Tag: Rome

On the Italian mainland the Syracusan ascendancy melted away on the death of Dionysius. The great tyrant had made use of the Lucanians and other Italians to bring the Greek colonies under his sway. When he died the Italians combined and formed the Bruttian League against the divided Greeks, pressing...

For the moment Caesar's fall produced sheer paralysis. The conspirators imagined that they were going to restore the senatorial republic mid general acclamation. The enemy they had most to fear was Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony, ca. 83-30 BC), consul designate and a favourite lieutenant of the murder...

Marius, Vatican Museums, Vatican City Marius was of humble beginnings, having been born near the town of Arpinum in Latium. First serving in Spain, Marius was essentially a military man. He did not hold any public office until he was voted to the position of Tribune of the People in 119 BC.In 115 BC...

In 91 BC the moderate members of the senate allied themselves with Livius Drusus (the son of that Drusus who had been used to undermine Gaius Gracchus' popularity in 122 BC) and aided him in his election campaign. If the honesty of the father is open to doubt, that of the son is not. As tribune he p...

The Second Samnite War lasted twenty years and was not a defensive venture for Rome. At first the Roman arms were so successful that in 321 BC the Samnites sued for peace. But the terms offered were so stringent that they were rejected and the war went on. In the same year the two consuls, leading a...

The patricians found it at least necessary to make occasional concessions - often indeed such that their expected effect could be practically evaded. As early as 445 BC they were obliged to legalize marriage between patrician and plebeian. But they fought to the last against admitting plebeians to ...

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...

Plutarch's Lives: Tiberius Gracchus Having completed the first two narratives, we now may proceedto take a view of misfortunes, not less remarkable, in theRoman couple, and with the lives of Agis and Cleomenes,compare these of Tiberius and Caius. They were the sons ofTiberius Gracchus, who, though h...

Paul was a Jew who was born in Tarsus, a city in modern-day Turkey. He was a Pharisee, a strict follower of the Jewish law. However, he had a conversion experience on the road to Damascus, and he became a follower of Jesus Christ. After his conversion, Paul began to travel throughout the Roman Empir...

The Roman civilization was one of the most influential in world history, and its impact can still be felt today in areas such as politics, architecture, language, and law. The Roman Republic, which was established in 509 BCE, was the first known republic in the world, and it laid the foundation for ...

A notable situation occurred when, at the festival of the Lupercalia in February 44 BC, Mark Antony offered Caesar the crown as king of Rome. He rejected the offer dramatically, but with obvious reluctance. The idea of a king still remained intolerable to the Romans. Many senators though suspected ...

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