Summary The brothers Quintus Fulvius Flaccus and Lucius Manlius Acidinus Fulvianus are elected consul, the only time in the history of the Roman Republic that two brothers share the consulship; Quintus Fulvius Flaccus celebrates a triumph for his victories in Nearer Spain; Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and Marcus Fulvius Nobilior serve…
Summary Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and Lucius Postumius Albinus celebrate triumphs for their victories in Spain; Rebellious Ilienses on Sardinia join forces with a group of Balari; The consul Aulus Manlius Vulso launches a campaign against the Histri; after losing his camp in a surprise attack, the consul strikes back and…
Summary Marcus Claudius Marcellus, son of the hero of the Second Punic War, dies; A Roman colony is founded at Luna; The consul Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus defeats the Ilienses and the Balari on Sardinia; A Lex Claudia aims to force Latins that have moved to Rome to return to their…
Summary Ligurians overrun the Roman colony of Mutina (late 177 or early 176 BCE); The consul Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Hispalus dies after attending the Latin festival (176 BCE); The proconsul Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus brings all of Sardinia back under Roman control (176 BCE); The proconsul Gaius Claudius Pulcher recaptures Mutina…
Summary Titus Quinctius Flamininus dies; Quintus Fulvius Flaccus and Aulus Postumius Albinus serve as censors; Scipio Africanus’ son Lucius is removed from the Senate for unknown reasons; Another epidemic hits Italy; The propraetor Appius Claudius Cento wins a victory over the Celtiberians in Nearer Spain; A delegation led by Gaius…
Summary The praetor Gaius Cicereius puts down a rebellion on Corsica; The consul Lucius Postumius Albinus settles a land dispute in Campania; The censor Quintus Fulvius Flaccus consecrates a temple for Fortuna Equestris; in order to embellish it, he steals half of the marble roof tiles from the temple of…
Summary For the first time in Roman history, two plebeian consuls are elected; A new law mandates the censors to lease public land in Campania to Roman citizens for cultivation; The row between the Senate and Marcus Popilius Laenas continues as the latter again attacks the Ligurian Statellati without justification;…
This short post is about a very special day of the year, 25 December. On this day, Christians and non-Christians alike celebrate Christmas everywhere in the world. On the internet, you will often find the claim that the date of 25 December derives from the ancient cult of Mithras, which…
Grado today is a lovely seaside resort which draws scores of tourists to its wonderful beaches. Ancient Grado used to be the port of Aquileia, some ten kilometres to the north. In Antiquity, it was known as Ad Aquas Gradatas, which was shortened to Gradus during the Middle Ages. Here,…
Modern Aquileia is just a small and pleasant town of some 3.500 inhabitants in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Northeast Italy. Ancient Aquileia, however, was a large and prosperous city with a population that is estimated to have exceeded 100.000 souls. Founded in the year 181 BCE, Aquileia occupied…
Summary King Philippos V of Macedonia and an anti-Macedonian alliance led by Pergamum and Rhodos fight each other to a draw at the naval Battle of Chios; Philippos wins a minor victory over the Rhodians at the naval Battle of Lade; Pergamum and Rhodos send envoys to Rome to ask…
Summary Using a Macedonian attack on Athens as a casus belli, the Romans decide to declare war on King Philippos; Since the funds in the treasury are needed for the war with Philippos, creditors that have lent money to the State during the Second Punic War are allowed to lease…
Summary Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus and Publius Aelius Paetus serve as censors; Scipio becomes the new princeps senatus; The praetor Gnaeus Baebius Tamphilus is heavily defeated by the Insubres; The proconsul Lucius Manlius Acidinus is awarded an ovatio for his victories in Spain, but it is vetoed by a people’s…
Summary In spite of his young age, Titus Quinctius Flamininus becomes one of the new consuls; he is given the war against Macedonia as his province; The praetor urbanus Lucius Cornelius Merula suppresses a slave revolt in Latium, presumably the first in Roman history; Flamininus outflanks the Macedonian positions and…
Summary For the first time in their history, the Romans elect six praetors instead of four; two of them are sent to the two new Spanish provinces; Titus Quinctius Flamininus’ command in the war against King Philippos of Macedonia is prolonged; The consul Gaius Cornelius Cethegus wins a major victory…
Summary The popular assembly votes in favour of peace with Macedonia; decemviri are sent to Greece; The situation in Spain is grave after a heavy Roman defeat; The college of the tresviri epulones is set up in Rome; The praetor Manius Acilius Glabrio suppresses a slave revolt in Etruria; After…
Summary The consul Marcus Porcius Cato is sent to Nearer Spain to quell the rebellion there; The Lex Oppia, a sumptuary law from the Second Punic War, is abolished; The consul Lucius Valerius Flaccus defeats the Boii; Cato wins a hard-fought, but decisive victory over an Iberian army at the…
Summary The war in Macedonia and Greece is officially ended; The Senate decides that Latins that have settled in Roman colonies are not Roman citizens; Sextus Aelius Paetus and Gaius Cornelius Cethegus serve as censors; Scipio Africanus is again nominated princeps senatus; The proconsul Lucius Valerius Flaccus defeats the Boii…
Summary A Lex Sempronia curbs usury; Many Romans seek exemption from military service, but the Senate refuses to grant dispensations; A large army of Ligurians surrounds Pisa, but withdraws when the consul Quintus Minucius Thermus arrives with his army; The consul Lucius Cornelius Merula wins a bloody, but decisive victory…
Summary The Romans declare King Antiochos III of the Seleucid Empire an enemy of the State; More Roman successes in the Spanish provinces; The proconsul Quintus Minucius Thermus defeats the Ligurians in a battle near Pisa; The consuls Lucius Quinctius and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus devastate the territories of the Boii,…