1.
American Civil War
–
The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864
American Civil War
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New Orleans the largest cotton exporting port for New England and Great Britain textile mills, shipping Mississippi River Valley goods from North, South and Border states.
American Civil War
–
Clockwise from top:
Battle of Gettysburg,
Union Captain John Tidball's artillery,
Confederate prisoners,
ironclad USS Atlanta, ruins of
Richmond, Virginia,
Battle of Franklin
American Civil War
–
Sen. Stephen Douglas, author of the
Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854
American Civil War
–
Sen. John J. Crittenden, of the 1860
Crittenden Compromise
2.
Battle of Philippi (West Virginia)
–
The Battle of Philippi formed part of the Western Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War, and was fought in and around Philippi, Virginia on June 3,1861. A Union victory, it was the first organized land action of the war, however, the Northern press celebrated it as an epic triumph, and this encouraged Congress to call for the drive on Richmond that ended with the Union defeat at First Bull Run in July. It brought overnight fame to Maj. Gen. George B, McClellan, and was notable for the first battlefield amputations. It also encouraged the western counties of Virginia to form their own Union state, as the largely-untrained Confederates had fled the battlefield with barely any resistance, the Union jokingly referred to the engagement as the Philippi Races. McClellan planned an offensive into what is now the State of West Virginia which he hoped would lead to a campaign against the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. After securing Fairmont, the 1st Virginia advanced again and seized the important railroad junction of Grafton, about 15 miles southeast of Fairmont, meanwhile, the 14th Ohio Infantry Regiment, under Col. James B. Steedman, was ordered to occupy Parkersburg and then proceed to Grafton, about 90 miles to the east. By May 28, McClellan had ordered a total of about 3,000 troops into Western Virginia and placed them under the command of Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris. On May 4 Confederate Col. George A. Porterfield had been assigned command of the forces in northwestern Virginia. As the Union columns advanced, Porterfields poorly armed 800 recruits retreated to Philippi, at Philippi, a covered bridge spanned the Tygart Valley River and was an important segment of the vital Beverly-Fairmont Turnpike. Col. Kelley devised a two-prong attack against the Confederate force in Philippi, in order to deceive the enemy into thinking the objective was Harpers Ferry, they departed by train to the east. They disembarked at the village of Thornton and marched south on a back road on the same side of the river as Philippi. Meanwhile, the 7th Indiana under Col. Ebenezer Dumont were sent to Webster and they would unite with the 6th Indiana under Col. Thomas T. Crittenden and the 14th Ohio under Col. Steedman. The column, with a total of 1,400 men under Col. Dumont, in this way, the Union force would execute a double envelopment of the outnumbered Confederates. On June 2, the Union columns set off to converge on Philippi, after an overnight march in rainy weather, both arrived at Philippi before dawn the following morning. Morris had planned an assault to be signaled by a pistol shot. The green Confederate volunteers had failed to establish picket lines for perimeter security, choosing instead to escape the cold rain, a Confederate sympathizer, Mrs. Thomas Humphreys, saw the approaching Union troops and sent her young son on horseback to warn the Confederates. As Mrs. Humphreys watched, she saw Union pickets capture her son and she missed, but her shots began the attack prematurely
Battle of Philippi (West Virginia)
–
Position of McClellan's Advance on the Heights Round Philippi. (This contemporary soldier's sketch shows the disposition of some of Morris's troops just northwest of Philippi on the threshold of the battle.)
Battle of Philippi (West Virginia)
–
Daring ride on horseback of Col. Fredrick West Lander, June 30, 1861.
3.
Philippi
–
Philippi was a city in eastern Macedonia, in the Edonis region. Its original name was Crenides after its establishment by Thasian colonists in 360/359 BC, the city was renamed by Philip II of Macedon in 356 BC and abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest. The present municipality, Filippoi, is located near the ruins of the ancient city and is part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace in Kavalla and it was made a World Heritage Site in 2016. Philippi was established by Thasian colonists in 360/359 BC with the name Crenides, in 356 BC Philip II of Macedon, conquered the city and renamed it to Philippi. Philip II endowed the city with important fortifications, which blocked the passage between the swamp and Mt. Orbelos, and sent colonists to occupy it. Philip also had the marsh partially drained, as is attested by the writer Theophrastus, Philippi preserved its autonomy within the kingdom of Macedon and had its own political institutions. The discovery of new gold mines near the city, at Asyla, contributed to the wealth of the kingdom, the city was fully integrated into the kingdom under Philip V. When the Romans destroyed the Antigonid dynasty of Macedon in the Third Macedonian War and it was Amphipolis and not Philippi that became the capital of the eastern Macedonian state. Almost nothing is known about the city in this period, aside from the walls, the Greek theatre, the foundations of a house under the Roman forum and a little temple dedicated to a hero cult. This monument covers the tomb of a certain Exekestos, is situated on the agora and is dedicated to the κτίστης. The city reappears in the sources during the Roman civil war followed the assassination of Julius Caesar. Antony and Octavian were victorious in this battle against the partisans of the Republic. They released some of their soldiers, probably from Legion XXVIII and colonized them in the city. In 30 BC, Octavian became Roman emperor, reorganized the colony, the city was renamed Colonia Iulia Philippensis, and then Colonia Augusta Iulia Philippensis after January,27 BC, when Octavian received the title Augustus from the Roman Senate. Following this second renaming, and perhaps after the first, the territory of Philippi was centuriated and distributed to the colonists. The city kept its Macedonian walls, and its plan was modified only partially by the construction of a forum. It was a miniature Rome, under the law of Rome. The colony recognized its dependence on the mines that brought it its privileged position on the Via Egnatia, there is an abundance of Latin inscriptions testifying to the prosperity of the city
Philippi
–
Map of
Greece showing Philippi
Philippi
–
The ancient theatre.
Philippi
–
Artifacts from the Archaeological Museum of Philippi.
Philippi
–
Ruins of the centre of the city: the forum in the foreground, the market and the basilica in the background.
4.
Macedonia (Roman province)
–
The province incorporated ancient Macedonia, with the addition of Epirus, Thessaly, and parts of Illyria, Paeonia and Thrace. This created a larger administrative area, to which the name of Macedonia was still applied. The Dardanians, to the north of the Paeonians, were not included and these provinces were all subordinate to the Diocese of Macedonia, one of three dioceses comprising the praetorian prefecture of Illyricum. When the Prefecture was divided between the Western and Eastern Empires in 379, the Macedonian provinces were included in Eastern Illyricum, with the permanent division of the Empire in 395, Macedonia passed to the East, which would evolve into the Byzantine Empire. Epirus, later Epirus Vetus, was a province in the Roman Empire that corresponded to the region of Epirus. Between 146 BC and 27 BC, it was part of the province of Macedonia, after which it part of Achaea. Epirus Nova or Illyria Graeca or Illyris proper was a province of the Roman Empire established by Diocletian during his restructuring of provincial boundaries, until then, the province belonged to the province of Macedonia. Dyrrachium was established as the capital of Epirus Nova, the region of Epirus Nova corresponded to a portion of Illyria that was then partly Hellenic and partly Hellenized. Macedonia Prima was a province encompassing most of the kingdom of Macedonia, coinciding with most of the modern Greek region of Macedonia, and had Thessalonica as its capital. Macedonia Salutaris, also known as Macedonia Secunda was a province encompassing partially Dardania and the whole of Paeonia, the second being most of the present-day Republic of Macedonia. The town of Stobi located to the junction of the Erigon and Axios rivers, the economy was greatly stimulated by the construction of the Via Egnatia, the installation of Roman merchants in the cities, and the founding of Roman colonies. The Imperial government brought, along with its roads and administrative system, an economic boom, with vast arable and rich pastures, the great ruling families amassed huge fortunes in the society based on slave labor. The improvement of the conditions of the productive classes brought about an increase in the number artisans. Stonemasons, miners, blacksmiths, etc. were employed in every kind of commercial activity, Greek people were also widely employed as tutors, educators and doctors throughout the Roman world. The export economy was based essentially on agriculture and livestock, while iron, copper, another source of wealth was the kingdoms ports, such as Dion, Pella, Thessalonica, Cassandreia
Macedonia (Roman province)
–
The Roman provinces of Epirus Vetus and Epirus nova in relation to modern borders.
Macedonia (Roman province)
–
The province of Macedonia within the Roman Empire, c. 117
Macedonia (Roman province)
–
A
tetradrachm from Roman controlled Macedonia. It was minted between 148 and 80 BC. Obverse shows Dionysos and reverse shows Herakles.
5.
Greece
–
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
Greece
–
Fresco displaying the Minoan ritual of "bull leaping", found in
Knossos,
Crete.
Greece
–
Flag
Greece
–
The
Lion Gate,
Mycenae
Greece
–
The
Parthenon on the
Acropolis of Athens is one of the best known symbols of
classical Greece.
6.
Second Triumvirate
–
The Triumvirate existed for two five-year terms, covering the period 43 BC to 33 BC. Octavian, despite his youth, extorted from the Senate the post of consul for 43 BC. He had been warring with Antony and Lepidus in upper Italia and this triumvirate of new leaders was established in 43 BC as the Triumviri Rei Publicae Constituendae Consulari Potestate. Where the first triumvirate was essentially an agreement, the second was embedded in the constitution formally joining Augustus, Antony. Antony retained Cisalpine Gaul and hegemony over Gaul itself, and Octavian held Africa and was given authority over Sicily and Sardinia. )In order to refill the treasury. As all three had been partisans of Caesar, their targets were opponents of the Caesarian faction. The most notable victims were Marcus Tullius Cicero, who had opposed Caesar and excoriated Antony in his Philippics, and Marcus Favonius, a follower of Cato, the proscription of Caesars legate Quintus Tullius Cicero seems to have been motivated by the perceived need to destroy Ciceros family. For ancient writers, the most shocking proscriptions were those of Caesars legate Lucius Julius Caesar and they were added to the list because they had been the first to condemn Antony and Lepidus after the two allied. Octavians colleague in the consulate that year, his cousin, Quintus Pedius and this became a broad pattern of the Triumvirates two terms, during the ten years of the Triumvirate, there were 42 consuls in office, rather than the expected 20. In 42 BC, Octavian and Antony set out to war, after the victory, Antony and Octavian agreed to divide the provinces of the Republic into spheres of influence. Octavian — who had begun calling himself Divi filius after Caesars deification as Divus Julius and now styled himself simply Imperator Caesar — took control of the West, as a result, the province of Cisalpine Gaul was absorbed into Italy. Narbonese Gaul was absorbed into Gallia Comata, creating a unified Gaul, Octavian took over Spain from Lepidus. Lepidus himself was left with nothing, but was offered the prospect of control over Africa, the excuse given for this was a report that Lepidus had been traitorously negotiating with Sextus Pompey. If he were proved innocent he would have Africa, Octavian returned to Rome to administer the distribution of land to his veterans. Antony remained in the east to bring Brutus and Cassius former territories under triumvirate control. The reduced role of Lepidus is evident in the fact that far fewer coins depict him from this point on, Octavians land redistribution caused widespread tensions, as farmers were dispossessed in favour of soldiers. Antonys brother Lucius Antonius, who was serving as Consul, stood up for the dispossessed farmers, the conflict led to the Perusine War, in which Lucius gathered an army of supporters to challenge Octavian. He was encouraged by Mark Antonys wife Fulvia, Lepidus held Rome with two legions while Octavian left to gather his army, but Lucius defeated Lepidus, who was forced to flee to Octavian
Second Triumvirate
–
Top: Mark Antony (left) and Octavian (right) portrayed on 41 BC Roman
aureus issued to honor the Second Triumvirate. Bottom: Lepidus (left) and Octavian (right) portrayed on
denarii. Both coins are inscribed "III VIR R P C", abbreviating "tresviri rei publicae constituendae" (One of Three Men for the Regulation of the Republic). [
better source needed]
Second Triumvirate
Second Triumvirate
–
Lucius Antonius
Second Triumvirate
–
A Sextus Pompey
denarius, minted for his victory over
Octavian 's fleet. On the obverse is the Pharus of
Messina, on the reverse the monster
Scylla.
7.
Assassination of Julius Caesar
–
The assassination of Julius Caesar was the result of a conspiracy by many Roman senators. Led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus, and Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar was the dictator of the Roman Republic at the time, having recently been declared dictator perpetuo by the Senate. This declaration made several senators fear that Caesar wanted to overthrow the Senate in favor of tyranny, the conspirators were unable to restore the Roman Republic. The ramifications of the led to the Liberators civil war and, ultimately. Biographers describe tension between Caesar and the Senate, and his claims to the title of king. These events were the motive for Caesars assassination. The Senate named Caesar dictator perpetuo, Roman mints produced a denarius coin with this title and his likeness on one side, and with an image of the goddess Ceres and Caesars title of Augur Pontifex Maximus on the reverse. According to Cassius Dio, a delegation went to inform Caesar of new honors they had bestowed upon him in 44 BC. Caesar received them while sitting in the Temple of Venus Genetrix, Suetonius wrote that Caesar failed to rise in the temple, either because he was restrained by Cornelius Balbus or that he balked at the suggestion he should rise. Suetonius also gave the account of a crowd assembled to greet Caesar upon his return to Rome, a member of the crowd placed a laurel wreath on the statue of Caesar on the Rostra. The tribunes Gaius Epidius Marullus and Lucius Caesetius Flavus ordered that the wreath be removed as it was a symbol of Jupiter, Caesar had the tribunes removed from office through his official powers. According to Suetonius, Caesar was unable to dissociate himself from the title from this point forward. Suetonius also gives the story that a crowd shouted to him rex, to which Caesar replied, I am Caesar, not Rex. Also, at the festival of the Lupercalia, while he gave a speech from the Rostra, Mark Antony, Caesar put it aside to use as a sacrifice to Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Plutarch and Suetonius are similar in their depiction of these events and he then places the crowd shouting rex on the Alban Hill with the tribunes arresting a member of this crowd as well. The plebeian protested that he was unable to speak his mind freely, Caesar then brought the tribunes before the senate and put the matter to a vote, thereafter removing them from office and erasing their names from the records. Suetonius adds that Lucius Cotta proposed to the Senate that Caesar should be granted the title of king for it was prophesied that only a king would conquer Parthia, Caesar intended to invade Parthia, a task that later gave considerable trouble to Mark Antony during the second triumvirate. His many titles and honors from the Senate were ultimately merely that, Caesar continually strove for more power to govern, with as little dependence as possible on honorary titles or the Senate
Assassination of Julius Caesar
–
Woodcut manuscript illustration by Johannes Zainer, c. 1474
Assassination of Julius Caesar
–
Morte di Giulio Cesare ("Death of Julius Caesar"). By
Vincenzo Camuccini, 1798
Assassination of Julius Caesar
–
La Mort de César (ca. 1859–1867) by
Jean-Léon Gérôme, depicting the aftermath of the attack with Caesar's body abandoned in the foreground as the senators exult
Assassination of Julius Caesar
–
Deification of Julius Caesar, a 16th-century
engraving by
Virgil Solis illustrating
Ovid 's passage on the
apotheosis of Caesar (
Metamorphoses 15.745-850)
8.
Ptolemaic Kingdom
–
The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a Hellenistic kingdom based in Egypt. Alexandria became the city and a major center of Greek culture. To gain recognition by the native Egyptian populace, they named themselves the successors to the Pharaohs, the later Ptolemies took on Egyptian traditions by marrying their siblings, had themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and participated in Egyptian religious life. The Ptolemies had to fight native rebellions and were involved in foreign and civil wars led to the decline of the kingdom. Hellenistic culture continued to thrive in Egypt throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods until the Muslim conquest. The era of Ptolemaic reign in Egypt is one of the most well documented periods of the Hellenistic Era. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great, King of Macedon invaded the Achaemenid satrapy of Egypt and he visited Memphis, and traveled to the oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwa. The oracle declared him to be the son of Amun, the wealth of Egypt could now be harnessed for Alexanders conquest of the rest of the Persian Empire. Early in 331 BC he was ready to depart, and led his forces away to Phoenicia and he left Cleomenes as the ruling nomarch to control Egypt in his absence. Following Alexanders death in Babylon in 323 BC, a crisis erupted among his generals. Perdiccas appointed Ptolemy, one of Alexanders closest companions, to be satrap of Egypt, Ptolemy ruled Egypt from 323 BC, nominally in the name of the joint kings Philip III and Alexander IV. However, as Alexander the Greats empire disintegrated, Ptolemy soon established himself as ruler in his own right, Ptolemy successfully defended Egypt against an invasion by Perdiccas in 321 BC, and consolidated his position in Egypt and the surrounding areas during the Wars of the Diadochi. In 305 BC, Ptolemy took the title of King, as Ptolemy I Soter, he founded the Ptolemaic dynasty that was to rule Egypt for nearly 300 years. All the male rulers of the dynasty took the name Ptolemy, while princesses and queens preferred the names Cleopatra, Arsinoe and Berenice. Because the Ptolemaic kings adopted the Egyptian custom of marrying their sisters, many of the kings ruled jointly with their spouses and this custom made Ptolemaic politics confusingly incestuous, and the later Ptolemies were increasingly feeble. The only Ptolemaic Queens to officially rule on their own were Berenice III, Cleopatra V did co-rule, but it was with another female, Berenice IV. Cleopatra VII officially co-ruled with Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, Ptolemy XIV, and Ptolemy XV, upper Egypt, farthest from the centre of government, was less immediately affected, even though Ptolemy I established the Greek colony of Ptolemais Hermiou to be its capital. But within a century Greek influence had spread through the country, nevertheless, the Greeks always remained a privileged minority in Ptolemaic Egypt
Ptolemaic Kingdom
–
Eagle of Zeus
Ptolemaic Kingdom
–
Bust of
Ptolemy I Soter, king of Egypt (305 BC–282 BC) and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemaic Kingdom
–
A bust depicting King
Ptolemy II Philadelphus 309–246 BCE
9.
Parthian Empire
–
The Parthian Empire, also known as the Arsacid Empire, was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran and Iraq. Mithridates I of Parthia greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids, at its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now central-eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and the Han Empire of China, became a center of trade and commerce. The Parthians largely adopted the art, architecture, religious beliefs, and royal insignia of their culturally heterogeneous empire, which encompassed Persian, Hellenistic, and regional cultures. For about the first half of its existence, the Arsacid court adopted elements of Greek culture, the court did appoint a small number of satraps, largely outside Iran, but these satrapies were smaller and less powerful than the Achaemenid potentates. With the expansion of Arsacid power, the seat of government shifted from Nisa to Ctesiphon along the Tigris. The earliest enemies of the Parthians were the Seleucids in the west, however, as Parthia expanded westward, they came into conflict with the Kingdom of Armenia, and eventually the late Roman Republic. Rome and Parthia competed with other to establish the kings of Armenia as their subordinate clients. The Parthians soundly defeated Marcus Licinius Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, however, Mark Antony led a counterattack against Parthia, although his successes were generally achieved in his absence, under the leadership of his lieutenant Ventidius. Also, various Roman emperors or their appointed generals invaded Mesopotamia in the course of the several Roman-Parthian Wars which ensued during the few centuries. The Romans captured the cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon on multiple occasions during these conflicts, native Parthian sources, written in Parthian, Greek and other languages, are scarce when compared to Sassanid and even earlier Achaemenid sources. These include mainly Greek and Roman histories, but also Chinese histories, Parthian artwork is viewed by historians as a valid source for understanding aspects of society and culture that are otherwise absent in textual sources. The Parni most likely spoke an eastern Iranian language, in contrast to the northwestern Iranian language spoken at the time in Parthia, the latter was a northeastern province, first under the Achaemenid, and then the Seleucid empires. Why the Arsacid court retroactively chose 247 BC as the first year of the Arsacid era is uncertain, Bivar concludes that this was the year the Seleucids lost control of Parthia to Andragoras, the appointed satrap who rebelled against them. Hence, Arsaces I backdated his regnal years to the moment when Seleucid control over Parthia ceased, however, Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis asserts that this was simply the year Arsaces was made chief of the Parni tribe. It is unclear who immediately succeeded Arsaces I, Bivar and Katouzian affirm that it was his brother Tiridates I of Parthia, who in turn was succeeded by his son Arsaces II of Parthia in 211 BC. Yet Curtis and Brosius state that Arsaces II was the successor of Arsaces I, with Curtis claiming the succession took place in 211 BC. Bivar insists that 138 BC, the last regnal year of Mithridates I, is the first precisely established regnal date of Parthian history, due to these and other discrepancies, Bivar outlines two distinct royal chronologies accepted by historians
Parthian Empire
–
The Parthian Empire at its greatest extent
Parthian Empire
–
The silver
drachma of
Arsaces I of Parthia (r. c. 247–211 BC) with a
Greek-alphabet inscription of his name (ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ)
Parthian Empire
–
Parthia, shaded yellow, alongside the
Seleucid Empire (blue) and the
Roman Republic (purple) around 200 BC
10.
Mark Antony
–
Antony was a supporter of Julius Caesar, and served as one of his generals during the conquest of Gaul and the Civil War. Antony was appointed administrator of Italy while Caesar eliminated political opponents in Greece, North Africa, the Triumvirs defeated Caesars murderers, the Liberatores, at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, and divided the government of the Republic between themselves. Antony was assigned Romes eastern provinces, including the client kingdom of Egypt, then ruled by Cleopatra VII Philopator, relations among the Triumvirs were strained as the various members sought greater political power. Civil war between Antony and Octavian was averted in 40 BC, when Antony married Octavians sister, Octavia, despite this marriage, Antony carried on a love affair with Cleopatra, who bore him three children, further straining Antonys relations with Octavian. Lepidus was expelled from the association in 36 BC, and in 33 BC disagreements between Antony and Octavian caused a split between the remaining Triumvirs. Their ongoing hostility erupted into war in 31 BC, as the Roman Senate, at Octavians direction, declared war on Cleopatra. Later that year, Antony was defeated by Octavians forces at the Battle of Actium, Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt, where they committed suicide. With Antony dead, Octavian was the master of the Roman world. In 27 BC, Octavian was granted the title of Augustus, marking the stage in the transformation of the Roman Republic into an empire. A member of the plebeian Antonia gens, Antony was born in Rome on January 14,83 BC. His father and namesake was Marcus Antonius Creticus, son of the noted orator by the name who had been murdered during the Marian Terror of the winter of 87–86 BC. His mother was Julia Antonia, a distant cousin of Julius Caesar, Antony was an infant at the time of Lucius Cornelius Sullas march on Rome in 82 BC. According to the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero, Antonys father was incompetent and corrupt, in 74 BC he was given military command to defeat the pirates of the Mediterranean, but he died in Crete in 71 BC without making any significant progress. Lentulus, despite exploiting his political success for financial gain, was constantly in debt due to the extravagance of his lifestyle and he was a major figure in the Second Catilinarian Conspiracy and was summarily executed on the orders of the Consul Cicero in 63 BC for his involvement. His death resulted in a feud between the Antonia and the famous orator, Antonys early life was characterized by a lack of proper parental guidance. According to the historian Plutarch, he spent his teenage years wandering through Rome with his brothers and friends gambling, drinking, Antonys contemporary and enemy, Cicero, claimed he had a homosexual relationship with Gaius Scribonius Curio. There is little information on his political activity as a young man, although it is known that he was an associate of Publius Clodius Pulcher. He may also have involved in the Lupercal cult as he was referred to as a priest of this order later in life
Mark Antony
–
Antony's brother Lucius, on a coin issued at
Ephesus during his consulship in 41 BC
Mark Antony
–
Bust of Mark Antony in
Vatican City
Mark Antony
–
Bust of Pharaoh
Ptolemy XII Auletes.
Mark Antony
–
Cato the Younger, a member of the
Optimates faction, was one of the chief architects of the decree which provoked Caesar into civil war.
11.
Augustus
–
Augustus was the founder of the Roman Principate and considered the first Roman emperor, controlling the Roman Empire from 27 BC until his death in AD14. He was born Gaius Octavius into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia and his maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was named in Caesars will as his adopted son and heir, then known as Octavianus. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar, following their victory at the Battle of Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators. The Triumvate was eventually torn apart by the ambitions of its members. Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped of his position, in reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and it took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis, the resulting constitutional framework became known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of peace known as the Pax Romana. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, expanding into Germania, beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. Augustus died in AD14 at the age of 75 and he probably died from natural causes, although there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son Tiberius, Augustus was known by many names throughout his life, At birth, he was named Gaius Octavius after his biological father. Historians typically refer to him simply as Octavius between his birth in 63 until his adoption by Julius Caesar in 44 BC, upon his adoption, he took Caesars name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in accordance with Roman adoption naming standards. He quickly dropped Octavianus from his name, and his contemporaries referred to him as Caesar during this period, historians. In 27 BC, following his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra and it is the events of 27 BC from which he obtained his traditional name of Augustus, which historians use in reference to him from 27 BC until his death in AD14. While his paternal family was from the town of Velletri, approximately 40 kilometres from Rome and he was born at Ox Head, a small property on the Palatine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum. He was given the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, his cognomen possibly commemorating his fathers victory at Thurii over a band of slaves. Due to the nature of Rome at the time, Octavius was taken to his fathers home village at Velletri to be raised. Octavius only mentions his fathers equestrian family briefly in his memoirs and his paternal great-grandfather Gaius Octavius was a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War
Augustus
–
The statue known as the
Augustus of Prima Porta, 1st century
Augustus
–
The Death of Caesar, by
Jean-Léon Gérôme (1867). On 15 March 44 BC, Octavius's adoptive father Julius Caesar was assassinated by a conspiracy led by
Marcus Junius Brutus and
Gaius Cassius Longinus.
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore.
Augustus
–
A statue of Augustus as a younger Octavian, dated ca. 30 BC
Augustus
–
Bust of Augustus in
Musei Capitolini, Rome
12.
Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger
–
Marcus Junius Brutus, often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus and he took a leading role in the assassination of Julius Caesar. Brutus was close to General Julius Caesar, the leader of the Populares faction, however, Caesars attempts to assume greater power for himself put him at greater odds with the Roman elite and members of the Senate. Brutus eventually came to oppose Caesar and fought with the Optimate faction, led by Pompey the Great, Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 B. C. after which Brutus surrendered to Caesar, who granted him amnesty. However, the political tensions which led to the war had not been resolved. Due to Caesars increasingly monarchical behavior, several senators, calling themselves Liberators and they recruited Brutus, who took a leading role in the assassination, which was carried out successfully on March 15,44 B. C. The Senate, at the request of the Consul Mark Antony, however, a populist uprising forced Brutus and his brother-in-law, fellow assassin Gaius Cassius Longinus, to leave the City of Rome. Caesars grandnephew, Consul Gaius Octavian Caesar, immediately after taking office, passed a resolution declaring the conspirators, including Brutus, murderers. Octavian combined his troops with those of Antony, and together they defeated the outnumbered armies of Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi in October 42 B. C. After the battle, Brutus committed suicide, Marcus Junius Brutus Minor was the son of Marcus Junius Brutus Maior and Servilia. Some sources refer to the possibility of Caesar being his real father, Brutus uncle, Quintus Servilius Caepio, adopted him in about 59 BC, and Brutus was known officially for a time as Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus before he reverted to using his birth-name. Following Caesars assassination in 44 BC, Brutus revived his adoptive name in order to illustrate his links to another famous tyrannicide, Gaius Servilius Ahala, from whom he was descended. Brutus held his uncle in high regard and his career started when he became an assistant to Cato. During this time, he enriched himself by lending money at high rates of interest and he returned to Rome a rich man, where he married Claudia Pulchra. From his first appearance in the Senate, Brutus aligned with the Optimates against the First Triumvirate of Marcus Licinius Crassus, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Gaius Julius Caesar. When Caesars Civil War broke out in 49 BC between Pompey and Caesar, Brutus followed his old enemy and the present leader of the Optimates, Caesar ordered his officers to leave Brutus alone if he refused his arrest because he believed that Brutus could be his biological son. Although Caesar and Brutus mother, Servilia, were lovers, only a few knew about their relationship, Caesar had nothing against Brutus concerning that, and they had a very close relationship. And everything he did for Brutus was out of affection of Servilia knowing that his mother was in love him, Caesar
Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger
–
Marble bust of Brutus, at the
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in the
National Museum of Rome
Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger
–
Marble bust of Brutus, at the
Capitoline Museums in Rome.
Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger
–
Death of Caesar by
Vincenzo Camuccini.
Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger
–
Marcus Junius Brutus.
13.
Gaius Cassius Longinus
–
Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus. He was elected Tribune of the Plebs in 49 B. C and he opposed Caesar, and he commanded a fleet against him during Caesars Civil War, after Caesar defeated Pompey in the Battle of Pharsalus, Caesar overtook Cassius and forced him to surrender. After Caesars death, Cassius fled to the East, where he amassed an army of twelve legions and he was supported and made Governor by the Senate. Though he and Brutus marched west against the allies of the Second Triumvirate, Cassius was defeated at the Battle of Phillippi and he followed the teachings of the philosopher Epicurus, although scholars debate whether or not these beliefs affected his political life. Cassius is a character in Shakespeares play Julius Caesar that depicts the assassination of Caesar. He is also shown in the lowest circle of Hell in Dantes The Inferno as punishment for killing Caesar. Little is known of Gaius Cassius early life, apart from a story that he showed his dislike of despots while still at school and he studied philosophy at Rhodes under Archelaus and became fluent in Greek. He was married to Junia Tertia, who was the daughter of Servilia and they had one son, who was born in about 60 BC. In 53 BC he took part in the Battle of Carrhae lost by Marcus Licinius Crassus against the Parthians, Cassius returned to Rome in 50 BC, when civil war was about to break out between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Cassius was elected tribune of the Plebs for 49 BC, and threw in his lot with the Optimates, Cassius left Italy shortly after Caesar crossed the Rubicon. He met Pompey in Greece, and was appointed to command part of his fleet, in 48 BC, Cassius sailed his ships to Sicily, where he attacked and burned a large part of Caesars navy. He then proceeded to harass ships off the Italian coast, news of Pompeys defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus caused Cassius to head for the Hellespont, with hopes of allying with the king of Pontus, Pharnaces II. Cassius was overtaken by Caesar en route, and was forced to surrender unconditionally, Caesar made Cassius a legate, employing him in the Alexandrian War against the very same Pharnaces whom Cassius had hoped to join after Pompeys defeat at Pharsalus. However, Cassius refused to join in the fight against Cato and Scipio in Africa, Cassius spent the next two years in office, and apparently tightened his friendship with Cicero. In 44 BC, he became praetor peregrinus with the promise of the Syrian province for the ensuing year, the appointment of his junior and brother-in-law, Marcus Brutus, as praetor urbanus deeply offended him. Although Cassius was the spirit in the plot against Caesar, winning over the chief assassins to the cause of tyrannicide. On the Ides of March,44 BC, Cassius urged on his fellow liberators, though they succeeded in assassinating Caesar, the celebration was short-lived, as Mark Antony seized power and turned the public against them. In letters written during 44 BC, Cicero frequently complains that Rome was still subjected to tyranny, according to some accounts, Cassius had wanted to kill Antony at the same time as Caesar, but Brutus dissuaded him
Gaius Cassius Longinus
–
Denarius (42 BC) issued by Cassius Longinus and
Lentulus Spinther, depicting the crowned head of
Liberty and on the reverse a sacrificial jug and
lituus. From the military mint in
Smyrna
14.
Julius Caesar
–
Gaius Julius Caesar, known as Julius Caesar, was a Roman politician, general, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed an alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to power as Populares were opposed by the Optimates within the Roman Senate. Caesars victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, extended Romes territory to the English Channel, Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both the Channel and the Rhine, when he built a bridge across the Rhine and crossed the Channel to invade Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, with the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused the order, and instead marked his defiance in 49 BC by crossing the Rubicon with the 13th Legion, leaving his province, Civil war resulted, and Caesars victory in the war put him in an unrivalled position of power and influence. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a programme of social and governmental reforms and he centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed dictator in perpetuity, giving him additional authority. But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March 44 BC, a new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesars adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to power after defeating his opponents in the civil war. Octavian set about solidifying his power, and the era of the Roman Empire began, much of Caesars life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources, Caesar is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest military commanders in history. Caesar was born into a family, the gens Julia. The cognomen Caesar originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by Caesarean section. The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations, that the first Caesar had a head of hair, that he had bright grey eyes. Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favored this interpretation of his name, despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential, although they had enjoyed some revival of their political fortunes in the early 1st century BC. Caesars father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia and his mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family. Little is recorded of Caesars childhood, in 85 BC, Caesars father died suddenly, so Caesar was the head of the family at 16
Julius Caesar
–
The
Tusculum portrait, perhaps the only surviving statue created during Caesar's lifetime.
Julius Caesar
–
Gaius Marius, Caesar's uncle
Julius Caesar
–
Dictator
Lucius Cornelius Sulla stripped Caesar of the priesthood.
Julius Caesar
–
The extent of the Roman Republic in 40 BC after Caesar's conquests.
15.
Roman Republic
–
It was during this period that Romes control expanded from the citys immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, by the following century, it included North Africa, most of the Iberian Peninsula, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar. The exact date of transition can be a matter of interpretation, Roman government was headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates. Over time, the laws that gave exclusive rights to Romes highest offices were repealed or weakened. The leaders of the Republic developed a tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war, making military. Many of Romes legal and legislative structures can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states, the exact causes and motivations for Romes military conflicts and expansions during the republic are subject to wide debate. While they can be seen as motivated by outright aggression and imperialism and they argue that Romes expansion was driven by short-term defensive and inter-state factors, and the new contingencies that these decisions created. In its early history, as Rome successfully defended itself against foreign threats in central and then northern Italy, with some important exceptions, successful wars in early republican Rome generally led not to annexation or military occupation, but to the restoration of the way things were. But the defeated city would be weakened and thus able to resist Romanizing influences. It was also able to defend itself against its non-Roman enemies. It was, therefore, more likely to seek an alliance of protection with Rome and this growing coalition expanded the potential enemies that Rome might face, and moved Rome closer to confrontation with major powers. The result was more alliance-seeking, on the part of both the Roman confederacy and city-states seeking membership within that confederacy. While there were exceptions to this, it was not until after the Second Punic War that these alliances started to harden into something more like an empire and this shift mainly took place in parts of the west, such as the southern Italian towns that sided with Hannibal. In contrast, Roman expansion into Spain and Gaul occurred as a mix of alliance-seeking, in the 2nd century BC, Roman involvement in the Greek east remained a matter of alliance-seeking, but this time in the face of major powers that could rival Rome. This had some important similarities to the events in Italy centuries earlier, with some major exceptions of outright military rule, the Roman Republic remained an alliance of independent city-states and kingdoms until it transitioned into the Roman Empire. It was not until the time of the Roman Empire that the entire Roman world was organized into provinces under explicit Roman control
Roman Republic
–
Route of Pyrrhus of Epirus
Roman Republic
–
Roman consul accompanied by two
lictors
Roman Republic
–
Gaius Gracchus, tribune of the people, presiding over the
Plebeian Council
Roman Republic
–
A Roman
denarius struck in 56 BC showing on one side the bust of the
Goddess Diana, and on the reverse the Roman general
Lucius Cornelius Sulla is offered an olive branch by his ally
Bocchus I as the captive
Jugurtha kneels beside Sulla with his hands bound.
16.
Liberatores
–
The assassination of Julius Caesar was the result of a conspiracy by many Roman senators. Led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus, and Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar was the dictator of the Roman Republic at the time, having recently been declared dictator perpetuo by the Senate. This declaration made several senators fear that Caesar wanted to overthrow the Senate in favor of tyranny, the conspirators were unable to restore the Roman Republic. The ramifications of the led to the Liberators civil war and, ultimately. Biographers describe tension between Caesar and the Senate, and his claims to the title of king. These events were the motive for Caesars assassination. The Senate named Caesar dictator perpetuo, Roman mints produced a denarius coin with this title and his likeness on one side, and with an image of the goddess Ceres and Caesars title of Augur Pontifex Maximus on the reverse. According to Cassius Dio, a delegation went to inform Caesar of new honors they had bestowed upon him in 44 BC. Caesar received them while sitting in the Temple of Venus Genetrix, Suetonius wrote that Caesar failed to rise in the temple, either because he was restrained by Cornelius Balbus or that he balked at the suggestion he should rise. Suetonius also gave the account of a crowd assembled to greet Caesar upon his return to Rome, a member of the crowd placed a laurel wreath on the statue of Caesar on the Rostra. The tribunes Gaius Epidius Marullus and Lucius Caesetius Flavus ordered that the wreath be removed as it was a symbol of Jupiter, Caesar had the tribunes removed from office through his official powers. According to Suetonius, Caesar was unable to dissociate himself from the title from this point forward. Suetonius also gives the story that a crowd shouted to him rex, to which Caesar replied, I am Caesar, not Rex. Also, at the festival of the Lupercalia, while he gave a speech from the Rostra, Mark Antony, Caesar put it aside to use as a sacrifice to Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Plutarch and Suetonius are similar in their depiction of these events and he then places the crowd shouting rex on the Alban Hill with the tribunes arresting a member of this crowd as well. The plebeian protested that he was unable to speak his mind freely, Caesar then brought the tribunes before the senate and put the matter to a vote, thereafter removing them from office and erasing their names from the records. Suetonius adds that Lucius Cotta proposed to the Senate that Caesar should be granted the title of king for it was prophesied that only a king would conquer Parthia, Caesar intended to invade Parthia, a task that later gave considerable trouble to Mark Antony during the second triumvirate. His many titles and honors from the Senate were ultimately merely that, Caesar continually strove for more power to govern, with as little dependence as possible on honorary titles or the Senate
Liberatores
–
Woodcut manuscript illustration by Johannes Zainer, c. 1474
Liberatores
–
Morte di Giulio Cesare ("Death of Julius Caesar"). By
Vincenzo Camuccini, 1798
Liberatores
–
La Mort de César (ca. 1859–1867) by
Jean-Léon Gérôme, depicting the aftermath of the attack with Caesar's body abandoned in the foreground as the senators exult
Liberatores
–
Deification of Julius Caesar, a 16th-century
engraving by
Virgil Solis illustrating
Ovid 's passage on the
apotheosis of Caesar (
Metamorphoses 15.745-850)
17.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
Italy
–
The
Colosseum in Rome, built c. 70 – 80 AD, is considered one of the greatest works of
architecture and
engineering of ancient history.
Italy
–
Flag
Italy
–
The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, for centuries symbol of the
Kings of Italy.
Italy
–
Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor
Frederick II,
UNESCO World Heritage site
18.
Syria (Roman province)
–
Syria was an early Roman province, annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War, following the defeat of Armenian King Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom into tetrarchies in 6 AD, it was absorbed into Roman provinces, with Roman Syria annexing Iturea. Later, in 135 AD, in the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt, Syrian province was merged with Judea province, one province During the early empire, the Roman army in Syria accounted for three legions with auxiliaries, they defended the border with Parthia. Syrian province forces were engaged in the Great Jewish Revolt of 66–70 AD. In 66 AD, Cestius Gallus, the legate of Syria, brought the Syrian army, based on XII Fulminata, reinforced by troops, to restore order in Judaea. The legion, however, was ambushed and destroyed by Jewish rebels at the Battle of Beth Horon, the future emperor Vespasian was put in charge of subduing the Jewish revolt. In the summer of 69, Vespasian, with the Syrian units supporting him, the governor of Syria retained the civil administration of the whole large province undiminished, and held for long alone in all Asia a command of the first rank. It was Severus who at length withdrew the first place in the Roman military hierarchy from the Syrian governor, the emperor Septimius Severus divided up Roman Syria in the fashion it would remain until the rule of the Tetrarchs. From the later 2nd century, the Roman senate included several notable Syrians, Syria was of crucial strategic importance during the crisis of the third century. In 244 AD, Rome was ruled by a native Syrian from Philippopolis in the province of Arabia Petraea, the emperor was Marcus Iulius Philippus, more commonly known as Philip the Arab. Philip became the 33rd emperor of Rome upon its millennial celebration, in 259/260 a similar event happened when Shapur I again defeated a Roman field army and captured the Roman emperor, Valerian, alive at the battle of Edessa. Again Roman Syria suffered as cities were captured, sacked and pillaged, from 268 to 273, Syria was part of the breakaway Palmyrene Empire. Following the reforms of Diocletian, Syria Coele became part of the Diocese of Oriens, after c.415 Syria Coele was further subdivided into Syria I, with the capital remaining at Antioch, and Syria II or Syria Salutaris, with capital at Apamea on the Orontes. In 528, Justinian I carved out the coastal province Theodorias out of territory from both provinces. The region remained one of the most important provinces of the Byzantine Empire and it was occupied by the Sassanids between 609 and 628, then recovered by the emperor Heraclius, but lost again to the advancing Muslims after the battle of Yarmouk and the fall of Antioch. The city of Antioch was recovered in 963 AD along with other parts of the country. A reconquest undertaken by the Fatimad caliphate in the 970s retook most parts of Syria from the Byzantines, however, the Byzantine emperor Basil II reconquered all of Syria from Muslims by 1000 AD. Frequent rebellions, however, weakened Byzantine control over Syria, by 1045 only the city of Antioch remained Byzantine
Syria (Roman province)
–
Roman Syria highlighted in 116 AD
19.
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)
–
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, was a Roman patrician who was triumvir with Octavian and Mark Antony, and the last Pontifex Maximus of the Roman Republic. Lepidus had previously been an ally of Julius Caesar. Though he was a military commander and proved a useful partisan of Caesar. He typically appears as a figure in depictions of the events of the era. While some scholars have endorsed this view, others argue that the evidence is insufficient to discount the distorting effects of propaganda by his opponents, principally Cicero and, later, Augustus. Lepidus was the son of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, his mother may have been a daughter of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus and his brother was Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus. His father was the first leader of the populares faction after the death of Sulla. Lepidus married Junia Secunda, sister of Marcus Junius Brutus and Junia Tertia, Lepidus and Junia Secunda had at least one child, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the Younger. Lepidus joined the College of Pontiffs as a child and he started his cursus honorum as triumvir monetalis, overseeing the minting of coins, from c. Lepidus soon became one of Julius Caesars greatest supporters and he was appointed as a praetor in 49 BC, being placed in charge of Rome while Caesar defeated Pompey in Greece. He secured Caesars appointment as dictator, a position Caesar used to get elected as Consul. Lepidus was rewarded with the position of Proconsul in the Spanish province of Hispania Citerior, while in Spain Lepidus was called upon to act to quell a rebellion against Quintus Cassius Longinus, governor of neighbouring Hispania Ulterior. Lepidus refused to support Cassius, who had created opposition to Caesars regime by his corruption and he negotiated a deal with the rebel leader, quaestor Marcellus, and helped defeat an attack by the Mauretanian king Bogud. Cassius and his supporters were allowed to leave and order was restored, Caesar and the Senate were sufficiently impressed by Lepdiuss judicial mixture of negotiation and surgical military action that they granted him a Triumph. Lepidus was rewarded with the consulship in 46 BC after the defeat of the Pompeians in the East, Caesar also made Lepidus magister equitum, effectively his deputy. Caesar appears to have had confidence in Lepidus than in Mark Antony to keep order in Rome. Lepidus appears to have been shocked when Antony provocatively offered Caesar a crown at the Lupercalia festival. When in February 44 BC Caesar was elected dictator for life by the senate, the brief alliance in power of Caesar and Lepidus came to a sudden end when Caesar was assassinated on March 1544 BC
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)
–
Coin depicting Lepidus. The inscription is "III VIR R P C LEPIDUS PONT MAX", shorter for "tresviri rei publicae constituendae Lepidus Pontifex Maximus", meaning "One of Three Men for the Regulation of the Republic, Lepidus, Chief Pontiff".
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)
–
Aureus of Lepidus, c. 42 BC
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)
–
Lepidus (right) browbeaten by Antony and Octavian. Illustration to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar by
H. C. Selous.
20.
Roman legion
–
A Roman legion was the largest unit of the Roman army involving from 3000 men in early times to over 5200 men in imperial times, consisting of centuries as the basic units. Until the middle of the first century,10 cohorts made up a Roman Legion and this was later changed to nine cohorts of standard size and one cohort, the first cohort, of double strength. In the early Roman Kingdom the legion may have meant the entire Roman army but sources on this period are few, Legions also included a small ala or cavalry unit. By the third century AD, the legion was a smaller unit of about 1,000 to 1,500 men. In the fourth century AD, East Roman border guard legions may have even smaller. The Roman army, for most of the Imperial period, consisted mostly of auxiliaries rather than legions, because legions were not permanent units until the Marian reforms, and were instead created, used, and disbanded again, several hundred legions were named and numbered throughout Roman history. To date, about 50 have been identified, toward the end of the 2nd Century BC, Rome started to experience manpower shortages brought about by property and financial qualifications to join the army. In the time of Augustus, there were nearly 50 upon his succession but this was reduced to about 25–35 permanent standing legions, a legion consisted of several cohorts of heavy infantry known as legionaries. The recruitment of non-citizens was rare but appears to have occurred in times of great need, For example, Caesar appears to have recruited the Legio V Alaudae mostly from non-citizen Gauls. In the period before the raising of the legio and the years of the Roman Kingdom. These centuries were grouped together as required and answered to the leader who had hired or raised them, the roles of century leader, second in command and standard bearer are referenced in this early period. Much Roman history of the era is shrouded in legend, but it is believed that during the reign of Servius Tullius, the census was introduced. Joining the army was both a duty and a mark of Roman citizenship, during the entire pre-Marian period the wealthiest land owners performed the most years of military service. These individuals would have had the most to lose should the state have fallen. The first and wealthiest common class was armed in the fashion of the hoplite with spear, sword, helmet, breast plate and round shield, there were 82 centuries of these, Roman soldiers had to purchase their own equipment. The second and third class also acted as spearmen but were heavily armoured and carried a larger oval or rectangular shield. The fourth class could afford no armour, perhaps bearing a shield and armed with spear. All three of the latter made up about 26 centuries
Roman legion
–
A re-enactor as a Roman centurion, c. 70.
Roman legion
Roman legion
–
A re-enactor, showing a Roman
miles, (2nd century).
Roman legion
–
Map of Roman legions by 14 AD.Source: http://f.hypotheses.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1447/files/2014/05/Roman-legions-14-AD-Centrici-site-Keilo-Jack.jpg
21.
Adriatic Sea
–
The Adriatic Sea /ˌeɪdriˈætᵻk/ is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula and the Apennine Mountains from the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto to the northwest, the countries with coasts on the Adriatic are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro and Slovenia. The Adriatic contains over 1,300 islands, mostly located along its eastern, Croatian and it is divided into three basins, the northern being the shallowest and the southern being the deepest, with a maximum depth of 1,233 metres. The Otranto Sill, a ridge, is located at the border between the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. The prevailing currents flow counterclockwise from the Strait of Otranto, along the eastern coast, tidal movements in the Adriatic are slight, although larger amplitudes are known to occur occasionally. The Adriatics salinity is lower than the Mediterraneans because the Adriatic collects a third of the water flowing into the Mediterranean. The surface water temperatures range from 30 °C in summer to 12 °C in winter. The Adriatic Sea sits on the Apulian or Adriatic Microplate, which separated from the African Plate in the Mesozoic era, the plates movement contributed to the formation of the surrounding mountain chains and Apennine tectonic uplift after its collision with the Eurasian plate. In the Late Oligocene, the Apennine Peninsula first formed, separating the Adriatic Basin from the rest of the Mediterranean, all types of sediment are found in the Adriatic, with the bulk of the material transported by the Po and other rivers on the western coast. The western coast is alluvial or terraced, while the eastern coast is indented with pronounced karstification. There are dozens of protected areas in the Adriatic, designed to protect the seas karst habitats. The sea is abundant in flora and fauna—more than 7,000 species are identified as native to the Adriatic, many of them endemic, rare and threatened ones. The Adriatics shores are populated by more than 3.5 million people, the earliest settlements on the Adriatic shores were Etruscan, Illyrian, and Greek. By the 2nd century BC, the shores were under Romes control, following Italian unification, the Kingdom of Italy started an eastward expansion that lasted until the 20th century. Following World War I and the collapse of Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, the former disintegrated during the 1990s, resulting in four new states on the Adriatic coast. Italy and Albania agreed on their maritime boundary in 1992, Fisheries and tourism are significant sources of income all along the Adriatic coast. Adriatic Croatias tourism industry has grown faster economically than the rest of the Adriatic Basins, maritime transport is also a significant branch of the areas economy—there are 19 seaports in the Adriatic that each handle more than a million tonnes of cargo per year. The largest Adriatic seaport by annual cargo turnover is the Port of Trieste, in the southeast, the Adriatic Sea connects to the Ionian Sea at the 72-kilometre wide Strait of Otranto
Adriatic Sea
–
Bay of Kotor, a
ria in the Southern Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
–
Map of the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
–
Adriatic islands off
Croatia 's coast
Adriatic Sea
–
A
submarine spring near
Omiš, observed through sea surface rippling
22.
Via Egnatia
–
The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed the Roman provinces of Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thrace, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey. Starting at Dyrrachium on the Adriatic Sea, the followed a difficult route along the river Genusus, over the Candaviae mountains. It then turned south, following several high mountain passes to reach the coastline of the Aegean Sea at Thessalonica. From there it ran through Thrace to the city of Byzantium and it covered a total distance of about 1,120 km. Like other major Roman roads, it was six metres wide. It may have succeeded an earlier road from Illyria to Byzantium, as described by Polybius and Cicero. The Via Egnatia was constructed in order to link a chain of Roman colonies stretching from the Adriatic Sea to the Bosphorus. The termini of the Via Egnatia and the Via Appia, leading from Rome itself, were almost directly opposite each other on the east and west shores of the Adriatic Sea, the route, thus gave the colonies of the southern Balkans a direct connection to Rome. It was repaired and expanded several times but experienced lengthy periods of neglect due to Romes civil wars, the road was used by the Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey as he traveled from Philippi to Thessalonica. Surviving milestones record that the emperor Trajan undertook extensive repairs of the prior to his campaign of 113 against the Parthians. However, by the 5th century AD the road had fallen into disuse as a result of violent instability in the region. A 5th-century historian noted that the sections of the Via Egnatia were in such a poor state that travellers could barely pass along it. Almost all Byzantine overland trade with western Europe traveled along the Via Egnatia, during the Crusades, armies traveling to the east by land followed the road to Constantinople before crossing into Asia Minor. In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, control of the road was vital for the survival of the Latin Empire as well as the Byzantine successor states the Empire of Nicaea, during the first European conquests of Ottoman Turks sol kol was following the Via Egnatia. Todays modern highway, Egnatia Odos, runs in parallel with the Via Egnatia between Thessaloniki and the Turkish border on the Evros river and its name means Via Egnatia in Greek, alluding to its ancient predecessor. Listed from west to east,1994, official Journal of the European Communities. Amore, M G, L Bejko, Y Cerova, and I Gjipali, archaeological Reports and Notes - Via Egnatia Project, Results of Fieldwork 2002
Via Egnatia
–
Route of the Via Egnatia.
Via Egnatia
–
Ancient Via Egnatia near
Kavala (Neapolis)
Via Egnatia
–
Remains of Via Egnatia near
Radozda
Via Egnatia
–
Via Aemilia
23.
Thrace
–
It comprises southeastern Bulgaria, northeastern Greece, and the European part of Turkey. In antiquity, it was referred to as Europe, prior to the extension of the term to describe the whole continent. The name Thrace comes from the Thracians, an ancient Indo-European people inhabiting Southeastern Europe, the word itself was established by the Greeks for referring to the Thracian tribes, from Ancient Greek Thrake, descending from Thrāix. The name of the continent Europe first referred to Thrace proper, the region obviously took the name of the principal river there, Hebros, probably from the Indo-European arg white river, according to an alternative theory, Hebros means goat in Thracian. In Turkey, it is referred to as Rumeli, Land of the Romans. The name appears to derive from an ancient heroine and sorceress Thrace, who was the daughter of Oceanus and Parthenope, the historical boundaries of Thrace have varied. In one ancient Greek source, the very Earth is divided into Asia, Libya, Europa and this largely coincided with the Thracian Odrysian kingdom, whose borders varied over time. After the Macedonian conquest, this regions former border with Macedonia was shifted from the Struma River to the Mesta River and this usage lasted until the Roman conquest. Henceforth, Thrace referred only to the tract of land covering the same extent of space as the modern geographical region. The medieval Byzantine theme of Thrace contained only what today is Eastern Thrace, the largest cities of Thrace are, İstanbul, Plovdiv, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Haskovo, Yambol, Komotini, Alexandroupoli, Xanthi, Edirne, Çorlu and Tekirdağ. Most of the Bulgarian and Greek population are Christians, while most of the Turkish inhabitants of Thrace are Muslims, Ancient Greek mythology provides them with a mythical ancestor, named Thrax, son of the war-god Ares, who was said to reside in Thrace. The Thracians appear in Homers Iliad as Trojan allies, led by Acamas, later in the Iliad, Rhesus, another Thracian king, makes an appearance. Cisseus, father-in-law to the Trojan elder Antenor, is given as a Thracian king. Homeric Thrace was vaguely defined, and stretched from the River Axios in the west to the Hellespont, Greek mythology is replete with Thracian kings, including Diomedes, Tereus, Lycurgus, Phineus, Tegyrius, Eumolpus, Polymnestor, Poltys, and Oeagrus. In addition to the tribe that Homer calls Thracians, ancient Thrace was home to other tribes, such as the Edones, Bisaltae, Cicones. Thrace is also mentioned in Ovids Metamorphoses in the episode of Philomela, Procne, Tereus, the King of Thrace, lusts after his sister-in-law, Philomela. He kidnaps her, holds her captive, rapes her, Philomela manages to get free, however. She and her sister, Procne, plot to get revenge, by killing Itys, at the end of the myth, all three turn into birds – Procne, a swallow, Philomela, a nightingale, and Tereus, a hoopoe
Thrace
–
The physical-geographical boundaries of Thrace: the Balkan Mountains, the Rhodope Mountains and the Bosporus. The Rhodope mountain range is highlighted.
Thrace
–
The modern boundaries of Thrace in
Bulgaria,
Greece and
Turkey
Thrace
–
The Roman province of Thrace
Thrace
–
Map of Ancient Thrace made by
Abraham Ortelius in 1585, stating both the names Thrace and Europe
24.
Appian
–
Appian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek origin who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c.95 in Alexandria, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Aegyptus, he went to Rome c. Because the position of procurator was open only to members of the equestrian order and his principal surviving work was written in Greek in 24 books, before 165. This work more closely resembles a series of monographs than a connected history and it gives an account of various peoples and countries from the earliest times down to their incorporation into the Roman Empire, and survives in complete books and considerable fragments. The work is valuable, especially for the period of the civil wars. The Civil Wars, five of the books in the corpus, concern mainly the end of the Roman Republic. Little is known of the life of Appian of Alexandria and he wrote an autobiography that has been almost completely lost. Information about Appian is distilled from his own writings and a letter by his friend Cornelius Fronto, however, it is certain that Appian was born around the year AD95 in Alexandria, the capital of Roman Egypt. Since his parents were Roman citizens capable of paying for their son’s education and it is believed that Appian moved to Rome in 120, where he became a barrister. In the introduction to his Roman History, he boasts “that he pleaded cases in Rome before the emperors. ”The emperors he claims to have addressed must have been either Hadrian or Marcus Aurelius and definitely Antoninus Pius, for Appian remained in Egypt at least until the end of the reign of Trajan. In the letter of Cornelius Fronto, it is revealed that a request on behalf of Appian to receive the rank of procurator occurred during the co-regency between 147 and 161, although Appian won this office, it is unclear whether it was a real job or an honorific title. The only other certain biographical datum is that Appians Roman History appeared sometime before 162 and this is one of the few primary historical sources for the period. Appian began writing his history around the middle of the second century AD, only sections from half of the original 24 books survive today. The most important remnants of Appians work are the five books on the Civil Wars—books 13-17 of the Roman History, especially notable is this works ethnographic structure. Appian most likely used this structure to facilitate his readers orientation through the sequence of events, a literary example of this can be found from Appian’s Civil Wars. One might expect that a work covering nine centuries and countless different peoples would involve a multitude of testimonials from different periods. However, Appians sources remain uncertain, as he mentions the source of his information under special circumstances. He may have relied primarily on one author for each book, at our present state of knowledge questions regarding Appian’s sources cannot be solved
Appian
–
Appian: Historia Romana. Printed in Venice 1477 by
Erhard Ratdolt
25.
Battle of Pharsalus
–
The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesars Civil War. On 9 August 48 BC at Pharsalus in central Greece, Gaius Julius Caesar, Pompey had the backing of a majority of the senators, of whom many were optimates, and his army significantly outnumbered the veteran Caesarian legions. The two armies confronted each other several months of uncertainty, Caesar being in a much weaker position than Pompey. Pompey wanted to delay, knowing the enemy would eventually surrender from hunger, pressured by the senators present and by his officers, he reluctantly engaged in battle and suffered an overwhelming defeat, ultimately fleeing the camp and his men, disguised as an ordinary citizen. Caesar, lacking a fleet to give chase, solidified his control over the western Mediterranean – Spain specifically – before assembling ships to follow Pompey. Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, whom Pompey had appointed to command his 600-ship fleet, set up a blockade to prevent Caesar from crossing to Greece. Caesar, defying convention, chose to cross the Adriatic during the winter and this move surprised Bibulus and the first wave of ships managed to run the blockade easily. Now prepared, Bibulus managed to prevent any ships from crossing. Caesars only choice was to fortify his position, forage what supplies he could, Pompey by now had a massive international army, however, his troops were mostly untested raw recruits, while Caesars troops were hardened veterans. Realizing Caesars difficulty in keeping his troops supplied, Pompey decided to simply mirror Caesars forces, Caesar began to despair and used every channel he could think of to pursue peace with Pompey. When this was rebuffed he made an attempt to back to Italy to collect his missing troops but was turned back by a storm. Finally, Mark Antony rallied the forces in Italy, fought through the blockade and made the crossing, reinforcing Caesars forces in both men and spirit. Now at full strength Caesar felt confident to take the fight to Pompey, Pompey was camped in a strong position just south of Dyrrhachium with the sea to his back and surrounded by hills, making a direct assault impossible. Caesar ordered a wall to be built around Pompeys position in order to cut off water, Pompey built a parallel wall and in between a kind of no mans land was created, with fighting comparable to the trench warfare of World War I. Finally the standoff was broken by a traitor in Caesars army, Pompey immediately exploited this information and forced Caesars army into a full retreat, but ordered his army not to pursue, fearing Caesars reputation for setting elaborate traps. This caused Caesar to remark, Today the victory had been the enemys, had there been any one among them to gain it, Pompey continued his strategy of mirroring Caesars forces and avoiding any direct engagements. After trapping Caesar in Thessaly, the prominent senators in Pompeys camp began to argue loudly for a decisive victory. Although Pompey was strongly against it—he wanted to surround and starve Caesars army instead—he eventually gave in, the date of the actual decisive battle is given as 9 August 48 BC according to the republican calendar
Battle of Pharsalus
–
Battle of Pharsalus
26.
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus
–
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus was a Roman general, author and patron of literature and art. Corvinus was the son of the consul in 61 BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger, some dispute his parentage and claim another descendant of Marcus Valerius Corvus to be his father. Valeria, one of the sisters of Corvinus, married the Roman Politician Quintus Pedius and his great-nephew from this marriage was the deaf painter Quintus Pedius. His first wife was in Calpurnia, possibly the daughter of the Roman politician Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, the writings of the poet Ovid reveal that the second wife of Corvinus was a woman called Aurelia Cotta. Another fact supporting that Aurelia Cotta was the mother of Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus is that he was adopted into the Aurelii Cottae. How and why the name changed from Corvus to Corvinus is unclear, to add to the confusion, Manius is sometimes referred to as Marcus. Corvinus was educated partly at Athens, together with Horace and the younger Cicero, in early life he became attached to republican principles, which he never abandoned, although in later life he avoided offending Caesar Augustus by not mentioning them too openly. In 43 BC he was proscribed, but managed to escape to the camp of Brutus and Cassius, after the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, he went over to Antony, but subsequently transferred his support to Octavian. In 31 BC, Corvinus was appointed consul in place of Antony and he subsequently held commands in the East and suppressed the revolt in Gallia Aquitania, for this latter feat he celebrated a triumph in 27 BC. Corvinus restored the road between Tusculum and Alba, and many buildings were due to his initiative. He moved that the title of pater patriae should be bestowed upon Augustus, yet he also resigned from the post of Prefect of the city in 25 BC after six days of holding this office because it conflicted with his ideas of constitutionalism. It may have been on occasion that he uttered the phrase I am disgusted with power. With Horace and Tibullus he was on terms, and Ovid expresses his gratitude to him as the first to notice. The two panegyrics by unknown authors indicate the esteem in which he was held, Corvinus was himself the author of various works, all of which are lost. As an orator, he followed Cicero instead of the Atticizing school, later critics considered him superior to Cicero, and Tiberius adopted him as a model. Corvinus had a house on the Palatine Hill in Rome that used to belong to Mark Antony before Augustus presented it to Corvinus and Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. An inscription records Corvinus as the owner of the famed Gardens of Lucullus located on the Pincian Hill where the Villa Borghese gardens are today. The Casale Rotondo, a tomb near the sixth milestone on the Appian Way, is often identified as being the tomb of Corvinus
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus
–
The
triumph of Corvinus in the
pediment of the
Krasiński Palace in Warsaw
Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus
–
The so-called Apotheosis of Claudius, the top part of an Augustan-era funerary monument that may once have contained Corvinus' funerary urn. Found in a country villa at Marino once owned by C. Valerius Paulinus, a descendant of Corvinus, it is now in the
Museo del Prado in Madrid.
27.
Pliny the Elder
–
In the latter number will be my uncle, by virtue of his own and of your compositions. Pliny is referring to the fact that Tacitus relied on his uncles now missing work on the History of the German Wars. The wind caused by the sixth and largest pyroclastic surge of the eruption would not allow his ship to leave the shore, and Pliny probably died during this event. Plinys dates are pinned to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79 and a statement of his nephew that he died in his 56th year, Pliny was the son of an equestrian, Gaius Plinius Celer, and his wife, Marcella. Neither the younger nor the elder Pliny mention the names and their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription found in a field in Verona and recorded by the 16th century Augustinian monk Onofrio Panvinio at Verona. The reading of the inscription depends on the reconstruction, but in all cases the names come through, whether he was an augur and whether she was named Grania Marcella are less certain. Jean Hardouin presents a statement from a source that he claims was ancient, that Pliny was from Verona. Hardouin also cites the conterraneity of Catullus, additional efforts to connect Celer and Marcella with other gentes are highly speculative. Hardouin is the scholar to use his unknown source. He kept statues of his ancestors there, a statue of Pliny on the facade of the Duomo of Como celebrates him as a native son. He had a sister, Plinia, who married into the Caecilii and was the mother of his nephew, Pliny the Younger, whose letters describe his work and study regimen in detail. In one of his letters to Tacitus, Pliny the Younger details how his uncles breakfasts would be light and simple following the customs of our forefathers. This shows that Pliny the Younger wanted it to be conveyed that Pliny the Elder was a good Roman and this statement would have pleased Tacitus. Two inscriptions identifying the hometown of Pliny the Younger as Como take precedence over the Verona theory, one commemorates the youngers career as imperial magistrate and details his considerable charitable and municipal expenses on behalf of the people of Como. Another identifies his father Lucius village as Fecchio near Como and it is likely therefore that Plinia was a local girl and Pliny the Elder, her brother, was from Como. Gaius was a member of the Plinii gens and he did not take his fathers cognomen, Celer, but assumed his own, Secundus. As his adopted son took the same cognomen, Pliny founded a branch, no earlier instances of the Plinii are known. In 59 BC, only about 82 years before Plinys birth, Julius Caesar founded Novum Comum as a colonia to secure the region against the Alpine tribes, whom he had been unable to defeat
Pliny the Elder
–
One of the
Xanten Horse-Phalerae located in the
British Museum, measuring 10.5 cm (4.1 in). It bears an inscription formed from punched dots: PLINIO PRAEF EQ; i.e., Plinio praefecto equitum, "Pliny prefect of cavalry". It was perhaps issued to every man in Pliny's unit. The figure is the bust of the emperor.
Pliny the Elder
–
Pliny the Elder, as imagined by a 19th-century artist. No contemporary depiction of Pliny is known to survive.
Pliny the Elder
–
City and Lake of
Como, painted by
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1834.
Pliny the Elder
–
The temple of
Castor and Pollux in Rome
28.
Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus
–
Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus was a Roman general, senator and consul who was a loyal partisan of Caesar and Octavianus. Domitius Calvinus came from a family and was elected consul in 53 BC. He was on Caesar’s side during the Civil War with Pompey, at the decisive battle of Pharsalus he commanded the center of Caesar’s army. After the battle he became governor of Asia, direct intervention by Caesar brought a quick end to the conflict, and Pharnaces army was annihilated at Zela in 47 BC. Despite this failure, he remained a friend of Caesar. Domitius Calvinuss activities after the death of Caesar are unknown, but in 43 BC he was a supporter of Octavianus. Despite this defeat he was awarded the honor of a second consulship in 40 BC and was sent by Octavianus as governor to Hispania, where he remained for three years. Apparently, his activities in Spain had success, since he was saluted as imperator by his troops. He also rebuilt the Regia in the Roman Forum, although Domitius Calvinus career does not show any particular ability, either in politics or in war, he maintained an important political role. This was most probably because he was one of the very few Roman nobles to support the Caesar/Octavianus party from the very beginning
Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus
–
Osca
29.
Thessaly
–
Thessaly is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, Thessaly became part of the modern Greek state in 1881, after four and a half centuries of Ottoman rule. Since 1987 it has formed one of the countrys 13 regions and is further sub-divided into 5 regional units and 25 municipalities, the capital of the region is Larissa. Thessaly lies in central Greece and borders the regions of Macedonia on the north, Epirus on the west, Central Greece on the south, the Thessaly region also includes the Sporades islands. In Homers epic, the Odyssey, the hero Odysseus visited the kingdom of Aeolus, the Plain of Thessaly, which lies between Mount Oeta/Othrys and Mount Olympus, was the site of the battle between the Titans and the Olympians. According to legend, Jason and the Argonauts launched their search for the Golden Fleece from the Magnesia Peninsula, Thessaly was home to extensive Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures around 6000–2500 BC. Mycenaean settlements have also discovered, for example at the sites of Iolcos, Dimini. In Archaic and Classical times, the lowlands of Thessaly became the home of baronial families, in the summer of 480 BC, the Persians invaded Thessaly. The Greek army that guarded the Vale of Tempe evacuated the road before the enemy arrived, not much later, Thessaly surrendered to the Persians. The Thessalian family of Aleuadae joined the Persians subsequently, in the 4th century BC, after the Greco-Persian Wars had long ended, Jason of Pherae transformed the region into a significant military power, recalling the glory of Early Archaic times. Shortly after, Philip II of Macedon was appointed Archon of Thessaly, the Avars had arrived in Europe in the late 550s. They asserted their authority over many Slavs, who were divided into numerous petty tribes, many Slavs were galvanized into an effective infantry force, by the Avars. In the 7th century the Avar-Slav alliance began to raid the Byzantine Empire, laying siege to Thessalonica, relations between the Slavs and Greeks were probably peaceful apart from the initial settlement and intermittent uprisings. Being agriculturalists, the Slavs probably traded with the Greeks inside towns and it is likely that the re-Hellenization had already begun by way of this contact. This process would be completed by a newly reinvigorated Byzantine Empire, with the abatement of Arab-Byzantine Wars, the Byzantine Empire began to consolidate its power in those areas of mainland Greece occupied by Proto-Slavic tribes. Following the campaigns of the Byzantine general Staurakios in 782–783, the Byzantine Empire recovered Thessaly, apart from military expeditions against Slavs, the re-Hellenization process begun under Nicephorus I involved transfer of peoples. Many Slavs were moved to other parts of the such as Anatolia. In return, many Greeks from Sicily and Asia Minor were brought to the interior of Greece, to increase the number of defenders at the Emperors disposal, even non-Greeks such as Armenians were transferred to the Balkans
Thessaly
–
First Ancient Theatre, Larissa.
Thessaly
–
Pineios river with the church of
St. Achilles, patron saint of
Larissa, in the background.
Thessaly
–
"The Hyperian Fountain at
Pherae ",
Edward Dodwell.
30.
Achaia (Roman province)
–
Achaea or Achaia, sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaïa, was a province of the Roman Empire, consisting of the Peloponnese, eastern Central Greece, and parts of Thessaly. In the north, it bordered on the provinces of Epirus vetus, the region was annexed by the Roman Republic in 146 BC following the sack of Corinth by the Roman general Lucius Mummius, who was awarded the cognomen Achaicus. It became part of the Roman province of Macedonia, which included the whole of mainland Greece. When Augustus became the first Roman emperor in 27 BC he made an agreement whereby some provinces, the provinces, came under the control of the emperor. Other provinces, the provinces, remained under the control of the senate. The province of Achaea was separated from the province of Macedonia as a senatorial province and it comprised the Peloponnese Peninsula in the south and central Greece. Achaea was a province, thus free from military men and legions. Athens was the center of education for the imperial elite, rivaled only by Alexandria. Achaea was among the most prosperous and peaceful parts of the Roman world until Late Antiquity, the province remained prosperous and highly urbanized however, as attested in the 6th-century Synecdemus. The territories of Achaea remaining in Byzantine hands were grouped into the theme of Hellas, in 150-148 BC the Romans fought the Fourth Macedonian War, after which they annexed Macedon, formerly the largest and most powerful state in mainland Greece. In 146 BC the Achaean League rebelled against the Romans and this was a hopeless war as Rome was a far superior military power. The League was quickly defeated and its city, Corinth was destroyed. The Romans decided to annex the whole of mainland Greece and Achaea became part of the Roman Province of Macedonia, some cities, such as Athens and Sparta retained their self-governing status within their own territories. The First Mithridatic War was fought in Attica and Boeotia, two regions which were to part of the province of Achaea. In 89 BC, Mithridates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, Mithridates then sent Archelaus to Greece, where he established Aristion as a tyrant in Athens. The Roman consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla landed in Epirus and marched on Athens. He marched through Boeotia on his way to Attica, Sulla besieged Athens and Piraeus in 87-86 BC and then sacked Athens and destroyed Piraeus. He then defeated Archelaus at the Battle of Chaeronea and the Battle of Orchomenus, the commerce of Achaea was no longer a rival to that of Rome. After the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, about 31 BC, in AD15, Emperor Tiberius, responding to complaints of mismanagement by the Senatorial proconsul made Achaea and Macedonia Imperial provinces
Achaia (Roman province)
–
Sestertius of
Hadrian celebrating Achaea province.
Achaia (Roman province)
–
The province of Achaea within the Roman Empire, c. 117 AD
