58
I take your question as meaning: when did Romans realize that they were living in a monarchy ? (As opposed to the aristocratic regime previously known as "republic".)
We must first realize that there cannot be a single point in time, because the Roman people did not operate under a uniform and shared mind. Throughout the whole antiquity, three quarters of ...
42
Actually, the Romans used the same phalanx everyone else did for a very long time. Past Hannibal.
The essence of winning a phalanx battle is to attack the flank of the phalanx. One may achieve that many ways, hence the many ways phalanxes were formed in particular battles - adapted to the width of the battlefield usually, though if one's enemy overdid that, ...
36
First of all, Carthage did not fall in the First or Second Punic Wars. The Carthaginians were defeated twice, and compelled to surrender to particularly harsh terms the second time, but the City of Carthage itself was not conquered. Keep in mind that Carthage was not some run of the mill city-state, but rather the capital of a far flung maritime empire.
...
33
They most probably got that knowledge from cultural exchange with the greek city-states from southern France, like Massilia (Marseille), which was founded around 600 BCE and had plenty of relations with the sorrounding celtic tribes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Marseille
24
The most (and maybe only) clearly recorded incident was in 206 BC when a novice vestal was whipped for letting the flame go out.
Several historians record an incident that occurred in 206 BCE, in
which a novice priestess had negligently allowed the sacred flame to
be extinguished during her shift. After she was accused of a
transgression and ...
18
@YannisRizos answered the question.
It is not known what he said, but the result was that the Roman masses became very angry with Caesar's murderers, burnt down their houses and made them flee from he city. Livius
Appian's transcript of Mark Anthony's funeral oration, suggests that Shakespeare wrote for the stage, not for historical accuracy (although ...
17
The Romans would have a tactic of three lines, where first the the second and then the third line would press themselves between the first line when needed to let the first line get a breather and reform.
When the first line as a whole had done its best and become weakened and exhausted by losses, it gave way to the relief of fresh men from the second ...
17
Disclaimer: As has been repeatedly pointed out, this is a gradual shift that cannot really be pinpointed. Moreover, in my opinion, it hugely depends on how one interpret any of the several parts in this question.
Duringthe Principate period (27 B.C. – A.D. 284), emperors carefully maintained the façades of Republican government.
The senate continued its ...
16
I hesitate to try and answer this because I am not really sure there is an answer. I like to read about Roman history and I have heard of multiple theories as to why he turned back. I think the most believable is stated in the 2013 LiveScience article Spartacus: History of Gladiator Revolt Leader by Owen Jarus:
“Many theories have been proposed, but the ...
15
The Romans were very good in copying tactics and equipment from other peoples.
They learned the Phalanx from the Etruscans. The phalanx works like a wall: difficult to get through, but also almost impossible to maneuver. When the Romans met their new enemies the Samnites, a people from the mountains, they saw that the Samnites were armed with long shields ...
15
398 BC
Livy, when writing about the siege of Veii in 398 BC in History of Rome: Book 5, says:
The year was remarkable for such a cold and snowy winter that the
roads were blocked and the Tiber rendered unnavigable.
Source: Book 5: The Veii and the Destruction of Rome by the Gauls
396 BC
Lamb may have copied a mistake here and got two dates (398 BC ...
13
I visited Rome and also Pompeii last week. According to our tour guide and the evidence left by the protection provided to the ruins of Pompeii by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, citizens of Pompeii in 79 AD did have street names and house numbers. Some even had signs in the entry way to their home warning “Cave Canem” or “Beware of Dog”.
13
The Graeco-Roman world is a unique example of intertwined cultures, the geographical and historical proximity of the two civilizations is such that's it's often impossible to distinguish where the one ends and the other begins. In extremely broad terms, it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that the political system of the Romans were heavily influenced by the ...
13
According to Titus Livius (Livy) the patrician families were founded during the reign of the first King of Rome, namely Romulus. Livy says of Romulus in his Ab Urbe Condita, 1.8:
He created a hundred senators; either because that number was adequate, or because there were only a hundred heads of houses who could be created. In any case they were called ...
13
There are.
Monument of Aemilius Paullus was erected in the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi shortly after 167 BCE in order to commemorate the Roman victory at the Battle of Pydna over King Perseus of Macedon.
— David Gibbins: "Destroy Carthage: The Triumph Of Aemilius Paullus", 2013.
— Jeremiah B. McCall: "The Cavalry Of The Roman Republic. ...
12
Wikiquote renders it
No one dances sober, unless he is insane.
The quotation is
Nemo enim fere saltat sobrius, nisi forte insanit.
from Pro Murena vi.13, 63 BC. Cato has accused L. Murena of dancing, and Cicero replies that Murena is accused of dancing but not of activities that would be precursors to dancing. Cicero says no sane man would dance ...
12
There is extensive documentary and archeological evidence for Celtic chain mail; one Classical writer (Varro) even specifically named the Celts as the inventors of chain mail.
You can take a look at this (PDF) article, for example, which includes quotations from Classical authors, contemporary depictions from archeological relics of Celtic warriors wearing ...
12
This is really more of an extended comment - my impression is that it is believed to be standard for wealthier Romans to have had some kind of bathing facility at home, but specific references or details are hard to come by.
Probably every large home had some kind of private bath, which over time became more luxurious as attested in archaeological finds.
...
12
Roman senators sat on benches while the consuls had the privilege of sitting on curule chairs (which are not shown in the fresco).
In addition to the arrangement of the seating, Cesare Maccari's Cicerone denuncia Catalina contains other errors, among which are the location of this particular meeting and Cicero's (apparent) age. The seating depicted is the ...
11
On very many statues from antiquity exserted parts are broken, in most cases hands, but noses are also very often. The purely mechanical reasons are evident. There are no reasons to conclude that this statue was defaced.
Here is one example of the many:
They say this is Cleopatra VII. I do not think anyone hated her so much as to break the nose on her ...
11
Its quite possible, but don't be so credulous of Caesar's judgement and reporting. Not everything he's written has turned out to be 100% accurate.
I don't know about the nuances of the original Latin, but that translation reads "they use Greek characters". That's not the same thing as using the Greek language. Right now, this post is using Latin characters. ...
10
Octavian who would later become Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus:
My answer really focuses on the why as much as the who, because the reality may have been that in many ways he gave himself the title.
Octavian returned from Egypt with a wealth of treasure and a serious wealth of power. He was respected by his legions, of which he was commander of all sixty of ...
10
There's actually quite a bit available, even just from wikipedia:
Catapults:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carthage_%28c._149_BC%29
Trireme Rams, Corvus (naval):
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_corvus.html
Sambuca, Claw of Archimedes, Heat Ray, onagers (naval):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Syracuse_%28214%E2%80%93212_BC%29#...
10
According to the Cursus Honorum, Tiberius was not eligible to be Consul until the age of 42. As he was killed at the age of only 30 (163/2 BC to 133 BC) he was a long cry from being eligible for the Consulship, even given the extreme bending of the rules that was becoming commonplace about this time.
The Cursus Honorum was a succession of offices to be held ...
10
As I remember, the biggest problems of phalanx were slow pace and inability to operate on a rough terrain (consider the length of their spears). In the battle of Pydna the macedonians had early success yet the romans were able to regroup and won the battle in the later counter-attack.
So the phalanx was pretty good for one-time onslaught but in an advanced ...
10
I doubt that very much. Pecunia non olet, remember? Money doesn't stink, said Vespasian to Titus, when the latter complained about his father for raising tax on urine.
Urine was a valuable ingredient for making leather and as an ingredient for cleaning. Urine was collected wherever possible. Shopkeepers kept jars ready for passers-by and customers relieve ...
10
Through the entire Republican era only Imperium-holding Magistrates of the Roman People were able to lawfully raise an army of citiziens. (a legion)
Private individuals could also form fighting forces from their slaves, clients or hired gladiators. That was sort of borderline, but happened quite often in the civil-strife ridden decades of the late republic.
...
9
Just to answer myself:
According to Stephen Dando-Collins in his book "Caesar's Legion" he names them as the 2nd and the Indigena legions.
Nic Fields in his book "The Roman Army: Civil Wars" (page 57) names these former Pompey legions as the 2nd and Vernacula legions. (Vernacula comes also from Caesar's War Commentaries).
The Oxford Encyclopedia of ...
9
The exact amounts of forces that took part in this battle seem to be unknown or at least controversial. My opinion bases on the lecture of 10 pages of discussion at the main Polish historical board.
In overall, it's safe to say that the the answer is yes, most of the Roman soldiers "Roman" and most of Hannibal's soldiers were mercenaries. Even if it would ...
9
It is not necessarily be problematic if the censors disagreed. Scholars have generally thought that only one censor was chosen by lot to nominate the Princeps Senatus alone. If correct, then in the event of disagreements between the censors, the chosen one would have the final say. Much support for this theory is inferred from the 209 dispute (see below), ...
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