestrian class a larger say in the government. Violent gangs of the urban unemployed, controlled by rival Senators, intimidated the electorate through violence. The situation came to a head in the late 2nd century BC under the Gracchi brothers,
10220-573: The aid of Pyrrhus of Epirus in 281 BC, but this effort failed as well. The Romans secured their conquests by founding Roman colonies in strategic areas, thereby establishing stable control over the region. In the 3rd century BC Rome faced a new and formidable opponent: Carthage , the other major power in the Western Mediterranean. The First Punic War began in 264 BC, when the city of Messana asked for Carthage's help in their conflicts with Hiero II of Syracuse . After
10360-474: The air, it turns black." Newer research indicates that chlorine ions and light may aid in decomposing vermilion into elemental mercury, which is black when in finely dispersed form. Vermilion was the primary red pigment used by European painters, from the Renaissance until the 20th century. Because of its cost and toxicity, though, it was almost entirely replaced by a new synthetic pigment, cadmium red , in
10500-618: The architect Apollodorus of Damascus . He remodelled the Pantheon and extended the Circus Maximus . When Parthia appointed a king for Armenia without consulting Rome, Trajan declared war on Parthia and deposed the king of Armenia. In 115 he took the Northern Mesopotamian cities of Nisibis and Batnae , organised a province of Mesopotamia (116), and issued coins that claimed Armenia and Mesopotamia were under
10640-477: The arts and sciences, and bestowed honours and financial rewards upon the teachers of rhetoric and philosophy . On becoming emperor, Antoninus made few initial changes, leaving intact as far as possible the arrangements instituted by his predecessor. Antoninus expanded Roman Britannia by invading what is now southern Scotland and building the Antonine Wall . He also continued Hadrian's policy of humanising
10780-549: The authority of the Roman people. In that same year, he captured Seleucia and the Parthian capital Ctesiphon (near modern Baghdad ). After defeating a Parthian revolt and a Jewish revolt , he withdrew due to health issues, and in 117, he died of edema . Trajan's successor Hadrian withdrew all the troops stationed in Parthia, Armenia and Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq ), abandoning Trajan's conquests. Hadrian's army crushed
10920-537: The changes to the calendar promoted by Caesar , and the month of August is named after him. Augustus brought a peaceful and thriving era to Rome, known as Pax Augusta or Pax Romana . Augustus died in 14 AD, but the empire's glory continued after his era. The Julio-Claudians continued to rule Rome after Augustus' death and remained in power until the death of Nero in 68 AD. Influenced by his wife, Livia Drusilla , Augustus appointed her son from another marriage, Tiberius , as his heir. The Senate agreed with
11060-471: The character Aeneas , a common culture is attested to archaeologically. Attested to reciprocal rights of marriage and citizenship between Latin cities—the Jus Latii —along with shared religious festivals, further indicate a shared culture. By the end of the 6th century, most of this area had become dominated by the Romans. By the end of the sixth century, Rome and many of its Italian neighbours entered
11200-758: The city and polity of Rome, and came to control its neighbours through a combination of treaties and military strength. It eventually controlled the Italian Peninsula, assimilating the Greek culture of southern Italy ( Magna Grecia ) and the Etruscan culture, and then became the dominant power in the Mediterranean region and parts of Europe. At its height it controlled the North African coast, Egypt , Southern Europe, and most of Western Europe,
11340-472: The city's sole founder. The area of his initial settlement on the Palatine Hill was later known as Roma Quadrata ("Square Rome"). The story dates at least to the third century BC, and the later Roman antiquarian Marcus Terentius Varro placed the city's foundation to 753 BC. Another legend, recorded by Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus , says that Prince Aeneas led a group of Trojans on
11480-785: The death of Tiberius, and, with belated support from the senators, proclaimed his uncle Claudius as the new emperor. Claudius was not as authoritarian as Tiberius and Caligula. Claudius conquered Lycia and Thrace ; his most important deed was the beginning of the conquest of Britannia . Claudius was poisoned by his wife, Agrippina the Younger in 54 AD. His heir was Nero , son of Agrippina and her former husband, since Claudius' son Britannicus had not reached manhood upon his father's death. Nero sent his general, Suetonius Paulinus , to invade modern-day Wales , where he encountered stiff resistance. The Celts there were independent, tough, resistant to tax collectors, and fought Paulinus as he battled his way across from east to west. It took him
11620-411: The dependence on inorganic pigments. Before the development of synthetic pigments, and the refinement of techniques for extracting mineral pigments, batches of color were often inconsistent. With the development of a modern color industry, manufacturers and professionals have cooperated to create international standards for identifying, producing, measuring, and testing colors. First published in 1905,
11760-441: The designer or customer to choose and select the color for their specific plastic products. Plastic swatches are available in various special effects like pearl, metallic, fluorescent, sparkle, mosaic etc. However, these effects are difficult to replicate on other media like print and computer display. Plastic swatches have been created by 3D modelling to including various special effects. The appearance of pigments in natural light
11900-406: The destruction of republican values, but on the other hand, they boosted Rome's status as the central power in the Mediterranean region. While Caligula and Nero are usually remembered in popular culture as dysfunctional emperors, Augustus and Claudius are remembered as successful in politics and the military. This dynasty instituted imperial tradition in Rome and frustrated any attempt to reestablish
12040-399: The easiest to synthesize, and chemists created modern colors based on the originals. These were more consistent than colors mined from the original ore bodies, but the place names remained. Also found in many Paleolithic and Neolithic cave paintings are Red Ochre, anhydrous Fe 2 O 3 , and the hydrated Yellow Ochre (Fe 2 O 3 H 2 O). Charcoal—or carbon black—has also been used as
12180-592: The edict as a fundamental turning point, after which Rome was "effectively a new state masquerading under an old name". Macrinus conspired to have Caracalla assassinated by one of his soldiers during a pilgrimage to the Temple of the Moon in Carrhae, in 217 AD. Macrinus assumed power, but soon removed himself from Rome to the east and Antioch. His brief reign ended in 218, when the youngster Bassianus, high priest of
12320-470: The emperors all the executive powers of government. Gibbon declared the rule of these "Five Good Emperors" the golden era of the Empire. During this time, Rome reached its greatest territorial extent. Commodus , son of Marcus Aurelius, became emperor after his father's death. He is not counted as one of the Five Good Emperors, due to his direct kinship with the latter emperor; in addition, he
12460-526: The end of the Triumvirate, Antony was living in Ptolemaic Egypt , ruled by his lover, Cleopatra VII . Antony's affair with Cleopatra was seen as an act of treason, since she was queen of another country. Additionally, Antony adopted a lifestyle considered too extravagant and Hellenistic for a Roman statesman. Following Antony's Donations of Alexandria , which gave to Cleopatra the title of " Queen of Kings ", and to Antony's and Cleopatra's children
12600-418: The estimated value of the pigment industry globally is $ 30 billion. The value of titanium dioxide – used to enhance the white brightness of many products – was placed at $ 13.2 billion per year, while the color Ferrari red is valued at $ 300 million each year. Like all materials, the color of pigments arises because they absorb only certain wavelengths of visible light . The bonding properties of
12740-492: The field. However, he became ill and died in 211 AD, at the age of 65. Upon the death of Severus, his sons Caracalla and Geta were made emperors. Caracalla had his brother, a youth, assassinated in his mother's arms, and may have murdered 20,000 of Geta's followers. Like his father, Caracalla was warlike. He continued Severus' policy and gained respect from the legions. Knowing that the citizens of Alexandria disliked him and were denigrating his character, Caracalla served
12880-730: The first graves in the Esquiline Hill 's necropolis, along with a clay and timber wall on the bottom of the Palatine Hill dating to the middle of the 8th century BC. Starting from c. 650 BC , the Romans started to drain the valley between the Capitoline and Palatine Hills, where today sits the Roman Forum . By the sixth century BC, the Romans were constructing the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on
13020-521: The first of his seven consulships (an unprecedented number) in 107 BC by arguing that his former patron Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus was not able to defeat and capture the Numidian king Jugurtha . Marius then started his military reform: in his recruitment to fight Jugurtha, he levied the very poor (an innovation), and many landless men entered the army. Marius was elected for five consecutive consulships from 104 to 100 BC, as Rome needed
13160-576: The first persecutor of Christians and for the Great Fire of Rome , rumoured to have been started by the emperor himself. A conspiracy against Nero in 65 AD under Calpurnius Piso failed, but in 68 AD the armies under Julius Vindex in Gaul and Servius Sulpicius Galba in modern-day Spain revolted. Deserted by the Praetorian Guards and condemned to death by the senate, Nero killed himself. As Roman provinces were being established throughout
13300-471: The first strike but could not withstand the attack of Scipio Aemilianus , who entirely destroyed the city, enslaved all the citizens and gained control of that region, which became the province of Africa . All these wars resulted in Rome's first overseas conquests (Sicily, Hispania and Africa) and the rise of Rome as a significant imperial power. After defeating the Macedonian and Seleucid Empires in
13440-474: The frontier legions to save them. The legions of three frontier provinces— Britannia , Pannonia Superior , and Syria —resented being excluded from the " donative " and replied by declaring their individual generals to be emperor. Lucius Septimius Severus Geta, the Pannonian commander, bribed the opposing forces, pardoned the Praetorian Guards and installed himself as emperor. He and his successors governed with
13580-477: The imperial dignity. Pertinax, a member of the senate who had been one of Marcus Aurelius's right-hand men, was the choice of Laetus, and he ruled vigorously and judiciously. Laetus soon became jealous and instigated Pertinax's murder by the Praetorian Guard, who then auctioned the empire to the highest bidder, Didius Julianus, for 25,000 sesterces per man. The people of Rome were appalled and appealed to
13720-433: The increased reliance on foreign slaves and the growth of latifundia reduced the availability of paid work. Income from war booty, mercantilism in the new provinces, and tax farming created new economic opportunities for the wealthy, forming a new class of merchants, called the equestrians . The lex Claudia forbade members of the Senate from engaging in commerce, so while the equestrians could theoretically join
13860-581: The lacquerware has changed over the centuries. During the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD) the Chinese word for red referred to a light red. However, during the Tang dynasty (618–907), when the synthetic vermilion was introduced, that color became darker and richer. The poet Bai Juyi (772–846) wrote in a song poem praising Jiangnan , "the flowers by the river when the sun rises are redder than flames", and
14000-798: The laws. He died in 161 AD. Marcus Aurelius , known as the Philosopher, was the last of the Five Good Emperors . He was a stoic philosopher and wrote the Meditations . He defeated barbarian tribes in the Marcomannic Wars as well as the Parthian Empire . His co-emperor, Lucius Verus , died in 169 AD, probably from the Antonine Plague , a pandemic that killed nearly five million people through
14140-693: The legions' support. The changes on coinage and military expenditures were the root of the financial crisis that marked the Crisis of the Third Century . Severus was enthroned after invading Rome and having Didius Julianus killed. Severus attempted to revive totalitarianism and, addressing the Roman people and Senate, praised the severity and cruelty of Marius and Sulla, which worried the senators. When Parthia invaded Roman territory, Severus successfully waged war against that country. Notwithstanding this military success, Severus failed in invading Hatra ,
14280-497: The manufacture of pigments and dyes. ISO standards define various industrial and chemical properties, and how to test for them. The principal ISO standards that relate to all pigments are as follows: Other ISO standards pertain to particular classes or categories of pigments, based on their chemical composition, such as ultramarine pigments, titanium dioxide , iron oxide pigments, and so forth. Many manufacturers of paints, inks, textiles, plastics, and colors have voluntarily adopted
14420-570: The material determine the wavelength and efficiency of light absorption. Light of other wavelengths are reflected or scattered. The reflected light spectrum defines the color that we observe. The appearance of pigments is sensitive to the source light. Sunlight has a high color temperature and a fairly uniform spectrum. Sunlight is considered a standard for white light. Artificial light sources are less uniform. Color spaces used to represent colors numerically must specify their light source. Lab color measurements, unless otherwise noted, assume that
14560-559: The measurement was recorded under a D65 light source, or "Daylight 6500 K", which is roughly the color temperature of sunlight. Other properties of a color, such as its saturation or lightness, may be determined by the other substances that accompany pigments. Binders and fillers can affect the color. Minerals have been used as colorants since prehistoric times. Early humans used paint for aesthetic purposes such as body decoration. Pigments and paint grinding equipment believed to be between 350,000 and 400,000 years old have been reported in
14700-549: The path to the victory a long and difficult one for the Roman Republic . Despite this, after more than 20 years of war, Rome defeated Carthage and a peace treaty was signed. Among the reasons for the Second Punic War was the subsequent war reparations Carthage acquiesced to at the end of the First Punic War. The war began with the audacious invasion of Hispania by Hannibal , who marched through Hispania to
14840-405: The pigment. The pigment is still made today using essentially the same process. Vermilion has one important defect; it is liable to darken, or develop a purplish-gray surface sheen. Cennino Cennini wrote, "Bear in mind ... that it is not in its character to be exposed to air, but it is more resistant on panel than on walls since, when it is used and laid on a wall, over a period of time, standing in
14980-770: The populace and the legions. Augustus intended to extend the Roman Empire to the whole known world, and in his reign, Rome conquered Cantabria , Aquitania , Raetia , Dalmatia , Illyricum and Pannonia . Under Augustus' reign, Roman literature grew steadily in what is known as the Golden Age of Latin Literature . Poets like Virgil , Horace , Ovid and Rufus developed a rich literature, and were close friends of Augustus. Along with Maecenas , he sponsored patriotic poems, such as Virgil's epic Aeneid and historiographical works like those of Livy . Augustus continued
15120-459: The practice of harvesting Indian yellow was eventually declared to be inhumane. Modern hues of Indian yellow are made from synthetic pigments. Vermillion has been partially replaced in by cadmium reds. Because of the cost of lapis lazuli , substitutes were often used. Prussian blue , the oldest modern synthetic pigment, was discovered by accident in 1704. By the early 19th century, synthetic and metallic blue pigments included French ultramarine ,
15260-425: The process began to be widely used in Europe. The process described by Jabir ibn Hayyan was fairly simple: When first created, the material is almost black. As it is ground, the red color appears. The longer the compound is ground, the finer the color becomes. Italian Renaissance artist Cennino Cennini wrote: "If you were to grind it every day, even for 20 years, it would keep getting better and more perfect." In
15400-544: The process in De Lapidibus , the first scientific book on minerals. Efforts began early to find a better way to make the pigment. The Chinese were probably the first to make a synthetic vermilion as early as the fourth century BC. Greek alchemist Zosimus of Panopolis (third–fourth century AD) wrote that such a method existed. In the early 9th century, the process was accurately described by Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan (722–804) in his book of recipes of colors, and
15540-428: The red crystalline form of mercury sulfide HgS. Thus, the natural mineral pigment is called "cinnabar", and its synthetic form is called "vermilion" from red lead . Vermilion is a dense, opaque pigment with a clear, brilliant hue. The pigment was originally made by grinding a powder of cinnabar ( mercury sulfide ). Like most mercury compounds, it is toxic . Vermilion is not one specific hue; mercuric sulfides make
15680-433: The reference value, the hue is also systematically biased. The following approximations assume a display device at gamma 2.2, using the sRGB color space . The further a display device deviates from these standards, the less accurate these swatches will be. Swatches are based on the average measurements of several lots of single-pigment watercolor paints, converted from Lab color space to sRGB color space for viewing on
15820-400: The regal titles to the newly conquered Eastern territories, war between Octavian and Antony broke out . Octavian annihilated Egyptian forces in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide . Now Egypt was conquered by the Roman Empire. In 27 BC and at the age of 36, Octavian was the sole Roman leader. In that year, he took the name Augustus . That event
15960-551: The revitalised Persia and also the Germanic peoples , who invaded Gaul. His losses generated dissatisfaction among his soldiers, and some of them murdered him during his Germanic campaign in 235 AD. A disastrous scenario emerged after the death of Alexander Severus : the Roman state was plagued by civil wars, external invasions , political chaos, pandemics and economic depression . The old Roman values had fallen, and Mithraism and Christianity had begun to spread through
16100-753: The siege, of whom a majority were Jewish. 97,000 were captured and enslaved , including Simon bar Giora and John of Giscala . Many fled to areas around the Mediterranean. Vespasian was a general under Claudius and Nero and fought as a commander in the First Jewish-Roman War . Following the turmoil of the Year of the Four Emperors , in 69 AD, four emperors were enthroned in turn: Galba , Otho , Vitellius , and, lastly, Vespasian, who crushed Vitellius' forces and became emperor. He reconstructed many buildings which were uncompleted, like
16240-497: The son of the deified. In the same year, Octavian and Antony defeated both Caesar's assassins and the leaders of the Liberatores , Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus , in the Battle of Philippi . The Second Triumvirate was marked by the proscriptions of many senators and equites : after a revolt led by Antony's brother Lucius Antonius , more than 300 senators and equites involved were executed, although Lucius
16380-520: The succession, and granted to Tiberius the same titles and honours once granted to Augustus: the title of princeps and Pater patriae , and the Civic Crown . However, Tiberius was not an enthusiast for political affairs: after agreement with the Senate, he retired to Capri in 26 AD, and left control of the city of Rome in the hands of the praetorian prefect Sejanus (until 31 AD) and Macro (from 31 to 37 AD). Tiberius died (or
16520-429: The support of the people) and optimates (the "best", who wanted to maintain exclusive aristocratic control). Sulla overthrew all populist leaders and his constitutional reforms removed powers (such as those of the tribune of the plebs ) that had supported populist approaches. Meanwhile, social and economic stresses continued to build; Rome had become a metropolis with a super-rich aristocracy, debt-ridden aspirants, and
16660-485: The supreme deity in Roman religion . He was murdered following a plot within his own household. Following Domitian's murder, the Senate rapidly appointed Nerva as Emperor. Nerva had noble ancestry, and he had served as an advisor to Nero and the Flavians. His rule restored many of the traditional liberties of Rome's upper classes, which Domitian had over-ridden. The Nerva–Antonine dynasty from 96 AD to 192 AD included
16800-448: The temple of the Sun at Emesa, and supposedly illegitimate son of Caracalla, was declared Emperor by the disaffected soldiers of Macrinus. He adopted the name of Antoninus but history has named him after his Sun god Elagabalus , represented on Earth in the form of a large black stone. An incompetent and lascivious ruler, Elagabalus offended all but his favourites. Cassius Dio , Herodian and
16940-456: The third century BC, during the Han dynasty , Chinese artisans colored it with powdered cinnabar or with red ochre ( ferric oxide ), giving it an orange-red color. Beginning in about the 8th century, Chinese chemists began making synthetic vermilion from mercury and sulfur, which reduced the price of the pigment and allowed the production of Chinese lacquerware on a larger scale. The shade of red of
17080-464: The tribes of modern-day East Anglia staged a revolt led by queen Boadicea of the Iceni . The rebels sacked and burned Camulodunum , Londinium and Verulamium (modern-day Colchester , London and St Albans respectively) before they were crushed by Paulinus . Boadicea, like Cleopatra before her, committed suicide to avoid the disgrace of being paraded in triumph in Rome. Nero is widely known as
17220-490: The tribes of modern-day Scotland. Hadrian promoted culture, especially the Greek. He forbade torture and humanised the laws. His many building projects included aqueducts, baths, libraries and theatres; additionally, he travelled nearly every province in the Empire to review military and infrastructural conditions. Following Hadrian's death in 138 AD, his successor Antoninus Pius built temples, theatres, and mausoleums, promoted
17360-495: The trouble, you will find a lot of recipes for it, and particularly if you cultivate friendships with monks. But, so that you do not waste your time with the many different techniques, I advise you, just take what you can find at the apothecary's for your money. And I want to teach you how to buy it and how to recognise the good vermilion. Always buy solid vermilion and not crushed or ground. The reason? Because more often than not you are cheated either with red lead or crushed brick. By
17500-575: The weighing noticed that the Gauls were using false scales. The Romans then took up arms and defeated the Gauls. Their victorious general Camillus remarked "With iron, not with gold, Rome buys her freedom." The Romans gradually subdued the other peoples on the Italian peninsula, including the Etruscans . The last threat to Roman hegemony in Italy came when Tarentum , a major Greek colony, enlisted
17640-716: The word he used for red was the word for vermilion, or Chinese red. When Chinese lacquerware and the ground cinnabar used to color it were exported to Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, European collectors considered it to be finer than the European vermilion. In 1835, "Chinese vermilion" was described as a cinnabar so pure that it only had to be ground into powder to become a perfect vermilion. Historically, European vermilion often included adulterants including brick, orpiment , iron oxide , Persian red , iodine scarlet —and minium (red lead), an inexpensive and bright, but fugitive lead-oxide pigment. Since ancient times, vermilion
17780-552: The word vermillion was used for one of the song titles called "Vermillion Dreams" and also the album was called vermillion. The Crayola color red-orange has been a Crayola color since 1930. The web color orange-red was formulated in 1987 as one of the X11 colors , which became known as the X11 web colors after the invention of the World Wide Web in 1991. This color is the medium tone of vermilion called vermilion on
17920-657: Was Josephus' sponsor and Pliny dedicated his Naturalis Historia to Titus, son of Vespasian. Vespasian sent legions to defend the eastern frontier in Cappadocia , extended the occupation in Britannia (modern-day England, Wales and southern Scotland ) and reformed the tax system. He died in 79 AD. Titus became emperor in 79. He finished the Flavian Amphitheater, using war spoils from the First Jewish-Roman War, and hosted victory games that lasted for
18060-476: Was appointed to command the army together with Lucius Julius Caesar and Lucius Cornelius Sulla . By the end of the Social War, Marius and Sulla were the premier military men in Rome and their partisans were in conflict, both sides jostling for power. In 88 BC, Sulla was elected for his first consulship and his first assignment was to defeat Mithridates VI of Pontus , whose intentions were to conquer
18200-506: Was campaigning in Greece. He seized power along with the consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna and killed the other consul, Gnaeus Octavius , achieving his seventh consulship. Marius and Cinna revenged their partisans by conducting a massacre. Marius died in 86 BC, due to age and poor health, just a few months after seizing power. Cinna exercised absolute power until his death in 84 BC. After returning from his Eastern campaigns, Sulla had
18340-518: Was derived from vermeil , from the Latin vermiculus – the diminutive of the Latin word vermis for worm. The name originated because it had a similar color to the natural red dye made from an insect, Kermes vermilio , which was widely used in Europe. The first recorded use of "vermilion" as a color name in English was in 1289. The term cinnabar is used in mineralogy and crystallography for
18480-497: Was killed) in 37 AD. The male line of the Julio-Claudians was limited to Tiberius' nephew Claudius , his grandson Tiberius Gemellus and his grand-nephew Caligula . As Gemellus was still a child, Caligula was chosen to rule the empire. He was a popular leader in the first half of his reign, but became a crude and insane tyrant in his years controlling government. The Praetorian Guard murdered Caligula four years after
18620-532: Was militarily passive. Cassius Dio identifies his reign as the beginning of Roman decadence : "(Rome has transformed) from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust." Commodus was killed by a conspiracy involving Quintus Aemilius Laetus and his wife Marcia in late 192 AD. The following year is known as the Year of the Five Emperors , during which Helvius Pertinax , Didius Julianus , Pescennius Niger , Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus held
18760-570: Was no chance of a return to the Roman Republic , and so a new emperor had to arise. After the turmoil in the Year of the Four Emperors , Titus Flavius Vespasianus (anglicised as Vespasian) took control of the empire and established a new dynasty. Under the Flavians, Rome continued its expansion, and the state remained secure. Under Trajan, the Roman Empire reached the peak of its territorial expansion. Rome's dominion now spanned 5.0 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles). The most significant military campaign undertaken during
18900-554: Was now pre-eminent over Rome: in five years he held four consulships, two ordinary dictatorships, and two special dictatorships, one for perpetuity. He was murdered in 44 BC, on the Ides of March by the Liberatores . Caesar's assassination caused political and social turmoil in Rome; the city was ruled by his friend and colleague, Marcus Antonius . Soon afterward, Octavius , whom Caesar adopted through his will, arrived in Rome. Octavian (historians regard Octavius as Octavian due to
19040-406: Was regarded as the color of blood, thus the color of life. It was used to paint temples and the carriages of the emperor, and as the printing paste for personal seals . It was also used for unique red calligraphic ink reserved for emperors. Chinese Taoists associated vermilion with eternity. The Dutch singer Simone Simons , released her debut solo album called Vermillion in 2024. On this album,
19180-557: Was spared. The Triumvirate divided the Empire among the triumvirs: Lepidus was given charge of Africa , Antony, the eastern provinces, and Octavian remained in Italia and controlled Hispania and Gaul . The Second Triumvirate expired in 38 BC but was renewed for five more years. However, the relationship between Octavian and Antony had deteriorated, and Lepidus was forced to retire in 36 BC after betraying Octavian in Sicily . By
19320-482: Was succeeded by the general Trajan . Trajan is credited with the restoration of traditional privileges and rights of commoner and senatorial classes, which later Roman historians claim to have been eroded during Domitian's autocracy. Trajan fought three Dacian wars , winning territories roughly equivalent to modern-day Romania and Moldova . He undertook an ambitious public building program in Rome, including Trajan's Forum , Trajan's Market and Trajan's Column , with
19460-629: Was used to paint the walls of some of the most luxurious villas in Pompeii , including the Villa of the Mysteries (Italian: Villa dei Misteri ). Pliny reported its painters stole a large portion of the expensive pigment by frequently washing their brushes and saving the wash water. In the Byzantine Empire , the use of cinnabar/the vermilion color was reserved for the use of the imperial family and administrators; official letters and imperial decrees were written in vermilion ink, made with cinnabar. It
19600-405: Was worked by prisoners. Since the ore of mercury was highly toxic, a term in the mines was a near-guaranteed death sentence. Pliny the Elder described the mines this way: Nothing is more carefully guarded. It is forbidden to break up or refine the cinnabar on the spot. They send it to Rome in its natural condition, under seal, to the extent of some ten thousand librae ( Roman pounds thus 3289 kg)
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