An angusticlavia, or angusticlavus, in ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, was a narrow purple strip as garment worn on Roman tunica, or tunic

Tunic

A tunic is any of several types of clothing for the body, of various lengths reaching from the shoulders to somewhere between the hips and the ankles...

. The angusticlavia was worn by the eques, or knight.

The word is compounded of angustus ("narrow; small"), and clavus ("nail; stud"). This comes from the fact that those ornaments were narrower in this garment than in the laticlavus worn by senators

Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

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