1.
Roman Republic
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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 Over time, the laws that gave exclusive rights to Romes highest offices were repealed or weakened.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
2.
Spartacus
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Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable. However, all agree that he was a former gladiator. Although this interpretation is not specifically contradicted by historians, no historical account mentions that the goal was to end slavery in the Republic. The Greek essayist Plutarch describes Spartacus as a Thracian of Nomadic stock, Appian says he was a Thracian by birth, who had once served as a soldier with the Romans, but had since been a prisoner and sold for a gladiator. Florus described him as one who, from a Thracian mercenary, had become a Roman soldier, that had deserted and became enslaved, and afterward, from consideration of his strength, a gladiator. Plutarch also writes that Spartacus wife, a prophetess of the Maedi tribe, was enslaved with him, the name Spartacus is otherwise manifested in the Black Sea region. Kings of the Thracian dynasty of the Cimmerian Bosporus and Pontus are known to have borne it, according to the differing sources and their interpretation, Spartacus was a captive taken by the legions. Spartacus was trained at the school near Capua belonging to Lentulus Batiatus. He was a gladiator called a murmillo. These fighters carried an oblong shield, and used a sword with a broad, straight blade. In 73 BC, Spartacus was among a group of plotting an escape. About 70 slaves were part of the plot, though few in number, they seized kitchen utensils, fought their way free from the school, and seized several wagons of gladiatorial weapons and armor. Once free, the escaped gladiators chose Spartacus and two Gallic slaves—Crixus and Oenomaus—as their leaders, the positions of Crixus and Oenomaus—and later, Gannicus and Castus—can be clearly determined from the sources. The response of the Romans was hampered by the absence of the Roman legions, which were engaged in fighting a revolt in Spain. Furthermore, the Romans considered the more of a policing matter than a war. Rome dispatched militia under the command of praetor Gaius Claudius Glaber and they were surprised when Spartacus, who had made ropes from vines, climbed down the cliff side of the volcano with his men and attacked the unfortified Roman camp in the rear, killing most of them. The rebels also defeated an expedition, nearly capturing the praetor commander, killing his lieutenants. With these successes, more and more slaves flocked to the Spartacan forces, as did many of the herdsmen and shepherds of the region, in these altercations Spartacus proved to be an excellent tactician, suggesting that he may have had previous military experience
3.
Missing in action
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Missing in action is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have killed, wounded, captured, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave has been positively identified, becoming MIA has been an occupational risk for as long as there has been warfare or ceasefire. Until around 1912, service personnel in most countries were not routinely issued with ID tags, as a result, if someone was killed in action and his body was not recovered until much later, there was little or no chance of identifying the remains. Starting around the time of the First World War, nations began to issue their service personnel with purpose-made ID tags and these were usually made of some form of lightweight metal such as aluminium. However, in the case of the British Army the material chosen was compressed fiber, alternatively, there could be administrative errors e. g. g. The forgotten mass grave at Fromelles, as a result, the remains of missing combatants might not be found for many years, if ever. When missing combatants are recovered and cannot be identified after a thorough forensic examination the remains are interred with a tombstone which indicates their unknown status. Although it is possible to take samples from a close relative of the missing person. It is a fact of warfare that some combatants are likely to go missing in action, however, by wearing ID tags and using modern technology the numbers involved can be considerably reduced. In addition to the military advantages, conclusively identifying the remains of missing service personnel is highly beneficial to the surviving relatives. Having positive identification makes it easier to come to terms with their loss. Otherwise, some relatives may suspect that the person is still alive somewhere. However, many of these procedures are not typically used for combatants who are members of militias, mercenary armies, insurrections. It is possible some of the combatants who took part of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC went missing in action. Certainly, the wars which followed over successive centuries created many MIAs. The list is long and includes most battles which have ever fought by any nation. This made the difficult task of identification even harder
4.
Thracians
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The Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting a large area in southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family, the study of Thracians and Thracian culture is known as Thracology. Thracians are one of the three primary groups of modern Bulgarians. The first historical record about the Thracians is found in the Iliad, the ethnonym Thracian comes from Ancient Greek Θρᾷξ or Θρᾴκιος/Ionic, Θρηίκιος, and the toponym Thrace comes from Θρᾴκη/Ion. These forms are all exonyms as applied by the Greeks, in Greek mythology, Thrax was regarded as one of the reputed sons of the god Ares. In the Alcestis, Euripides mentions that one of the names of Ares himself was Thrax since he was regarded as the patron of Thrace, the origins of the Thracians remain obscure, in the absence of written historical records. Evidence of proto-Thracians in the period depends on artifacts of material culture. Leo Klejn identifies proto-Thracians with the multi-cordoned ware culture that was pushed away from Ukraine by the advancing timber grave culture and we speak of proto-Thracians from which during the Iron Age Dacians and Thracians begin developing. Divided into separate tribes, the Thracians did not manage to form a political organization until the Odrysian state was founded in the fifth century BC. A strong Dacian state appeared in the first century BC, during the reign of King Burebista, including the Illyrians, the mountainous regions were home to various peoples regarded as warlike and ferocious Thracian tribes, while the plains peoples were apparently regarded as more peaceable. Thracians inhabited parts of the ancient provinces of Thrace, Moesia, Macedonia, Dacia, Scythia Minor, Sarmatia, Bithynia, Mysia, Pannonia, and other regions of the Balkans and Anatolia. This area extended over most of the Balkans region, and the Getae north of the Danube as far as beyond the Bug and including Panonia in the west. Aligning themselves in kingdoms and tribes, they never displayed any form of unity beyond short. Similar to the Celtic and Slavic tribes, most people are thought to have lived simply in small fortified villages, although the concept of an urban center was not developed until the Roman period, various larger fortifications which also served as regional market centers were numerous. Yet, in general, despite Greek colonization in such areas as Byzantium, Apollonia and other cities, the first Greek colonies in Thrace were founded in the eighth century BC. Thrace south of the Danube was ruled for half a century by the Persians under Darius the Great. In the first decade of the sixth century BC, the Persians invaded Thrace, Thracians were forced to join the invasions of European Scythia and Greece. According to Herodotus, the Bithynian Thracians also had to contribute a large contingent to Xerxes invasion of Greece in 480 BC, Darius left in Europe one of his commanders named Megabazus whose task was to accomplish conquests in the Balkans
5.
Gauls
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The Gauls were Celtic peoples inhabiting Gaul in the Iron Age and the Roman period. Their Gaulish language forms the branch of the Continental Celtic languages. The Gauls emerged around the 5th century BC as the bearers of the La Tène culture north of the Alps, Gaul was never united under a single ruler or government, but the Gallic tribes were capable of uniting their forces in large-scale military operations. They reached the peak of their power in the early 3rd century BC, after this, Gaul became a province of the Roman Empire, and the Gauls were culturally assimilated into a Gallo-Roman culture, losing their tribal identities by the end of the 1st century AD. The Gauls of Gallia Celtica according to the testimony of Caesar called themselves Celtae in their own language, the name Gaul itself may be derived from Latin Galli, or it may be derived from the Germanic word Walha. Gaulish culture developed out of the Celtic cultures over the first millennia BC, the Urnfield culture represents the Celts as a distinct cultural branch of the Indo-European-speaking people. The spread of iron working led to the Hallstatt culture in the 8th century BC, the Hallstatt culture evolved into the La Tène culture in around the 5th century BC. The Greek and Etruscan civilizations and colonies began to influence the Gauls especially in the Mediterranean area, Gauls under Brennus invaded Rome circa 390 BC. Following the climate deterioration in the late Nordic Bronze Age, Celtic Gaul was invaded in the 5th century BC by tribes later called Gauls originating in the Rhine valley. Gallic invaders settled the Po Valley in the 4th century BC, defeated Roman forces in a battle under Brennus in 390 BC and raided Italy as far as Sicily. A large number of Gauls served in the armies of Carthage during the Punic Wars, in the Aegean world, an invasion of Eastern Gauls appeared in Thrace, north of Greece, in 281 BC. However, according to the Roman legend of the gold of Delphi. One king Cerethrius invaded the Thracians, while another Gallic king Bolgios invaded Macedonia and Illyria where he killed the Macedonian king Ptolemy Keraunos, in 278 BC Gaulish settlers in the Balkans were invited by Nicomedes I of Bithynia to help him in a dynastic struggle against his brother. They numbered about 10,000 fighting men and about the number of women and children. They were eventually defeated by the Seleucid king Antiochus I, in a battle where the Seleucid war elephants shocked the Galatians. While the momentum of the invasion was broken, the Galatians were by no means exterminated and continued to demand tribute from the Hellenistic states of Anatolia to avoid war,4,000 Galatians were hired as mercenaries by the Ptolemaic Egyptian king Ptolemy II Philadelphus in the 270 BC. According to Pausanias, soon after arrival the Celts plotted “to seize Egypt, ”, Galatians also participated at the victorious in 217 BC Battle of Raphia under Ptolemy IV Philopator, and continued to serve as mercenaries for the Ptolemaic Dynasty until its demise in 30 BC. They sided with the renegade Seleucid prince Antiochus Hierax, who reigned in Asia Minor, after the defeat, the Galatians continued to be a serious threat to the states of Asia Minor
6.
Marcus Licinius Crassus
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Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and politician who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Amassing an enormous fortune during his life, Crassus is, exempting Augustus Caesar, Crassus began his public career as a military commander under Lucius Cornelius Sulla during his civil war. Following Sullas assumption of the dictatorship, Crassus amassed a fortune through real estate speculation. Crassus rose to prominence following his victory over the slave revolt led by Spartacus. A political and financial patron of Julius Caesar, Crassus joined Caesar, together the three men dominated the Roman political system. The alliance would not last indefinitely due to the ambitions, egos, while Caesar and Crassus were lifelong allies, Crassus and Pompey disliked each other and Pompey grew increasingly envious of Caesars spectacular successes in the Gallic Wars. The alliance was re-stabilized at the Lucca Conference in 56 BC, after which Crassus, following his second Consulship, Crassus was appointed as the Governor of Roman Syria. Crassus used Syria as the launchpad for a campaign against the Parthian Empire. Crassus campaign was a failure, resulting in his defeat. Crassus death permanently unraveled the alliance between Caesar and Pompey, within four years of Crassus death, Caesar would cross the Rubicon and begin a civil war against Pompey and the optimates. Marcus Licinius Crassus was the second of three born to the eminent senator and vir triumphalis P. Licinius Crassus. This line was not descended from the Crassi Divites, although often assumed to be, the eldest brother Publius died shortly before the Italic War and Marcus took the brothers wife as his own. This grandfather was son of P. Licinius Crassus, the latters brother C. Marcus Crassus was also a talented orator and one of the most energetic and active advocates of his time. Cinnas proscription forced Crassus to flee to Hispania, after Cinnas death in 84 BC, Crassus went to the Roman province of Africa and joined Metellus Pius, one of Sullas closest allies. Marcus Licinius Crassus next concern was to rebuild the fortunes of his family, according to Plutarchs Life of Crassus, Crassus made most of his fortune through rapine and fire. Sullas proscriptions ensured that his survivors would recoup their lost fortunes from the fortunes of wealthy adherents to Gaius Marius or Lucius Cornelius Cinna, Crassuss wealth is estimated by Pliny at approximately 200 million sestertii. Some of Crassus wealth was acquired conventionally, through traffic in slaves, production from silver mines, Crassus bought property which was confiscated in proscriptions. He notoriously purchased burnt and collapsed buildings, Plutarch wrote that observing how frequent such occurrences were, he bought slaves who were architects and builders
7.
Pompey the Great
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Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, usually known in English as Pompey /ˈpɒmpiː/ or Pompey the Great, was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He came from a wealthy Italian provincial background, and his father had been the first to establish the family among the Roman nobility, Pompeys immense success as a general while still very young enabled him to advance directly to his first consulship without meeting the normal requirements for office. His success as a commander in Sullas Second Civil War resulted in Sulla bestowing the nickname Magnus. He was consul three times and celebrated three triumphs, after the deaths of Julia and Crassus, Pompey sided with the optimates, the conservative faction of the Roman Senate. Pompey and Caesar then contended for the leadership of the Roman state, when Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, he sought refuge in Egypt, where he was assassinated. His career and defeat are significant in Romes subsequent transformation from Republic to Empire, Pompeys family first gained the position of Consul in 141 BC. Pompeys father, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, was an equestrian from Picenum. He fought the Social War against Romes Italian allies and he supported Sulla, who belonged to the optimates, the pro-aristocracy faction, against Marius, who belonged to the populares, in Sullas first civil war. He died during the siege of Rome by the Marians in 87 BC, either as a casualty of an epidemic and his twenty-year-old son Pompey inherited his estates, and the loyalty of his legions. Pompey had served two years under his fathers command, and had participated in the part of the Social War. When his father died, Pompey was put on due to accusations that his father stole public property. As his father’s heir Pompey could be held to account and he discovered that this was committed by one of his fathers freedmen. Following his preliminary bouts with his accuser, the took a liking to Pompey and offered his daughter. Another civil war broke out between the Marians and Sulla, Cassius Dio added that Pompey had sent a detachment to pursue him, but he outstripped them by crossing the River Phasis. He reached the Maeotis and stayed in the Cimmerian Bosporus and he had his son Machares, who ruled it and gone over to the Romans, killed and recovered that country. Meanwhile, Pompey set up a colony for his soldiers at Nicopolitans in Cappadocia, in Plutarchs account Pompey was invited to invade Armenia by Tigranes’ son, who rebelled against his father. The two men received the submission of several towns, when they got close Artaxata Tigranes, knowing Pompey’s leniency, surrendered and allowed a Roman garrison in his palace. Pompey offered the restitution of the Armenian territories in Syria, Phoenicia, Cilicia, Galatia and he demanded an indemnity and ruled that the son should be king of Sophene
8.
Gaius Claudius Glaber
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Gaius Claudius Glaber was a military commander of the late Roman Republic, holding the offices of legate and military praetor in 73 BC. He was defeated in a battle on Mount Vesuvius against the forces of Spartacus during the Third Servile War, Glaber was a member of a Roman plebeian family. He probably had very distant familial connections to the Claudian clan, Glaber, who was one of eight elected praetors in 73 BC, is only mentioned by classical historians in connection with his disastrous military leadership against Spartacus. They note his force of Roman militia was destroyed because he was unable to adapt to the unorthodox tactics. After Glaber besieged the slaves on slopes of Mount Vesuvius, he failed to anticipate what they would do next, Spartacus forces used rappelling lines made from local vegetation to scale down the cliffs on the other side of the mountain. They then outflanked Glabers militia, annihilating his forces, Roman records make no further mention of Glaber after this defeat. It is not known whether he was killed during the battle, classics scholar Barry S. Strauss noted that his obscurity might also have been another sign of how little attention the Roman Senate gave Spartacus in 73 BC. In contrast to other versions, Glaber is portrayed as Spartacus personal enemy who is responsible for making him a slave, ancient sources mentioning Glaber include, Sallust, Histories 3. 90-93 Maurenbrecher. Livy, Periochae 95 Plutarch, Crassus 8-9 Frontinus, Strategemata 1.5.21 Appian, Civil Wars 1.116 Florus, Epitome 2.8.4 Broughton, T. Robert S. Magistrates of the Roman Republic, slavery and Rebellion in the Roman World
9.
Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus
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Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus, younger brother of the more famous Lucius Licinius Lucullus, was a supporter of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and consul of ancient Rome in 73 BC. As proconsul of Macedonia in 72 BC, he defeated the Bessi in Thrace and advanced to the Danube, in addition, he was marginally involved in the Third Servile War. Born in Rome as Marcus Licinius Lucullus, he was adopted by an otherwise unknown Marcus Terentius Varro. As a result of the adoption, his official name, as quoted in inscriptions. By birth, Marcus Lucullus was a member of a prominent plebeian family and he was the grandson of the consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus. His father, Lucius Licinius Lucullus, had reached the praetorship and could boast military successes in the oppression of the slaves in Lucania, in 101 BC, however, the older Lucullus career was cut short when he was convicted of embezzlement. The mother of Marcus and Lucius Lucullus, Caecilia Metella Calva, was related to two of the most influential men of his time. Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the dictator, married her niece, Caecilia Metella Dalmatica, in the early 90s, young Marcus and his brother Lucius unsuccessfully prosecuted Servilius the Augur. This man had earlier functioned as the prosecutor in the trial for embezzlement that sent their father, when Sulla returned from the East in the spring of 83 BC to fight the Marians, Marcus Lucullus, like his brother Lucius, joined Sullas forces. He served under his cousin, the proconsul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, at Fidentia, he commanded 15 cohorts and managed to defeat a superior force of 50 cohorts under Gnaeus Papirius Carbo’s legate Quinctius of which his troops killed 1,800 men. Probably at the suggestion of his first cousin, the Pontifex Maximus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, Marcus Lucullus was nominated for and this may have happened when Sulla expanded the Pontifical College from 9 to 15 members in 81 BC. Membership in one of the four major priestly colleges was an honor that was considered almost equal to winning a consulship and their aedileship was distinguished by games which Cicero much later still remembered for their splendor. Among other things, the brothers introduced revolving backdrops for the stage that they had built for theatrical performances. Moreover, they were the first to pit an elephant against a steer in the arena, elected praetor peregrinus, the praetor in charge of court cases involving non-Roman citizens, for 76 BC, Marcus Lucullus presided over one cause célèbre, the trial against Gaius Antonius Hybrida. Antonius had enriched himself shamelessly as a legate of Sulla in Greece during the First Mithridatic War, the prosecutor, the young Julius Caesar, won a conviction. Antonius managed, however, to have his conviction overturned by appealing to the peoples tribunes, because, as he said, he could not get a fair trial in Rome against a Greek man. As consul in 73 BC, he passed a law that provided subsidized grain for indigent Roman citizens, after his consulship, Marcus Lucullus became governor of the important province of Macedonia. He used his tenure to lead a campaign against a neighboring tribe
10.
Militia
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For instance, the members of some U. S. Army National Guard units are considered professional soldiers, as they are trained to maintain the same standards as their full-time counterparts. Militias thus can be military or paramilitary, depending on the instance, some of the contexts in which the term militia is used include, Forces engaged in defense activity or service, to protect a community, its territory, property, and laws. The entire able-bodied population of a community, town, county, or state, a subset of these who may be legally penalized for failing to respond to a call-up. A subset of these who actually respond to a call-up, regardless of legal obligation, a private, non-government force, not necessarily directly supported or sanctioned by its government. An irregular armed force enabling its leader to exercise military, economic, an official reserve army, composed of citizen soldiers. Called by various names in different countries, such as the Army Reserve, National Guard, the national police forces in several former communist states such as the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries, but also in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia. The term was inherited in Russia and other former CIS countries, in France the equivalent term Milice has become tainted due to its use by notorious collaborators with Nazi Germany. A select militia is composed of a small, non-representative portion of the population, as regular military forces were insufficient to counter the British attackers, Santiago de Liniers drafted all males in the city capable of bearing arms into the military. These recruits included the peoples, who ranked low down in the social hierarchy. With these reinforcements, the British armies were twice defeated, the militias became a strong factor in the politics of the city afterwards, as a springboard from which the criollos could manifest their political ambitions. They were a key element in the success of the May Revolution, a decree by Mariano Moreno derogated the system of promotions involving criollos, allowing instead their promotion on military merit. The Argentine Civil War was waged by militias again, as both federalists and unitarians drafted common people into their ranks as part of ongoing conflicts and these irregular armies were organized at a provincial level, and assembled as leagues depending on political pacts. This system had declined by the 1870s, mainly due to the establishment of the modern Argentine Army, provincial militias were outlawed and decimated by the new army throughout the presidential terms of Mitre, Sarmiento, Avellaneda and Roca. Armenian militia also played a role in the Georgia-Abkhazia War of 1992–1993, in the Colony of New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie proposed a colonial militia but the idea was rejected. Governor Ralph Darling felt a mounted force was more efficient than a militia. A military volunteer movement attracted wide interest during the Crimean War, following Federation, the various military reserve forces of the Commonwealth of Australia became the Citizen Military Force. In the beginning, members didnt have uniforms and often paraded in business attire and they were given instruction on guerrilla warfare, and later the private organization was taken over by the Australian Government and became part of the Australian Military Forces. After World War I, multiple militias formed as soldiers returned home to their villages, only to many of them occupied by Slovene
11.
Roman legion
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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
12.
Decimation (Roman army)
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Decimation was a form of military discipline used by senior commanders in the Roman Army to punish units or large groups guilty of capital offences, such as mutiny or desertion. The word decimation is derived from Latin meaning removal of a tenth, the procedure was a pragmatic attempt to balance the need to punish serious offences with the realities of managing a large group of offenders. A cohort selected for punishment by decimation was divided into groups of ten, each group drew lots, and the soldier on whom the lot fell was executed by his nine comrades, often by stoning or clubbing. The remaining soldiers were given rations of barley instead of wheat for a few days. Because the punishment fell by lot, all soldiers in a group sentenced to decimation were potentially liable for execution, regardless of individual degrees of fault, rank, or distinction. The earliest documented decimation occurred in 471 BC during the Roman Republics early wars against the Volsci and is recorded by Livy. Polybius gives one of the first descriptions of the practice in the early 3rd century BC, the officers reject the idea of bludgeoning or slaughtering all the men involved. And these men who are chosen by lot are bludgeoned mercilessly in the described above. The practice was revived by Marcus Licinius Crassus in 71 BC during the Third Servile War against Spartacus, the number of men killed through decimation is not known, but it varies between 1,000, or a cohort of around 480-500 men, meaning that 48-50 were killed. Julius Caesar threatened to decimate the 9th Legion during the war against Pompey, plutarch describes the process in his work Life of Antony. After a defeat in Media, Antony was furious and employed the punishment known as decimation on those who had lost their nerve. What he did was divide the lot of them into groups of ten, and then he killed one from each group, who was chosen by lot. Decimation was still being practised during the time of the Roman Empire, according to legend, the Theban Legion, led by Saint Maurice, was decimated in the third century AD. The Legion had refused, to a man, to accede to an order of the Emperor, and they became known as the Martyrs of Agaunum. The Byzantine Emperor Maurice forbade in his Strategikon the decimatio and other brutal punishments, according to him, punishments where the rank and file see their comrades dying by the hands of their own brothers-in-arms could lead to a collapse of morale. Moreover, it could seriously deplete the manpower of the fighting unit, during the Battle of Breitenfeld, near Leipzig, one of the many battles of the Thirty Years War, Colonel Madlons cavalry regiment was the first that fled without striking a blow. This was followed by the flight of other cavalry units. Archduke Leopold Wilhelm assembled a court-martial in Prague which sentenced the Madlon regiment to exemplary punishment
13.
Sulla's first civil war
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Sullas first civil war was one of a series of civil wars in ancient Rome, between Gaius Marius and Sulla, between 88 and 87 BC. This was also the first in a succession of internal conflicts. The Social War was, in part, caused by the assassination of Marcus Livius Drusus the Younger. His reforms were intended to grant to the Roman allies in Italy full Roman citizenship, when Drusus was assassinated, most of his reforms addressing these grievances were declared invalid. This declaration greatly angered the Roman provincials, and in consequence, at the beginning of the Social War, the Roman aristocracy and Senate began fearing Marius ambition, which had already given him six consulships from 104 BC to 100 BC. They felt determined that he should not have command of the war in Italy. In this last rebellion of the Italian allies, Sulla served with brilliance as a general and he outshone both Marius and the consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo. For example, in 89 BC Sulla captured Aeclanum, the town of Hirpini. As a result of his success in bringing the Social War to a conclusion, he was elected consul for the first time in 88 BC. As the consul of Rome, Sulla prepared to once more for the East to fight against King Mithridates VI of Pontus. Marius convinced the tribune Publius Sulpicius Rufus to call an assembly, Sulpicius also used the assemblies to eject Senators from the Roman Senate until there were not enough senators to form a quorum. Sulla was forced to take refuge in Marius house, and possibly made a plea to stop the violence. Sullas own son-in-law was killed in those riots, Sulla fled Rome and went to the camp of his victorious Social War veterans, waiting to cross to Greece from the south of Italy. Sulla then took six of his most loyal legions and marched on Rome and this action was an unprecedented event. No general before him had ever crossed the city limits, the pomerium and it was so unethical that most of his senatorial officers refused to accompany him. A force of armed gladiators raised by the Marians failed to resist Sullas organized military force and Marius, Sulla and his supporters in the Senate passed a death sentence on Marius, Sulpicius and a few other allies of Marius. A few men were executed, but Marius narrowly escaped capture and death on several occasions, after restructuring the citys politics and with the Senates power strengthened, Sulla returned to his camp and proceeded with the original plan of fighting Mithridates in Pontus. Sulpicius was betrayed and killed by one of his slaves, whom Sulla subsequently freed then executed, Marius, however, fled to safety in Africa
14.
Sulla's second civil war
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Sullas second civil war was one of a series of civil wars of ancient Rome. It was fought between Lucius Cornelius Sulla and Gaius Marius the younger in 82 BC, Sulla had achieved temporary control of Rome and Mariuss exile to Africa through his first march on Rome, but departed soon afterwards to lead the First Mithridatic War. Based on the orders of Marius, some of his soldiers went through Rome killing the leading supporters of Sulla and their heads were exhibited in the Forum. After five days, Cinna ordered his more disciplined troops to kill Mariuss rampaging soldiers, all told some 100 Roman nobles had been murdered. Marius declared Sullas reforms and laws invalid, officially exiled Sulla and had elected to Sullas eastern command and himself. Marius died a fortnight after and Cinna was left in control of Rome. Having managed this achievement, the Marians sent out Lucius Valerius Flaccus with an army to relieve Sulla of his command in the east, Flaccus had been given as second in command Gaius Flavius Fimbria, an individual that history records had few virtues. He was to agitate against his commanding officer and incite the troops to murder Flaccus. In the meantime, the two Roman armies camped next to other and Sulla, not for the first time. Many deserted to Sulla before Flaccus packed up and moved on north to threaten Mithridates’ northern dominions, in the meantime Sulla moved to intercept the new Pontic army and end the war at Orchomenus. With Mithridates defeated and Cinna now dead in a mutiny, Sulla was determined to control of Rome. In 83 BC he landed uncontested at Brundisium with three veteran legions, as soon as he had set foot in Italy, the outlawed nobles and old Sullan supporters who had survived the Marian regime flocked to his banner. The consular Lucius Marcius Philippus also joined Sulla and led a force which secured Sardinia for the Sullan cause, with these reinforcements Sullas army swelled to around 50,000 men, and with his loyal legions he began his second march on Rome. To check his enemies unresisted advance, Gnaeus Papirius Carbo sent his newly elected puppet Consuls, Gaius Norbanus and Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, eager not to appear a war-hungry invader, Sulla sent deputations to Norbanus offering to negotiate, but these were rejected. Norbanus then moved to block Sullas advance at Canusium and became the first to him in the Battle of Mount Tifata. Here Sulla inflicted a defeat on the Marians, with Norbanus losing six thousand of his men to Sullas seventy. The beaten Norbanus withdrew with the remnants of his army to Capua and Sulla was stopped in his pursuit by the second Consul, but Scipios men were unwilling to fight and when Sulla approached they deserted en masse to him, further swelling his ranks. The Consul and his son were found cowering in their tents and brought to Sulla, however, immediately after their release Scipio broke his promise and went straight to Carbo in Rome
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Second Catilinarian conspiracy
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In 63 BC, Cicero exposed the plot, forcing Catiline to flee from Rome. The conspiracy was chronicled by Sallust in his work The Conspiracy of Catiline, Catiline had been an unsuccessful candidate in the consular election several times. His only remaining chance of attaining the consulship would be through an illegitimate means, so he started a conspiracy, winning the support of a great number of other men of senatorial and equestrian rank. Many of the leading conspirators had faced political problems similar to his in the Senate. Publius Autronius Paetus was also complicit in their plot, since he was banned from holding office in the Roman government. Another leading conspirator, Lucius Cassius Longinus, who was praetor in 66 BC with Cicero, by the time that the election came around, he was no longer even regarded as a viable candidate. Gaius Cethegus, a young man at the time of the conspiracy, was noted for his violent nature. His impatience for rapid political advancement may account for his involvement in the conspiracy, the ranks of the conspirators included a variety of other patricians and plebeians who had been cast out of the political system for various reasons. Many of them sought the restoration of their status as senators, promoting his policy of debt relief, Catiline initially also rallied many of the poor to his banner along with a large portion of Sulla’s veterans. Debt had never been greater than in 63 BC since the decades of war had led to an era of economic downturn across the Italian countryside. Numerous plebeian farmers lost their farms and were forced to move to the city, sullas veterans were in bad economic straits as well. Desiring to regain their fortunes, they were prepared to march to war under the banner of the next Sulla, thus, many of the plebs eagerly flocked to Catiline and supported him in the hope of the absolution of their debts. Catiline sent Gaius Manlius, a centurion from Sulla’s old army, others were sent to aid the conspiracy in important locations throughout Italy, and even a small slave revolt which had begun in Capua. While civil unrest was felt throughout the countryside, Catiline made the preparations for the conspiracy in Rome. Their plans included arson and the murder of a portion of the senators. Finally, they would return to Rome and take control of the government, fortunately for Cicero, he escaped death that morning by placing guards at the entrance of his house who scared the conspirators away. On the following day, Cicero convened the Senate in the Temple of Jupiter Stator, however, some sources suggest that the Senate didnt believe Cicero at all. He finally accused them of placing their faith in a homo novus, Cicero, over a nobilis, supposedly, Catiline violently concluded that he would put out his own fire with the general destruction of all
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Caesar's Civil War
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The Great Roman Civil War, also known as Caesars Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire. The changes to Roman government concomitant to the war eliminated the political traditions of the Roman Republic. The First Triumvirate, comprising Julius Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey, ascended to power with Caesars election as consul, the First Triumvirate was unofficial, a political alliance the substance of which was Pompeys military might, Caesars political influence, and Crassus money. The alliance was further consolidated by Pompeys marriage to Julia, daughter of Caesar, at the conclusion of Caesars first consulship, the Senate tasked him with watching over the Roman forests. This job, specially created by his Senate enemies, was meant to him without giving him command of armies, or garnering him wealth. Caesar, with the help of Pompey and Crassus, evaded the Senates decrees by legislation passed through the popular assemblies, by these acts, Caesar was promoted to Roman Governor of Illyricum and Cisalpine Gaul. The various governorships gave Caesar command of an army of four legions, the term of his proconsulship, and thus his immunity from prosecution, was set at five years, rather than the customary one year. His term was extended by another five years. During this ten-year period, Caesar used his forces to conquer Gaul and invade Britain. In 52 BC, at the First Triumvirates end, the Roman Senate supported Pompey as sole consul, meanwhile, Caesar had become a military hero and champion of the people. Knowing he hoped to become consul when his governorship expired, the Senate, politically fearful of him, in December of 50 BC, Caesar wrote to the Senate agreeing to resign his military command if Pompey followed suit. Offended, the Senate demanded he immediately disband his army, or be declared an enemy of the people, a secondary reason for Caesars immediate want for another consulship was delaying the inevitable senatorial prosecutions awaiting him upon retirement as governor of Illyricum and Gaul. These potential prosecutions were based upon alleged irregularities that occurred in his consulship, moreover, Caesar loyalists, the tribunes Mark Antony and Quintus Cassius Longinus, vetoed the bill, and were quickly expelled from the Senate. They then joined Caesar, who had assembled his army, whom he asked for support against the Senate, agreeing. The proscription protected the Roman Republic from a coup détat, thus and this act of war on the Roman Republic by Caesar led to widespread approval amongst the Roman civilians, who regarded him as a hero. The historical records differ about which decisive comment Caesar made on crossing the Rubicon, Caesars march on Rome was a triumphal progress. The Senate, not knowing that Caesar possessed only a single legion, feared the worst, Pompey declared that Rome could not be defended, he escaped to Capua with those politicians who supported him, the aristocratic Optimates and the regnant consuls. Cicero later characterised Pompeys outward sign of weakness as allowing Caesars consolidation of power, as Caesar progressed southwards, Pompey retreated towards Brundisium, initially ordering Domitius to stop Caesars movement on Rome from the direction of the Adriatic seaboard
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Liberators' civil war
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The Liberators civil war was started by the Second Triumvirate to avenge Julius Caesars murder. The war was fought by the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian against the forces of Caesars assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus in 42 BC. After the murder of Caesar, Brutus and Cassius had left Italy and taken control of all Eastern provinces, in Rome the three main Caesarian leaders, who controlled almost all the Roman army in the west, had crushed the opposition of the senate and established the second triumvirate. One of their first tasks was to destroy the Liberators’ forces, not only to get control of the Roman world. The triumvirs decided to leave Lepidus in Italy, while the two partners of the triumvirate moved to Northern Greece with their best troops. In 42 BC Gaius Norbanus Flaccus and Decidius Saxa, were sent by the triumvirs with an eight legions strong advance guard into Macedonia against the murderers of Julius Caesar, in the neighborhood of Philippi, Norbanus and Saxa met the combined advancing troops of Cassius and Brutus. As they were outnumbered, Norbanus and Saxa occupied a position near Philipi which prevented the republicans from advancing any further, by a ruse, Brutus and Cassius managed to make Norbanus leave this position, but Norbanus discovered the ruse in time to recover the dominating position. When Brutus and Cassius managed to outflank them, Norbanus and Saxa retreated toward Amphipolis, when Marc Antony and the bulk of the triumvirs troops arrived, they found Amphipolis well guarded and Norbanus was left in command of the town. The triumvirs brought 19 legions to the battlefield, Appian reports that the triumvirs legions were almost at full-ranks. Furthermore, they had a large allied cavalry force, the Liberators army had seventeen legions. Only two of the legions were at full ranks, but the army was reinforced by levies from the Eastern allied kingdoms, Appian reports that the army mustered a total of about 80,000 foot-soldiers. Allied cavalry included a total of 17,000 horsemen, including 5,000 bowmen mounted in the Eastern fashion and this army included Caesars old legions present in the East, thus much of the Liberators army was made up of former Caesarean veterans. However, at least the XXXVI legion consisted of old Pompeian veterans, the loyalty of the soldiers who were supposed to fight against Caesar’s heir was a delicate issue for the Liberators. Cassius tried in all ways to reinforce the soldiers loyalty both with strong speeches and with a gift of 1,500 denari for each legionary and 7,500 for each centurion. The Battle of Philippi consisted of two engagements in the plain to the west of the ancient city of Philippi, the first occurred in the first week of October, Brutus faced Octavian, while Antonys forces were up against those of Cassius. At first, Brutus pushed back Octavian and entered his legions camp, but to the south, Antony defeated Cassius, and Cassius, hearing a false report of Brutus failure, committed suicide. Brutus rallied Cassiuss remaining troops and both sides ordered their army to retreat to their camps with their spoils, and the battle was essentially a draw, but for Cassius suicide. On the same day of the first battle of Philippi the Republican fleet, patrolling the Ionian Sea was able to intercept, the triumvirs had to send a legion south to Achaia to collect more supplies
18.
Sicilian revolt
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The Sicilian revolt was a revolt against the Second Triumvirate of the Roman Republic which occurred between 44 BC and 36 BC. The revolt was led by Sextus Pompey, and ended in a Triumvirate victory, Sextus father, Pompey, had been an enemy of Julius Caesar for many years, and this enmity finally boiled over in 49 BC with the beginning of Caesars Civil War. Pompey was executed in 48 BC by the Egyptians, but Sextus and his brother, Gnaeus Pompeius, continued fighting until 45 BC, after Munda Sextus brother was executed but Sextus himself escaped to Sicily. When Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15,44 BC, Sextus name was placed on a proscription list formed by Marcus Lepidus, Marcus Antonius, and Octavian, the members of the Second Triumvirate. The list was designed not only to fill Romes treasury, but to help in the Second Triumvirates war on the Cassii and Bruti families, upon finding his name upon this list, Sextus decided to pick up where his father had left off. He selected Sicily as his base, capturing cities, including Tyndaris, Mylae. Other cities, such as Syracuse, gave in to Sextus revolt, Sextus soon became a serious force in the civil war following Caesars death. He amassed an army and a large fleet of warships. Many slaves and friends of his father joined his cause, hoping to preserve the Roman Republic, the multitudes of slaves joining Sextus often came from the villas of patricians, and this desertion hurt the Romans so much that the Vestal Virgins prayed for it to stop. This blockade was severely crippling to the Roman army as well as to the Italian Peninsula, Sextus agreed, and also agreed to stop accepting fugitive slaves to his cause. This treaty was called the Pact of Misenum after Misenum where it was negotiated, in 42 BC, the Triumvirate defeated Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus at the Battle of Philippi. Once the blockade was ended, the Triumvirate, especially Octavian and his right-hand man Marcus Agrippa, were able to turn their energies to Sextus, Octavian tried to invade Sicily in 38 BC, but the ships were forced to go back because of bad weather. Agrippa cut part of Via Ercolana and dug a channel to connect the Lucrine Lake to the sea, in order to change it into a harbour, the new harbour was used to train the ships for naval battles. A new fleet was built, with 20,000 oarsmen gathered by freeing slaves, the new ships were built much larger, in order to carry many more naval infantry units, which were being trained at the same time. Furthermore, Antony exchanged 20,000 infantry for his Parthian campaign with 120 ships, in July 36 BC the two fleets sailed from Italy, and another fleet, provided by the third triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, sailed from Africa, to attack Sextus stronghold in Sicily. In August, Agrippa was able to finally defeat Sextus in a battle near Mylae. At Naulochus, Agrippa met Sextus fleet, both fleets were composed of 300 ships, all with artillery, but Agrippa commanded heavier units, armed with the arpax and corvus. Agrippa succeeded in blocking the more manoeuvrable ships of Sextus and, after a long and bloody fight, Agrippa lost three ships, while 28 ships of Sextus were sunk,17 fled, and the others burnt or captured
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Final War of the Roman Republic
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After the Roman Senate declared war on the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, Antony, her lover and ally, betrayed the Roman government and joined the war on Cleopatra’s side. After the decisive victory for Octavian at the Battle of Actium, Cleopatra and Antony withdrew to Alexandria, following the end of the war, Octavian brought peace to the Roman state that had been plagued by a century of civil wars. Octavian became the most powerful man in the Roman world and the Senate bestowed upon him the name of Augustus in 27 BC, Octavian, now Augustus, would be the first Roman Emperor and would transform the oligarchic/democratic Republic into the autocratic Roman Empire. The last Republican Civil War would mark the beginning of the Pax Romana, the Caesarians Octavian, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus under the Second Triumvirate had stepped in to fill the power vacuum caused by Julius Caesars assassination. Octavian took control of the west, including Hispania, Gaul, Italia, Antony received control of the east, including Graecia, Asia, Syria and Aegyptus. For a time, Rome saw peace, Octavian put down revolts in the west while Antony reorganized the east, however, the peace was short lived. Antony had been having an affair with the queen of Egypt, Rome, especially Octavian, took note of Antony’s actions. Since 40 BC, Antony had been married to Octavia Minor, Octavian seized the opportunity and had his minister Gaius Maecenas produce a propaganda campaign against Antony. All of Rome felt astonished when they heard word of Antony’s Donations of Alexandria, in these donations, Antony ceded much of Rome’s territory in the east to Cleopatra. Cleopatra took the title of Queen of Kings and Caesarion took the title of King of Kings, in response, Octavian increased the personal attacks against Antony, but the Senate and people of Rome were not convinced. Octavian’s chance came when Antony married Cleopatra in 32 BC before he divorced Octavia and that action combined with information that Antony was planning to establish a second Senate in Alexandria created the perfect environment for Octavian to strip Antony of his power. Octavian summoned the Senate and accused Antony of anti-Roman sentiments, Octavian had illegally seized Antony’s will from the Temple of Vesta. The Senators were not moved by Caesarion or Antony’s children but Antony’s desire to be buried outside of Rome invoked the Senate’s rage, Octavian, the natural politician he was, blamed Cleopatra and not Antony. The Senate declared war on Cleopatra, and Octavian knew that Antony would come to her aid, when Cleopatra received word that Rome had declared war, Antony threw his support to Egypt. Immediately, the Senate stripped Antony of all his power and labeled him as an outlaw. Octavian summoned all of his legions, numbered at almost 200,000 Roman legionaries, Cleopatra and Antony did the same, assembling roughly the same number in mixed heavy Roman and light Egyptian infantry. By mid-summer of 31 BC, Antony maneuvered his army into Greece, Octavian brought with him his chief military advisor and closest friend Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa to command his naval forces. Although the ground forces were comparable, Octavians fleet was superior, Antonys fleet was made up of large vessels, but with inexperienced crews and commanders
20.
Plutarch
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Plutarch was a Greek biographer and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist, Plutarchs surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers. Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the town of Chaeronea, about 80 km east of Delphi. The name of Plutarchs father has not been preserved, but based on the common Greek custom of repeating a name in alternate generations, the name of Plutarchs grandfather was Lamprias, as he attested in Moralia and in his Life of Antony. His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are mentioned in his essays and dialogues. Rualdus, in his 1624 work Life of Plutarchus, recovered the name of Plutarchs wife, Timoxena, from internal evidence afforded by his writings. A letter is still extant, addressed by Plutarch to his wife, bidding her not to grieve too much at the death of their two-year-old daughter, interestingly, he hinted at a belief in reincarnation in that letter of consolation. The exact number of his sons is not certain, although two of them, Autobulus and the second Plutarch, are often mentioned. Plutarchs treatise De animae procreatione in Timaeo is dedicated to them, another person, Soklarus, is spoken of in terms which seem to imply that he was Plutarchs son, but this is nowhere definitely stated. Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy at the Academy of Athens under Ammonius from 66 to 67, at some point, Plutarch took Roman citizenship. He lived most of his life at Chaeronea, and was initiated into the mysteries of the Greek god Apollo. For many years Plutarch served as one of the two priests at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the site of the famous Delphic Oracle, twenty miles from his home. By his writings and lectures Plutarch became a celebrity in the Roman Empire, yet he continued to reside where he was born, at his country estate, guests from all over the empire congregated for serious conversation, presided over by Plutarch in his marble chair. Many of these dialogues were recorded and published, and the 78 essays, Plutarch held the office of archon in his native municipality, probably only an annual one which he likely served more than once. He busied himself with all the matters of the town. The Suda, a medieval Greek encyclopedia, states that Emperor Trajan made Plutarch procurator of Illyria, however, most historians consider this unlikely, since Illyria was not a procuratorial province, and Plutarch probably did not speak Illyrian. Plutarch spent the last thirty years of his serving as a priest in Delphi. He thus connected part of his work with the sanctuary of Apollo, the processes of oracle-giving
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Italia (Roman province)
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Roman Italy was created officially by the Roman emperor Augustus with the Latin name Italia. It was the first time in history that the Italian Peninsula was united under the same name, in the year 292, the three islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily were added to Roman Italy by Diocletian. Roman Italy remained united until the sixth century, when it was divided between the Byzantine Empire and territories of the Germanic peoples, since then, Italia remained divided for nearly thirteen centuries until 1861 when it was reunited in a similar way in the modern Kingdom of Italy. Italy was the name of the division of the Italian Peninsula during the Roman era. It was not a province, but became the territory of the city of Rome, following the end of the Social War, Rome had allowed its Italian allies full rights in Roman society and granted the Roman citizenship to all the Italic peoples. Although not founded as a city in 330, Constantinople gained in importance. It finally gained the rank of capital when given an urban prefect in 359. In 402, the capital was moved to Ravenna from Milan, the name Italia covered an area whose borders evolved over time. Under Augustus, the peoples of todays Aosta Valley and of the western and northern Alps were subjugated, and the Italian eastern border was brought to the Arsia in Istria. Finally, in the late 3rd century, Italy came to include the islands of Corsica and Sardinia and Sicily, as well as Raetia, the city of Emona was the easternmost town of Italy. At the beginning of the era, Italy was a collection of territories with different political statuses. Some cities, called municipia, had independence from Rome, while others. The Italian economy flourished, agriculture, handicraft and industry had a sensible growth, the Italian population may have grown as well, three census were ordered by Augustus, to record the number of Roman citizens throughout the empire. The surviving totals were 4,063,000 in 28 BC,4,233,000 in 8 BC, and 4,937,000 in AD14, but it is still debated whether these counted all citizens, all adult male citizens, or citizens sui iuris. During the Crisis of the Third Century the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the pressures of invasions, military anarchy and civil wars. In 284, emperor Diocletian restored political stability and he carried out thorough administrative reforms to maintain order. He created the so-called Tetrarchy whereby the empire was ruled by four co-emperors and he decreased the size of the Roman provinces by doubling their number to reduce the power of the provincial governors. He grouped the provinces into several dioceses and put them under the supervision of the imperial vicarius, during the Crisis of the Third Century the importance of Rome declined because she was far from the troubled frontiers
22.
Gladiator
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A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their lives and their legal and social standing by appearing in the arena, most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death. Irrespective of their origin, gladiators offered spectators an example of Romes martial ethics and, in fighting or dying well, they could inspire admiration and popular acclaim. They were celebrated in high and low art, and their value as entertainers was commemorated in precious, the origin of gladiatorial combat is open to debate. There is evidence of it in funeral rites during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC and its popularity led to its use in ever more lavish and costly games. The gladiator games lasted for nearly a thousand years, reaching their peak between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. The games finally declined during the early 5th century after the adoption of Christianity as state church of the Roman Empire in 380, early literary sources seldom agree on the origins of gladiators and the gladiator games. In the late 1st century BC, Nicolaus of Damascus believed they were Etruscan, a generation later, Livy wrote that they were first held in 310 BC by the Campanians in celebration of their victory over the Samnites. This was accepted and repeated in most early modern, standard histories of the games, reappraisal of pictorial evidence supports a Campanian origin, or at least a borrowing, for the games and gladiators. Campania hosted the earliest known gladiator schools, tomb frescoes from the Campanian city of Paestum show paired fighters, with helmets, spears and shields, in a propitiatory funeral blood-rite that anticipates early Roman gladiator games. Compared to these images, supporting evidence from Etruscan tomb-paintings is tentative, the Paestum frescoes may represent the continuation of a much older tradition, acquired or inherited from Greek colonists of the 8th century BC. This is described as a munus, a duty owed the manes of a dead ancestor by his descendants. The war in Samnium, immediately afterwards, was attended with equal danger, the enemy, besides their other warlike preparation, had made their battle-line to glitter with new and splendid arms. There were two corps, the shields of the one were inlaid with gold, of the other with silver, the Dictator, as decreed by the senate, celebrated a triumph, in which by far the finest show was afforded by the captured armour. His plain Romans virtuously dedicate the magnificent spoils of war to the Gods and their Campanian allies stage a dinner entertainment using gladiators who may not be Samnites, but play the Samnite role. Other groups and tribes would join the cast list as Roman territories expanded, most gladiators were armed and armoured in the manner of the enemies of Rome. The munus became a morally instructive form of historic enactment in which the only option for the gladiator was to fight well. In 216 BC, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, late consul and augur, was honoured by his sons with three days of gladiatora munera in the Forum Romanum, using pairs of gladiators
23.
Capua
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Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now, the name of Capua comes from the Etruscan Capeva. The meaning is City of Marshes and its foundation is attributed by Cato the Elder to the Etruscans, and the date given as about 260 years before it was taken by Rome. If this is true it refers not to its capture in the Second Punic War but to its submission to Rome in 338 BC, placing the date of foundation at about 600 BC, while Etruscan power was at its highest. In the area several settlements of the Villanovian civilization were present in prehistoric times, Etruscan supremacy in Campania came to an end with the Samnite invasion in the latter half of the 5th century BC. About 424 BC it was captured by the Samnites and in 343 BC besought Roman help against its conquerors, the citizens of Capua received the civitas sine suffragio. In the second Samnite War with Rome, Capua proved an untrustworthy Roman ally, so that after the defeat of the Samnites and it was the capital of Campania Felix. In 312 BC, Capua was connected with Rome by the construction of the Via Appia, the most important of the military highways of Italy. The gate by which it left the Servian walls of Rome bore the name Porta Capena, livy and others have suggested that the luxurious conditions were Hannibals Cannae because his troops became soft and demoralized by luxurious living. Historians from Bosworth Smith onwards have been skeptical of this, observing that his troops gave as good an account of themselves in battle after that winter as before. Considerable difficulties occurred in preventing illegal encroachments by private persons, and it was, after that period, let, not to large but to small proprietors. Frequent attempts were made by the leaders to divide the land among new settlers. Brutus in 83 BC actually succeeded in establishing a colony, but it was soon dissolved, the town of Capua belonged to none of these organizations, and was entirely dependent on the praefecti. Its luxury remained proverbial, and Campania is especially spoken of as the home of gladiatorial combats, from the gladiatorial schools of Campania came Spartacus and his followers in 73 BC. The number of colonists was increased by Mark Antony, Augustus, in the war of 69 it took the side of Vitellius. Under Constantine we hear of the foundation of a Christian church in Capua, in 456 it was taken and destroyed by the Vandals under Gaiseric, but must have been soon rebuilt. During the Gothic War, Capua suffered greatly, when the Lombards invaded Italy in the second half of the 6th century, Capua was ravaged, later, it was included in the Duchy of Benevento, and ruled by an official styled gastald. In 839, the prince of Benevento, Sicard, was assassinated by Radelchis I of Benevento, sicards brother Siconulf was proclaimed independent prince in Salerno and the gastald of Capua declared himself independent
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Campania
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Campania is a region in Southern Italy. Located on the Italian Peninsula, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west, it includes the small Phlegraean Islands, Campania was colonised by Ancient Greeks and was part of Magna Græcia. During the Roman era, the area maintained a Greco-Roman culture, the capital city of Campania is Naples. Campania is rich in culture, especially in regard to gastronomy, music, architecture, archeological and ancient sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum and Velia. The name of Campania itself is derived from Latin, as the Romans knew the region as Campania felix, the rich natural sights of Campania make it highly important in the tourism industry, especially along the Amalfi Coast, Mount Vesuvius and the island of Capri. During the 8th century BC, people from Euboea in Greece, known as Cumaeans, another Oscan tribe, the Samnites, moved down from central Italy into Campania. The Roman consul Quintus Publilius Filo recaptured Neapolis by 326 BC, the Second Samnite War ended with the Romans controlling southern Campania and additional regions further to the south. Campania was a part of the Roman Republic by the end of the 4th century BC, valued for its pastures. Its Greek language and customs made it a centre of Hellenistic civilization, during the Pyrrhic War the battle took place in Campania at Maleventum in which the Romans, led by consul Curius Dentatus, were victorious. They renamed the city Beneventum, which grew in stature until it was only to Capua in southern Italy. During the Second Punic War in 216 BC, Capua, in a bid for equality with Rome, the rebellious Capuans were isolated from the rest of Campania, which remained allies of Rome. Naples resisted Hannibal due to the imposing walls, Capua was eventually starved into submission in the Roman retaking of 211 BC, and the Romans were victorious. The rest of Campania, with the exception of Naples, adopted the Latin language as official and was Romanised. As part of the Roman Empire, Campania, with Latium, Roman Emperors chose Campania as a holiday destination, among them Claudius and Tiberius, the latter of whom is infamously linked to the island of Capri. It was also during this period that Christianity came to Campania, Two of the apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, are said to have preached in the city of Naples, and there were also several martyrs during this time. Unfortunately, the period of calm was violently interrupted by the epic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 which buried the cities of Pompeii. The area had many duchies and principalities during the Middle Ages, in the hands of the Byzantine Empire, under the Normans, the smaller independent states were brought together as part of the Kingdom of Sicily, before the mainland broke away to form the Kingdom of Naples. It was during this period elements of Spanish, French
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Consul
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Consul was the title of one of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently a somewhat significant title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other city states and also revived in modern states. The relating adjective is consular, from the consularis, in modern terminology, a consul is a type of diplomat. The American Heritage Dictionary defines consul as an appointed by a government to reside in a foreign country. Throughout most of southern France, a consul was an equivalent to the échevins of the north. The most prominent were those of Bordeaux and Toulouse, which came to be known as jurats and capitouls, the capitouls of Toulouse were granted transmittable nobility. In many other towns the first consul, was the equivalent of a mayor today, assisted by a variable number of secondary consuls. His main task was to levy and collect tax, the Dukes of Gaeta often used also the title of consul in its Greek form Hypatos. The city-state of Genoa, unlike ancient Rome, bestowed the title of consul on various state officials, among these were Genoese officials stationed in various Mediterranean ports, whose role included helping Genoese merchants and sailors in difficulties with the local authorities. This institution, with its name, was emulated by other powers and is reflected in the modern usage of the word. In reality, the first consul, Bonaparte, dominated his two colleagues and held power, soon making himself consul for life and eventually, in 1804. Chief magistrate, an office held for four months by one of the consuls. As noted above, Bologna already had consuls at some parts of its Medieval history, while many cities had a double-headed chief magistracy, often another title was used, such as Duumvir or native styles such as Meddix, but consul was used in some. It was not uncommon for an organization under Roman private law to copy the terminology of state, the founding statute, or contract, of such an organisation was called lex, law. The people elected each year were patricians, members of the upper class. org, see each present country
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Roman Senate
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The Roman Senate was a political institution in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, during the days of the kingdom, it was little more than an advisory council to the king. The last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was following a coup détat led by Lucius Junius Brutus. During the early Republic, the Senate was politically weak, while the executive magistrates were quite powerful, since the transition from monarchy to constitutional rule was most likely gradual, it took several generations before the Senate was able to assert itself over the executive magistrates. By the middle Republic, the Senate had reached the apex of its republican power, the late Republic saw a decline in the Senates power, which began following the reforms of the tribunes Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. After the transition of the Republic into the Principate, the Senate lost much of its power as well as its prestige. Following the constitutional reforms of the Emperor Diocletian, the Senate became politically irrelevant, when the seat of government was transferred out of Rome, the Senate was reduced to a municipal body. This decline in status was reinforced when the emperor Constantine the Great created an additional senate in Constantinople, the Senate in Rome ultimately disappeared at some point after AD603, although the title senator was still used well into the Middle Ages as a largely meaningless honorific. However, the Eastern Senate survived in Constantinople, until the ancient institution finally vanished there c. 14th century, the senate was a political institution in the ancient Roman kingdom. The word senate derives from the Latin word senex, which means old man, the early Roman family was called a gens or clan, and each clan was an aggregation of families under a common living male patriarch, called a pater. When the early Roman gentes were aggregating to form a common community, over time, the patres came to recognize the need for a single leader, and so they elected a king, and vested in him their sovereign power. When the king died, that power naturally reverted to the patres. The senate is said to have created by Romes first king, Romulus. The descendants of those 100 men subsequently became the patrician class, Romes fifth king, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, chose a further 100 senators. They were chosen from the leading families, and were accordingly called the patres minorum gentium. Romes seventh and final king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, executed many of the men in the senate. During the years of the monarchy, the senates most important function was to new kings. While the king was elected by the people, it was actually the senate who chose each new king
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Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
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Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, usually known in English as Pompey /ˈpɒmpiː/ or Pompey the Great, was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He came from a wealthy Italian provincial background, and his father had been the first to establish the family among the Roman nobility, Pompeys immense success as a general while still very young enabled him to advance directly to his first consulship without meeting the normal requirements for office. His success as a commander in Sullas Second Civil War resulted in Sulla bestowing the nickname Magnus. He was consul three times and celebrated three triumphs, after the deaths of Julia and Crassus, Pompey sided with the optimates, the conservative faction of the Roman Senate. Pompey and Caesar then contended for the leadership of the Roman state, when Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, he sought refuge in Egypt, where he was assassinated. His career and defeat are significant in Romes subsequent transformation from Republic to Empire, Pompeys family first gained the position of Consul in 141 BC. Pompeys father, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, was an equestrian from Picenum. He fought the Social War against Romes Italian allies and he supported Sulla, who belonged to the optimates, the pro-aristocracy faction, against Marius, who belonged to the populares, in Sullas first civil war. He died during the siege of Rome by the Marians in 87 BC, either as a casualty of an epidemic and his twenty-year-old son Pompey inherited his estates, and the loyalty of his legions. Pompey had served two years under his fathers command, and had participated in the part of the Social War. When his father died, Pompey was put on due to accusations that his father stole public property. As his father’s heir Pompey could be held to account and he discovered that this was committed by one of his fathers freedmen. Following his preliminary bouts with his accuser, the took a liking to Pompey and offered his daughter. Another civil war broke out between the Marians and Sulla, Cassius Dio added that Pompey had sent a detachment to pursue him, but he outstripped them by crossing the River Phasis. He reached the Maeotis and stayed in the Cimmerian Bosporus and he had his son Machares, who ruled it and gone over to the Romans, killed and recovered that country. Meanwhile, Pompey set up a colony for his soldiers at Nicopolitans in Cappadocia, in Plutarchs account Pompey was invited to invade Armenia by Tigranes’ son, who rebelled against his father. The two men received the submission of several towns, when they got close Artaxata Tigranes, knowing Pompey’s leniency, surrendered and allowed a Roman garrison in his palace. Pompey offered the restitution of the Armenian territories in Syria, Phoenicia, Cilicia, Galatia and he demanded an indemnity and ruled that the son should be king of Sophene
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Appian way
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The Appian Way was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy and its importance is indicated by its common name, recorded by Statius, Appia longarum. The Appian Way was used as a route for military supplies since its construction for that purpose in 312 B. C. The Appian Way was the first long road built specifically to transport troops outside the region of greater Rome. The few roads outside the city were Etruscan and went mainly to Etruria. By the late Republic, the Romans had expanded over most of Italy and were masters of road construction, Rome had an affinity for the people of Campania, who, like themselves, traced their backgrounds to the Etruscans. The Samnite Wars were instigated by the Samnites when Rome attempted to ally itself with the city of Capua in Campania, the Italic speakers in Latium had long ago been subdued and incorporated into the Roman state. They were responsible for changing Rome from a primarily Etruscan to a primarily Italic state, dense populations of sovereign Samnites remained in the mountains north of Capua, which is just north of the Greek city of Neapolis. Around 343 BC, Rome and Capua attempted to form an alliance, the Samnites reacted with military force. Between Capua and Rome lay the Pontine Marshes, a swamp infested with malaria, a tortuous coastal road wound between Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber and Neapolis. The via Latina followed its ancient and scarcely more accessible path along the foothills of Monti Laziali and Monti Lepini, in the First Samnite War the Romans found they could not support or resupply troops in the field against the Samnites across the marsh. A revolt of the Latin League drained their resources further and they gave up the attempted alliance and settled with Samnium. The Romans were only biding their time while they looked for a solution, the first answer was the colonia, a cultivation of settlers from Rome, who would maintain a permanent base of operations. The Second Samnite War erupted when Rome attempted to place a colony at Cales in 334, the Samnites, now a major power after defeating the Greeks of Tarentum, occupied Neapolis to try to ensure its loyalty. The Neapolitans appealed to Rome, which sent an army and expelled the Samnites from Neapolis, in 312 BC, Appius Claudius Caecus became censor at Rome. He was of the gens Claudia, who were descended from the Sabines taken into the early Roman state. He had been given the name of the ancestor of the gens. He was a populist, i. e. an advocate of the common people, a man of inner perspicacity, in the years of success he was said to have lost his outer vision and thus acquired the name caecus, blind
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Roman republic
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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
