Vicus

In Ancient Rome, the Latin term vicus (plural vici) designated a village within a rural area (pagus) or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici. Each vicus had its own board of officials who oversaw local matters. These administrative divisions are recorded as still in effect at least until the mid-4th century. The word "vicus" was also applied to the smallest administrative unit of a provincial town within the Roman Empire, referring to an ad hoc provincial civilian settlement that sprang up close to and because of a nearby military fort or state-owned mining operation.