67 Ancient People You Should Know

Scipio Africanus or Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major won the Hannibalic War or Second Punic War for Rome by defeating Hannibal at Zama in 202 B.C. Scipio, who came from an ancient Roman patrician family, the Cornelii, was the father of Cornelia, the famous mother of the social reforming Gracchi. He came into conflict with Cato the Elder and was accused of corruption. Later, Scipio Africanus became a figure in the fictional "Dream of Scipio". In this surviving section of De re publica, by Cicero, the dead Punic War general tells his adoptive grandson, Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (185-129 B.C.), about the future of Rome and the constellations. Scipio Africanus' explanation worked its way into medieval cosmology.

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (60?-12 B.C.) was a renowned Roman general and close friend of Octavian (Augustus). Agrippa was consul first in 37 B.C. He was also governor of Syria. As general, Agrippa defeated the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. Upon his victory, Augustus awarded his niece Marcella to Agrippa for a wife. Then, in 21 B.C., Augustus married his own daughter Julia to Agrippa. By Julia, Agrippa had a daughter, Agrippina, and three sons, Gaius and Lucius Caesar and Agrippa Postumus (so named because Agrippa was dead by the time he was born).

Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 B.C.), a novus homo from Tusculum, in Sabine country, was an austere leader of the Roman Republic known for coming into conflict with his contemporary, the more flamboyant Scipio Africanus, winner of the Second Punic War.

Cato the Younger is the name of one of Julius Caesar's staunchest opponents. Cato the Elder is his ancestor.

Cato the Elder served in the military, especially in Greece and Spain. He became consul at 39 and later, censor. He influenced Roman life in law, foreign and domestic policy, and morality.

Cato the Elder despised luxury, especially of the Greek variety his enemy Scipio favored. Cato also disapproved of Scipio's leniency towards the Carthaginians at the conclusion of the Second Punic War.

First coming to prominence, in about 600 B.C., for his patriotic exhortations when the Athenians were fighting a war with Megara for possession of Salamis, Solon was elected eponymous archon in 594/3 B.C. Solon faced the daunting task of improving the condition of debt-ridden farmers, laborers forced into bondage over debt, and the middle classes who were excluded from government. He had to help the poor while not alienating the increasingly wealthy landowners and aristocracy. Because of his reform compromises and other legislation, posterity refers to him as Solon the lawgiver.

Roman Emperor Justinian I or Justinian the Great (Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus) (482/483 - 565) is known for his reorganization of the government of the Roman Empire and his codification of the laws, the Codex Justinianus, in A.D. 534. Some call Justinian "the last Roman," which is why this Byzantine emperor makes it to this list of important ancient people that otherwise ends in A.D. 476. Under Justinian the Hagia Sophia Church was built and a plague devastated the Byzantine Empire.

Hammurabi (r.1792-1750?) was an important Babylonian king known for the Code of Hammurabi. It is generally referred to as an early law code, although it's actual function is debated. Hammurabi also improved the state, building canals and fortifications. He united Mesopotamia, defeated Elam, Larsa, Eshnunna, and Mari, and made Babylonia an important power. Hammurabi started the "Old Babylonian period" that lasted for about 1500 years.

Ashoka (304 - 232 B.C.), a Hindu convert to Buddhism, was king of the Mauryan Dynasty in India from 269 until his death. With his capital at Magadha, Ashoka's empire extended into Afghanistan. Following bloody wars of conquest, when Ashoka was considered cruel, he changed: He eschewed violence, promoted tolerance, and the moral welfare of his people. He also established contact with the Hellenistic world. Ashoka posted "the edicts of Ashoka" on great animal-topped pillars, chiseled in the ancient Brahmi script. Mostly reforms, the edicts also list public works projects, including universities, roads, hospitals, and irrigation systems.

See King Ashoka: His Edicts and His Times

Moses was an early leader of the Hebrews and probably the most important figure in Judaism. He was raised in the court of the Pharaoh in Egypt, but then led the Hebrew people out of Egypt. Moses is said to have talked with God, who gave him tablets inscribed with laws or commandments referred to as the 10 Commandments.

Moses' story is told in the Biblical book Exodus and is short on archaeological corroboration.

Jesus is the central figure of Christianity. For believers, he is the Messiah, the son of God and the Virgin Mary, who lived as a Galilean Jew, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and was resurrected. For many non-believers, Jesus is a source of wisdom. Some non-Christians believe he worked healing and other miracles. At its start, the new messianic religion was considered one of the mystery cults.

Some dispute the fact of Jesus' existence.

Siddhartha Gautama was a spiritual teacher of enlightenment who acquired hundreds of followers in India and founded Buddhism. His teachings were preserved orally for centuries before they were transcribed on palm-leaf scrolls. Siddhartha may have been born c. 538 B.C. to Queen Maya and King Suddhodana of the Shakya in ancient Nepal. By the third century B.C. Buddhism appears to have spread to China.