Roman

views updated May 17 2018

Roman of, pertaining to, or characteristic of (ancient) Rome.
Roman alphabet the alphabet used for writing Latin, English, and most European languages, developed in ancient Rome.
Roman Britain Britain during the period ad 43–410, when most of Britain was part of the Roman Empire. The frontier of the Roman province of Britain was eventually established at Hadrian' Wall; the more northerly Antonine Wall was breached and abandoned (c.181).
Roman Catholic Church the part of the Christian Church which acknowledges the Pope as its head, especially as it has developed since the Reformation, and which is the largest Christian Church, dominant particularly in South America and southern Europe. Roman Catholicism differs from Protestantism in the importance it grants to tradition, ritual, and the authority of the Pope as successor to the Apostle St Peter, and especially in its doctrines of papal infallibility (formally defined in 1870) and of the Eucharist (transubstantiation), its celibate male priesthood, its emphasis on confession, and the veneration of the Virgin Mary and other saints.
Roman Empire the empire established by Augustus in 27 bc, which was divided after the death of Theodosius I (ad 395) into the Western Empire and the Eastern or Byzantine Empire (centred on Constantinople). At its greatest extent Roman rule or influence extended from Armenia and Mesopotamia in the east to the Iberian peninsula in the west, and from the Rhine and Danube in the north to Egypt and provinces on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. Eventually, the sheer extent of the territories led to the collapse of the Western Empire: Rome was sacked by the Visigoths under Alaric in 410, and the last emperor of the West, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed in 476. The Eastern Empire, which was stronger, lasted until 1453.
Roman holiday an occasion on which entertainment or profit is derived from injury or death; originally a holiday for a gladiatorial combat, as in Byron' Childe Harold' Pilgrimage (1812–18), ‘Butchered to make a Roman holiday.’
Roman law the law code of the ancient Romans forming the basis of civil law in many countries today.
Roman numeral any of the letters representing numbers in the Roman numerical system: I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500, M = 1,000. In this system a letter placed after another of greater value adds (thus XVI or xvi is 16), whereas a letter placed before another of greater value subtracts (thus XC is 90).
Roman republic the ancient Roman state from the expulsion of the Etruscan monarchs in 509bc until the assumption of power by Augustus (Octavian) in 27 bc. The republic was dominated by a landed aristocracy, the patricians, who ruled through the advisory Senate and two annually elected chief magistrates or consuls; the plebeians or common people had their own representatives, the tribunes, who in time gained the power of veto over the other magistrates. Dissatisfaction with the Senate's control of government led to civil wars, which culminated in Julius Caesar's brief dictatorship. This established the principle of personal autocracy, and after Caesar's assassination another round of civil war ended with Octavian' assumption of authority.
Roman road one following the line of one made under the Roman empire; typically of military origin, and where possible following the straight route of marching legions.
Roman type a plain upright kind of type used in ordinary print, especially as distinguished from italic and Gothic.

See also Romans, Rome.

Roman

views updated Jun 27 2018

ROMAN

ROMAN , town in Bacau province, Moldavia, N.E. Romania. According to a popular tradition, the first Jews settled in Roman in the second half of the 15th century. Another source attributes the beginning of the Jewish settlement there to the early 16th century. In 1579 the Jews were expelled, according to this source, by the prince of Moldavia. Jews in Roman are first mentioned in Romanian documents from the beginning of the 18th century, and the oldest Jewish tombstones there date from this period. In 1714 a case of blood *libel occurred in Roman. In 1825 priests demanded that the Jewish cemetery should be closed claiming that it was in the center of the town, but the Moldavian ruler rejected their request. The priests then brought several actions against the community, resulting in 1849 in compulsory closure of the cemetery which was subsequently also desecrated. In 1846 the community acquired land for a new cemetery. At first the "Jewish guild" assumed the community functions; subsequently some of them were taken over by the ḥevra kaddisha whose minute book is preserved from 1793. There were 16 prayerhouses, including the Great Synagogue (The Taylor's Synagogue). In 1875 the hostel for travelers (*hekdesh) was converted into a modern hospital and old-age home. The community bath (mikveh) also served as a public bath for Christians, being the only one in town.

The Jewish population numbered 288 in 1803, and 1,200 in 1831; it had increased to 6,432 by 1899 (39% of the total population). Persecutions led many Jews to emigrate in 1900 and the following years. The number of the Jews in Roman had decreased to 4,728 by 1910. In 1930 they numbered 5,963 (28% of the total population). At the beginning of the 19th century, the majority of the Jews were occupied in crafts; the number of those engaged in commerce increased by the early 20th century.

In 1865 Jewish educational institutions in Roman included a talmud torah and 20 ḥadarim, some belonging to the craftsmen, and others to the Ḥasidim. A modern Jewish elementary school, opened on directions of the authorities in 1860, was subsequently closed. In 1893, when Jews were expelled from the public schools, a new modern elementary school was opened with the aid of the Jewish Colonization *Association (ica), and in 1899 a school for girls was founded. Among rabbis in Roman were David Isaacson, who officiated from 1839 to 1907, and his nephew, Solomon Isaacson (1910–47).

After World War i the community underwent reorganization. From 1926 its board was appointed by the government from among Jews who were members of the ruling party. Jews also served on the local council but as representatives of the Romanian parties. Antisemitism was strong in Roman especially between the two world wars, encouraged by the bishop, Lucian Triteanu, one of the leading antisemites in Romania. In 1910 A. *Cuza, the head of the antisemitic party, was elected deputy in this city, and in 1930 as representative of Roman in the Romanian parliament.

The community was not liquidated in the Holocaust. The Jewish population numbered 7,900 in 1947, and 4,500 in 1950. Most of them left for Israel and by 1969 there were about 150 Jewish families. Two synagogues were in existence.

bibliography:

pk Romanyah, 1 (1970), 246–53; J. Kaufman, in: Revista israelitǎ, 1 (1886), 694–8, 759–65; 2 (1887), 27–28, 194, 221; 3 (1888), 111–37; Melchisedek (Bishop of Husi), Cronica Romanului şi a Episcopiei de Roman… (1874), 36–39, 133; S. Wechsler, Contribuţie la monografia Comunitaǎţii evreieşti din Roman (1929); S. Rivenzon, Şcoala evreiascaǎ din tîrgul Romanului… (1933); M. Schwarzfeld, in: Anuar pentru israeliţi, 13 (1890/91), 1–29; A. Cramer, in: Almanahul Ziarului Tribuna evreeascaǎ, 1 (1937/38), 239–41.

[Theodor Lavi]

Roman

views updated May 18 2018

Ro·man / ˈrōmən/ • adj. 1. of or relating to ancient Rome or its empire or people: an old Roman road. ∎  of or relating to medieval or modern Rome: the Roman and Pisan lines of popes.2. dated short for Roman Catholic: the Roman Church's instructions to its clergy.3. denoting the alphabet (or any of the letters in it) used for writing Latin, English, and most European languages, developed in ancient Rome. ∎  (roman) (of type) of a plain upright kind used in ordinary print, esp. as distinguished from italic.• n. 1. a citizen or soldier of the ancient Roman Republic or Empire. ∎  a citizen of modern Rome.2. dated a Roman Catholic.3. (roman) roman type.

ROMAN

views updated May 14 2018

ROMAN.
1. Both with and without an initial capital: relating to the upright style of typeface that dominates texts in English (of which this volume is an example) and many other languages, and that derives from the LETTER shapes used in ancient Rome; Roman type or lettering: a text printed in Times Roman; a mixture of Roman and Gothic; substituting italic for roman.

2. The Roman ALPHABET: Malay can be written in both Roman and Arabic. When the characters of another WRITING system are transliterated into Roman, they are said to be Romanized or, more commonly, romanized. Systems of romanization include Wade–Giles and Pinyin (‘classifying sound’) for Chinese and Hepburn and romaji (‘Roman letters’) for Japanese. See CHINA, JAPAN, TRANSLITERATION.

Roman

views updated May 11 2018

Roman pert. to (native or inhabitant of) ancient Rome XIII; pert. to (adherent of) the Roman Catholic Church XVI; (typogr.) based on the characteristic form of the ancient Roman inscriptions. ME. Romein, -ain — (O)F. Romain — L. Rōmānus, f. Rōma Rome; later assim. in sp. to L.; preceded by OE. Romane, -an sb. pl.; see -AN.
So R. Catholic XVII. Based on the official L. title of the Roman Church, Ecclesia Romana Catholica ęt Apostolica, ‘Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church’.

Roman

views updated Jun 08 2018

Roman ★★ 2006

Alienated Roman (McKee) exists in his own lonely world until he becomes interested in his blonde neighbor (Bell). Too bad he accidentally kills her. Not knowing what to do, Roman starts dismembering the corpse and disposing of it piece by piece. Then death- obsessed Eva (Rose) becomes his new neighbor but maybe Roman should be careful about inviting her to visit. 92m/C DVD . Lucky McKee, Nectar Rose, Kristen Bell, James Duval, Jesse Hlubik, Ben Boyer; D: Angela Bettis; W: Lucky McKee; C: Kevin Ford; M: Jaye Barnes Luckett.

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