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The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre (lat. Amphitheatrum Flavium), is an amphitheatre in Rome, capable of seating 50,000 spectators, which was once used for gladiatorial combat. Construction was initiated by Emperor Vespasian and completed by his sons, Titus and Domitian, between AD 72 and AD 81.

It was built at the site of Nero's enormous palace, the Domus Aurea.

The Colosseum's name is derived from a colossus (a 130-foot, or 40-metre, statue) of Nero which once stood nearby.

The Colosseum is located at 41.53° N 12.293° E.

Construction

The construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was completed by his son, Titus, in the 80s AD. It was built at the site of Nero's enormous palace, the Domus Aurea, which had been built after the great fire of Rome in AD 64.

Some historians believe that the construction of the Colosseum might have been financed by the looting of King Herod the Great's Temple in Jerusalem which occurred about AD 70. Dio Cassius said that 9,000 wild animals were killed in the one hundred days of celebration which inaugurated the amphitheatre opening.

The arena floor was covered with sand, presumably to allow the blood to drain away.

Games

The Colosseum hosted large-scale spectacular games that included fights between animals (venationes), the killing of prisoners by animals (see: Zoophilia: Roman games and circus) and other executions (noxii), naval battles (naumachiae, via flooding the arena) up until AD 81, and combats between gladiators (munera).

It has been estimated that several hundreds of thousands died in the Colosseum games. Saint Ignatius of Antioch was martyred there.

The Name

The Colosseum's name is derived from a colossus (a 130-foot or 40-metre statue) of Nero nearby. This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Sol, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times by the head of succeeding emperors. At some time during the Middle Ages, the statue disappeared; experts suspect that, since the statue was bronze, it was melted down for reuse.

After the colossus' disposal, the link to it seems to have been forgotten over time, and the name was corrupted to Coliseum in the Middle Ages. Both names are frequently used in modern English, but Flavian Amphitheatre is generally unknown. In Italy, it is still known as il colosseo, but other Romance languages have come to use forms such as le colisée and el coliseo.

Description

The Colosseum measures 48 metres high, 188 metres long, and 156 metres wide. The wooden arena floor was 86 metres by 54 metres, and covered by sand. Its elliptical shape kept the players from retreating to a corner, and allowed the spectators to be closer to the action than a circle would allow.

The Colosseum was ingeniously designed. It has been said that most spectacle venues (stadiums, and similar) have been influenced by features of the Colosseum's structure, even well into modern times. Seating (cavea) was divided into different sections. The podium, the first level of seating, was for the Roman senators; the emperor's private, cushioned, marble box was also located on this level.

Above the podium was the maenianum primum, for the other Roman aristocrats who were not in the senate. The third level, the maenianum secundum, was divided into three sections. The lower part (the immum) was for wealthy citizens, while the upper part (the summum) was for poor citizens. A third, wooden section (the maenianum secundum in legneis) was a wooden structure at the very top of the building, added by Domitian. It was standing room only, and was for lower-class women.

After the Colosseum's first two years in operation, Vespasian's younger son (the newly-designated Emperor Domitian) ordered the construction of the hypogeum (literally meaning "underground"), a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages where gladiators and animals were held before contests began. Numerous trap doors in the floor provided instant access to the arena for caged animals and scenery pieces concealed underneath; larger hinged platforms, called hegmata, provided access for elephants and the like.

Today the arena floor no longer exists, though the hypogeum walls and corridors are clearly visible in the ruins of the structure. The entire base of the Colosseum covers an area equivalent to 6 acres (160,000 m²).

There are also tunnels, still in existence, configured to flood and evacuate water from the Colosseum floor, so that naval battles could be staged prior to the hypogeum's construction. Recent archaeological research has shown evidence of drain pipes connected to the City's sewer system and a large underground holding tank connected to a nearby aqueduct.

Another innovative feature of the Colosseum was its cooling system, known as the valerium, which consisted of a canvas-covered, net-like structure made of ropes, with a hole in the center. This roof covered two-thirds of the arena, and sloped down towards the center to catch the wind and provide a breeze for the audience. Sailors, standing on special platforms, manipulated the ropes on command.

The Colosseum incorporated a number of vomitoria — passageways that open into a tier of seats from below or behind. The vomitoria were designed so that the immense venue could fill in 15 minutes, and be evacuated in as little as 5 minutes. Each entrance and exit was numbered, as was each staircase.

There were 80 entrances at ground level, 76 for ordinary spectators, two for the imperial family, and two for the gladiators. Spectators were given tickets in the form of numbered pottery shards, which directed them to the appropriate section. The vomitoria quickly dispersed people into their seats and, upon conclusion of the event, disgorged them with abruptness into the surrounding streets (giving rise, presumably, to the name).

Later History

The Colosseum was in continuous use until 217, when it was damaged by fire after it was struck by lightning. It was restored in 238 and gladiatorial games continued until Christianity gradually put an end to those parts of them which included the death of humans.

The building was used for various purposes, mostly venationes (staged animal hunts), until 524. Two earthquakes (in 442 and 508) caused a great damage to the structure. In the Middle Ages, it was severely damaged by further earthquakes (847 and 1349), and was then converted into a fortress and a Christian church erected in one small part.

The marble that originally covered the façade was reused in constructions or burned to make quicklime. During the Renaissance, but mostly in the 16th and 17th centuries, the ruling Roman families (from which many popes came) used it as a source of marble for the construction of St. Peter's Basilica and the private palazzi of Roman families such as the Barberini: Quod non fecerunt Barbari, Barberini fecerunt; "What the Barbarians didn't do, the Barberini did"

The Venerable Bede (c. 672–735) wrote:

Quandiu stabit coliseus, stabit et Roma (As long as the Colosseum stands, so shall Rome);

Quando cadit coliseus, cadet et Roma (When the Colosseum falls, so shall Rome);

Quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus (When Rome falls, so shall the world).

Note the use of coliseus, i.e. which made the name a masculine noun. This form is no longer in use.

In 1749, in a very early example of historic preservation, Pope Benedict XIV forbade the use of the Colosseum as a quarry. He consecrated the building to the Passion of Christ and installed Stations of the Cross, declaring it sanctified by the blood of the Christian martyrs who were thought to have perished there.

Later popes initiated various stabilization and restoration projects. Every Good Friday the pope leads a procession within the ellipse in memory of Christian martyrs.It is presumed that the majority of Christian martyrdom in Rome took place at the Circus Maximus.

In 2000 there were protests in Italy against the use the death penalty in countries all over the world (in Italy it was abolished in 1948). Several demonstrations took place in front of the Colosseum. Since that time, as a gesture against capital punishment, the local authorities of Rome change the colour of the Colosseum's night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets their sentence commuted or is released.

According to the current political division of the center of Rome, the Colosseum is placed in rione Monti.

An aqueduct is an artificial (man-made) channel that is constructed to convey water from one location to another. The word derives from the Latin words aqua, "water", and ducere, "to lead".

Many aqueducts are raised above the landscape, resembling bridges rather than rivers. Sufficiently large aqueducts may also be usable by ships. They are similar to viaducts, but carry water instead of a road or railway. While

a road bridge often carries the roadway at a more elevated level than the rest of the road, such a variation of height is not possible for an aqueduct.

Although famously associated with the Ancient Romans, aqueducts were devised centuries earlier in the Middle East, where peoples such as the Babylonians and Egyptians built sophisticated irrigation systems. Roman-style aqueducts were used as early as the 7th century BC, when the

Assyrians built a limestone aqueduct 30 feet (10 m) high and 900 feet (300 m) long to carry water across a valley to their capital city, Nineveh. The full length of the aqueduct ran for 50 miles (80 km). In the new world, the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán was watered by an aqueduct in the middle of the second millenium.

Roman aqueducts

Roman aqueducts were built all over the Roman Empire, from Germany to Africa, and especially in the city of Rome itself, where they totalled over 260 miles (350 km). The aqueducts were important for supplying large cities across the empire, and they set a high standard of engineering that was not surpassed for more than a thousand years.

The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum, although the Romans referred to it more often as the Forum Magnum or just the Forum) was the central area around which ancient Rome developed, in which commerce, business, prostitution, cult and the administration of justice took place.

Here the communal heart was located. Sequences of remains of paving show that sediment eroded from the

It is now famous for the remains, which eloquently show the use of urban spaces during the Roman Age. The Roman Forum includes the following major monuments, buildings and other ancient ruins:

Temple of Castor and Pollux

Temple of Jupiter

Temple of Romulus

Temple of Saturn

Temple of Vesta

Temple of Venus and Roma

Basilica Aemilia

Basilica Julia

Arch of Septimius Severus

Arch of Titus

Rostra, from where politicians made their speeches to the Roman citizens.

Curia Hostilia, the site of the Roman Senate.

Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine

Tabularium

A processional way, the Via Sacra, crosses it linking it with the Colosseum. By the end of the Empire, it lost its everyday use remaining as a sacred place.

The last monument built inside the Forum is the Column of Phocas.

During the Middle Ages, though the memory of the Forum Romanum persisted, its monuments were for the most part buried under debris, and its location was designated the Campo Vaccinio or "cattle field," located between the Capitoline Hill and the Colosseum.

The return of Pope Urban V from Avignon (1367) led to an increased interest in ancient monuments, partly for their moral lesson and partly as a quarry for new buildings being undertaken in Rome after a long lapse.

Artist from the late 15th century drew the ruins in the Forum, antiquaries copied inscriptions from the 16th century, and a tentative excavation was begun in the late 18th century. A cardinal took measures to drain it again and built the Alessandrine neighborhood over it.

But the excavation by Carlo Fea, who began clearing the debris from the Arch of Septimius Severus in 1803, and archaeologists under the Napoleonic regime marked the beginning of clearing the Forum, which was only fully excavated in the early 20th century. In its current state, remains from several centuries are shown together, due to the Roman practice of building over earlier ruins.

Other fora existed in other areas of the city; remains of most of them, sometimes substantial, are extant.

The most important of these are a number of large imperial fora forming a complex with the Forum Romanum: the Forum Julium, Forum Augustum, the Forum Transitorium (also: Forum Nervae), and Trajan's Forum. The planners of the Mussolini era removed most of the Medieval and Baroque strata and built a road between the Imperial Fora and the Forum.

The Forum Boarium was dedicated to the commerce of cattle and was between the Palatine Hill and the river Tiber.

The Forum Holitorium was dedicated to the commerce of herbs and vegetables, between the Capitoline Hill and the Servian walls.

The Forum Piscarium was dedicated to the commerce of fish, between the Capitoline hill and the Tiber, in the area of the current Roman Ghetto.

The Forum Suarium was dedicated to the commerce of pork, near the barracks of the cohortes urbanae in the northern part of the campus Martius.

The Forum Vinarium was dedicated to the commerce of wine, in the area now of the "quartiere" Testaccio, between Aventine Hill and the Tiber.

Other markets were known, but not correctly identifiable because of either lack of clear information or plurality of sites. Among these, the Forum cuppedinis, for generic commerce of many kinds of goods.

The Romans adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for their own purposes, which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new architectural style.

The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture. Sometimes that approach is productive, and sometimes it hinders understanding by causing us to judge Roman buildings by Greek standards.

Roman architecture represents a fusion of traditional Greek and Etruscan elements, notably the trabeated orders, with

new structural principles based on the development of the arch and of a new building material, concrete.

The Romans achieved originality in building very late in their existence; for the whole of the republican period, Roman architecture was a nearly exact copy of that of Greece, aside from the Etruscan contribution of the arch, and its later three-dimensional counterpart, the dome.

The only two developments of any significance were the Tuscan and Composite orders; the first being a shortened, simplified variant on the Doric order and the Composite being a tall order with the floral decoration of the Corinthian and the scrolls of the Ionic.

Innovation started in the first century BC, with the invention of concrete, a stronger and readily available substitute for stone. Tile-covered concrete quickly supplanted marble as the primary building material and more daring buildings soon followed, with great pillars supporting broad arches and domes rather than dense lines of columns suspending flat architraves.

The freedom of concrete also inspired the colonnade screen, a row of purely decorative columns in front of a load-bearing wall. In smaller-scale architecture, concrete's strength freed the floor plan from rectangular cells to a more free-flowing environment.

On return from campaigns in Greece, the general Sulla returned with what is probably the most well-known element of the early imperial period: the mosaic, a decoration of colorful chips of stone inset into cement.

This tiling method took the empire by storm in the late first century and the second century and in the Roman home joined the well known mural in decorating floors, walls, and grottoes in geometric and pictorial designs.

Though most would consider concrete the Roman contribution most relevant to the modern world, the Empire's style of architecture, though no longer used with any great frequency, can still be seen throughout Europe and North America in the arches and domes of many governmental and religious buildings.

The lower seats were reserved for persons of rank; there were also various state boxes, eg. for the giver of the games and his friends. In Ancient Rome the circus was the only public spectacle at which men and women were not separated.

The first circus in Rome was the Circus Maximus, in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills. Next in importance to the Circus Maximus in Rome was the Circus Flaminius, the Circus Neronis, from the notoriety which it obtained through the Circensian pleasures of Nero. A fourth, Circus Maxentius, was constructed by Maxentius; the ruins of this circus have enabled archaeologists to reconstruct the Roman circus.

Following the fall of Rome, Europe lacked a large and organized circus. Itinerant showmen traveled the fair grounds of Europe. Animal trainers and performers are thought to have exploited the nostalgia for the Roman circus, traveling between towns and performing at local fairs.

Another possible link between the Roman and modern circus could have been bands of gypsies who appeared in Europe in the 14th century and in Britain from the 15th century bringing with them circus skills and trained animals.

When comparing and contrasting ancient Roman theater to that of Greek theater it can easily be said that Roman

theater was less influenced by religion. Also, Roman theater was more for aesthetic appeal. In Roman theater war was a more common thing to appear on stage as opposed to the Greek theater where wars were more commonly spoken about in Greek plays. This no doubt a reflection of Roman culture and habits.

The audience was often loud and rude, rarely applauding the actors, but always shouting insults and booing. Because the audience was so loud, much of the plays were pantomimed and repetitive. The actors developed a kind of code that would tell the audience about the characters just by looking at them.

- A Black wig meant the character was a young man.

- A Gray wig meant the character was an old man.

- A Red wig meant the character was a slave.

- A white robe meant the character was an old man.

- A purple robe meant the character was a young man.

- A yellow robe meant the character was a woman. (this was needed because men played the role of women)

- A yellow tassel meant the character was a god.

- Plays lasted for two hours, and were usually comedies.

- Most comedies involved mistaken identity (such as gods disguised as humans).

The Amphitheater

The name amphitheatre (alternatively amphitheater) is given to a public building of the Classical period (being particularly associated with ancient Rome) which was used for spectator sports, games and displays.

Apart from function, the important outward distinction between an amphitheatre and a theatre is that an amphitheatre is round or oval in shape (whereas a theatre is semi-circular). However, an amphitheatre differs from a circus, which was used for racing and looked more like a very long, narrow horse shoe.

The best-known amphitheatre in the world is the Colosseum in Rome, which is more correctly termed the Flavian amphitheatre (Amphitheatrum Flavium), after the Flavian dynasty who had it built.

An amphitheatre in a community became a prized symbol of Roman citizenship in the outlying areas of Italy. In the small town of Larino, in the Molise, a man who had made his fortune in far away Rome financed the construction of an oval amphitheatre that could house ten thousand spectators. In fact, the amphitheatre in Larino predates the Colosseum.

A natural amphitheatre is a performance space located in a spot where a steep mountain or a particular rock formation naturally amplifies or echoes sound, making it ideal for musical and theatrical performances.

The term amphitheatre can also be used to describe naturally occurring formations which would be ideal for this purpose, even if no theatre has been constructed there.

The domus included multiple rooms, and two courtyards: the atrium, which was the focal point of the domus, off which were cubicula (bedrooms) an altar to one of the

household gods, a triclinium where guests could lie on couches and eat dinner while lying down, and a tablinum (Living room, sometimes called the study) and shops on the outside, facing the street.

In cities, throughout the Roman Empire wealthy homeowners lived in one story buildings with few exterior windows.

This was to prevent noises coming from the streets. Wealthy homeowners often rented out the two front rooms of their home to merchants if they lived on busy streets. A wealthy Roman citizen lived in a large house separated into two parts, and linked together through the tablinum or study or by a small passageway.

The main entrance to the house would face the street, consisting of a double-door, behind which a short passageway gave into the atrium. The atrium was the most important part of the house, where guests and dependents were greeted. The atrium was high ceilinged and often consisted of sparse furnishings to give the effect of a large space.

In the center of the ceiling was a square opening called the compluvium in which rainwater could come, draining inwards from the slanted tiled roof. Directly below the compluvium was the impluvium, a shallow rectangular pool to gather rainwater, which was often lined with marble, and around which usually was a floor of small mosaic.

Surrounding the atrium were arranged the master's families' main rooms: the small cubicula or bedrooms, the tablinum or study, and the triclinium or dining-room. Only two objects were present in the atrium of Caecilius in Pompeii: a small bronze box that stored precious family items and the lararium, a small shrine to the household gods, the Lares.

In the master bedroom was a small wooden bed and couch which usually consisted of some slight padding. In each of the other bedrooms there was usually just a bed. The triclinium had three couches surrounding a table.

The triclinium often was similar in size to the master bedroom. The study/tablinum was used as a passageway. If the master of the house was a banker or merchant the tablinum often was larger because of the greater need for materials.

The back part of the house was centered around the peristyle much as the front centered on the atrium. The peristylium was a small garden often surrounded by a columned passage, the model of the medieval cloister. Surrounding the peristyle were the bathrooms, kitchen and summer triclinium.

The kitchen was usually a very small room with a small counter of sorts and a wood-burning stove. The wealthy had a slave who worked as a cook and spent nearly all their time in the kitchen. During a hot summer day the family ate their meals in the summer triclinium to stave off the heat. Most of the light came from the compluvium and the open peristylium.

Back in Rome he was able to see for himself the completed work of rebuilding the Pantheon.

Also completed by then was Hadrian's villa nearby at Tibur—a pleasant retreat by the Sabine Hills for whenever Rome became too much for him.

At the beginning of March 127 Hadrian set off for a tour of Italy.

Once again, historians are able to reconstruct his route by evidence of his hand-outs rather than the historical records.

For instance, in that year he restored the Picentine earth goddess Cupra in the town of Cupra Maritima. At some unspecified time he improved the drainage of the Fucine lake. Less welcome than such largess was his decision to divide Italy into 4 regions under imperial legates with consular rank. Being effectively reduced to the status of mere provinces did not go down well and this innovation did not long outlive Hadrian.

Hadrian fell ill around this time, though the nature of his sickness is not known. Whatever the illness was, it did not stop him from setting off in the spring of 128 to visit Africa. His arrival began with the good omen of rain ending a drought.

Along with his usual role as benefactor and restorer he found time to inspect the troops and his speech to the troops survives to this day. Hadrian returned to Italy in the summer of 128 but his stay was brief before setting off on another tour that would last three years.

The son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis (Diana). Apollo was the god of music (principally the lyre, and he directed the choir of the Muses) and also of prophecy, colonization, medicine, archery (but not for war or hunting), poetry, dance, intellectual inquiry and the carer of herds and flocks.

He was also a god of light, known as "Phoebus" (radiant or beaming, and he was sometimes identified with Helios the sun god). He was also the god of plague and was worshiped as Smintheus (from sminthos, rat) and as Parnopius

(from parnops, grasshopper) and was known as the destroyer of rats and locust, and according to Homer's Iliad, Apollo shot arrows of plague into the Greek camp.

Apollo being the god of religious healing would give those guilty of murder and other immoral deeds a ritual purification.

Sacred to Apollo are the swan (one legend says that Apollo flew on the back of a swan to the land of the Hyperboreans, he would spend the winter months among them), the wolf and the dolphin.

His attributes are the bow and arrows, on his head a laurel crown, and the cithara (or lyre) and plectrum. But his most famous attribute is the tripod, the symbol of his prophetic

powers.

When the goddesss Hera, the wife of Zeus (it was he who had coupled with Leto) found out about Leto's pregnancy, she was outraged with jealousy. Seeking revenge Hera forced Leto to roam the earth in search of a place to give birth.

Sicne Hera had forbidden Leto to stay anywhere on earth, either on terra-ferma or an island at sea, the only place to seek shelter was Delos, being in the center of the Aegean, and also difficult to reach, as there were strong under-currents, because it was said to be a floating island.

Because it was a floating island, it was not considered either of Hera's prohibitions, and so Leto was able to give birth to the divine twins Apollo and Artemis (before Leto gave birth to Apollo, the island was encircled by a flock of swans, this is why the swan was sacred to him).

As a gesture of thanks Delos was secured to the sea-bed by four columns to give it stability, and from then on it became one of the most important sanctuaries to Apollo. (A variation of

Apollo's birth was that the jealous Hera had incarcerated Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, but the other gods intervened forcing Hera to release Ilithyia, which allowed Leto to give birth ).

Apollo's first achievement was to rid Pytho (Delphi) of the serpent (or dragon) Python. This monstrous beast protected the sanctuary of Pytho from its lair beside the Castalian Spring. There it stood guard while the "Sibyl" gave out her prophecies as she inhaled the trance inducing vapors from an open chasm.

Apollo killed Python with his bow and arrows (Homer wrote "he killed the fearsome dragon Python, piercing it with his darts"). Apollo not only took charge of the oracle but rid the neighboring countryside of widespread destruction, as Python had destroyed crops, sacked villages and polluted streams and springs. However, to make amends for killing Python, as the fearsome beast was the son of Gaia, Apollo had to serve king Admetus for nine years (in some versions eight) as a cowherd.

This he did, and when he returned to Pytho he came in the guise of a dolphin bringing with him priests from Crete (Apollo's cult title "Delphinios" meaning dolphin or porpoise, is probably how Delphi was so named). After killing Python and taking possession of the oracle, the god of light (Phobus) became known as "Pythian Apollo".

He dedicated a bronze tripod to the sanctuary and bestowed divine powers on one of the priestesses, and she became known as the "Pythia". It was she who inhaled the hallucinating vapors from the fissure in the temple floor, while she sat on a tripod chewing laurel leaves.

After she mumbled her answer, a male priest would translate it for the supplicant. Delphi became the most important oracle center of Apollo, there were several including Clarus and Branchidae.

Apollo, as with Zeus his father, had many love affairs with goddesses and mortals. Apollo's infatuation for the nymph Daphne, which had been invoked by the young god of love Eros, because Apollo had mocked him, saying his archery skills were pathetic, and Apollo's singing had also irritated him. Daphne was the beautiful daughter of the river god Ladon, and she was constantly pursued by Apollo.

To escape from Apollo's insistent behavior, she fled to the mountains, but the persistent Apollo followed her. Annoyed by this, she asked the river god Peneus for help, which he did. As soon as Apollo approached Daphne, he tried to embrace her, but when he stretched out his arms she transformed into a laurel tree.

Apollo, distraught by what had happened, made the laurel his sacred tree. Apollo also loved Cyrene, she was another nymph, and she bore Apollo a son: Aristaeus, a demi-god, who became a protector of cattle and fruit trees, and a deity of hunting, husbandry and bee-keeping. He taught men dairy skills and the use of nets and traps in hunting.

The most famous mortal loves of Apollo was Hecuba, she was the wife of Priam, the king of Troy. She bore him Troilius. Foretold by an oracle, as long as Troilius reached the age of twenty, Troy could not be defeated. But the hero Achilles ambushed and killed him, when the young prince and his sister Polyxena secretly visited a spring.

Apollo also fell in love with Cassandra, the sister of Troilius, and daughter of Hecuba and Priam. He seduced Cassandra on the promise that he would teach her the art of prophecy, but having learnt the prophetic art she rejected him. Apollo, being angry of her rejection punished her, by declaring her prophecies never to be accepted or believed.

Asclepius, the god of healing, was also Apollo's offspring, after his union with Coronis, who was daughter of Phlegyas, king of the Lapiths. While she was pregnant by Apollo, Coronis fell in love with Ischys, son of Elatus, but a crow informed Apollo of the affair.

Apollo sent his twin sister Artemis to kill Coronis, and Artemis carried out he brothers wishes. While her body was burning on the funeral pyre, Apollo removed the unborn child, and took him to Chiron, who raised the child Asclepius.

Apollo also, as did his father Zeus, fall in love with one of his own gender, Hyacinthus, a Spartan prince. He was very handsome and athletic, which inflamed the passions of Apollo. One day while Apollo and Hyacinthus were practicing throwing the discus, Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, who was also attracted to the young prince, and jealous of Apollo's amorous affection towards the boy, made the discus veer off course by blowing an ill wind.

The discus, which Apollo had thrown, hit Hyacinthus, smashing his skull. Apollo rushed to him, but he was dead. The god was overcome with grief, but to immortalize the love he had for the beautiful youth, he had a flower grow were his blood had stained the earth. Apollo also loved the young boy Cyparissus, a descendant of Heracles.

The impassioned Apollo gave Cyparissus a sacred deer, as a love token. The young deer became tame, and was the constant companion of the boy, until a tragic accident occurred. As the young deer lay sleeping in the shade of the undergrowth, Cyparissus threw his javelin, which by chance hit, and killed the deer.

Grief-stricken by what had happened, Cyparissus wanted to die. He asked Apollo to let his tears fall for all eternity. With apprehension Apollo transformed the boy into a tree, the cypress, which became the symbol of sorrow, as the sap on its trunk forms droplets, like tears.

Apollo could also be ruthless when he was angered. The mortal Niobe, boasted to Apollo's mother Leto, that she had fourteen children (in some versions six or seven), which must make her more superior than Leto, who had only bore two. Apollo greatly angered by this slew her sons, and Artemis killed Niobe's daughters.

Niobe wept so much that she turned into a pillar of stone. Apollo was infuriated when the satyr Marsyas challenged Apollo to music contest. After winning the competition, Apollo had Marsyas flayed alive, for being so presumptuous, as to challenge a god.

Apollo was worshiped throughout the Greek world, at Delphi every four years they held the Pythian Games in his honor. He had many epithets, including "Pythian Apollo" (his name at Delphi), "Apollo Apotropaeus" (Apollo who averts evil), and "Apollo Nymphegetes" (Apollo who looks after the Nymphs). As the god of shepherds he also had the cult titles "Lukeios" (from lykos; wolf), protecting the flocks from wolfs, and "Nomius" (of pastures, belonging to shepherds).

Being the god of colonists, Apollo influenced his priests at Delphi to give divine guidance, as to where the expedition should proceed. This was during the height of the colonizing era circa 750-550 BCE. Apollo's title was "Archigetes" (leader of colonists). According to one legend, it was Apollo who helped either Cretan or Arcadian colonists found the city of Troy.

In art Apollo is at most times depicted as a handsome young man, clean shaven and carrying either a lyre, or his bow and arrows. There are many sculptures of Apollo and one of the most famous is the central figure from the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus, at Olympia, showing Apollo declaring victory in favor of the Lapiths in their struggle against the Centaurs.

A song sung in honor of Apollo is called a paean.

Artemis was born the daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo. Artemis was born one day ahead of Apollo on the isle of Ortygia.

She then aided her mother to Delos where she actually helped in delivering her brother Apollo. This also made her a goddess of childbirth and protector of women. Artemis is identified as a goddess of many different things depending on what legend you're reading.

In most cases, she's the goddess of the wilderness, wild animals, and the Hunt. She's also been said to represent the moon, childbirth, and fertility.

Another main aspect of Artemis' persona was her virginity. It's said that in early childhood, she asked her father, Zeus, to give her eternal virginity. This was granted and Artemis

remained as one of the few virgin goddesses. Not only did she keep her virginity, but she was extremely protective of her followers being virgins as well. She wasn't too fond of being seen nude by men either. One character by the name of Actaeon, a hunter, found this out the hard way. He happened to find Artemis and her companions bathing nude in a hidden pool.

Of course Actaeon couldn't resist the sight of a goddess bathing so he froze and just stood there watching in delight. Unfortunately for him, Artemis caught the little peeper and changed him into a stag. She then sent the hunter's own dogs after him at which point poor Actaeon was killed by the hounds.Another thing about Artemis is her vengeful attitude.

This was one goddess you just do not want to mess with! Agamemnon once killed one of her sacred animals and was forced to sacrifice his daughter in order for his ships to be allowed to sail to Troy. Heracles almost got in trouble for killing one of her sacred animals, but was forgiven on account of the labors. Then you have Niobe who had the gaul to place herself above Artemis' mother. Once she and her brother caught wind of this, the twins hunted down and killed all of Niobe's sons and daughters.

Artemis' mother, Leto, gave birth to Artemis after a short and painless labor. But then Leto's labor continued, with her contractions growing weak and painful. Moved to compassion, the infant goddess Artemis, born only a few minutes earlier, became her mother's midwife and delivered her twin brother Apollo.

You could say that, of all the Greek godesses, the goddess Artemis was literally born to serve as a nurturer and protector! The Greek goddess Artemis was frequently called upon to nurture her needy and somewhat ineffectual mother. All too often she felt compelled to come to her rescue even though Artemis received little from her mother in return.

As a result of her having caused her mother no pain in childbirth, and her successful role as midwife in her brother's birth, Artemis naturally became the patron saint of childbirth, the protector of children, and the goddess who especially heard the appeals of women.

The goddess Artemis was always responsive to the needs of the vulnerable and the suffering. She was quick to defend the powerless from unjust treatment at the hands of the Olympian patriarchy; it is not surprising that in current times Artemis is seen as the "feminist" goddess.

Even as a small child the Greek goddess Artemis was decisive. When Zeus asked Artemis what presents she wanted for her third birthday she responded without hesitation that she wanted six things: to be allowed to live without having to be distracted by love and marriage, a bow and arrow just like her brother's, a hunting costume and freedom from having to dress up like a lady, the job of bringing light into the world, sixty young nymphs to be her companions and to help care for her hunting dogs, and all the mountains on the earth to live on.

Zeus was amused by her precociousness and happily granted the little goddess Artemis her wishes. Even at this tender age it was clear that Artemis was going to be the most independent of the goddesses, one who thrived on challenges.

Artemis' association with the natural world, the wilderness, symbolizes her own untamed spirit. The most independent of the goddesses, she roamed the forests in her role as huntress. The Greek goddess Artemis was famous for her hunting skills, for the sharp focus of her attention and her unerring aim.

She was known as a fearless and responsible hunter, willing and able to bring down the most terrifying beasts. But Artemis was especially fierce in her protection of the gentle animals that were usually preyed upon. As the protector of animals and the young, the goddess Artemis was angered because a group of Greek sailors had slaughtered a hare and its young.

She delayed them from sailing to join the Battle of Troy. Artemis was not the least interested in cultivating the land or in harnessing the forces of nature to benefit mankind (she left those responsibilities to Demeter and Athena, respectfully). Artemis could easily be described as an early environmentalist.

Artemis seemed to be more comfortable with the companionship of women friends. Often depicted by artists while hunting or bathing with her band of nymphs, the goddess Artemis valued her freedom and personal space and protected them with ferociousness. Indeed, those who restricted her freedom, those who tried to thwart her commitment to reaching her goals, or simply invaded her privacy, paid dearly.

When she discovered that Callisto, one of the nymphs in her band of companions, had violated her vows of chastity and become pregnant as a result of an affair with Zeus, Artemis, without a moment's hesitation, changed her into a bear. Zeus placed her in the stars as the constellation Callisto (The Bear), the young nymph would have died quickly as the victim of a hunt.

With the exception of her brother Apollo, who was a frequent ally and companion, Artemis was not known to have had very satisfying relationships with men. Her one great love affair, with the handsome and respected mortal Orion, ended very badly. Upset that his sister's time and attentions had been diverted away from him, the jealous Apollo tricked Artemis into killing Orion.

Knowing that Orion was swimming in the ocean, Apollo bet Artemis that she could not hit "that distant object on the horizon" with an arrow. Filled with confidence in her skills as an archer, Artemis accepted the challenge.

Successful as always, Artemis discovered that her competitiveness and unerring aim had killed the only man she had ever loved. In her abject grief, the goddess Artemis turned her dead lover into stars and shot him into the night sky where he remains as the constellation Orion. Never again did she allow herself to become vulnerable to romantic love.

The Greek goddess Artemis was often associated with the moon, especially the crescent or "new" moon. Phoebe was one of the many names she was called. The name Phoebe means the "light one" or "bright one". Artemis "Goddess of Light" had the divine duty of illuminating the darkness. Artemis was often depicted carrying a candle or torch, lighting the way for others, leading them through territories yet uncharted.

In Greek mythology Artermis, despite her "wildness" (her refusal to conform to conventional ways or tradition) and her fierce independence, was depicted as one of the compassionate, healing goddesses. Of all the Greek goddesses, she was the most self-sufficient, living life on her own terms, comfortable both in solitude and in holding the reins of leadership. The Greek goddess Artemis gives us courage. Like her counterpart the roman goddess Diana, she illuminates those places that terrify us and lends us her strength to bring us safely through our fears.

Cupid's lineage

There are differing storihatees about his parentage. Cicero provides three different lineages: son of Mercury (Hermes) and Diana (Artemis), son of Mercury and Venus (Aphrodite), and son of Mars (Ares in Greek mythology) and Venus. Plato mentions two of these, and Hesiod's Theogony, the most ancient Greek theoography, says that Cupid was created coevally with Chaos and the earth. Throughout ancient mythological writing, there appear to

be either two Cupids or two sides to the figure of Cupid. One is the son of Jupiter (Zeus) and Venus. He is a lively youth who delights in pranks and spreading love. The other is a son of Nyx and Erebus, and he is known for riotous debauchery.

Cult

Cupid's cult was closely associated with Venus', and he was worshipped as seriously as she. Additionally, his power was supposed even greater than his mother's, since he had dominion over the dead in Hades, the creatures of the sea, and the gods in Olympus. Some of the cults of Cupid suggested that Cupid (as son of Night and Hell, perhaps) mated with Chaos to produce men and gods

alike, so the gods were the offspring of love.

Portrayal in art and literature

Caravaggio's Amor Vincit OmniaIn painting and sculpture, Cupid is portrayed as a nude winged boy armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows. The traditional Christian depiction of a cherub is based on him.

On gems and other surviving pieces, he is usually shown amusing himself with childhood play, sometimes driving a hoop, throwing darts, catching a butterfly, or flirting with a nymph. He is often depicted with his mother (in graphic arts, this is nearly always Venus), playing a horn. He is also shown wearing a helmet and carrying a buckler (perhaps in reference to Ovid's "amor vinces omnia" or as political satire on wars for love or love as war).

Cupid figures prominently in ariel poetry, lyrics, and, of course, Ovid's love and metamorphic poetry. In epic poetry, he is less often invoked, but he does appear in Virgil's Aeneid changed into the shape of Ascanius inspiring Dido's love. In later literature, Cupid is frequently invoked as fickle, playful, and perverse. He is often depicted as carrying two sets of arrows: one set gold-headed, which inspire love, and the other lead-headed, which inspire hatred.

The best known story involving Cupid is the tale of Cupid and Psyche, first attested in Apuleius' picaresque novel, The Golden Ass, written in the second century CE.

Romulus and Remus, (771 BC¹- July 5, 717 BC Romulus) (771 BC- April 21, 753 BC Remus), the traditional founders of Rome, appeared in Roman mythology as the twin sons of the priestess Rhea Silvia, fathered by the god of war Mars.

According to the legend recorded as history by Plutarch and Livy, Romulus served as the first King of Rome.

Romulus would slay Remus over a dispute over the location of their future city, which Romulus would name after himself, Rome. After founding the city, Romulus not only created the Roman Legions and the Roman Senate, but also added citizens to his new city by abducting the women of the neighboring Sabine tribes, which resulted in the mixture of the Sabines and Romans into one people.

Romulus would become ancient Rome's greatest conqueror, adding large amounts of territory and people to the dominion of Rome. After his death, Romulus was deified as the god Quirinus, the divine persona of the Roman people. He is now regarded as an unhistorical figure, and his name a back-formation from the name Rome, which may ultimately derive from a word for "river".

Life Before Rome

Before their lives began, Romulus and Remus’s grandfather Numitor and his brother Amulius received the throne of Alba Longa upon their father’s death. Numitor received the sovereign powers as his birth right while Amulius received the royal treasury, including the gold Aeneas brought with him from Troy.

But because Amulius held the treasury, thus having more power than his brother, he dethroned Numitor as the rightful king. Out of fear that Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, would produce children that would one day overthrow him as king, he forced Rhea to become a Vestal Virgin, priestesses sworn to celibacy.

However, one night Mars, the god of war, came to Rhea in the temple of Vesta and she bore him two twin boys of remarkable size and beauty, later named Romulus and Remus. Amulius was enraged and had Rhea placed in prison and ordered the death of the twins by exposure. However, the servant ordered to kill the twins could not. He placed the two in a cradle and laid the cradle on the banks of the Tiber river and went away. The river, which was in flood, rose and gently carried the cradle and the twins downstream.

Romulus and Remus were rescued by the river god Tiberinus and placed the twins upon the Palatine Hill. There, they were nursed by a she-wolf underneath a fig-tree and were fed by a woodpecker, two animals that were sacred to Mars. Romulus and Remus were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd for Amulius, who brought the children to his home. Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the boys as their own.

As they grew, their noble birth showed itself in their size and beauty while they were still children. When they grew up they were manly and high-spirited, of invincible courage and daring. Romulus, however, was thought the wiser and more politic of the two, and in his discussions with the neighbors about pasture and hunting, gave them opportunities of noting that his disposition was one which led him to command rather than to obey.

On account of these qualities they were beloved by their equals and the poor, but they despised the king's officers and bailiffs as being no braver than themselves, and cared neither for their anger nor their threats. They led the lives and followed the pursuits of nobly born men, not valuing sloth and idleness, but exercise and hunting, defending the land against brigands, capturing plunderers, and avenging those who had suffered wrong. And thus they became famous throughout Latium.

One day when Romulus and Remus were 18 years old, a quarrel occurred between the shepherds of Numitor and the shepherds of Amulius. Some of Numitor’s shepherds drove off many of Amulius’s cattle, causing Amulius’s men to become enraged. Romulus and Remus gathered together the shepherds, found and killed Numitor’s shepherds, and recovered the lost cattle.

To the displeasure of Numitor, Romulus and Remus collected and took into their company many needy men and slaves of Numitor, exhibiting seditious boldness and temper.

While Romulus was engaged in some sacrifice, as he was fond of sacrifices and the gods, some of Numitor’s shepherds attacked Remus and some of his friends and a battle broke out. After both sides took many wounds, Numitor’s shepherds prevailed and took Remus as their prisoner and returned him to Numitor for punishment.

Numitor did not punish Remus, because he was in fear of Amulius, but went to Amulius and asked for justice, since he was his brother, and he had been insulted by the royal servants. The people of Alba Longa, too, sympathized with Numitor, and thought that he had been undeservedly outraged. Amulius was therefore induced to hand Remus over to Numitor to treat him as he saw fit.

When Numitor took Remus to his home for punishment, he was amazed at the young man's complete superiority in stature and strength of body. After hearing of his acts and deeds and of his noble virtues, Numitor asked Remus of his birth and who he really was. When Remus told him that they had found and nursed by a she-wolf on the banks of the Tiber river, and conjecturing Remus’s age from his looks, he left to speak with his daughter, Rhea, on the matter.

Upon Romulus's return from his sacrifices, Faustulus told Romulus that Remus had been captured and told him to go to his brother’s aid. Romulus left Faustulus and set out to levy an army to march against Alba Longa. Faustulus took the cradle that he had found Romulus and Remus in and quickly ran to Alba Longa. When Faustulus reached the gates of the city, the guards stopped him.

By chance, one of the guards had been the servant who had taken the boys to the river. This man, upon seeing the cradle, and recognizing it, knew that that Faustulus spoke the truth, and without any delay told the matter to Amulius, and brought the man before him to be examined. He admitted that Romulus and Remus were alive and well, but said they lived at a distance from Alba Longa as herdsmen.

Acting out of fear and rage, Amulius quickly sent a friend of Numitor to see if he had heard any report of the twins being alive. As soon as the man entered Numitor’s house, he found Numitor embracing Remus, thus confirming that Remus was Numitor’s grandson. He then advised Numitor and Remus to act fast, for Romulus as marching on the city with an army of those who hated and fear Amulius. (Romulus’s army was divided in 200 man maniples).

Remus acted quickly and incited the citizens within the city to revolt, and at the same time Romulus attacked from without. Amulius, without taking a single step or making any plan for his own safety, out of sheer confusion, was seized and put to death.

The Founding of Rome

With Amulius dead, the city settled down and offered Romulus and Remus the joint crown. However, the twins refused to be the kings as long as their grandfather was still alive and would not live in the city as subjects.

Thus after restoring the kingship to Numitor and properly honoring their mother Rhea Sylvia, they two left Alba Longa to found their own city upon the slopes of the Palatine Hill. However, before they left Alba Longa, they took with them fugitives, runaway slaves, and all others who wanted a second chance at life.

But once Romulus and Remus arrived at the Palatine Hill, the two argued over where the exact position of the city should be. Romulus was set on building the city upon the Palatine, but Remus wanted to build the city on the strategic and easily fortified Aventine Hill. They two agreed to settle their argument by testing their abilities as augurs and by the will of the gods. Each took a seat on the ground apart from one another, and, according to Plutarch, Remus saw six vultures, while Romulus saw twelve. (since then, the Romans chiefly regard vultures when they take auguries from the flight of birds)

When Remus was enraged by Romulus’s victory, and as Romulus began digging a trench where his city's wall was to run on April 21, 753 BC, he ridiculed some parts of the work, and obstructed others.

At last, Remus leaped across the trench, an omen of bad luck, since this implied that his city was easily breached, Romulus slew him that instant. Faustulus was also killed in the fight that soon followed. Once the fighting subsided, Romulus buried both Remus and Faustulus; then he continued to build his city. He named the city Rome after himself, and served as its first king.

After the completion of the city, Romulus divided the people of Rome that were able to fight into regiments of 3000 infantry and 300 cavalry. Romulus called these regiments legions. The rest of the people became the populus of the city, and out of the populus, Romulus hand selected 100 of the most noble men to serve as a council for the city. He called these men Patricians and their council the Roman Senate. Romulus called these noble men Patricans not only because they were the fathers of legitimate sons, but also because he intended the great and the wealthy to treat the weak and the poor as fathers treat their sons.

Romulus spread the reputation of Rome as an asylum to all that desired a new life. Because of this, Rome attracted a population of exiles, refugees, murderers, criminals, and runaway slaves. Rome’s population grew so much that the city had settled five of the seven hills of Rome: the Capitoline Hill, the Aventine Hill, the Caelian Hill, the Quirinal Hill, and the Palatine Hill. Romulus however, saw a problem quickly forming before him. Seeing his city filling up at once with foreigners, few of whom had wives, Romulus decided he needed to fill his city with women as well.

To solve his problems, Romulus held a festival, the Consualia, and invited the neighboring Sabine tribe to attend as his guest. The Sabines came en masse, and brought with them their daughters. Romulus planned to kidnap the Sabine women and bring them back to Rome for his citizens. When the Sabines arrived, Romulus sat amongst his Senators, clad in purple.

The signal that the time had come for the onslaught was to be his rising and folding his cloak and then throwing it round him again. Armed with swords, many of his followers kept their eyes intently upon him, and when the signal was given, his nobles drew their swords, rushed in with shouts, and captured the daughters of the Sabines, but permitted and encouraged the men themselves to escape unharmed. In all, some 700 Sabine women were captured and brought back to Rome. (This event is remembered in various works of art titled “The Rape of the Sabine Women.”)

War with the Sabines

The Sabines, though a numerous and war-like people, found themselves bound by precious hostages, and fearing for their daughters, they sent ambassadors with reasonable and moderate demands that Romulus should give back their maidens, disavow his deed of violence, and then, by persuasion and legal enactment, establish a friendly relationship between the two peoples.

But Romulus would not surrender the maidens, and demanded that the Sabines should allow marriage with the Romans, whereupon they all held long deliberations and made extensive preparations for war.

While most of the Sabines were still busy with their preparations, the people of a few cities banded together against the Romans, and in a battle which ensued, they were defeated, and surrendered to Romulus their cities, their territory to be divided, and themselves to be transported to Rome. Romulus distributed among the citizens all the territory thus acquired, excepting that which belonged to the parents of the ravished maidens; this he suffered its owners to keep for themselves.

This enraged the Sabines, and in response appointed Titus Tatius as the supreme commander-in-chief of all the Sabines, marched his army on Rome. The city was difficult of access, having as its fortress the Capitoline Hill, on which a guard had been stationed, with a man named Tarpeius as its captain. But Tarpeia, a daughter of the commander, betrayed the citadel to the Sabines, having set her heart on the golden armlets which she saw them wearing, and she asked as payment for her treachery that which they wore on their left arms.

Tatius agreed to this, whereupon she opened one of the gates by night and let the Sabines in. Once inside, Tatius ordered his Sabines, mindful of their agreement, to begrudge the girl anything they wore on their left arms. Tatius was first to take from his arm not only his armlet, but at the same time his shield, and cast them upon her. All his men followed his example, and the girl was smitten by the gold and buried under the shields, and died from the number and weight of them.

With the Sabines controlling the Capitoline Hill, Romulus angrily challenged them to open battle, and Tatius boldly accepted. The Sabines marched down the Capitoline and battled the Romans between the hills in a swampy area which would one day become the Roman Forum. The Sabines overran the Romans and the Romans were forced back behind the very walls of Rome upon the Palatine Hill. From behind the walls, the Romans began to flee the battle.

Romulus bowed down and prayed to Jupiter and the Romans rallied back to Romulus and made a stand. Later, on the very spot where Romulus prayed, a temple to Jupiter Stator was built. (stator meaning “the stayer”) Romulus led the Romans on and they drove the Sabines back to the point where the Temple to Vesta would later stand.

Here, as the Romans and Sabines were preparing to renew the battle, they were stopped by the sight of the ravished daughters of the Sabines rushing from the city of Rome through the infantry and the dead bodies. The Sabine women ran up to their husbands and their fathers, some carrying young children in their arms. Both armies were so moved to compassion, they drew apart to give the women place between the battle lines.

The Sabine women begged their Roman husbands and their Sabine fathers and brothers to accept one another and live as one nation. With sorrow running through the ranks, a truce was made and the leaders held a conference. It was decided that both Romulus and Tatius would rule as joint kings of the Romans, including the newly added Sabines.

Rome doubled in its size. With the Romans inhabiting the Palatine Hill and the Sabines inhabiting the Quirinal Hill, the two nations choose a third hill to serve as the center of government and administation for the city of Rome, the Capitoline Hill. From the new Sabine citizens, 100 new noble men were selected to become Patricians and joined the ranks of the Senate.

The legions were doubled in size, from 3000 infantry and 300 cavalry to 6000 infantry and 600 cavalry (roughly the same numbers as the classical Roman legion). The cultures of the Romans and Sabine also combined in this union. The Sabines adopted the Roman calendar, and the Romans adopted the armor and oblong shield of the Sabines.

Life After the Founding of Rome

After five years of joint rule, Tatius was assassinated by foreign ambassadors and Romulus became the sole king of the Romans. Romulus introduced legislation that prevented adultery and murder. As the king of Rome, Romulus was not only the commander-in-chief of the army but also the city’s chief judicial authority. His judgements of many crimes were held in place for over six hundred years without a single case being reported in Rome of his judgements being questioned.

Under Romulus' administration, the people of Rome were divided into three tribes: one for Latins (Ramnes), a second for Sabines (Tities), and a third for Etruscans (Luceres). These three tribes became the Romans.

Each of these tribes had a tribune who represented their respective tribes in all civil, religious, and military affairs. When in the city, they were the magistrates of their tribes, and performed sacrifices on their behalf, and in times of war they were Rome's military commanders. The Ramnes derived their name from Romulus, the Tities derived their name from Titus Tatius, and the Luceres derived their name from an Etruscan title of honor.

After creating the three tribes, the Comitia Curiata was instituted. To form the basic of the Comitia Curiate, Romulus divided each of the three tribes into ten curiae, with the thirty curiae deriving their individual names from thiry Sabine women whom Romulus and his followers had kidnapped.

Each of the individual curia were then subdivided into ten gentes, which formed the basis for the nomen in the Roman naming convention. When Romulus would convene the Comitia Curiate and lay proposals from either himself or the Senate before the Curiate for ratification, the ten gentes within each curia would cast a vote, with the collective vote of the curia going to the majority of the gentes. This formed the basis for the modern Electoral College.

Romulus, being a martial man, formed for himself a personal guard called the Celeres. The Celeres consisted of Rome's three hundred finest horsemen who were under the command of the Celerum Tribune, who was also the Tribune for the Ramnes Tribe. The Celeres derived their name from their leader, a close friend of Romulus named Celers who helped him slay Remus and found the city of Rome.

This special military unit functioned very much like the Praetorian Guard of Augustus as it was responsible for Romulus' personal safety and for the security of Rome while the legions were on her boarders. The relationship between Romulus and his Tribune is also similar to the relation between the Roman Dictator and his Magister Equitum. Celer, as the Celerum Tribune, occupied the second place in the state, and in Romulus' absence he had the rights of convoking the Comitia and commanding the armies.

From the founding of Rome until his death, Romulus waged wars and expanded his territory, thus Rome’s territory, for over two decades. He conquered many of the neighboring cities, namely Etruscan cities, and gained unequaled control over the area of Latium, Tuscany, Umbria, and Abruzzo. In what would become the traditional Roman style of warfare, though Romulus may have lost some battles along the way, he never lost a single war in which he fought.

After his final wars against the Etruscans, the king of Alba Longa, Numitor, Romulus’ biological grandfather, died. The people of Alba Longa freely offered the crown to Romulus, believing he was the one rightful ruler of the city as the blood heir to Numitor. Romulus accepted dominion over the city, but gained much favor with the city’s populus by placing the government in the hands of the people within the city. Once a year, Romulus appointed a governor over the city from a man selected by the people of Alba Longa.

In his elderly state, Romulus grew to rely less and less upon the Senate. Though this was entirly legal, it went against tradition. The Senate became just for show, holding no say in the administration of the city. The Senate could only be convened when Romulus called for it, and once assembled, the Senators merely sat in silence and listened to his edicts.

The Senators soon found that their only advantage over the common man was that they learned what Romulus decreed sooner then the commoners did. On his own authority, he divided the territory acquired in war among his soldiers, and without the consent or wish of the Patricians. The Patricians thought he was insulting their Senate outright. Although the Senators grew to hate, they feared him too much to defy him openly and show him their displeasure.

Death, Resurrection, and Ascension

Romulus's life ended in the 38th year of his reign, with a supernatural disappearance, if he was not slain by the Senate. One day, when Romulus and all the people had gone to the plain beyond the city, a sudden storm arose. The darkness became so great that the people fled in terror.

When the storm was over, the Romans returned. To their surprise, however, Romulus had disappeared. The people sent for him, but none could find him. The people were amazed, and were all talking about his sudden disappearance, and wondering what could have become of their king, when one of the Senators stood up and called for silence.

After the Senator calmed the mass of people, he told the assembled Romans that he had seen Romulus being carried up into the heavens. Romulus, the Senator said, had called out that he was going to live with the gods, and wished his people to worship him as the god Quirinus. In response, the Romans built a temple on the hill where the Senator said that Romulus had risen to heaven. This hill was called the Quirinal Hill in Romulus' honor, and for many years the Romans worshiped Romulus, the founder of their city, and their first king from that very spot.

Plutarch (Life of Numa Pompilius) tells the legend with a note of skepticism:

"It was the thirty-seventh year, counted from the foundation of Rome, when Romulus, then reigning, did, on the fifth day of the month of July, called the Caprotine Nones, offer a public sacrifice at the Goat's Marsh, in presence of the senate and people of Rome. Suddenly the sky was darkened, a thick cloud of storm and rain settled on the earth; the common people fled in affright, and were dispersed; and in this whirlwind Romulus disappeared, his body being never found either living or dead.

A foul suspicion presently attached to the patricians, and rumors were current among the people as if that they, weary of kingly government, and exasperated of late by the imperious deportment of Romulus towards them, had plotted against his life and made him away, that so they might assume the authority and government into their own hands.

This suspicion they sought to turn aside by decreeing divine honors to Romulus, as to one not dead but translated to a higher condition. And Proculus, a man of note, took oath that he saw Romulus caught up into heaven in his arms and vestments, and heard him, as he ascended, cry out that they should hereafter style him by the name of Quirinus."

"Then a few voices began to proclaim Romulus's divinity; the cry was taken up, and at last every man present hailed him as a god and son of a god, and prayed to him to be for ever gracious and to protect his children. However, even on this great occasion there were, I believe, a few dissentients who secretly maintained that the king had been torn to pieces by the senators.

At all events the story got about, though in veiled terms; but it was not important, as awe, and admiration for Romulus's greatness, set the seal upon the other version of his end, which was, moreover, given further credit by the timely action of a certain Julius Proculus, a man, we are told, honored for his wise counsel on weighty matters.

The loss of the king had left the people in an uneasy mood and suspicious of the senators, and Proculus, aware of the prevalent temper, conceived the shrewd idea of addressing the Assembly. Romulus, he declared, the father of our City descended from heaven at dawn this morning and appeared to me.

In awe and reverence I stood before him, praying for permission to look upon his face without sin. "Go," he said, "and tell the Romans that by heaven's will my Rome shall be capital of the world. Let them learn to be soldiers. Let them know, and teach their children, that no power on earth can stand against Roman arms." Having spoken these words, he was taken up again into the sky."

(Livy, 1.16, trans. A. de Selincourt, The Early History of Rome, 34-35)

As the god Quirinus, Romulus joined Jupiter and Mars as Quirinus in the Archaic Triad. Quirinus was depicted as a bearded warrior in both religious and battle clothing weilding a spear, thus he is viewed a god of war and as the strength of the Roman people, but more importantly, as the deified likeness of the city of Rome itself.

Quirinus received a Flamen Maiores called the Flamen Quirinalis, who over saw his worship and rituals. The Romans even called themselves Quirites in his honor. After Romulus' death, he was succeeded by Numa Pompilius as the second King of Rome.

For this reason, the archaeologists find in the deposits big quantity of fragments that contribute a lot of information about the daily life and the economy of his users.

The raw material that was used, the clay, is very abundant in the nature for what it turns out to be cheaper than other

For his manufacture a mould was used. It was consisting of realizing a mould previous also in clay imitating the way to realize the interior wall a decoration in negative by means of the impression with punches of varied motives. Once I dry the mould there was applied on his interior surface the pasta that, for pressure, on having moved back, was going out with the decoration in relief.

Another characteristic was his manufacture in series owed precisely to the use of moulds and staff.

This lowed the price of the costs and allowed his massive commercialization on markets much removed from the centers of production.

His name comes given by the need to distinguish the potters and the alfares in which it was made. For it the pieces were marked with stamps (sigilla), generally at the bottom of the piece.

In the Iberian Peninsula soon they learned to make this type of ceramics that the archaeologists call terra sigillata Hispanic and that begins to be made from the Ist century A.D.

Another guy of Roman ceramics was considering of certain luxury was named of " thin walls ", call like that for the thinness of his walls, which was not an obstacle so that often it was also decorated. These ceramics develop also in the Ist century A.D.

Another type was the identical ceramics, known already before the Roman presence in the Iberian Peninsula. It is characterized for always taking a decoration identical with red and black tones principally and with brush in his exterior.

Zeus, the youngest son of Cronus and Rhea, he was the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus and of the Pantheon of gods who resided there.

Being the supreme ruler he upheld law, justice and morals, and this made him the spiritual leader of both gods and men. Zeus was a celestial god, and originally worshiped as a weather god by the Greek tribes. These people came southward from the Balkans circa 2100 BCE. He has always been associated as being a weather god, as his main attribute is the thunderbolt, he controlled thunder, lightning

and rain. Theocritus wrote circa 265 BCE: "sometimes Zeus is clear, sometimes he rains". He is also known to have caused thunderstorms. In Homer's epic poem the Iliad he sent thunderstorms against his enemies. The name Zeus is related to the Greek word dios, meaning "bright". His other attributes as well as lightning were the scepter, the eagle and his aegis (this was the goat-skin of Amaltheia).

Before the abolition of monarchies, Zeus was protector of the king and his family. Once the age of Greek kings faded into democracy he became chief judge and peacemaker, but most importantly civic god. He brought peace in Museum.

place of violence and Hesiod (circa 700 BCE) describes Zeus as "the lord of justice". Zeus was also known as "Kosmetas" (orderer), "Soter" (savior), "Polieos" (overseer of the polis, city) and "Eleutherios" (guarantor of political freedoms). His duties in this role were to maintain the laws, protect suppliants, to summon festivals and to give prophecies (his oldest and most famous oracle was at Dodona, in Epirus, northwestern Greece). As the supreme deity Zeus oversaw the conduct of civilized life. But the "father of gods and men" as Homer calls him, has many mythological tales.

His most famous was told by Hesiod in his Theogony, of how Zeus usurped the kingdom of the immortals from his father. This mythological tale of Zeus' struggle against the Titans (Titanomachy) had been caused by Cronus, after he had been warned that one of his children would depose him. Cronus knowing the consequences, as he had overthrown his father Uranus.

To prevent this from happening Cronus swallowed his newborn children Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon, but his wife Rhea (who was also his sister) and Gaia her mother, wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes in place of the infant Zeus. Cronus thinking it was the newborn baby swallowed the stone. Meanwhile Rhea had her baby taken to Crete, and there, in a cave on Mount Dicte, the divine goat Amaltheia suckled and raised the infant Zeus.

When Zeus had grown into a young man he returned to his fathers domain, and with the help of Gaia, compelled Cronus to regurgitate the five children he had previously swallowed (in some versions Zeus received help from Metis who gave Cronus an emetic potion, which made him vomit up Zeus' brothers and sisters). However, Zeus led the revolt against his father and the dynasty of the Titans, defeated and then banished them. Once Zeus had control, he and his brothers divided the universe between them: Zeus gaining the heavens, Poseidon the sea and Hades the underworld.

Zeus had to defend his heavenly kingdom. The three separate assaults were from the offspring of Gaia: they were the Gigantes, Typhon (Zeus fought them with his thunder-bolt and aegis) and the twin brothers who were called the Aloadae. The latter tried to gain access to the heavens by stacking Mount Ossa on top of Mount Olympus, and Mount Pelion on top of Mount Ossa, but the twins still failed in their attempt to overthrow Zeus. As he did with the Titans, Zeus banished them all to "Tartarus", which is the lowest region on earth, lower than the underworld.

According to legend, Metis, the goddess of prudence, was the first love of Zeus. At first she tried in vain to escape his advances, but in the end succumbed to his endeavor, and from their union Athena was conceived. Gaia warned Zeus that Metis would bear a daughter, whose son would overthrow him.

On hearing this Zeus swallowed Metis, the reason for this was to continue to carry the child through to the birth himself. Hera (his wife and sister) was outraged and very jealous of her husband's affair, also of his ability to give birth without female participation. To spite Zeus she gave birth to Hephaestus parthenogenetically (without being fertilized) and it was Hephaestus who, when the time came, split open the head of Zeus, from which Athena emerged fully armed.

Zeus had many offspring; his wife Hera bore him Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe and Eileithyia, but Zeus had numerous liaisons with both goddesses and mortals. He either raped them, or used devious means to seduce the unsuspecting maidens. His union with Leto (meaning the hidden one) brought forth the twins Apollo and Artemis.

Once again Hera showed her jealousy by forcing Leto to roam the earth in search of a place to give birth, as Hera had stopped her from gaining shelter on terra-firma or at sea. The only place she could go was to the isle of Delos in the middle of the Aegean, the reason being that Delos was, as legend states, a floating island.

Besides deities, he also fathered many mortals. In some of his human liaisons Zeus used devious disguises. When he seduced the Spartan queen Leda, he transformed himself into a beautiful swan, and from the egg which Leda produced, two sets of twins were born: Castor and Polydeuces and Clytemnestra and Helen of Troy. He visited princess Danae as a shower of gold, and from this union the hero Perseus was born.

He abducted the Phoenician princess Europa, disguised as a bull, then carried her on his back to the island of Crete where she bore three sons: Minos, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon. Zeus also took as a lover the Trojan prince Ganymede. He was abducted by an eagle sent by Zeus (some legends believe it was Zeus disguised as an eagle). The prince was taken to Mount Olympus, where he became Zeus' cup-bearer.

Zeus also used his charm and unprecedented power to seduce those he wanted, so when Zeus promised Semele that he would reveal himself in all his splendor, in order to seduce her, the union produced Dionysus, but she was destroyed when Zeus appeared as thunder and lightening.

Themis, the goddess of justice bore the three Horae, goddesses of the seasons to Zeus, and also the three Moirae, known as these Fates. When Zeus had an affair with Mnemosyne, he coupled with her for nine consecutive nights, which produced nine daughters, who became known as the Muses. They entertained their father and the other gods as a celestial choir on Mount Olympus. They became deities of intellectual pursuits. Also the three Charites or Graces were born from Zeus and Eurynome. From all his children Zeus gave man all he needed to live life in an ordered and moral way.

Zeus had many Temples and festivals in his honor, the most famous of his sanctuaries being Olympia, the magnificent "Temple of Zeus", which held the gold and ivory statue of the enthroned Zeus, sculpted by Phidias and hailed as one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World". Also the Olympic Games were held in his honor.

The Nemean Games, which were held every two years, were to honor Zeus. There were numerous festivals throughout Greece: in Athens they celebrated the marriage of Zeus and Hera with the Theogamia (or Gamelia). The celebrations were many: in all, Zeus had more than 150 epithets, each one being celebrated in his honor.

In art, Zeus was usually portrayed as bearded, middle aged but with a youthful figure. He would look very regal and imposing. Artists always tried to reproduce the power of Zeus in their work, usually by giving him a pose as he is about to throw his bolt of lightening. There are many statues of Zeus, but without doubt the Artemisium Zeus is the most magnificent. It was previously thought to be Poseidon, and can be seen in the Athens National Archaeologica.

Roman Empire is also used as translation of the expression Imperium Romanum, probably the best known Latin expression where the word "imperium" is used in the meaning of a territory, the "Roman Empire", as that part of the world where Rome ruled.

The expansion of this Roman territory beyond the borders

of the initial city-state of Rome had started long before the state organisation turned into an Empire. One of the first historians to describe this expansion of the Roman territory was the Greek Polybius, writing in the Epoch of the Roman Republic. In its territorial peak after the conquest of Dacia, the Roman Empire controlled approximately 5,900,000 sq.km., or 2,300,000 sq.mi. of land surface, being the largest of all empires during classical antiquity.

In the centuries before the autocracy of Augustus, Rome had already

accumulated most of its territory beyond the Italian Peninsula, including former Mediterranean competitors Syracuse and Carthage. In the late Republic Augustus (then still "Octavian") added Egypt definitively to the Imperium Romanum. The remainder of this article treats the Roman Empire as Imperial state (see Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic for development of the territory in earlier times).

Augustus' reforms turning the Roman state into an Empire survived mostly unchanged until the Diocletian reform at end of the 3rd century, which turned the empire into a tetrarchy. While the political form given by Diocletian was short-lived, it led to the division of the Empire into two halves. This allowed Roman rule to continue for two more centuries over the whole empire, although divided into the Eastern and the Western Roman Empire.

The end of the Western Empire is traditionally set in 4 September 476 AD, as the Germanic chieftain Odoacer forced the abdication of last Western Emperor Romulus Augustus and sent the Imperial insignia to Constantinople; henceforth Odoacer ruled nominally as dux on behalf of Constantinople. After another millennium, in 1453 AD, the Eastern Empire, better known as the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottoman Turks.

From Augustus to the Fall of the Western Empire Rome dominated the region of Western Eurasia, comprising over half its population. The influence of the Roman Empire's on the culture, law, language, religion, government, military, and architecture of the Western civilation remains inescapable.

The Greeks adopted the Roman name in the Middle Ages and were known as Romans, a trend that survives until today in Greece, a result of their cultural position (see Names of the Greeks). Roman titles of power were adopted by most of the successor states and later entities with imperial pretensions, including the Frankish kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire, the Bulgarian Empires, the Russian/Kiev dynasties, and the German Empire. See also Roman culture.

Because the empire of Rome lasted for such a long period of time (31 BC– 1453 AD), there are certain alternative names used by historians to distinguish between various semantic periods or eras. Such names include Western Roman Empire, Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire which are used interchangeably throughout this article to mean the same as Roman Empire (or the Western or Eastern part thereof).

Traditionaly, historians make a distinction between the Principate, the period following Augustus until the Crisis of the Third Century, and the Dominate, the period from Diocletian until the end of the Empire in the West. According to this theory, during the Principate (from the Latin word princeps, meaning "first citizen") the realities of dictatorship were carefully concealed behind Republican forms; while during the Dominate (from the word dominus, meaning "Master") imperial power showed its naked face, with golden crowns and ornate imperial ritual.

More recently historians established that the situation was far more nuanced: certain historical forms continued until the Byzantine period, more than one thousand years after they were created, and displays of imperial majesty were common from the earliest days of the Empire.

As a matter of convenience, the Roman Empire is held to have begun with the constitutional settlement following the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. In fact the Republican institutions at Rome had been slowly destroyed over the preceding century and Rome had been in continuous political crisis with periods of dictatorial rule since Sulla.

The long, peaceful and consensual reign of Augustus greatly changed the view toward hereditary monarchy. Rome–the city that had not too long before assassinated its leader, Julius Caesar, when his ambitions seemed to threaten the republic–now placidly accepted one man rule.

Augustus' reign was notable for several long-lasting achievements that would define the Empire:

Creation of a hereditary office, which we refer to as Emperor of Rome.

Fixation of the payscale. Duration of Roman military service marked the final step in the evolution of the Roman Army from a citizen army to a professional one.

Creation of the Praetorian Guard, which would make and unmake emperors for centuries.

Expansion to the easibly defendable natural borders of the Empire. The borders reached upon Augustus' death remained the limits of Empire, with minimal exceptions, for the next four hundred years.

Development of trade links with regions as far away as India and China.

Creation of a civil service outside of the Senatorial structure, leading to a continuous weakening of Senatorial authority.

Enactment of the lex Julia of 18 BC and the lex Papia Poppaea of AD 9, which rewarded childbearing and penalized celibacy.

Promulgation of the cult of the Deified Julius Caesar throughout the Empire. This tradition of deifying the Emperor upon his death lasted until the time of Constantine, who was made both a Roman god and "the Thirteenth Apostle" upon his death.

Cultural developments

The Augustan period saw a tremendous outpouring of cultural achievement in the areas of poetry, history, sculpture and architecture. At the same time, a tremendous outpouring of energy in founding colonies and municipia, unrivalled in Rome before or after, succeeded in Romanizing extensive territories in the East, in Africa, in Hispania and Gaul, beyond those areas that were traditionally within the Roman sphere of influence.

Sources

The Age of Augustus is paradoxically far more poorly documented than the Late Republican period that preceded it. While Livy wrote his magisterial history during Augustus' reign and his work covered all of Roman history through 9 BC, only epitomes survive of his coverage of the Late Republican and Augustan periods. Our important primary sources for this period include the:

Res Gestae Divi Augusti, Augustus' highly partisan autobiography,

Historiae Romanae by Velleius Paterculus, a disorganized work which remains the best annals of the Augustan period, and

Controversiae and Suasoriae of Seneca the Elder.

Though primary accounts of this period are few, works of poetry, legislation and engineering from this period provide important insights into Roman life. Archeology, including maritime archeology, aerial surveys, epigraphic inscriptions on buildings, and Augustan coinage, has also provided valuable evidence about economic, social and military conditions.

Secondary sources on the Augustan Age include Tacitus, Dio Cassius, Plutarch and Suetonius. Josephus' Jewish Antiquities is the important source for Judea in this period, which became a province during Augustus' reign.

Augustus, leaving no sons, was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, the son of his wife Livia from her first marriage. Augustus was a scion of the gens Julia (the Julian family), one of the most ancient patrician clans of Rome, while Tiberius was a scion of the gens Claudia, only slightly less ancient than the Julians.

Their three immediate successors were all descended both from the gens Claudia, through Tiberius' brother Nero Claudius Drusus, and from gens Julia, either through Julia Caesaris, Augustus' daughter from his first marriage (Caligula and Nero), or through Augustus' sister Octavia (Claudius). Historians thus refer to their dynasty as "Julio-Claudian".

Tiberius (14–37) The early years of Tiberius' reign were peaceful and relatively benign. Tiberius secured the power of Rome and enriched its treasury. However, Tiberius' reign soon became characterized by paranoia and slander. In 19, he was popularly blamed for the death of his nephew, the popular Germanicus. In 23 his own son Drusus died. More and more, Tiberius retreated into himself.

He began a series of treason trials and executions. He left power in the hands of the commander of the guard, Aelius Sejanus. Tiberius himself retired to live at his villa on the island of Capri in 26, leaving administration in the hands of Sejanus, who carried on the persecutions with relish.

Sejanus also began to consolidate his own power; in 31 he was named co-consul with Tiberius and married Livilla, the emperor's niece. At this point he was hoist by his own petard: the Emperor's paranoia, which he had so ably exploited for his own gain, was turned against him. Sejanus was put to death, along with many of his cronies, the same year. The persecutions continued until Tiberius' death in 37.

Caligula (37–41) At the time of Tiberius' death most of the people who might have succeeded him had been brutally murdered. The logical successor (and Tiberius' own choice) was his grandnephew, Germanicus' son Gaius (better known as Caligula). Caligula started out well, by putting an end to the persecutions and burning his uncle's records. Unfortunately, he quickly lapsed into illness.

The Caligula that emerged in late 37 may have suffered from epilepsy, and was probably insane. He ordered his soldiers to invade Britain, but changed his mind at the last minute and had them pick sea shells on the northern end of France instead. It is believed he carried on incestuous relations with his sisters.

He had ordered a statue of himself to be erected in the Temple at Jerusalem, which would have undoubtedly led to revolt if he had not been dissuaded. In 41, Caligula was assassinated by the commander of the guard Cassius Chaerea. The only member left of the imperial family to take charge was his own uncle, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus.

Claudius (41–54) Claudius had long been considered a weakling and a fool by the rest of his family. He was, however, neither paranoid like his uncle Tiberius, nor insane like his nephew Caligula, and was therefore able to administer the empire with reasonable ability.

He improved the bureaucracy and streamlined the citizenship and senatorial rolls. He also proceeded with the conquest and colonization of Britain (in 43), and incorporated more Eastern provinces into the empire. He ordered the construction of a winter port for Rome, at Ostia, thereby providing a place for grain from other parts of the Empire to be brought in inclement weather.

In his own family life, Claudius was less successful. His wife Messalina cuckolded him; when he found out, he had her executed and married his niece, Agrippina the younger. She, along with several of his freedmen, held an inordinate amount of power over him, and very probably poisened him in 54. Claudius was deified later that year. The death of Claudius paved the way for Agrippina's own son, the 16-year-old Lucius Domitius Nero.

Nero (54–69) Initially, Nero left the rule of Rome to his mother and his tutors, particularly Lucius Annaeus Seneca. However, as he grew older, his desire for power and paranoia increased and he had his mother and tutors executed. During Nero's reign, there were a series of major riots and rebellions throughout the Empire: in Britain, Armenia, Parthia, and Judaea.

Nero's inability to manage the rebellions and his basic incompetence became evident quickly and in 68, even the Imperial guard renounced him. Nero is best remembered by the rumour that he played the lyre and sang during the Great Fire of Rome, and hence "fiddled while Rome burned" (though the fiddle had yet to be invented). Nero is also remembered for his immense rebuilding of Rome following the fires.

Nero committed suicide, and the year 69 was a year of civil war and is known as the Year of the Four Emperors, with Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian ruling as Emperors in quick and violent succession. By the end of the year, Vespasian was able to solidify his power as emperor of Rome.

Two military "Danger Zones", Rebellions, Uprisings and political consequences

It was relativly easy to rule the Roman Empire, from the central capital of Rome, during peacetime. An eventual rebellion was expected and would happen from time to time: a general or a governor would gain the loyalty of his officers through a mixture of personal charisma, promises and simple bribes. This would be a bad, but not a catastrophic event.

The legions were spread around the borders and the rebel leader would in normal circumstances, have only one or two legions under his command. Loyal legions would be detached from other points of the empire and would eventually drown the rebellion in blood. This happened even more easily in case of a local native uprising as the rebels would normally have no great military experience. Unless the Emperor was weak, incompetent and/or universally despised and hated these rebellions would be a local and isolated event.

During real wartime however, which could develop from a rebellion or a uprising, like the massive Jewish rebellion, this was totally and dangerously different. In a full-blown military campaign the legions under the command of the generals like Vespasian, were of a much greater number. A paranoid or wise emperor would hold some members of the general´s family as hostages, to make certain of the latter´s loyalty.

In effect, Nero held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis the governor of Ostia, who were respectivly, the younger son and the brother-in-law of Vespasian. This would be in normal circumstances quite enough. In fact, the rule of Nero ended with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard who had been bribed in the name of Galba.

It became all too obvious that the Praetorian Guard was a sword of Damocles, whose loyalty was all too often bought and who became inceasingly greedy. Following their example the legions at the borders would also increasingly participate in the civil wars. This was a dangerous development as this would weaken the whole Roman Army.

The main enemy, in the West, were arguably in the the "barbarian tribes" behind the Rhine and the Danube. Octavian had tried to conquer them, but ultimatably failed and these "barbarians" were greatly feared. But by the large, they were left in peace, in order to fight amongst themselves, and were simply too divided to pose a greater threat.

The Parthian Empire, in the East, on the other hand, was simply too far away to be conquered. Any Parthian invasion was confronted and usually defeated but the threat itself was ultimately impossible to destroy.

In the case of a Roman civil war these two enemies would seize the oportunity to invade Roman territory in order to raid and plunder. The two respective military frontiers became a matter of major political importance due to the number of the legions stationed there. All too often their generals would rebel, starting a new civil war. Indeed, many emperors would follow this path to power. To control the western border from Rome was relativly easy as it was relativly close.

To control both frontiers, at the same time, during wartime, was hard. It was no longer enough to be a good administrator, emperors were increasingly near the troops in order to control them and no single emperor could be at the two frontiers at the same time. This problem would plague the "ruling" emperors time and time again and many "future" emperors would follow this path to power.

Flavian Dynasty

The Flavians, although a relatively short lived dynasty, helped restore stability to an empire on its knees. Although there are criticisms of all three, especially based on their more centralized style of rule, it was the reforms and good rule of the three that helped create a stable empire that would last well into the 3rd Century. However, their background as a military dynasty led to further irrelevancy of the senate, and the move from princeps, or first citizen, to imperator, or emperor, was finalized during their reign.

Vespasian (69–79) Vespasian was a remarkably successful Roman general who had been given rule over much of the eastern part of the Roman Empire. He had supported the imperial claims of Galba; however, on his death, Vespasian became a major contender for the throne. After the suicide of Otho, Vespasian was able to hijack Rome's winter grain supply in Egypt, placing him in a good position to defeat his remaining rival, Vitellius.

On December 20, 69, some of Vespasian's partisans were able to occupy Rome. Vitellius was murdered by his own troops, and the next day, Vespasian was confirmed as Emperor by the Senate. At the age of 60 and battle hardened he was hardly a charismatic emperor, but he turned out to be an excellent ruler none the less.

Although Vespasian was considered quite the autocrat by the senate, he mostly continued the weakening of that body that had been going since the reign of Tiberius. This was typified by his dating his accession to power from July 1, when his troops proclaimed him emperor, instead of December 21, when the Senate confirmed his appointment.

Another example was his assumption of the censorship in 73, giving him power over who made up the senate. He used that power to expel dissident senators. At the same time, he increased the number of senators from 200, at that low level due to the actions of Nero and the year of crisis that followed, to 1000, most of the new senators coming not from Rome but from Italy and the urban centers within the western provinces.

Vespasian was able to liberate Rome from the financial burdens placed upon it by Nero's excesses and the civil wars. To do this, he not only increased taxes, but created new forms of taxation. Also, through his power as censor he was able to carefully examine the fiscal status of every city and province, many paying taxes based upon information and structures more than a century old.

Through this sound fiscal policy, he was able to build up a surplus in the treasury and embark on public works projects. It was he who first commissioned the Roman Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater); he also built a forum whose centerpiece was a temple to Peace. In addition, he alloted sizable subsidies to the arts, creating a chair of rhetoric at Rome.

Vespasian was also an effective emperor for the provinces in his decades of office, having posts all across the empire, both east and west. In the west he gave considerable favoritism to Spain in which he granted Latin rights to over three hundred towns and cities, promoting a new era of urbanization throughout the western (i.e. formerly barbarian) provinces.

Through the additions he made to the Senate he allowed greater influence of the provinces in the Senate, helping to promote unity in the empire. He also extended the borders of the empire on every front, most of which was done to help strengthen the frontier defenses, one of Vespasian's main goals. The crisis of 69 had wrought havoc on the army.

One of the most marked problems had been the support lent by provincial legions to men who supposedly represented the best will of their province. This was mostly caused by the placement of native auxiliary units in the areas they were recruited in, a practice Vespasian stopped.

He mixed auxiliary units with men from other areas of the empire or moved the units away from where they were recruited to help stop this. Also, to further reduce the chances of another military coup he broke up the legions, and instead of placing them in singular concentrations broke them up along the border. Perhaps the most important military reform he undertook was the extension of legion recruitment from exclusively Italy to Gaul and Spain, in line with the Romanization of those areas.

Titus (79–81) Titus, the eldest son of Vespasian, had been groomed to rule. He had served as an effective general under his father, helping to secure the east and eventually taking over the command of Roman armies in Syria and Palestine, quelling the significant Jewish revolt going on at the time. He shared the consul for several years with his father and received the best tutelage.

Although there was some trepidation when he took office due to his known dealings with some of the less respectable elements of Roman society, he quickly proved his merit, even recalling many exiled by his father as a show of good faith. However, his short reign was marked by disaster: in 79, Vesuvius erupted in Pompeii, and in 80, a fire decimated much of Rome.

His generosity in rebuilding after these tragedies made him very popular. Titus was very proud of his work on the vast amphitheater begun by his father. He held the opening ceremonies in the still unfinished edifice during the year 80, celebrating with a lavish show that featured 100 gladiators and lasted 100 days.

Titus died in 81, at the age of 41 of what is presumed to be illness; it was rumored that his brother Domitian murdered him in order to become his successor, although these claims have little merit. Whatever the case, he was greatly mourned and missed.

Domitian (81–96) The Flavians all had rather poor relations with the senate due to their more autocratic style, however Domitian was the only one who truly created significant problems. His continuous control as consul and censor throughout his rule, the former his father sharing in much the same way of his Julio-Claudian forerunners, the latter having difficulty even obtaining, were unheard of.

In addition, he often appeared in full military regalia as an imperator, an affront to the idea of what the Principate-era emperor's power was based upon, the emperor as the princeps. His reputation in the Senate aside, he kept the people of Rome happy through various measures, including donations to every resident of Rome, wild spectacles in the newly finished Colosseum, and continuing the public works projects of his father and brother.

He also apparently had the good fiscal sense of his father, because although he spent lavishly his successors came to power with a well endowed treasury.

However, during the end of his reign Domitian became extremely paranoid which probably had its initial roots in the treatment he received by his father: although given significant responsibility, he was never trusted with anything important without supervision.

This flowered into the severe and perhaps pathological repercussions following the short lived rebellion in 89 of Antonius Saturninus, a governor and commander in Germany. Domitian's paranoia led to a large number of arrests, executions, and seizure of property (which might help explain his ability to spend so lavishly).

Eventually it got to the point where even his closest advisers and family members lived in fear, leading them to his murder in 96 orchestrated by his enemies in the Senate, Stephanus (the steward of the deceased Julia Flavia), members of the Pretorian Guard and empress Domitia Longina.

The next century came is known as the period of the "Five Good Emperors", in which the succession was peaceful though not dynastic and the Empire was prosperous. The emperors of this period were Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161) and Marcus Aurelius (161–180), each being adopted by his predecessor as his successor during the latter's lifetime.

While their respective choices of successor were based upon the merits of the individual men they selected, it has been argued that the real reason for the lasting success of the adoptive scheme of succession lay more with the fact that none of them had a natural heir.

Under Trajan, the Empire's borders briefly achieved their maximum extension with provinces created in Mesopotamia in 117. From 166, Roman embassies to China, first sent under the reign of Antonius Pius and probably traveling on the southern sea route, are recorded in Chinese historical sources such as the Later Han History.

The period of the "five good emperors" was brought to an end by the reign of Commodus from 180 to 192. Commodus was the son of Marcus Aurelius, making him the first direct successor in a century, breaking the scheme of adoptive successors that had turned out so well. He was co-emperor with his father from 177.

When he became sole emperor upon the death of his father in 180, it was at first seen as a hopeful sign by the people of the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, as generous and magnanimous as his father was, Commodus turned out to be just the opposite.

Commodus is often thought to have been insane, and he was certainly given to excess. He began his reign by making an unfavorable peace treaty with the Marcomanni, who had been at war with Marcus Aurelius. Commodus also had a passion for gladiatorial combat, which he took so far as to take to the arena himself, dressed as a gladiator. In 190, a part of the city of Rome burned, and Commodus took the opportunity to "re-found" the city of Rome in his own honor, as Colonia Commodiana.

The months of the calendar were all renamed in his honor, and the senate was renamed as the Commodian Fortunate Senate. The army became known as the Commodian Army. Commodus was strangled in his sleep in 192, a day before he planned to march into the Senate dressed as a gladiator to take office as a consul.

Upon his death, the Senate passed damnatio memoriae on him and restored the proper name to the city of Rome and its institutions. The popular movies The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Gladiator (2000) were loosely based on the career of the emperor Commodus, although they should not be taken as accurate historical depictions of his life.

Severan dynasty (193–235)

The Severan dynasty includes the increasingly troubled reigns of Septimius Severus (193–211), Caracalla (211–217), Macrinus (217–218), Elagabalus (218–222), and Alexander Severus (222–235). The founder of the dynasty, Lucius Septimius Severus, belonged to a leading native family of Leptis Magna in Africa who allied himself with a prominent Syrian family by his marriage to Julia Domna.

Their provincial background and cosmopolitan alliance, eventually giving rise to imperial rulers of Syrian background, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus, testifies to the broad political franchise and economic development of the Roman empire that had been achieved under the Antonines. A generally successful ruler, Septimius Severus cultivated the army's support with substantial remuneration in return for total loyalty to the emperor and substituted equestrian officers for senators in key administrative positions.

In this way, he successfully broadened the power base of the imperial administration throughout the empire. Abolishing the regular standing jury courts of Republican times, Septimius Severus was likewise able to transfer additional power to the executive branch of the government, of which he was decidedly the chief representative.

Septimius Severus' son, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — nicknamed Caracalla — removed all legal and political distinction between Italians and provincials, enacting the Constitutio Antoniniana in 212 which extended full Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. Caracalla was also responsible for erecting the famous Baths of Caracalla in Rome, their design serving as an architectural model for many subsequent monumental public buildings.

Increasingly unstable and autocratic, Caracalla was assassinated by the praetorian prefect Macrinus in 217, who succeeded him briefly as the first emperor not of senatorial rank. The imperial court, however, was dominated by formidable women who arranged the succession of Elagabalus in 218, and Alexander Severus, the last of the dynasty, in 222. In the last phase of the Severan principate, the power of the Senate was somewhat revived and a number of fiscal reforms were enacted.

Despite early successes against the Sassanian Empire in the East, Alexander Severus' increasing inability to control the army led eventually to its mutiny and his assassination in 235. The death of Alexander Severus ushered in a subsequent period of soldier-emperors and almost a half-century of civil war and strife.

Crisis of the 3rd Century (235–284)

The Crisis of the 3rd Century is a commonly applied name for the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 and 284. During this period, Rome was ruled by more than 35 individuals, most of them prominent generals who assumed Imperial power over all or part of the empire, only to lose it by defeat in battle, murder, or death.

After nearly 50 years of external invasion, internal civil wars and economic chaos, the Empire was on the verge of ending. A series of tough soldier-emperors saved the empire, but in the process fundamentally changed the Roman Empire. The transitions of this period mark the beginnings of Late Antiquity and the end of Classical Antiquity.

The transition from a single united empire to the later divided Western and Eastern empires was a gradual transformation. In July, 285, Diocletian defeated rival Emperor Carinus and briefly became sole emperor of the Roman Empire.

Diocletian saw that the vast Roman Empire was ungovernable by a single emperor in the face of internal pressures and military threats on two fronts. He therefore split the Empire in half along a north-west axis just east of Italy, and created two equal Emperors to rule under the title of Augustus. Diocletian was Augustus of the eastern half, and gave his long time friend Maximian the title of Augustus in the western half.

In 293 authority was further divided as each Augustus took a Caesar to aid him in administrative matters, and to provide a line of succession; Galerius became the junior emperor of Diocletian and Constantius Chlorus the junior emperor of Maximian.

This constituted what is called the Tetrarchy (in Greek: the leadership of four) by modern scholars. The system allowed the peaceful succession of the Augusti as the Caesar in each half rose up to replace the Augustus and proclaimed a new Caesar. On May 1, 305 Diocletian and Maximian abdicated in favor of their Caesars. Galerius named the two new Caesars: his nephew Maximinus for himself and Flavius Valerius Severus for Constantius.

The Tetrarchy would effectively collapse with the death of Constantius Chlorus on July 25, 306. Constantius' troops in Eboracum immediately proclaimed his son Constantine an Augustus. In August, 306, Galerius promoted Severus to the position of Augustus. A revolt in Rome supported another claimant to the same title: Maxentius, son of Maximian, who was proclaimed Augustus on October 28, 306. His election was supported by the Praetorian Guard. This left the Empire with five rulers: four Augusti (Galerius, Constantine, Severus and Maxentius) and a Caesar (Maximinus).

The year 307 saw the return of Maximian to the role of Augustus alongside his son Maxentius creating a total of six rulers of the Empire. Galerius and Severus campaigned against them in Italy. Severus was killed under command of Maxentius on September 16, 307. The two Augusti of Italy also managed to ally themselves with Constantine by having Constantine marry Fausta, the daughter of Maximian and sister of Maxentius. The end of 307 saw the Empire with four Augusti (Maximian, Galerius, Constantine and Maxentius) and a sole Caesar (Maximinus).

The five were briefly joined by another Augustus in 308, Domitius Alexander, vicarius of the Roman province of Africa under Maxentius, proclaimed himself Augustus. Before long he was captured by Rufius Volusianus and Zenas. Alexander was executed in 311. The current situation of conflict between the various rivalrous Augusti was resolved in the Congress of Carnuntum with the participation of Diocletian, Maximian and Galerius. The final decisions were taken on November 11, 308:

Galerius remained Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Maximinus remained Caesar of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Maximian was forced to abdicate.

Maxentius was still not recognized, his rule remained illegitimate.

Constantine received official recognition but was demoted to Caesar of the Western Roman Empire.

Licinius replaced Maximian as Augustus of the Western Roman Empire.

Problems however continued. Maximinus demanded to be promoted to Augustus. He proclaimed himself to be one on May 1, 310; Constantine followed suit shortly after. Maximian similarly proclaimed himself an Augustus for a third and final time. He was killed by his son-in-law Constantine in July, 310. The end of the year again found the Empire with four legitimate Augusti (Galerius, Maximinus, Constantine and Licinius) and one illegitimate one (Maxentius).

Galerius died in May 311 leaving Maximinus sole ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire. Meanwhile Maxentius declared a war on Constantine under the pretext of avenging his executed father. He was among the casualties of the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312.

This left the Empire in the hands of the three remaining Augusti, Maximinus, Constantine and Licinius. Licinius allied himself with Constantine, cementing the alliance by marriage to his younger half-sister Constantia in March 313 and joining open conflict with Maximinus. In August 313 Maximinus met his death at Tarsus in Cilicia. The two remaining Augusti divided the Empire again in the pattern established by Diocletian, Constantine becoming Augustus of the Western Roman Empire and Licinius Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire.

This division lasted ten years until 324. A final war between the last two remaining Augusti ended with the deposition of Licinius and the elevation of Constantine to sole Emperor of the Roman Empire. Deciding that the empire needed a new capital, Constantine chose the site of Byzantium for the new city. He refounded it as Nova Roma, but it was popularly called Constantinople: Constantine's City.

The beginning of the Roman Empire as a Christian empire lies in 313, with the Edict of Milan. The edict was signed under the reigns of Constantine I and Licinius. The edict established tolerance for Christianity throughout the Empire, but did not yet make it the official state religion. After the Edict was proclaimed, however, the Christian Church rapidly became extremely influential amongst the ruling classes of the Empire, and the Bishops were established in positions of power and influence.

Christianity became the single official religion of Rome under Theodosius I (r. 379–395). The emperor had a considerable degree of control over the church. While Christianity flourished, the Empire by no means became uniformly Christian; paganism remained significant. Theodosius massacred Thessalonica for rebelling against his new Christian policies condemning homosexuality, which was a common practice in both ancient Greece and Greece under Roman rule.

Upon his return to Rome the Bishop Ambrose refused to let Theodosius enter the church until he made a public repentance. Theodosius did so, and from then on the church's powers grew. Eventually the church would gain enough power that it would outlast the empire in the west.

The year 476 AD is generally accepted as the end of the Western Roman Empire. In that year, Odoacer deposed his puppet Romulus Augustus (475–476), and for the first time did not bother to induct a successor, choosing instead to rule as a representative of the Eastern Emperor (although Julius Nepos, the emperor deposed by Romulus Augustulus, continued to rule Illyricum until his death in 480, at which point Odoacer annexed this remant of the Western Empire to his Italian kingdom).

The last Emperor who ruled over the whole Empire from Rome, however, had been Theodosius, who removed the seat of power to Mediolanum (Milan). Edward Gibbon, in writing The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire knew not to end his narrative at 476. The great corpse continued to twitch, into the 6th century.

On the other hand, in 409, with the Emperor of the West fled from Milan to Ravenna and all the provinces wavering in loyalties, the Goth Alaric I, in charge at Rome, came to terms with the senate, and with their consent set up a rival emperor and invested the prefect of the city, a Greek named Priscus Attalus, with the diadem and the purple robe. In the following year when the Goths rampaged in the City, local power was in the hands of the Bishop of Rome. The transfer of power to Christian pope and military dux had been effected: the Western Empire was effectively dead, though no contemporary knew it.

The next seven decades played out as aftermath. Theodoric the Great as King of the Goths, couched his legitimacy in diplomatic terms as being the representative of the Emperor of the East. Consuls were appointed regularly through his reign: a formula for the consular appointment is provided in Cassiodorus' Book VI.

The post of consul was last filled in the west by Theodoric's successor, Athalaric, until he died in 534. Ironically the Gothic War in Italy, which was meant as the reconquest of a lost province for the Emperor of the East and a re-establishment of the continuity of power, actually caused more damage and cut more ties of continuity with the Antique world than the attempts of Theodoric and his minister Cassiodorus to meld Roman and Gothic culture within a Roman form.

In essence, the "fall" of the Roman Empire to a contemporary depended a great deal on where they were and their status in the world. On the great villas of the Italian Campagna, the seasons rolled on without a hitch. The local overseer may have been representing an Ostrogoth, then a Lombard duke, then a Christian bishop, but the rhythm of life and the horizons of the imagined world remained the same. Even in the decayed cities of Italy consuls were still elected.

In Auvergne, at Clermont, the Gallo-Roman poet and diplomat Sidonius Apollinaris, bishop of Clermont, realized that the local "fall of Rome" came in 475, with the fall of the city to the Visigoth Euric. In the north of Gaul the Franks could not be taken for Roman, but in Hispania the last Arian Visigothic king Liuvigild considered himself the heir of Rome.

In Alexandria, dreams of a "Christian Empire" with genuine continuity were shattered when a rampaging mob of Christians were encouraged to sack and destroy the Serapeum in 392. Hispania Baetica was still essentially Roman when the Moors came in 711, but in the northwest, the invasion of the Suevi broke the last frail links with Roman culture in 409.

In Aquitania and Provence, cities like Arles were not abandoned, but Roman culture in Britain collapsed in waves of violence after the last legions evacuated: the final legionary probably left Britain in 409. In Athens the end came for some in 529, when the Emperor Justinian closed the Neoplatonic Academy and its remaining members fled east for protection under the rule of Sassanid king Khosrau I; for other Greeks it had come long before, in 396, when Christian monks led Alaric I to vandalize the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

From Roman to Byzantine in the East

Under Constantine (330–337) and his sons (337–361)

Constantinople would serve as the capital of Constantine the Great from May 11, 330 to his death on May 22, 337. The Empire was parted again among his three surviving sons.The Western Roman Empire was divided among the eldest son Constantine II and the youngest son Constans. The Eastern Roman Empire along with Constantinople were the share of middle son Constantius II.

Constantine II was killed in conflict with his youngest brother in 340. Constans was himself killed in conflict with army proclaimed Augustus Magnentius on January 18, 350. Magnentius was at first opposed in the city of Rome by self-proclaimed Augustus Nepotianus, a paternal first cousin of Constans. Nepotianus was killed alongside his mother Eutropia. His other first cousin Constantia convinced Vetriano to proclaim himself Caesar in opposition to Magnentius.

Vetriano served a brief term from March 1 to December 25, 350. He was then forced to abdicate by the legitimate Augustus Constantius. The usurper Magnentius would continue to rule the Western Roman Empire till 353 while in conflict with Constantius. His eventual defeat and suicide left Constantius as sole Emperor.

Constantius' rule would however be opposed again in 360. He had named his paternal half-cousin and brother-in-law Julian as his Caesar of the Western Roman Empire in 355. During the following five years, Julian had a series of victories against invading Germanic tribes, including the Alamanni. This allowed him to secure the Rhine frontier. His victorious Gallic troops thus ceased campaigning.

Constantius send orders for the troops to be transferred to the east as reinforcements for his own currently unsuccessful campaign against Shapur II of Persia. This order led the Gallic troops to an insurrection. They proclaimed their commanding officer Julian to be an Augustus. Both Augusti were not ready to lead their troops to another Roman Civil War. Constantius' timely demise on November 3, 361 prevented this war from ever occurring.

Under Julian & Jovian (361–364)

Julian would serve as the sole Emperor for two years. He had received his baptism as a Christian years before, but apparently no longer considered himself one. His reign would see the ending of restriction and persecution of paganism introduced by his uncle and father-in-law Constantine the Great and his cousins and brothers-in-law Constantine II, Constans and Constantius II.

He instead placed similar restrictions and unofficial persecution of Christianity. His edict of toleration in 362 ordered the reopening of pagan temples and the reinstitution of alienated temple properties, and, more problematically for the Christian Church, the recalling of previously exiled Christian bishops. Returning Orthodox and Arian bishops resumed their conflicts, thus further weakening the Church as a whole.

Julian himself was not a traditional pagan. His personal beliefs were largely influenced by Neoplatonism and Theurgy; he reputedly believed he was the reincarnation of Alexander the Great. He produced works of philosophy arguing his beliefs. His brief renaissance of paganism would, however, end with his death.

Julian eventually resumed the war against Shapur II of Persia. He received a mortal wound in battle and died on June 26, 363. He was considered a hero by pagan sources of his time and a villain by Christian ones. Later historians have treated him as a controversial figure.

Julian died childless and with no designated successor. The officers of his army elected the rather obscure officer Jovian emperor. He is remembered for signing an unfavorable peace treaty with Persia and restoring the privileges of Christianity. He is considered a Christian himself, though little is known of his beliefs. Jovian himself died on February 17, 364.

Valentinian Dynasty (364–392)

The role of choosing a new Augustus fell again to army officers. On February 28, 364, Pannonian officer Valentinian I was elected Augustus in Nicaea, Bithynia. However, the army had been left leaderless twice in less than a year, and the officers demanded Valentinian to choose a co-ruler.

On March 28 Valentinian chose his own younger brother Valens and the two new Augusti parted the Empire in the pattern established by Diocletian: Valentinian would administer the Western Roman Empire, while Valens took control over the Eastern Roman Empire.

Valens' election would soon be disputed. Procopius, a Cilician maternal cousin of Julian, had been considered a likely heir to his cousin but was never designated as such. He had been in hiding since the election of Jovian. In 365, while Valentinian was at Paris and then at Reims to direct the operations of his generals against the Alamanni, Procopius managed to bribe two legions assigned to Constantinople and take control of the Eastern Roman capital.

He was proclaimed Augustus on September 28 and soon extended his control to both Thrace and Bithynia. War between the two rival Eastern Roman Emperors continued until Procopius was defeated. Valens had him executed on May 27, 366.

On August 4, 367, a 3rd Augustus was proclaimed by the other two. His father Valentinian and uncle Valens chose the 8 year-old Gratian as a nominal co-ruler, obviously as a means to secure succession.

In April 375 Valentinian I led his army in a campaign against the Quadi, a Germanic tribe which had invaded his native province of Pannonia. During an audience to an embassy from the Quadi at Brigetio on the Danube (part of modern-day Komárom, Hungary), Valentinian suffered a burst blood vessel in the skull while angrily yelling at the people gathered. This injury resulted in his death on November 17, 375.

Succession did not go as planned. Gratian was then a sixteen-year-old and arguably ready to act as Emperor, but the troops in Pannonia proclaimed his infant half-brother emperor under the title Valentinian II.

Gratian acquiesced in their choice and administrated the Gallic part of the Western Roman Empire. Italy, Illyria and Africa were officially administrated by his brother and his step-mother Justina. However the division was merely nominal as the actual authority still rested with Gratian.

Battle of Adrianople (378)

Meanwhile the Eastern Roman Empire faced its own problems with Germanic tribes. The East Germanic tribe known as the Goths were forced to flee their former lands following an invasion by the Huns. Their leaders Alavinus and Fritigern led them to seek refuge from the Eastern Roman Empire. Valens indeed let them settle as foederati on the southern bank of the Danube in 376.

However the newcomers faced problems from allegedly corrupted provincial commanders and a series of hardships. Their dissatisfaction led them to revolt against their Roman hosts.

For the following two years conflicts continued. Valens personally led a campaign against them in 378. Gratian provided his uncle with reinforcements from the Western Roman army. However this campaign proved disastrous for the Romans. The two armies approached each other near Adrianople.

Valens was apparently overconfident of his numerical superiority of his own forces over the Goths. His officers advised him to wait for the promised arrival of Gratian himself with further reinforcements. But Valens instead rushed to battle. On August 9, 378, the Battle of Adrianople resulted in the crushing defeat of the Romans and the death of Valens. Contemporary historian Ammianus Marcellinus estimated that two thirds of the Roman army were lost in the battle. The last third managed to retreat.

The battle had far reaching consequences. Veteran soldiers and valuable administrators were among the heavy casualties. There were few available replacements at the time. Leaving the Empire with problems of finding suitable leadership. The Roman army would also start facing recruiting problems. In the following century much of the Roman army would consist of Germanic mercenaries.

For the moment however there was another concern. The death of Valens left Gratian and Valentinian II as the sole two Augusti. Gratian was now effectively responsible for the whole of the Empire. He sought however, a replacement Augustus for the Eastern Roman Empire. His choice was Theodosius I, son of formerly distinguished general Count Theodosius.

The elder Theodosius had been executed in early 375 for unclear reasons. The younger one was named Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire on January 19, 379. His appointment would prove a deciding moment in the division of the Empire.

Disturbed peace in the West (383)

Gratian governed the Western Roman Empire with energy and success for some years, but he gradually sank into indolence. He is considered to have become a figurehead while Frankish general Merobaudes and bishop Ambrose of Milan jointly acted as the power behind the throne.

Gratian lost favor with factions of the Roman Senate by prohibiting traditional paganism at Rome and relinquishing his title of Pontifex Maximus. The senior Augustus also became unpopular to his own Roman troops due to his close association with so-called barbarians. He reportedly recruited Alans to his personal service and adopted the guise of a Scythian warrior for public appearances.

Meanwhile Gratian, Valentinian II and Theodosius were joined by a fourth Augustus. Theodosius proclaimed his oldest son Arcadius to be an Augustus in January, 383 in an obvious attempt to secure succession. The boy was only still five or six years old and held no actual authority. Nevertheless he was recognized as a co-ruler by all three Augusti.

The increasing unpopularity of Gratian would cause the four Augusti problems later that same year. Spanish Celt general Magnus Maximus, stationed in Roman Britain, was proclaimed Augustus by his troops in 383 and rebelling against Gratian he invaded Gaul. Gratian fled from Lutetia (Paris) to Lugdunum (Lyon), where he was assassinated on August 25, 383 at the age of twenty-five.

Maximus was a firm believer of the Nicene Creed and introduced state persecution on charges of heresy, which brought him in conflict with Pope Siricius who argued that the Augustus had no authority over church matters. But he was an Emperor with popular support and his reputation survived in Romano-British tradition and gained him a place in the Mabinogion, compiled about a millennium after his death.

Following Gratian's death, Maximus had to deal with Valentinian II, actually only twelve year old, as the senior Augustus. The first few years the Alps would serve as the borders between the respective territories of the two rival Western Roman Emperors. Maximus controlled Britain, Gaul, Hispania and Africa. He chose Augusta Treverorum (Trier) as his capital.

Maximus soon entered negotiations with Valentinian II and Theodosius, attempting to gain their official recognition. By 384, negotiations were unfruitful and Maximus tried to press the matter by settling succession as only a legitimate Emperor could do: proclaiming his own infant son Flavius Victor an Augustus. The end of the year find the Empire having five Augusti (Valentinian II, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Magnus Maximus and Flavius Victor) with relations between them yet to be determined.

Theodosius was left a widower, in 385, following the sudden death of Aelia Flaccilla, his Augusta.He was remarried to the sister of Valentinean II, Galla, and the marriage secured closer relations between the two legitimate Augusti.

In 386 Maximus and Victor finally received official recognition by Theodosius but not Valentinian. In 387, Maximus apparently decided to rid himself of his Italian rival. He crossed the Alps into the valley of the Po and threatened Milan. Valentinian and his mother fled to Thessaloniki from where they sought the support of Theodosius. Theodosius indeed campaigned west in 388 and was victorious against Maximus.

Maximus himself was captured and executed in Aquileia on July 28, 388. Magister militum Arbogastes was sent to Trier with orders to also kill Flavius Victor. Theodosius restored Valentinian to power and through his influence had him converted to Orthodox Catholicism. Theodosius continued supporting Valentinian and protecting him from a variety of usurpations.

Theodosian Dynasty (392–395)

In 392 Valentinian was murdered in Vienne. Theodosius succeeded him, ruling the entire Roman Empire.

Theodosius had two sons and a daughter, Pulcheria, from his first wife, Aelia Flacilla. His daughter and wife died in 385. By his second wife, Galla, he had a daughter, Galla Placidia, the mother of Valentinian III, who would be Emperor of the West.

After his death in 395 he gave the two halves of the Empire to his two sons Arcadius and Honorius; Arcadius became ruler in the East, with his capital in Constantinople, and Honorius became ruler in the west, with his capital in Milan. Though the Roman state would continue to have two emperors, the Eastern Romans considered themselves Roman in full. Latin was used in official writings as much as, if not more than, Greek. The two halves were nominally, culturally and historically, if not politically, the same state.

Later Eastern Empire (476–1461)

The west would continue to decline during the 5th century. However, the richer east would be spared much of the destruction. The last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, was deposed in 476 by Odoacer, the half Hunnish, half Scirian chieftain of the Germanic Heruli. The Eastern Empire counter-attacked in the 6th century under the eastern emperor Justinian I, taking much of the west back.

These gains were lost during subsequent reigns. Of the many accepted dates for the end of the Roman state, the latest is 610. This is when the Emperor Heraclius made sweeping reforms, forever changing the face of the empire. Greek was readopted as the language of government and Latin influence waned.

By 610, the Classical Roman Empire had evolved into the Middle Age Byzantine Empire, although it was never called this (rather it was called Romania or Basileia Romaion) and the Byzantines continued to consider themselves Romans until their fall in the 15th century, after which their modern descendants the Greeks have continued to call themselves Romaioi (Romans) to this day. The modern Aromanians, Rumarians and Romanians also use ethnonyms that derive from Romanus.

Several states claiming to be the Roman Empire's successor arose, before as well as after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Holy Roman Empire, an attempt to resurrect the Empire in the West, was established in 800 when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, though the empire and the imperial office did not become formalized for some decades.

After the fall of Constantinople, the Russian Empire, as inheritor of the Byzantine Empire's Orthodox Christian tradition, counted itself as the third Rome (with Constantinople being the second).

And when the Ottomans, who based their state around the Byzantine model, took Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II established his capital there and claimed to sit on the throne of the Roman Empire, and he even went so far as to launch an invasion of Italy with the purpose of "re-uniting the Empire", although Papal and Neapolitan armies stopped his march on Rome at Otranto in 1480. Constantinople was not officially renamed to Istanbul until March 28, 1930.

But excluding these states claiming their heritage, the Romans lasted, from the founding of Rome in 753 BC, to the fall in 1461 of the Empire of Trebizond (a successor state and fragment of the Byzantine Empire which escaped conquest by the Ottomans in 1453), for a total of 2214 years. Their impact on Western and Eastern civilizations lives on. In time most of the Roman achievements have been duplicated by later civilizations. For example, the technology for cement was rediscovered 1755–1759 by John Smeaton.

Origin of the Title "Caesar"

Caesar (p. Caesares), Latin: CÆSAR, is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Gaius Julius Caesar ("Julius Caesar"), the Roman dictator. The change from being a familial name to an imperial title can be loosely dated to 68 / 69, the so-called "Year of the Four Emperors".

Onomastic root

Caesar originally meant "hairy", which suggests that the Iulii Caesares, a specific branch of the gens Iulia bearing this name, were conspicuous for having fine heads of hair (alternatively, given the Roman sense of humour, it could be that the Iulii Caesares were conspicuous for going bald). The first Emperor, Caesar Augustus, bore the name as a matter of course; born Gaius Octavius, he was posthumously adopted by Caesar in his will, and per Roman naming convention was renamed "Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus" (usually called "Octavian" during this stage of his li

Sole Roman emperor

For political and personal reasons Octavian chose to emphasise his relationship with Caesar by styling himself simply "Imperator Caesar" (whereto the Roman Senate added the honorific Augustus, "Majestic" or "Venerable", in 26 BC), without any of the other elements of his full name.

His successor as Emperor, his stepson Tiberius, also bore the name as a matter of course; born Tiberius Claudius Nero, he was adopted by Caesar Augustus on June 26, 4, as "Tiberius Iulius Caesar". The precedent was set: the Emperor designated his successor by adopting him and giving him the name "Caesar".

The fourth Emperor, Claudius I, was the first to don the purple and assume the name "Caesar" without actually being a Caesar at the time (he was, however, a member by blood of the Iulio-Claudian dynasty).

The first to assume the purple and the name simultaneously without any real claim to either was the usurper Servius Sulpicius Galba, who took the imperial throne under the name "Servius Galba Imperator Caesar" following the death of the last of the Iulio-Claudians, Nero in 68; he also helped solidify "Caesar" as the title of the designated heir by giving it to his own adopted heir, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus.

Galba's reign did not last long however, and he was soon deposed by Marcus Otho who in turn was defeated by Aulus Vitellius who donned the purple with the name "Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Imperator Augustus"; significantly, Vitellius did not at first adopt "Caesar" as part of his name, and may have intended to replace it with "Germanicus" (he bestowed the name "Germanicus" upon his own son that year).

Nevertheless, Caesar had become such an integral part of the imperial dignity that its place was immediately restored by Titus Flavius Vespasianus ("Vespasian"), whose defeat of Vitellius in 69 put an end to the period of instability and began the Flavian dynasty. Vespasian's natural son, Titus Flavius Vespasianus became "Titus Caesar Vespasianus".

Minor dynastic title

By this point, "Caesar"'s status had been regularised into that of a title given to the Emperor-designate (occasionally also with the honorific title Princeps Iuventutis, "Prince of Youth") and retained by him upon accession to the purple (e.g., Marcus Ulpius Traianus became Marcus Cocceius Nerva's designated heir as Caesar Nerva Traianus in October 97 and acceded on January 28, 98 as "Imperator Caesar Nerva Traianus Augustus").

After some variation among the earliest Emperors, the style of the Emperor-designate was NN. Caesar before accession and Imperator Caesar NN. Augustus after accession; starting with Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander, it became customary to style the Emperor-designate as NN. Nobilissimus Caesar ("NN. Most Noble Caesar") rather than simply NN. Caesar.

The use of Caesar for the junior partner in a consortium imperii naturally occurred also in break-away 'empires', eager to copy the Rome-proper original; e.g. the last Gallic emperor, Tetricus I, granted the title to his son, Tetricus II.

On March 1, 293, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus established the Tetrarchy, a system of rule by two senior Emperors and two junior sub-Emperors. The two coequal senior emperors were styled identically to previous Emperors, as Imperator Caesar NN. Pius Felix Invictus Augustus ("Elagabalus" had introduced the use of Pius Felix, "the Pious and Blessed", while Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" introduced the use of Invictus, "the Unconquered"), and were called the Augusti, while the two junior sub-Emperors were styled identically to previous Emperors-designate, as NN. Nobilissimus Caesar. Likewise, the junior sub-Emperors retained the title "Caesar" upon accession to the senior purple.

The Tetrarchy was quickly abandoned as a system (though the four quarters of the empire survived as pretorian prefectures), and the previous system of Emperors and Emperors-designate was restored, both in the Latin-speaking West (caesar) and the Greek-speaking East (kaisar);

the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West led to "Caesar" falling into disuse there (although the so-called "Holy Roman Emperors" were called Kaiser in German, their correct title were in Latin usually as imperator augustus, without caesar), and most Western European languages use derivatives from imperator to refer to emperors (e.g., the English word "emperor").

In fact, in more recent history the word imperator came to replace the original meaning of imperator in Latin. In the East (in the so-called "Byzantine Empire") it suffered from gradual debasement.

In the East, the kaisar acquired a crown (without a cross) and was junior in rank to the Patriarch of Constantinople; as a result, this title was seen as a suitable one for a high prince of the blood, a regent, or an Emperor-designate (Emperors-designate were usually crowned as co-Emperors during their predecessors' reigns).

The proliferation of individuals so titled prompted Aleksios I Komnenos to create the superior title sebastokratôr (a portmanteau word meaning "majestic ruler" derived from sebastos and autokratôr, the Greek equivalents of augustus and imperator) for his brother Isaakios.

Both "Kaisar" and "Sebastokratôr" were reduced in degree when Manyhl I Komnenos introduced despotes as a superior title; unlike the caesar and the sebastocrat, the despot had a territorial significance in addition to his degree of precedence.

Hadrian was born in Italica, Baetica (originally Hispania Ulterior), to a well-established settler family which had originated in Picenum in Italy. He was a distant relative by marriage of his predecessor Trajan.

Trajan never officially designated a successor, but, according to his wife, Trajan named Hadrian emperor immediately before his death. However, Trajan's wife was well-disposed toward Hadrian, and he may well have owed his succession to her.

Hadrian was born in Italica, Baetica, which today is near modern Seville, Spain. He was the son of the prominent

Baetican Publius Hadrianus Afer. His mother was Domitia Paulina of Gades. After his father died (probably in 85) Hadrian became the ward of Acilius Attianus and the future Emperor Trajan. Hadrian was schooled in various subjects particular to young aristocrats of the day, and was so fond of learning Greek literature that he was nicknamed Graeculus ("Little Greek").

Hadrian enlisted in the army sometime in the reign of Domitian. His first service was as a tribune of the Legio II Adiutrix. Later, he was to be transferred to the Legio I Minervia in Germany. When Nerva died in 98, Hadrian rushed to inform Trajan personally. He later became legate of a legion in Upper Pannonia and eventually governor of said province.

He was also archon in Athens for a brief time, and was elected an Athenian citizen. Hadrian was active in the wars against the Dacians (as legate of the V Macedonica) and reputedly won awards from Trajan for his successes. Due to an absence of military action in his reign, Hadrian's military skill is not well attested, however his keen interest and knowledge of the army and his

demonstrated skill of administration show possible strategic talent.

Hadrian joined Trajan's expedition against Parthia as a legate on Trajan’s staff. Neither during the initial victorious phase, nor during the second phase of the war when rebellion swept Mesopotamia did Hadrian do anything of note. However when the governor of Syria had to be sent to sort out renewed troubles in Dacia, Hadrian was appointed as a replacement, giving him an independent command.

By now Trajan was seriously ill and he decided to return to Rome while Hadrian remained in Syria to guard the Roman rear. Trajan only got as far as Selinus before he became too ill to go further. Hadrian, however much he was the obvious successor had still not been adopted as Trajan's heir.

As Trajan lay dying, nursed by his wife, a supporter of Hadrian, Plotina, he at last adopted Hadrian as heir. Then he died. Allegations that Hadrian was named by Plotina as heir after the death of Trajan have never quite been resolved.

Securing power

Hadrian quickly secured the support of the legions - one potential opponent, Lusius Quietus, was instantly dismissed. The Senate's endorsement followed when possibly falsified papers of adoption from Trajan were presented. Nevertheless, this rumor of a falsified document of adoption carried little weight.

The real source of Hadrian's legitimacy arose from the endorsement of the armies of Syria and the Senate ratification. It is speculated that Trajan's wife Plotina forged the papers as historical documents show she was quite fond of Hadrian.

Hadrian did not at first go to Rome. He had his hands tied sorting out the East and supressing the Jewish revolt that had broken out under Trajan--then moving to sort out the Danube frontier. Instead, Attianus, Hadrian's former guardian, was put in charge in Rome. There he "discovered" a plot involving four leading Senators including Lusius Quietus and demanded of the Senate their deaths.

There was no question of a trial-- they were hunted down and killed out of hand. Because Hadrian was not in Rome at the time, he was able to claim that Attianus had acted on his own initiative. According to Elizabeth Speller the real reason for their deaths was that they were Trajan's men.

Despite his own excellence as a military administrator, Hadrian's reign was marked by a general lack of major military conflicts. He surrendered Trajan's conquests in Mesopotamia, considering them to be indefensible. There was almost a war with Parthia around 121, but the threat was averted when Hadrian succeeded in negotiating a peace. Hadrian's army crushed a massive Jewish uprising in Judea (132-135) led by Bar Kokhba.

The peace policy was strengthened by the erection of permanent fortifications along the empire's borders (limites, sl. limes). The most famous of these is the massive Hadrian's Wall in Britain, and the Danube and Rhine borders were strengthened with a series of mostly wooden fortifications, forts, outposts and watchtowers, the latter specifically improving communications and local area security.

To maintain morale and keep the troops from getting restive, Hadrian established intensive drill routines, and personally inspected the armies. And his coins showed military images almost as often as peaceful ones, Hadrian's policy was peace through strength, even threat

Above all Hadrian patronized the arts: Hadrian's Villa at Tibur (Tivoli) was the greatest Roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreating a sacred landscape, lost now in large part to the despoliation of the ruins by the Cardinal d'Este who had much of the marble removed to build his gardens. In Rome, the Pantheon, Rome built by Agrippa was enriched under Hadrian and took the form in which it remains to this day.

Hadrian was a humanist and deeply Hellenophile in all his tastes. While visiting Greece in 125 he attempted to create a kind of provincial parliament to bind all the semi-autonomous former city states across all Greece and Ionia (in Asia Minor). This parliament, known as the Panhellenion, failed despite spirited efforts to instill cooperation among the Hellenes.

Hadrian was especially famous for his love relationship with a Greek youth, Antinous. While touring Egypt, Antinous mysteriously drowned in the Nile in 130. Very sad, Hadrian founded the Egyptian city of Antinopolis. Hadrian drew the whole Empire into his mourning, making Antinous the last new god of antiquity.

Hadrian died at his villa in Baiae. He was buried in a mausoleum on the western bank of the Tiber, in Rome, a building later transformed into a fortress, Castel Sant'Angelo.

Early years

Scipio was born in Rome into the highly political Cornelii family.

Scipio was present at the disastrous Battle of Ticinus (where, according to one tradition, he saved his father's life); and those at the Trebia and at Cannae. Even after the last of these defeats at the hands of the Carthaginians, he was resolutely focused on securing Roman victory.

On hearing that Lucius Caecilius Metellus and other politicians were at the point of giving up the struggle and quitting Italy in despair, he gathered what few followers he could find and stormed into the meeting, where at sword-point he forced all present to swear that they would continue in faithful service to Rome.

At the elections for the year 212 BCE, Scipio offered himself as a candidate for the Curule Aedileship, the Tribunes of the Plebs objected to him, saying that he could not be allowed to stand because he had not yet reached the legal age (30). Scipio's reply was: "If the Quirites (the Roman citizens) are unanimous in their desire to appoint me Aedile, I am quite old enough...". Scipio was elected unenimously and the Tribunes abandoned their opposittion.

Campaign in Hispania

The year 211 BC was certainly a momentous year for the Scipiones. That year his father, Publius Scipio, and uncle Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus were both killed in battle against Hasdrubal Barca, the brother of Hannibal Barca. The year after his father's death, he offered himself for the command of the new army which the Romans resolved to send to Hispania.

In spite of his youth, his noble demeanor and enthusiastic language had made so great an impression that he was unanimously elected. In the year of his arrival (210), all Hispania south of the Ebro river was under Carthaginian control, but to his fortune the three Carthaginian generals—Hannibal's brothers Hasdrubal and Mago, and Hasdrubal the son of Gisgo—were not disposed to act in concert and were preoccupied with revolts in Africa.

Scipio landed at the mouth of the Ebro and was able to surprise and capture Carthago Nova, the headquarters of the Carthaginian power in Hispania. He obtained a rich booty of war stores and supplies, and an excellent harbor. His humanitarian conduct toward prisoners and hostages in Hispania helped in qualifying the Romans as liberators as opposed to conquerors.

While Scipio was long known for his great chivalry, it undoubtedly had an intentional ulterior motive: Scipio realized that the Senate's first priority was the war in Italy, and in the midst of the Carthaginian base in Hispania, he was to be outnumbered without much hope of reinforcement. It was paramount therefore that Scipio cooperate with local chieftains to both supply and reinforce his small army.

In 209 he fought his first set piece battle, and drove back Hasdrubal from his position at Baecula, on the upper Guadalquivir. Scipio was forced to make haste, as at any time he feared the armies of Mago and Gisgo would enter the field and surround his small army. Scipio's objective was, therefore, to quickly eliminate one of the armies to give him the luxury of dealing with the other two piecemeal.

The battle was decided by a determined infantry charge up the center of the Carthaginian position. Roman losses remain enigmatic, but it can be fair to assume that Roman casualties were considerable in light of their infantry attempting to scale an elevation defended by Carthaginian light infantry.

He then orchestrated a frontal attack by the rest of his infantry to draw out the remainder of the Carthaginian forces. However, Hasdrubal had not espied Scipio's hidden reserves of cavalry which were moving behind the enemy's lines.

A cavalry charge created a double envelopment on either flank led by cavalry commander Gaius Laelius and Scipio himself. This broke the back of Hasdrubal's army and routed his forces- an impressive feat for the young Roman versus the veteran Carthaginian general. Despite a Roman victory, Scipio was unable to hinder the Carthaginian march to Italy.

This is probably to haunt Scipio's memory for all time, for much historical criticism has been leveled at his inability to effectively pursue Hasdrubal, who would eventually cross the Alps only to be defeated by Gaius Claudius Nero at the Battle of Metaurus. One popular theory is that Scipio merely wanted the glory of securing Spain, and an extended mountainous campaign endangered that reality.

Others cite the Roman soldier's appetite for plunder preventing him from rallying in pursuit. The most probable from a strategic standpoint is simply the fact that both Gisgo's and Mago's army's, both of superior numerical strength, could at any point pursue his Roman army, resulting with the possiblity that Scipio could be trapped between Hasdrubal's army on one side, and Gisgo's and Mago's on the other.

In fact, mere days after Hasdrubal's defeat, Mago and Gisgo were in fact able to converge in front of the Roman positions, bringing into question what would have happened had Scipio pursued Hasdrubal.

After winning over a number of chiefs from Hispania he achieved in 206 a decisive victory over the full Carthaginian levy at Ilipa (now the city of Alcalá del Río, near Hispalis, now called Seville), which resulted in the evacuation of Hispania by the Punic commanders.

With the idea of striking a blow at Carthage in Africa, he paid a short visit to the Numidian princes Syphax and Massinissa. Numidia was of vital importance in a Carthage whose main source of manpower was in mercenaries and allied forces, and most of these were abroad. In addition to supplying the amazing Numidian cavalry (refer to the Battle of Cannae for their significance), Numidia operated as a buffer for vulnerable Carthage. Scipio managed to receive support from both.

Unfortunately, Syphax later changed his mind and married Sophonisba, daughter of Hasdrubal the son of Gisgo, and fought against Massinissa and Scipio in Africa. On his return to Hispania, Scipio had to quell a mutiny which had broken out among his troops. Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal had meanwhile marched for Italy, and in 206 Scipio himself, having secured the Roman occupation of Hispania by the capture of Gades, gave up his command and returned to Rome.

African Campaign

In the following year he was unanimously elected to the consulship and assigned the province of Sicily. By this time Hannibal's movements were restricted to the southwestern toe of Italy, and the war was now to be transferred to Africa. Scipio was intent on this, and his great name drew to him a number of volunteers from all parts of Italy. Interestingly, among these volunteers were the shamed survivors of the fiasco at the Battle of Cannae.

Due to their public shame and berratement, they were anxious to once again prove their worth as soldiers, an asset that Scipio was quick to exploit. Scipio quickly began creating Sicily as a training camp and a staging point for his conceived invasion. However, he realized that the Carthaginian, and especially Numidian superiority in cavalry would prove decisive against the largely infantry forces of the legion.

Coupled to this was that a large proportion of Rome's cavalry were dubiously loyal allies, or noble equites exempting themselves from being lowly foot soldiers. Scipio solved this pressing matter in a variety of ways, many of them quite harshly. One anecdote told how Scipio pressed into service several hundred Sicilian nobles to create a force of cavalry.

The Sicilians were quite opposed to this servitude to a foreign occupier (Sicily being in Roman control only since the First Punic War), protested vigorously. Scipio ascented to their exemption from service providing they pay for a horse, equipment, and a replacement rider for the Roman Army. In this way, Scipio (through less than reputable means) created a trained nucleus of cavalry for his African campaign.

With a trained army, Scipio now pressed visiting Roman Senators for permission to cross into Africa. The conservative branch of the Roman Senate, championed by Fabius Maximus, the Cunctator, opposed the mission. Fabius still feared Hannibal's power, and viewed any mission to Africa as dangerous and wasteful to the war effort.

The Senate also disdained Scipio's Hellenophile tastes in art, luxuries, and philosophies. Also, a certain amount of republican fear in powerful military leaders no doubt was playing a role. Thus, all Scipio could obtain was permission, but not support, to cross over from Sicily to Africa, if it appeared to be in the interests of Rome.

In short, the Senate dispatched Scipio to Africa either to get rid of him, hoping he would subsequently remain politically insignificant, or possibly militarily fail.

The introduction (205) of the Phrygian worship of Cybele and the transference of the image of the goddess herself from Pessinus to Rome to bless the expedition may have affected public opinion. A commission of inquiry was sent over to Sicily, and it found that Scipio was at the head of a well-equipped fleet and army. At the commissioners' bidding he sailed in 204 and landed near Utica.

Carthage, meanwhile, had secured the friendship of the Numidian Syphax, whose advance compelled Scipio to raise the siege of Utica and dig in on the shore between that place and Carthage. The following year he destroyed two combined armies of the Carthaginians and Numidians. He did so by approaching by stealth and setting fire to the Carthaginian-Numidian camp, where the combined army became panic stricken and fled only to be put down by Scipio's army.

Though not a "battle," both Polybius and Livy estimate that the death toll in this single attack exceeded 40,000 Carthaginian and Numidian dead, and more captured. The praise and condemnation for this act is roughly proportional. Polybius said that it "of all the brilliant exploits performed by Scipio this seems to me the most brilliant and more adventurous."

One of Hannibal's principle biographers, Theodore Ayrault Dodge, goes so far to suggest that this attack was out of cowardice, and spares no more than a page upon the event in total, despite the fact that it secured the siege of Utica, and effectively put Syphax out of the war. The irony of Dodge's accusations of Scipio's cowardice is the attack showed traces of Hannibal's accumen for the ambuscade.

Scipio quickly dispatched his two lieutenants, Laelius and Masinissa, to pursue Syphax; a pursuit that ultimately dethroned Syphax, and ensured Prince Masinissa's corronation as King of the Numidians. Carthage, and especially Hannibal himself, had long relied upon these superb natural horsemen who would now fight for Rome and against Carthage.

With Carthage now deserted by her allies, and being surrounded by a veteran and undefeated Roman army which Dodge states was the best ever fielded, Carthage began opening the diplomatic channels of negotiation. It was here that the unthinkable occurred: Hannibal Barca returned to Carthage.

Despite Scipio's moderate terms offered to Carthage, Carthage suddenly suspended negotiations and again prepared for war. It is a testament to Hannibal's leadership that suddenly the mood in Carthage changed. The army that Hannibal returned with is a subject of much debate. Apologists for Hannibal often claim that his army was mostly Italians pressed into service from Southern Italy, and that most of his elite veterans (and certainly cavalry) were spent.

Scipio's advocates tend to be far more suspicious, and believe the number of veteran forces to remain significant. Hannibal did have a trained pool of soldiers who had fought personally in Italy to call upon, as well as a devastating weapon: eighty massive war elephants. Hannibal could boast a strength of 58,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry, to which Scipio could answer with 34,000 infantry and 8,700 cavalry.

The two generals met on a plain between Carthage and Utica forever immortalized as Zama to do battle on October 19, 202 BC. Despite mutual admiration, negotiations floundered due to Roman allegations of "Punic Faith," referring to the breach of protocols which ended the First Punic War by the Carthaginian attack on Saguntum, as well as perceived breach in contemporary military etiquette (Hannibal's numerous ambuscades).

The Battle of Zama itself is recounted elsewhere, but it is noteworthy to cite Scipio's contribution to its outcome. Hannibal had arranged his infantry in three phalangial lines designed to overlap the Roman lines. His strategy, so oft reliant upon subtle strategems, was simple: a massive forward attack by the war elephants would create vulnerable gaps in the Roman lines, and these would be attacked from lines of infantry, and supported by cavalry.

Rather than lining his Roman forces in the traditional manipular lines, which put the velites, princeps, and triari in succeeding lines of 500 men groups, Scipio instead put the maniples in a chequer pattern, with his elite heavy infantry in diagonals. This was done to match the length of the Carthaginian line, but also as a strategem against the war elephants.

When the Carthaginian elephants charged, they found well laid trops afore the Roman position, and were greeted by Roman trumpeters which drove many amok out of confusion and fear. Roman javelins were used to good effect, and the sharp trops caused great distress among the pachyderms. Many of them were so distraught, in fact, they charged back into their own Carthaginian lines.

However, the Roman infantry was greatly rattled, and it was in this time that Massinissa's Numidian and Laelius' Roman cavalry began to charge the opposing cavalry off the field. This was done to great success, but perhaps too much vigor as both commanders pursued their routing Carthaginian counterparts.

The resulting infantry clash was fierce and bloody, with neither side achieving local superiority. The battle was won when the pursuing allied cavalry rallied, and charged the rear of Hannibal's army, causing what many historians have called the "Roman Cannae."

Because of the excertions of Rome and her allies against Carthage, many Roman aristocrats, especially Cato, expected Rome to raze that city to the ground. However, Scipio dictated extremely moderate terms in contrast to an immoderate Roman Senate.

Despite his moderation towards the Carthaginians , he was cruel towards the Roman and the Latin deserters , the Latins were beheaded and the Romans crucified . By Scipio's consent Hannibal was allowed to become the civic leader of Carthage as a byproduct of Scipio's moderation (which the Cato family did not forget). Scipio was welcomed back to Rome with the agnomen of Africanus.

He refused the many further honours which the people would have thrust upon him such as Consul and Dictator for life . In the year 199 BCE , Scipio was elected Censor and for some years afterwards he lived quietly and took no part in politics .

Syria

In 193 he was one of the commissioners sent to Africa to settle a dispute between Massinissa and the Carthaginians, which the commission did not achieve. This may have been because Hannibal, in the service of Antiochus III, might have come to Carthage to gather support for a new attack on Italy.

In 190, when the Romans declared war against Antiochus III of Syria, Publius offered to join his brother Lucius, if the Senate entrusted the chief command to him. The two brothers brought the war to a conclusion by a decisive victory at Magnesia in the same year.

Allegations of Corruption

Meanwhile, Scipio's political enemies, led by Cato, had gained ground. When the Scipiones returned to Rome, two tribunes prosecuted (187) Lucius on the grounds of misappropriation of money received from Antiochus. As Lucius was in the act of producing his account-books, his brother wrested them from his hands, tore them in pieces, and flung them on the floor of the Senate house. This created a bad impression; Lucius was brought to trial, condemned and heavily fined.

Africanus himself was subsequently (185) accused of having been bribed by Antiochus, but by reminding the people that it was the anniversary of his victory at Zama he caused an outburst of enthusiasm in his favor. The people crowded round him and followed him to the Capitol, where they offered thanks to the gods and begged them to give Rome more citizens like Africanus.

He then retired to his country seat at Liternum on the coast of Campania where he lived until his death. With his wife Aemilia, daughter of the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus who fell at Cannae, he had a daughter, Cornelia Africana, who became the mother of the two famous Gracchi by her marriage with Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus.

Opinions

Scipio was one of Rome's greatest generals, possibly on par with Julius Caesar. He never lost a battle. Skillful alike in strategy and in tactics, he had also the faculty of inspiring his soldiers with confidence.

According to the story, Hannibal, who regarded Alexander as the first and Pyrrhus as the second among military commanders, confessed that had he beaten Scipio he should have put himself before either of them. He was a man of great intellectual culture and could speak and read Greek, and wrote his own memoirs in Greek. He also enjoyed the reputation of being a graceful orator.

There was a belief that he was a special favourite of heaven and held actual communication with the gods. It is quite possible that he himself honestly shared this belief; to his political opponents he was often harsh and arrogant, but towards others singularly gracious and sympathetic. According to Gellmus, his life was written by Oppius and Hyginus, and also, it was said, by Plutarch. He often visited the temple of Jupiter and made offerings there.

Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (Latin: IMP CÆSAR FLAVIVS CONSTANTINVS PIVS FELIX INVICTVS AVGVSTVS ¹) (February 27, 272–May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or (among Orthodox Christians) Saint Constantine, was proclaimed Augustus by his troops on July 25, 306 and ruled an ever-growing portion of the Roman Empire until his death.

Constantine is famed for his refounding of Byzantium (modern Istanbul) as "Nova Roma" (New Rome) or Constantinople (Constantine's City).

Constantine is best remembered in modern times for the Edict of Milan in 313 and the Council of Nicaea in 325, which fully legalized and then legitimized Christianity in the Empire for the first time.

These actions are considered major factors in that

religion's spread, and his reputation as the "first Christian Emperor" has been promulgated by historians from Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea to the present day.

Constantine was born at Naissus, (today's Niš, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro) in Upper Moesia to Greek general,Constantius I Chlorus, and his first wife Helena, an innkeeper's daughter who at the time was an adolescent of only sixteen years. His father left his mother around 292 to marry Flavia Maximiana Theodora, daughter or step-daughter of the Western Roman Emperor Maximian. Theodora would give birth to six half-siblings of Constantine, including Julius Constantius.

Young Constantine served at the court of Diocletian in Nicomedia, after the appointment of his father as one of the two caesares (junior emperors) of the Tetrarchy in 293. In 305, the Augustus, Maximian, abdicated, and Constantius succeeded to the position. However, Constantius fell sick during an expedition against the Picts of Caledonia, and died on July 25, 306.

Constantine managed to be at his deathbed in Eboracum (York) of Roman Britain, where the loyal general Chrocus, of Alamannic descent, and the troops loyal to his father's memory proclaimed him an Augustus ("Emperor"). For the next eighteen years, he fought a series of battles and wars of consolidation that first obtained him co-rule with the Eastern Roman Emperor, and then finally leadership of a reunified Roman Empire.

Constantine is perhaps best known for being the first Roman Emperor to freely allow Christianity. Christian historians ever since Lactantius have adhered to the view that Constantine "adopted" Christianity as a kind of replacement for the official Roman paganism. Despite the questions surrounding Constantine's Christianity, he is celebrated as a major Saint of Eastern Orthodoxy.

Though he was not baptized until he was on his deathbed, his conversion, according to official Christian sources, was the immediate result of an omen before his victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge, October 28, 312. Upon seeing this vision, Constantine is said to have instituted a new standard to be carried into battle called the labarum (?). This vision seen by Constantine was made up of two events.

Firstly, while marching with his soldiers he saw the shape of an ambigram cross with the words "in this sign you will conquer" in front of the sun. After seeing that he had a dream instructing him to put a new sign (?) as the standard. It is said that after this event Constantine was immediately converted to Christianity.

Constantine and Licinius' Edict of Milan (313) removed penalties for professing Christianity, under which many were martyred in previous persecutions of Christians, and returned confiscated Church property.

After the Edict, new avenues were opened to Christians, including the right to compete with pagan Romans in the traditional cursus honorum for high government positions, and greater acceptance into general civil society. New churches were allowed to be constructed and Christian leadership became increasingly bold — Christian bishops took aggressive public stances that were unheard of among other religions.

As a result, Church controversies, which had been lively within the Christian communities since the mid-2nd century, now flared in public schisms, often with violence. Constantine saw quelling religious disorder as the divinely-appointed emperor's duty and eventually called the First Council of Nicaea (May 20 - July 25, 325) to settle some of the doctrinal problems plaguing the early church, notably Arianism.

Persian reaction

Beyond the limits, east of the Euphrates, the Sassanid rulers of the Persian Empire had usually tolerated their Christians. With the edicts of toleration in the Roman Empire, Christians in Persia would now be regarded as allies of Persia's ancient enemy, and were thus persecuted. A letter supposedly from Constantine to Shapur II of Persia and alleged to have been written in c. 324 urged Shapur to protect the Christians in his realm. Shapur II wrote to his generals:

You will arrest Simon, chief of the Christians. You will keep him till he signs this document and consents to collect for us a double tax and double tribute from the Christians … for we Gods have all the trials of war and they have nothing but repose and pleasure. They inhabit our territory and agree with Caesar, our enemy. (quoted in Freya Stark, Rome on the Euphrates 1967, p. 375)

Constantine's life and actions after the Edict of Milan

Coins struck for emperors often reveal details of their personal iconography. During the early part of Constantine's rule, representations first of Mars and then (from 310) of Apollo as Sun god consistently appear on the reverse of the coinage. Mars had been associated with the Tetrarchy, and Constantine's use of this symbolism served to emphasize the legitimacy of his rule.

After his breach with his father's old colleague Maximian in 309–310, Constantine began to claim legitimate descent from the 3rd century emperor Marcus Aurelius Claudius Gothicus, the hero of the Battle of Naissus (September, 268). The Augustan History of the 4th century reports Constantine's paternal grandmother Claudia to be a daughter of Crispus, Crispus being a reported brother of both Claudius II and Quintillus. Historians however suspect this account to be a genealogical fabrication to flatter Constantine.

Gothicus had claimed the divine protection of Apollo-Sol Invictus. In mid-310, two years before the victory at the Milvian Bridge, Constantine reportedly experienced the publicly announced vision in which Apollo-Sol Invictus appeared to him with omens of success. Thereafter the reverses of his coinage were dominated for several years by his "companion, the unconquered Sol" — the inscriptions read SOLI INVICTO COMITI. The depiction represents Apollo with a solar halo, Helios-like, and the globe in his hands. In the 320s Constantine has a halo of his own.

There are also coins depicting Apollo driving the chariot of the Sun on a shield Constantine is holding and another in 312 shows the Christian chi-rho on a helmet Constantine is wearing.

Constantine was also known for being ruthless with his political enemies, deposing the Eastern Roman Emperor Licinius, his brother-in-law, by strangulation in 325 even though he had publicly promised not to execute him upon Licinius' surrender in 324. In 326, Constantine executed first his eldest son Crispus and a few months later his own second wife Fausta. (Crispus was the only known son of Constantine by his first wife Minervina).

There are rumours of step-mother and step-son having had an affair which caused Constantine's jealousy. The rumours were reported however by 5th century historian Zosimus and 12th century historian Joannes Zonaras. Their sources are not stated.

Family influence is thought to account for a personal adoption of Christianity: Helena is said to be "probably born a Christian" though virtually nothing is known of her background, save that her mother was the daughter of an innkeeper and her father a successful soldier, a career that excluded overt Christians. Helena became known later in life for numerous pilgrimages.

Constantine, following a widespread custom, was not baptized until close to his death in 337, when his choice fell upon the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, who happened, despite his being an ally of Arius, to still be the bishop of the region. Also, Eusebius was a close friend of Constantine's sister; she probably secured his recall from exile.

The great staring eyes in the iconography of Constantine, though not specifically Christian, show how official images were moving away from early imperial conventions of realistic portrayal towards schematic representations: the Emperor as Emperor, not merely as this particular individual Constantine, with his characteristic broad jaw and cleft chin. The large staring eyes will loom larger as the 4th century progresses: compare the early 5th century silver coinage of Theodosius I.

Later life

His victory in 312 over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge resulted in his becoming Western Augustus, or ruler of the entire Western Roman Empire. He gradually consolidated his military superiority over his rivals in the crumbling Tetrarchy.

In the year 320, Licinius, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, reneged on the religious freedom promised by the Edict of Milan in 313 and began another persecution of the Christians. This was a puzzling inconsistency since Constantia, half-sister of Constantine and wife of Licinius, was an influential Christian. It became a challenge to Constantine in the west, climaxing in the great civil war of 324.

The armies were so large another like these would not be seen again until at least the 14th century. Licinius, aided by Goth mercenaries, represented the past and the ancient faith of Paganism. Constantine and his Franks marched under the Christian standard of the labarum, and both sides saw the battle in religious terms. Supposedly outnumbered, but fired by their zeal, Constantine's army emerged victorious. He was the sole emperor of the entire Roman Empire.

This battle represented the passing of old Rome, and the beginnings of the Eastern Empire as a center of learning, prosperity, and cultural preservation. Constantine rebuilt the city of Byzantium which was said to have been founded by colonists from the Greek city of Megara under Byzas in 667 BC. He renamed the city Nova Roma (New Rome), providing it with a Senate and civic offices similar to the older Rome, and the new city was protected by the alleged True Cross, the Rod of Moses and other holy relics.

The figures of old gods were replaced and often assimilated into Christian symbolism. On the site of a temple to Aphrodite was built the new Basilica of the Apostles. Generations later there was the story that a Divine vision lead Constantine to this spot, and an angel no one else could see, led him on a circuit of the new walls. After his death it was renamed Constantinopolis (or Constantinople, "Constantine's City"), and gradually became the capital of the empire. (MacMullen 1969)

Constantine also passed laws making the occupations of butcher and baker hereditary, and more importantly, supported converting the coloni (tenant farmers) into serfs — laying the foundation for European society during the Middle Ages.

In his later life he even turned to preaching, giving his own sermons in the palace before his court and invited crowds. His sermons preached harmony at first, but gradually turned more confrontational with the old pagan ways. The reason for this later "change of heart" remains conjectural.

However, pagans still received appointments, even up to the end of his life. Exerting his absolute power, the army recited his composed Latin prayer in an attempt to convert them to Christianity, which failed. He began a large building program of churches in the Holy Land, which while greatly expanding the faith also allowed considerable increase in the power and wealth of the clergy.

Constantine's legal standards

Constantine's laws in many ways improved those of his predecessors, though they also reflect his more violent age. Some examples:

For the first time, girls could not be abducted.

A punishment of death was mandated to anyone collecting taxes over the authorized amount.

A prisoner was no longer to be kept in total darkness, but must be given the outdoors and daylight.

A condemned man was allowed to die in the arena, but he could not be branded on his "heavenly beautified" face, just on the feet.

Parents caught allowing their daughters to be seduced were to have molten lead poured down their throats.

Gladiatorial games were ordered to be eliminated in 325, although this had little real effect.

A slave master's rights were limited, but a slave could still be beaten to death.

Crucifixion was abolished for reasons of Christian piety, but was replaced with hanging, to show there was Roman law and justice.

Easter could be publicly celebrated.

Sunday was declared a day of rest, on which markets were banned and public offices were closed (except for the purpose of freeing slaves). There were however no restrictions on farming work.

(MacMullen 1969, New Catholic Encyclopedia 1908)

Constantine's courts and appointees

Constantine respected cultivation and Christianity, and his court was composed of older, respected, and honored men. Leading Roman families that refused Christianity were denied positions of power, yet two-thirds of his top government was non-Christian. (MacMullen 1969,1984, New Catholic Encyclopedia 1908)

"From Pagan temples Constantine had his statue removed. The repair of Pagan temples that had decayed was forbidden. These funds were given to the favored Christian clergy. Offensive forms of worship, either Christian or Pagan, were suppressed. At the dedication of Constantinople in 330 a ceremony half Pagan and half Christian was performed, in the market place, the Cross of Christ was placed over the head of the Sun-God's chariot. There was a singing of hymns." (New Catholic Encyclopedia 1908)

Constantine's legacy

Although he earned his honorific of "The Great" from Christian historians long after he had died, he could have claimed the title on his military achievements alone. In addition to reuniting the empire under one emperor, Constantine won major victories over the Franks and Alamanni (306–308), the Franks again (313–314), the Visigoths in 332 and the Sarmatians in 334.

In fact, by 336, Constantine had actually reoccupied most of the long-lost province of Dacia, which Aurelian had been forced to abandon in 271. At the time of his death, he was planning a great expedition to put an end to raids on the eastern provinces from the Persian Empire.

He was succeeded by his three sons by Fausta, Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans. A number of relatives were murdered by followers of Constantius. He also had two daughters, Constantina and Helena, wife of Emperor Julian.

Legend and Donation of Constantine

In later years, historical facts were clouded by legend. It was considered inappropriate that Constantine was baptized only on his death-bed and by a bishop of questionable orthodoxy, and hence a legend emerged that Pope Silvester I (314-335) had cured the pagan Emperor from leprosy. According to this legend, Constantine was baptized after that and donated buildings to the Pope.

In the 8th century, a document called the "Donation of Constantine" first appeared, in which the freshly converted Constantine hands the temporal rule over Rome, Italy and the Occident to the Pope.

In the High Middle Ages, this document was used to and accepted as the basis for the Pope's temporal power, though it was denounced as a forgery by Emperor Otto III and lamented as the root of papal worldliness by the poet Dante Alighieri. In the 15th century renewed philological expertise proved the document a forgery.

He was born in the Sabine country near Reate. His father, Titus Flavius Sabinus, was an equestrian who worked as a customs official in Asia and a money-lender on a small

scale in Aventicum, where Vespasian lived for some time; his mother, Vespasia Polla, was the sister of a Senator.

After prompting from his mother, Vespasian followed his older brother, also called Titus Flavius Sabinus, into public life. He served in the army as a military tribune in Thrace in 36, and the following year was elected quaestor, serving in Crete and Cyrene. He rose through the ranks of Roman public office, being elected aedile at the second attempt in 39 and praetor at the first attempt in 40, taking the opportunity to ingratiate himself with the Emperor Caligula.

In the meantime he had married Flavia Domitilla, the daughter of an equestrian from Ferentium, and they had two sons, Titus Flavius Vespasianus

(b. 41) and Titus Flavius Domitianus (b. 51), and a daughter, Domitilla (b. 39). Flavia died before Vespasian became emperor; therafter his mistress, Caenis, was his wife in all but name until she died in 74.

Upon the accession of Claudius as emperor in 41, Vespasian was appointed legate of the Legio II Augusta, stationed in Germania, thanks to the influence of the Imperial freedman Narcissus.

Invasion of Britannia

In 43, Vespasian and the II Augusta participated in the Roman invasion of Britain, and he distinguished himself under the overall command of Aulus Plautius. After participating in crucial early battles on the rivers Medway and Thames, he was sent to reduce the southwest, penetrating to the borders of modern Somerset. He fought thirty battles, captured twenty oppida (towns, or more probably hillforts, one of them being Maiden Castle in Dorset), subdued two powerful nations and reduced Vectis (the Isle of Wight), earning a triumph on his return to Rome.

Continued political career

Vespasian was elected consul for the last two months of 51, after which he withdrew from public life. He came out of retirement in 63 when he was sent as governor to Africa, where, according to Tacitus (ii.97), his rule was "infamous and odious"; according to Suetonius (Vesp. 4), "upright and, highly honourable". On one occasion he was pelted with turnips. At this time he found himself in financial difficulties and was forced to mortgage his estates to his brother. To revive his fortunes he turned to the mule trade and gained the nickname mulio (mule-driver).

Returning from Africa, Vespasian toured Greece in Nero's retinue, but lost Imperial favour after paying insufficient attention to the Emperor's recitals on the lyre, and found himself in the political wilderness.

Great Jewish Revolt

However, in 66, Vespasian was appointed to conduct the war in Judaea, which was threatening unrest throughout the East. A revolt there had killed the previous governor and routed Licinius Mucianus, the governor of Syria, when he tried to restore order. Vespasian was dispatched with two legions to add to the one already there. His elder son, Titus, served under him. During this time he became the patron of Flavius Josephus, a Jewish resistance leader turned Roman agent who would go on to write his people's history in Greek.

The Year of Four Emperors

After the death of Nero in 68, Rome saw a succession of short-lived emperors and a year of civil wars. Galba was murdered by Otho, who was defeated by Vitellius. Otho's supporters, looking for another candidate to support, settled on Vespasian.

According to Suetonius, a prophecy ubiquitous in the Eastern provinces claimed that from Iudaea would come the future rulers of the world. Vespasian eventually believed that this prophecy applied to him, and found a number of omens, oracles, and portents that reinforced this belief.

He also found encouragement in Mucianus, the governor of Syria; and although a strict disciplinarian and reformer of abuses, Vespasian's soldiers were thoroughly devoted to him. All eyes in the East were now upon him; Mucianus and the Syrian legions were eager to support him; and while he was at Caesarea, he was proclaimed emperor (July 1, 69), first by the army in Egypt, and then by his troops in Iudaea (July 11).

Nevertheless, Vitellius, the occupant of the throne, had on his side the veteran legions of Gaul and the Rhineland, Rome's best troops. But the feeling in Vespasian's favour quickly gathered strength, and the armies of Moesia, Pannonia, and Illyricum soon declared for him, and made him in fact master of half of the Roman world.

While Vespasian himself was in Egypt securing its grain supply, his troops entered Italy on the northeast under the leadership of M. Antonius Primus, defeated Vitellius's army (which had awaited him in Mevania) at Bedriacum (or Betriacum), sacked Cremona and advanced on Rome, which they entered after furious fighting and a frightful confusion, in which the Capitol was destroyed by fire and Vespasian's brother Sabinus was killed by a mob.

On receiving the tidings of his rival's defeat and death at Alexandria, the new emperor at once forwarded supplies of urgently needed grain to Rome, along with an edict or a declaration of policy, in which he gave assurance of an entire reversal of the laws of Nero, especially those relating to treason. While in Egypt he visited the Temple of Serapis, where reportedly he experienced a vision, and later was confronted by two laborers who were convinced that he possessed a divine power which could work miracles.

Vespasian as Emperor

Leaving the war in Judaea to his son Titus, he arrived at Rome in 70. He at once devoted his energies to repairing the evils caused by civil war. He restored discipline in the army, which under Vitellius had become utterly demoralized, and, with the cooperation of the Senate, put the government and the finances on a sound footing.

He renewed old taxes and instituted new ones, increased the tribute of the provinces, and kept a watchful eye upon the treasury officials. By his own example of simplicity of life, he put to shame the luxury and extravagance of the Roman nobles and initiated in many respects a marked improvement in the general tone of society.

As censor he reformed the Senatorial and Equestrian orders, removing unfit and unworthy members and promoting good and able men, among them Gnaeus Julius Agricola. At the same time, he made it more dependent upon the Emperor, by exercising an influence upon its composition. He altered the constitution of the Praetorian Guard, in which only Italians, formed into nine cohorts, were enrolled.

In 70, a formidable rising in Gaul, headed by Gaius Julius Civilis, was suppressed by Vespasian's brother-in-law, Quintus Petillius Cerialis, and the German frontier made secure; the Jewish War was brought to a close by Titus's capture of Jerusalem, and in the following year, after the joint triumph of Vespasian and Titus, memorable as the first occasion on which a father and his son were thus associated together in the Western world, the temple of Janus was closed, and the Roman world had rest for the remaining nine years of Vespasian's reign. "The peace of Vespasian" passed into a proverb.

In 78 Agricola went to Britain, and both extended and consolidated the Roman dominion in that province, pushing his way into what is now Scotland. In the following year Vespasian died, on June 23.

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Latin: CN·POMPEIVS·CN·F·SEX·N·MAGNVS¹) (September 29, 106 BC – September 29, 48 BC), commonly referred to in English as either Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a distinguished and ambitious Roman military leader, provincial administrator and politician of the 1st century BC, the period of the Late Republic.

Hailing from an Italian provincial background, Pompey first distinguished himself as a talented military leader during the dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. For his military exploits against pirates in the Mediterranean Sea and in the lands around the eastern Mediterranean, he earned the

cognomen of Magnus or the Great. (Although, according to Plutarch's work on the subject, Pompey was awarded this title prior to those campaigns, during some of Sulla's "mopping-up" operations against the Marians.)

Pompey later served Rome in putting down the slave rebellion led by the gladiator Spartacus. To promote his own agenda, Pompey aligned himself with Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus in the First Triumvirate. Sealing the arrangement, Pompey married Caesar's only daughter, Julia.

This agreement, however, was short-lived. After the death of Crassus in 53 BC, Pompey attempted politically to outmaneuver Caesar, and to dominate personally the affairs of the Roman Republic. These actions sparked a civil war between Pompey's supporters and those of Caesar. Pompey battled Caesar until their final confrontation at the battle of Pharsalus, ending in his defeat. Pompey fled into Egypt, where he was betrayed and ultimately murdered, by Ptolemy XIII of Egypt.

Early life and political debut

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus was born on September 29, 106 BC, as the son or heir of Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, an extremely wealthy man from the Italian region of Picenum. Though patrician by birth, their branch of the Pompeius family was traditionally provincial, making them the inevitable subject of prejudice from the Roman elite. His family had only achieved a first

consulship some 35 years earlier. He was thus of respectable but somewhat provincial background, a slight taint that clung to him throughout his long competition with the most powerful patricians in Rome. His father, Pompey Strabo, was an important general and the first senator of the family, being elected consul in 89 BC. Pompey grew up with his father in the military camps, involved in army and political affairs.

Strabo had fought first with Marius, then with Sulla in the civil wars of 88-87 BC. At age 17, Pompey was fully involved in his father's wars. He also acquired a protégé of his own with the young staff officer, Marcus Tullius Cicero. According to Plutarch, sympathetic to Pompey, he was a popular teenager, considered a look-alike of Alexander the Great.

Strabo died in the conflicts between Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, leaving young Pompey in control of his affairs and fortune. Despite his youth, Pompey sided with Sulla after his return from the First Mithridatic War in 83 BC. In Rome, Sulla was expecting trouble with the Cinna administration and found the 23-year-old, and his father's three veteran legions, useful.

This political alliance boosted Pompey's career in Rome. Sulla, now the dictator in absolute control of the city, forced the divorce of his pregnant stepdaughter Aemilia Scaura from her husband to marry his young ally. Pompey was only too happy to divorce Antistia, a provincial matrona, and take the patrician Aemilia.

The young Pompey was placed high within Sulla's ranks, even so far as among his private council. In the course of Sulla's campaigns across Italy, Pompey would encounter two individuals that would shape both his and Rome's futures: Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gaius Julius Caesar.

Pompey would meet Crassus from within the army. Crassus, like Pompey, had been left a small fortune and military force by his father, and sided with Sulla. The two would develop a rivalry that would last for years to come. Pompey first met Caesar when Sulla brought Caesar before him and demanded he divorce his wife Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna. When Caesar refused, Sulla pardoned him.

When Pompey commented on his action, Sulla responded saying that he wanted to leave a few enemies alive for later adventures. Pompey viewed Caesar not so much as an enemy, but as a much-respected obstacle. Some reports of the event suggest that Pompey was inspired by Caesar's refusal to divorce his wife, reminding him of the same scenario that Pompey had faced only two years prior.

Sicily and Africa

Although his young age kept him a privatus (a man holding no political office of – or associated with – the cursus honorum), Pompey was a very rich man and a talented general in control of three veteran legions. Moreover, he was ambitious for glory and power. Happy to acknowledge his son-in-law's wishes, and to clear his own situation as dictator, Sulla sent Pompey to Sicily to recover the island and its invaluable grain supply from the Marians.

Sicily was strategically very important, since the island held the majority of Rome's grain supply. Without it, the city population would starve and riots would certainly ensue. Pompey dealt with the resistance with a harsh hand and when the citizens complained about his methods he replied with one of his most famous quotations: "Stop quoting laws, we carry weapons".

He routed the opposing forces in Sicily and then went to Africa, where he continued his string of unbroken victories in 82-81 BCE. His ruthless extermination of opposing forces created bitter hatred among the surviving Marians.

Proclaimed imperator by his troops on the field in Africa, Pompey demanded a triumph for his African victories, refusing to disband his legions and appearing with his demand at the gates of Rome where, amazingly, Sulla gave in and agreed to award him his triumph. It is also around this point that Pompey gained his cognomen Magnus, meaning Great. Legend says that it was Sulla himself who had the idea, although this is not certain.

Hispania and Spartacus

Pompey's reputation for military genius, and occasional bad judgment, continued when he demanded proconsular imperium (although he had not yet served as Consul) to go to Hispania to fight against Sertorius, a Marian general who maintained a lone presence there. He refused to disband his legions until his request was granted, and he joined Metellus Pius against Sertorius.

The campaign against the brilliant guerrilla general would last from 76 BC to 71 BC. It is significant that the war was finally won only when rivals murdered Sertorius, not because either Pompey or Metellus Pius had been able to achieve a clean victory on the battlefield.

In the months after Sertorius' death, however, Pompey revealed one of his most significant talents; a genius for the organization and administration of a conquered province. Fair and generous terms extended his patronage throughout Hispania and into southern Gaul.

When Crassus was facing difficulties against Spartacus at the end of the Third Servile War in 71 BC, Pompey returned to Italy with his army to bring a decisive ending to the revolt, although arguably Crassus already had the revolt subdued and Pompey merely finished off the remaining rebels, thereby assuming the victory as his.

Disgruntled opponents, especially Crassus, said he was developing a talent for showing up late in a campaign and taking all the glory for its successful conclusion. This growing enmity between Crassus and Pompey would not be resolved for over a decade.

Back in Rome, Pompey celebrated his second extralegal triumph for the victories in Hispania. Admirers saw in Pompey the most brilliant general of the age. In 71 BC, at only 35 years of age (see cursus honorum), Pompey was elected Consul for the first time, serving in 70 BC as junior partner of Crassus, with the overwhelming support of the Roman population.

The Campaign against the Pirates — Pompey in the East

By 69 BC, Pompey was the darling of the Roman masses although many Optimates were deeply suspicious of his intentions. His primacy in the state was enhanced by two extraordinary proconsular commands, unprecedented in Roman history. In 67 BC, two years after his consulship, Pompey was nominated commander of a special naval task force to campaign against the pirates that controlled the Mediterranean. This command, like everything else in Pompey's life, was surrounded with polemic.

The conservative faction of the senate was most suspicious of his intentions and afraid of his power. The Optimates tried every means possible to avoid it. Significantly, Caesar was one of a handful of Senators (if not the only one) who supported Pompey's command from the start.

The nomination was then proposed by the Plebeian Tribune Aulus Gabinius who proposed the Lex Gabinia, giving Pompey command in the war against the Mediterranean pirates, with extensive powers that gave him absolute control over the sea and the coasts for 50 miles inland, setting him above every military leader in the east.

It took Pompey only a few months to clear the Mediterranean of the danger of pirates. In three short months (67-66 BC), Pompey's forces swept the Mediterranean free of the pirates, showing extraordinary precision, discipline, and organizational ability. The quickness of the campaign showed that he was a talented general also at sea, with strong logistic abilities too. Pompey was the hero of the hour.

Pompey was then nominated to the Third Mithridatic War to fight Mithridates VI of Pontus in the East. This command essentially entrusted Pompey with the conquest and reorganization of the entire Eastern Mediterranean. This was the second command that Caesar supported in favor of Pompey. He conducted the campaigns of 65 BC to 62 BC with such military and administrative skill that Rome annexed much of Asia firmly under its control.

Pompey destroyed not only Mithridates, but also defeated Tigranes the Great, king of Armenia, with whom he later developed a treaty relationship. He defeated Antiochus XIII of Syria, which region he organised as a new Roman province, and proceeded to Jerusalem, which he captured.

Pompey imposed an overall settlement on the kings of the new eastern provinces, which took intelligent account of the geographical and political factors involved in creating Rome's new frontier on the East.

With Tigranes as a friend and ally of Rome, the chain of Roman protectorates now extended as far east as the Black Sea and the Caucasus. The amount of tribute and bounty Pompey brought back to Rome was almost incalculable: Plutarch lists 20,000 talents in gold and silver added to the treasury, and the increase in taxes to the public treasury rose from 50 million to 85 million drachmas annually. His administrative brilliance was such that his dispositions endured largely unchanged until the fall of Rome.

Pompey’s Return to Rome

In December 62 BC, Pompey finally returned to Rome with a dilemma to address. On one hand he wanted his third triumph, on the other he wanted to run for a second consulship. Roman laws state that a general cannot cross the pomerium without losing the right of the triumph, but an electoral candidate must be in the city in order to apply personally for the election.

Pompey tried to use diplomacy and asked the senate to postpone the consular election for the day after the triumph. The Optimates, led by Cato the Younger, strongly opposed this and forced Pompey to choose.

He chose the triumph, but didn't let go of the consulship. If he couldn't be elected, at least he could bribe the voters to pick his candidate, Affranius. According to several sources, it was a huge scandal with the voters heading in masses to Pompey's house outside the pomerium.

His third triumph took place on September 29, 61 BC (Pompey's 45th birthday), celebrating the victories over the pirates and in the Middle East, and was to be an unforgettable event in Rome.

Two entire days were scheduled for the enormous parade of spoils, prisoners, army and banners depicting battle scenes to complete the route between Campus Martius and the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. To conclude the festivities, Pompey offered an immense triumphal banquet and made several donations to the people of Rome, enhancing his popularity even further.

Although now at his zenith, by this time Pompey had been largely absent from Rome for over five years and a new star had arisen. Pompey had been busy in Asia during the consternation of the Catiline Conspiracy, when a young Julius Caesar pitted his will against that of the Consul Cicero and the rest of the Optimates.

His old colleague and enemy, Crassus, had loaned Caesar money. Cicero was in eclipse, now hounded by the ill-will of Publius Clodius and his factional gangs. New combinations had been made and the conquering hero had been out of touch.

Back in Rome, Pompey deftly dismissed his armies, disarming worries that he intended to spring from his conquests into domination of Rome as Dictator. Yet Pompey was still a supreme tactician; he simply sought new allies and pulled strings behind the political scenes.

The Optimates had fought back to control much of the real workings of the Senate; in spite of his efforts, Pompey found their inner councils were closed to him. His magnificent settlements in the East were not promptly confirmed. The public lands he had promised his veterans were not forthcoming.

From now on, Pompey's political maneuverings suggest that, although he toed a cautious line to avoid offending the conservatives, he was increasingly puzzled by Optimate reluctance to acknowledge his solid achievements. Pompey's frustration would force him into strange political alliances.

Caesar and the First Triumvirate

Although Pompey and Crassus distrusted each other, by 61 BC their grievances pushed them both into an alliance with Caesar. Crassus' tax farming clients were being rebuffed at the same time Pompey's veterans were being ignored. Thus entered Caesar, six years younger than Pompey, returning from service in Hispania, and ready to seek the Consulship for 59 BC.

Caesar somehow managed to forge a political alliance with both Pompey and Crassus (the so-called First Triumvirate). Pompey and Crassus would make him Consul, and he would use his power as Consul to force their claims. Plutarch quotes Cato as later saying that the tragedy of Pompey was not that he was Caesar's defeated enemy, but that he had been, for too long, Caesar's friend and supporter.

Caesar's tempestuous consulate in 59 brought Pompey not only the land and political settlements he craved, but a new wife: Caesar's own young daughter, Julia. Pompey was supposedly besotted with his bride.

After Caesar secured his proconsular command in Gaul at the end of his Consular year, Pompey was given the governorship of Hispania Ulterior, yet was permitted to remain in Rome overseeing the critical Roman grain supply, exercising his command through subordinates. Pompey handled the grain issue with his usual excellent efficiency, but his success at political intrigue was less sure.

The Optimates had never forgiven him for abandoning Cicero when Publius Clodius forced his exile. Only when Clodius began attacking Pompey was the great man persuaded to work with others towards Cicero's recall in 57 BC. Once Cicero was back, his usual vocal magic helped soothe Pompey's position somewhat, but many still viewed him as a traitor for his alliance with Caesar.

Other agitators tried to persuade Pompey that Crassus was plotting to have him assassinated. Rumor (quoted by Plutarch) also suggested that the aging conqueror was losing interest in politics in favor of domestic life with his young wife.

He was occupied by the details of construction of the mammoth complex later known as Pompey's Theater on the Campus Martius; not only the first permanent theater ever built in Rome, but an eye-popping complex of lavish porticoes, shops, and multi-service buildings.

Caesar, meanwhile, was himself gaining a greater name as a general of genius in his own right. By 56 BC, the bonds between the three men were fraying. Caesar called first Crassus, then Pompey, to a secret meeting in the northern Italian town of Lucca to rethink both strategy and tactics. By this time, Caesar was no longer the amenable silent partner of the trio.

At Luca it was agreed that Pompey and Crassus would again stand for the consulship in 55 BC. At their election, Caesar's command in Gaul would be extended for an additional five years, while Crassus would receive command in Syria (from which he longed to conquer Parthia and extend his own achievements). Pompey would continue to govern Hispania in absentia after their consular year.

This time, however, opposition to the three men was electric, and it took bribery and corruption on an unprecedented scale to secure the election of Pompey and Crassus in 55 BC. Their supporters received most of the important remaining offices. The violence between Publius Clodius and other factions were building and civil unrest was becoming endemic.

Confrontation to War

The triumvirate was about to end. The bonds of the triumvirate were snapped by death. First, Pompey's wife (and at that time Caesar's only child), Julia, died in 54 BC in childbirth. Later that year, Crassus and his army were annihilated by the Parthian armies at the Battle of Carrhae. Caesar's name, not Pompey's, was now firmly before the public as Rome's great new general.

The public turmoil in Rome resulted in whispers as early as 54 that Pompey should be made dictator to force a return to law and order. After Julia's death, Caesar sought a second matrimonial alliance with Pompey, offering a marital alliance with one of his endless supply of grandnieces.

This time, Pompey refused. In 52 BC, he married Cornelia, daughter of Metellus Scipio, one of Caesar’s greatest enemies, and continued to drift toward the Optimates. They had apparently decided that Pompey was the lesser of two evils.

In that year, the murder of Publius Clodius and the burning of the Curia (the Senate House) by an inflamed mob led the Senate to beg Pompey to restore order, which he did with ruthless efficiency. The trial of the accused murderer, Milo, is notable in that Cicero, counsel for the defense, was so shaken by a Forum seething with armed soldiers that he was unable to complete his defense.

After order was restored, the suspicious Senate and Cato, seeking desperately to avoid giving Pompey dictatorial powers, came up with the alternative of entitling him sole Consul without a colleague; thus his powers, although sweeping, were not unlimited.

While Caesar was fighting for his life against Vercingetorix in Gaul, Pompey proceeded with a genuinely beneficial legislative agenda for Rome, which also revealed that he was now covertly allied with Caesar's enemies.

While instituting legal and military reorganization and reform, Pompey also passed a law making it possible to be retroactively prosecuted for electoral bribery — an action correctly interpreted by Caesar's allies as opening Caesar to prosecution once his imperium was ended. Pompey also prohibited standing for the consulship in absentia, although this had frequently been allowed in the past.

This was an obvious blow at Caesar's plans after his term in Gaul expired. Finally, in 51 BC, Pompey made it clear that Caesar would not be permitted to stand for Consul unless he turned over control of his armies. This would, of course, leave Caesar defenseless before his enemies. In any event, Pompey had been diminished by age, uncertainty, and the harassment of being the chosen tool of a quarreling Optimate oligarchy. As Cicero sadly noted, Pompey had begun to fear Caesar. The coming conflict was inevitable.²

Civil War

Although in the beginning, Pompey claimed he could defeat Caesar and raise armies merely by stamping his foot on the soil of Italy, but by the spring of 49 BC, with Caesar crossing the Rubicon and his invading legions sweeping down the peninsula, Pompey ordered the abandonment of Rome.

His legions fled south towards Brundisium, where Pompey intended to find renewed strength by waging war against Caesar in the East. In the process, almost unbelievably, probably thinking than Caesar will not dare, neither Pompey nor the Senate thought of taking the vast treasury with them, which was left conveniently in the Temple of Saturn when Caesar and his forces entered Rome.

Escaping Caesar by a hair in Brundisium, Pompey regained his confidence during the siege of Dyrrhachium, in which Caesar nearly lost the war. Yet, by failing to pursue at the critical moment of Caesar's defeat, Pompey threw away the chance to destroy Caesar's armies. As Caesar himself said, "Today the enemy would have won, if they had had a commander who was a winner" (Plutarch, 65). With Caesar on their backs, the conservatives led by Pompey fled to Greece.

The armies clashed in the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. The fighting was hard for both sides but would eventually return a decisive victory for Caesar. Like all the other conservatives, Pompey had to run for his life. He met his wife Cornelia and his son Sextus Pompeius on the island of Mytilene. He then wondered where to go next. The decision of running to one of the eastern kingdoms was overruled in favor of Egypt.

After his arrival in Egypt, Pompey's fate was decided by three counselors of Ptolemy XIII, the boy-king. While Pompey waited offshore for word, they argued the cost of offering him refuge with Caesar already en route for Egypt. It was decided to murder Caesar's enemy to ingratiate themselves with him.

On September 29, his 58th birthday, the great Pompey was lured toward a supposed audience on shore in a small boat in which he recognized two old comrades-in-arms from the glorious, early battles. They were his assassins.

While he sat in the boat, studying his speech for the boy king, they stabbed him in the back with sword and dagger. After decapitation, the body was left, contemptuously unattended and naked, on the shore. His freedman, Philipus, organized a simple funeral pyre and cremated the body on a pyre of broken ship's timbers.

Caesar arrived a short time afterwards. As a welcoming present he received Pompey's head and ring in a basket. However, he was not pleased in seeing his enemy, once his ally and son-in-law, murdered by traitors.

When a slave offered him Pompey's head, " …he turned away from him with loathing, as from an assassin; and when he received Pompey's signet ring on which was engraved a lion holding a sword in his paws, he burst into tears" (Plutarch, 80). He deposed Ptolemy, executed his regent Pothinus, and elevated Cleopatra to the throne of Egypt. Caesar gave Pompey's ashes and ring to Cornelia, who took them back to his estates in Italy.

In late 45 BC, Pompey was deified by the Senate at Caesar's request. In a stroke of irony, Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March, 44 BC, in Pompey's Theater at the base of Pompey’s statue. It is rumored that Caesar prayed to his best friend, son-in-law, and greatest rival as he lay dying.