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,…
Summary The Romans declare war on the Seleucid Empire; King Antiochos attacks Larisa in Thessaly, but is forced to withdraw when a small Roman relief force arrives in the region; The consul Manius Acilius Glabrio lands at Apollonia, marches into Thessaly and recaptures all the cities that had previously fallen…
Summary The Senate releases Demetrios, son of King Philippos of Macedonia, and cancels the king’s obligation to pay an annual tribute; Negotiations between Rome and the Aetolian League break down as the Romans continue to demand a deditio; the war continues; Manius Acilius Glabrio captures Lamia and besieges Amphissa in…
Summary The Latin colony of Bononia is founded; The new praetor of Hispania Ulterior, Lucius Baebius Dives, is killed on the way to his province; Lucius Aemilius Paullus continues his campaigns against the Lusitani and wins a great victory; The pontifex maximus Publius Licinius Crassus prohibits the praetor and flamen…
Summary The people’s tribune Gaius Valerius Tappo bypasses the Senate and sends a proposal to grant full Roman citizenship to the citizens of Formiae, Arpinum and Fundi directly to the popular assembly; Scipio Africanus is once again nominated princeps senatus by the censors; Marcus Fulvius Nobilior captures Same on Kephallenia…
Summary Publius Cornelius Scipio, just 26 years old, is elected proconsul and sent to Spain; The Romans disband the only legion fighting the war in Macedonia and continue the war with just the fleet and marines; The Romans capture the island of Aigina and sell it to Pergamum for thirty…
Summary The consul Marcus Valerius Laevinus and the Senate bicker about the appointment of a dictator; Quintus Fabius Maximus is nominated princeps senatus; Gaius Mamilius Atellus becomes the first plebeian curio maximus; Exhausted by the war, 12 of the 30 Latin colonies in Italy refuse to provide the Romans with…
Summary Gaius Valerius Flaccus is consecrated as flamen Dialis against his will and successfully claims a seat in the Senate; Unrest in Etruria; The consuls, Marcus Claudius Marcellus and Titus Quinctius Crispinus, are ambushed by Hannibal’s Numidian cavalry during a careless reconnaissance mission; Marcellus is killed, Crispinus dies of his…
Summary For the first time during the Second Punic War, the Roman coastal colonies are required to provide soldiers; Hasdrubal Barcas arrives in Cisalpine Gaul, but fails to capture the Latin colony of Placentia; The consul Gaius Claudius Nero confronts Hannibal near Grumentum; The Romans intercept couriers with a message…
Summary The Romans try to restore agricultural production in Latium and other parts of Italy; The consuls Lucius Veturius Philo and Quintus Caecilius Metellus occupy Lucania, containing Hannibal in a corner of Southern Italy; In Spain, Publius Cornelius Scipio wins his finest victory of the war by defeating the Carthaginians…
Summary Publius Cornelius Scipio wins his first consulship and is given the province of Sicily; Scipio suffers a political defeat in the Senate as he is denied the province of Africa; Volunteers from all over Italy flock to Scipio’s army and fleet; Mago Barcas lands in Liguria and sacks Genua;…
Summary Publius Cornelius Scipio is in deep trouble because of the Pleminius affair; An investigatory committee led by the praetor Marcus Pomponius is set up to investigate Scipio’s role in the affair; Quintus Pleminius is arrested and sent to Rome to stand trial; After managing to save his skin, Scipio…
Summary Publius Cornelius Scipio annihilates the armies of Hasdrubal and Syphax in a night attack near Utica; Scipio again defeats Hasdrubal and Syphax at the Battle of Great Plains; The Carthaginians finally decide to recall Hannibal from Southern Italy; Gaius Laelius and Masinissa defeat King Syphax and capture him; Masinissa…
Summary Publius Cornelius Scipio wins a decisive victory over Hannibal at the Battle of Zama; The Romans dictate incredibly harsh peace terms to the Carthaginians, which are nevertheless accepted; End of the Second Punic War; Scipio receives the agnomen ‘Africanus’. It was clear that the Second Punic War was drawing…
Summary The Romans send envoys to Carthage to protest Hannibal Barcas’ actions against Saguntum; Marcus Fabius Buteo lets war fall from his toga; start of the Second Punic War; The Boii and Insubres rebel against the Romans and attack Placentia and Cremona; Hannibal crosses the river Ebro and the Pyrenees,…