Ancient Roman History

 Level 2: Ancient Roman History

Augustus Augustus (63 BC- AD 14), first emperor of Rome (27 BC-AD 14), who restored unity and orderly government to the realm after nearly a century of civil wars. He presided over an era of peace, prosperity, and cultural achievement known as the Augustan Age. In 27 BC the Roman Senate gave Octavian the title Augustus (―consecrated,‖ or ―holy‖) by which he is known, and his reign has often been considered a dyarchy because of the Senate‘s participation in it.

Hannibal Hannibal (general) (247-183 BC), Carthaginian general, son of Hamilcar Barca, whose march on Rome from Spain across the Alps in 218-217 BC remains one of the greatest feats in military history. He almost defeated Rome, winning many battles in Italy, but the inability of Carthage to get him reinforcements eventually led to his defeats in Italy, and eventually at the Battle of Zama.

Caesar, Gaius Julius Caesar, Gaius Julius (100-44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, who laid the foundations of the Roman imperial system. He was famous for his conquering of Gaul, his rise to power, and his crossing of the Rubicon, which lead to his taking control of the Roman government. He was assassinated by a plot led by Cassius and Brutus.

Cleopatra Cleopatra (69-30 BC), ill-fated queen of Egypt (51-30 BC), was the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes, king of Egypt. Caesar proclaimed her queen of Egypt. She married Mark Antony.

Antony, Mark Antony, Mark (Latin Marcus Antonius) (83?-30 BC), Roman statesman and general, who defeated the assassins of Julius Caesar and, with Gaius Octavius and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, formed the Second Triumvirate, which ultimately secured the end of the Roman Republic. He fought for power with Caesar‘s heir, Octavian. He committed suicide by falling in his sword.

Spartacus Spartacus (died 71 BC) was Roman slave and gladiator, born in Thrace. He is thought to have been a deserter from the Roman army, and he was sold as a slave to a trainer of gladiators at Capua. In 73 BC he escaped with other runaway gladiators and took refuge on Mount Vesuvius, where he was joined by large numbers of escaped slaves. As leader of the historic insurrection of Roman slaves known as the Third Servile War, or Gladiators' War, he defeated two Roman armies, and his forces overran southern Italy. In 72 BC he defeated three more Roman armies and reached Cisalpine Gaul, where he planned to disperse his followers to their homes. They decided to remain in Italy for the sake of plunder, and Spartacus marched south again. In 71 BC the Roman commander Marcus Licinius Crassus forced Spartacus and his followers into the narrow peninsula of Rhegium (now Reggio di Calabria), from which, however, they escaped through the Roman lines. Crassus then pursued Spartacus to Lucania, where the rebel army was destroyed and Spartacus was killed in battle.

Punic Wars Punic Wars, name given to the three wars between Rome and Carthage in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. The adjective Punic (Latin Punicus) is derived from Poeni, the name by which the Carthaginians, being of Phoenician descent, were known to the Romans.

The First Punic War (264-241 BC) was the outcome of growing political and economic rivalry between the two nations. It was initiated when a band of Campanian mercenary soldiers (Mamertines), besieged in the city of Messana (now Messina), in Sicily, requested aid from both Rome and Carthage against Hiero II, king of Syracuse. Carthage already controlled part of Sicily, and the Romans, responding to this request with the intention of driving the Carthaginians from the island, provoked a declaration of war. After building their first large navy, the Romans defeated a Carthaginian fleet off the Sicilian port of Mylae (see Mylae, Battle of) in 260 BC, but failed to capture Sicily. In 256 BC a Roman army under Roman general Marcus Atilius Regulus established a base in North Africa, but the following year the Carthaginians forced it to withdraw. For the next 13 years the war was fought in the area of Sicily. It ended with a major naval victory for the Romans in 241 BC. Sicily was then ceded to the Romans, who also seized the Carthaginian islands of Sardinia and Corsica in 237 BC.

Hamilcar Barca, a distinguished Carthaginian general of the First Punic War, devoted the remainder of his life to building up Carthaginian power in Spain to compensate for the loss of Sicily. His son Hannibal became commander of the Carthaginian forces in this area in 221 BC, and in 219 BC he attacked and captured Saguntum, a Spanish city allied with Rome. This act brought on the Second Punic War (218-201 BC). In the spring of 218 BC Hannibal swiftly marched a large army through Spain and Gaul and across the Alps to attack the Romans in Italy before they could complete their preparations for war. He crossed the dangerous mountains and secured a firm position in northern Italy. By 216BC he had won two major victories, at Lake Trasimeno and the town of Cannae, and reached southern Italy. In spite of his requests, Hannibal received insufficient reinforcements and siege weapons from Carthage until 207 BC, when his brother Hasdrubal left Spain with an army to join him. Hasdrubal crossed the Alps, but in a battle at the Metaurus River, in northern Italy, he was killed and his troops defeated. Meanwhile, the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, known as Scipio Africanus the Elder, had totally defeated the Carthaginians in Spain, and in 204 BC he landed an army in North Africa. The Carthaginians recalled Hannibal to Africa to defend them against Scipio. Leading an army of untrained recruits, he was decisively defeated by Scipio at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. This battle marked the end of Carthage as a great power and the close of the Second Punic War. The Put together by MODG LS students for use of families in MODG only – Do not distribute without permission from MODG. Carthaginians were compelled to cede Spain and the islands of the Mediterranean still in their possession, relinquish their navy, and pay an indemnity to Rome.

In the 2nd century BC, however, Carthage continued to be commercially successful and, though only a minor power, a source of irritation to Rome. The Romans were further incited by the speeches of the censor Cato the Elder, who demanded Delenda est Carthago (―Carthage must be destroyed‖). A minor Carthaginian breach of treaty gave the pretext for the Third Punic War (149-146 BC), in which the Romans, led by Scipio the Younger, captured the city of Carthage, razed it to the ground, and sold the surviving inhabitants into slavery.

Gallic Wars Gallic Wars, series of military campaigns from 58 to 51 bc in which Roman armies, led by Gaius Julius Caesar, conquered Gaul, a territory that included most of modern France. Caesar set out for the Roman territory of Gaul in March of 58 bc. The Romans defeated the hostile tribe of the Helvetii in a battle at Bibracte and later subjugated other tribes. Within two years Caesar had conquered all of Gaul between the Rhine and the Atlantic Ocean. But a few years later, a rebellion broke out under the command of a chief named Vercingetorix. In this war Caesar suffered some defeats, but in the end stamped out the revolt.