History of Europe

I would like to talk about "Numa Pompilius", the second king of the Roman kingdom-Why is October october? ~

How many people in Japan have heard of a person named "Numa"?

I don't know the name recognition in the world, but it is no exaggeration to say that there are few people who know it in Japan.

But when I looked it up, this person was quite an excellent person.

So this time, the story of "Numa Pompilius", the second king of the Roman kingdom.

The successor of Romulus was rubbed

It seems that it was a big dispute as to who would succeed Romulus, who suddenly disappeared.

Rome is an interesting nation, and there is basically no idea of ​​"hereditary succession" from early royal Rome to imperial Rome. A royal system without the idea of ​​hereditary succession is rare in any nation in the world.

Hereditary succession is basic to various dynasties in the promotion of Japan and China, and to later England and France.

It seems that no one had the idea that the Romulus family would succeed even after the Romulus disappeared.

At that time, it was a side-by-side nation of Romans and Sabines, so it seems that the Senate was divided into a group that wanted to have a king from the Romans and a group that wanted to get out of the Sabines.

From large modern corporations to ancient Rome, what humans are doing remains the same.

In such a case, it is better to choose a person who is as selfless as possible. There, the arrow of white feathers stood on the uncle "Numa Pompilius" who passed 40.

I'm 40 years old now, but considering the average life expectancy at that time (I don't know the number), it's probably the level of an old man.

I'm surprised to learn that Ryoma Sakamoto died at the age of 29, but old people usually don't live that long.

Numa seems to have been a pretty selfless person.

Most of the Sabines began to live in the city in Rome, but it is said that Numa was a person who cultivated fields and indulged in meditation and philosophy. He seems to have no desire for power, although he is the daughter of a Sabines king.

It was during his reign that the character of this area came out well, and it is said that 43 years during his reign was a period without war. Pacifists are extremely rare here.

It can be said that it is in symmetry with Romulus's life spent in battle.

By the way, there is a story that Numa was enthusiastic about the study of the Pythagorean school, but since Pythagoras is a person after Numa, it is probably a creation. It's the same as Hideyoshi's sandals.

Numa is said to have refused to become King of the Romans three times. He was probably the type who really wanted to live quietly in the country. Satomi type, not Zaizen, in terms of the white tower.

If it was a Zaizen-type king, or Rome might have died soon.

Calendar reform and religious reform

Livy, an imperial Roman historian, describes Numa as follows:

"We tried to give the certainty of law and custom to Rome, which was laid the foundation by violence and war."

The major things that Numa has done are the reform of the calendar and the reform of religion.

Before Numa, the calendar seems to have set the year to October, but he changed it to 12 months. However, since one year was calculated as 355 days, it seems that adjustments were made every 20 years.

This is because this is a person about 800 years before Himiko. You can see the height of civilization at that time. The calendar set by Numa is amazing because it was used for more than 600 years until the introduction of the Julian calendar set by Julius Caesar. I can't imagine the world 600 years from now. It's the Muromachi period 600 years ago.

By the way, in English, October is "october", and oct is a number that represents 8, so it is the 8th month. Similarly, "nove" is 9 and "dece" is 10.

This is because I put two months in front of the 10th month, and the name of the month that Numa adopted has an influence on the present age, so it is a great achievement.

However, Numa's achievement may be greater in that he reformed his religion.

Rome is a polytheistic nation.

The Romans worshiped the same gods as Greece. Zeus becomes Jupiter and Hera becomes Juno, but they are also gods. As anyone familiar with Greek mythology knows, the gods of Greek mythology are human. It can be said that humans are like gods.

There is a high degree of freedom, good or bad.

This is in contrast to the Jewish and Christian gods who value discipline.

Numa has set up a priesthood organization. However, it seems that these priests were not full-time priests. In Japan today, there are many side-business priests, but historically, priests and others are overwhelmingly full-time. Pastors and priests are also basically full-time.

It is said that these priesthoods were decided by election. It is the same as the current members of the Diet. I wonder if that's okay, but it's a cheerful Latin person.

In the first place, even Okami Yupiteru is sloppy, so I wonder if that area is sloppy.

Because of this system, priests did not take power in Rome.

It can be said that in Japan 800 years later, it is the exact opposite of the shrine maiden who was in power compared to the priest. In medieval Europe, the priesthood was so bloated that it surpassed the kingship, and in ancient Egypt the priesthood sometimes excluded the king, but in Rome this did not happen.

It was a successful example because it did not define a class, and some historians later said, "The biggest reason for the development of Rome is the way of thinking about religion!"

In a sense, it may be said that Numa Pompilius laid the foundation for the prosperity of Rome.

Numa lived his peaceful life without being assassinated like his later hero Caesar.

It is very different from the time of the military emperor, who changed the emperor more than 20 times in 50 years.

I personally think that Numa Pompilius, who hadn't been at war for 40 years in ancient times, could be a little more appreciated.