in Roman antiquity, a public standing place within the city of Rome, where causes were judicially tried, and orations delivered to the people.

Forum was also used for a place of traffic, answering to our market-place. These were generally called fora venditæ; in contradistinction to the former, which were called fora civilia.

The fora civilia were public courts of justice, very magnificent in themselves, and surrounded with porticos and stately edifices; of these there were six very remarkable: 1. Forum Romanum. 2. Julianum. 3. Augustum. 4. Palladium. 5. Forum Trajanum. 6. Forum Salustii. The Forum Romanum was the most noted, and is often called simply Forum, by way of eminence. Here was the pleading place called Rostrum, the Comitium, the sanctuary of Saturn, temple of Cæstor, &c. See Rostra, Comitium, &c.

The fora venditæ, or market-places, were very numerous. The chief of them were the forum boarium for oxen or beef; fucarium for swine; pistorium for bread; equestrarium for dainties; olitorium for garden stuff.

The Grecian Agora exactly correspond with the Roman fora, being places where courts and markets were held. At Athens they had many fora, but the chief of them were the old and the new.

Forum Indicæ, was the act of the prætor appointing the place in Rome where causes were to be tried. Agere forum denoted the bringing on causes out of Rome, in a Roman province (Cicero, Suetonius); the same with agere conventum (Florus).

The term forum added to a proper name, denoted some market town or borough; as,

Forum Allieni, a place mentioned only by Tacitus; and, from what he says of it, thought to be Ferrara, capital of the duchy of that name in Italy. E. Long. 12. 5. N. Lat. 44. 46.

Forum Appii (Cicero, Luke); a town of the Volsci, in Latium, on the Via Appia, a little beyond the Tres Tabernæ; set down in the Jerusalem Itinerary as situated near the river Nymphaeus: now entirely extinct.

Forum Cornelii, a town of the Cispadana; built by Sylla: Now Imola, a city in the Romania, and territory of the pope. E. Long. 12. 12. N. Lat. 44. 30.

Forum Domitii, a town of Gallia Narbonensis; probably built by Ahenobarbus Domitianus, who commanded in those parts: Now Frontignan, or Frontignac, in Languedoc, near the Mediterranean. E. Long. 3. 30. N. Lat. 43. 30.

Forum Fulvi, a town of Liguria, surnamed Valentinum; from which it is conjectured that it is now Valenza, in the duchy of Milan; which is confirmed by Peutinger's distances. E. Long. 9. N. Lat. 45°.

Forum Gallorum, a small town of the Cispadana, on the Via Emilia, eight miles from Mutina, beyond the river Scultenna. Here Antony defeated Paulus, and was in his turn defeated by Hirtius: Now Caffeltrano, in the territory of Bologna.—Another Forum Gallorum, a town of the Vascones in the Hither Spain: Now Guerea, a small town of Arragon.

Forum Julium. There are several towns of this name; as a Forum Julium, of Gallia Narbonensis; or Foro Julium: Now Frejus, or Frejules, in Provence, at the mouth of the Argens. Forum Julium Carnorum, to the north of Aquileia, in the Trampadana: Now Cividale di Friuli, formerly Cividale d'Austria, in the territory of Venice.

Forum Julatorium, a town of the Infubres, in the Trampadana: Now Crema, capital of the Cremafo, in Forum Livii, a town of the Semonnes, in the Cispadana: Now Forli, in Romania. E. Long. 12° 45'. N. Lat. 44° 25'.

Forum Segusianorum, situated on the east side of the Liger, in Gallia Celtica: Now Feurs, on the Loire, in the Lionnois, capital of the territory of Forez. E. Long. 4° 15'. N. Lat. 45° 44'.

Forum Tiberii, a town of the Pagus Tigurinus, in Belgica, on the left or south side of the Rhine: Now Kayserfliiss, literally the tribunal of Tiberius, which he held there when commander in the Rhetian war.

Forum Vulcani (Strabo); the Campi Phlegraei of Pliny: a place in Campania, encompassed with rocky eminences, near Puteoli, and distant from it two miles towards Naples, emitting smoke, and in some places flame, like a large extensive furnace, and yielding sulphur: Now called Solfatara, in the Terra di Lavoro.

Forum, is also used, among civilians, &c., for jurisdiction; thus they say, In foro legis, &c.