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ROMAN EMPIRE -THE HISTORY...
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SERIES - GLOSSARY - POTENTIAL SPOILERS
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p. 274, another Jewish ruler
Antipater I the Idumaean (died 43 BC) was the founder of the Herodian Dynasty and father of Herod the Great. A native of Idumaea, southeast of Judea between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, and which during the time of the Hebrew Bible had been known as the land of Edom, Antipater became a powerful official under the later Hasmonean kings and subsequently became a client of the Roman general Pompey the Great when Pompey conquered Judea in the name of Roman Republic.
When Julius Caesar defeated Pompey, Antipater aided Caesar in Alexandria, and was made chief minister of Judea, with the right to collect taxes. Antipater eventually made his sons Phasael and Herod the Governors of Jerusalem and Galilee respectively. After the assassination of Caesar, Antipater was forced to side with Gaius Cassius Longinus against Mark Antony. The pro-Roman politics of Antipater led to his increasing unpopularity among the devout, non-Hellenized Jews. He died by poison.
The diplomacy and artful politics of Antipater, as well as his insinuation into the Hasmonean court, paved the way for the rise of his son Herod the Great, who used this position to marry the Hasmonean princess Mariamne, endear himself to Rome and become king of Judea under Roman influence.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipate...)
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p. 276, a client of Pompey, who wants him to become Tribune of the Plebs
Titus Atius Labienus (ca. 100 BC – March 17, 45 BC) was a professional Roman soldier in the late Roman Republic. He served as Tribune of the Plebs in 63 BC, and is remembered as one of Julius Caesar's lieutenants, mentioned frequently in the accounts of his military campaigns.
In 63 BC, Titus Labienus was a Tribune of the Plebs with close ties to Pompey. Gaius Julius Caesar was also working closely with Pompey and therefore he and Labienus occasionally cooperated. These interactions were the seed that eventually developed into a friendship between Labienus and Caesar.
Labienus acted as Caesar’s second in command during his campaign in Gaul and was the only legate mentioned by name in Caesar’s writings about his first campaign. He was a skilled cavalry commander and could be considered a military genius, rivaling Caesar himself in tactical command. However Caesar, as imperator, took credit for many of the accomplishments of his subordinates, especially Labienus. In September, 51 BC, Caesar made Labienus governor of Cisalpine Gaul.
Before Caesar crossed the Rubicon and took Rome, Labienus left him in Gaul and joined Pompey. He was rapturously welcomed on the Pompeian side, bringing 3,700 Gallic and German cavalry with him. Pompey made Labienus commander of the cavalry. He attempted to convince Pompey to face Caesar in Italy and not retreat to Hispania (Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal) to regroup, in his claims that Caesar’s army was thin and weakened after his campaign in Gaul.
Death came to Labienus in the Battle of Munda, an evenly matched conflict between the armies of Caesar and the sons of Pompey. King Bogud, an ally of Caesar, and his army also approached the Pompeians from the rear. Labienus was commanding the Pompeians’ cavalry unit at the time and saw this and took the cavalry from the front lines to meet him. The Pompeian legions misinterpreted this as a retreat, became disheartened and began to break. Pompey suffered massive casualties during the rout. This defeat ended the Roman Civil War. Labienus was killed during the rout. He was buried but according to Appian, his head was brought to Caesar.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_La...)
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p. 276, Pompey's brother-in-law, whom he wants to be Tribune
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos Iunior (c. 100 BC – 55 BC) was a son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos. He was a Tribune in 62 BC, a Praetor in 60 BC, a Consul in 57 BC and the Governor of Hispania Citerior in 56 BC.
He was, as his brother Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer, Lieutenant of Pompeius Magnus at the campaigns of Asia and against the pirates, from 67 BC to 63 BC. On his return to Rome, in 63 BC, he was elected Tribune of the Plebeians for 62 BC, along with Marcus Portius Cato. Inaugurated on the 10 December 63 BC, he began a vitriolic campaign against Cicero, whom he accused before the People and the Senate of illegally having given death to the accomplices of Catilina. He further prevented Cicero from making a speech on the last day of his consulship, 29 December 63 BC, restricting him to the customary oath.
He also proposed, jointly with Caesar, that Pompeius Magnus was recalled to Rome with his Army to restore the legal order, but such proposal was rejected.
In 60 BC he was elected Praetor, and Consul in 58 BC and 57 BC, having then reconciled with Cicero, at the time exiled, to oppose Clodius, managing with his influence that the celebrated Orator was called from the banishment to which he had been condemned by that turbulent relative of his.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintus_...)
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p. 277, Pompey's wife
Mucia Tertia was a Roman matrona who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the daughter of Quintus Mucius Scaevola, the pontifex maximus, consul in 95 BC. Her mother was a Licinia that divorced her father to marry Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos, in a scandal mentioned by several sources. Her name, Mucia Tertia, would suggest that she was a third daughter, according to the Roman naming convention for women, though it is believed that this was instead to differentiate her from her two aunts. Mucia had also two younger brothers from her mother's second marriage, and she was a cousin of Q. Metellus Celer, consul in 60 BC, and of Q. Metellus Nepos, consul in 57 BC.
Mucia's first husband was the short-lived and unlucky Gaius Marius the Younger. His death at the hands of Lucius Cornelius Sulla left her a pawn of the victors.
Sulla, as dictator, needed to secure Pompey's loyalty and to do that, he arranged his marriage to Mucia around 79 BC. This marriage resulted in three children: Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey the Younger), the girl Pompeia Magna (married to Faustus Cornelius Sulla) and Sextus Pompey. She had the misfortune to outlive all three of her children.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mucia_Te...)
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p. 282, Publius Servilius Rullus wants to give the ager publicus to the poor
The ager publicus is the Latin name for the public land of Ancient Rome. It was usually acquired by expropriation from Rome's enemies.
In the earliest periods of Roman expansion in central Italy, the ager publicus was used for Roman and (after 338 BC) Latin colonies. Later tradition held that as far back as the 5th century BC, the Patrician and Plebeian classes disputed the rights of the rich to exploit the land, and in 367 BC two Plebeian Tribunes, Gaius Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius Sextinus Lateranus promulgated a law which limited the amount of the ager publicus to be held by any individual to 500 iugera, roughly 325 acres. In the half century following the Battle of Telamon (c. 225 BC), the Romans fully absorbed Cisalpine Gaul, adding huge swathes of land to the ager publicus, land which was more often than not given to new Latin colonies or to small freeholders. In the south of Italy, huge tracts of newly re-incorporated lands remained ager publicus, but tended to be leased out to wealthy citizens in return for rents (although these rents were usually not collected), often ignoring the Laws of 367. Other ager publicus remained with the Italian allies from whom it had been confiscated. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus attempted to address some of these violations in 133 BC, by reimposing the limit of 500 iugera and distributing excess land to poor citizens. He was killed in a riot the following year when he tried to become Tribune for the second year in a row. A similar move by his brother Gaius Sempronius Gracchus in 123 BC failed because of his death the following year. In 111 BC, a new law was passed which allowed individual smallholders to assume ownership of their part of the ager publicus.
By the Imperial period, much of the ager publicus in Italy had been distributed to the veterans of generals such as Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Gaius Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, so that all that remained were the properties of individual cities and common pasture lands. In the provinces, the ager publicus was huge, and came under the ownership of the emperor. However, in reality, almost all of it was under private occupation.
(Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ager_pub...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Gr...)
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p. 286, Aurelia thinks Caesar should become the Pontifex Maximus
Augustus as Pontifex Maximus
The Pontifex Maximus was the head of the College of Pontiffs and was the highest priest in Rome.
His main duties were -
1.The regulation of all expiatory ceremonials needed as a result of pestilence, lightning, etc.
2.The consecration of all temples and other sacred places and objects dedicated to the gods.
3.The regulation of the calendar; both astronomically and in detailed application to the public life of the state.
4.The administration of the law relating to burials and burying-places, and the worship of the Manes or dead ancestors.
5.The superintendence of all marriages by conferratio, i.e. originally of all legal patrician marriages.
6.The administration of the law of adoption and of testamentary succession.
7.The regulation of the public morals, and fining and punishing offending parties.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifex...)
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I don't know how accurate this link is, but it does give a good overview of Caesars life and puts it into a political context. Don't go past part 2 if you don't want to go in advance of Caesars Women part 3.
http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/...
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p. 289, one of Pompeia's friends
Sempronia was the wife of Decimus Junius Brutus, consul in 77 B.C. Sempronia was a distinguished, beautiful, accomplished, and passionate woman, who learned Greek and Latin. She could sing, play the lyre and dance. The historian Sallust states she was extremely fortunate in life, marriage, and children, yet had a profligate character. A woman like Sempronia shows a "new woman" in Rome, with interests, tastes and abilities that would become common in future Roman women. Sempronia and her ilk were a contrast to Roman women like Cornelia Africana and their values from the earlier Roman Republican Period. Without the knowledge or consent of her husband, she became involved in the conspiracy of Catiline. Their son was Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, one of Caesar's murderers.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semproni...)
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p. 299, Julia, discussing Servilia with Brutus, says she's "strong enough to blunt the shears of Atropos"
Atropos was the oldest of the Three Fates, and was known as the "inflexible" or "inevitable." It was Atropos who chose the mechanism of death and ended the life of each mortal by cutting their thread with her "abhorred shears." She worked along with her two sisters, Clotho, who spun the thread, and Lachesis, who measured the length.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atropos)
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p. 303, Caesar says Crassus has hay on his horns
A roman saying - faenum habet in cornu, longe fuge
He has hay on his horn, keep your distance (reference to a charging bull) (Horace)
(Source: http://latin-phrases.co.uk/dictionary/f/)
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p. 310, Aurelia mentions Caesar's former office as Flamen Dialis
The Flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter, and was subject to many restrictions. Among these were the following:
It was unlawful for him to be out of the city for a single night; a regulation which seems to have been modified by Augustus, insofar that an absence of two nights was permitted; and he was forbidden to sleep out of his own bed for three nights consecutively. Thus, it was impossible for him to undertake the government of a province. He might not mount or even touch a horse, touch iron, or look at an army marshalled outside the pomerium, or be elected to the consulship. Indeed, it would seem that originally he was altogether precluded from seeking or accepting any civil magistracy; but this last prohibition was certainly not enforced in later times. The Flamen Dialis was required to wear certain unusual garments, such as the apex, a point-tipped hat, and a laena, a heavy wool cloak.
Julius Caesar was nominated to be Flamen Dialis in 84 BC. Many scholars think he was not installed, although it seems unlikely that the Romans would allow a nominee to wait years without inauguration. When Sulla returned to Italy in 82, he proscribed Caesar and stripped him of his priesthood (which implies that he had indeed been inaugurated). No successor was selected. During the vacancy that followed (c. 82 to c. 16 or later), the duties of the office were discharged by others.
In McCullough's novels, Gaius Marius appointed young Caesar as Flamen Dialis because a seeress had said that Marius' nephew would be even greater than he, and putting him in this priesthood would guarantee that he would never be able to have a political career.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamen_D...)
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p. 335, Caesar inspects the Regia
The Regia was a structure in Ancient Rome in the Roman Forum that originally served as the residence or one of the main headquarters of kings of Rome and later as the office of the Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of Roman religion. According to ancient tradition it was built by the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, as a royal palace. Indeed, the Latin term regia can be translated as royal residence. It is said that he also built the Temple of Vesta and the House of the Vestal Virgins as well as the Domus Publica. This created a central area for political and religious life in the city and Kingdom. When Caesar became Pontifex Maximus he exercised his duties from the Regia.
The archives of the pontifices were kept here, the formulas of all kinds of prayers, vows, sacrifices, etc., the state calendar of sacred days, the Annales - the record of events of each year for public reference - and the laws relating to marriage, death, wills, etc.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regia)
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p. 335, said to have lived in the Regia
Numa Pompilius, as imagined on a Roman coin minted by Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso during the reign of Emperor Augustus
Numa Pompilius (753-673 BC; king of Rome, 715-673 BC) was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. He was credited with establishing the religious practices of Rome.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numa_Pom...)
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p. 335, one of only two officials allowed in the Regia
In ancient Roman religion, the rex sacrorum (also sometimes rex sacrificulus) was a senatorial priesthood reserved for patricians. During the Roman Republic, the rex sacrorum was chosen by the pontifex maximus from a list of patricians submitted by the College of Pontiffs. Like the flamen Dialis but in contrast to the pontiffs and augurs, the rex was barred from a political and military career. He was thus not a "decayed king"; rather, after the overthrow of the kings of Rome, the office of rex sacrorum fulfilled at least some of the sacral duties of kingship, with the consuls assuming political power and military command, as well as some sacral functions.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_Sacr...)
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McCullough uses our names for months, except for Quinctilis (or Quintilis) and Sextilis. Quinctilis is their fifth month, and was later renamed Julius, or July, after Caesar, because he was born in that month in 100 BC. And Sextilis, the sixth month, was later named Augustus, or August, after the first emperor Augustus, although he was born on September 23, 63 BC and not in Sextilis. In the novel, we learned of his birth when his father, Gaius Octavius, announces it during a Senate meeting.
(Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_ca...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintilis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sextilis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus...)
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p. 348, Cicero's wife
Terentia (98 BC – 4 AD) was the wife of the renowned orator Marcus Tullius Cicero. She was instrumental in Cicero's political life both as a benefactor and as a fervent activist of his cause. Terentia was around 18 years old when she married Cicero in 79 or 80 BC. She was endowed with a huge dowry, which included at least two blocks of tenement apartments in Rome, a plot of woods in the suburbs of Rome, and a large farm. Her total dowry was 400,000 sesterces, which was the exact amount needed for a man to run for senator. Since Cicero was still under the authority of his father, the paterfamilias, he had not yet inherited anything. Therefore, Terentia's dowry was probably used to finance his political career.
They were divorced in 47 or 46 BC. Terentia was around 52 years old at the time. She outlived her husband by many years, dying at the age of 103 in 4 AD.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terentia)
Etruscan She Wolf statue viewed by Cicero et alia on the way to the temple of Concord. Of course, McCullough had no way of knowing the date of the sculpture has since been carbon dated to a later time.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitoli...
The reference appears on page 399 of my copy of the book
on another note, can someone tell me how to 'bold' the font? I can't manage to do it with my Mac.
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To make text bold, check the link above the comment box, "(some html is ok)", next to "add book/author". It shows the html for bolding, italicizing, etc. About half-way down the page. I had trouble with that myself early on.
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Maiestas is short for maiestas minuta populi Romani, 'the diminution of the majesty of the Roman people', a crime first introduced by L. Appuleius Saturninus in the lex Appuleia c. 103 B.C. The charge was vague enough that it could cover a variety of actions, including failure in one's duty or revolt. It was reworked by Sulla in his lex Cornelia maiestatis of 81 B.C. Later, Caesar revised it, making the main punishment for maiestas banishment. Under the emperors it came to cover not only treason and conspiracy, but also libel and slander, with the case presented to the senate. Under Tiberius, the usual punishment was death and confiscation of property, rather than exile.
Source: John Percy Vyvian Dacre Balsdon and Andrew William Lintott "maiestas" The Oxford Classical Dictionary.
(Source: http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/ro...)
In the early days of Ancient Rome, perduellio was the term for the capital offense of high treason. It was set down plainly in the Law of the Twelve Tables as thus:
"The Law of the Twelve Tables orders that he who has stirred up an enemy or who has handed over a citizen to the enemy is to be punished capitally.” (Marcianus, D. 48, 4, 3).
Under the terms of this law, those convicted of perduellio were subject to death either by being hung from the arbor infelix (a tree deemed to be infortunate) or by being thrown from the Tarpeian Rock. Their families were not allowed to mourn them and their houses were razed.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perduellio)
See also: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E... (from an 1875 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities)
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All magistrates had the power of coercion (coercitio), which was used by magistrates to maintain public order. A magistrate had many ways with which to enforce this power. Examples include flogging, imprisonment, fines, mandating pledges and oaths, enslavement, banishment, and sometimes even the destruction of a person's house. While in Rome, all citizens had an absolute protection against Coercion. This protection was called "Provocatio", which allowed any citizen to appeal any punishment. However, the power of Coercion outside the city of Rome was absolute.
The check on the magistrate's power of Coercion was Provocatio, which was an early form of due process (habeas corpus). Any Roman citizen had the absolute right to appeal any ruling by a magistrate to a plebeian tribune. In this case, the citizen would cry "provoco ad populum", which required the magistrate to wait for a tribune to intervene, and make a ruling. Sometimes, the case was brought before the College of tribunes, and sometimes before the Plebeian Council (popular assembly). Since no tribune could retain his powers outside of the city of Rome, the power of Coercion here was absolute.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executiv...)
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Nicomedes IV Philopator, was the king of Bithynia, from c. 94 BC to 74 BC. In 80 BC, young Gaius Julius Caesar was an ambassador to Nicomedes IV's court. Caesar was sent to raise a fleet using Bithynia's resources, but he dallied so long with the King that a rumor of a homosexual relationship surfaced, leading to the disparaging title, "the Queen of Bithynia", an allegation which was made much use of by Caesar's political enemies later in his life.
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The Romans did not count days in the month as a simple number, as we do, but backwards from one of three fixed points in the month: the Kalends, the Nones, and the Ides. The Kalends are always the first of the month. The Nones fell on the 7th day of the long months (March, May, Quinctilis, October), and the 5th of the others. (Note that this long-short distinction refers to their length in the republican calendar, not the later version.) Likewise, the Ides fell on the 15th if the month was long, and the 13th if the month was short.
(Source: http://www.polysyllabic.com/?q=calhis...)
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Originally, triumviri were special commissions of three men appointed for specific administrative tasks apart from the regular duties of Roman magistrates. The triumviri capitales, for instance, oversaw prisons and executions, along with other functions that, as Andrew Lintott notes, show them to have been "a mixture of police superintendents and justices of the peace." The capitales were first established around 290–287 BC. They were supervised by the praetor urbanus. These triumviri, or the tresviri nocturni, may also have taken some responsibility for fire control.
Three-man commissions were also appointed for purposes such as establishing colonies (triumviri coloniae deducendae) or distributing land. Triumviri mensarii served as public bankers; the full range of their financial functions in 216 BC, when the commission included two men of consular rank, has been the subject of debate. Another form of three-man commission was the tresviri epulones, who were in charge of organizing public feasts on holidays. This commission was created in 196 BC by a tribunician law on behalf of the people, and their number was later increased to seven (septemviri epulones).
In the late Republic, two three-man political alliances are called triumvirates by modern scholars, though only for the second was the term triumviri used at the time to evoke constitutional precedents:
The so-called First Triumvirate was an informal political alliance of Julius Caesar, Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great") and Marcus Crassus. The arrangement had no legal status, and its purpose was to consolidate the political power of the three and their supporters against the senatorial elite. After the death of Crassus in 53 BC, the two survivors fought a civil war, during which Pompey was killed and Caesar established his sole rule as perpetual dictator.
The Second Triumvirate was recognized as a triumvirate at the time. A Lex Titia formalized the rule of Octavian, Mark Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. The legal language makes reference to the traditional triumviri. This "three-man commission for restoring the constitution of the republic" (triumviri rei publicae constituendae) in fact was given the power to make or annul law without approval from either the Senate or the people; their judicial decisions were not subject to appeal, and they named magistrates at will. Although the constitutional machinery of the Republic was not irrevocably dismantled by the Lex Titia, in the event it never recovered. Lepidus was sidelined early in the triumvirate, and Antony was eliminated in civil war, leaving Octavian the sole leader.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumvirate)
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Lucius Cornelius Balbus (called Major - the Elder - to distinguish him from his nephew) was born in Gades early in the last century BC.
He served under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius and Pompey against Sertorius in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula, comprising modern Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar and Portugal). For his services against Sertorius the Roman citizenship was conferred upon him and his family by Pompey. He accompanied Pompey on his return to Rome, 71 BC, and was for a long time one of his most intimate friends. At the same time he gained the friendship of Julius Caesar, who placed great confidence in him. Becoming friendly with all parties, he had much to do with the formation of the First Triumvirate, and was one of the chief financiers in Rome. He was careful to ingratiate himself with Caesar, whom he accompanied when propraetor to Hispania (61 BC), and to Gaul (58 BC) as chief engineer (praefectus fabrum).
His position as a naturalized foreigner, his influence and his wealth naturally made Balbus many enemies, who in 56 BC put up a native of Gades to prosecute him for illegally assuming the rights of a Roman citizen, a charge directed against the triumvirs equally with himself. Cicero (whose speech has been preserved), Pompey and Crassus all spoke on his behalf, and he was acquitted. During the civil war, 49 BC Balbus did not take any open part against Pompey. He endeavoured to get Cicero to mediate between Caesar and Pompey, with the object of preventing him from definitely siding with the latter; and Cicero admits that he was dissuaded from doing so, against his better judgment.
Balbus attached himself to Caesar, and, in conjunction with Oppius, had the entire management of Caesar's affairs at Rome. Subsequently, Balbus became Caesar's private secretary, and Cicero was obliged to ask for his good offices with Caesar. After Caesar's murder in 44 BC, Balbus was equally successful in gaining the favour of Octavian; in 43 BC or 42 BC he was praetor, and in 40 BC he became the first naturalised Roman citizen to attain the consulship. The year of his death is not known. Balbus kept a diary of the chief events in his own and Caesar's life (Ephemeris), which has been lost (Suetonius, Caesar). He took care that Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic war should be continued; and accordingly the 8th book of the Commentarii de Bello Gallico (which was probably written by his friend Hirtius at his instigation) is dedicated to him.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_C...)
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Gaius Matius was a citizen of ancient Rome notable as a friend of Cicero and Julius Caesar.
A member of the gens Matia, he belonged to the party of Caesar, and helped Cicero in his relationship with Caesar in 49 and 48 BC. After the murder of Caesar, Matius, a dedicated Caesarian, warned of potential for grave repurcussions including possible rebellions in Gaul or revolts of Caesar's legions. When Octavian came to Rome, Matius became one of his close associates. Matius and Octavian managed the July 44 games honoring the recently assassinated dictator. An exchange of letters between Cicero and Matius later in 44 has been preserved (Letters to Friends).
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Ma...)
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Itius Portus was the name given by Julius Caesar to the chief harbour which he used when embarking for his second expedition to Britain in 54 BC.
It was certainly near the uplands round Cap Gris Nez (Promunturium Itium), but the exact site has been violently disputed ever since the Renaissance. Many critics have assumed that Caesar used the same port for his first expedition, but the name does not appear at all in that connection. This fact, coupled with other considerations, makes it probable that the two expeditions started from different places.
It is generally agreed that he first embarked at Boulogne. The same view was widely held about the second, but T. Rice Holmes in an article in the Classical Review (May 1909) gave strong reasons for preferring Wissant, 4 miles east of Gris Nez. The chief reason is that Caesar, having found he could not set sail from the small harbour of Boulogne with even eighty ships simultaneously, decided that he must take another point for the sailing of the more than 800 ships of the second expedition.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itius_Po...
Source: http://marikavel.org/gaule/portus-iti...
Another interesting French Website on Portus Itius: http://histopale.net/les-communes/wis...
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I had assumed he was fictional, but there's a short Wikipedia page on him, and Cicero wrote some letters to him in Gaul.
Gaius Trebatius Testa (fl. 1st century BC) was a jurist of ancient Rome, whose family, and himself, originated from Elea.
He was a protégé of Cicero; Cicero dedicated his Topica to Trebatius, and recommended Trebatius as a legal advisor to Julius Caesar. Trebatius enjoyed Caesar's favor, and later that of Augustus as well.
Trebatius' writings included a de religionibus and de iure civili, but not even excerpts of these survive. He was, however, frequently cited by later jurists, and also had a high reputation as the teacher of Marcus Antistius Labeo.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebatiu...
Source: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:...
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Dumnorix (given on coins as Dubnoreix) was a chieftain of the Aedui, a Celtic tribe in Gaul in the 1st century B.C. He was strongly against alliance with the Romans, particularly Julius Caesar, who sparred with him on several occasions. Dumnorix, Orgetorix of the Helvetii and Casticus of the Sequani were said to be conspiring to establish a Gallic triumvirate to replace the existing magistracies of the Gallic peoples shortly before Caesar's governorship. To strengthen the alliance, Orgetorix gave Dumnorix his daughter in marriage. The conspiracy was discovered and put a stop to by the Helvetii.
In 58 BC, the first year of Caesar's governorship, Dumnorix used his influence to persuade the Sequani to allow the Helvetii to migrate through their territory. Caesar opposed this migration militarily, and requested the Aedui, who were allies of Rome, to supply his soldiers with grain, but this was not forthcoming. Liscus, the chief magistrate or Vergobretus of the Aedui, revealed to Caesar that Dumnorix, who was very popular and influential, was responsible for the withholding of the supplies. Caesar also discovered that Dumnorix had been in command of a unit of cavalry, sent to his aid by the Aedui, whose flight had cost him a cavalry engagement. Dumnorix was spared any serious retribution at the request of his brother Diviciacus, who had good relations with Caesar and the Romans. Caesar agreed instead to place Dumnorix under surveillance.
Dumnorix continued to be troublesome, and in 54 BC was one of the Gaulish leaders Caesar proposed to take with him as hostages on his second expedition to Britain, fearing that they might cause trouble in his absence. Dumnorix pleaded his fear of the sea and religious obligations in an attempt to get Caesar to leave him behind. When this failed, he claimed that Caesar intended to have them all killed out of sight of their people. Finally, he attempted to escape from Caesar's camp along with the Aeduan cavalry. Caesar sent the rest of the cavalry after him, and Dumnorix was killed, shouting that he was "a free man and a citizen of a free state". The rest of the Aeduan cavalry returned to Caesar's service.
His name, like other Gaulish language names (Ambiorix, Orgetorix, Vercingetorix) contains a -rix suffix which is etymologically related to the Latin rex, Gaelic rí, Sanskrit rāja- and German Reich, indicating kingship or rule; it is probably an aristocratic suffix. Dumno- is etymologically related to the Gaelic domhan "world", indicating that the name may be translated as "king of the world".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumnorix
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A codex (Latin caudex for "trunk of a tree" or block of wood, book; plural codices) is a book made up of a number of sheets of paper, vellum, or similar, with hand-written content, usually stacked and bound by fixing one edge and with covers thicker than the sheets, but sometimes continuous and folded concertina-style. The alternative to paged codex format for a long document is the continuous scroll. Examples of folded codices are the Maya codices. Sometimes the term is used for a book-style format, including modern printed books but excluding folded books.
Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement of the scroll, the dominant form of book in the ancient world, has been termed the most important advance in the history of the book prior to the invention of printing. The spread of the codex is often associated with the rise of Christianity, which adopted the format for the Bible early on. First described by the 1st-century AD Roman poet Martial, who praised its convenient use, the codex achieved numerical parity with the scroll around AD 300, and had completely replaced it throughout the now Christianised Greco-Roman world by the 6th century.
The Romans used precursors made of reusable wax-covered tablets of wood for taking notes and other informal writings. Two ancient polyptychs, a pentatych and octotych, excavated at Herculaneum employed a unique connecting system that presages later sewing on thongs or cords. Julius Caesar may have been the first Roman to reduce scrolls to bound pages in the form of a note-book, possibly even as a papyrus codex. At the turn of the 1st century AD, a kind of folded parchment notebook called pugillares membranei in Latin became commonly used for writing in the Roman Empire. This term was used by both the Classical Latin poet Martial and the Christian apostle Paul. Martial used the term with reference to gifts of literature exchanged by Romans during the festival of Saturnalia.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex
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I had always wondered how Gaul was divided up into three parts (per Caesar's The Conquest of Gaul). In the map above, the three parts are Aquitania, Celtica and Belgica. Narbonensis had been a Roman province since 121 BC and Gallia Cisalpina was part of Italy, even though it wasn't on the same footing politically as the rest of Italy.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallia_N...
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Julius Caesar
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Aulus Hirtius (ca. 90–43 BC) was one of the consuls of the Roman Republic and a writer on military subjects.
He was known to have been a legate of Julius Caesar's starting around 54 BC and served as an envoy to Pompey in 50. During the Roman Civil Wars he served in Spain, he might have been a tribune in 48, and in 47 was at Antioch. He was a praetor in 46 and governor of Transalpine Gaul in 45.
After Caesar's assassination in March 44, Hirtius was deeply involved in the maneuvering between parties. Having been nominated for that post by Caesar, Hirtius and Pansa became consuls in 43.
Initially a supporter of Mark Antony, Hirtius was successfully lobbied by Cicero (who was a personal friend) and switched his allegiance to the senatorial party. He then set out with an army to attack Antony who was besieging Mutina. In concert with Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and Octavian, Hirtius compelled Antony to retire but in the fighting was slain (around 25 April or 27 April). He was honored with a public funeral, along with Pansa who died a few days later.
Hirtius added an eighth book to Caesar's De Bello Gallico and is the likely author of De Bello Alexandrino. The ancients thought he also wrote the De Bello Africo and De Bello Hispaniensi, but it is now considered more likely that he acted as an editor. Hirtius' correspondence with Cicero was published in nine books, but has not survived.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aulus_Hi...
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There are many Gallic/Celtic tribes mentioned in the book and most of them have their own Wikipedia pages. It's not clear to me if there's a distinction between the two designations (Gaul vs. Celt). Both terms have extensive entries in Wikipedia, referenced below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts
Thanks so much for all this info, Vicki . . . I spent yesterday trying to find some books to fill in the gaps in my woefully lacking knowledge of Ancient Rome. ;-) I've ordered THE RISE OF ROME: the Making of the World's Greatest Empire, and THE PENGUIN HISTORICAL ATLAS OF ANCIENT ROME. I'm really looking forward to reading all of McCullough book's and learning more about this time in history!!
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Anthony Everitt
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Christopher Scarre
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http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
for other books, especially the ones McCullough listed as her sources.
I found this general intro to Caesar in the iTunes store THE ULTIMATE JULIUS CAESAR COLLECTION which I thought was handy as it's in an eBook format from Charles River Editors - it includes an original biography, Plutarch's - Life of Caesar, and Caesar's Complete Works: the Gallic Wars, Civil War, Alexandrian War, African, and Spanish War. The fact that it's already in an eBook format is a plus in my book . . . as I can take advantage of being able to highlight, define, search and add notations all within the app.
Sorry I can't provide a link for this . . . probably because it's too new to be in the database.
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A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul (France), and possibly other parts of Celtic Europe and Galatia during the Iron Age and possibly earlier. Very little is known about the ancient druids. They left no written accounts of themselves and the only evidence is a few descriptions left by Greek, Roman and various scattered authors and artists, as well as stories created by later medieval Irish writers. While archaeological evidence has been uncovered pertaining to the religious practices of the Iron Age people, "not one single artefact or image has been unearthed that can undoubtedly be connected with the ancient Druids." Various recurring themes emerge in a number of the Greco-Roman accounts of the druids, including that they performed human sacrifice, believed in a form of reincarnation, and held a high position in Gaulish society. Next to nothing is known about their cultic practice, except for the ritual of oak and mistletoe as described by Pliny the Elder.
The earliest known reference to the druids dates to 200 BCE, although the oldest actual description comes from the Roman military general Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico (50s BCE). Later Greco-Roman writers also described the druids, including Cicero, Tacitus and Pliny the Elder. Following the Roman invasion of Gaul, druidism was suppressed by the Roman government under the 1st century CE emperors Tiberius and Claudius, and it had disappeared from the written record by the 2nd century.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druid
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Ambiorix was leader of a Belgic tribe of north-eastern Gaul (Gallia Belgica), where modern Belgium is located. In the 19th century Ambiorix became a Belgian national hero because of his resistance against Julius Caesar, as written in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico. In 57 BC Julius Caesar conquered Gaul and also Belgica (modern day Northern France, Belgium and a southern section of the Netherlands to the Rhine River; and the north-western portion of North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany.) There were several tribes in the country who fought against each other regularly. The Eburones were ruled by Ambiorix and Catuvolcus. In 54 BC Caesar's troops urgently needed more food and thereby the local tribes were forced to give up part of their harvest, which had not been good that year. Understandably the starving Eburones were reluctant to do so and Caesar ordered that camps be built near the Eburones' villages. Each centurion was ordered to make sure the food supplies were delivered to the Roman soldiers. This created resentment among the Eburones.
Although Julius Caesar had freed him from paying tribute to the Atuatuci, Ambiorix joined Catuvolcus in the winter of 54 BC in an uprising against the Roman forces under Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta. Ambiorix and his tribesmen attacked and killed several Roman soldiers who were foraging for wood in the nearby vicinity. The survivors fled back to their camp, followed by Ambiorix and his men. There he realised there were too many Romans for his troops to fight and he decided to negotiate with them. Ambiorix explained to the Roman camp leaders, Sabinus and Cotta, that he had no problems with them and in fact, was very happy with them, because now he had no troubles with the other tribes. He warned the Romans that a coalition of other tribes were planning to attack them and would get the support of the German tribes who would cross the Rhine. Ambiorix advised them to relocate to another Roman camp so that they would be stronger to battle these troops. He also promised them he would leave them alone when they made this crossing.
Sabinus and Cotta debated the whole night on what they should do. Sabinus trusted Ambiorix and considered it would be wise to do what he had advised them. Cotta thought it would be better to stay and try to fight back when the attacks would happen. Ultimately, Cotta decided they would stay, but it wouldn't be his fault if they all got killed by doing so. This made the Roman troops very unsure and therefore they decided to leave anyway. The two closest Roman camps were behind hills and in the other option behind a plain near a valley. Sabinus and Cotta chose for the easy solution and crossed the valley. While they crossed the valley Ambiorix and his men attacked them from up the hills and slaughtered them. Sabinus, Cotta and their troops were massacred.
When the Roman Senate heard what happened, Caesar swore to put down all the Belgic tribes. It was very important that the other Roman provinces know that the almighty Roman republic couldn't be beaten so easily. After all, Ambiorix had killed a whole Roman legion and five cohorts. A Belgic attack on Quintus Cicero (brother of the orator), then stationed with a legion in the Nervii's territory, failed due to the timely appearance of Caesar. The Roman campaigns against the Belgae took a few years, but eventually the Belgae were no match against 50,000 trained Roman soldiers. The tribes were slaughtered or driven out and their fields burned. The Eburones were history from that point. According to the writer Florus, Ambiorix and his men managed to cross the Rhine and disappear without a trace.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambiorix
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Quintus Tullius Cicero (102 BC – 43 BC) was the younger brother of the celebrated orator, philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, some 100 kilometres south-east of Rome.
Quintus is depicted by Caesar as a brave soldier and an inspiring military leader. At a critical moment in the Gallic Wars he rallied his legion and retrieved an apparently hopeless position. Caesar commended him for this with the words Ciceronem pro eius merito legionemque collaudat (He praised Cicero and his men very highly, as they deserved) (Bello Gallico 5.52). Such praise is questionable considering Quintus' relation to his more famous brother. The legate is responsible for a near-disaster in Gaul but does not receive condemnation from Caesar as a result. (Bello Gallico 6.36)
Quintus had an impulsive temperament and had fits of cruelty during military operations, a behavior frowned on by Romans of that time. The Roman (and Stoic) ideal was to control one’s emotions even in battle. Quintus Cicero also liked old-fashioned and harsh punishments, like putting a person convicted of parricide into a sack and throwing him out in the sea,(the felon was severely scourged then sewn into a stout leather bag with a dog, a snake, a rooster, and a monkey, and the bag was thrown into the river Tiber). This punishment he meted out during his propraetorship of Asia. (For the Romans, both parricide and matricide were one of the worst crimes.) His brother confesses in one of his letters to his friend Titus Pomponius Atticus (written in 51 BC while he was proconsul of Cilicia and had taken Quintus as legatus with him) that he dares not leave Quintus alone as he is afraid of what kind of sudden ideas he might have. On the positive side, Quintus was utterly honest, even as a governor of a province, in which situation many Romans shamelessly amassed private property for themselves. He was also a well-educated man, reading Greek tragedies - and writing some tragedies himself.
The relationship between the brothers was mostly affectionate, except for a period of serious disagreement during Caesar’s dictatorship 49-44 BC. The many letters from Marcus ad Quintum fratrem show how deep and affectionate the brothers’ relationship was, though Marcus Cicero often played the role of the "older and more experienced" lecturing to his brother what was the right thing to do. Quintus might also feel at times, that the self-centered Marcus thought only how his brother might hinder or help Marcus’ own career on the Cursus honorum.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintus_...
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A modern reconstruction
Caesar's Bridges across the Rhine, the first two bridges to cross the Rhine River, were built by Julius Caesar and his legionaries during the Gallic War in 55 BC and 53 BC, respectively. Strategically successful, they are also considered masterpieces of military engineering.
The first bridge
The actual construction of Caesar's first bridge took place most likely between Andernach and Neuwied, downstream of Koblenz on the Rhine River. Book 4 (Liber IV) of his commentaries gives technical details of this wooden beam bridge. Double timber pilings were rammed into the bottom of the river by winching up a large stone and releasing it, thereby driving the supporting posts (or piling) into the riverbed. The most upstream and downstream pilings were slanted and secured by a beam, and multiple segments of these then linked up to form the basis of the bridge. Conflicting models have been presented based on his description. Separate upstream pilings were used as protective barriers against flotsam and possible attacks while guard towers protected the entries. The length of the bridge has been estimated to be 140 to 400 m (roughly 460 to 1,300 ft), and its width 7 to 9 m (23 to 30 ft). The depth of the river can reach up to 9.1 m (30 ft).
The construction of this bridge showed that Julius Caesar, and Rome, could go anywhere. Since he had over 40,000 soldiers at his disposal, they built the first bridge in only 10 days using local lumber. He crossed with his troops over to the eastern site and burned some villages but found that the tribes of the Sugambri and Suebi had moved eastward. After 18 days and without any major battle he returned to Gaul and cut the bridge down.
The second bridge
Two years later, close to the site of the first bridge, possibly at today's Urmitz (near Neuwied), Caesar erected a second bridge, built "in a few days", as described in Book 6 (Liber VI). His expeditionary forces raided the countryside, but did not encounter significant opposition as the Suebi retreated. Upon returning to Gaul, the bridge was again taken down.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar...
A History Channel special called Rome: Engineering an Empire, which includes a section on building the bridge, is available on DVD from Netflix.
http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Rome-Eng...
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Vercingetorix (c. 82 BC – 46 BC) was the chieftain of the Arverni tribe, who united the Gauls in an ultimately unsuccessful revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars.
Vercingetorix came to power in 52 BC, when he raised an army and was proclaimed king at Gergovia. He soon established an alliance with other tribes and took control of their combined armies, leading them in Gaul's most significant revolt against Roman power. Vercingetorix surrendered to the Romans after being defeated at the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, after which he was imprisoned for five years. In 46 he was paraded through Rome as part of Caesar's triumph before being executed. Vercingetorix is primarily known through Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vercinge...
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Gaius Trebonius (c. 92 BC – January 43 BC) was a military commander and politician of the late Roman Republic, who became Suffect Consul in 45 BC. A trusted associate of Julius Caesar, he was later among those who instigated the plot to assassinate the Dictator.
Early career
Born c. 92 BC, Trebonius' father was an eques, but had not been a magistrate, and the son was considered a Novus Homo ("New Man"), one of several in Caesar's circle. He served as Quaestor around 60 BC, during which he attempted to prevent the adoption of Publius Clodius Pulcher into a plebeian family, against the wishes of the Triumvirs. However, by the time Trebonius was elected Plebeian Tribune in 55 BC, he had become one of their supporters.
During that year, Trebonius proposed a Lex Trebonia to the Tribal Assembly that the consuls Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus receive the provinces of Syria, Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. Further, that their commands would last for five years, and that the proconsuls would possess the right of making war or peace at their discretion. Cato the Younger, a noted opponent of Pompey, spoke against the bill, attempting to filibuster the motion, causing Trebonius to firstly expel him from the Forum, before ordering him to be taken to prison. However, the large crowd which accompanied Cato caused Trebonius to change his mind and order his release. Eventually the law was passed, with the five-year commands to Pompey, who received the two Spanish provinces, and Marcus Licinius Crassus, who obtained Syria.
Caesar’s legate
As a reward for his service to the Triumvirs, in 54 BC he was made one of Julius Caesar’s legates, with whom he served for the next five years during Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul, with Caesar commenting favourably on his performance during those years. In 54 BC he accompanied Caesar during his second expedition to Britain, where he was placed in charge of three legions who successfully defeated a concerted attack by the forces of Cassivellaunus. Upon Caesar’s return to Gaul, Trebonius, along with one legion, was stationed for the winter with the Belgae at Samarobriva. From here he accompanied Caesar in coming to the aid of Quintus Cicero who was besieged during the beginning of Ambiorix's revolt against Roman control of Gaul.
In 53 BC, Trebonius was given a special command against the Eburones, specifically to harass the area in the vicinity of Huy. After the defeat of Ambiorix, he continued to serve Caesar; in 50 BC he was placed in charge of the winter quarters in Belgic Gaul, in command of four legions while Caesar was in Ravenna, preparing to confront Pompey and his enemies in the Senate. When Caesar heard that the consul Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor had asked Pompey to defend the state against Caesar, he ordered Trebonius on October 20, 50 BC to take three legions and move to Matisco, where he was to wait for further instructions. These arrived in April 49 BC, where Caesar instructed him to travel down to Massilia to take command of three newly recruited legions from Northern Italy and begin the siege of Massilia. Arriving around April 3, 49 BC, Trebonius began preparing for the siege under Caesar’s eye, before leaving Trebonius on April 14 to conduct the land assaults, while Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus command the naval forces. Before he commenced the siege, Trebonius collected labourers and cattle from the Province, ordered timber and wood suitable for wattle-work to be brought up, and then proceeded to construct the principal terrace.
The siege lasted from April 19 through to September 6, as Trebonius erected a contravallation to blockade the town by land. He also constructed terraces to directly assault the walls, and used battering rams and mines to try to breach the walls. Eventually, in early July, Trebonius’s men broke through the wall, and the Massilians approached Trebonius and begged him to stop operations until the arrival of Caesar, where they would agree to capitulate to him. Trebonius, after conferring with his fellow officers, agreed to suspend the attack, as Caesar had told him under no circumstances was he to storm the town. This led to his soldiers becoming disgruntled, as they were hoping to sack the town and they blamed Trebonius for halting the attack, and they were only kept under control with great difficulty. Then in late August, Trebonius was surprised when the Massilians burst out of the town, took advantage of the lack of guards posted around, and destroyed the siege equipment which had breached the walls. Trebonius therefore resumed the siege, and proceeded to weaken their defences. The Massilians, hearing word of Caesar’s victories in Spain, again offered to surrender, and asked Trebonius to again wait for Caesar. He agreed, although this time he insisted that the defenders should surrender their weapons, their treasure and their ships, thereby bringing the siege to an end.
Later career and plotting Caesar’s assassination
Following Caesar into Italy, Trebonius was elected Urban Praetor in 48 BC, and was given the task of administering Caesar’s debt laws. In this, he had to deal with the ambitions of Marcus Caelius Rufus, the Praetor peregrinus, who had turned against Caesar as he had been hoping for the post of Urban Praetor. Caesar’s debt laws robbed him of the chance clear his enormous debts, and so he was determined to obstruct Trebonius’s administration of the law and to court popularity by siding with the debtors. He set up his chair next to Trebonius and brazenly declared that if anyone felt cheated by Trebonius, he would listen to their case favourably. When no-one took him up on his offer, Rufus proposed instead to cancel all debts, and instigated a mob to attack Trebonius, who drove Trebonius from his tribunal. Trebonius continued to oppose Rufus’s debt relief measures, until Rufus fled Rome. During that year, Trebonius also helped Cicero after Cicero’s return to Italy.
At the end of the year he was given a proconsular command and sent to govern Hispania Ulterior, replacing Quintus Cassius Longinus, who was accused of mismanaging the provice. He held this position until 46 BC, where he was confronted by rebellious legions, and the resurgence of Pompey’s forces. They drove him out of his province by the summer of 46, with Trebonius returning at the end of the year accompanied by Caesar. It was during this year that Trebonius approached Marcus Antonius, bringing up the notion of a plot to assassinate Caesar. Cicero even claimed, years later, that Trebonius and Marcus Antonius conspired to send an assassin to murder Caesar in 45 BC.
Caesar appointed Trebonius Suffect Consul on 1 October 45 BC, with Trebonius actively continuing to plot against him. According to Cicero, Trebonius preferred the liberty of the Roman people over his friendship for Caesar. In early 44 BC, he dared to protest to Caesar for Caesar’s refusal to stand when the members of the Senate came to inform him of the honors the Senate had conferred upon him; Caesar apparently simply stared back at him arrogantly without making a comment.
On March 15, 44 BC, on the day marked for the Dictator’s assassination, Trebonius was the person who kept Mark Antony outside the Senate while Caesar was being stabbed. Having been nominated by Caesar for the post of Proconsul for Asia, he immediately left for the province during 44 BC. While there, he raised money and troops for Brutus and Cassius. He also helped Cassius on his way to Syria later in the year.[46] Later, he attempted to fast track Publius Cornelius Dolabella in his passage through Asia by providing whatever supplies he needed, as well as refusing to open cities for Dolabella. However, Dolabella took Smyrna in Asia Minor, where he captured Trebonius in the process. In January 43 BC, Dolabella put Trebonius on trial for treason before proceeding to torture him and finally killing Trebonius by beheading him.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebonius
I was looking for information on the silver eagle and came across this link, which gives a good summary of the Roman Army for people like me who are not well versed in the military. It looks like it is used as a teaching tool.http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/romana...
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I couldn't find this elsewhere in the glossary, so I apologize if it duplicates. This link in wiki gives a nice summary of the battle. I wonder if they'll ever find the actual site. My grandmother, who was born near the Jura mountains, said local boys would talk about ruins - but I am sure they littered the area.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_o...
And Happy Thanksgiving to those of us in the US.
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Marcus Antonius, commonly known in English as Mark Antony (April 20, 83 BC – August 1, 30 BC), was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar. After Caesar's assassination, Antony formed an official political alliance with Octavian (the future Augustus) and Lepidus, known to historians today as the Second Triumvirate.
The triumvirate broke up in 33 BC. Disagreement between Octavian and Antony erupted into civil war, the final war of the Roman Republic, in 31 BC. Antony was defeated by Octavian at the naval Battle of Actium, and in a brief land battle at Alexandria. He and his lover Cleopatra committed suicide shortly thereafter. His career and defeat are significant in Rome's transformation from Republic to Empire.
Antony lived a dissipate lifestyle as a youth, and gained a reputation for heavy gambling. According to Cicero, he had a homosexual relationship with Gaius Scribonius Curio. There is little reliable information on his political activity as a young man, although it is known that he was an associate of Clodius. He may also have been involved in the Lupercal cult, as he was referred to as a priest of this order later in life.
In 54 BC, Antony became a staff officer in Caesar's armies in Gaul and Germany. He again proved to be a competent military leader in the Gallic Wars, but his personality quirks caused disruption. Antony and Caesar were the best of friends, as well as being fairly close relatives. Antony made himself ever available to assist Caesar in carrying out his military campaigns.
Raised by Caesar's influence to the offices of quaestor, augur, and tribune of the plebeians (50 BC), he supported the cause of his patron with great energy. Caesar's two proconsular commands, during a period of ten years, were expiring in 50 BC, and he wanted to return to Rome for the consular elections. But resistance from the conservative faction of the Roman Senate, led by Pompey, demanded that Caesar resign his proconsulship and the command of his armies before being allowed to seek re-election to the consulship.
This Caesar would not do, as such an act would at least temporarily render him a private citizen and thereby leave him open to prosecution for his acts while proconsul. It would also place him at the mercy of Pompey's armies. To prevent this occurrence Caesar bribed the plebeian tribune Curio to use his veto to prevent a senatorial decree which would deprive Caesar of his armies and provincial command, and then made sure Antony was elected tribune for the next term of office.
Antony exercised his tribunician veto, with the aim of preventing a senatorial decree declaring martial law against the veto, and was violently expelled from the senate with another Caesar adherent, Cassius, who was also a tribune of the plebs. Caesar crossed the river Rubicon upon hearing of these affairs which began the Republican civil war. Antony left Rome and joined Caesar and his armies at Ariminium, where he was presented to Caesar's soldiers still bloody and bruised as an example of the illegalities that his political opponents were perpetrating, and as a casus belli.
Tribunes of the Plebs were meant to be untouchable and their veto inalienable according to the Roman mos maiorum (although there was a grey line as to what extent this existed in the declaration of and during martial law). Antony commanded Italy whilst Caesar destroyed Pompey's legions in Spain, and led the reinforcements to Greece, before commanding the right wing of Caesar's armies at Pharsalus.
On March 14, 44 BC, Antony was alarmed when Cicero told him the gods would strike Caesar. Casca, Marcus Junius Brutus and Cassius decided, in the night before the Assassination of Julius Caesar, that Mark Antony should stay alive. The following day, the Ides of March, he went down to warn the dictator but the Liberatores reached Caesar first and he was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC. In the turmoil that surrounded the event, Antony escaped Rome dressed as a slave; fearing that the dictator's assassination would be the start of a bloodbath among his supporters. When this did not occur, he soon returned to Rome, discussing a truce with the assassins' faction. For a while, Antony, as consul, seemed to pursue peace and an end to the political tension. Following a speech by Cicero in the Senate, an amnesty was agreed for the assassins.
Then came the day of Caesar's funeral. As Caesar's ever-present second in command, co-consul and cousin, Antony wanted to give the eulogy. Brutus and Cassius were reluctant at first, but Brutus decided it would be harmless, Cassius disagreed. In his speech, he made accusations of murder and ensured a permanent breach with the conspirators. Showing a talent for rhetoric and dramatic interpretation, Antony snatched the toga from Caesar's body to show the crowd the stab wounds, pointing at each and naming the authors, publicly shaming them.
During the eulogy he also read Caesar's will, which left most of his property to the people of Rome: whatever Caesar's real intentions had been, Antony presumably meant to demonstrate that contrary to the conspirators' assertions, Caesar had no intention of forming a royal dynasty. Public opinion turned, and that night, the Roman populace attacked the assassins' houses, forcing them to flee for their lives.
(much more on the Wikipedia page)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Antony
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Livy XIV: History of Rome, Summaries. Fragments. Julius Obsequens. General Index (other topics)Appian: Roman History, Vol. IV, The Civil Wars, Books 3.27-5 (other topics)
The Roman Revolution (other topics)
Roman History, Volume V: Books 46–50 (other topics)
The Twelve Caesars (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Appian (other topics)Ronald Syme (other topics)
Cassius Dio (other topics)
Suetonius (other topics)
Livy (other topics)
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p. 274, a Jewish ruler dealt with by Pompey
Hyrcanus II, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was the Jewish High Priest and King of Judea in the 1st century BC. Starting in 67 BC Hyrcanus and his younger brother Aristobulus II fought for the throne. During this civil war, the Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus defeated the Kingdoms of Pontus and the Seleucids. When Pompey arrived in Syria in 63 BC, both brothers and a third party that desired the removal of the entire dynasty, sent their delegates to Pompey, who however delayed the decision. He favoured Hyrcanus over Aristobulos, deeming the elder, weaker brother a more reliable ally of the Roman Empire. Aristobulus, suspicious of Pompey, entrenched himself in the fortress of Alexandrium, but when the Romans summoned their army, he surrendered and undertook to deliver Jerusalem over to them. However, since many of his followers were unwilling to open the gates, the Romans besieged and captured the city by force, badly damaging city and temple. Aristobulus was taken to Rome a prisoner and Hyrcanus restored.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyrcanus_II)