Search
Search Results
Definition
Roman Republic
In the late 6th century BCE, the small city-state of Rome overthrew the shackles of monarchy and created a republican government that, in theory if not always in practice, represented the wishes of its citizens. From this basis the city would...
Article
Lucius Cornelius Sulla: Guardian or Enemy of the Roman Republic?
For centuries, Lucius Cornelius Sulla has been reviled as a maniacal tyrant who defiled the Roman constitution and instituted bloody purges, but some modern historians assert that he has been judged too harshly. They present him as a republican...
Definition
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus ('Tarquin the Proud') was traditionally the seventh and last king of ancient Rome before it became a republic. He belonged to the Etruscan Tarquinii clan, reigned from 534 to 510 BCE, and was infamous for his tyrannical...
Collection
Battles of the Roman Republic
In this collection we look at some of the most significant battles that shaped the history of the Roman Republic. There were defeats such as at Allia River to the Celts in 390 BCE or at Cannae in 216 BCE when the Carthaginians led by Hannibal...
Definition
Lars Porsenna
Lars Porsenna was the semi-legendary Etruscan king of Chiusi who famously attacked and probably occupied Rome c. 508 BCE when the city had just exiled its last king and was moving towards becoming a republic. His extravagant tomb is described...
Image
The First Triumvirate of the Roman Republic, c. 60-53 BCE
The First Triumvirate was an informal and secret political alliance formed in 60 BCE between three of Rome's most powerful figures: Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Marcus Licinius Crassus. This alliance allowed them to bypass the Roman...
Image
Roman Republic Gold Aureus
This gold aureus is one of the first Roman portrait coins. Roman Republican coins did not usually depict living people, although a statue of the politician Sulla appeared on a coin during his lifetime. The son of Pompey the Great adapted...
Definition
Ancient Rome
According to legend, Ancient Rome was founded by the two brothers, and demigods, Romulus and Remus, on 21 April 753 BCE. The legend claims that in an argument over who would rule the city (or, in another version, where the city would be located...
Image
Roman Republic at the Beginning of Caesar's Civil War
This map depicts the territories under Julius Caesar and Roman Senate in the wake of the outbreak of Caesar's Civil War in 49 BCE in the Roman Republic. Caesar crossed the Rubicon and marched on Rome while Pompey, supported by the Senate...
Definition
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a military leader and politician during the fall of the Roman Republic. He was born in 106 BCE and died on 28th September 48 BCE. His father was Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo...