171-464: People Events Places The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created at the end of the Roman republic for Mark Antony , Lepidus , and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November 43 BC with a term of five years; it was renewed in 37 BC for another five years before expiring in 32 BC. Constituted by
342-616: A great victory for Metellus. Rome then besieged the last Carthaginian strongholds in Sicily, Lilybaeum and Drepana , but these cities were impregnable by land. Publius Claudius Pulcher , the consul of 249, recklessly tried to take the latter from the sea, but suffered a terrible defeat ; his colleague Lucius Junius Pullus likewise lost his fleet off Lilybaeum . Without the corvus , Roman warships had lost their advantage. By now, both sides were drained and could not undertake large-scale operations. The only military activity during this period
513-610: A bloody but indecisive battle near Messana . It took until summer for the triumvirs to move all their armies into Macedonia. Through early 42 BC, Brutus and Cassius were active in Asia sacking cities and forcing tribute from the provincials to pay their own soldiers. The liberatores , busy, delayed marching west (perhaps an error in retrospect); they moved to intercept Antony and Octavian only in mid-July. The triumvirs' advance forces reached Philippi first, but were outmanoeuvred and forced to retreat. Brutus and Cassius, hugely outnumbering
684-477: A call for help from Syracuse, where tyrant Thoenon was desperately fighting an invasion from Carthage . Pyrrhus could not let them take the whole island, as it would have compromised his ambitions in the western Mediterranean, and so declared war. The Carthaginians lifted the siege of Syracuse before his arrival, but he could not entirely oust them from the island as he failed to take their fortress of Lilybaeum . His harsh rule soon led to widespread antipathy among
855-569: A garrison in Tarentum, to wage a new campaign in Greece against Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia . His death in battle at Argos in 272 BC forced Tarentum to surrender to Rome. Rome and Carthage were initially on friendly terms, lastly in an alliance against Pyrrhus, but tensions rapidly rose after the departure of the Epirote king. Between 288 and 283 BC, Messina in Sicily was taken by
1026-517: A long-lasting alliance with Rome. In 262 BC, the Romans moved to the southern coast and besieged Akragas . In order to raise the siege, Carthage sent reinforcements, including 60 elephants—the first time they used them—but still lost the battle . Nevertheless, Rome could not take all of Sicily because Carthage's naval superiority prevented it from effectively besieging coastal cities. Using a captured Carthaginian ship as blueprint, Rome therefore launched
1197-433: A massive construction program and built 100 quinqueremes in only two months. It also invented a new device, the corvus , a grappling engine that enabled a crew to board an enemy ship. The consul for 260 BC, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina , lost the first naval skirmish of the war against Hannibal Gisco at Lipara , but his colleague Gaius Duilius won a great victory at Mylae . He destroyed or captured 44 ships and
1368-523: A militant rising against Octavian. Antony attempted to remain largely aloof to the goings-on, probably so he could exploit the outcome, but his supporters in Italy were largely uninformed of his intentions and readied for conflict. The consul Lucius, in the summer of 41 BC, occupied Rome with an army; however, he was beaten back by Octavian's forces and besieged in Perusia . Unsure of Antony's intentions,
1539-760: A ploy about spoils in Illyricum. He also offered an embassy led by Octavia to transfer to Antony about half of his lent ships and 2, 000 elite men – nowhere near the 20, 000 promised at Tarentum – which had the effect of forcing Antony to choose between accepting Octavian's so-called repayment or insulting his wife in the eyes of the Italians. Antony accepted his wife's troops but bade her to winter in Athens while he went back to Alexandria to stay with Cleopatra. Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( Latin : Res publica Romana [ˈreːs ˈpuːblɪka roːˈmaːna] )
1710-433: A renewed effort to tackle indebtedness; required the election of at least one plebeian consul each year; and prohibited magistrates from holding the same magistracy for the next ten years or two magistracies in the same year. In 339 BC, the plebeian consul and dictator Quintus Publilius Philo passed three laws extending the plebeians' powers. His first law followed the lex Genucia by reserving one censorship to plebeians,
1881-452: A result of the end of the patrician monopoly on senior magistracies, many small patrician gentes faded into history during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC due to the lack of available positions. About a dozen remaining patrician gentes and 20 plebeian ones thus formed a new elite, called the nobiles , or Nobilitas . By the early 3rd century BC, Rome had established itself as the major power in Italy, but had not yet come into conflict with
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#17327657429722052-582: A significant defeat at the Battle of the Cremera in 477 BC, wherein it fought against the most important Etruscan city, Veii ; this defeat was later avenged at the Battle of Veii in 396 BC, wherein Rome destroyed the city. By the end of this period, Rome had effectively completed the conquest of its immediate Etruscan and Latin neighbours and secured its position against the immediate threat posed by
2223-708: A similar revolt in Sardinia to seize the island from Carthage, in violation of the peace treaty. This led to permanent bitterness in Carthage. After its victory, the Republic shifted its attention to its northern border as the Insubres and Boii were threatening Italy. Meanwhile, Carthage compensated the loss of Sicily and Sardinia with the conquest of Southern Hispania (up to Salamanca ), and its rich silver mines. This rapid expansion worried Rome, which concluded
2394-520: A son with Cleopatra and publicly acknowledged his paternity of two twins born in 40 BC. This may have been related to strengthening Antony and Cleopatra's positions in Egypt and building popular support there; even if so, the relationship was unpopular in Italy and Antony should have known this. Antony demanded the return of Crassus' eagles from Phraates; Phraates, needing to ensure his own position, refused. Antony struck north towards Armenia , where he
2565-704: A stalemate, with the Treaty of Phoenice signed in 205. In Hispania, Scipio continued his successful campaign at the battles of Carmona in 207, and Ilipa (now Seville ) in 206, which ended the Punic threat on the peninsula. Elected consul in 205, he convinced the Senate to invade Africa with the support of the Numidian king Masinissa , who had defected to Rome. Scipio landed in Africa in 204. He took Utica and then won
2736-532: A third of his entire army. The failure of the Parthian campaign fatally damaged Antony's military prestige and power. If it had been successful, it would clearly placed him above Octavian; but after its failure, Antony's fortunes turned for the worse. Agrippa prepared exhaustively for Octavian's campaign against Sicily. Octavian also was able to secure support from Lepidus in Africa, who possibly had plans of his own. In July 36 BC, Octavian and Lepidus launched
2907-627: A third term in 121 but was defeated. During violent protests over repeal of an ally's colonisation bill, the Senate moved the first senatus consultum ultimum against him, resulting in his death, with many others, on the Aventine. His legislation (like that of his brother) survived; the Roman aristocracy disliked the Gracchan agitation but accepted their policies. Battle of Mutina The Battle of Mutina took place on 21 April 43 BC between
3078-488: A three-pronged attack on Sicily with Octavian's forces landing in the north and east while Lepidus landed in the south. Initially, Octavian's naval forces were beset by storms. Lepidus' forces, however, successfully effected a landing in his theatre and placed one of Sextus' lieutenants under siege in Lilybaeum . In the north and east, there were naval battles: Octavian was personally defeated off Tauromenium while Agrippa
3249-680: A treaty with Hasdrubal in 226, stating that Carthage could not cross the Ebro river . But the city of Saguntum , south of the Ebro, appealed to Rome in 220 to act as arbitrator during a period of internal strife . Hannibal took the city in 219, triggering the Second Punic War. Initially, the Republic's plan was to carry war outside Italy, sending the consuls P. Cornelius Scipio to Hispania and Ti. Sempronius Longus to Africa, while their naval superiority prevented Carthage from attacking from
3420-415: A worsening situation in Italy; when Octavian did not arrive promptly, he issued a public rebuke and sailed east for Syria, where he found Ventidius' victories uninterrupted. Ventidius was relieved of command by Antony and then returned to Rome to celebrate a triumph on 27 November 38 BC before dying shortly thereafter. The agreement between Sextus Pompey and Octavian, without Antony's presence to balance
3591-411: A year to attack Sextus and would receive 120 ships from Antony in exchange for 20,000 men and 1,000 elite troops. The triumvirate also had uncomfortably expired at the end of 38 BC. Normal republican practice had magistrates abdicate their offices at the close of their terms; the triumvirs' terms had ended, but they had not abdicated. Nor were any successors appointed. Regardless, the legal position of
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#17327657429723762-487: Is said to have sided with the plebeians, ruined by the sack and largely indebted to patricians. According to Livy, Capitolinus sold his estate to repay the debt of many of them, and even went over to the plebs, the first patrician to do so. Nevertheless, the growing unrest he had caused led to his trial for seeking kingly power; he was sentenced to death and thrown from the Tarpeian Rock . Between 376 BC and 367 BC,
3933-610: The Aqua Appia , and the first Roman road, the Via Appia . In 300 BC, the two tribunes of the plebs Gnaeus and Quintus Ogulnius passed the lex Ogulnia , which created four plebeian pontiffs, equalling the number of patrician pontiffs, and five plebeian augurs, outnumbering the four patricians in the college. The Conflict of the Orders ended with the last secession of the plebs around 287. The dictator Quintus Hortensius passed
4104-406: The lex Titia , the triumvirs were given broad powers to make or repeal legislation, issue judicial punishments without due process or right of appeal, and appoint all other magistrates. The triumvirs also split the Roman world into three sets of provinces . The triumvirate, formed in the aftermath of a conflict between Antony and the senate , emerged as a force to reassert Caesarian control over
4275-543: The Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and the Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian as Augustus in 27 BC—which effectively made him the first Roman emperor —marked the end of the Republic. Rome had been ruled by monarchs since its foundation . These monarchs were elected, for life, by the men of the Roman Senate . The last Roman monarch was called Tarquin the Proud , who in traditional histories
4446-455: The Battle of Bovianum in 305 BC. By 304 BC, Rome had annexed most Samnite territory and begun to establish colonies there, but in 298 BC the Samnites rebelled, and defeated a Roman army, in a Third Samnite War . After this success, it built a coalition of several previous enemies of Rome. The war ended with Roman victory in 290 BC. At the Battle of Populonia , in 282 BC, Rome finished off
4617-652: The Battle of Gergovia and abandoned the siege, hoping to join up with the legions that Ventidius Bassus was bringing from Picenum. Having reconcentrated his forces, he proceeded to march to the Alps to communicate with the Caesarian leaders Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in Gallia Narbonensis and Lucius Munatius Plancus in Gallia Comata . After making his decision, Mark Antony acted swiftly and effectively:
4788-810: The Battle of Zama in 202 BC, becoming the dominant power of the ancient Mediterranean world. It then embarked on a long series of difficult conquests, defeating Philip V and Perseus of Macedon , Antiochus III of the Seleucid Empire , the Lusitanian Viriathus , the Numidian Jugurtha , the Pontic king Mithridates VI , Vercingetorix of the Arverni tribe of Gaul , and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra . At home, during
4959-469: The Battle of the Great Plains , which prompted Carthage to open peace negotiations. The talks failed because Scipio wanted to impose harsher terms on Carthage to prevent it from rising again as a threat. Hannibal was therefore sent to face Scipio at Zama . Scipio could now use the heavy Numidian cavalry of Massinissa—which had hitherto been so successful against Rome—to rout the Punic wings, then flank
5130-625: The Conflict of the Orders , the patricians , the closed oligarchic elite, came into conflict with the more numerous plebs ; this was resolved peacefully, with the plebs achieving political equality by the 4th century BC. The late Republic, from 133 BC onward, saw substantial domestic strife , often anachronistically seen as a conflict between optimates and populares , referring to conservative and reformist politicians, respectively. The Social War between Rome and its Italian allies over citizenship and Roman hegemony in Italy greatly expanded
5301-594: The Cornelii , Aemilii , Claudii , Fabii , and Valerii . The leading families' power, privilege and influence derived from their wealth, in particular from their landholdings, their position as patrons , and their numerous clients. The vast majority of Roman citizens were commoners of various social degrees. They formed the backbone of Rome's economy, as smallholding farmers, managers, artisans, traders, and tenants. In wartime, they could be summoned for military service. Most had little direct political influence. During
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5472-481: The Gallic wars and fought against him during the civil war ). In the preparations for war, however, Antony found most of the east largely sucked dry by the previous armies of Dolabella , Cassius, and Brutus. Antony, however, was gentle with the areas that Brutus and Cassius had pillaged. He also displayed favour for great cultural centres and toured the eastern provinces seeking to buttress popular support. Moving down
5643-486: The Mamertines , a band of mercenaries formerly employed by Agathocles . They plundered the surroundings until Hiero II , the new tyrant of Syracuse , defeated them (in either 269 or 265 BC). In effect under a Carthaginian protectorate, the remaining Mamertines appealed to Rome to regain their independence. Senators were divided on whether to help. A supporter of war, the consul Appius Claudius Caudex , turned to one of
5814-591: The Seleucid Empire made increasingly aggressive and successful attempts to conquer the entire Greek world. Now not only Rome's allies against Philip, but even Philip himself, sought a Roman alliance against the Seleucids. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that Hannibal was now a chief military advisor to the Seleucid emperor, and the two were believed to be planning outright conquest not just of Greece, but also of Rome. The Seleucids were much stronger than
5985-545: The Seleucid Empire . In 202, internal problems led to a weakening of Egypt's position, disrupting the power balance among the successor states. Macedonia and the Seleucid Empire agreed to an alliance to conquer and divide Egypt. Fearing this increasingly unstable situation, several small Greek kingdoms sent delegations to Rome to seek an alliance. Rome gave Philip an ultimatum to cease his campaigns against Rome's new Greek allies. Doubting Rome's strength, Philip ignored
6156-427: The lex Hortensia , which reenacted the law of 339 BC, making plebiscites binding on all citizens, while also removing the requirement for prior Senate approval. These events were a political victory of the wealthy plebeian elite, who exploited the economic difficulties of the plebs for their own gain: Stolo, Lateranus, and Genucius bound their bills attacking patricians' political supremacy with debt-relief measures. As
6327-592: The Apennines. In this way, he reached the coast of Liguria west of Genoa at Vada Sabatia , where on 3 May 43 BC, he was joined by Ventidius Bassus with three legions. Antony's lieutenant had not encountered any check to his progress through the mountains to the Ligurian coast; thus, Antony's manoeuvre to extricate himself from Mutina and regrouping proved successful. The victory of the Senatorial forces and
6498-460: The Boii ambushed the army of the consul-elect for 215, L. Postumius Albinus , who died with all his army of 25,000 men in the Battle of Silva Litana . These disasters triggered a wave of defection among Roman allies, with the rebellions of the Samnites, Oscans, Lucanians, and Greek cities of Southern Italy. In Macedonia, Philip V also made an alliance with Hannibal in order to take Illyria and
6669-460: The Egyptian queen, it is more likely in this period he was merely attempting to strengthen Cleopatra's position in Egypt as part of his policy of favouring strong allied monarchs. Regardless, he left her in the spring of 40 to embark on a campaign against Parthia. The Parthians, in the winter of 41 BC, knowing that Antony was preparing an offensive, struck first. Invading Asia Minor and Syria under
6840-601: The Great , he was eager to build an empire for himself in the western Mediterranean and saw Tarentum's plea as a perfect opportunity. Pyrrhus and his army of 25,500 men (with 20 war elephants) landed in Italy in 280 BC. The Romans were defeated at Heraclea , as their cavalry were afraid of Pyrrhus's elephants. Pyrrhus then marched on Rome, but the Romans concluded a peace in the north and moved south with reinforcements, placing Pyrrhus in danger of being flanked by two consular armies; Pyrrhus withdrew to Tarentum. In 279 BC, Pyrrhus met
7011-466: The Italian countryside. Antony's brother, Lucius Antonius , serving as consul for 41 BC, and Antony's wife Fulvia fanned the flames of this unrest to undermine Octavian. They spread propaganda indicting Octavian's regime with stomping on citizen rights and favouring Octavian's veterans over Antony's. Although there was little truth behind these charges, they were largely able to build up support for
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7182-476: The Macedonians had ever been, because they controlled much of the former Persian Empire and had almost entirely reassembled Alexander the Great's former empire. Fearing the worst, the Romans began a major mobilization, all but pulling out of recently conquered Spain and Gaul. This fear was shared by Rome's Greek allies, who now followed Rome again for the first time since that war. A major Roman-Greek force
7353-634: The Mediterranean coast, Antony confirmed a number of rulers – in spite of their previous support for the liberatores or for Parthia – in Palestine and called Cleopatra to attend to him in Cilicia. Cleopatra quickly entered into an affair with Antony, which proved useful to her: Antony helped her secure her throne with the death of her sister Arsinoe and against other Ptolemaic claimants. While ancient writers speculated on Antony being manipulated by
7524-455: The Punic army—and confronted Hannibal, who was encamped at Cannae , in Apulia . Despite his numerical disadvantage, Hannibal used his heavier cavalry to rout the Roman wings and envelop their infantry, which he annihilated. In terms of casualties, the Battle of Cannae was the worst defeat in Roman history: only 14,500 soldiers escaped, and Paullus was killed as well as 80 senators. Soon after,
7695-712: The Rhone, sent his elder brother Gnaeus with the main part of his army in Hispania according to the initial plan, and went back to Italy with the rest to resist Hannibal in Italy, but he was defeated and wounded near the Ticino river . Hannibal then marched south and won three outstanding victories. The first one was on the banks of the Trebia in December 218, where he defeated the other consul Ti. Sempronius Longus. More than half
7866-612: The Roman Empire, throughout the republican era Rome was in a state of near-perpetual war. Its first enemies were its Latin and Etruscan neighbours, as well as the Gauls , who sacked Rome in 387 BC. After the Gallic sack, Rome conquered the whole Italian Peninsula in a century and thus became a major power in the Mediterranean. Its greatest strategic rival was Carthage , against which it waged three wars . Rome defeated Carthage at
8037-425: The Roman army was lost. Hannibal then ravaged the country around Arretium to lure the new consul C. Flaminius into a trap at Lake Trasimene . This clever ambush resulted in the death of the consul and the complete destruction of his army of 30,000 men. In 216, the new consuls L. Aemilius Paullus and C. Terentius Varro mustered the biggest army possible, with eight legions—some 80,000 soldiers, twice as many as
8208-415: The Romans' inability to conceive of plausible alternatives to the traditional republican system in a "crisis without alternative". The second instead stresses the continuity of the republic: until its disruption by Caesar's civil war and the following two decades of civil war created conditions for autocratic rule and made return to republican politics impossible: and, per Erich S. Gruen , "civil war caused
8379-413: The Romans, the Parthian threat disappeared amid a dynastic struggle when Orodes II abdicated in favour of his chosen successor Phraates IV , who promptly murdered his father, all of his brothers, and his own son, precipitating a revolt. Amid a general reorganisation of the east which again strengthened client kingdoms – among a number of changes, Cleopatra received Crete and Cyrene , – Antony fathered
8550-504: The Senate on 21 April 43 BC, Cicero emphatically pronounced the Fourteenth and final Philippic , in which he exulted in the victory at Forum Gallorum, proposed forty days of public thanksgiving, and particularly praised the legionaries who had fallen and the two consuls Aulus Hirtius and Vibius Pansa. The latter was injured, but his life did not then seem in danger. The orator rather minimized the contribution of Caesar Octavian, although
8721-551: The Senate. As Pansa's army moved to join Hirtius, who had previously moved north, Antony ambushed it on the Via Aemilia at the Battle of Forum Gallorum . Successful in defeating and mortally wounding Pansa, his forces were however then themselves set upon by Hirtius and Octavian's veteran forces and were forced to retreat back to the siege works at Mutina. Hirtius and Octavian then moved to engage Antony's forces and relieve
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#17327657429728892-469: The Sicilians; some cities even defected to Carthage. In 275 BC, Pyrrhus left the island before he had to face a full-scale rebellion. He returned to Italy, where his Samnite allies were on the verge of losing the war. Pyrrhus again met the Romans at the Battle of Beneventum . This time, the consul Manius Dentatus was victorious and even captured eight elephants. Pyrrhus then withdrew from Italy, but left
9063-598: The Spartan general marched on Regulus, crushing the Roman infantry on the Bagradas plain ; only 2,000 soldiers escaped, and Regulus was captured. The consuls for 255 nonetheless won a naval victory at Cape Hermaeum, where they captured 114 warships. This success was spoilt by a storm that annihilated the victorious navy: 184 ships of 264 sank, 25,000 soldiers and 75,000 rowers drowned. The corvus considerably hindered ships' navigation and made them vulnerable during tempest. It
9234-521: The Triumvirs came from Sextus Pompey , a son of Pompey the Great , who controlled Sicily , Corsica and Sardinia . Octavian and Antony were pushed to cooperation, in part by their soldiers, and the triumvirs had their legal arrangement renewed for another five years in 37 BC. Eventually, after Antony's defeat in Parthia and Octavian's victory over Sextus Pompey, Octavian forced Lepidus from
9405-464: The abusive treatment of plebeian debtors by the wealthy during a famine. The patrician Senate was compelled to give them direct access to the written civil and religious laws and to the electoral and political process. To represent their interests, the plebs elected tribunes , who were personally sacrosanct, immune to arbitrary arrest by any magistrate, and had veto power over legislation. By 390 BC, several Gallic tribes were invading Italy from
9576-491: The addition of their enemies to the death lists. Persons on the proscription lists had their properties confiscated and sold; freelance assassins, bounty hunters, and informers received cash rewards for aiding in the killings. Preparations for war on the tyrannicides started promptly. In Rome, the new year saw Julius Caesar consecrated as a god . With the triumvirs having slaughtered their political enemies in Italy, they moved with some forty legions against Brutus and Cassius in
9747-620: The advance force, reached Philippi in early September, forcing the triumvirs' advance forces to retreat. Antony and Octavian arrived some days later. The liberatores first attempted to avoid battle in light of the triumvirs' weak supply situation. But Antony was successful in forcing battle with the construction of earthworks on Cassius' flank. The liberatores accepted battle, triggering the first battle: Brutus fought Octavian, Cassius fought Antony. Brutus' forces were successful and stormed Octavian's camp and destroying three of Octavian's legions. Cassius' forces, however, were less successful; Antony
9918-533: The aftermath of the Social War. In the winter of 138–137 BC, a first slave uprising, known as the First Servile War , broke out in Sicily. After initial successes, the slaves led by Eunus and Cleon were defeated by Marcus Perperna and Publius Rupilius in 132 BC. In this context, Tiberius Gracchus was elected plebeian tribune in 133 BC. He attempted to enact a law to limit
10089-475: The agreement when Philip's emissaries were captured by a Roman fleet. The First Macedonian War saw the Romans involved directly in only limited land operations, but they achieved their objective of occupying Philip and preventing him from aiding Hannibal. The past century had seen the Greek world dominated by the three primary successor kingdoms of Alexander the Great 's empire: Ptolemaic Egypt , Macedonia and
10260-603: The allied faction of young Caesar Octavian at the Battle of Mutina did not decisively put an end to Mark Antony's hostility, who, in a timely and successful retreat, was able to cheat the victors of success in the campaign. The eventual turnaround in Antony's fortunes was facilitated by the breakdown of the precarious alliance between Octavian and the Republican faction led by Cicero. Following the death of Aulus Hirtius in battle on
10431-493: The amount of land anyone could own and establish a commission to distribute public lands to poor rural plebs. The aristocrats, who stood to lose an enormous amount of money, bitterly opposed this proposal. Tiberius submitted this law to the Plebeian Council , but it was vetoed by fellow tribune Marcus Octavius . Tiberius induced the plebs to depose Octavius from his office on the grounds that Octavius acted contrary to
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#173276574297210602-628: The area around Epidamnus , occupied by Rome. His attack on Apollonia started the First Macedonian War . In 215, Hiero II of Syracuse died of old age, and his young grandson Hieronymus broke the long alliance with Rome to side with Carthage. At this desperate point, the aggressive strategy against Hannibal the Scipiones advocated was abandoned in favour of a slow reconquest of the lost territories, since Hannibal could not be everywhere to defend them. Although he remained invincible on
10773-406: The attack, taking advantage of his superiority in cavalry and the exhaustion of Decimus Brutus's supplies. Antony probably did not know about the death of Hirtius or understand the weakness of the legions left to Octavian's command. Rather than contemplating a decisive counterattack, Antony feared a renewed attack on his own camps. He therefore adopted Julius Caesar's expedient after the failure at
10944-403: The battle, soon fled Italy in the hopes of joining fellow assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus ; he was, however, captured and executed en route. After the battle, Mark Antony decided to give up the siege and retreated westward along the via Aemilia , escaping the enemy forces and rejoining the reinforcements of his lieutenant Publius Ventidius Bassus . The battle brought
11115-408: The battlefield, defeating all the Roman armies on his way, he could not prevent Claudius Marcellus from taking Syracuse in 212 after a long siege , nor the fall of his bases of Capua and Tarentum in 211 and 209 . In Hispania, Publius and Gnaeus Scipio won the battles of Cissa in 218, soon after Hannibal's departure, and Dertosa against his brother Hasdrubal in 215, which enabled them to conquer
11286-557: The best of the fighting. While this battle was raging outside the camps, the consul Hirtius took the bold decision to break directly into the camp of Antony with some of his forces. The consul then personally led the Legio III into the camp, making directly for Mark Antony's personal tent. At the same time, Decimus Brutus had finally organized a sortie with some of his cohorts who, under the command of Lucius Pontius Aquila (another of Caesar's assassins), came out of Mutina and attacked
11457-671: The brief War of Mutina to a victorious end for the Republicans allied with Caesar Octavian, but the situation would change completely the following autumn with the formation of the Second Triumvirate of Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus . At the start of the War of Mutina in December 44 BC, Mark Antony besieged Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus – the governor of Cisalpine Gaul – in Mutina in an attempt to force him to surrender
11628-507: The camp of Antony. At first, Hirtius' action appeared successful: the Legio III, after breaking through, fought near Antony's tent; the consul led the legionaries on the frontline; meanwhile, the battle continued in other areas as well. Soon, however, the situation deteriorated for the troops that had beset the camps. Mark Antony's Legio V, which defended the camp, opposed the Legio III, and after an awkward and bloody melee managed to halt its advance, protecting their commander's tent. During
11799-413: The camps. Mark Antony transferred additional forces to meet the onslaught. According to Appian , at this stage of the battle the Antonian forces found themselves struggling mainly because of the slow arrival of their reinforcements; the legions who were caught by surprise and deployed far from the area where the most important clashes were going on, entered the field late and Octavian's forces seemed to have
11970-401: The capital, assumed full political control, and ruthlessly pursued their opponents in the republican faction. Cicero, who was killed on the orders of Antony, was the most high-profile victim of the triumvirate's proscriptions . In the power struggles ensuing many years later, Octavian would eventually defeat Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC and usher in the Principate , but Mutina
12141-471: The city, eventually returned to Mutina. On the basis of the reconstructions of ancient historians it is difficult to know precisely the true course of the final clashes of the battle, with pro-Augustan accounts focused on exalting the role of Octavian and his courageous action to recover the body of the consul Hirtius. Other sources cast doubts on the real actions of the young heir of Caesar; Suetonius and Tacitus report other versions that hint that Hirtius
12312-430: The city. Initial news in Rome claimed that the Senate's forces had suffered a defeat at Forum Gallorum, arousing concern and fears among the Republican faction. Only on 18 April did they receive Aulus Hirtius' letter and a report detailing the events of the battle. The victory at Forum Gallorum, wrongly considered decisive, was greeted with enthusiasm; Antony was roundly denounced and his sympathizers forced into hiding. In
12483-555: The command of Pacorus and Quintus Labienus in the early spring of 40 BC, the Parthian forces were largely unchallenged: Pacorus moved south for Palestine while Labienus moved west through Cilicia for Ionia. Antony at the time was wholly distracted from the Parthian invasion due to the Perusine War . The veterans' demands for lands in Italy – in the midst of a famine, which itself was exacerbated by Sextus Pompey's naval blockade of Italy, – caused protests and unrest throughout
12654-459: The confusion of this fighting, Aulus Hirtius was killed and his legion seemed to be forced to retreat from the ground it had won. As the Legio III began to fold under the Antonian counterattack, other troops led by Caesar Octavian came to their relief. Caesar's young heir found himself in the midst of the fiercest clashes and fought violently to recover Hirtius' body. According to Suetonius, "in
12825-409: The consuls Publius Decius Mus and Publius Sulpicius Saverrio at the Battle of Asculum , which remained undecided for two days. Finally, Pyrrhus personally charged into the melee and won the battle but at the cost of an important part of his troops ; he allegedly said, "if we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined." He escaped the Italian deadlock by answering
12996-411: The declaration of Antony as a public enemy. Octavian then moved north to treat with Antony under Lepidus' protection. With the Caesarian soldiers' urging, Octavian and Antony reconciled; Octavian also would marry Antony's step-daughter Clodia . The three men then established themselves as the triumviri rei publicae constituendae (the latter words indicate a causa or commission for the reconstitution of
13167-502: The defensive. He had, however, strengthened the encircling front around Decimus Brutus in Mutina and continued to maintain his positions. Mark Antony was by no means resigned to defeat, but for the time being he considered it dangerous to court another pitched battle against combined enemy forces that were numerically superior to his own. Instead, he intended to harass and weaken the armies of Hirtius and Octavian with continuous cavalry skirmishes. In this way he hoped to gain time and increase
13338-727: The dominant military powers of the Mediterranean : Carthage and the Greek kingdoms. In 282, several Roman warships entered the harbour of Tarentum , triggering a violent reaction from the Tarentine democrats, who sank some. The Roman embassy sent to investigate the affair was insulted and war was promptly declared. Facing a hopeless situation, the Tarentines (together with the Lucanians and Samnites) appealed to Pyrrhus , king of Epirus , for military aid. A cousin of Alexander
13509-439: The early Republic, the plebs (or plebeians) emerged as a self-organised, culturally distinct group of commoners, with its own internal hierarchy, laws, customs, and interests. Plebeians had no access to high religious and civil office. For the poorest, one of the few effective political tools was their withdrawal of labour and services, in a " secessio plebis "; the first such secession occurred in 494 BC, in protest at
13680-565: The east: Lepidus remained in Italy – supervised by two pro-Antony governors – while Antony and Octavian moved to cross the Adriatic for Macedonia . While some eight legions had crossed the Adriatic early in the year, the naval forces of the liberatores and of Sextus Pompey were able to interdict the triumvir's transports. Octavian dispatched Quintus Salvius Salvidienus Rufus against Sextus Pompey's base of operations in Sicily, resulting in
13851-626: The eastern coast of Hispania. But in 211, Hasdrubal and Mago Barca successfully turned the Celtiberian tribes that supported the Scipiones, and attacked them simultaneously at the Battle of the Upper Baetis , in which the Scipiones died. Publius's son, the future Scipio Africanus , was then elected with a special proconsulship to lead the Hispanic campaign, winning a series of battles with ingenious tactics. In 209, he took Carthago Nova ,
14022-457: The end of the war, the consuls for 256 BC decided to carry the operations to Africa, on Carthage's homeland. The consul Marcus Atilius Regulus landed on the Cap Bon peninsula with about 18,000 soldiers. He captured the city of Aspis , repulsed Carthage's counterattack at Adys , and took Tunis . The Carthaginians hired Spartan mercenaries, led by Xanthippus , to command their troops. In 255,
14193-738: The enemy were, however, thwarted by the obstructionism of Octavian, who, in command of eight legions at Bononia , did not march to the Apennines to block Ventidius Bassus, as Caesar's assassin had intended. Within a few weeks Mark Antony, strengthened by the legions of Ventidius Bassus, reached the Alps and concluded a formidable alliance with the Caesarian commanders Lepidus , Lucius Munatius Plancus , and Gaius Asinius Pollio , assembling an army of 17 legions and 10,000 cavalry (in addition to six legions left behind with Varius, according to Plutarch ). Decimus Brutus, abandoned by his legions and forced to flee to Macedonia, would later be killed by Celtic warriors sent to pursue him by Antony, while Caesar Octavian
14364-430: The enemy's cavalry units opposed him, he could not avoid committing his legions to the fray. Antony therefore, in order to keep his siege lines from breaking, ordered up two of his legions to stem the advance of Hirtius and Octavian's massed forces. Now that the Antonian forces were finally out in the open field, Aulus Hirtius and Caesar Octavian concentrated their legions to attack them. A fierce battle commenced outside
14535-462: The fall of the republic, not vice versa". A core cause of the Republic's eventual demise was the loss of elite's cohesion from c. 133 BC : the ancient sources called this moral decay from wealth and the hubris of Rome's domination of the Mediterranean. Modern sources have proposed multiple reasons why the elite lost cohesion, including wealth inequality and a growing willingness by aristocrats to transgress political norms, especially in
14706-471: The first time a Roman army had ever entered Asia . The decisive engagement was fought at the Battle of Magnesia , resulting in complete Roman victory. The Seleucids sued for peace, and Rome forced them to give up their recent Greek conquests. Rome again withdrew from Greece, assuming (or hoping) that the lack of a major Greek power would ensure a stable peace. In fact, it did the opposite. In 179, Philip died. His talented and ambitious son, Perseus , took
14877-541: The forces loyal to the Senate under consuls Gaius Vibius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius , supported by the forces of Caesar Octavian , versus the forces of Mark Antony which were besieging the troops of Decimus Brutus . The latter, one of Caesar's assassins, held the city of Mutina (present-day Modena ) in Cisalpine Gaul . Six days earlier, the Battle of Forum Gallorum had ended with heavy losses on both sides and
15048-582: The grounds that the established legions would refuse to fight under the command of one of Julius Caesar's assassins. As a result, Octavian came to control eight legions, forces which were loyal to himself rather than to the Republic. He refused to co-operate with Decimus Brutus, whose legions at Mutina began deserting him, many going over to Octavian. His position deteriorating by the day, Decimus Brutus abandoned his remaining legions and fled Italy. He attempted to reach Macedonia , where fellow assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus were stationed, but
15219-450: The helm of the Senate's legions. Mutina is essentially where Octavian turns from an inferior young man to an equal of Antony. He immediately adopted an attitude of opposition to Decimus Brutus, refusing any co-operation with this murderer of Caesar. In Rome, Cicero and his supporters in the Senate dismayed Octavian by minimizing his role and assigning the supreme command in the war against Antony to Decimus Brutus alone. Brutus' plans to pursue
15390-535: The infantry, as Hannibal had done at Cannae. Defeated for the first time, Hannibal convinced the Carthaginian Senate to pay the war indemnity, which was even harsher than that of 241: 10,000 talents in 50 instalments. Carthage also had to give up all its elephants, all its fleet but ten triremes , and all its possessions outside its core territory in Africa (what is now Tunisia ), and it could not declare war without Roman authorisation. In effect, Carthage
15561-437: The last vestiges of Etruscan power in the region. In the 4th century, plebeians gradually obtained political equality with patricians. The first plebeian consular tribunes were elected in 400. The reason behind this sudden gain is unknown, but it was limited as patrician tribunes retained preeminence over their plebeian colleagues. In 385 BC, the former consul and saviour of the besieged capital, Marcus Manlius Capitolinus ,
15732-507: The league's surrender. Rome decided to divide Macedonia into two new, directly administered Roman provinces, Achaea and Macedonia . For Carthage, the Third Punic War was a simple punitive mission after the neighbouring Numidians allied to Rome robbed and attacked Carthaginian merchants. Treaties had forbidden any war with Roman allies; viewing defence against banditry as "war action", Rome decided to annihilate Carthage. Carthage
15903-578: The legal powers may have been retained (after their later renewal in 38 BC) all the way until 27 BC when Octavian abdicated his magistracy. In desperate need of money, the three men issued a declaration which – according to Appian – declared Caesar's clementia to have been a failure; it was appended with a death list. Some three hundred senators and 2,000 equites were then killed; some victims escaped to Macedonia or Sicily (held by Brutus and Sextus Pompey , respectively) or were able to plead successfully for clemency. Still without sufficient funds,
16074-479: The main Punic base in Hispania. The next year, he defeated Hasdrubal at the Battle of Baecula . After his defeat, Carthage ordered Hasdrubal to reinforce his brother in Italy. Since he could not use ships, he followed the same route as his brother through the Alps, but the consuls M. Livius Salinator and C. Claudius Nero were awaiting him and defeated him in the Battle of the Metaurus , where Hasdrubal died. It
16245-477: The manifest will of the people, a position that was unprecedented and constitutionally dubious. His law was enacted and took effect, but, when Tiberius ostentatiously stood for reelection to the tribunate, he was murdered by his enemies. Tiberius's brother Gaius was elected tribune ten years later in 123 and reelected for 122. He induced the plebs to reinforce rights of appeal to the people against capital extrajudicial punishments and institute reforms to improve
16416-399: The monarchy did not succeed. The first Roman republican wars were wars of expansion . One by one, Rome defeated both the persistent Sabines and the local cities. Rome defeated its rival Latin cities in the Battle of Lake Regillus in 496 BC, the Battle of Ariccia in 495 BC, the Battle of Mount Algidus in 458 BC, and the Battle of Corbio in 446 BC. But it suffered
16587-493: The mortal wounding of consul Pansa. Hirtius and Octavian then launched an attack on Antony's camp, seeking to break the siege. Amid bloody fighting, Hirtius was killed, leaving the army and republic leaderless. Octavian saw action in the battle, recovered Hirtius' body, and managed to avoid defeat. Decimus Brutus also participated in the fighting with part of his forces locked up in the city. Command of Hirtius' legions then devolved to Caesar Octavian. Decimus Brutus, marginalized after
16758-472: The most important cities in the Roman Empire. Views on the structural causes of the Republic's collapse differ. One enduring thesis is that Rome's expansion destabilized its social organization between conflicting interests; the Senate's policymaking, blinded by its own short-term self-interest, alienated large portions of society, who then joined powerful generals who sought to overthrow the system. Two other theses have challenged this view. The first blames
16929-422: The nearby Apennine hill tribes. Beginning with their revolt against Tarquin, and continuing through the early years of the Republic, Rome's patrician aristocrats were the dominant force in politics and society. They initially formed a closed group of about 50 large families, called gentes , who monopolised Rome's magistracies, state priesthoods, and senior military posts. The most prominent of these families were
17100-406: The night of 22–23 April, the consul Vibius Pansa also died as a result of the wounds he had suffered at Forum Gallorum. In this case, too, the circumstances of his death remained obscure and rumours spread, according to Suetonius and Tacitus, that Pansa had been poisoned, with hints that the ambitious Octavian might be implicated. After the death of the two consuls, Caesar Octavian was left alone at
17271-571: The north. The Romans met the Gauls in pitched battle at the Battle of Allia River around 390–387 BC. The battle was fought at the confluence of the Tiber and Allia rivers, 11 Roman miles (10 mi or 16 km) north of Rome. The Romans were routed and subsequently Rome was sacked by the Senones . There is no destruction layer at Rome around this time, indicating that if a sack occurred, it
17442-473: The offices of praetor and curule aediles, both reserved to patricians. Lateranus became the first plebeian consul in 366 BC; Stolo followed in 361 BC. Soon after, plebeians were able to hold both the dictatorship and the censorship. The four-time consul Gaius Marcius Rutilus became the first plebeian dictator in 356 BC and censor in 351 BC. In 342 BC, the tribune of the plebs Lucius Genucius passed his leges Genuciae , which abolished interest on loans, in
17613-415: The old kingdom. The Romans swiftly defeated the Macedonians at the second battle of Pydna . The Achaean League , seeing the direction of Roman policy trending towards direct administration, met at Corinth and declared war "nominally against Sparta but in reality, against Rome". It was swiftly defeated: in 146, the same year as the destruction of Carthage , Corinth was besieged and destroyed , forcing
17784-485: The people's welfare. While ancient sources tend to "conceive Gracchus' legislation as an elaborate plot against the authority of the Senate... he showed no sign of wanting to replace the Senate in its normal functions". Amid wide-ranging and popular reforms to create grain subsidies, change jury pools, establish and require the Senate to assign provinces before elections, Gaius proposed a law that would grant citizenship rights to Rome's Italian allies. He stood for election to
17955-461: The plebs, resulting in a stalemate. In 367 BC, they carried a bill creating the Decemviri sacris faciundis , a college of ten priests, of whom five had to be plebeians, thereby breaking patricians' monopoly on priesthoods. The resolution of the crisis came from the dictator Camillus , who made a compromise with the tribunes: he agreed to their bills, and they in return consented to the creation of
18126-639: The popular assemblies to get a favourable vote by promising plunder to the voters. After the assembly ratified an alliance with the Mamertines, Caudex was dispatched to cross the strait and lend aid. Messina fell under Roman control quickly. Syracuse and Carthage, at war for centuries, responded with an alliance to counter the invasion and blockaded Messina, but Caudex defeated Hiero and Carthage separately. His successor, Manius Valerius Maximus , landed with an army of 40,000 men and conquered eastern Sicily, which prompted Hiero to shift his allegiance and forge
18297-462: The power balance between both Octavian and Sextus for his own advantage. Octavian now requested some support after these defeats. To preserve the balance of power, Antony prepared to move west and provide support. There also was a rebellion in Gaul, which Agrippa put down by the end of 38 BC. Agrippa, loyal to Octavian and in light of Octavian's inglorious defeat, tactfully went without a triumph. In
18468-413: The power of the Senate, which was by now protected from the influence of the consuls and became the central organ of government. In 312 BC, following this law, the patrician censor Appius Claudius Caecus appointed many more senators to fill the new limit of 300, including descendants of freedmen, which was deemed scandalous. Caecus also launched a vast construction program, building the first aqueduct ,
18639-401: The pressure on Decimus Brutus, whose besieged troops in Mutina were now short of supplies. The consul Hirtius and propraetor Octavian, confident after the victory of Forum Gallorum and reassured by the discipline of their Caesarian legions, were determined to force a new struggle to rescue Decimus Brutus and break the siege of Mutina. After trying unsuccessfully to force Antony into open battle,
18810-422: The pro-Antony governors in the two Gauls and in southern Italy stood by. Eventually, Perusia was captured: Octavian let Lucius Antonius and Fulvia go and spared Lucius' soldiers when Octavian's own soldiers interceded; Octavian, however, sacked the town, massacred its councillors, and had it burnt to the ground. After the death of one of the pro-Antony governors in Gaul in the summer of 40 BC, Octavian occupied
18981-463: The province to him in accordance with an illegal law he had passed earlier that year in June. Over some months, relations between Antony and the Senate in Rome broke down. The consuls for 43 BC – Aulus Hirtius and Gaius Vibius Pansa – were then dispatched north to relieve Decimus Brutus. Joining them was the private army of Caesar's adoptive heir, Octavian , whose command had been legitimised by
19152-412: The province. He also gained the support of the legions in southern Italy. Antony, concerned, hurried back to Italy from the east that same summer with substantial forces. As relations deteriorated between Antony and Octavian, Octavian moved to woo Sextus Pompey over to his side. As part of this, he married Scribonia , Sextus' sister-in-law, in the summer of 40 BC. At the same time, however, Sextus
19323-561: The quasi-mythological detailing of an aristocratic coup within Tarquin's own family or a consequence of an Etruscan occupation of Rome rather than a popular revolution. According to Rome's traditional histories, Tarquin made several attempts to retake the throne, including the Tarquinian conspiracy , which involved Brutus's own sons, the war with Veii and Tarquinii , and finally the war between Rome and Clusium . The attempts to restore
19494-508: The republic) for five years. This was confirmed by the lex Titia , proposed by a friendly tribune at their request. The law was modelled on the lex Valeria in 82 BC which established Sulla's dictatorship. They received power to issue legally binding edicts, were granted imperium maius which permitted them to overrule the ordinary provincial governors and to take credit for their victories, and to act sine provocatione (without right of appeal). They also received powers to call
19665-472: The republican system was an elective oligarchy , not a democracy ; a small number of powerful families largely monopolised the magistracies. Roman institutions underwent considerable changes throughout the Republic to adapt to the difficulties it faced, such as the creation of promagistracies to rule its conquered provinces , and differences in the composition of the senate. Unlike the Pax Romana of
19836-559: The request, and Rome sent an army of Romans and Greek allies, beginning the Second Macedonian War . In 197, the Romans decisively defeated Philip at the Battle of Cynoscephalae , and Philip was forced to give up his recent Greek conquests. The Romans declared the "Peace of the Greeks", believing that Philip's defeat now meant that Greece would be stable, and pulled out of Greece entirely. With Egypt and Macedonia weakened,
20007-415: The same retirement benefits as those of the triumvirs and his runaway slaves were granted freedom. The last concessions to Sextus' soldiers and slave forces were especially important for the triumvirs: with the soldiers and slaves' main grievances resolved, Sextus' military power was permanently neutered. After celebrations for this agreement, Antony departed for the east on 2 October 39 BC. While Antony
20178-602: The scope of civil violence. Mass slavery also contributed to three Servile Wars . Tensions at home coupled with ambitions abroad led to further civil wars . The first involved Marius and Sulla . After a generation, the Republic fell into civil war again in 49 BC between Julius Caesar and Pompey . Despite his victory and appointment as dictator for life , Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. Caesar's heir Octavian and lieutenant Mark Antony defeated Caesar's assassins in 42 BC, but they eventually split. Antony's defeat alongside his ally and lover Cleopatra at
20349-583: The sea. This plan was thwarted by Hannibal's bold move to Italy. In May 218, he crossed the Ebro with a large army of about 100,000 soldiers and 37 elephants. He passed in Gaul , crossed the Rhone , then the Alps , possibly through the Col de Clapier . This exploit cost him almost half of his troops, but he could now rely on the Boii and Insubres, still at war with Rome. Publius Scipio, who had failed to block Hannibal on
20520-464: The second made plebiscites binding on all citizens (including patricians), and the third required the Senate to give its prior approval to plebiscites before they became binding on all citizens. During the early Republic, consuls chose senators from among their supporters. Shortly before 312 BC, the lex Ovinia transferred this power to the censors, who could only remove senators for misconduct, thus appointing them for life. This law strongly increased
20691-506: The senate and directly appoint magistrates and provincial governors. The legal powers given, exceeding those of the ordinary consuls, were noted on the Capitoline Fasti , which list the triumvirs above the consuls. Octavian and Antony then prepared to wage war on the liberatores with forty total legions. They also divided the western Roman world: The triumvirs' powers were initially set to lapse on 31 December 38 BC, though
20862-418: The senate to honour Octavian's efforts and to support the existing governors of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul in retaining their provinces against Antony. The senate's forces, led by the two consuls and Octavian, put Antony to flight at the Battle of Mutina on 21 April 43 BC. After news of the victory, Cicero had the senate declare Antony a public enemy . But with both consuls dead, Octavian moved against
21033-534: The senate – both sides knew they were only using the other – and marched south to secure for himself the consulships opened by their deaths. After Octavian and his forces reached Rome on 19 August 43 BC, he secured for himself election to the consulship with his cousin Quintus Pedius . They moved quickly to enact legislation confirming Octavian's adoption as Caesar's heir and establishing courts to condemn Caesar's assassins in absentia . They also repealed
21204-443: The spring of 37 BC, Antony sailed for Italy with 300 ships. Denied entrance at Brundisium (the townsfolk suspected an invasion), he docked at Tarentum instead. Octavian travelled there to meet him. Negotiations dragged on until late July or early August. Antony apparently had to be persuaded by his wife Octavia to support Octavian against Sextus. They agreed to strip Sextus of his augurate and future consulship. Octavian would wait
21375-442: The spring of 38 BC. With the defence of the provinces largely complete, he prioritised reorganisations in the eastern provinces and client states. Among other boundary adjustments, he gave Cleopatra portions of eastern Cilicia and Cyprus with which to harvest timber to build a fleet. He also started to publicly identify with the god Dionysus . But before he moved further east he was drawn back to Brundisium by Octavian to discuss
21546-542: The summer of 39 BC: they confirmed him in Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and the Peloponnese for five years. They promised him the consulship in 33 BC on expiration of his commands and had him elected augur . In exchange, Sextus would guarantee free passage of Italian grain ships and suppress Mediterranean piracy; his supporters also would receive amnesty and compensation for seized properties; his soldiers received
21717-428: The surrender of Sextus Pompey's legions, he attempted to negotiate with Octavian to exchange Sicily and Africa for his old provinces of Narbonensis and Spain. Octavian, walking into Lepidus' camp almost unaccompanied, secured the loyalty of the soldiers; defeated, Lepidus was then stripped of membership in the triumvirate and his provincial commands. Kept in his property, life, and the title of pontifex maximus , Lepidus
21888-411: The thick of the fight, when the eagle-bearer of his legion was sorely wounded, he shouldered the eagle and carried it for some time." Octavian eventually managed to recover the consul's remains, but could not keep possession of the camps. In the end, his legions retreated from Antony's camp. At the culminating moment of the battle, Pontius Aquila was killed, and his troops, which had made a sortie out of
22059-471: The throne and showed a renewed interest in conquering Greece. With its Greek allies facing a major new threat, Rome declared war on Macedonia again, starting the Third Macedonian War . Perseus initially had some success against the Romans, but Rome responded by sending a stronger army which decisively defeated the Macedonians at the Battle of Pydna in 168. The Macedonians capitulated, ending
22230-503: The tribunes of the plebs Gaius Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus continued the plebeian agitation and pushed for an ambitious legislation, known as the Leges Liciniae Sextiae . The most important bill opened the consulship to plebeians. Other tribunes controlled by the patricians vetoed the bills, but Stolo and Lateranus retaliated by vetoing the elections for five years while being continuously reelected by
22401-410: The triumvirate in 36 BC. Relations between the two remaining triumvirs broke down in the late 30s BC before they fought a final war , from which Octavian emerged the victor. The name "Second Triumvirate" is a modern misnomer derived from the branding of the political alliance between Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar (created c. 59 BC ) as the "First" Triumvirate . This nomenclature
22572-476: The triumvirs seized eighteen rich Italian towns and redistributed them to their soldiers. The proscriptions claimed enemies and friends of the triumvirs. Cicero, whom Octavian had held in high esteem, was placed on the death lists along with his brother, nephew, and son; Cicero's activism against Antony in the Philippicae marked him for retribution. The triumvirs themselves traded friends and family to secure
22743-443: The triumvirs was of little practical relevance. Making a show of constitutionalism, the triumvirate was then renewed by law for another five years, to expire on the last day of 33 BC. Preparations for war continued apace. Agrippa, serving as consul in 37 BC, built a large harbour (the portus Julius ) to train and supply troops against Sextus in Sicily. In the east, Roman client Herod retook most of Judaea; even better for
22914-433: The two commanders manoeuvred with their troops and concentrated the legions in a field where the enemy camps were less strongly fortified due to the characteristics of the ground. On 21 April 43 BC, Hirtius and Octavian launched their attack, trying to force a passage for supply columns to the besieged city. Mark Antony initially sought to avoid a general battle and to respond to the challenge with only his cavalry, but when
23085-565: The two, started to break down in autumn 39 BC. That winter, the famine in Italy and pirate raids on grain ships continued. One of Sextus' admirals also defected to Octavian, giving Octavian back the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, along with three legions and sixty ships. Sextus, outraged, declared war. Two large naval battles were fought in the spring of 38 BC near Cumae and near Messana . Both resulted in victories for Sextus, but he did not exploit his advantage and allowed Octavian to retire to Campania . Antony likely sought to maintain
23256-686: The very night after the battle, he sent a message instructing Ventidius Bassus to march quickly through the Apennines and join him with his three legions. He then abandoned the siege on the morning of 22 April 43 BC, retiring with all his surviving forces. In a few days, marching west along the Via Aemilia, his legions reached first Parma and then Placentia without difficulty, for his opponents had remained in Mutina, leaving Antony to gain two days' advantage. Arriving at Tortona , Mark Antony decided to turn southwards and crossed his four legions over
23427-443: The war. Convinced now that the Greeks (and therefore the rest of the region) would not have peace if left alone, Rome decided to establish its first permanent foothold in the Greek world, and divided Macedonia into four client republics. Yet Macedonian agitation continued. The Fourth Macedonian War , 150 to 148 BC, was fought against a Macedonian pretender to the throne who was again destabilizing Greece by trying to reestablish
23598-544: The west as Sulla had. His position in Gaul gave him easy access to Italy, just as Caesar had before his civil war . Moreover, while Antony would be in the east, his trusted lieutenants controlled the Gallic provinces. This strategic position placed him firmly at the head of the triumvirate. Antony moved first against Parthia , which had aided the liberatores and was harbouring the Pompeian commander Quintus Labienus , (son of Titus Labienus who had served with Caesar during
23769-400: The western provinces and wage war on the liberatores led by the men who assassinated Julius Caesar . After proscriptions, purging the senatorial and equestrian orders, and a brutal civil war , the liberatores were defeated at the Battle of Philippi . After Philippi, Antony and Octavian took the east and west, respectively, with Lepidus confined to Africa . The last remaining opposition to
23940-404: The young man, despite his minor role in the battle, had been acclaimed imperator on the field by the troops, as had the two consuls Hirtius and Pansa. The Battle of Forum Gallorum appeared to decide the campaign in favour of the Senate's coalition. Mark Antony, after the losses he had suffered, had retreated with his surviving troops to his camp around Mutina and seemed determined to remain on
24111-503: Was soundly defeated by Catulus. Exhausted and unable to bring supplies to Sicily, Carthage sued for peace. Carthage had to pay 1,000 talents immediately and 2,200 over ten years and evacuate Sicily. The fine was so high that Carthage could not pay Hamilcar's mercenaries, who had been shipped back to Africa. They revolted during the Mercenary War , which Carthage suppressed with enormous difficulty. Meanwhile, Rome took advantage of
24282-431: Was abandoned after another similar catastrophe in 253 BC. These disasters prevented any significant campaign between 254 and 252 BC. Hostilities in Sicily resumed in 252 BC, with Rome's taking of Thermae. The next year, Carthage besieged Lucius Caecilius Metellus , who held Panormos (now Palermo). The consul had dug trenches to counter the elephants, which once hurt by missiles turned back on their own army, resulting in
24453-414: Was able to storm Cassius' camp around the same time. Believing the battle was lost, Cassius committed suicide. In the aftermath, Cassius' forces were amalgamated into Brutus' army. Three weeks later, on 23 October 42 BC, Brutus offered battle again, fearing desertions and possible cutting of his supply lines. In this second battle, the combined forces of Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus' army. Antony
24624-521: Was almost defenceless, and submitted when besieged. But the Romans demanded complete surrender and removal of the city into the desert hinterland, far from any coastal or harbour region; the Carthaginians refused. The city was besieged and completely destroyed . Rome acquired all of Carthage's North African and Iberian territories. The Romans rebuilt Carthage 100 years later as a Roman colony, by order of Julius Caesar. It flourished, becoming one of
24795-461: Was attempting to broker an agreement with Antony; receiving a positive response from Antony, he raided the Italian coast and took Sardinia from Octavian. Another ex-republican naval commander, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus , was also induced to join Antony's side. When Antony sailed to Brundisium, Octavian's garrison of five legions refused to admit him. It was then besieged. Octavian's lieutenant Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa arrived with reinforcements but
24966-474: Was captured and executed en route by a Gallic chief loyal to Mark Antony. The Battle of Mutina ended without a clear victor. Mark Antony, though in serious difficulty under the attacks of the superior enemy forces, had not been annihilated, and the two sides suffered nearly equal casualties. However, the very night of the battle, Antony summoned a war council and determined that further resistance would be useless, despite his lieutenants' exhortations that he renew
25137-410: Was caught and executed, though Antony erected some cover of plausible deniability for the actions. Octavian's troops, believing Octavian's propaganda about having brought to an end the civil wars and restoring peace, started to demand demobilisation. While some of the longest-serving were released, Octavian was keenly aware of his need to keep his men mobilised. To that end, he offered some donatives and
25308-479: Was condemned to be a minor power, while Rome recovered from a desperate situation to dominate the western Mediterranean. Rome's preoccupation with its war with Carthage provided an opportunity for Philip V of Macedonia , in the north of the Greek peninsula , to attempt to extend his power westward. He sent ambassadors to Hannibal's camp in Italy, to negotiate an alliance as common enemies of Rome. But Rome discovered
25479-460: Was even dispatched during the melee by Octavian himself in his eagerness to get rid of an uncomfortable political rival. The death of Pontius Aquila, a fierce opponent of the Caesarian faction, has also appeared suspect to some historians. By virtue of his position as propraetor, Caesar Octavian assumed command of Hirtius' legions. When the Senate ordered that the legions be handed over to Decimus Brutus, Octavian refused, assuming permanent command on
25650-837: Was eventually to march with his troops on Rome, forcing the Ciceronian faction in the Senate into submission or exile. Following a face-to-face meeting near Bononia in October, Mark Antony, Caesar Octavian, and Lepidus concluded a formal pact. This resulted in their legally becoming the Commission of Three for the Ordering of the State, more commonly known as the Second Triumvirate , through the Lex Titia promulgated in Rome on 27 November 43 BC. The three Caesarian leaders solemnly entered
25821-455: Was expelled from Rome in 509 BC because his son, Sextus Tarquinius , raped a noblewoman, Lucretia . The tradition asserted that the monarchy was abolished in a revolution led by the semi-mythical Lucius Junius Brutus and the king's powers were then transferred to two separate consuls elected to office for a term of one year; each was capable of checking his colleague by veto . Most modern scholarship describes these accounts as
25992-411: Was forced into exile and retirement. With the three reduced to two, Octavian started to prepare for a showdown against Antony. He furthered his attempts to link Antony with Cleopatra and drilled his troops in Illyricum near the dividing line of the provinces. Antony, however, was slow to respond and was focused on the far east against Armenia. In the interim, Sextus arrived in Antony's provinces, where he
26163-547: Was greatly celebrated by the people of Italy. Both dynasts celebrated ovations when entering Rome in October. But public opinion soured when they also announced new higher taxes amid further disruption of grain ships from Sextus' fleet. While in Rome, they also secured the senate's rubber stamp for a required dispensation for Octavia's marriage (she was not yet out of mourning for her previous husband) and for triumviral political and territorial settlements generally. The dynasts also negotiated peace with Sextus Pompey at Misenum in
26334-580: Was in Italy, his lieutenant Publius Ventidius scored major victories against the Parthian invasion of Asia Minor: he defeated Labienus' forces and presumably had him killed. He also won the Battle of Amanus Pass against Phranipates, the Parthian satrap of Syria, killing the satrap and forcing the Parthians to retreat beyond the Euphrates . All of these victories were won before the autumn of 39 BC. Antony wintered in Athens and returned eastward in
26505-416: Was initially a settlement reached between the perpetrators, who styled themselves liberatores , and remaining Caesarian supporters. This settlement included an amnesty for the tyrannicides, confirmation of Caesar's official actions, and abolition of the dictatorship . By late spring 44 BC, the provinces assigned by Caesar before his death – many to his later killers – were largely confirmed. Mark Antony
26676-471: Was joined by detachments from allied kings and a Roman governor. With sixteen legions and many auxiliaries, he drove south into Persia. Moving quickly without his siege engines, he arrived to Phraata, the Parthian capital, but then discovered that his slow-moving siege engines had been intercepted and destroyed. He was then abandoned by Artavasdes , the Armenian king; Antony, while successful in some defences,
26847-590: Was largely superficial. Second Samnite War Third Samnite War From 343 to 341 BC, Rome won two battles against its Samnite neighbours, but was unable to consolidate its gains, due to the outbreak of war with former Latin allies. In the Latin War (340–338 BC), Rome defeated a coalition of Latins at the battles of Vesuvius and the Trifanum . The Latins submitted to Roman rule. A Second Samnite War began in 327 BC. The war ended with Samnite defeat at
27018-462: Was largely the victor – Octavian apparently spent most of the first battle hiding in a marsh – and had forced the liberatores to battle and defeat twice. In the aftermath, Brutus committed suicide. In the aftermath of Philippi, Antony moved to reorganise the wealthy eastern provinces. His provinces and legions were also adduced: retaining Transalpine Gaul, he took Narbonensis from Lepidus, though he gave up Cisalpine Gaul to Italy. Octavian's assignment
27189-405: Was less easy: he would have the privilege of settling the veterans of Philippi in Italy and carrying on the war against Sextus Pompey in Sicily. Lepidus, however, not sharing in the glory, gave Spain to Octavian in return for Africa only. This new strategic position placed Antony at the head of an enormous advantage. His position in the east allowed him enormous resources with which he could overwhelm
27360-530: Was mobilized under the command of the great hero of the Second Punic War, Scipio Africanus , and set out for Greece, beginning the Roman–Seleucid War . After initial fighting that revealed serious Seleucid weaknesses, the Seleucids tried to turn the Roman strength against them at the Battle of Thermopylae , but were forced to evacuate Greece. The Romans pursued the Seleucids by crossing the Hellespont ,
27531-737: Was one of the consuls for 44 BC and on 2 June 44 BC, was able to push through illegal legislation assigning to himself the provinces of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul , displacing their existing governors. These governorships secured for Antony a political future where he would be able to intimidate the senate and Italy from across the river Rubicon . Antony also persuaded the senate to disarm Marcus Brutus and Cassius (the two leading tyrannicides) giving them grain supply assignments; both men viewed these assignments as insults, later compounded by their assignment to minor provinces after their praetorships. Relations between Antony and Caesar's legal heir, Octavian, also started to break down: Octavian
27702-531: Was primarily a cultural mix of Latin and Etruscan societies, as well as of Sabine, Oscan, and Greek cultural elements, which is especially visible in the Ancient Roman religion and its pantheon . Its political organization developed at around the same time as direct democracy in Ancient Greece , with collective and annual magistracies, overseen by a senate . There were annual elections, but
27873-439: Was successful in attracting some of Caesar's veterans from Antony's camp, undercutting Antony's military support. Antony also sought later in the year to isolate Cicero politically, as the eloquent ex-consul was prestigious and on friendly terms with large portions of the aristocracy. Octavian, starting a bidding war for extreme Caesarians, broke with Antony and formed for himself a private army. In December 44 BC, Cicero induced
28044-523: Was the era of classical Roman civilization beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire following the War of Actium . During this period, Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world . Roman society at the time
28215-438: Was the first Roman to receive a naval triumph, which also included captive Carthaginians for the first time. Although Carthage was victorious on land at Thermae in Sicily, the corvus gave a strong advantage to Rome on the waters. The consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio (Asina's brother) captured Corsica in 259 BC; his successors won the naval battles of Sulci in 258, Tyndaris in 257 BC, and Cape Ecnomus in 256. To hasten
28386-409: Was the landing in Sicily of Hamilcar Barca in 247 BC, who harassed the Romans with a mercenary army from a citadel he built on Mt. Eryx . Unable to take the Punic fortresses in Sicily, Rome tried to decide the war at sea and built a new navy, thanks to a forced borrowing from the rich. In 242 BC, 200 quinqueremes under consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus blockaded Drepana. The rescue fleet from Carthage
28557-480: Was the turning point of the war. The campaign of attrition had worked well: Hannibal's troops were now depleted; he only had one elephant left ( Surus ) and retreated to Bruttium , on the defensive. In Greece, Rome contained Philip V without devoting too many forces by allying with the Aetolian League , Sparta , and Pergamon , which also prevented Philip from aiding Hannibal. The war with Macedon resulted in
28728-497: Was turned back after some skirmishing. The troops on both sides, however, urged their leaders to come to terms. Octavian and Antony conducted negotiations through intermediaries (the envoys were Gaius Maecenas and Gaius Asinius Pollio , respectively). Negotiations for the treaty completed in September 40 BC: The treaty would be sealed by another marriage: Antony would wed Octavian's sister Octavia . The announcement of peace
28899-410: Was unable to effectively counter the swift Parthian cavalry. Abandoning the siege, he was forced into a difficult retreat with few supplies and harried by Parthian archers. Over 27 days, the army returned after a famous display of resilience and valour, to Armenia. Reaching an agreement with Artavasdes, Antony continued to retreat through the winter until he reached Cappadocia . In total, he lost around
29070-518: Was unknown during and before the Renaissance and was first attested in the late 17th century, coming into widespread use only in the following century. Recent books have started to avoid the traditional nomenclature of "First" and "Second" Triumvirates. The Oxford Classical Dictionary , for example, warns "'First' and 'Second Triumvirate' are modern and misleading terms". Following the assassination of Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC, there
29241-413: Was victorious off Mylae . Even so, Sextus' forces were stretched thin and Octavian was able to effect landings of 21 legions onto the island. A decisive naval battle ended the campaign, with Agrippa defeating Sextus near Naulochus on 3 September 36 BC. Sextus, able to muster only 17 ships, fled for Antony in the east. Lepidus, buoyed by victory, attempted to suborn Octavian's troops. After accepting
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