The Early Roman Emperors
Period: 23 BC – AD 96 Gaius Julius Octavius – “Augustus” Reign: 27 BC – AD 14 After the civil wars which brought Augustus to power, on the winning side …
Gaius Julius Caesar
Life: 100 – 44 BC Caesar was tall, fair-haired, well built and of sound health. though he did suffer from the occasional epileptic fit. The historian Suetonius writes about Julius …
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Life: 115 – 53 BC Crassus grew up as the son of a consul and distinguished general. His career to fame and phenomenal wealth began as he started purchasing the …
Gaius Marius, the 1st one to shake the Roman Republic
Life: 157 – 86 BC Gaius Marius was of humble beginnings, having been born near the town of Arpinum in Latium. First serving in Spain, Marius was essentially a military …
Gaius Gracchus
Life: 159-121 BC Early Life After the violent death of Tiberius Gracchus, the Gracchus family wasn’t finished yet. Gaius Gracchus, a flamboyant and powerful public speaker, was to be a far …
Tiberius Gracchus
Life: 168-133 BC Early Life Tiberius and his brother Gaius Gracchus were to be two men who should become famous, if not infamous, for their struggle for the lower classes …
The Late Roman Republic
Period: 123 – 23 BC The story of the late Roman republic is essentially a tragic one. Yet the various causes for the demise of the republic are far from …
Cato the Elder
Life: 234-149 BC Also known as “Cato the Censor“ The progress from quaestor to consul via offices of aedile and praetor was a natural one and came more quickly to …
The Battle of Cynoscephalae
Had Roman involvement in Illyria and the Macedonian alliance with Carthage in the Second Punic War (right after Cannae!) not made Rome and Macedon the best of friends, then peace …
The Battle of Zama
The Battle of Zama in the summer of 202 BC marked the end of the power of the great Hannibal Barca. With its greatest son, also Carthage should be at …
The Battle of Ilipa
The Battle of Ilipa in 206 BC was in my opinon Scipio’s masterpiece. If Rome had ten years earlier been terribly defeated at Cannae by Hannibal, then Scipio had spent …
The Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae in the summer of 216 BC is a milestone in Roman history. It was Hannibal’s finest hour and forced the Romans to learn a painful lesson. …