Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (162 page)

BOOK: Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
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comitatenses
[De].
Latin term for the soldiers of the
comitatus, or imperial field army, probably created during the reign of Constantine. They were largely heavily armed cavalry and since they were not tied to a particular province, as the legions had been, they gave the emperor a new flexibility in his military activities.
comites
[De].
Latin term meaning ‘companions’, referring to those who accompanied the emperors on their travels. In the military reorganization of the early 4th century
ad
, the name was given to high military and civil officials. See also
COMES
.
comitium
[MC].
Latin term for a building in the centre of a Roman town (often near the forum) used for voting and political meetings.
commandery
[MC].
1
A small monastic house of the military orders.
2
A military establishment constructed as the base from which newly conquered areas were administered during the Han Dynasty in China.
Commodus
[Na].
Roman emperor, ad 180–92.
common bean
[Sp].
A leguminous plant of the order Leguminosae (Phaseolus vulgaris) with edible seeds in a long pod. Native over wide areas in Central and South America. Domesticated from
c.
5000 bc and introduced to Europe in ad 1597.

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