Questions tagged [roman-republic]
Questions about the period of ancient Roman civilization when the government operated as a republic from 509 BC to 27 BC.
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How did the civil calendar evolve?
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When did the lunar-inspired subdivisions of months - the kalends, nones, and ides - and the system of counting down to them, fall into disuse, to be replaced with the modern system of ...
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1answer
136 views
What date format was used at Pompeii around the Mt Vesuvius eruption
I saw a recent television commercial with a modern person at the Mt Vesuvius eruption asking a Pompeii resident the year. The resident answers with 79 AD. But I thought the zero point for the BC/AD ...
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115 views
What ancient sources discuss the importance of the Sacred fire of Vesta and why it needed to stay alight?
Dionysius of Halicarnassus in Roman Antiquites touches on, in brief, that the entiguishing of the flame was an omen for the destruction of the city.
There are many indications, it seems, when a ...
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82 views
How were Patrician families determined during the Roman Kingdom/Republic?
I'm looking for some clarification on how patrician families were determined considering their outsized influence on Roman history. I read some sources state that a patrician family is a family that ...
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358 views
Was the Social War the only war fought to integrate into an empire?
The question is based on this line from the book "Cataclysm 90BC" by Matyszak. He says ,
" this book is a study of some very odd events, of nations so
desperate to give up their ...
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1answer
235 views
Did Post-Marian Republic or Imperial Legion cohorts have specific skill levels?
Here and here and numerous other places I've looked online state that Roman Legions divided their infantry into cohorts based on skill, and that all legions had their cohorts identically manned. The ...
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1answer
344 views
How deep would a Roman Marian cohort's battle line be, in a melee?
Are there any estimates for how deep a Roman battle line was, under Marius, at the level of a cohort? Whether the line was 3, 6, or another number of ranks deep?
I'd suppose 3 would be a minimum, and ...
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115 views
What's known about Tullia's son?
Tullia was the daughter of the great Roman politician Cicero. She had a few marriages and according to English Wikipedia she had two sons, the first one of which died the same year it was born. Tullia ...
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Can the Notitia Dignitatum help identify colors for Late Republic/Early Imperial Roman Shields?
Traditionally Hollywood has showed us red shields for the Legions, but of course Hollywood only pays historical fact-checkers to say they have one, not to do what the fact-checkers say! The actual ...
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1answer
2k views
How many times did the the sacred fire of Vesta die?
The sacred fire of Vesta was a sacred eternal flame in Ancient Rome, tended to by the Vestal Virgins. Except once a year for the kalendae (first day of March), extinguishing the sacred fire resulted ...
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Did Hannibal join Antiochus in order to get back at Rome, or was he merely escaping his political enemies in Carthage? [closed]
According to Livy's history of early Rome (Book 33), Hannibal was forced to flee Carthage in 195 BC after his disgruntled political enemies among the Punic aristocracy sent word to Rome accusing him ...
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Why did Spartacus turn South at Mutina instead of continuing North towards Thrace?
During the Roman Republic's Third Servile War (73–71 BC), a gladiator named Spartacus lead an army of escaped slaves in revolt against Rome. Spartacus was a Thracian from an area in Eastern and ...
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2answers
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Are there depictions of horsemen in Roman Republic other than on the coins?
I wonder if there are depictions of horsemen who sit on the horses, with the horses that have two fore (front) hooves up in the air other than on the coins made in the time when Rome was a republic.
...
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How did the Druids learn the Greek language by the time of Caesar's campaign in Gaul?
In Latin class, we are translating parts of Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War. One thing that struck me as odd is how Caesar describes the customs of the Gauls, especially in Book 6, where he ...
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1answer
361 views
How did the Romans salute the Republic?
Are there any known phrases that were used by Romans to celebrate or cheer for the Republic?
I've searched for some phrases I came up with, like Ave Res Publica, and some other derivatives I've ...
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2answers
251 views
How many Romans would use an average-sized balneum every day?
How many Romans would use an average-sized balneum every day, if the people coming to the balneum only went to that balneum once a day?
I have already tried researching about this question using ...
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1answer
180 views
Can someone clarify Livy's argument in Book 21, Chapter 19 of Ab Urbe Condita Libri?
Can someone clarify the following passage from Book 21, Chapter 19 of Livy's Ab Urbe Condita Libri? [This is the translation of Rev Canon Roberts, taken from the Perseus website]
This ...
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1answer
129 views
Did Roman citizens vote in more than one legislative assembly?
During the Roman Republic, did Roman citizens vote in more than one legislative assembly (namely the Curiate, Centuriate, Tribal Assemblies, and the Plebeian Council)?
For example, was a plebeian ...
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0answers
95 views
Is Zonaras' epitome of Cassius Dio the fullest surviving ancient annalistic account of Roman history for the period 292–265 BC?
Is the Byzantine historian Zonaras' epitome of Cassius Dio's Roman History (as presented alongside Dio's fragments in the Loeb edition of the Roman History) our fullest surviving ancient annalistic ...
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2answers
759 views
What is the chair depicted in Cesare Maccari's 1889 painting “Cicerone denuncia Catilina”?
There are a number of inaccuracies in Cesare Maccari's painting. Wikipedia notes that the arrangement of the chairs was of parallel rather than radial as depicted. Did Maccari accurately depict the ...
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145 views
What is the latest case of employment of Cretan archers in Antiquity?
It is known that Cretan archers were widely used (presumably as mercenaries) across Mediterranean by Greek armies and were occasionally included in Roman armies of Republic and of Imperial period. I ...
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513 views
Are there any ancient sources clearly testifying a frozen Tiber river in the year 398, 396, 271, and 177 BCE?
Multiple sources, ranging from Wikipedia to journal articles over the years (such as this one), record a series of severe winters which caused the Tiber river to be frozen in the above-listed years. ...
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2answers
389 views
Why was Scipio the Younger accused of wishing to abolish Tiberius Gracchus laws?
In the Wikipedia page of Gaius Gracchus you can find this paragraph, which I find particularly confusing:
When Scipio the Younger agreed to represent the Italian allies, who were protesting the ...
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2answers
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Why Marcus Aurelius did not restore the Roman Republic? [closed]
I'm wondering why Marcus Aurelius, who could be considered as one of the most wise emperors of Roman Empire, did not restore Roman Republic constitutions? I read somewhere that the functionality of ...
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1answer
251 views
How common were private bathing facilities in Late Republican Rome?
For example, there are small private bathtubs in Pompeii, but this is about 150 years later and in a period that practices were changing, as more people became wealthy enough to have such things.
My ...
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1answer
186 views
What cult images are likely to be found in a Second Punic war era Roman field camp?
Were cult images (e.g. statues of gods) carried by a Roman army (or its commander) around 200 BC? If so, which gods? And were would they be kept while in camp? (I am not referring to items individual ...
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2answers
630 views
What was the legal process of raising a legion in late Republican Rome?
I've read some about both the Roman army and the Late Republican period, but realized that, while I understand well enough how legions worked in the field, I have only a very incomplete idea of who ...
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1answer
348 views
Was every Roman citizen part of a curia?
In a book by German historian Klaus Bringmann, I read that during the regal period, the whole population was divided into three tribes.
He furthermore states that each tribe was divided into 10 curiae ...
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2answers
937 views
Why didn't Caesar hire free men to do slave work?
So one of Caesar's significant policies in Roman politics was helping the peasants have land and work to make a living. Wonder why didn't he push laws that restricted the use of slaves and made those ...
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1answer
1k views
How did Carthage Lose the First Punic War to Rome?
(264 to 241 BC) Carthage seemed to have many significant strategic advantages at the beginning of the conflict.
Carthage Generals were both experienced and accomplished.
Carthage had a larger and ...
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1answer
397 views
How did early Rome mobilize?
I have read that before the reforms of Marius, Rome produced her armies by conscripting them from the citizens by drawing of lot, with every recruit owning his own equipment. My questions are about ...
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1answer
112 views
Were debts owed or outstanding debts factored into the Roman census?
In the Roman Republic were debts and loans taken into account by the Censors when calculating the worth of a citizen's property? If yes, how were these checked?
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1answer
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What did ancient Romans wear when sleeping?
What type of clothes did ancient Roman citizens wear at bedtime? Did they wear anything at all?
I would like to focus on the late republican period, around 50-27BC.
As a bonus, I would love to make ...
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1answer
162 views
Punishment for deserting lictors
Assume the following scenario:
In the late days of the Roman Republic a consul is assaulted on the streets of the city by an angry mob, abetted by his political enemies. His lictors run away, leaving ...
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1answer
256 views
Did the Romans hold the Isle of Wight and surrounding areas before the invasion in 43 AD?
In this video it shows the Isle of Wight and the area around it including Southampton and Portsmouth being under Roman control beginning during Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain. However my brief ...
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2answers
530 views
What Roman institutions were obsolete by the end of the Republic?
Background: Recently I've been reading about the Roman Republic, specifically about its last century of civil war and disorder, and I've noticed that some historians say that the Republic fell because ...
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2answers
829 views
Sourced List of Ancient Roman Values
I need a listing of some of the most influential ancient Roman virtues for a book I'm writing. There is a great list, just what I need, here on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue#...
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1answer
594 views
Did Romans piss into aqueducts as a joke?
Are there any historical references to this being done? Either for fun, as revenge of some kind or for any other reason?
If this was common practice; did anyone try to prevent it from happening or ...
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1answer
296 views
Who were some Greek Plebeian Gentes, especially from Magna Graecia?
I'm looking for foreign influences on the Plebeians. Who are some Plebeian Gentes that were Greek, perhaps from Magna Graecia or Sicily? I vaguely recall reading about one from Campania, who came in ...
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1answer
1k views
How were political factions in the late Roman republic different from political parties today?
I've read that in the 1st century BCE, Rome came to be dominated by a dispute between two political factions: the Optimates, representing the traditionalist patrician families, who wanted to lock down ...
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2answers
494 views
What happened to Caesar's hostages in Gaul?
I am reading Caesar's Gallic wars, and there is a repetitive pattern to much of it.
Caesar shows up
The natives either sue for peace and surrender their weapons and give hostages, or
The natives ...
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0answers
189 views
A comparison between the reforms of Athens and Rome
Question: What made it possible that, during the times of Solon, Athens underwent reforms characterized by isonomia, — that is, equality among citizens, — whereas their approximately contemporary ...
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2answers
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Was Marc Antony with Julius Caesar when he crossed the Rubicon?
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I had always been told that he was, and Plutarch's Life of Antony certainly seems to imply as much. But I just read a passage in Adrian Goldsworthy's book, Caesar's Civil War 49-44 BC, ...
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1answer
320 views
What Roman Republican legal structures lasted into the Empire and which ones didn't?
I've been reading about Roman political system in the late Roman Republic directly prior to Caesar being declared dictator. A question occurred to me which I cannot seem to find an answer to.
What ...
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2answers
779 views
What were the incentives for joining the Roman army before the Marian reforms?
Before the Marian reforms, soldiers had to supply their own equipment. This did not exactly inspire anyone to form a professional standing army, especially since most were peasants who had to return ...
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1answer
927 views
Why didn't the Romans set up breeding mechanisms as a main source to supplement their population of slaves instead of relying on defeated enemies? [closed]
By the time of the Flavians there were large reductions in the supply of slaves, both those peacefully imported from outside the Empire and those captured in military campaigns. It was a time of ...
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2answers
539 views
Internal crisis of the Roman Republic before the Gracchi
The beginning of the Roman Republic is traditionally dated to 509 BC, when the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus was overthrown.
Wikipedia article about the Crisis of the Roman Republic states that ...
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1answer
170 views
Was Crassus's fire brigade composed of slaves?
Crassus created the first Roman fire brigade, and many years later, Augustus took the idea and formed the Vigiles, a group of slaves serving as firefighters. However, I can't find any source ...
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3answers
907 views
Why was the Marian reforms' inclusion of landless masses necessary?
The Marian reforms of the late Roman Republic changed Rome's military into a standing, professional volunteer force and greatly enhanced its effectiveness, thereby ensuring Rome's dominance for ...
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1answer
681 views
First Roman battles after the Marian reforms
I'm quite interested in the removal of the Hastati, Principes and Triarii elements introduced by the Marian reforms in 107 BC, and how it affected the Roman army at first.
Looking on Wikipedia for ...
