FASTI

(probably from Latin fas, divine law), in ancient Rome, sacred calendar of the dies fasti, or days of the month on which it was permitted to transact legal affairs; it also denoted registers of various types. The fasti were first exhibited in the Forum, in 304 BC, and thereafter such lists became common. They usually contained not only the months and days of the year, together with the different festivals, but also a variety of other information, such as the dates of military victories and temple dedications. The fasti were carved in stone or marble, although they are also extant in manuscript form. Fasti also denoted registers in the form of historical records; for example, lists of consuls (fasti consulares) were accompanied by records of triumphs (fasti triumphales). A notable example survives in the fragments of the Capitoline fasti, which were set up on the triumphal arch of the emperor Augustus (reigned 27 BCad 14). Although the fasti preserve important evidence for Roman chronology, it is not certain that the original records from which the later ones were copied were kept in reliable chronological order.