Tag: Rome

Tiberius and his brother Gaius Gracchus were to be two men who should become famous, if not infamous, for their struggle for the lower classes of Rome.They themselves though originated from Rome's very elite. Their father was a consul and military commander and their mother was from the distinguishe...

The patricians not only administered the law, the magistrates (consuls) themselves were the only authority who could declare what the law was. The next plebeian demand therefore was for a published written code. In 451 BC a commission of ten men, the Decemviri, was appointed as a temporary governme...

Despite the wise measures which had pacified Spain during the governorship of Gracchus, the Roman administration was soon after conducted on the lines of tyranny again. Before long, the whole country was seething with hatred of its new masters, and praetors or consuls who could barely hold their ow...

Ancient History Sourcebook:Suetonius: De Vita Caesarum--Divus Titus, c. 110 C.E. [Arkenberg Introduction]. Rolfe's annotations appear in brackets with no attribution; mine are noted. I have also replaced modern place names, as used by Rolfe, with those in use by the Romans and Hellenes; thus, for ex...

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla was yet another nail in he coffin of the Republic, perhaps much in the same mould as Marius. Having already been the first man to use Roman troops against Rome itself. And much like Marius he, too, should make his mark in history with reforms as well as a reign of terror...

ConsulDictatorPontifex MaximusCensorPraetorAedileQuaestorThe Roman republic was led by two Consuls who were joint heads of the Roman state and commanders-in-chief of the army. They were elected only for one year and thereafter could not be re-elected again for 10 years, in order to prevent any form ...

Ancient History Sourcebook:Suetonius: De Vita Caesarum--Domitianus, c. 110 C.E. I. DOMITIAN was born on the ninth day before the Kalends of November of the year when his father was Consul-elect and was about to enter on the office in the following month [October 24, 51 C.E.], in a street of the sixt...

The Battle of Zama in the summer of 202 BC marked the end of the power of the great Hannibal Barca.With its greatest son, also Carthage should be at a virtual end. True, it should limp on for some time, but with its defeat at the end of the Second Punic War it no longer was a significant power.Zama ...

Caesar used his year as consul (59 BC) to further establish his position. A popular agrarian law, As his first act in office Caesar brought proposed a new agrarian law which gave lands to the veteran soldiers of Pompey and poor citizens in Campania.. Though opposed by the senate, but supported by Po...

After learning about where the Romans lived and what hobbies they enjoyed, you might be wondering what roles the men, women, and children played in ancient Rome. Keep reading to learn about what you, your friends, and your family would have been expected to do in ancient Rome. What would the men in ...

In 52 BC, just as Pompey's jealousies reached their height, a great rebellion was organized in the very heart of Gaul by the heroic Arvernian chief Vercingetorix. So stubborn and so able was the Gallic chief that all Caesar's energies were required for the campaign. On an attack on Gergovia Caesar e...

However, to the south things were different. The princes of Judaea had been allies of Rome for half a century. But Judaea was suffering a civil war between the two brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. Pompey was hence asked to help quell their quarrels and help decide the matter of rule over Judaea (...