The Romans were much divided in their assessments of the Greeks. There were Graecophiles like Scipio Major, Scipio Minor, Aemilius Paullus, Titus Quinctius Flamininus. and much later, Hadrian. There were Graecophobes like Cato the Elder. Roman contact with the Greek world goes back much farther than the second century B.C. when Rome conquered Greece and […]
Social and Economic Factors Leading to the End of the Roman Republic
April 17, 2023 By Leave a Comment
The severe erosion of the small landholding class during the second century B,C. These small farmers were the bulwark of the Roman Republic. This led to a movement, led by Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus to redistribute public lands (ager publica) to the many landless who had been kicked off their land by wealthy people buying up […]
What Happened to the Roman Aristocracy?
April 9, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Cornelius, Aemilius, Fabius, Claudius, Julius, Junius, Sempronius, and Livius were all prominent Romen gens until the first century B.C. What happened to them and why did they fade from prominence in Rome? Beginning with the conflict between Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Rome experienced intermittent civil wars throughout the first seventy years of the […]
Quora Question: What Year Was the Rise of Rome?
December 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Rome didn’t rise in a day, nor in a year. The rise of Rome was a very long process. The Greek historian Polybius explored the rise of Rome in his Histories. In the preface he wrote: “For who is so indolent and so worthless as to not wish to know by what means and under […]
Why Did The Roman Republic Transition to a Monarchy?
November 16, 2019 By Leave a Comment
The Roman Republic was born in 509 B.C. when the Romans, under the leadership of Lucius Junius Brutus drove out the last King, Tarquin Superbus. The Republic was not very democratic, even though the leadership was elected. The aristocracy had far more say in affairs of state than the common people. It was, essentially, a […]
Book Review: Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden
July 1, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Conn Iggulden is a top notch novelist and The Gates of Rome is fast paced and absorbing. It is the story of young Julius Caesar, his arduous training for the rigors of the Roman soldiery and his early involvement in Roman politics at the side of his Uncle Marius. Maybe it’s just me, but I […]
Book Review: Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell
June 11, 2017 By 1 Comment
Taylor Caldwell was born in 1900 and was one of the 20th century’s most acclaimed novelists. She published forty books during her 50 year career. She was a favorite of my mother, but, although her books were certainly available in my high school library, I somehow never chanced to read any of them. When I […]
Book Review: Dictator by Robert Harris
July 22, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Anyone wanting an intensely vivid portrait of the history, politics and culture of the last years of the Roman Republic will want to read this book. Dictator is the third book of a series by Richard Harris based on the life of Marcus Tullius Cicero. The first book, Imperium, covers Cicero’s youth and his rise […]
Book Review: SPQR, A History of Ancient Rome, by Mary Beard.
January 25, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Mary Beard writes in a breezy, often anecdotal, style which makes her book both informative and entertaining. SPQR covers the history of ancient Rome from its founding by Romulus to the reign of Emperor Caracalla, who, in the year 202 A.D. granted Roman citizenship to the entire free male population of the empire. This is […]
“Don’t Know Much About History”-Art Garfunkle
February 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment
This was a line in a popular song in the late 1960s. Art Garfunkle was not alone. The fact is, huge numbers of Americans really don’t know much about history. When I was writing The Death of Carthage, people would ask me what the book was about and I would say “The Second and Third […]
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