Tag: Rome

Ancient History Sourcebook:Suetonius: De Vita Caesarum--Divus Claudius, c. 110 CE. Translated by J. C. Rolfe. [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 Roma ...

Publius Aelius Hadrianus, called Hadrian, was Roman emperor from AD 117 until 138. He regarded his 20-year reign as a golden age of peace and prosperity, comparable to that of his great predecessor Augustus more than 100 years earlier (see Augustus). Monuments to Hadrian's reign are the Tivoli villa...

Antonius versus Octavian No heavy engagement took place before the two battles on the plain of Philippi in Macedonia, fought with an interval of three weeks in the late autumn of 42 BC. The first battle actually went to Marcus Brutus, although Cassius mistakenly believing the day lost, ordered his s...

The Punic Wars is the generally used term for the lengthy conflict between the two main centres of power in the western Mediterranean, Rome and Carthage. Carthage was originally a Phoenician colony. The Latin name for a Phoenician is 'Poenus' which leads to our English adjective 'Punic'. Carthage Th...

The Roman Empire, one of the most influential civilizations in human history, was shaped by the reigns of its emperors. From Augustus to Justinian, these rulers governed an empire that stretched across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. They were not only political and military leaders but a...

In the west the recuperation of Carthage since the Second Punic War had given amazing proof of her vitality. With Hannibal in exile, his political opponents were in power, seeking to gain good relations with Rome, rather than displaying Hannibal's open hostility. But roman friendship was hard to gai...

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...

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...

Lectures The Geography of ItalyThe EtruscansThe Roman RepublicRoman Expansion and the Punic WarsThe Civil WarThe Rise of Julius CasearInstructional Goal: Students will know the cause and effects of the Roman Civil War. I. The rapid growth of the Roman colonial holding created many internal problems....

The Coliseum - a comparison of pictures taken during the 1960s and in August 1996... A Timeless Icon: The Colosseum Then and Now The Colosseum, a symbol of ancient Rome's power and grandeur, continues to captivate visitors centuries after its construction. Comparing photographs from different eras o...

Lectures The Geography of ItalyThe EtruscansThe Roman RepublicRoman Expansion and the Punic WarsThe Civil WarThe Rise of Julius CasearInstructional Goal: Students will know the primary features of the Italian peninsula and understand how they influenced the rise of the Roman civilizaiton. I. The top...

Pompey, Museo della Civilta, Rome Pompey the Great Despite his family's connections to Cinna (an ally of Sulla's enemy Marius), Pompey raised an army and sided with Sulla, when the latter returned back from his campaigns in the east. His determination and mercilessness shown when destroying his and ...