March 18th, 2024
The introduction explains the concept of the book. It will go through the various eras of Roman history, from the beginning to the last Western emperor, telling tales of lives big and small. It starts of with the founding of the city and the kingdom, which I don’t know much about. First is Faustulus, the shepherd who found Romulus and Remus on the shores of the Tiber. He raised them, the sons of a princess and Mars, and when they saved Alba Longa from the corrupt king, they founded a city. He got between the brothers who were fighting over the name and location of the city and was killed. Another legendary man was Titus Tatius. He was general or king of a Sabine city and after the abduction of the Sabine women, the men came to him to fight the Romans. He took too long preparing and they went and died fighting. Tatius’ siege of Rome was successful, though. To end the siege, a Roman woman opened the gates and betrayed the Romans, to which the Sabines killed her anyway. The fighting in the city was brutal and was only stopped when the Sabine women interfered, preventing their husbands and fathers from killing each other. Tatius was made co-king of Rome with Romulus and the Sabines joined the Romans as one people. He was assassinated when in another city. The more historical kings are next. The first woman on the list is Tanaquil, who was quite a powerful woman. She was from an Etruscan city and her husband was foreign, thus he was treated poorly. She decided to move to the new city of Rome. Here an omen of an eagle removing his hat and then placing it back on his head showed a good future. The husband adopted a Roman name of Tarquinius and became a close associate of the king (4th king of Rome?). When the king died, he was regent for the kings sons, but ended up sending them away and becoming king, the first Etruscan king of Rome. When he was assassinated, Tanaquil announced he was only wounded and that Servius Tullius would rule temporarily. Thus she chose two kings of Rome, and married her daughter to Tullius to cement the dynasty.
Servius Tullius may have been a servant in the king’s house, but legend has it that his father was a king of another city and his mother became a Roman captive once he was killed in battle. As a boy, the legend says he was sleeping when his head was on fire. The household went to put it out, but Tanaquil stopped them and recognized it as a sign. He woke up and the flame went out. As shown above, he became king with the death of Tarquin. Servius did some strange things as king, like created the “centuries”, where 5 tiers of citizens, based on wealth, were required to do some sort of service. The richest provided their own weapons and shields and armor, while the lowest had slings and rocks. The egalitarian days of Rome were over. He married his daughters to Tarquin’s sons or grandsons, which seems like that is incest. Either way, it didn’t work. Tarquin’s son or grandson, Tarquinius Superbus, and Servius’ daughter plotted the king’s death and the usurpation of the throne. So he was murdered by family. Superbus would become the last king of Rome.
March 19th, 2024
The end of Tarquinius Superbus (509 BC) was brought about by a man named Lucius Brutus. Superbus killed his father and brother and Brutus came to the court as a child ward, a playmate for Tarquin’s sons. Years later during a war, Brutus was the second-in-command, despite being a dumb “brute”. During the boredom of the siege, Tarquin’s son Sextus raped the pure woman Lucretia, also the wife of Sextus’ cousin, who publicly committed suicide. Brutus then led an insurrection that drove the royal family out of Rome, establishing the Republic. A long war followed and he died a year later, if he existed. Lucretia was the next person, and as mentioned above, she was the model woman. She was so perfect that the depraved Sextus had to defile her. At quite the cost! The last person related to the war is a woman named Cloelia. The royal family hid out with an Etruscan king to wage war and reclaim Rome. The Romans fought hard and impressed the king. There was the guy who held that bridge, and another guy who was going to be burned to death and stuck his own hand in the fire first. A truce was agreed upon. The king demanded 20 hostages, 10 men and 10 women. Cloelia was one of the women, and she organized an escape with the other women. They fled raining arrows across the Tiber, but the king demanded them back. Cloelia, knowing she’d be killed, agreed to return in order to prevent war from breaking out. Instead, the king was still impressed and rewarded her. Eventually he would switch sides and expel the Tarquin family. There was another woman who did some escape on horseback, but if they didn’t have a name in big bold letters, I forget it. I lied, there was one more guy from the war. A slave named Vindicius overheard a plot in his master’s home to restore the Tarquin family to power. Part of these conspirators were Brutus’ owns sons. The slave would be executed by his master if he spoke out, but he went to an upright aristocrat and told the story. This man hid the slave in his house and brought the story to light while it was being investigated. The master demanded the slave to no avail. Eventually the truth was known, and Brutus had the men, including his sons, executed. Vindicius was thus vindicated. A few decades later there was internal turmoil in the Republic. The patricians and plebians were at each other’s throats. The tribune of plebians wanted a written Constitution and patricians opposed this, though the laws would be written. Cincinnatus was a patrician who came out on the losing end of this and retired a pauper across the Tiber to farm. During a war and with Rome still in turmoil, Cincinnatus was requested to return as dictator for the year, which he regretfully agreed. After the issue was resolved, he returned to the farm. The decemvirs were the council for writing the laws, but this quickly turned into an illegal dictatorship. Cincinnatus was again called in to save the city. Or something like that. During this time, a decemvir desired the plebian woman Verginia (or Virginia). He declared she was an escaped slave of his pawn and brought her to trial. Her father, Verginius, a centurion, quickly returned from the war to the court. Knowing that he could not win in this court, he killed his daughter to save her virtue. This led to an uprising and the return of the Republic.
March 20th, 2024
We’re still in turbulent times as we jump to the invasion of Italy by the Gauls, circa 400BC. The Italians were losing consistently and the Gauls sacked Rome. The only remaining spot in Roman hands was the Capitoline Hill. It was steep and had high walls, so was presumed safe. Marcus Manlius, who owned property there near the temple of Juno, was awakened by geese. The Gauls found an opening. His household then held on to the pass as reinforcements arrived. He was a hero, but with power he became an agitator for more plebeian rights. After the Senate had enough of this, he was tried for treason and thrown from the Tarpeian Rock to his death. Geese, however, became sacred to the temple of Juno. A relation a couple generations later, Titus Manlius Torquatus was a warrior known for killing a Gaul in single combat and taking his torque. Years later, a war with the Latins led to a military dictatorship and strict discipline, as the armies were so similar. Torquatus was consul and general. His son broke rank to emulate his father and fight a Latin in single combat. He won, but was executed by his father for breaking military law. Harsh. A plebiean family, the Mus (mouse), also gained glory in this war. Publius Decius Mus was known for his great sacrifice. During the war with the Latins, an omen said that one side would lose a general, one side would lose an army. His father died fighting the Gauls, and due to the omen the Gauls fled. Now, Publius had a turn. He charged into the army as suicide and the Romans won the war. In a future war in Epirus, the Greeks purposely avoided killing a Decius general to avoid the omen.
A century later, Rome is no longer just a city-state. It is the Italian state and a Mediterraenean power. This brings them in competition with the other powers, Carthage and the Greeks. Regulus was a general in the First Punic War to take Sicily from Carthage. Rome did very well and Regulus led an army to North Africa, taking one of their cities. He held it while the fleet returned to Rome and advanced on Carthage when his luck turned. He was taken prisoner and was sent back to Rome to get peace terms or prisoner swaps, but on the condition he returned to Carthage. In Rome he advocated for a continuation of the war. Against all pleas, he returned to Carthage as promised and was executed, possibly crucified. Fabius Pictor fought in the Second Punic War and was at some of the lost battles against Hannibal. Instead of returning to fight, he went to Greece as some sort on envoy. Here he learned that the Greeks were on the Carthaginian side. He then decided to play the propaganda war. There was no written history of Rome, so he became their first historian.
March 21st, 2024
We’re still in the Punic War era. Plautus seems like a cool guy. He was, more or less, Rome’s first playwright. I don’t think he was really a writer until he was middle-aged, having worked various jobs and losing lots of money before that. He may have been a freedman. His plays were essentially Greek plays and were often set in Greece, but the characters were really Romans. In the uptight and serious Roman society, especially during the wars with Carthage, it was a way to mock everything. They were immensely popular, and people started to put his name on plays that he didn’t write so people would see them.
Cato the Elder seems like a prick. He’s essentially the stereotypical codgety (no idea how to spell this) old conservative. He fought in the First Punic War as a young man and moved up the ladder to Consul and Censor. To summarize, he opposed anything that was against traditional Roman values and despised all things Greek. He fought in the war against the Greeks after the Second Punic War. He ended all of his speeches with “Carthage must be destroyed”. Seems like a very close minded man.
Up next are a few leaders from the Second Punic War. Fabius Maximus was known as the Delayer, but also the Shield. He was often viewed as a coward because of his harrying tactics to weaken the enemy, instead of full battle. However, he was well respected. He was Consul and Dictator during the Second Punic War. While Rome was being defeated, he remained calm. His harrying tactics, along with Macellus’ brute force, and scorched earth policy weakened Hannibal’s army. The slow system of winning is called Fabian, as can be seen in the socialist Fabian Society.
Claudius Marcellus was another Roman general, more of the blood and guts kind than Fabius. He won Rome’s highest honor (the third to do so) by killing an enemy king (a Gaul?) in a victorious battle. He led the invasion of Syracuse and his army struggled against the machines or Archimedes. They threw Archimedes from a window after taking the city. In battle against Hannibal, he fought hard and well, and Hannibal even mourned his later death. Marcellus died in battle against the Carthaginians while doing recon with Crispinus. He was known for having slaughtered some surrendering Sicilians after taking a city, so he probably had it coming.
Quinctius Crispinus was another general and consul who fought in the Second Punic War. He is known for campaigning in Capua, whose inhabitants had rebelled against Rome and sided with Carthage. Crispinus had a hospitium relationship with a Capuan, and this friendship was made difficult by the war. During a siege, often friends will meet during a cessation of hostilities, despite being on opposing sides. This time, however, the Capuan friend challenged Crispinus to a duel to the death, Capuan style. Romans did not like single-combat, but engaged in it with permission from the commanding officer. They charged each other on horseback and Crispinus unhorsed his friend, who fled for his life. Crispinus later died with Marcellus in the war.
March 22nd, 2024
Laelius was a friend of Scipio Africanus and commanded the fleets that fought in Carthaginian Spain. He then fought with him in Africa against Carthage in their Numidian allies. His friend helped him in a political career, but he was snubbed of command in Greece. Both men embraced Greek culture to the disdain of Cato the Elder. Laelius’ son Laelius with another Scipio fought in the Third Punic War, and was named “the wise” for abandoning senatorial reforms that would cause problems. The Gracchi had no such problems.
Spurious Ligustinus was a (probably fictional) centurion who represented the modern army man. In the old days, many centurions were farmers who campaigned in the summer months. With war in Africa, Spain, Greece, and Asia, this was no longer realistic. Spurious started out as the lowest centurion and fought for 20 years, reaching the highest honor and still volunteering to fight more. Rutilius Rufus was not very interesting. He fought some corruption in Asia Minor when governor but was then accused by the people he was persecuting. He was exiled from Rome. Before that he fought in Numidia, where Marius usurped control.
Cornelia was the daughter of Scipio Africanus, but more importantly she was mother of the Gracchi. This was really a passage about Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. Tiberius, a veteran of the Third Punic War, he became a tribune of the plebs, a powerful position that could stop legislation. He stopped all political business until his agrarian reform law was passed by the Senate, which redistributed land from the aristocrats to public use or for small farmers. He was assassinated for this. The younger brother Gaius followed in his footsteps. He became tribune and tried to pass further laws for reform in the provinces. He was also assassinated. Civil unrest was on the horizon. Cornelia lived out her days in isolation, but her house was a well-known gathering for intellectuals.
Sulla was a Roman general, ruthless and ambitious. He fought in Numidia, against invading Germans in North Italy, and against Italians (non-Romans) when they rebelled in the Social War. He fought an unsanctioned war in Greece and Asian Minor and conquered Rome during a popular rebellion. He installed himself as dictator and passed a bunch of reforms. He weakened the tribune of the plebs and killed any of his opponents. The above-mentioned Marius was one of the enemies of Sulla. He died shortly after he ended his dictatorship. Caesar would later emulate his style of coup, even though Caesar was originally on Sulla’s hit-list. The Republic did not long out-live Sulla.
March 25th, 2024
The Republican era ends with two less-than-interesting fellows. Staberius Eros was a Greek slave turned teacher, who taught some well-bred students, even for free after the purgings of Sulla. He may have taught Brutus. Pasiteles was a famous sculptor who blended Greek and Roman styles. But now we enter an era of chaos and the death of the Republic. It covers from Sulla’s dictatorship and through Augustus’ reign, 88BC to 14AD. This is an era of Roman against Roman, corrupt leaders, power grabs and summary executions. This is the low-point for Rome.
The first man is Hortensius, an excellent lawyer who is more on the side of corruption than good. He had an animated way of speaking that influenced juries (made of Senators, probably bribed), and seems to me that today he would’ve been a corporate lawyer. He became very wealthy and Consul, defended Verres (see below) and was the frenemy of Cicero.
I have a book on Cicero that I’ve yet to read. He’s probably the most famous orator of all time, though he was probably a bit bipolar and weepy. He defended the Republic against Catiline and exposed his plot to take over the government, then as Consul had the conspirators summarily executed. He argued against the corrupt Verres, who probably bribed the Senators and was well connected, so well that Verres exiled himself before the verdict was up. Cicero was loved by the Sicilians who he governed very fairly for a stint. He then got on the wrong side of Marc Antony, who made Octavian remove his protection of Cicero. For angering Antony, Cicero was beheaded and his head displayed in Rome.
Verres seems like a real POS and the epitome of the corrupt official. He bribed his way up the ladder, extorted the people he was meant to govern. The system, of course, aided this. He was never punished for the decades he was stealing money from Rome and the people. He stole art and probably had people killed. The Sicilians complained of this corruption to their friend Cicero and it was brought to trial. Instead of the sure victory he was expecting, Cicero destroyed him and he went to Gaul in self-exile. He lived a luxurious life on his stolen goods there, though he may have been killed by Marc Antony who in turn coveted his works of art.
March 26th, 2024
Catiline was much worse that Verres and has remained infamous to history thanks to Cicero. He was very ambitious and I believe was a Sullan. He had no issues with torture and murder, even slowly killing his brother-in-law and parading his severed head around. He wanted power and he wanted to follow in Sulla’s footsteps. He was enraged when he lost the election for Consulship to Cicero and planned to seize power. He ran off to work with some Gallic tribes, but Cicero had an informant and eviscerated him, executing the plotters without trial. Catiline then openly rebelled and was died fighting.
Sallust did not succeed as a politician and became a historian. He tried to follow the success of corrupt politicians and leave Africa with nothing and was a backer of Caesar. But his career was a failure so he abandoned it. His histories are looked at skeptically by modern historians, but at least they survive.Tiro servus Ciceronis fuit. I guess it’s just a nice story about a slave who was well loved and respected by his familia. Many writings about Cicero came from him. He was with Cicero at his death and maybe he was free after that, since he lived comfortably to nearly 100. Clodia was a bad, bad girl. Rumor has it she was banging people left and right. A lot of this comes from Cicero, who seems to have hated her. Instead of arguing in court against some guy (a lover?), Cicero talked trash on her and how she murdered her husband. The guy was acquited. She may have been a poet and the famous Lesbia of Catulus.
Atticus played politics well, despite avoid politics. He was charming and amassed a lot of wealth over the years. He was against Sulla, but exiled himself and Sulla respected him for that. He jumped around different sides of the civil war, backing people discreetly, and when they came to power they owed him. Everyone seemed to love this guy. Despite all his clandestine involvement in politics, he lived to an old age and died in peace.
Servilia was a woman tangled up in Caesar’s war. She was the mother of Brutus from one marriage. She was also the lover of Caesar. Her one daughter was married to Cassius and rumor had it was also a lover of Caesar. Another daughter was the wife of Caesar’s commander-in-chief. Politics were really screwy back then and there was so much marrying and remarrying that it’s practically a familial war.
March 27th, 2024
We’ll dealing with the big dogs now, guys who have thousands of books written about them. First up is Gaius Julius Caesar. Even if you haven’t read about him, you know his story. He does not seem like a very likable guy. He wanted to be an orator and was apparently pretty good at it. I guess this is evident from his writings. He survived Sulla through the intervention of others and bribed his way to top priest. Then he became consul. He, Crassus, and Pompey formed the first triumvirate where they agreed to not harm each other’s careers. Then he went to conquer Gaul to get money and did this for a decade. In the meantime, Crassus died and Pompey became an enemy of Caesar. The Senate told him to disband his army and come back to Rome, but he crossed the Rubicon with is army. Then there was civil war, which Caesar won. Somehow Egypt and Marc Antony got involved, then he was killed by the Senators. Hail Brutus, descendant of Brutus.
Horace was a very famous poet during the civil war era and fought for the Republicans at Phillipi. After that defeat, he dropped all that stuff. He pursued pleasures and was the greatest poet during the reign of Augustus. The emperor himself was a big fan and they were quite close. Horace became very rich and Augustus was his heir. His pursuit of pleasure probably did him in and he died at only 57. His many works still survive
Augustus seems like a pretty decent guy. He made an impression on his great-uncle Julius Caesar, since he was an intelligent child and good orator. His father died young and his mother remarried. He joined Caesar on his Spain campaign, but later sent him to Illyria. This was a safer location to be when it came out that he was made Caesar's heir and adopted son. He sailed to Italy in a bold move. He and Marc Antony and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate against the assassins, which saw success at Phillipi. They split their domain and Augustus got Italy. This lasted a few years before Augustus and Antony came to blows, with Antony and Cleopatra committing suicide. Augustus was sole ruler of Rome, but he never called himself emperor. He became consul and rule was returned to the Senate bit by bit, but Augustus was smart and kept certain powers and loopholes for himself. He seems pretty cool after that.
March 29th, 2024
This is the last batch of period from the Social War to the death of Augustus. There’s a few boring ones, but Agrippa is not one of them. Agrippa is probably one of the coolest so far, and it’s very shocking to realize he and Augustus were on 20 or when Caesar was assassinated. Caesar cried that he was no Alexander the Great, but these two conquered Rome at such a young age. Agrippa was Augustus’ general and the reason Augustus won the wars. They were friends from a young age. Augustus was no military commander, but with Agrippa they stopped the Pompeys and fought barbarian uprisings in Gaul and Aquitaine. He crossed the Rhine, like Caesar, to fight Germans. To aid his friend Augustus, he learned how to command a naval force. As admiral, he defeated Antony at Actium in 31BC, leading to Anthony’s suicide. He married Augustus’ daughter, was consul, and was a wealthy and successful man. He donated much of his money to improve the city and roads around it. He was made an heir Sadly he died around 50 years old, but he was buried in Augustus’ family mausoleum.
Livy is a very famous historian who wrote a ton. His history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita, is a frequent reference, though it only partially survives. He had to be careful not to offend Augustus and was familiar with the man himself. He may have written a history of the Roman Republic, but it has not survived.
Virgil is the famous poet who wrote the Aenid which he never finished. His life is not actually all that interesting and he died before he finished the poem. But boy is he famous. Augustus loved him.
Here are some people who were boring. Eumachia was a rich lady priest in Pompeii. Hilarion of Oxyrhynchus was an Egyptian who wrote his letter to his sister/wife (?) about how if she has a girl, to leave it to die from exposure. Julius Zoilos and Nonius Balbus are two guys I forget about. I think they were regular dudes on team Augustus and heavily rewarded, with the addition of competence and good leadership in their local areas.
April 1st, 2024
Now we are fully in the empirical years, spanning the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the civil war of 69, up to Vespasian. The post Augustan years cement the end of the Republic, but continue the stability and peace of his reign. To note the relation of these emperors: Tiberius, a Claudian was the step- and adopted son of Augustus. Caligula was the grandson of Tiberius’ brother and great-grandson of Augustus’ sister. Claudius was Caligula’s uncle, Caligula’s nephew and Claudius' adopted son.
Sulpicia was a probably a teen girl whose 6 love poems survive. She may have been the daughter of a close associate of Augustus, and in my opinion, would belong in the previous section.
Antonia Augustus was the niece of Augustus, youngest daughter of Mark Antony. She married Nero Claudius Drusus, the step-son of Augustus and had two sons, Germanicus and Claudius. Drusus died and she refused to remarry. Their daughter, Livilla, was caught in a plot to murder Tiberius (her brother-in-law) and Caligula (her grandson) to steal usurp the throne for Sejanus (see below). Antonia allegedly starved her daughter to death for this. She was not very nice to Claudius, who had some disablilites, it seems. Both Caligula and Claudius honored her while emperors.
Sejanus was a real schemer. With him, the Praetorian Guard from a bodyguard unit to an arm of government. Under Tiberius, he consolidated power, allegedly murdered Tiberius’ son. Tiberius trusted him, and leaned on him more after the death of his mother. Tiberius, however, did not allow him to marry into the family. Tiberius was not in public much and Sejanus was treated like the emperor. Suddenly, he was executed in some confusing backdoor political actions.
Pontius Pilate is probably the most famous guy in the book after Caesar himself. He spent a decade as the governor of Judea, but there is not a whole lot of information about him. His importance obviously comes from the New Testament, which was not so known until long after his death. He got into a tiff with some Samaritans and was removed from office after killing them. He drops from history after that.
Caligula, son of Germanicus, was emperor for only 4 years after Tiberius before being assassinated at age 28. He’s famous for being a whacko, but this is probably mostly propaganda. While the empire and death of the republic was a reality, he was the one who stopped tip-toeing around the fact. He was killed by the Guard and Senators, some hoping to reestablish the republic, but the Praetorians chose Claudius as emperor. He did some crazy things, like build a pontoon bridge so he could ride his carriage across it out of spite, thus wasting lots of money, and wanted to be treated like a god, but its unlikely he really tried to make his horse a senator and did all the ponro stuff like the movie. Maybe he would’ve done some real crazy stuff if he lived long enough.
April 4th, 2024
Pallas was a freed slave of Antonia and served Claudius as a financial secretary. He was apparently good at it, and honest to boot. He did become very wealthy, but not through stealing. He was quite powerful and helped organize the marriage of Claudius and Agrippina. He is accused of helping her kill Claudius. Who knows what is true. He was defended by Seneca, so maybe it’s all nonsense. He was likely killed by Nero, who would have gained much of his money with his death.
Agrippina granddaughter of Agrippa and a great-granddaughter of Augustus. Through her first marriage she was the mother of Nero. After her husband’s death and her brother Caligula’s, she was convinced to marry her uncle emperor Claudius. She manipulated things so that her son would reign instead of Claudius’, Brittanicus. She is accused of poisoning Claudius with poison mushrooms. Nero then distrusted her, and she was famously assassinated by him, telling the centurion to stab her in the womb first.
Locusta was a famous poisoner and was allegedly (or maybe it’s confirmed) involved in the poisoning of important imperial men, such as Germanicus, or Tiberius’s son, or Nero’s stepbrother. I think she was “exiled” under Nero, since she was caught after he insisted for an instant poison, though she lived freely in Gaul. Then Vespasian had her executed.
I lost the name of the guy who ran some Greek games in Corinth, to show a slice of life in the festivities people of the empire may have enjoyed. Numerius Quinctius was a freedman actor, who left a tomb for himself and his wife. Quintus Petillius Cerialis was a lucky general who survived some run-ins with the Batavians and also with Boudica. He married Vespasian’s daughter and was thus involved in the Civil War of 69.
Antonia Caenis was slave of Antonia and a top woman. She was intelligent and could read, and she wrote letters for Antonia. She may have had photographic memory. For her loyalty in all the drama that Antonia went through, she was freed. She became the lover of Vespasian, who we know becomes emperor after the civil war. She then essentially became a negotiator and envoy for him. What a career.
Frontinus seems like a good guy, if not a bit dull. He had some prominent roles as consol and governor of Britain. He was a general in Germany and Britain as well. As an engineer, he did a lot of work with the aqueducts and left a lot of technical writing on them. He also wrote Stratgems about military tactics. Solid dude.
April 5th, 2024
Josephus was an Israelite. He lived in a time of trouble, as Jews and Greeks and Romans all agitated each other for the region of Judea. It was an important land route to Africa and the east. Things boiled over in the 60s and the Jews rebelled. Josephus was an aristocrat who avoided the radical Jews, but joined the cause when war broke out. His men lost their battle and were committing suicide by lot, with one man killing another. Josephus and another man were the last two and decided to surrender. The general Vespasian used Josephus as a tool and brought him to the siege of Jerusalem. Afterwards, he was brought to Rome. He was now a full Roman ally and friend of Vespasian, emperor. He was a writer who defended and explained the Jewish culture to Romans. Seems cool.
Amazonia has an inscription somewhere in Greece. She was apparently a very-good gladiator. So good, that her fight with another woman left with both women leaving the ring alive. The crowd was so entertained that they carved something to remember the fight. Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher. I never heard of him, though that’s not surprising. He was a Greek freedman who turned to philosophy and lived in Rome until Nero kicked out the unproductive types. He returned to Greece and was well-known. His Stoicism would be an influence to people like Marcus Aurelius.Martial can go without description. He’s one of the most famous Romans (of Spain). I’ve always meant to read his epigrams.
Pliny the Elder was a smart and scientific man. He died trying to rescue refugees from Pompeii. Like most Romans, he started as a soldier and fought in Germany. He became a governor and military commander, and in his free time he wrote. His famous work, Naturalis Historia, has many volumes on natural history and other scientific interests. Most of it was published by his nephew & adopted son Pliny the Younger. As a naval commander, he used his ships to try to save people from Vesuvius, having witnessed the eruption from a distance. He died while en route, possibly from a heart attack, possibly from noxious fumes. The volcanic clouds are called Plinian after him.
April 9th, 2024
This next group are mostly “slice of life” stories about regular people. Larcius Macedo was a freedman who became a cruel master. He was so hated that he was killed by his slaves in his bath, according to a letter by Pliny the Younger. Minucius Acilianus is from another letter of Pliny the Younger. Pliny was asked by the recipient to find a husband for his niece, a common task for the older generation. He was flattered and thrilled and described the success, good father, and wealth of Minucius. Plus he was handsome.
Tiberius Claudius Maximus was a career cavalryman who had all his deeds on his tombstone. He was proud of his career in fighting across the Danube and he was rewarded by Domitian, though this stunted his career. Trajan later recognized his good work and gave him more promotions. Blandina Martiola has a touching epitaph from her husband. She was 18 when she died, and they were married for 5 years. Just regular people, Celts probably, in Gaul. Her love and kindness were praised by her grieving husband. Claudia Severa was a Roman woman in Britain, up near Scotland, at the forts with her husband. Two letters from her to a friend survive, one being an invitation to a birthday party. This shows even at the ends of the empire, civilization and friendly society were still pressent.
When I hear the name Domitian, I feel the impression of a bad emperor. I don’t know why or remember anything about him; maybe that’s how Gibbon described him. Compared to father Vespasian and brother Titus, he was less personable and less soldierly, but probably more intelligent. When his father declared himself emperor from Judea, Domitian was still in Rome and had to go into hide or risk execution. When Titus was on his deathbed, Domitian was with the Praetorian Guards to ensure he would be declared emperor next. He was paranoid and always afraid of assassination, though his kill count of rivals is surprisingly low for a nearly 15 year reign. He was tough and tried to improve Rome after the deconstruction of 69. He also liked weird games, staging fights between women and dwarfs. He led the troops in battle across the Danube against the Sarmatians and Dacians. He went on defense on all other borders to save money. But he was controlling. He had no trust in the Senate and they despised him in return. They eventually got him in the bath. I kind of feel bad for him.
Everything we know about Agricola comes from Tacitus’ biography. The son-in-law wrote about his father’s military career, which I believe is most famous for his role in Britain. It’s not really THAT interesting. He had a successful military career and prospered under Vespasian, who he backed in the civil war. He quickly became consul and then govenor of Britain. He moved Rome further into Wales and Scotland. He was smart not to try to alienate the locals, which he saw the results of with Boudicca, but to Romanize them. He sailed around Britain and thus proved it was an island. Domitian recalled him from Britain after a long career, and he retired and then died shortly after.
April 10th, 2024
I haven’t heard of any of these people except the emperor. Apollodorus was a famous architect in the court of Trajan. He designed the bridge to cross the Danube which stood until it had to be destroyed in modern times. He also did lots of work in Rome, as Trajan used his war booty to glorify himself and the city. He famously told another architect that his dome-roof designs were garbage and dismissed him. That man was future emperor Hadrian. Safe to say when Hadrian was in power, Apollodorus was not favored. He was later sent to exile where he died.
There was a surprisingly long entry on Antinous, the boy lover of Hadrian. Hadrian was a Grecophile, so naturally wanted to bang a tween boy. He was in love with this kid who became part of his court after a trip to Syria or Asia Minor. 5 years later or so the kid died in the Nile and Hadrian was devastated, named a city after this kid, and deified him.
Metila Acte was a (head?) priestess of the Magna Mater. Not interesting. Aulus Gellius was a grammarian who wrote rambling books on grammar and trivia as a hobby and to entertain his family. It’s very self-aware and not in the standard verbose, over-the-top Latin. Seems interesting to read, if I knew the vocab. Herodian was a civil servant and amateur historian. At the turn of the 3rd century, he could sense that things were going downhill after the death of Marcus Aurelius and the rise of Commodus. He was not much of a writer or historian, but his insight as a government worker is important. His is one of two surviving histories of the post-Good Emperor era.
Marcus Aurelius needs no introduction. Most famous to posterity as the writer of the Stoic work Meditations, a personal diary that was meant to be burned, he was the last of the “Good Emperors”. His father died and his mother raised him, giving him a good education and access to great teachers and philosophers. Adopted by Antoninus Pius, he co-ruled with Pius’ real son Lucius Verus. While Aurelius wanted to rule with wisdom, he unfortunately lived in a time of war. He let Verus run the war with the Parthians, but this resulted in plague returning to Rome. Verus died a couple years later and Aurelius ruled alone. He then had to be the military ruler and run the war as Germans invaded across the Rhine. There was no peace for Aurelius. He unfortunately caused many problems for the country by not adopting an heir and letting his son Commodus come to power after his death. Despite his wisdom, he was blind to how bad his son would rule.
April 11th, 2024
The section ends with Didius Julianus. After him is the fall of the empire, down to final western emperor. After Commodus was assassinated in 193, there was a bit of a civil war as to who would rule next. Pertinax was proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard, only to be killed by them shortly after. Didius Julianus, possibly a friend, then essentially bought the empire. There was a bidding war in the camp of the Guard, and Julianus won. He was probably good at the job, a fine governor and general. However, the idea of buying the empire did not sit well. There was rebellion and riots. Septimius Severus led his Syrian army on Rome and took control. He disbanded or unempowered the Guard. Julianus was executed, though exile would have been more just. The provincial armies were now the tool to decide emperor.
Clodia Laeta was a vestal virgin, which is a big deal. The whole cult of Vesta depends on the purity of them, and they were trained since the age of 6 to be a priestess. If they were unpure, banging, they and the man were killed. Cloda Laeta was buried alive for this, though she was probably innocent. The ruthless emperor Commodus attempted to have her and failed, so several Vestals were executed by him. He couldn’t be assassinated soon enough.
After the war of 193, things were weird. The Syrian Severan dynasty took the throne. In this dynasty was Elagabalus, a teen boy whose mother and grandmother were powerful aristocrats and relations of the Severans. He was raised to be a priest of El Gabul, the local sun god, so this was a hard right turn. It was a bit of a usurpation, as someone usurped the throne after Carcalla was killed. The family went to Rome and the women ruled a few years, while Elgabalus brought his son god with him, naming him Sol Invictus. He apparently was a bit gay and liked to dress like a lady. Eventually the grandmother and mother fell out, the grandmother chose another Severan to rule, and Elgabalus and his mother were killed and thrown in the Tiber. Pretty sad end.
Postumus was a general in Gaul during the reign of Gallenius, circa 260. Emperor Valerian was taken by the Sasanian Persians, leaving Gallenius to defend Rome while Postumus defended Gaul. This was no easy task, as Valerian had taken many troops from these regions with him to Persia. Postumus drove back the Germans and decided that he would be emperor of Gaul. The people were happy, since no one would leave them undefended to fight foreign wars or tax them for things they’ll never see. Gallenius sent troops, but Postumus just avoided him. It went on for many years and a status quo was accepted. It was a good time for Gaul. However, nothing lasts forever. Postumus was killed by his troops when he forbade them from sacking a Roman city.
At the same time Postumus was leader of Gaul, there was a new leader of in the east, Odaenathus. A top aristocrat from Palmyra, he was stuck with the job of pushing back the Persian advancement that had killed his emperor. As a reward for doing so, Gallenius gave him the title of “Defender of the East”, thus making him higher than the governors. He ruled as a king and styled himself as one, preparing his son for the job also. He seems to have been successful and well-liked by his fellow locals. Of course he pursued Palmyrene interests, but Rome benefited also. His second wife, Zenobia, was jealous and wanted her son to rule, so she killed Odaenathus and his son. She led a rebellion to make her son king, but it was crushed and she was taken to Rome as captive.
April 12th, 2024
A couple small names. Symmachius was a gladiator who did well and had a little engraving dedicated to him. Aurelia Amimma and her husband got divorced and the author discusses their names, which shows when their ancestors probably got Roman citizenship (they lived in Syria). Julius Terentius was a aristocrat I think and fought the Persians, and died. There is something talking about him and then a separate artifact discussing the battle in which he died in, defending Roman territory. Ammianus Marcellinus was a soldier who didn’t enjoy that life and turned historian. He was a pagan and did not Christians, and was a friend of emperor Julian. The emperor Constantine does not need much background, everyone knows he (and his co-emperor) did the Edict of Milan and he was baptized at death. He was probably a dick and murdered his family. St. Alban, like the town, was a martyr Roman soldier who was executed in place of a monk. Offa built a church to him at the site of his execution.
Diocletian was an interesting emperor. He came from nothing, brought about stability after many years of crisis, and then left. He created the short-lived Tetrachy, with two emperor Augustuses (Augusti?) and two junior emperor Caesars. One set ruled the west, the other the east, unofficially. Diocletian was at home in the east, wore royal purple and was a god-like autocrat. He stayed in his comfortable villas, with Milan being Maximus’ place in the west, and Rome increasingly becoming irrelevant. After a successful career, he retired and his Caesar became Augustus. This system lasted until Constantine declared himself the successor to his father Constantius’ throne (not inheritable) and Maximus un-retired. Nobody trusted Diocletian to stay retired, though he probably intended to. Instead of waiting for assassination, he committed suicide in his villa.
April 15th, 2024
Julian is the emperor who we were robbed of. A half-nephew of Constantine and thus marked out for the purges by Constantine’s successors. Somehow he was passed over and sent to exile, where he lived isolated with teachers and a lot of Christian garbage. He was a smart guy and eventually married the emperor’s niece or daughter, thus joining the close family. He was sent to fight barbarians and was a good general. He was made a Caesar and then Augustus after all Constantine’s sons died. He was a pagan (neoplatonist) and return to the tolerant pre-Christian era. All the old temples were open. I’m sure he did other cool stuff, too. Sadly, he ruled only for two years, dying in battle with the Persians.
After Julian and his commander Jovian’s short reign, there was an emergency meeting to choose a new emperor. Valentinian was capable and on-hand, so he was chosen. He then gave his brother Valens the second Augustus title. Now they split the empire, and never will it be whole again. Valentinian ruled the west and interacted rarely with his brother. He refused to interfere with church business and spent most of his reign fighting barbarians. He built forts and kept the Germans, Britons, and Africans in line. It was hard work, but he was from the sticks and could put up with constant warfare. He was probably a bit of a dope, but he preserved the status quo for his 10 year reign.
Stilicho is known as the last great general. A half-Vandal, half-Roman, he served the Theodosian dynasty and fought the barbarians who regularly invaded Rome. He probably bought off Alaric a few times, which is shady but may have been necessary. When Theodosius died, Honorius was a boy and Stilicho was his regent. Stilicho probably used this to enrich himself and he did some things to the pagans that are unacceptable, but he still kept the barbarians at bay. He had his daughter marry Honorius, but she died eventually. It was thought that he was plotting to replace Honorius with is own son, and Stilicho was executed without trial. This led to a genocide of Germanic peoples in Rome. Soon after, the Visigoths would sack Rome for the first time in 800 years.
I remember reading about Hypatia in Gibbon’s book. She was an intelligent woman in Alexandria, a leading scientist/astronomer/astrologer, but not a Christian. People thought she was a witch just for being a woman, but as militant Christianity was spreading in the region, her Neoplatonist beliefs were a death sentence. One day she was abducted and skinned alive, then burned in the streets. A very Christian thing to do. Soon after, anyone of intelligence would see that Alexandria was no longer a center of intellect and it was time to leave it forever.
Vettius Agorius Praetextatius was a wealthy aristocrat and senator, and what is interesting is that he was a pagan when the Christians were taking over. His tomb has his religious and his secular roles and honors inscribed, and it’s a long list. He was clearly successful and well-liked. He advocated for the rights of pagans to worship and protected them and their things from fanatical Christians. Solid dude.
Issac of Armenia seems like a smart guy. The Armenian kingdom adopted Christianity before the Romans did and thus had an established church by the time it was permitted empire wide. The Persians and Romans often fought over Armenia, though the Armenians wanted independence. By Issac’s generation, the current state of peace gave Persia 3/4 of it. The Persians banned Greek in their territory and the Romans banned whatever Persians spoke back then. Issac came up with the idea of just using their native language, and after that they had to find a way to write it down. They borrowed some alphabet from an old dead language and it was a huge success.
April 16th, 2024
Augustine is a guy who helped propagate the Jesus-freak non-sense. His father a pagan, his mother a Christian, he grew up in Africa and went to study in Carthage. He did some sins and tried different beliefs. Then in Rome, he became a die-hard Catholic, the kind that had no respect in other beliefs and is okay with violent repression. He argued the trinity non-sense, really it makes no sense. If you believe in it, you are just a stupid person. Then he became bishop of Hippo and wrote that City of God book after the Arian barbarians sacked Rome. He died during a siege by the Vandals. I don’t like him.
Same goes for Leo the Great. He was a hard-line Catholic who became pope. Many of his letters survive and he essentially did all he could to make papal authority absolute, though he held little sway in the east. He allegedly convinced Attila the Hun to turn around, though that is probably made up and he left for logistical reasons. What is good is that he convinced the Vandals, fellow Christians of the wrong branch, to not murder or rape as they sacked Rome.
Priscus was an eastern empire bureaucrat. He was sent on some missions and wrote an interesting journal on them later in life. He saw some strange things in barbarian lands, and even Roman cities completely abandoned after invasion. He went to the court of Attila, but no deal could be worked out. Lucky for him, he attacked west.
Consentius brings us the last slice of life. By the 5th century, Italy sucked and Gaul was cool. He was a Gaulish aristocrat and must have lived a pretty sweet life. During the reign of one of the later emperors, they did an amateur chariot race. This was deadly as chariots were cheap and light, but professionals made millions. The races had insane fans, see the Nika riots. Anyway, this guy got his color and raced and lived. The story survives in a poem by a friend who witnessed the race.
The End. It’s questionable if Romulus Augustulus was ever really emperor, but it is poetic to end Rome with another Romulus. This teenage boy might as well have been a doll since his father is the real story. Orestes was a general, part barbarian, and had a history on both sides of the battlefield. By this time the army was mostly Germanics. Orestes used his leadership to promise land for the soldiers if they overthrew Julian Nepos. They marched on Ravenna and deposed the emperor. Orestes never delivered the land, and a few months later there was another revolt. Odoacer led the barbarian soldiers, killed Orestes, and sent Romulus to retirement. Odoacer ruled Italy as king, though in theory he was subordinate to Nepos and then to the eastern empire. Then Theodoric would murder him. But the empire was over. The Germanic kingdoms had taken form, and soon Arabic kingdoms would follow.b