The Umbri

The Umbri had settled in the ancient Italic Peninsula in the Tuscany area, approximately 1,500-500 years before the building of Rome. Many historians such as Dionysius, Pliny, Florus, and others have written that they were the most ancient people of Italy. (1) They were the first descendants of Japheth, by Gomer. Throughout historical literature, the Umbri were also known by other names such as the Ombrii, Gomerians, Cimmerians, Cymry (Kymry), Cumri, Cumbri, Cimbri, Humbri, and the Celtic people. It is said, that from the stock of the Umbri, the Latins, Samnites, Sabines, Marsi, and many other countries would be born, who then united as one nation under the Roman Confederacy.

The question must be asked, “Where did the Umbri come from before they had arrived in Italy?”

WERE THE UMBRI THE ANCIENT ISRAELITES OF THE EXODUS?

There is a strong connection between the Umbri of Italy and the Ancient Israelites of the Exodus. This theory of mine coincides with the fact, that they had called themselves the descendants of Japheth, by Gomer. Japheth’s descendants would inhabit the whole northern regions of the globe, having settled in Asia, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Europe, America and Israel, where Japheth is considered the father of the “Indo-Europeans or the Europeans. The connection between Japheth and the Europeans originates from Genesis 10:5, which states, “By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands.”

In addition to the Umbri being the descendants of Japheth, by Gomer, there is also a quote from Pliny who said “the Greeks had called them the people of the thunderstorm because they “survived the deluge.“(Wikipedia) The ancient story of the biblical flood and this event would be akin to a tsunami today, but it may be possible that this ancient deluge was not made of water, but of tribes and armies who had overwhelmed and swamped these regions with their own people in conquest of nations. One of the many places that the Umbri would conquer, or should I say flood (overwhelm), would be Italy.

Italy was just one of many of their lands. In fact, you will also find a lot more appellations of the name Om to many places in the East. Author Godfrey Higgins lists these places in his book “Anacalypsis; an attempt to draw aside the veil of the Saitic Isis;”(3)

In the following names of places, the Om of India I think is very apparent. I cannot help suspecting that this Om is, at last, nothing but the monogram M, the numerical symbol of the God of the cycle of 600. Generally speaking, a person will look in vain into the Greek geographers for these Oms, and nobody will doubt that they are ancient and not modem names.

1 “Homs-Emesa; Om “Keis-Gadara; Om el Djemal; Om-Ezzertoun; Om-Haretein; Om”el-Kebour; Om-Waled; Om-‘Eddjemal; Om-ba, where resides the “Sheikh or El Hakem; Om-el-Sheratyth; Tel-Houm; Capernaum; “Om-el-Taybe; Ammon or Philadelphia; Om Djouze; Om-el”Reszasz; Om-Aamed; Om-teda; Biar Om-shash; Om-megheylan; “Omran tribe of; Hom-mar river of; Om-Hash; Om-haye; Om”Hadjydjein; Omyle; Om-Kheysyr; Om-Shomar; Om-Dhad, places “near Sinai,” &c, &c2 In or near the island of Meroe, Burckhardt calls a place Senaar (which I consider a corruption of Shinar), and he mentions Tuklawi and an island of Argo, and below Assouan, two temples called Hierosyeaminon.

In many places, particularly near Mount Sinai, he notices mountains called Om; as Om Thoman. Animals also are called Om. And from one passage it appears as if this word had the meaning of Mother. But it is also applied to a village called Om Daoud, evidently David.

With all the information that we have today, we can easily track the true origins of this tribe based on the etymology of the name, and also the ancient history of various name appellations where Om may be added to other names and/or places. In this mystery of the Tribe of the Umbri (Ombri), it is obvious with the various place names and the origins of the word Om, that this tribe had come to Italy by way of the sea from the East and the Mediterranean. The Umbri were a tribe named after God, that had originated near or around the biblical Mount Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and also the village called Om Daoud or God David. David was the Biblical King of Israel (c. 1011–971 BC).

The meaning of the name David would have the same or similar meanings as the names Dod (Daud or Dawd), Dad, and Dan which the true meaning would be “Father.” Hence, when we find these many different names written in literature, they are referring to one “Lord and Father.” Many Bible scholars translate the name David as Beloved, but the Hebrew root (dwd) that yields (dod), meaning beloved or uncle.

These various name connections of Om and place names surrounding Mount Sinai, also known as “Moses’ Mountain” or “Mount Moses”; (Hebrew: הר סיני‎ Har Sinai ), and also as Mount Horeb, are all mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran. According to Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition, the biblical Mount Sinai was the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments. (Wikipedia)

Another connection between these people and the Umbri, are the Kings of Ed-Om and the people of the Edomites. Edom was also known under the name Idumea and their capital was known as “The Rose Red City of Esau.” The name Edom means “red” in Hebrew, and was given to Esau, the eldest son of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac, once he ate the “red pottage”, which the Bible used in irony at the fact he was born “red all over”. (Wikipedia) It is this magnificent Biblical town of Edom, where we can find the territory that was allotted to Jacob’s brother Esau (Genesis 36), and also the capital of the Nabateans where the Edomites, or in Greek the ‘Idumeans’ had lived. Today the lost rock city is known by its Greek name of Petra that represents Zeus Peter (Ju’Piter/Ju-Peter), or in English, Peter which means “the rock” or “the father.” Petra was where the Treasury of the Pharaoh was located. In addition to these facts, we also know that Edom was known as a slang word for Rome amongst the diaspora Italian Jews.

This connection of the Umbri with the Ancient Israelites does not stop with the Edomites. Now let us study the etymology of the name.

THE MEANING AND ETYMOLOGY OF THE NAME “UMBRI (OM-BRI)”

In studying the etymology of the name Ombrii or Umbri, I have found that it is a compound word derived from two Hebrew (Phoenician) and Sanskrit words, Om and Bri. The word Om is also written universally as ॐ; in Devanagari as ओं oṃ [õː], औं auṃ [ə̃ũ], or ‘ओ३म्’ om [õːm]. The mantra “OM” is the name of God, the vibration of the Supreme and the Hindus regard ‘om’ as a sacred mystic syllable, considered the most sacred mantra. It appears at the beginning and end of most Sanskrit recitations, prayers, and texts.(2) In Buddhist texts of East Asian provenance, om is often written as the Chinese character 唵 (pinyin ǎn) or 嗡 (pinyin wēng). The Om represents all the sounds that the human voice can make, and when taken letter by letter, A-U-M represents the divine energy (Shakti) united in its three elementary aspects: Bhrahma Shakti (creation), Vishnu Shakti (preservation) and Shiva Shakti (liberation, and/or destruction). (Wikipedia)

The word Bri is derived from the Hebrew Bris or Berith, which is the Jewish rite of circumcision performed on a male child on the eighth day of his life. In Old-Irish, the word Bri also denotes a hill.

Pliny the Elder wrote concerning the folk-etymology of the name:

The Umbrian people are thought the oldest in Italy; they are believed to have been called Ombrii (here, “the people of the thunderstorm,” after ὅμβρος, “thunderstorm”) by the Greeks because they survived the deluge (literally “the inundation of the lands by thunderstorms, imbribus). The Etruscans vanquished 300 Umbrian cities.

The Etymology I have given above, also relates very strongly to Greek mythology which will make more sense below with the research I provided, connecting the Umbri with the Ancient Greek tribe of the Thracians.

Affinity between the Greek, Sanscrit, and Celtic, (p. 64.) HecatSBUS of Miletus says, the Barbarians inhabited Greece before the Ellenes. Of this we have no doubt. These Barbarians being Umbri and Pelasgoi; Celtae: for the Curetes were Celts, and established the Olympic Games. (See Pezron’s Antiquities of Nations, where he has collected a number of Latin and Greek words, certainly derived from the Celtic.)

The Arundelinn Marbles, and Lucian, say that Eumolpus, a Thracian, introduced the Eleusinian Mysteries. At the conclusion of these mysteries, the assembly was dismissed in these words, Kors OM nAH, which were not understood by the Greeks. Mr. Wilcox has shewn that these same words are Sanscrit, and commonly used at the religious meetings and ceremonies of the Brahmins.

The Thracian poet, Eumolpus (also Eumolpos and Triptolemus), was the son of Poseidon and Chione. He became one of the first priests of Demeter and the founder of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Eumolpus had initiated Heracles into the mysteries. His descendants, the Eumolpidae were the priests of Demeter at Eleusis till the latest times.(2)

It is interesting, that in the name of the Umbrians we find the mantra “OM” as the name of God, and then in Greek mythology we can find the Thracian poet, Eumolpus who is also the founder on the Eleusinian Mysteries saying a curious phrase, “Kors OM nAH”. When we study the etymology of the phrase “Kors OM nAH,” we not only find the name of God in OM, we also find the modern English word cross, possibly in the old word ‘kors’. In the various languages you will find cross spelled in Italian, croce; cors; Gothic, kross; French, croix;  Welsh croes; and in Latin, crux.

The meanings of the noun, verb, and adjective are multifarious. A cross is primarily an instrument of punishment, composed of one straight body laid over another at right angles, on an instrument of which kind our Saviour suffered, and which thence became the ensign of the Christian religion. It also denotes a monument with a cross on it, to excite devotion; a line drawn through another; any thing that thwarts us, or puts our patience to the trial; intermixture of breed; figuratively, money, from its bearing the mark of a cross; Irish church lands.

THE UMBRI CONNECTION TO THE SEA PEOPLE

Sir Richard Francis Burton; in his book Etruscan Bologna: a study, had claimed the Umbri were shortly followed into Italy by the Greco-Pelasg via Arcadia and to have settled themselves in Magna Graecia. However, I believe that the Umbri were actually related to the Pelasgians, because some ancient Greek writers refer to the word ‘Pelasgian’ as the indigenous people of the Greek world and who would just be the ancestors of the Greeks or preceded the Greeks. The Pelasgians first appear in the poems of Homer: those who are stated to be Pelasgians in the Iliad are among the allies of Troy. (Wikipedia) The Umbri would be of the same stock of the Greeks, but would most likely be the official Roman name for the tribe while in Italy.

It is interesting, that the ancient Greek word for “sea” is “pelagosn”, and it was just about this time in history, when we can find a mysterious warrior tribe who crossed the globe by boat named the Sea Peoples. A tribe, that seems to have flown under the research radar until now. This subject I will detail in a future article.

THE UMBRI, ROME, DRUIDS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Some historians claim that the Umbrians had enemies such as the Etruscans, who it is said would eventually help conquer this tribe. However, I do believe that the Etruscans were related by blood to the Umbri, like that of the Pelasgians, but possibly not related in tribe and/or current religious or government customs. The Umbri were always fiercely independent at first and they were also said to be an enemy to Rome, but it is evident that they eventually became an important ally to them or they were instrumental in forming the Roman Republic after Augustus came to power.

Eventhough they were said to be conquered by the Romans, more than a few patriarchs of the Umbri would join the Roman government. The first evidence of this can be found during the reign of Augustus Caesar when four Umbrian aristocrats became senators and/or emperor. One of these Umbrians was named Nerva (Latin: Marcus Cocceius Nerva Caesar Augustus; 8 November, 30 AD – 27 January, 98 AD), who became the thirteenth Roman Emperor from 96 to 98. Emperor Nerva was born at Narnia, in Umbria, A.D. 27 according to Eutropius (8, 1), or A.D. 32 according to Dio Cassius (68, 4). His family originally came from the island of Crete in Greece and several of his ancestors rose to the highest honours in the Roman state. Crete is known as the birthplace of the Greek God, Zeus who is also known in science as Jupiter. The Apostle Paul was said to have lived on the island of Crete for two years.

Nerva became Emperor at the age of sixty-five, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. He was a strong supporter of the land of his great Greek ancestors and had sought to make Athens, Greece the cultural capital of the Roman Empire. The Umbrian, or should I say Greek, Nerva was the founder of the Greco-Roman Nerva–Antonine dynasty. It was from this family dynasty, where a total of seven Roman Emperors were produced and who ruled over the Roman Empire from 96 AD to 192 AD. These Emperors are Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, and Commodus. (Wikipedia)

A descendant of Nerva, Hadrian had taken it upon himself to rebuild the Pantheon which was a temple, that at one time was consecrated to all the gods. After he had rebuilt the Pantheon, he constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma whom thereafter was dedicated to the Cult of Venus. Venus is the Goddess of love, fertility, sex, and prostitution. Her cults may represent the religiously legitimate charm and seduction of the divine by mortals, in contrast to the formal, contractual relations between most members of Rome’s official pantheon and the state, and the unofficial, illicit manipulation of divine forces through magic. The ambivalence of her function is suggested in the etymological relationship of the root *venes- with Latin venenum (poison), in the sense of “a charm, magic philtre.“(Wikipedia)

In addition to the Umbri in Italy and the Roman government, they were also a very important tribe in a place called the North Land of the Sacred Umbri, also known as Northrumbia in Britain. It was in Britain, where the Northrumbians would play a large role in the 1st-8th centuries in helping Christianize the continent by building churches and converting many of the pagan Saxons, Pictish kings and Druids to Christianity. It is here in Northumbria that the former Umbrian, and new Roman Emperor, Hadrian had a significant influence in protecting and forming the British nation.

It was here in Northrumbia, where he had built a 73 mile long wall that is known as “Hadrian’s Wall.” Today, it is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern England. Hadrian’s Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain, and like Emperor Hadrian had done with the Roman Pantheon and the Temple of Venus and Roma, he also dedicated this wall to the Goddess. On Hadrian’s wall there is an ancient inscription dedicated to the two Germanic Alaisagae goddesses, Beda and Fimmilena (or Baudihillia and Friagabis), and the divine spirit of the emperor. The following inscription to Beda was found in the Vercoviciivm fort on Hadrian’s Wall, Housesteads, Northumberland (4):

DEO MARTI THINCSO ET DVABVS ALAISAGIS BEDE ET FIMMILENE ET N AVG GERM CIVES TVIHANTI VSLM (To the god Mars Thincsus and the two Alaisagae, Beda and Fimmilena, and the divine spirit of the emperor, the German tribesmen from Tuihantis willingly and deservedly fulfill their vow). In another inscription within the same temple her name is replaced by that of the Germanic goddess Frigabis which strongly suggests synchronization of the two deities. Another centre of worship may have been the town of Bitburg, Germany, which was called “Beda Vicus”, which means in both Celtic and Germanic the ‘Village of Beda.’

Northrumbia was the ideal location between Rome and the sacred island of Iona, where the Druid Culdees of the Celtic Church in Ireland and Scotland would align with the Roman Church to form the Universal Church, that we know of today as the Catholic Church. A time, when the veil of the Goddess would encapsulate the past history of the world and that of the Brotherhood behind a wall that would then divide them, in order to unite them once again.

CONCLUSION:

As I mentioned above, The word and the mantra “OM” is the name of God, and in Old-Irish, the word Bri also denotes a hill. Quite possibly the name of the Umbri (Om-Bri) would signify the Chosen people of God who made the covenant to God on the Hill which would be Mount Sinai. This story also coincides with the Bedouin tradition, that Mount Sinai was the mountain where God gave laws to the Israelites.

The Umbris were also known to inhabit the highlands and mountains. When the Umbri had joined the Roman Confederacy, they had essentially given up their old tribal ways and those teachings of the Old Testament as the chosen people (Israelites), for the New Testament (New Law) where all the tribes who had joined the Roman Confederacy, whether they were Gentile or an Israelite were considered Brothers in Christ by merit alone under the banner of Universal Brotherhood and the Universal Church, that we know of today as the Catholic Church. The other “chosen tribes” who did not join in Universal Brotherhood under the Christian Church would now be considered “Jews” because they were or are followers of the old religion of Yahweh. This makes sense, since Edom was known as a slang word for Rome amongst the diaspora Italian Jews; so the Umbri would be the new converts to the Universal Brotherhood now based out of the Roman Empire, which back then extended from Idumea, Egypt, Greece and to Italy. All these territories were in Rome’s hands at the time and would continue for many centuries.

In place of the old covenant under Yahweh, the veil of the Goddess via the Virgin Mary would rule the people. In Rome’s official pantheon and the state, and the unofficial, illicit manipulation of divine forces through magic. The ambivalence of her function is suggested in the etymological relationship of the root *venes- with Latin venenum (poison), in the sense of “a charm, magic philtre.” One of the symbols of Goddess Venus was the rose. The Rose Red City of Esau; Petra which was the capital of the Edomites who also had a temple of the Treasury dedicated to the Goddess Isis and whose symbol is also the rose. It is no coincidence that the rose is also the main symbol of Ancient Tribe of Umbri who were instrumental in forming the Roman Empire and Roman Catholic Religion dedicated to the same Goddess. This rose you can find today amongst such secret societies as the Rosicrucians, Freemasons and Templars. A rose from the history of the people of God that seem to coincide with the prophecies of Saint Malachy called the “Rose Umbria,” which is Latin for “The rose of Umbria.”

King David’s most important son was King Solomon, and in the Song of Solomon he sings, “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”

SOURCES:

1. The Old Guard: A Monthly Journal Devoted to the Principles of 1776 …, Volume 7  By Charles Chauncey Burr, Thomas Dunn English Page 67

2.  NELSON’S ENCYCLOAEDIA Page 502

3. Anacalypsis; an attempt to draw aside the veil of the Saitic Isis Page 354

SUPPORTING RESEARCH:

Encyclopaedia Britannica: Or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and …, Volume 27 Page 292

TRIPTOLEMUS, in Greek mythology, the inventor of agriculture, first priest of Demeter, and founder of the Eleusinian mysteries. His name is probably connected with the “ triple ploughing” (1-pix, woheiv), recommended in Hesiod’s Works and Days and celebrated at an annual festival. It may be noted that in some traditions he is called the son of Dysaules (possibly identical with diaulos, the “ double furrow ” traced by the ox), and that, according to the Latin poets (e.g. Virgil, Georgics, i. 19), he is the inventor of the plough.1 Later, as the god of ploughing, he is confounded with Osiris, and on a vase-painting at St Petersburg he is represented leaving Egypt in his dragon-drawn chariot on his journey round the world.

According to the best known Attic legend (Apollodorus, i. 5, 2) Triptolemus was the son of Celeus, king of Eleusis, and Metaneira. Demeter, during her search for her daughter Persephone, arrived at Eleusis in the form of an old woman. Here she was hospitably received by Celeus, and out of gratitude would have made his son Demophon immortal by anointing him with ambrosia and destroying his mortal parts by fire; but Metaneira, happening to see what was going on, screamed out and disturbed the goddess. Demophon was burnt to death, and Demeter, to console his parents, took upon herself the care of Triptolemus, instructed him in everything connected with agriculture, and presented him with a wonderful chariot, in which he travelled all over the world, spreading the knowledge of the precious art and the blessings of civilization.

In another account (Hyginus, Fab. 147) Triptolemus is the son of Eleusinus, and takes the place of Demophon in the above narrative. Celeus endeavoured to kill him on his return, but Demeter intervened and forced him to surrender his country to Triptolemus, who named it Eleusis after his father and instituted the festival of Demeter called Thesmophoria. In the Homeric hymn to Demeter, Triptolemus is simply one of the nobles of Eleusis, who was instructed by the goddess in her rites and ceremonies. The Attic legend of Eleusis also represented him as one of the judges of the underworld.

His adventures on his world-wide mission formed the subject of a play of the same name by Sophocles. In works of art Triptolemus appears mounted on a chariot (winged or drawn by dragons, symbols of the fruitfulness of the earth), with Demeter and Persephone handing him the implements of agriculture. His attributes were a sceptre of ears of corn, sometimes a drinking-cup, which is being filled by Demeter. His altar and threshing-floor were shown on the Rarian plain near Eleusis; hence he is sometimes called the son of Rarus.

Etruscan Bologna: a study  By Sir Richard Francis Burton

The Umbro-Latins were shortly followed by the earliest maritime emigration that of the Graeco-Pelasgi, which poured into Italy via Arcadia, Thessaly, and especially Epirus (Albania). They settled themselves in Magna Graecia, containing Iapygia (Apulia), Italia Proper (the Calabrias), and CEnotria (Lucania). By degrees these three great groups, marching over as many several routes to the centre of the Italic Peninsula, conquered, by arts rather than arms, the Ligurians, and the vividus Umber, including his Sabine, Samnite, and other kinsmen,1 together with the Prisci Latini; extended themselves into Tuscany and the Padan valley, where their earliest settlement was known as Spina; and reduced to Pelasgian rule all the choicest regions east of the modern Lamone or Santerno River.

Their empire, characterised by its Cyclopean or Pelasgian constructions, must be held to begin with the fifteenth or even the seventeenth century B.c. ; and its decadence, which might have arisen from cosmical causes, earthquakes and eruptions, is related by history with fables and supernaturalisms which, superficially considered, have made the name of Pelasgi sound quasi-mythical—’ like the knightserrant of the Round Table.’ And yet there is no1 ‘Nam Umbria pars Tusciae est,’ says Servius (ad JEn. xii. 753); and Strabo (v. 1) informs us that before Rome rose to power the Umbri and the Tyrrheni fought for supremacy. Pliny (iii. 8) tells us: ‘Umbro (the modern Ombrone river which bisects Tuscany) navigiorum capax et ab eo tractus Umbriae portusque Telamon.’ Again: ‘Etruria est ab amne Macra.’ Solinus, Servius, and Isidore report: ‘Veterum Gallorum Umbros propaginem esse,’ and the former would derive the name ‘ab imbribus.’

In the book, “Horæ Britannicæ; or, Studies in ancient British history,”  By John Hughes,

The Umbri and Etrusci, the most ancient nations of Italy, were the first descendants of Japheth, by Gomer, from whom the Celts deduce their original ; and the Romans were considerably indebted to the Etruscans, for their knowledge of letters-, civilization, and religion. The Iberians, according to Strabo; had the knowledge of the arts from as remote a period as the reign of Ninus, the founder of the Assyrian empire, that is, two thousand years before the commencement of the Christian era.

Even so far back are that people said to have been possessed of written records, poems, and laws : and Berosus says, that, in the fourth year of the reign of Ninus, Tuisco taught the Germans the use of letters; Tubal, the Celto-lberians; and Samothes, the Celts. But Samothes, was no other than Dis, from whom, says Caesar, the Gauls derived their origin. This Aides, or Dis, was the same as Aedd the Great, the father of the Edui, the most ancient nation of the Gauls; and we have the same name in our Triads, where he is said to be the father of Prydain. These names are ultimately to be referred to the patriarch Japheth, who became the object of idolatrous veneration among the nations of Europe.

A Classical Dictionary: Containing … Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Literature By Charles Anthon Page 884

Nerva, Marcus Cocceius, the thirteenth Roman emperor, was born at Narnia, in Umbria, A.D. 27 according to Eutropius (8, 1), or A.D. 32 according to Dio Cassius (68, 4). His family originally came from Crete; but several of his ancestors rose to the highest honours in the Roman state. His grandfather Cocceius Nerva, who was consul A.D. 22, and was a great favourite of the Emperor Tiberius, wjas one of the most celebrated jurists of his age.

We learn from Tacitus that this individual put an end to his own life. (Ann., 6, 28.)—Nerva, the subject of the present sketch, is first mentioned in history as a favourite of Nero, who bestowed upon him triumphal honours, A.D. 66, when he was praetor elect. The poetry of Nerva, which is mentioned with praise by Pliny and Martial, appears to have recommended him to the favour of Nero. Nerva was employed in offices of trust and honour during the reigns of Vespasian and Titus, but he incurred the suspicion of Domitian, and was banished by bim to Tarentum. On the assassination of Domitian, A.D. 96, Nerva succeeded to the sovereign power, through the influence of Petronius Secundus, commander of the Praetorian cohorts, and of Parthenius, tho chamberlain of the palace.

The mild and equitable administration of Nerva is acknowledged and praised by all ancient writers, and forms a striking contrast to the sanguinary rule of his predecessor. He discouraged all informers, recalled the exiles from banishment, relieved the people from some oppressive taxes, and granted toleration to the Christians. Many instances of his liberality and clemency are recorded by his contemporary, the younger Pliny; he allowed no senator to be put to death during his reign; and he practised the greatest economy, in order to relieve the wants of the poorer citizens. But his impartial administration of justice met with little favour from the Praetorian cohorts, who had been allowed by Domitian to indulge in excesses of every kind. Enraged at the loss of their benefactor and favourite, they compelled Nerva to deliver into their hands Parthenius and their own commander Petronius, both of whom they put to death. The excesses of his own guards convinced Nerva that the government of the Roman empire required greater energy both of body and mind than he possessed, and he accordingly adopted Trajan as his successor, and associated him with himself in the sovereignty. Nerva died A.D. 98, after a reign of sixteen months and nine days. (Dio Cass., 68, I, seqq.— Pliny. Pantg.,c. 11.—Id. ib., c. 89.—Aurcl. Vict., c. 12.—Encycl. Us. Knowl., vol. 16, p. 149.)