Tag: Rome

In the treaty of 348 BC Carthage had undertaken to respect all Latin territory and coast towns as a Roman sphere of influence, and granted to Roman traders admission to the ports of her dominions of Africa, Sardinia and Sicily, as well as of Carthage itself. So too were Roman ships of war to enjoy a...

In 218 B.C., Hannibal began the most daring military move in history, that of invading Rome by way of the Alps. But why did this African military genius decide to war against Rome? Before Hannibal's birth, the Romans ruled Italy, and the Carthaginians ruled Carthage in North Africa. The Carthaginian...

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The Carthaginians had not lost everything, though they had been driven out of waters where they had collided with Greeks and increasingly with Italian traders also. There were two paths still open to them. their original exploitation of Africa, both the mountainous north and the oases and caravan r...

Lucius Cornelius SullaSulla, Lucius Cornelius, called Felix (138-78BC), Roman general and statesman, who led the Optimates (aristocratic party) during the civil war of 88-86BC. Sylla By Plutarch Sylla(legendary, died 78 B.C.E.) By Plutarch Written 75 A.C.E. LUCIUS Cornelius Sylla was descended of a ...

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 (...

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...

Roman Law One of the greatest legacies of Rome is their legal system. The development of Roman law began with the Twelve Tables in the mid-fifth century B.C. During a period of over 1000 years, the Roman jurists created a rich literature about all aspects of law: property, marriage, guardianship and...

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...

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...

Plutarch's Lives: Caius Gracchus Caius Gracchus, at first, either for fear of his brother's enemies,or designing to render them more odious to the people, absentedhimself from the public assemblies, and lived quietly in his ownhouse, as if he were not only reduced for the present to liveunambitiousl...

Romans believed religion was very important. They believed that gods were responsible for putting them on Earth and controlling their lives. How did Romans practice religion? There were two parts of Roman religion, household religion and the state religion. Household religion included worshipping go...