Last of the Romans

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The description Last of the Romans (Ultimus Romanorum) has historically been given to any man thought to embody the values of Ancient Roman civilization - values which, by implication, became extinct on his death.

It has been used to describe a number of individuals. The first recorded instance was Julius Caesar's description of Marcus Junius Brutus as the one with whom the old Roman spirit would become extinct.

Many people have been called "Last of the Romans":

• Flavius Belisarius, one of the greatest generals of the Byzantine Empire and one of the most acclaimed generals in history. He was also the last Roman general to be granted a Roman Triumph.
• Gaius Asinius Pollio, one of the last great orators and writers of the Roman Republic.
• Flavius Aëtius, a general in the late Western Roman Empire who defended the Gauls against the Franks and other barbarians, and defeated Attila in the Catalaunian Fields near Châlons, in 451. So called by Procopius.
• Valens, the Emperor who led his army to a catastrophic defeat in the Battle of Adrianople.
• Syagrius, the last Roman commander in Gaul before the invasion of the Franks.
• Ambrosius Aurelianus, a Romano-British military commander against the Anglo-Saxon invasion.
• Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, one of the last great philosophers of Rome.
• Justinian I, the successful Byzantine emperor, second of the Justinian Dynasty.
• Gregory the Great, an influential Pope and native to Rome.

In a more literal sense, it could also refer to:

• Romulus Augustus, the last de facto Western Roman Emperor.
• Julius Nepos, the last de jure Western Roman Emperor.
• Constantine XI Paleologus, the last de facto Eastern Roman Emperor.
• Andreas Palaiologos, the last de jure Eastern Roman Emperor.

A different list, "Last of the Romans," was offered in E. Cobham Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) :

• Marcus Junius Brutus, one of the murderers of Caesar.
• Gaius Cassius Longinus, so called by Brutus and by the ancient historian Cremutius Cordus.
• Stilicho, a powerful Roman general in the early 5th century.
• Flavius Aëtius.
• François Joseph Terasse Desbillons; so called from the elegance and purity of his Latin (1751-1789).
• Alexander Pope called William Congreve Ultimus Romanorum. (1670-1729.)

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Last updated on Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 06:05:08 PDT (GMT -0700)
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