UNRV Ancient Roman Empire History

War Between Antony and Octavian As the legal arrangement for the triumvirate between Octavian, Antony and Lepidus (even though he was no longer an official part of the arrangement) expired at the end of 33 BC, 32 BC turned into a year of political posturing and strained anticipation. Without legal triumvir powers, Octavian technically reverted [...]

Consuls of Rome 3rd Century BC The consuls list continues, and thanks to Varro, the from this point on is considered completely accurate.

Antony and Cleopatra After the defeat of the Republicans at Philippi, and Sextus Pompey in Sicily, Octavian set about organizing the west under his control. In the meantime, Marcus Antonius moved east to do the same, and to seek further glory against Parthia. Antony had met with Cleopatra of Egypt as early as 41 BC [...]

Roman Wine Types The Romans indulged in several variety of wines. This brief charts highlights some of the basic styles made from a variety of grapes along with very specific grape products that were staples of the Roman diet.

Sextus Pompey After the pact of Brundisium, Sextus Pompey or Magnus Pius as he called himself, son of Gnaeus Pomepius Magnus, maintained a stranglehold in Sicily and on the Roman grain supply. A short lived agreement with Antony to work in cooperation against Octavian fell apart after Brundisium, but the two triumvirs were in no [...]

Continuing the list of Roman Consuls, we’ve added the second page of several, covering the 4th century BC. Of interesting note was the emergence of rule under the military tribunes for several years, and repeat service as Consul for various men. While we hear little of constitutional irregularity for men such as C. Sulpicius Peticus [...]

Perusine War In early 41 BC, Octavian returned to Italy from Philippi and was hard at work attempting to settle 40,000 veterans. He had a major problem in this task: a promise made that the legionaries would receive rich and fertile land around 18 major cities in Italy. This was an issue because the current [...]

Ancient Roman Wine Of the many contributions the Romans made to the world, both ancient and of those passed on to modern society, perhaps the most lasting was the art of wine (vinum) making. Wild grapes, though now nearly extinct, grew in abundance throughout the Mediterranean and were cultivated in earnest throughout the region. The [...]

Philippi In 42 BC, Octavian and Antony combined their forces, 28 legions in total, and sailed across the Adriatic and into Greece. The ?Liberators? Brutus and Cassius had 19 of their own legions, which were heavily supplemented by auxilia provided by eastern client kingdoms. Brutus and Cassius had been plundering and taking control of the [...]

Thanks to Varro, and other ancient sources, we’ve been passed a complete (if somewhat flawed) list of Roman Consuls. Though the earliest part of the list has some inaccuracy, it highlights the top magisterial position of ancient Rome from beginning to end.

Second Triumvirate After forcing through his own political agenda in Rome, the situation with Antony was still precarious. Antony had reached Gaul and gathered strength from the legions stationed there. Together with Lepidus in Spain, the two were a formidable force. Octavian, despite having considerable strength himself, would be hard pressed to meet that challenge [...]

Praetorian Guard Evolving from the concept of a Legionary Legate?s personal bodyguard, under Augustus, the Praetorian Guard was established as the same, but instead were directly attached to the Emperor. The headquarters of the legion, or praetorium provided the namesake, and the practice was simply altered to encompass a much broader spectrum….

Prelude to War As Antony marched north to besiege Decimus Brutus in Cisalpine Gaul, Octavian, armed with the support of both Cicero and the Senate, readied his forces to follow. Having garnered the support of Cicero, though it was thought to be for the best interest of the Republic, Octavian actually secured his position as [...]