Marcus Velleius Paterculus was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the period from the death of Caesar in 44 BC to the death of Augustus in AD 14.
Illustrated title page of the 1520 editio princeps, edited by Beatus Rhenanus
Historia Romana, 1600
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
The Tusculum portrait, possibly the only surviving sculpture of Caesar made during his lifetime
Gaius Marius, Caesar's uncle and the husband of Caesar's aunt Julia. He was an enemy of Sulla and took the city with Lucius Cornelius Cinna in 87 BC.
Sulla, depicted on a coin minted by Quintus Pompeius Rufus in 54 BC. Sulla took the city in 82 BC, purged his political enemies, and instituted new constitutional reforms.
Bust, from the imperial period, of a man – in this case Augustus – wearing the civic crown (Latin: corona civica). Caesar won the civic crown for his bravery at the Siege of Mytilene in 81 BC.