Rome - Roman Republic
Roman History of the 1st Century B.C.
Take a self-grading 10-question quiz about the last century of the Roman Republic and the first years of the Principate. These questions are based on a series of articles on major figures of the era and wars or other momentous events.
End of the Republic of Rome
Resources on the end of the Republic of Rome, the turblent period from the Gracchi to the elevation of Octavian (Augustus).
Expansion of Roman Power Into Italy
Being eligible to vote in a Roman election did not guarantee that your vote counted for as much as the guy at the next voting enclosure. Voting was still a new institution with various kinks to iron out in the Roman Republic, although even today there still seem to be plenty of kinks in this seemingly self-evident process.
Expansion of Ancient Rome - Italy
An introductory look at how Rome became master of the Italic peninsula during the Roman Republic.
Early Republican Wars
Major Wars during the Roman Republic.
Carthage and the Phoenicians
Phoenicians from Tyre (Lebanon) founded Carthage, an ancient city-state in the area that is modern Tunisia. Carthage became a major economic and political power in the Mediterranean fighting over territory in Sicily with the Greeks and Romans.
12 Tablets
Examples of laws in the 12 Tablets.
4 Periods of Roman History
The Roman government in the time of the seven kings, and the Republican and Imperial periods of Rome, with links to lists showing the heads of state in each era.
AUC - Ab Urbe Condita
AUC stands for ab urbe condita.
Censors
The 3-fold functions of the censors were 1. to register citizens and their property, 2. superintend new buildings and public works, and 3. preserve the public morality.
Censors of the Roman Republic
Table showing the patrician and plebeian censors of the Roman Republic.
Expansion of Ancient Rome - Mediterranean
Rome didn't initially set up to conquer the world, but gradually did so anyway. A side effect of its empire-building was the reduction of Republican Rome's democratic policies.
Expansion of Ancient Rome - Treaties
Part of Roman expansion into the Italic peninsula was the creation of Treaties
How Did Crassus Die
The richest of the three men in the first triumvirate, Crassus died while fighting the Parthians.
Julius Caesar Timeline
Timeline of events in Caesar's life from 100-44 B.C.
Lake Regillus Battle
At the beginning of the 5th century B.C., shortly after the expulsion of the Roman kings, the Romans claim to have won a battle at Lake Regillus that Livy describes in Book II of his history.
Livy - Ab Urbe Condita II
Livy's second book is begins with the period after the kings' expulsion.
Macedonian Wars
The Romans fought four Macedonian Wars between 215 and 148 B.C.
Pharsalus - Battle of Pharsalus 48 B.C.
In 48 B.C. Julius Caesar faced Pompey in a decisive battle named Pharsalus for the location.
Plebeians
In the first few decades following the expulsion of the last king, the plebeians (the Roman lower class) had to create ways of dealing with problems caused by the patricians (the ruling upper class), poverty, occasional famine, and their own lack of political clout. They set up their own separate, plebeian assemblies, and seceded.
Roman Warfare, by Adrian Goldsworthy
Adrian Goldsworthy's Roman Warfare is an excellent introduction to how the Romans used their soldiers to become a world power. It also covers techniques and the organization of the legions.
Rome After the Kings - Patricians and Plebeians in Conflict
This article looks at events leading to the laws referred to as the 12 Tablets that were codified in 449 B.C
Samnite Wars
During the three Samnite Wars, the Samnites and Romans fought for control of Italy during the third and fourth century B.C.
Struggle of the Orders
The magistrates, judges and priests of the new republic all came from the patrician, or upper class. Unlike the patricians, the plebeians may have suffered under this early republican structure more than they had under monarchy, since they now had, in effect, many rulers.
Veientine Wars
The cities of Veii and Rome (in what is modern Italy) were centralized city-states by the fifth century B.C. For political as well as economic reasons, both wanted control of the routes along the valley of the Tiber.
Who Were the Etruscans?
The Etruscans exerted a heavy influence on early Rome, contributing to the line of Roman kings with the Tarquins. The dominance of the Etruscans ended with the Roman sack of Veii in 396 B.C. The final stage in the conquest of the Etruscans was when the Volsinii were destroyed in 264 B.C.
Roman Republic
Resources on the Republic of Rome, the period from the expulsion of the kings to the rule of the first emperor, Octavian (Augustus Caesar).
Appius Claudius Caecus
Appius Claudius or Appius Claudius Caecus was a famous and infamous Roman of the Republic whose name is remembered in the Appian Way.
Livy on Brennus and the Battle of the Allia
In his Ab urbe condita, Livy tells the story of Brennus and his Celtic band's defeat of the Romans at the Allia in 390 B.C.
Pyrrhus
During the period of Rome's expansion within Italy, it lost to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, but the Pyrrhic victories cost the winner more than Rome.
Rome 1st Century B.C. Chronology
A detailed chronology of Rome in the last century before the Christian era.
60-50 B.C. - Caesar, Crassus and Pompey and The First Triumvirate
The first triumvirate is a modern term for the coalition of Crassus, Caesar, and Pompey formed for their own political ends.