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MonarchY
Monarchy
THE REPUBLIC OF ROME
500 BC
400
300
200
100
1 BC
My
th
ic
Repu
blic
Ea
rly
R
epu
blic
M
Idd
le
Repu
blic
Lat
e
Repu
blic
Pe
rsia
n W
ars
P
elo
po
nn
esia
n W
ar
Ale
xan
de
r the
Gre
at
S. Sulpicius Galba, a general and governor in Spain, comes to symbolise the venality, incom-
petence and treachery of Roman generalship and administration in the Spanish wars.
Wa
rs o
f S
urv
iva
l C
on
qu
est
of
Ita
ly
Do
min
ati
on
of
the
Me
dit
err
an
ea
n
Marcus Livius Drusus
1st Celtic Invasion
3rd War of Veii
2nd Celtic Invasion
1st Samnite War
Latin War
2nd Samnite War
2nd Punic War
3rd Samnite War
Pyrrhic War
Gallic & Etruscan Revolt
Conquest of Southern Italy
1st Punic War
3rd Celtic Invasion
1st Illyrian War
2nd Illyrian War
1st Macedonian War
2nd Macedonian War
War of Antiochus
1st Celtiberian War
3rd Macedonian War
3rd Punic War
Numantine Wars
1st Servile (Slave) War
Cimbrian War
Jugurthine War
Social War
Sullan Civil Wars
1st Mithraditic War
Sertorian War
2nd Mithraditic War
3rd Mithraditic War
War of Spartacus
Gallic Wars
Antony's Civil War
War of the Liberators
Perusine War
War of Actium
War of Sextus Pompeius
War of Fidenae/ 2nd War of
Veii
Lusitanian War
Caesar's Civil War
Cantabrian War
Ro
ma
n R
evo
lutio
n
Danube Wars
2nd Servile War
Wa
rs o
f E
mp
ire
War of the Cilician Pirates
Re
pu
blic
of th
e N
ob
iles
This work by Garry Stevens is
licensed under Creative Commons
licence CC-BY-NC-ND, and is
available for free from
www.garryscharts.com. See terms
of use there. Version 1.8.
Main source: Brian Taylor's series
of books (Spellmount, 2008),
which correct the traditional
Varronian dating in many cases
prior to 300 BC. Other sources
include H. Fowler, Roman
Republics (Princeton, 2010); G.
Forsythe, A Critical History of Early
Rome (University of California
Press, 2005) and The History of
Rome podcasts
(thehistoryofrome .typepad.com).
The timelines for individuals are
not lifespans, but career lengths;
usually starting from their first
position in the cursus honorum.
Maps show the largest cities at
each time.
Marcus Porcius Cato
Sextus Pompeius
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Quintus Fabius
Maximus Verrucosus
Gaius
Lutatius Catulus
Gaius Fla-minius Nepos
Lucius Aemilius Paullus
Macedonicus
Servius Sulpicius
Galba
Fa
ll
Lucius Cornelius
Sulla
Lucius Licinius Lucullus
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
Tiberius Claudius
Nero
Nero Claudius Drusus 23: 2nd constitutional settlement. Maintaining the veneer of the Republican constitution, Augustus de-
clines the perpetual consulship but acquires imperium over all proconsuls and the consuls in Rome, and
therefore becomes head of all the legions. Granted the tribunician and censorial powers for life. He also
manoeuvres to make this unique position hereditary in his family (initially to his nephew M. Claudius Mar-
cellus), a concept alien to Rome since the kings, but familiar from the Hellenistic monarchies.
27: 1st constitutional settlement of Octavian. Perpetual consul, proconsular imperium over many provinces,
and hence command of most legions (20, compared to the Senate's 5). Awarded titles of Augustus
(Illustrious) and Princeps (First Citizen). Transition from ruthless Octavian to benign Augustus.
Lucius Cornelius
Cinna
b Pergamene Bequest
Cyrenaican Bequest
60: Pompey, Crassus and Caesar reach an informal arrangement, the 1st triumvi-
rate, to manipulate the state for their ends. Effective end of Republican politics. 58-52: Mob violence of Clodius.
Pompey appointed sole consul.
46-44: Caesar is consul, dictator, censor and tribune simultaneously, destroying the constitu-
tion. He institutes a Populares program, but is assassinated by the Liberatores in 44.
2nd
Triumvirate
1st
Triumvirate
82-79: Returning to Italy from the Mithraditic War, Sulla again marches on Rome and defeats the Marians.
Following Marius' example, he conducts bloody proscriptions of the Populares. Sulla becomes Dictator, an
office unused since the Punic Wars, to revise the constitution in favour of the Optimates.
43-42: Octavian (Caesar's heir), Antony (Caesar's chief lieutenant) and Lepidus (a grandee
taken on board to placate the conservatives) take formal control of the state in the 2nd
Triumvirate. They defeat the Liberatores at the B. of Philippi. Mass proscriptions of the
Republicans, most notably Cicero. Senatorial class further debilitated.
1 BC
75 BC
4th Macedonian & Achaean Wars
175 BC
31: Octavian and Agrippa defeat Antony and establish a military dictatorship.
70: Pompey and Crassus overturn Sulla's reforms. Senate enfeebled by years of proscriptions.
66-63: Pompey completes conquest of the east, brilliantly reorganising the provinces and clients.
19: L. Cornelius Balbus is the last general outside the imperial family to be awarded a triumph.
12: Upon the death of Lepidus, Augustus becomes Pontifex Maximus. All the offices and functions of
state – civil, judicial, military, and religious – are now unified in one person for the first time since the
kings, in an office that will later be known as the emperor of Rome.
88: Incited by Marius and intimidated by the militia of Sulpicius, the Comitia Tributa strips the elected consul,
L. Cornelius Sulla, of his command for the Mithraditic War. In an unprecedented move, Sulla marches his army
into Rome and spends a year consolidating the Optimates' position. Marius flees.
87-82: Marian Terror: Marius returns to Italy while Sulla is in the east, effectively
overthrowing the Senate. Mass proscriptions as a deranged or senile Marius (in
pursuit of a prophesised 7th consulship) and his co-consul Cinna annihilate the
Optimates. Cinna eventually stops the violence by murdering Marius' slave followers.
Tiberius Gracchus
Gaius Sempronius Gracchus
Gaius Marius
Publius Clodius Pulcher
Marcus Antonius
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Marcus Licinius Crassus
107-104: Marius reforms the military, recruiting from the landless poor for the first time. This creates a profession-
al army owing loyalty to its general, not the state. In his first consulship, he persuades the Comitia Tributa to over-
rule the Senate and assign him the command assigned to Numidicus; a tactic to be used by later generals.
104-100: Marius is elected consul for an unprecedented five consecutive terms, violating the Lex Vatinia, winning
military glory by defeating the Germans in what was to be the last invasion of Italy for over 200 years.
123-122: Tribune G. Gracchus promotes land, judicial and military reforms. He introduces tax-
farming, subsidies for grain, and payments for military clothing. Assasinated by the Optimates.
Lucius Appuleius Saturninus
102-100: Mob violence of Saturninus, eventually controlled by his former ally Marius,
who falls from grace. Electoral process hereafter corrupted by bribery and violence.
91: In an attempt to forestall further Populares action, and to preserve the
Optimates' dominance, tribune M. Livius Drusus introduces numerous
reforms, including extension of citizenship to the Italians. Misunderstood by all
classes, he is assassinated. In reaction, the Italians revolt in the Social War.
Gaius Julius Caesar
Augustus
22: Last elec-
tions for the
ancient office
of censor.
43: Last independent consuls, Pansa
and Hirtius, die in the Civil War of Antony.
3rd Illyrian War
Wars in Italy
Wars in the West
Wars in the East
Civil Wars
Mob violence
Proscriptions, state violence
Dictator
Consul
Tribune, tribunician power
Censor
49-46: Caesar marches on Rome. The Republicans, under Pompey and Cato, flee.
Caesar progressively defeats all the Republican armies arrayed against him.
Publius Cornelius
Scipio Africanus
Marcus Porcius Cato
Titus Quinctius Flamininus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus
Scipio Aemilianus
Quintus Caecilius Metellus
Macedonicus
Quintus Caecilius Metellus
Numidicus
Publius Sulpicius
Rufus
Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
Gaius Julius Caesar
Publius Cornelius
Scipio
Eminent
Optimate.
Rome's
greatest
orator, who
attempted to
preserve the
republic, but
was outfoxed
by Caesar,
then by Octa-
vian.
180:Lex Villia Annalis codifies the cursus honorum, establishing set periods between the holding of offices.
Etruria's largest city razed to the
ground.
Gauls sack Rome. Last violation
of Rome for 850 years.
Campania made a dependency.
Etruria made a dependency.
Samnites admitted as allies.
Rome controls all northern and central Italy.
Rome controls all of Italy.
Although suffering crippling losses in men, material, and money in the 1st Punic war, the Romans refuse to accept
anything other than total victory. Where other nations would surrender after a massive defeat, the Romans would raise
another army and return for the next campaign season. However, the war produces no great generals or statesmen.
227: First steps towards an imperial administration, as Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica
are established as the first non-Italian provinces, governed by praetors.
133: Tribune T. Gracchus introduces legislation redistributing public lands to the plebs, including the
lands of King Attalus III of Pergamum, who had bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. In a radical move, he takes his proposal direct to the Comitia Tributa, bypassing the traditional (but informal) prerogatives
of the Senate. Enraged by this threat to their customary powers, the nobiles, led by the Pontifex
Maximus Scipio Nasica, lead a mob to assassinate him. Nonetheless, his legislation is passed, and his
brother G. Gracchus works on the Land Commission to implement his reforms.
The 2nd Punic War ravages the independent citizen-farmers who had manned the Roman armies for years on end. As they
fall into debt, their lands are confiscated by their creditors, and they swell the numbers of the urban poor in Rome.
Growing civil disorder, exacerbated by impoverished veterans of the Spanish wars returning to Rome.
Growth of the latifundia, large estates run by slaves, created by buying up the lands of the citizen farmers
P. Scipio Africanus is the first general to acquire a personal following and be hailed as Imperator (‘victorious gen-
eral’, which became our 'Emperor'), an epithet that would haunt the late Republic and provide a template for the
entire history of the Empire as the loyalty of the soldiers transfers from the state to individual leaders.
Africanus and Flamininus extend the traditional Italian patron-client system to the peoples of conquered
Greek cities. They are philhellenes, championing new philosophies, creeds, and practices.
Hellenistic kingdoms effectively neutralised.
Unlike the 1st Punic war, Rome fields many excellent generals for the 2nd Punic War, such as Q. Fabius Maximus Verrucosus,
G. Flaminius Nepos, M. Claudius Marcellus, and P. Cornelius Scipio. Although shorter than the first struggle against Carthage,
the 2nd war is mainly fought in Rome's own backyard, and against one of the great captains of history, Hannibal.
M. Porcius Cato the Censor is the archetype of Roman integrity and incorruptibility, a symbol to later generations of
everything that was good and great about Rome: a farmer, soldier, statesman, and zealous defender of ancient Ro-
man values against decadent innovations. But he is also merciless to his enemies, inhuman to his slaves, and spite-
ful to his political opponents. Author of the first history of Rome to be written in Latin rather than Greek.
Optimates
Populares
Others
Terms used in the late republic to denote those senatorial advocates either defending the age-old
privileges of the nobiles (the Optimates) or those championing the vast populace (the Populares).
The distinction lies deeply rooted in the ancient Struggle of the Orders, and can be traced back to
the supposed sedition of the consul Spurius Cassius Vicellinus (483 BC). Over 400 years, ending
with Gaius Julius Caesar, the nobiles assassinated politicians advocating land reform, debt relief,
and Italian rights; each time claiming that the Populares intended to restore the despised rule of
kings (which was quite likely true only in Caesar's case).
S. Aemilianus — general, statesman, orator, intellectual, philhellene— is a moderate in radical times, and the last
great Roman not involved in the fall of the Republic. His death is one of the minor mysteries of Roman history.
Intermittent Wars
and Raids against
Neighbours
Almost 200 years of intermittent warfare with their central
Italian neighbours—the Aequi, Hernici and Volsci—and their
northern neighbours, the Etruscans. 493: B. Lake Regillus.
The last king, Tarquinius, supported by the Latins and Etrus-
cans, is finally def. in his attempts to retake the throne. 455:
B. Mons Algidus. Cincinnatus defeat Aequi. 443: B. Corbio.
T. Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus defeats Aequi and Volsci.
War of Fidenae/
2nd War of Veii
Etruscans ejected from the Roman side of the Tiber. 20 year
truce.
3rd War of Veii 393: M. Furius Camillus defeats, sacks, and enslaves
Rome's greatest enemy to date, Veii, wealthiest city in
Etruria, after a long siege. Start of the Roman slave-based
economy.
1st Celtic Invasion 387: B. the Allia. Gauls sack Rome. Many records lost.
Gauls paid off by Camillus.
2nd Celtic Invasion Camillus defeats Gauls.
1st Samnite War 339: B. Mount Gaurus. M. Valerius Maximus Corvus defeats
Samnites. Stalemated when Latins revolt.
Latin War 336: B. Vesuvius. P. Decius Mus I sacrifices himself. 335: B.
Trifanum. T. Manlius Torquatus defeats Latins.
2nd Samnite War 319: B. Caudine Forks. Samnites defeat Romans. 308: 1st
B. Lake Vadimo: Q. Fabius Rullianus defeats Etruscans. 304:
B. Bovianum. L. Papirius Cursor defeat Samnites. First use
of Roman naval forces (in Adriatic).
3rd Samnite War Grand coalition of Etruscans, Umbrians, Samnites and
Italian Gauls. 295: B. Sentinum. Rullianus & P. Decius Mus II
defeat coalition. 293: B. Aquilonia. M. Curius Dentatus
defeats Samnites. Samnites admitted as allies.
Gallic and Etruscan
Revolt
283: 2nd B. Lake Vadimo. P. Cornelius Dolabella defeat the
Italian Gauls and Etruscans in their last stand
Pyrrhic War 275: B. Beneventum. Dentatus defeats Pyrrhus of Epirus.
The Roman legion demonstrates it can hold its own against
the Greek phalanx. Italy secure from Hellenistic threats.
Conquest of
Southern Italy
Rapid conquest of southern Italy after Pyrrhus leaves. At the
end, Rome controls all of Italy.
1st Punic War 242-241: B. Aegates Islands. G. Lutatius Catullus defeats
Carthage. First overseas military engagements.
1st Illyrian War Punitive expedition against pirates.
3rd Celtic Invasion 222: B. Clastidium. M. Claudius Marcellus defeats Gauls.
2nd Illyrian War Punitive expedition.
2nd Punic War 202: B. Zama. P. Scipio Africanus def. Hannibal. Rome's only
rival in the West vanquished after an epic life-or-death
struggle. Syracuse, the last great Greek city-state, captured.
1st Macedonian
War
Philip V of Macedon defeats Greek alliance. Rome plays little
part.
2nd Macedonian
War
197: B. Cynoscephalae. T. Quinctius Flaminius defeats Philip
V. 196: Liberation of Greece from Macedonian threat. Greek
phalanx decisively defeated by Roman legions. Philip loses
all non-Macedonian territory. Greek cities in Asia Minor
placed under Roman protection.
War of Antiochus/
Syrian War
190: B. Magnesia. Cnaeus Domitius & P. Scipio Africanus
defeat Antiochus III of the Seleucid kingdom.
1st Celtiberian War T. Sempronius Gracchus defeat Celtiberians in Spain. First of
a long series of revolts in Spain.
3rd Macedonian
War
168: B. Pydna. L. Aemilius Paulus def. Perseus of Macedon.
Macedon subdivided. Greece and Anatolia made
protectorates. Antiochus IV of the Seleucid kingdom
acknowledges Roman suzerainty over eastern
Mediterranean. Huge numbers of slaves taken from Epirus.
3rd Illyrian War 168: L. Anicius Gallus defeats Genthius. Illyria subdivided.
Lusitanian War Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus supp. revolt in Spain.
4th Macedonian
War & Achaean
War
Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus supp. revolt of Andriscus.
L. Mummius sacks Corinth. Macedon made a province.
Corinth destroyed, Greece subjugated: end of Greek political
history. Vast numbers of slaves taken from Greece.
3rd Punic War 146: S. Aemilianus sacks Carthage, razing it to the ground.
Numantine/
Celtiberian Wars
S. Aemilianus finally defeats Celtiberians in Spain. Marked
decline in Roman military competence.
1st Servile War P. Rupilius suppresses Sicilian slave revolt.
Cimbrian War 105. B. Arausio. Teutones and Cimbri def. Romans. Possibly
the greatest battle casualties in Roman history (80,000).
102-101: B. Aquae Sextae, B. Vercellae. They are destroyed
by Marius. Italy made safe from invasion for over 200 years.
Jugurthine War Q. Caecilius Metellus Numidicus replaced by Marius and his
subordinate L. Cornelius Sulla, who defeat the Numidians.
Publius Horatius Cocles
Marcus Furius
Camillus
Tarquinius Superbus, last King of Rome
Gaius Marcius
Coriolanus
Marcus Valerius Maximus Corvus
Marcus Atilius Regulus
330: Rome's most intractable central Italian foes, the Volsci, ex-
pelled from the Liris valley. They disappear from history.
303: The Aequi, last of Rome's age-old central Italian enemies,
are finally destroyed.
Romans adopt the maniple military system from the Samnites.
312: Appius Claudius Caecus builds the road Via Appia to Capua
in Campania for military purposes, and the aqueduct Aqua Appia.
Rome is now much more socially and technologically sophisticat-
ed than its neighbours.
Spurius Cassius
Vicellinus
Lucius Papirius Cursor
Quintus Fabius
Maximus Rullianus
Gaius Marcius Rutilus
Titus Manlius
Torquatus
Publius Valerius Poplicola
Lucius Junius Brutus
507: Brutus and L. Tarquinius Collatinus (who is rapid-
ly displaced) lead a popular revolt – or more likely a
palace coup – to overthrow king Tarquinius Superbus,
establishing the Republic.
506: Brutus and Poplicola elected first consuls.
Armies maintained in the field for more than one season, and paid.
Sack of Veii marks start of the decline of the Etruscans.
Defends the
Sublician
bridge
against the
Etruscan
king Lars
Porsenna.
255: After his defeat and capture by the Carthaginians at the B. of Panormus, M.
Atilius Regulus is paroled to Rome, where he argues against peace. He honours his
parole, returning to Carthage, where he meets his death. Hailed as the model of
Roman integrity.
Thwarted in his
ambitions, Coriolanus
leads the Volsci
against Rome, but is
defeated by the
virtue of Roman
women.
491: Latin League formed.
491: Start of the conflict of the orders. First secession of the
plebs, who withdraw to the Mons Sacer. They create two offices to
defend their rights against the patricians: two tribunes of the
plebs and two pleb aediles to assist them.
468: Lex Publilia. Until this time the tribunes had been elected by the Comitia Curi-
ata, an assembly completely dominated by patricians. Plebs succeed in creating a
second and more democratic body, the Comitia Tributa, to elect the tribunes and
pass plebiscites (non-binding resolutions). Number of tribunes increased to five.
448-7: The Decemviri, a board of ten commissioners with absolute power,
led by the arrogant Appius Claudius Crassus, are appointed to codify and
publish the laws. They attempt to cling on to power, ruling through oppres-
sion, but are eventually expelled. The result of their work is the Twelve Ta-
bles, which would remain the foundation of Roman law for centuries.
446: Leges Valeriae Horatiae. Tribunes declared sacrosanct, plebiscites give
the force of law. 442: Lex Canuleia legalises patrician-plebeian intermarriage,
formerly prohibited by the Twelve Tables. 440: Office of censor created.
Re
pu
blic
of th
e P
atric
ian
s
Stru
ggle
of th
e O
rde
rs: S
tage
1
Milita
ry Tribu
ne
s a
ltern
ate
with
Co
nsu
ls
Stru
ggle
of th
e O
rde
rs: S
tage
2
483: Sedition of the former consul Spurius Cassius Vicellinus,
who proposes agrarian reforms.
437-6: Sedition of Spurius Maelius, who buys Etruscan grain to
distribute to the populace. Thwarted by elderly Cincinnatus.
Titus Quinctius
Capitolinus Barbatus
Archetype of
Roman
leadership, civic
virtue and
modesty, but a
bitter opponent of
the plebs.
Appius Claudius Crassus
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
382: Sedition of Marcus Manlius Capitolinus – saviour of the Capitol during the Gallic siege –
who argues for plebeian debt relief. Assasinated.
442-367: Boards of military tribunes with consular powers often elect-
ed instead of two consuls as the chief magistrates. The office is ob-
scure. It lacked the religious authority granted to consuls, and seems
to have been devised to deny the plebs the consulship proper.
371-367: Obscure period of near-anarchy led by pleb agitation.
363: Leges Licinae Sextia (traditionally held to be supported by Camillus).
Permanent restoration of the consulate. One consul to be a pleb, but only
observed intermittently in the next 20 years. Praetorship created to assist
the consuls and curule aediles. 362: Lucius Sextus Lateranus is elected the
first pleb consul, although records indicate pleb consuls decades before.
352: Gaius Marcius Rutilus elected the first pleb
dictator, then in 347 the first pleb censor.
342: Hereafter, at least one consul is always a pleb. 335: Leges
Publiliae. At least one censor must be a pleb. Plebs have now
achieved permanent access to the highest magistracies.
Appius Claudius is the first Roman whose political biography and
agenda we know in detail.
300: Lex Ogulnia. After defending their monopoly on the religious
offices of state for centuries, the patricians open the pontifices
and augurs to the plebs.
287: Lex Hortensia. The plebiscites of the Comitia Tributa, previ-
ously only held to be binding on the plebs, are given the force of
law. The Struggle of the Orders ends, and the Republic of the
Nobiles begins.
Corvus is renowned for holding six consulships, a
record not exceeded until Marius.
Appius Claudius Caecas
2nd Servile War Manius Aquillius suppresses Sicilian slave revolt.
1st Cilician Pirates
Social War Marius and Sulla defeat Italian uprising.
1st Mithridatic
War
85: B. Orchomenus. Sulla defeats Mithridates VI of Pontus.
Mithridates' invasion of Greece stopped.
2nd Mithridatic
War
Local clash.
Sullan Civil Wars 82: B. Colline Gate. Sulla defeats Republicans under L.
Cornelius Cinna.
Sertorian War Pompey defeats the last Marians, led by Quintus Sertorius, in
Spain. Marian resistance destroyed. Sertorius murdered by his
subordinate, prefiguring the later fates of emperors.
3rd Mithridatic
War
72: B. Cabira/Sivas, L. L. Lucullus defeats Mithridates VI. 69: B.
Tigranocerta, Lucullus defeats Tigranes of Armenia. 66: B. the
Lycus, Pompey defeats Mithridates VI. Pompey sweeps through
the East, on the back of Lucullus' victories. Rome's most
tenacious opponent since Hannibal destroyed.
War of
Spartacus/3rd
Servile War
Crassus and Pompey defeat Spartacus. Last of the great slave
revolts.
Gallic Wars Gaius Julius Caesar defeats Gauls. In one of history's great
genocides, Caesar kills perhaps one-third of the population, and
enslaves one million.
Caesar's Civil War 48: B. Pharsalus. Caesar defeats Republicans under Pompey.
46: B. Thapsus. Caesar def. Republicans under Metellus Scipio.
In acts of magnanimity unusual for a Roman victor, Caesar
consistently forgives his enemies (with some notable exceptions)
War of Sextus
Pompeius
36: B. Naulochus. Agrippa defeats the last Republican, Sextus
Pompeius, son of Pompey, who had threatened Rome's grain
supply from Sicily.
Civil War of Antony 43: B. Forum Gallorum. Octavian sides with the Republicans to
defeat Antony.
War of the
Liberators
42: B. Philippi. Octavian & Antony def. the Liberatores (M. Junius
Brutus and G. Cassius Longinus). Largest battle fought between
Romans (36 legions), save possibly the B. Lugdunum (197 AD).
Perusine War Octavian defeats L. Antonius, brother of Antony.
War of Actium 31: B. Actium. Octavian & Agrippa defeat Antony and Cleopatra.
Octavian now sole master of the Roman world.
Cantabrian War Augustus completes conquest of northern Spain.
German Wars T. Claudius Nero and his brother N. Claudius Drusus, sons of
Augustus' wife Livia, defeat Germans. Borders of empire in
Europe mostly stabilised, although Rome will soon move from
the Elbe to the Rhine as a border.
Republic of the Patricians
Dominated by the patricians, a group of
families traditionally held to be the de-
scendants of the senators chosen by the
first king, Romulus. Eligibility for office is
strictly hereditary with this class.
The plebeians (the vast majority of the
population) wage a slow-burning cam-
paign over centuries, the Struggle of the
Orders, to open up the high offices of
state. So opposed are the patricians at
every turn, that the plebs are forced to
create their own parallel legislative as-
sembly (the Comitia Tributa) and officers
(the tribunes and plebeian aediles). Even-
tually the patricians are forced to con-
cede even their most precious privileges,
the religious offices of state.
Republic of the Nobiles
With offices open to both classes, the
ruling families are reconstructed as the
descendants of dictators and consuls of
both patricians and plebs: the nobiles.
The eminence of families now derives
from repeated election to high office,
rather than mere heredity. Further, per-
sonal achievement comes to be defined
by success in war, the pinnacle of which
is the award of a triumph.
Roman Revolution
Rome's conquests in Greece and Asia
Minor bring a massive influx of wealth
and slaves, transforming the ancient
citizen-farmer economy to one dominated
by ruthless nobile exploitation of the very
soldiers who man Rome's armies.
The nobiles are not only incapable of
understanding the economic changes
transforming Rome, but also of governing
the burgeoning empire created after the
2nd Punic War. The constitution that
evolved to govern the city of Rome is
inadequate to administer provinces many
weeks or months distant from Rome; the
governors sent to these provinces suc-
cumb to venality and corruption; and the
legions that depended on Roman citizen-
farmers are obliged to draw on Italian
manpower instead.
Populares politicians repeatedly attempt
to address the long-running issues of the
status of the non-Roman Italians, the use
of the public land, and the status of the
Roman landless.
Fall of the Republic
An enduring pattern that would last until
the end of the empire in 476 AD is estab-
lished: warlords (Marius, Sulla, Pompey,
Caesar, Augustus) commanding armies
owing loyalty to themselves, and not any
sense of a polity, take control of the state
by militarily destroying their rivals.
Monarchy
The patrician-plebeian distinction is now
only of religious and antiquarian signifi-
cance. The last Republican standing war-
lord, Augustus, creates a monarchy, co-
opting the ancient Republican nobiles.
These families' influence will only end
with the fall of Augustus' dynasty in 68.
Earliest Latin literature: Lucius Livius Andronicus, a Greek freedman,
translates the Odyssey into Latin, and writes the first Latin plays.
First native Roman dramatist: Gnaeus Naevius, comic playwright.
First Roman historian: Q. Fabius Pictor, who wrote in Greek.
Manius Curius
Dentatus
Camillus, after a lifetime of military achievement against the Etruscans and Celts, is hailed as
the second founder of Rome. He straddles the transition from a mythic Rome to historical fact.
Inte
rmit
ten
t w
ars
an
d r
aid
s a
ga
inst
ne
igh
bo
urs
in
ce
ntr
al It
aly
Latins crushed & Latin League
dissolved. Campania annexed.
Rome controls all its neighbour-
ing states.
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