Courteous figures in Roman history (5)
I believe the answer is:
civil
'courteous' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for civil that I've seen before include "Mannerly" , "Polite to the state" , "Nonviolent refusal to obey laws" , "Courteously polite" , "Courteous, polite" .)