Things to learn about Rome (Packet 7 of 12)

1. Etruscans

An ancient civilization centered around Tuscany in Northern Italy and one of the forerunners of Ancient Rome. As distinguished by its unique language, this civilization endured from 700 BCE until its assimilation into the Roman Republic in the late 4th century BCE. There is some debate as to whether this people group founded Rome or just had a heavy influence on Rome. In either case, many early cultural concepts in Rome stemmed from its association with this people.

2. Romulus and Remus

Twin brothers and main characters of Rome's foundation myth. Their mother was Rhea Silvia, daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa. Before their conception, Numitor's brother Amulius seized power, killed Numitor's male heirs and forced Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin, sworn to chastity. Rhea Silvia conceived the twins by the god Mars. Once the twins were born, Amulius had them abandoned to die in the Tiber river. They were saved by a series of miraculous interventions: the river carried them to safety, a she-wolf found and suckled them, and a woodpecker fed them. A shepherd and his wife found them and fostered them to manhood as simple shepherds. The twins, still ignorant of their true origins, proved to be natural leaders. Each acquired many followers. When they discovered the truth of their birth, they killed Amulius and restored Numitor to his throne. Rather than wait to inherit Alba Longa, they chose to found a new city. After quarreling over where to found the city, the brothers fought, and one was killed. The surviving brother put the city on the Palatine hill and named it after himself.

3. The Seven Hills of Rome

The heart of the ancient city of Rome. Originally, only the Palatine Hill was Rome, but the denizens of all seven began to participate in a series of religious games, which bonded the groups as one unit. They drained the marshy valleys in between them and used them as markets. The seven are – Palatine, Capitoline, Aventine, Caelian, Esquiline, Quirinal and Viminal. The main government buildings started to be housed on Capitoline, which is where the English word capitol came from. Rome’s city hall is still there, while Palatine is the main archaeological area of Rome and the other five are mostly populated with monuments, buildings and parks.

4. republic

A form of government also called a representative democracy. Basically, citizens elect representatives to make decisions for them and if the citizens do not like the decisions, they can choose to elect different representatives. Because of this broad definition, they can vary widely in their ideology and composition. The concept is often traced by to ancient Rome. The United States uses this form of government.

5. Roman Senate

A political institution in ancient Rome, originally with 100 members, but with varying numbers that increased all the way to 900 by the time of Julius Caesar. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city (traditionally founded in 753 BCE). It was a deliberative body rather than legislative, in that it didn’t propose laws. Despite its lack of actual law making power, it held considerable authority in Roman politics. As the representative figurehead of Rome, it was the official body that sent and received ambassadors on behalf of the city, appointed officials to manage and govern provinces, declared war and negotiated peace, and appropriated funds for various projects such as public building construction. It also held the authority to nominate a dictator (a single leader who acted with ultimate authority and without fear of reprisal) in a state of emergency, usually a military one. This last process was mimicked by George Lucas in his Star Wars prequels when he has Jar Jar Binks nominate Senator Palpatine to have special powers.

6. plebeians

A member of the general citizenry in ancient Rome as opposed to the privileged class. They were originally excluded from the Senate and from all public offices except that of military tribune. Until 287 BCE they waged a campaign (Conflict of the Orders) to gain more rights They organized themselves into a separate corporation and withdrew from the state on perhaps as many as five or more critical occasions to compel  concessions from the rich; such a withdrawal was termed a secessio. This gained them considerable power through the years.

7. patricians

The term originally referred to a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. Although the distinction was highly significant in the early republic, its relevance waned after the Struggle of the Orders (494 BC to 287 BC) and by the time of the Late Republic and Empire, membership of this group was only of nominal significance. It is still a term used to designate the rich, often with great derision.

8. consuls

The highest elected political office of the Roman Republic, and it was considered the highest level of the cursus honorum (the sequential order of public offices through which aspiring politicians sought to ascend). Each year, two were elected together by the Senate, to serve for a one-year term. The two alternated in holding imperium each month, and their imperium extended over Rome, Italy, and the provinces. However, after the establishment of the Empire, the consuls were merely a figurative representative of Rome’s republican heritage and held very little power and authority, with the Emperor acting as the supreme leader.

9. tribunes of the plebs

The first office of the Roman Republic that was open to plebeians, and the most important check on the power of the Roman Senate throughout the days of the Republic. They had the power to convene and preside over the Concilium Plebis, or people's assembly; to summon the senate; to propose legislation; and to intervene on behalf of plebeians in legal matters; but the most significant power of these tribunes was the power to veto the actions of the consuls and other magistrates, thus protecting the interests of the plebeians as a class.

10. Phoenicians

They came from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea; land that is present-day Lebanon, with capital at Tyre. Their homeland was arid and inhospitable for farming, so the they turned to the sea to become the greatest travelers and traders of their time. They invented the alphabet and taught several cultures their advanced system of writing. They built a trading post in North Africa they called Carthage,  choosing the location because it was located in the center of North Africa, a short distance away from Sicily and the Italian Peninsula. When the Assyrians and the Persians conquered their original homeland, Carthage became an independent state.

11. Carthage

An ancient Phoenician city-state of Northern Africa that became its own empire after the destruction of the Phoenician homeland. During the 7th to 3rd centuries BCE, its sphere of influence extended over much of the coast of North Africa as well as substantial parts of coastal Iberia and the islands of the western Mediterranean.  At the height of the city's prominence, it was a major hub of trade with trading stations extending throughout the region. For much of its history, it was on hostile terms with the Greeks in Sicily and the Roman Republic, leading to a series of armed conflicts known as the Greek-Punic Wars and Punic Wars (which were against Rome and more famous than their Greek counterparts). The city also had to deal with the potentially hostile Berbers, the indigenous inhabitants of the area where it was built. In 146 BCE, after the third and final Punic War, it was destroyed and then occupied by Roman forces. Nearly all of the other Phoenician city-states and its former dependencies subsequently fell into Roman hands.

12. Sicily

An island off the coast of Italy. If one pictures Italy as a boot, it is the island that boot appears to be kicking. with its natural resources and strategic position on ancient trading routes, aroused the intense interest of successive empires from Carthage to Athens to Rome. Consequently, the island was never far from centre-stage in regional politics and was very often a theatre of war throughout the Classical period. Invasions, tyrants, and battles did, though, eventually give way to centuries of relative peace and prosperity as a Roman province. Sicily's historical legacy today includes some of the most impressive and best-preserved ancient monuments in the Mediterranean, testimony to the island's rich cultural history. The most important ancient city on the island was Syracuse, the home of Archimedes.


13. First Punic War

In 264 B.C., Rome decided to intervene in a dispute on the western coast of the island of Sicily (then a Carthaginian province) involving an attack by soldiers from the city of Syracuse against the city of Messina. While Carthage supported Syracuse, Rome supported Messina, and the struggle soon exploded into a direct conflict between the two powers, with control of Sicily at stake. Over the course of nearly 20 years, Rome rebuilt its entire fleet in order to confront Carthage’s powerful navy, scoring its first sea victory at Mylae in 260 BCE. and a major victory in the Battle of Ecnomus in 256 BCE. Though its invasion of North Africa that same year ended in defeat, Rome refused to give up, and in 241 BCE., the Roman fleet was able to win a decisive victory against the Carthaginians at sea, breaking their legendary naval superiority. At the end of the war, Sicily became Rome’s first overseas province.

14. Hamilcar Barca

The greatest Carthagian general of the First Punic War. He distinguished himself in 247 BCE, when he took over the chief command in Sicily, which at this time was almost entirely in the hands of the Romans. Landing suddenly on the northwest of the island with a small mercenary force he seized a strong position on Mt. Ercte (Monte Pellegrino, near Palermo), and not only maintained himself against all attacks, but carried his raids as far as the coast of south Italy.  By a provision of the peace of 241 BCE his unbeaten force was allowed to depart from Sicily without any token of submission. He later took control of all of Carthage and conquered much territory in Spain, preparing for another attack on Rome, which he was not able to complete because of his death in battle in 229 BCE. He is also known for passing his deep hatred of Rome to his son Hannibal.

15. Second Punic War

This war was largely the result of the Carthaginian general Hannibal, whose father Hannibal Barca made him swear a blood oath against the Romans when he was a boy. After taking control of Carthage’s army in Spain, he took an Iberian city (Saguntum) under Roman protection, basically declaring this war. Hannibal and his troops–including as many as 90,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry and a number of elephants–march from Spain across the Alps and into Italy, where they scored a string of victories over Roman troops at Ticinus, Trebia and Trasimene. Hannibal’s daring invasion of Rome reached its height at Cannae in 216 B.C., where he used his superior cavalry to surround a Roman army twice the size of his own and inflict massive casualties. After this disastrous defeat, however, the Romans managed to rebound, and the Carthaginians lost hold in Italy as Rome won victories in Spain and North Africa under the rising young general Publius Cornelius Scipio (later known as Scipio Africanus). In 203 B.C., Hannibal’s forces were forced to abandon the struggle in Italy in order to defend North Africa, and the following year Scipio’s army routed the Carthaginians at Zama. At the end of the war, Carthage was forced to:

1) Pay a war indemnity of roughly 10,000 talents, representing close to two-thirds of their treasury.

2) Reduce their navy to 10 ships to fend of pirates.

3) Stop use of War Elephants

4) Disband the army and Carthage would need Roman permission to raise a new one.

16. Hannibal
General of the Carthaginian army, lived in the second and 3rd century B.C. He was born into a Carthaginian military family and made to swear hostility toward Rome. During the Second Punic War, he swept across southern Europe and through the Alps with his band of War Elephants, consistently defeating the Roman army, but never taking the city itself. Rome counterattacked and he was forced to return to Carthage where he was defeated. He worked for a time as a statesman before he was forced into exile by Rome. To avoid capture by the Romans, he eventually took his own life.

17. War Elephants

Trained and guided by humans for combat, their main use was to charge the enemy, breaking their ranks and instilling terror. They were first employed in India, the practice spreading out across south-east Asia and westwards into the Mediterranean. Their most famous use in the West was by the Greek general Pyrrhus of Epirus and in significant numbers by the armies of Carthage, including briefly by Hannibal. In the Mediterranean, improved tactics reduced the value of them in battle, while their availability in the wild also decreased. In the east, where supplies of animals were greater and the terrain ideal, it was the advent of the cannon that finally concluded the use of them in combat, thereafter restricting their use to engineering and labor roles.

18. The Alps
The highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km (750 miles) across eight alpine countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, and Switzerland. They form the Northern boundary of Italy, making the early Roman Empire very difficult to attack from the North. Part of Hannibal’s success during the Second Punic War stemmed from the complete lack of preparation from the Romans for an invasion of War Elephants marching down out of the mountains.

19. The Battle of Cannae
The largest battle of the Second Punic War, it took place in 216 BCE and represented one of the worst defeats in Roman history. The Carthaginians were led by Hannibal, while the Romans were led by the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. Hannibal employed a double-envelopment tactic, surrounded the Roman army, and destroyed it. Although a total disaster for the Romans, it resulted in their adopting of the Fabian strategy, in which battles are avoided in favor of a war of attrition. This eventually wore down Hannibal’s army, and the Carthaginians had to leave Italy.

20. Fabian strategy

A military strategy where pitched battles and frontal assaults are avoided in favor of wearing down an opponent through a war of attrition and indirection. While avoiding decisive battles, the side employing this strategy harasses its enemy through skirmishes to cause attrition, disrupt supply and affect morale. Employment of this strategy implies that the side adopting this strategy believes time is on its side, but it may also be adopted when no feasible alternative strategy can be devised.

21. The Battle of Zama

The final battle of the Second Punic War, it was fought near Carthage in modern-day Tunisia in 202 BCE. Scipio Africanus’s victory at the Battle of the Great Plains in 203 BC forced Hannibal to leave Italy and return to North Africa for the final showdown. Prior to the battle, the Numidian king Masinissa switched sides, and brought his considerable cavalry force to join the Romans. This, coupled with Scipio’s strategy of opening up his lines to allow Carthaginian elephants through without harming his troops, led to a complete Roman victory.

22. Scippio Africanus

Born in Rome in 236 BCE, he was a member of a patrician Roman family. His father, a Roman consul, was killed during the Second Punic War, after which he decided to reenter as a general. In 211 BCE, he was given the command of Rome's forces in Spain. Two years later, he took the city of Carthago Nova (New Carthage), the center of Carthaginian power in Spain. This gave him access to a new cache of weapons and supplies. At the Battle of Baecula in 208 BCE, Scipio defeated Hasdrubal (Hannibal's brother), who escaped to Italy with some of his troops. The next year, Scipio convinced the local population in Spain to forswear Carthage and pledge their allegiance to Rome. In 206 BCE, Scipio defeated the remaining Carthaginian forces in Spain, which placed Spain under Roman control. He was elected consul in 205 BCE He next planned to take his forces to Africa, but had to overcome opposition from the Roman Senate. Though his political enemies limited his troop numbers, he was able to raise additional troops and soon traveled from Sicily to North Africa. Hannibal was recalled from Italy in order to defend Carthage. In 202 BCE, he faced Hannibal at the Battle of Zama. During the conflict, the Romans sounded horns that panicked the Carthaginian elephants, causing them to reverse and trample many of Hannibal's troops. His forces were triumphant and the Carthaginians sued for peace, thus ending the Second Punic War.

23. Cato the Elder

Born Marcus Porcius Cato, he was a Roman senator and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write history in Latin.  He tried to preserve Rome's ancestral customs and combat "degenerate" Hellenistic influences. His epithet distinguishes him from his equally famous great-grandson, who opposed Julius Caesar. Perhaps he is best known today for his opposition to Carthage’s continued existence after the Second Punic War, ending a series of speeches with  "Carthago delenda est", or "Carthage must be destroyed".

24. Third Punic War
By far the most controversial of the three conflicts between Rome and Carthage, it was the result of efforts by Cato the Elder and other hawkish members of the Roman Senate to convince their colleagues that Carthage (even in its weakened state) was a continuing threat to Rome’s supremacy in the region. In 149 B.C., after Carthage technically broke its treaty with Rome by declaring war against the neighboring state of Numidia, the Romans sent an army to North Africa.. Carthage withstood the Roman siege for two years before a change of Roman command put the young general Scipio Aemilianus (later known as Scipio the Younger) in charge of the North Africa campaign in 147 BCE. After tightening the Roman positions around Carthage, Aemilianus launched a forceful attack on its harbor side in the spring of 146 BCE, pushing into the city and destroying house after house while pushing enemy troops towards their citadel. After seven days of horrific bloodshed, the Carthaginians surrendered, obliterating an ancient city that had survived for some 700 years. The surviving 50,000 citizens of Carthage were sold into slavery. Legendarily, the Romans then tilled the ground of Carthage with salt so that nothing else could grow there for 1000 years. There is no record of this in the ancient sources.

25. First Triumvirate
The Roman historian Titus Livy (59 BCE - 17 CE) described it as "a conspiracy against the state by its three leading citizens", and this was exactly what it was. The three conspirators were:

1) General Pompey, who had defeated the Cilician pirates, conquered the declining Seleucid Empire and subdued Judaea, but discovered that the Senate would not ratify his organization of the Near East;

2) Marcus Crassus, the richest men in Rome and the conqueror of Spartacus, but also a man whose senatorial career was not as brilliant as he would like;

3) Popular politician Julius Caesar, who had been elected consul for the year 59, but knew he would encounter a lot of opposition from conservative senators.

It was a private agreement. Its members did not have a positive agenda, but simply wanted to bypass the Senate, obstruct the normal political process, and help each other. The deal was cemented by intermarriage: Pompey married Caesar's daughter Julia (it appears to have been a happy marriage); Caesar married Calpurnia, whose father Piso was a close friend of Crassus. The deal gave something to every member. As consul Caesar saw to the swift ratification of Pompey's oriental acts; an agrarian law passed the Senate, distributing land among the urban poor and Pompey's soldiers; and Crassus received a financial agreement that was beneficial to his allies, the Roman knights.

26. Pompey the Great

A military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. His immense success as a general while still very young enabled him to advance directly to his first consulship without meeting the normal requirements for office. In 60 BCE he agreed to a partnership with Julius Caesar and Marcus Crassus that is often referred to as the First Triumvirate. He was married to Caesar’s daughter Julia, but she died young. After the death of Crassus, he fought with Caesar over control of the republic. He lost at the battle of Pharsalus and fled to Egypt, where he was killed upon arrival.

27. Marcus Crassus

Most known as the money behind the First Triumvirate, he was not known for his moral character. Amassing an enormous fortune during his life, Crassus is considered the wealthiest man in Roman history, and among the richest men in all history, if not the wealthiest. He also is responsible for putting down the Spartacus slave revolt and executing the revolutionaries. Crassus launched a military campaign against the Parthian Empire, Rome's long-time Eastern enemy. Crassus' campaign was a disastrous failure, resulting in his defeat and death at the Battle of Carrhae. A story later emerged that, after Crassus' death, the Parthians poured molten gold into his mouth as a symbol of his thirst for wealth. Some stories later claimed that this is how he was killed, but that is unlikely.

28. Spartacus

A Thracian gladiator who, along with the Gauls Crixus, Oenomaus, Castus and Gannicus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Through the years, the uprising has become symbolic of enslaved people’s struggle against oppression, but the actual uprising was not attempting to end slavery, nor were the leaders any less prone to atrocities than the Romans. Little is known of his life outside of the revolt. In the end, Marcus Crassus put down the revolt and had all of the participants crucified along the road back to Rome.

29. decimation

A form of military discipline used by senior commanders in the Roman Army to punish units or large groups guilty of capital offences, such as mutiny or desertion. The word decimation is derived from Latin meaning "removal of a tenth". Rather than lose the full strength of their army, in the case of a mutiny or desertion of a mass of people, the Roman general would execute a tenth of those involved drawn by random lot. Marcus Crassus used this practice to pull his army in line during his pursuit of Spartacus, who proved tricky to pin down at first.

30. Parthian Empire

It stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now central-eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran in the second and third centuries BCE. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and the Han Empire of China, became a center of trade and commerce. Its earliest enemies were the Seleucids in the west and the Scythians in the east. However, as it expanded westward, they came into conflict with the Kingdom of Armenia, and eventually the late Roman Republic. It competed with Rome to establish the kings of Armenia as their subordinate clients. The empire soundly defeated Marcus Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, and in 40–39 BC, its forces captured the whole of the Levant except Tyre from the Romans.

31. Battle of Carrhae

Fought in 53 BCE between the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire near the town of the same name. The Parthian Spahbod ("General") Surena the Iranian decisively defeated a numerically superior Roman invasion force under the command of Marcus Crassus. It is commonly seen as one of the earliest and most important battles between the Roman and Parthian empires and one of the most crushing defeats in Roman history. Crassus had been enticed by the prospect of military glory and riches and decided to invade Parthia without the official consent of the Senate. Rejecting an offer from the Armenian King Artavasdes II to allow Crassus to invade Parthia via Armenia, Crassus marched his army directly through the deserts of Mesopotamia. His army clashed with Surena's force near the namesake town, a small town in modern-day Turkey. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Surena's cavalry completely outmaneuvered the Roman heavy infantry, killing or capturing most of the Roman soldiers. Crassus himself was killed when truce negotiations turned violent.

32. Julius Caesar

A Roman statesman, general and notable author of Latin prose, who lived from 100-44 BCE. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. He first formed the First Triumvirate with Pompey the Great and Marcus Crassus to subvert the republic and give all three men more power. While he was conquering Gaul (which he wrote about in the History of the Gallic Wars), Crassus died in a fight with the Parthians. He eventually fought Pompey for complete control of the country, winning that control at the battle of Pharsalus as Pompey fled and then was assassinated in Egypt. As famously retold later by William Shakespeare, though, he fell victim to a plot led by Brutus and Cassius in which as many as 60 senators participated, eventually stabbing him 23 times and killing him on March 15, 44 BCE.

33. Gaul

a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age that was inhabited by Celtic tribes, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine.    It was conquered by Julius Caesar, finishing in 51 BCE, extending the Roman Empire westward all the way to England. Roman control of the area lasted for five centuries until the rise of the Franks (the ancestors of the modern French).

34. Battle At Alesia

In 52 BCE, Julius Caesar defeated the Celtic peoples of Gaul, establishing Roman rule of the lands beyond the Alps. The battle began when Caesar besieged Vercingetorix in the namesake town, shortly after the Roman defeat at Gergovia. The Romans built a wall to surround the city (a “circumvallation”) and a second wall around that (a “contravallation”) to protect themselves from the Gaulish relief army under Commius. When Commius launched a massive attack on the Romans, Caesar was able to defeat him and force the surrender of Vercingetorix. Although the Romans were outnumbered by as much as four to one, they proved victorious in what was the turning point of the Gallic Wars.

 35. Crossing the Rubicon

An idiom that means to pass a point of no return, and refers to Julius Caesar's army's crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BCE, which was considered an act of insurrection and treason, as the Senate, led by Pompey, had commanded him to disband his army before returning to Rome.. Julius Caesar uttered the famous phrase "alea iacta est"—the die is cast—as his army marched through the shallow river.

36. Veni Vidi Vici

Literally, it means "I came; I saw; I conquered" in Latin. It is a phrase popularly attributed to Julius Caesar, who supposedly used the phrase in a letter to the Roman Senate around 46 BCE after he had achieved a quick victory in his short war against Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela. The phrase is used to refer to a swift, conclusive victory.

37. Battle of Pharsalus

A decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War. On 9 August 48 BCE the title location in central Greece, Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the republic under the command of Pompey the Great. Pompey had the backing of a majority of the senators, and his army significantly outnumbered the veteran Caesarian legions. The two armies confronted each other over several months of uncertainty, Caesar being in a much weaker position than Pompey. The former found himself isolated in a hostile country with only 22,000 men and short of provisions, while on the other side of the river he was faced by Pompey with an army about twice as large in number. Pompey wanted to delay and use Fabian strategy, knowing the enemy would eventually surrender from hunger and exhaustion. Pressured by the senators present and by his officers, he reluctantly engaged in battle and suffered an overwhelming defeat, ultimately fleeing the camp and his men, disguised as an ordinary citizen.

38. Ptolemy XIII

One of the last rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt, he became pharaoh upon the death of his father by marrying his older sister Cleopatra VII (the famous one) and co-ruling with her. Within three years, he and his advisors tired of this arrangement, as she had become the face of Egypt and relegated him to an afterthought. Thus, the two became engaged in a civil war for Egypt. Pompey the Great, who had once restored his father to the throne, came to Egypt seeking his protection. He agreed until he realized that Julius Caesar intended to pursue Pompey to Egypt. So, he had Pompey killed as he reached the shore and gave his head to Caesar. Caesar, who preferred to kill his rivals himself, was more disgusted than impressed and actually sided with Cleopatra in the civil war, as well as having an affair with Cleopatra, and a child named Ceasarion with Cleopatra. The two sides fought, doing great damage to the Library of Alexandria in the process, and Cleopatra and Caesar won. He then tried to flee across the Nile with all his gold and drowned in the process.

39. Cleopatra VII

One of the most famous Egyptians of all-time, she was actually a Greek. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Macedonian Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies, throughout their dynasty, spoke Greek and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, she did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis. She first co-ruled with her father, Ptolemy XII, and then her younger brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV after his death, who she “married” to secure power. She later took complete power for herself, which prompted a Civil War with Ptolemy XIII and his advisors. With the assistance of Julius Caesar, who she took on as a lover as well, she defeated her brother. Eventually, after the death of Caesar in 44 BCE, a Roman civil war broke out between Caesar’s heir Octavian (later Augustus) and Marc Antony. She sided with Marc Antony in this war, and in many other ways as she had three children by him. Their armies lost to Octavian, though. Facing the prospect of being paraded through Rome as a war trophy, she used a poisonous snake called an asp to commit suicide in 30 BCE.

40. Great Library of Alexandria

One of the largest and most significant such structures of the ancient world. It was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the 3rd century BCE until the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE, with collections of works, lecture halls, meeting rooms, and gardens. It was part of a larger research institution called the Museum of Alexandria, where many of the most famous thinkers of the ancient world studied. It was created by Ptolemy I Soter, who was a Macedonian general and the successor of Alexander the Great. It is famous for having been burned down, resulting in the loss of many scrolls and books; its destruction has become a symbol for the loss of cultural knowledge. A few sources differ on who is responsible for the destruction and when it occurred. There is mythology regarding this main burning but the it may in truth have suffered several fires or other acts of destruction over many years. Possible occasions for the partial or complete destruction of it include a fire set by Julius Caesar in 48 BCE and an attack by Aurelian in the 270s CE. After the main library was fully destroyed, ancient scholars used a "daughter library" in a temple known as the Serapeum, located in another part of the city. According to Socrates of Constantinople, Coptic Pope Theophilus destroyed the Serapeum in 391 CE

41. Ides of March

A day on the Roman calendar that corresponds to March 15. It was marked by several religious observances and became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. The death of Caesar made the date a turning point in Roman history, as one of the events that marked the transition from the historical period known as the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire.

42. Brutus and Cassius

The two chief conspirators against Julius Caesar in the plot that eventually assassinated him on the Ides of March 44 BCE. Both men had been on Pompey the Great’s side in the civil war between Pompey and Caesar, though at the end of that conflict, Brutus was more willing to work with Caesar than Cassius, who withdrew from public life and began plotting. These reputations held true to form in Shakespeare’s representation of them in his play Julius Caesar, with Cassius being the more ardent conspirator against Caesar and Brutus been more reluctant. After their successful assassination of Caesar, the people turned on them and supported Caesar’s nephew Marc Antony. Eventually, an alliance of Antony and Octavian Caesar met the duos armies at the Battle of Phillipi in 42 BCE. In the first engagement of this battle, Brutus beat Octavian, but Cassius lost to Antony and committed suicide with the same dagged he used to kill Caesar. In the second engagement, the joined forces of Antony and Octavian ultimately defeated Brutus, who then fell on his own sword. In Dante’s Inferno, the two are depicted as two of the three people so sinful as to be chewed in one of the three mouths of Satan in the very center of Hell. The other is Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus of Nazareth.

43. Et tu, Brute?

The last words of Julius Caesar in the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, though he never said it in reality. It basically translates to, “You, too Brutus?” indicating Caesar’s shock that his close friend was involved in the plot. The quotation is widely used in English-speaking world to signify the utmost unexpected betrayal by a person, such as a friend.

44. Second Triumvirate
        
The name historians have given to the official political alliance of Octavian Caesar Augustus, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus, formed on 26 November 43 BCE with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which is viewed as marking the end of the Roman Republic. It existed for two five-year terms, covering the period 43 BCE to 33 BCE. Unlike the earlier first one, this was an official, legally established institution, whose overwhelming power in the Roman state was given full legal sanction. After the Battle of Phillipi, Lepidus was greatly marginalized and eventually removed from power by Octavian in 36 BCE, which led to the ultimate conflict between Antony and Octavian for control of Rome.

45. Augustus Caesar

The founder of the Roman Empire and the first emperor of Rome, he lived from 63 BCE to 14 CE, and ruled Rome from 27 BCE to 14 CE. Born Gaius Octavius or Octavian Caesar, he was adopted and named heir by his great uncle Julius Caesar. After Caesar’s death, he worked with Marc Antony and Marcus Lepidus as a Second Triumvirate and he and Antony led the campaign against Julius Caesar’s assassins Brutus and Cassius, resulting in the assassins’ defeat at the Battle of Phillipi in 42 BCE, though he had less to do with that than Antony. He removed Lepidus from power in 36 BCE and then went to war with Marc Antony and Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Thanks to his naval commander Marcus Agrippa he was able to defeat the pair finally at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE. He then pretended to restore the republic, but actually had supreme power still, declaring himself to be Principate or principal citizen. His reign started a two-hundred year of relative peace known as the Pax Romana. Upon his death at 75 in 14 CE, he was able to pass control of Rome to his adopted son Tiberius, thus indicating that Rome truly had become an empire.

46. Marc Antony

A Roman leader featured prominently in two plays by William Shakespeare – Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. He was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from an oligarchy into the autocratic Roman Empire. He supported Julius Caesar, and served as one of his generals during the conquest of Gaul and the Civil War. He was appointed administrator of Italy while Caesar eliminated political opponents in Greece, North Africa, and Spain. After Caesar's death in 44 BC, he joined forces with Marcus Lepidus, another of Caesar's generals, and Octavian, Caesar's nephew and adopted son, forming a three-man dictatorship known to historians as the Second Triumvirate. The Triumvirate defeated Caesar's murderers, Brutus and Cassius, at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BCE, and divided the government of the Republic between themselves. Eventually, the Triumvirate broke down, and allied with Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, who by then had given him three children, he went to war with Octavian for control of the country, ultimately losing at the naval battle of Actium in 31 BCE. When his loss became inevitable, he chose to fall on his own sword rather than be captured.

47. The Battle of Actium

A naval battle in 31 BCE where the fleet of Octavian defeated the combined forces of Cleopatra and Mark Antony near modern-day Preveza in the Ambracian Gulf of Greece. Marcus Agrippa commanded Octavian’s fleet, which consisted of small, nimble Liburnian ships. Antony’s fleet consisted of massive Quinqueremes, which were less mobile. Following his victory in the battle, Octavian titled himself Princepate, and later Augustus. To some, this battle signals the end of the Roman Republic.

48. Marcus Agrippa

A Roman statesman, general and architect. He was a close friend, son-in-law, and lieutenant to Octavian and was responsible for the construction of some of the most beautiful buildings in the history of Rome and for important military victories, most notably at the Battle of Actium against the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BCE. As a result of these victories Octavian became the first Roman Emperor, adopting the name of Augustus. He assisted Augustus in making Rome a city of marble and renovating aqueducts to give all Romans, from every social class, access to the highest quality public services. He was responsible for the creation of many baths, porticoes and gardens.

49. Tiberius

The second emperor of Rome, he ruled from 14-37 CE. One of the most important things about his rule is that it offered proof that an empire had indeed begun, because rule had now passed from Augustus to his son. In actuality he was not the true son of Augustus Caesar. In fact, his birth father had been opposed to the second Triumvirate. However, his mother divorced his father and married Augustus Caesar, making him the stepson of the Emperor. He then married Augustus’ daughter from a prior marriage Julia (his step-sister), making him both stepson and son-in-law to the emperor. Then when, Marcus Agrippa and both his sons died, who were Augustus’ first three choices to succeed Augustus, the emperor adopted him making him the emperor’s stepson, son-in-law and adopted son. The story is actually more complicated than that since Julia had been married to Agrippa before him and was the mother of both those sons. In fact, at the time Augustus commanded him to marry Julia, he was already married to Agrippa’s daughter from his marriage that preceded Julia. For her part, Julia continued to sleep around vigorously and plot her new husband’s death until Augustus had her arrested. In any case, he proved you could pass the title of emperor down your child. He passed the empire to his adopted grandson Caligula

50. Caligula

Born Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, his father Germanicus, a great military leader, was adopted by the emperor Tiberius. He picked up the name we known him by as a small child following his father in full military uniform. The name literally means “little boots”. He was the third son of Germanicus and Agrippina (daughter of Marcus Agrippa and Julia). However, after his father’s death, his mother started a long feud with the emperor Tiberius that would end with her and his eldest two brother’s arrest. His mother and eldest brother starved to death in prison and his other brother committed suicide. Despite all this, he became emperor in 37 CE on the death of Tiberius. Most reports indicate that he ruled well for the first six months of his reign before supposedly contracting a brain fever. After this sickness, he seems to have gone stark raving mad by all accounts. He started killing off all his relatives (except Claudius, who was seen as a laughingstock), declaring himself to be a god, building strange and unneeded constructions (such a bridge to the temple of Jupiter so they could converse), sleeping with his sisters and most famously putting his horse Incitatus in the Senate to mock the body. Many of these crazy antics, however, were reported by the writer Suetonius 80 years after his death and have questionable legitimacy. In any case, after three years of these antics, he was murdered by the Praetorian guard in 41 CE., who quickly moved to put Claudius in the emperor’s seat.

51. Claudius

Born with a slight limp and becoming partially deaf because of a illness at six, he was seen as a bit of a laughingstock by his family. That probably worked in his favor though, as his family included the Roman emperors Tiberius and Caligula, who spent a good deal of their time killing anyone related to them that could usurp their rule. Caligula, specifically did not see him as much of a threat, and yet, when the Praetorian guard killed Caligula, they turned the empire over to him in 41 CE. Despite his lack of experience, he proved to be an able and efficient administrator. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing many new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the Empire. During his reign the Empire began the conquest of Britain. Having a personal interest in law, he presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day. Later in life he married his niece Agrippina the Younger, the sister of Caligula (not to be confused with his mother Agrippina the Elder). He adopted her son Nero, which many believe led to his death, because they believe Agrippina poisoned him to get her son on the throne in 54 CE.

52. Nero
        
Generally considered to be the most evil of the Roman emperors, which is really saying something, he ruled from 54-68 CE. Among the many acts attributed to him are the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE, which many believed he started so he would have an excuse to build more buildings. He is oft depicted as fiddling while it burned, a way for artists to depict his complete disregard for his surroundings. He blamed the fire on the Christians, who were still just a hated cult in Rome at the time. In fact, many stories exist of him having captured Christians dipped in oil and set on fire to give him light in his garden at night. His mother was influential in getting him to the throne, marrying emperor Claudius, having him adopted, perhaps even poisoning Claudius. There are many accusations that he had an incestuous relationship with her as well, but no matter what happened, he eventually grew wary of her power and had her executed in 59 CE. He divorced his first wife Octavia, who was much beloved by the people, and had her exiled so he could marry his already pregnant mistress Poppaea Sabina, who had been married to a friend of his when he started the affair. The people complained of Octavia’s exile, so he brought her back and had her executed. When Poppaea died in childbirth with their second child, his enemies reported that he actually kicked her to death. He was known to give long public concerts of his horrid music that no one was allowed to leave unless they died. In short, he was an all around swell guy. He lost the throne in a rebellion in 68 CE and committed suicide before he could be executed.

53. The Five Good Emperors

The ancient Roman imperial succession of Nerva (reigned ad 96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), and Marcus Aurelius (161–180), who presided over the most majestic days of the Roman Empire. It was not a bloodline; Nerva was raised to the principate by the assassins of Domitian, and the others were successively adopted heirs, each only distantly related to his predecessor if at all. The period witnessed considerable expansion of the empire, from northern Britain to Dacia and to Arabia and Mesopotamia. The empire was consolidated, its defenses were perfected, and a tolerably uniform provincial system covered the whole area of the empire.

54. Nerva

Roman emperor from Sept. 18, 96, to January 98, the first of a succession of rulers traditionally known as the Five Good Emperors. A member of a distinguished senatorial family, he was distantly related by marriage to the Julio-Claudian house and had been twice consul (71 CE and 90) when, on the assassination of the emperor Domitian, he became emperor. A number of elder statesmen emerged from retirement to help him govern the empire. The keynote of his regime was a skillfully propagandized renunciation of the terrorist means by which Domitian had imposed his tyranny. He adopted his successor Trajan because he felt he would make a strong emperor.

55. Trajan

Roman emperor (98–117 CE) who sought to extend the boundaries of the empire to the east (notably in Dacia, Arabia, Armenia, and Mesopotamia), undertook a vast building program, and enlarged social welfare. He was the chosen successor of Nerva and the second of the “five good emperors”. He was much beloved by the Roman people because he expanded their territory more than any other emperor. He was not merely a military leader. He also accomplished a great deal for the citizens of Rome. In what can be considered a form of social policy, he started a program to provide financial aid for parents who couldn't support their children. He was known for his building projects that included bridges, roads, and aqueducts. He ordered the construction of a new forum in Rome, named after him, the ruins of which are still a major tourist attraction, and the column named for him still stands. A statue of him originally stood atop the column, but it disappeared in the Middle Ages, and now a statue of St. Peter, placed there by Pope Sixtus V in 1587, sits in its place. He adopted Hadrian to handpick the next ruler of Rome.

56. The Forum of Trajan

he last and largest of the Imperial Forums that formed the political and governmental center of the Roman Empire. The complex consisted of an enormous basilica, two libraries, markets and a large temple. The complex was created by Apollodorus of Damascus, the most famous architect of the era. The complex was created between 107 and 113 CE and required the leveling of a forty meter high hill. Several streets and many buildings, some of which were quite significant, had to make way for the ambitious project. It was easily the grandest of all the forums, measuring 300 meters long and 185 meters wide.

57. Hadrian

An emperor of the Roman Empire from the years 117-138. He was a powerful ruler committed to strengthening the Empire. He oversaw several important building projects, including the Temple of Venus and Roma and a namesake wall in Britain. He had a good mind for military strategy, but had not actually fought much and didn't care for war. He abandoned the conquest to include Mesopotamia in the Empire, which Trajan had started, and averted rebellion in Iran with peace negotiations. He also kept the army intact, well-supplied and well-trained. He actually increased soldiers' training, personally inspected them and even ate and slept amongst the soldiers. His policy was to maintain peace through strength. In this attitude, he built a series of fortifications and walls all around the Empire along strategic areas like the Danube and Rhine rivers. The most famous of these is his namesake wall, an 80-mile wall that spans the entire latitudinal width of Britain from sea to sea. The Roman army had been fighting the Celtic people of Britain for some time, and the wall served to keep the Celts north of Roman territory. Personally, he was an intellectual man who loved the arts and architecture and cared deeply for his people. He was obsessed with Ancient Greek culture and had many statues carved of him wearing Greek clothing. He commissioned lots of art for Roman public spaces and sponsored many building projects, including aqueducts for fresh water, bath houses, amphitheaters and temples. His most famous building project was the rebuilt Pantheon, which was the first modern dome.

58. The Pantheon

The most preserved and influential building of ancient Rome. It is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome, which included the emperors. As the brick stamps on the side of the building reveal it was built and dedicated between 118 and 125 CE. The emperor Hadrian (117-138 CE) built it to replace Augustus’ friend and Commander Marcus Agrippa’s same building of 27 BCE which burnt to the ground in 80 CE. When approaching the front of it, one can see the inscription above still reads in Latin the original dedication by Marcus Agrippa. The pediment,(the triangle section above the inscription) is blank today, but there would have been sculpture that acted out the battle of the Titans. Great bronze doors guard the entrance to the cella and would have been covered in gold, but it has long since disappeared. Its original use is somewhat unknown, except that is was classified as a temple. However, it is unknown as to how the people worshipped in the building, because the structure of the temple is so different from other traditional Roman temples such as in the Roman Forum. It exists today in such amazing form because the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave it to Pope Boniface the IV in 608 and it was used as a church ever since. It has been in use since the time it was built.  The structure is comprised of a series of intersecting arches. The arches rest on eight piers which support eight round-headed arches which run through the drum from its inner to its outer face. The arches correspond to the eight bays on the floor level that house statues. The dome itself is supported by a series of arches that run horizontally round. Romans had perfected the use of arches which helped sustain the weight of their magnanimous buildings. It was probably constructed by using an elaborate setup of wooden scaffolding, which in itself would have been costly. The detail of this building is extraordinary. If the dome of the rotundra were flipped upside down it would fit perfectly inside the rotunda. When approaching it from the outside it appears rectangular in shape. But it is only the first small room (cella) that has corners. The rotunda is completely round. The small entry room would have been entered by climbing a staircase that is now entirely under modern ground level.

59. Antoninus Pius

Roman emperor from 138 to 161 CE. Mild-mannered and capable, he was the fourth of the “five good emperors” who guided the empire through an 84-year period (96–180) of internal peace and prosperity. His family originated in Gaul, and his father and grandfathers had all been consuls. After serving as consul in 120, he was assigned by the emperor Hadrian (ruled 117–138) to assist with judicial administration in Italy. He governed the province of Asia (c. 134) and then became an adviser to the Emperor. In 138 he was adopted by Hadrian and designated as his successor. He persuaded a reluctant Senate to offer the customary divine honors to Hadrian. For this, and possibly other such dutiful acts, he was given the surname Pius by the Senate. When his wife, Faustina, died in late 140 or early 141 he founded in her memory the Puellae Faustinianae, a charitable institution for the daughters of the poor

60. Marcus Aurelius

Roman emperor (161–180 CE), best known for his Meditations on Stoic philosophy. He has symbolized for many generations in the West the Golden Age of the Roman Empire. He was born on April 26, 121, in Italy, and was chosen by Hadrian to be his eventual successor. In 161, he took control of the Roman Empire along with his brother Verus. War and disease threatened Rome on all sides. He held his territory, but was weakened as a ruler after the death of his brother Verus. His son Commodus later became co-ruler in 177, only three years before he died on March 17, 180. Instead of adopting the best ruler as his next ruler, Commodus took over on his death, breaking the string of five good emperors. The theory that he would have chosen a successor and Commdous stepped in and banished or killed that successor is the loose basis for the movie Gladiator, and he is a character in the first scenes of that movie.

61. Commodus

The tenth of the fourteen children of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina the Younger, and the only son of the royal couple to survive childhood. From an early age he was groomed to succeed his father to the throne. Already at the age of five, in the year 166 CE , he was made Caesar (junior emperor). And in AD 177, after the revolt of Cassius, Marcus Aurelius made him Augustus and thereby joint emperor. He took full control after his father’s death in 180 CE. He was a handsome man, with curly blonde hair, but he appeared to possess a weak character and was easily influenced by others. Also, he was prone to cruelty and excessive behavior. He spent much of his early reign letting others rule for him, and much of his later reign pretending to be Hercules. He appeared in public wearing a cloak made out of the hide of a lion over his head (a reference to the Nemean Lion of Hercules’s Twelve Labors). The Senate was even made to declare him a living god. He discarded his family name and issued orders that he was to be called not Commodus, son of Marcus, but Hercules, son of Zeus. Abandoning the Roman and imperial mode of dress, he donned the lion skin, and carried the club of Hercules. Next, he renamed the twelve months all after himself, and after a fire in 191 CE destroyed much of the city, he seized the opportunity to completely rebuild Rome, which he renamed after himself. He even took part in gladiatorial contests, fighting against the physically handicapped and an array of beasts from a raised platform which included a tiger, an elephant and even a hippo. Eventually, his mistress and his the head of the Praetorian guard arranged to have him strangled in his bath in 193 CE.
    
62. Diocletian

Roman emperor (284–305 CE), who restored efficient government to the empire after the near anarchy of the 3rd century. His reorganization of the fiscal, administrative, and military machinery of the empire laid the foundation for the Byzantine Empire in the East and temporarily shored up the decaying empire in the West. His reign is also noted for the last great persecution of the Christians. He concentrated on three issues:  defense, creating a more efficient government, and protecting the emperor against revolts and assassination. In large part, he had to do this with the help of foreign forces, mostly of Germanic peoples, who he paid to shore up his armies. Many believe this led indirectly to the preservation of Roman culture in Western Europe centuries later when Rome collapsed in 476 CE, because the Germanic people felt some tie to this culture.

63. The Colosseum

Originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater, it is an oval amphitheater in the center of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of concrete and sand, it is the largest amphitheater ever built and is considered one of the greatest works of architecture and engineering ever. It could hold between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators,  having an average audience of some 65,000. It was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. One of the most popular style of executions pit captured Christians against lions. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine. Although partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, it is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome.

64. Circus Maximus

An ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue located in Rome, Italy. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire. It measured 621 m (2,037 ft) in length and 118 m (387 ft) in width and could accommodate over 150,000 spectators. In its fully developed form, it became the model for circuses throughout the Roman Empire. The site is now a public park.

65. aqueducts

Constructed by the Romans in order to bring water from distant sources into their cities and towns, supplying public baths, latrines, fountains and private households. Waste water was removed by complex sewage systems and released into nearby bodies of water, keeping the towns clean and free from effluent. They also provided water for mining operations, milling, farms and gardens. They moved water through gravity alone, being constructed along a slight downward gradient within conduits of stone, brick or concrete. Most were buried beneath the ground, and followed its contours; obstructing peaks were circumvented or, less often, tunneled through. Where valleys or lowlands intervened, the conduit was carried on bridgework, or its contents fed into high-pressure lead, ceramic or stone pipes and siphoned across. The availability of clean water in the Roman empire has been argued to be one of the biggest reasons for the success of the empire as a whole.

66. Roman arch

A curved support in architecture that many have argued is the single greatest invention in the history of architecture. They enabled the ancient Romans to rear vast edifices with the humblest materials, to build bridges, aqueducts, sewers, amphitheaters, as well as temples and palaces. Later civilizations adapted this invention, and it is an essential element in the magnificent Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages. Its application extends to domes and cupolas, to floors and corridors and roofs.

67. Roman baths

Large complex structures,that were an integral part of daily life in ancient Rome, giving citizens of all classes the chance to mingle, gossip and relax. They were viewed as fundamental to Roman civilization. When there, Romans would visit the different rooms in a specific order. They would start at the Apodyterium, or dressing room, where they would leave their clothing. They would then visit the Palaestra, or Gymnasium, where they could exercise and where they would have their body oiled. Next up was the Frigidarium, or cold room, which contained a cold plunge in water, before they visited the Tepidarium, or warm room, to recover. The final room was the Caldarium, a steamy hot room which might also have a hot plunge in water. After all this, the oil would be scraped off their skin by a servant They would then visit the same rooms in the opposite order, ending up at the Apodyterium where, the afternoon’s activities over, they would get dressed and head home, before visiting again with their fellow Romans the following day.

68. Vesuvius

A volcano best known for its eruption in 79 CE that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and several other settlements. That eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ash and fumes to a height of 33 km (20.5 mi), spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing. An estimated 16,000 people died due to hydrothermal pyroclastic flows. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus.

69. Pompeii and Herculaneum

Two towns engulfed in volcanic ash and pumice during the eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius is 79 CE. Because they were so perfectly and suddenly covered with no air or moisture, their rediscover in 1599 and excavation in 1748 by Spanish engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre gave a unique glimpse into the society of the time., smack in the middle of the Pax Romana.

70. Pliny the Younger

A lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome, most known for his hundreds of letters addressing everyone for the historian Tacitus to emperors such as Trajan. What he is most known for, however, is his detailed description of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE, an event that would engulf the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and kill his father.

71. House of Vettii

One of the most famous and luxurious residences to be uncovered in the rubble of Pompeii. Its careful excavation[2] has preserved almost all of the wall frescos, which were completed following the earthquake of 62 AD, in the manner art historians term the "Pompeiian Fourth Style."

72. Augustus of Prima Porta

A 2.03 meter high marble statue of Augustus Caesar which was discovered on April 20, 1863 in the Villa of Livia in its namesake location, near Rome. Augustus Caesar's wife Livia Drusilla, now known as Julia Augusta, retired to the villa after his death. The sculpture is now displayed in the Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican Museums. In order to support the statue, there is a mini sculpture of Cupid reaching for Augustus, causing many of first glance to wonder why Augustus attached a baby to his leg.