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NOTICE.
NOTICE.
The present History has been drawn up chiefly for the lower forms in schools, at the request of several teachers, and is intended to range with the author's Smaller History of Greece. It will be followed by a similar History of England. The author is indebted in this work to several of the more important articles upon Roman history in the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography. The Table of Contents presents a full analysis of the work, and has been so arranged that the teacher can frame from i
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GEOGRAPHY OF ITALY—EARLY INHABITANTS.
GEOGRAPHY OF ITALY—EARLY INHABITANTS.
Italy is the central one of the three great peninsulas which project from the south of Europe into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bounded on the north by the chain of the Alps, which form a natural barrier, and it is surrounded on other sides by the sea. Its shores are washed on the west by the "Mare Inferum," or the Lower Sea, and on the east by the Adriatic, called by the Romans the "Mare Superum," or the Upper Sea. It may be divided into two parts, the northern consisting of the great plain dra
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THE FIRST FOUR KINGS OF ROME. B.C. 753-616.
THE FIRST FOUR KINGS OF ROME. B.C. 753-616.
The history of Rome is that of a city which originally had only a few miles of territory, and gradually extended its dominions at first over Italy and then over the civilized world. The city lay in the central part of the peninsula, on the left bank of the Tiber, and about fifteen miles from its mouth. Its situation was upon the borders of three of the most powerful races in Italy, the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans. Though originally a Latin town, it received at an early period a considerable S
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THE LAST THREE KINGS OF ROME, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REPUBLIC DOWN TO THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. B.C. 616-498.
THE LAST THREE KINGS OF ROME, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REPUBLIC DOWN TO THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. B.C. 616-498.
5. REIGN OF LUCIUS TARQUINIUS PRISCUS, or the ELDER TARQUIN, B.C. 616-578.—The fifth king of Rome was an Etruscan by birth, but a Greek by descent. His father Demaratus was a wealthy citizen of Corinth, who settled in the Etruscan city of Tarquinii, where he married an Etruscan wife. Their son married Tanaquil, who belonged to one of the noblest families in Tarquinii, and himself became a Lucumo or a noble in the state. But he aspired to still higher honors; and, urged on by his wife, who was an
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FROM THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS TO THE DECEMVIRATE. B.C. 498-451.
FROM THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS TO THE DECEMVIRATE. B.C. 498-451.
The history of Rome for the next 150 years consists internally of the struggles between the Patricians and Plebeians, and externally of the wars with the Etruscans, Volscians, Æquians, and other tribes in the immediate neighborhood of Rome. The internal history of Rome during this period is one of great interest. The Patricians and Plebeians formed two distinct orders in the state. After the banishment of the kings the Patricians retained exclusive possession of political power. The Plebeians, i
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THE DECEMVIRATE. B.C. 451-449.
THE DECEMVIRATE. B.C. 451-449.
From the Agrarian Law of Sp. Cassius to the appointment of the Decemvirs was a period of more than thirty years. During the whole of this time the struggle between the Patricians and the Plebeians was increasing. The latter constantly demanded, and the former as firmly refused, the execution of the Agrarian Law of Cassius. But, though the Plebeians failed in obtaining this object, they nevertheless made steady progress in gaining for themselves a more important position in the city. In B.C. 471
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FROM THE DECEMVIRATE TO THE CAPTURE OF ROME BY THE GAULS. B.C. 448-390.
FROM THE DECEMVIRATE TO THE CAPTURE OF ROME BY THE GAULS. B.C. 448-390.
The efforts of the leaders of the Plebeians were now directed to two subjects, the removal of the prohibition of intermarriage between the two orders, and the opening of the Consulship to their own order. They attained the first object four years after the Decemvirate by the Lex Canuleia, proposed by Canuleius, one of the Tribunes (B.C. 445). But they did not carry this law without a third secession, in which they occupied the Janiculum. At the same time a compromise was effected with respect to
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FROM THE CAPTURE OF ROME BY THE GAULS TO THE FINAL UNION OF THE TWO ORDERS. B.C. 390-367.
FROM THE CAPTURE OF ROME BY THE GAULS TO THE FINAL UNION OF THE TWO ORDERS. B.C. 390-367.
The Gauls or Celts were in ancient times spread over the greater part of Western Europe. They inhabited Gaul and the British isles, and had in the time of the Tarquins crossed the Alps and taken possession of Northern Italy. But they now spread farther south, crossed the Apennines, and laid waste with fire and sword the provinces of Central Italy. Rome fell before them, and was reduced to ashes; but the details of its capture are clearly legendary. The common story runs as follows: The Senones,
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FROM THE LICINIAN ROGATIONS TO THE END OF THE SAMNITE WARS. B.C. 367-290.
FROM THE LICINIAN ROGATIONS TO THE END OF THE SAMNITE WARS. B.C. 367-290.
United at home, the Romans were now prepared to carry on their foreign wars with more vigor; and their conquests of the Samnites and Latins made them the virtual masters of Italy. But the years which immediately followed the Licinian laws were times of great suffering. A pestilence raged in Rome, which carried off many of the most distinguished men, and among others the aged Camillus (B.C. 362). The Tiber overflowed its banks, the city was shaken by earthquakes, and a yawning chasm opened in the
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FROM THE CONCLUSION OF THE SAMNITE WAR TO THE SUBJUGATION OF ITALY. B.C. 290-265.
FROM THE CONCLUSION OF THE SAMNITE WAR TO THE SUBJUGATION OF ITALY. B.C. 290-265.
Ten years elapsed from the conclusion of the third Samnite war to the arrival of Pyrrhus in Italy. During this time the Etruscans and Gauls renewed the war in the north, but were defeated with great slaughter near the Lake Vadimo. This decisive battle appears to have completely crushed the Etruscan power; and it inflicted so severe a blow upon the Gauls that we hear no more of their ravages for the next sixty years. In the south the Lucanians also rose against Rome. The extension of the Roman do
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THE FIRST PUNIC WAR. B.C. 264-241.
THE FIRST PUNIC WAR. B.C. 264-241.
Rome, now mistress of Italy, entered upon a long and arduous straggle with Carthage, which ruled without a rival the western waters of the Mediterranean. This great and powerful city was founded by the Phœnicians [26] of Tyre in B.C. 814, according to the common chronology. Its inhabitants were consequently a branch of the Semitic race, to which the Hebrews also belonged. Carthage rose to greatness by her commerce, and gradually extended her empire over the whole of the north of Africa, from the
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EVENTS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND PUNIC WARS. B.C. 240-210.
EVENTS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND PUNIC WARS. B.C. 240-210.
Twenty-three years elapsed between the First and Second Punic Wars. The power of Carthage, though crippled, was not destroyed; and Hamilcar returned home, burning with hatred against Rome, and determined to renew the war upon a favorable opportunity. But a new and terrible danger threatened Carthage upon her own soil. The mercenary troops, who had been transported from Sicily to Africa at the conclusion of the war, being unable to obtain their arrears of pay, rose in open mutiny. Their leaders w
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THE SECOND PUNIC WAR: FIRST PERIOD, DOWN TO THE BATTLE OF CANNÆ. B.C. 218-216.
THE SECOND PUNIC WAR: FIRST PERIOD, DOWN TO THE BATTLE OF CANNÆ. B.C. 218-216.
The Second Punic War was not so much a contest between the powers of two great nations—between Carthage and Rome—as between the individual genius of Hannibal on one hand, and the combined energies of the Roman people on the other. The position of Hannibal was indeed very peculiar. His command in Spain, and the powerful army there, which was entirely at his own disposal, rendered him in great measure independent of the government at Carthage, and the latter seemed disposed to devolve all responsi
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SECOND PUNIC WAR: SECOND PERIOD, FROM THE REVOLT OF CAPUA TO THE BATTLE OF THE METAURUS. B.C. 215-207.
SECOND PUNIC WAR: SECOND PERIOD, FROM THE REVOLT OF CAPUA TO THE BATTLE OF THE METAURUS. B.C. 215-207.
Capua was celebrated for its wealth and luxury, and the enervating effect which these produced upon the army of Hannibal became a favorite theme of rhetorical exaggeration in later ages. The futility of such declamations is sufficiently shown by the simple fact that the superiority of that army in the field remained as decided as ever. Still it may be truly said that the winter spent at Capua (B.C. 216-215) was in great measure the turning-point of Hannibal's fortune, and from this time the war
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SECOND PUNIC WAR. THIRD PERIOD: FROM THE BATTLE OF THE METAURUS TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. B.C. 206-201.
SECOND PUNIC WAR. THIRD PERIOD: FROM THE BATTLE OF THE METAURUS TO THE CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. B.C. 206-201.
After the battle of the Metaurus, the chief interest of the war was transferred to Spain and Africa. The Roman armies were led by a youthful hero, perhaps the greatest man that Rome ever produced, with the exception of Julius Cæsar. The remaining period of the war is little more than the history of P. Scipio. This extraordinary man was the son of P. Scipio, who fell in Spain in B.C. 212, as already related. In his early years he acquired, to an extraordinary extent, the confidence and admiration
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WARS IN THE EAST. THE MACEDONIAN, SYRIAN, AND GALATIAN WARS. B.C. 214-188.
WARS IN THE EAST. THE MACEDONIAN, SYRIAN, AND GALATIAN WARS. B.C. 214-188.
The Second Punic War made the Romans undisputed masters of the western shores of the Mediterranean. Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica were Roman provinces; Spain owned the Roman supremacy; Carthage was completely humbled, and her powerful neighbor Masinissa was the steadfast ally of Rome. The Roman Republic was now the most powerful state in the ancient world. Her legions had been trained to war by long struggles with Gauls, Spaniards, and Africans, and were superior to all other troops in disciplin
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WARS IN THE WEST. THE GALLIC, LIGURIAN, AND SPANISH WARS. B.C. 200-175.
WARS IN THE WEST. THE GALLIC, LIGURIAN, AND SPANISH WARS. B.C. 200-175.
While the Roman legions in the East were acquiring wealth and winning easy conquests, their less fortunate comrades in the West were carrying on a severe struggle with the warlike Gauls, Ligurians, and Spaniards. The Romans had hardly concluded the Second Punic War when they received intelligence that Hamilcar, a Carthaginian officer, had excited several tribes in Northern Italy to take up arms against Rome. These were the Gauls on both sides of the Po, and the Ligurians, a race of hardy mountai
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THE ROMAN CONSTITUTION AND ARMY.
THE ROMAN CONSTITUTION AND ARMY.
The career of foreign conquest upon which the Republic had now entered continued with little or no interruption till the establishment of the Empire. We may here pause to take a brief survey of the form of government, as well as of the military organization by which these conquests were effected. The earlier history of the Roman constitution has been already related. We have seen how, after a long struggle, the Plebeians acquired complete political equality with the Patricians. In the Second Pun
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INTERNAL HISTORY OF ROME DURING THE MACEDONIAN AND SYRIAN WARS. CATO AND SCIPIO.
INTERNAL HISTORY OF ROME DURING THE MACEDONIAN AND SYRIAN WARS. CATO AND SCIPIO.
The conquests of the Romans in the East had exercised a most pernicious influence upon the national character. They were originally a hardy, industrious, and religious race, distinguished by unbending integrity and love of order. They lived with great frugality upon their small farms, which they cultivated with their own hands; but they were stern and somewhat cruel, and cared little or nothing for literature and the arts. Upon such a people the sudden acquisition of wealth produced its natural
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THE THIRD MACEDONIAN, ACHÆAN, AND THIRD PUNIC WARS. B.C. 179-146.
THE THIRD MACEDONIAN, ACHÆAN, AND THIRD PUNIC WARS. B.C. 179-146.
In B.C. 179 Philip died, and was succeeded by his son Perseus, the last monarch of Macedonia. The latter years of the reign of Philip had been spent in preparations for a renewal of the war, which he foresaw to be inevitable; and when Perseus ascended the throne, he found himself amply provided with men and money for the impending contest. But, whether from a sincere desire of peace, or from irresolution of character, he sought to avert an open rupture as long as possible, and one of the first a
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SPANISH WARS, B.C. 153-133. FIRST SERVILE WAR, B.C. 134-132.
SPANISH WARS, B.C. 153-133. FIRST SERVILE WAR, B.C. 134-132.
The generous policy of Tib. Sempronius Gracchus in B.C. 179 [58] had secured for Spain a long period of tranquillity. But in B.C. 153, the inhabitants of Segeda having commenced rebuilding the walls of their town, which was forbidden by one of the articles in the treaty of Gracchus, a new war broke out, which lasted for many years. The Celtiberians in general espoused the cause of Segeda, and the Consul Q. Fabius Nobilior made an unsuccessful campaign against them. His successor, the Consul M. C
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THE GRACCHI. B.C. 133-121.
THE GRACCHI. B.C. 133-121.
The more thoughtful Romans had foreseen the dangers with which Rome was menaced by the impoverishment of her free population, and the alarming increase in the number of slaves. It is said that Lælius, the friend of the elder Scipio Africanus, had at the close of the Second Punic War meditated some reforms to arrest the growing evil, but had given them up as impracticable. The Servile War in Sicily had lately revealed the extent of the peril to which the Republic was exposed. It must have been fe
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JUGURTHA AND HIS TIMES. B.C. 118-104.
JUGURTHA AND HIS TIMES. B.C. 118-104.
The murder of C. Gracchus and his adherents left the Nobility undisputed masters of the state, till their scandalous conduct in the Jugurthan War provoked a reaction against them, and raised to power a more terrible opponent than the Gracchi had ever been. This man, who took such signal vengeance upon the Nobility, was the lowborn MARIUS. He was a native of Arpinum, and was said to have worked for wages as a common peasant before he entered the ranks of the army. He first served in Spain, and wa
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THE CIMBRI AND TEUTONES, B.C. 113-101.—SECOND SERVILE WAR IN SICILY, B.C. 103-101.
THE CIMBRI AND TEUTONES, B.C. 113-101.—SECOND SERVILE WAR IN SICILY, B.C. 103-101.
A greater danger than Rome had experienced since the time of Hannibal now threatened the state. Vast numbers of barbarians, such as spread over the south of Europe in the later times of the Roman Empire, had collected together on the northern side of the Alps, and were ready to pour down upon Italy. The two leading nations of which they consisted are called Cimbri and Teutones, of whom the former were probably Celts and the latter Germans, but the exact parts of Europe from which they came can n
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INTERNAL HISTORY OF ROME FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE CIMBRI AND TEUTONES TO THE SOCIAL WAR. B.C. 100-91.
INTERNAL HISTORY OF ROME FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE CIMBRI AND TEUTONES TO THE SOCIAL WAR. B.C. 100-91.
The career of Marius had hitherto been a glorious one, and it would have been fortunate for him if he had died on the day of his triumph. The remainder of his life is full of horrors, and brings out into prominent relief the worst features of his character. As the time for the consular elections approached, Marius became again a candidate for the Consulship. He wished to be first in peace as well as in war, and to rule the state as well as the army. But he did not possess the qualities requisite
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THE SOCIAL OR MARSIC WAR. B.C. 90-89.
THE SOCIAL OR MARSIC WAR. B.C. 90-89.
Rome had never been exposed to greater danger than at this time. Those who had been her bravest defenders now rose against her; and she would probably have perished had the whole Italian people taken part in the war. But the insurrection was confined almost exclusively to the Sabellians and their kindred races. The Etruscans and Umbrians stood aloof, while the Sabines, Volscians, and other tribes who already possessed the Roman franchise, supported the Republic, and furnished the materials of he
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FIRST CIVIL WAR. B.C. 88-86.
FIRST CIVIL WAR. B.C. 88-86.
One reason which induced the Senate to bring the Social War to a conclusion was the necessity of attacking Mithridates, king of Pontus, one of the ablest monarchs with whom Rome ever came into contact. The origin and history of this war will be narrated in the following chapter. The dispute between Marias and Sulla for the command against Mithridates was the occasion of the first Civil War. The ability which Sulla had displayed in the Social War, and his well-known attachment to the Senatorial p
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FIRST MITHRIDATIC WAR. B.C. 88-84.
FIRST MITHRIDATIC WAR. B.C. 88-84.
The kingdom of Pontus, which derived its name from being on the coast of the Pontus Euxinus, or Black Sea, was originally a satrapy of the Persian empire, extending from the River Halys on the west to the frontiers of Colchis on the east. Even under the later Persian kings the rulers of Pontus were really independent, and in the wars of the successors of Alexander the Great it became a separate kingdom. Most of its kings bore the name of Mithridates; and the fifth monarch of this name formed an
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SECOND CIVIL WAR.—SULLA'S DICTATORSHIP, LEGISLATION, AND DEATH, B.C. 83-78.
SECOND CIVIL WAR.—SULLA'S DICTATORSHIP, LEGISLATION, AND DEATH, B.C. 83-78.
Sulla landed at Brundisium in the spring of B.C. 83, in the Consulship of L. Scipio and C. Norbanus. During the preceding year he had written to the Senate, recounting the services he had rendered to the commonwealth, complaining of the ingratitude with which he had been treated, announcing his speedy return to Italy, and threatening to take vengeance upon his enemies and those of the Republic. The Senate, in alarm, sent an embassy to Sulla to endeavor to bring about a reconciliation between him
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FROM THE DEATH OF SULLA TO THE CONSULSHIP OF POMPEY AND CRASSUS. B.C. 78-70.
FROM THE DEATH OF SULLA TO THE CONSULSHIP OF POMPEY AND CRASSUS. B.C. 78-70.
Sulla was scarcely dead before an attempt was made to overthrow the aristocratic constitution which he had established. The Consul M. Lepidus had already, as we have seen, endeavored to prevent the burial of Sulla in the Campus Martius. He now proposed to repeal the Dictator's laws; but the other Consul, Q. Catulus, remained firm to the aristocracy, and offered the most strenuous opposition to the measures of his colleague. Shortly afterward the Senate ordered Lepidus to repair to Farther Gaul,
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THIRD OR GREAT MITHRIDATIC WAR. B.C. 74-61.
THIRD OR GREAT MITHRIDATIC WAR. B.C. 74-61.
When Sulla returned to Italy after the First Mithridatic War, he left L. Murena, with two legions, to hold the command in Asia. Murena, who was eager for some opportunity of earning the honor of a triumph, pretending that Mithridates had not yet evacuated the whole of Cappadocia, not only marched into that country, but even crossed the Halys, and laid waste the plains of Pontus itself (B.C. 83). To this flagrant breach of the treaty so lately concluded the Roman general was in great measure inst
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INTERNAL HISTORY, FROM THE CONSULSHIP OF POMPEY AND CRASSUS TO THE RETURN OF POMPEY FROM THE EAST.—THE CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. B.C. 69-61.
INTERNAL HISTORY, FROM THE CONSULSHIP OF POMPEY AND CRASSUS TO THE RETURN OF POMPEY FROM THE EAST.—THE CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. B.C. 69-61.
Notwithstanding the restoration of the Tribunate and the alteration in the judicial power in Pompey's Consulship, the popular party had received such a severe blow during Sulla's supremacy, that the aristocracy still retained the chief political influence during Pompey's absence in the East. But meantime a new leader of the popular party had been rapidly rising into notice, who was destined not only to crush the aristocracy, but to overthrow the Republic and become the undisputed master of the R
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FROM POMPEY'S RETURN FROM THE EAST TO CICERO'S BANISHMENT AND RECALL. B.C. 62-57.
FROM POMPEY'S RETURN FROM THE EAST TO CICERO'S BANISHMENT AND RECALL. B.C. 62-57.
Pompey, as we have already seen, reached Italy in B.C. 62. It was generally feared that he would seize the supreme power, but he soon calmed these apprehensions by disbanding his army immediately after landing at Brundusium. He did not, however, enter Rome in triumph till the 30th of September, B.C. 61. The triumph lasted two days, and surpassed in splendor every spectacle that Rome had yet seen. The tablets carried in the procession, on which his victories were emblazoned, declared that he had
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CÆSAR'S CAMPAIGNS IN GAUL. B.C. 58-50.
CÆSAR'S CAMPAIGNS IN GAUL. B.C. 58-50.
Cæsar set out for his province immediately after Cicero had gone into exile (B.C. 58). During the next nine years he was occupied with the subjugation of Gaul. In this time he conquered the whole of Transalpine Gaul, which had hitherto been independent of the Romans, with the exception of the part called Provincia. Twice he crossed the Rhine, and carried the terror of the Roman arms beyond that river. Twice he landed in Britain, which had been hitherto unknown to the Romans. We can only offer a
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INTERNAL HISTORY, FROM THE RETURN OF CICERO FROM BANISHMENT TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CIVIL WAR.—EXPEDITION AND DEATH OF CRASSUS. B.C. 57-50.
INTERNAL HISTORY, FROM THE RETURN OF CICERO FROM BANISHMENT TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CIVIL WAR.—EXPEDITION AND DEATH OF CRASSUS. B.C. 57-50.
Cicero returned from banishment an altered man. Though his return had been glorious, he saw that his position was entirely changed, and he was forced to yield to a power which he no longer dared to resist. He even lent his support to the Triumvirs, and praised in public those proceedings which he had once openly and loudly condemned. Meantime the power of Pompey had been shaken at Rome. A misunderstanding had sprung up between him and Crassus, and Cato and the other leaders of the aristocracy at
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FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND CIVIL WAR TO CÆSAR'S DEATH. B.C. 49-44.
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND CIVIL WAR TO CÆSAR'S DEATH. B.C. 49-44.
As soon as Cæsar learned at Ravenna the last resolution of the Senate, he assembled his soldiers, informed them of the wrongs he had sustained, and called upon them to support him. Finding them quite willing to support him, he crossed the Rubicon, [69] which separated his province from Italy, and occupied Ariminum, where he met with the Tribunes. He commenced his enterprise with only one legion, consisting of 5000 foot-soldiers and 300 horse; but others had orders to follow him from Transalpine
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FROM THE DEATH OF CÆSAR TO THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI. B.C. 44-42.
FROM THE DEATH OF CÆSAR TO THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI. B.C. 44-42.
When the bloody deed had been finished, Brutus and the other conspirators rushed into the forum, proclaiming that they had killed the Tyrant, and calling the people to join them; but they met with no response, and, finding alone averted looks, they retired to the Capitol. Here they were joined by Cicero, who had not been privy to the conspiracy, but was now one of the first to justify the murder. Meantime the friends of Cæsar were not idle. M. Lepidus, the Master of the Horse, who was in the nei
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FROM THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI TO THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM. B.C. 41-30.
FROM THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI TO THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM. B.C. 41-30.
The battle of Philippi scaled the fate of the Republic. Antony remained in the East to collect money for the soldiers. Octavian, who was in ill health, returned to Italy to give the veterans the lands which had been promised them. Antony traversed Asia Minor, plundering the unfortunate inhabitants, who had already suffered so severely from the exactions of Brutus and Cassias. In the voluptuous cities of Asia he surrendered himself to every kind of sensual enjoyment. He entered Ephesus in the cha
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SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF ROMAN LITERATURE, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE DEATH OF AUGUSTUS.
SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF ROMAN LITERATURE, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE DEATH OF AUGUSTUS.
For many centuries after the foundation of the city the Romans can hardly be said to have had any literature at all. There may have existed, at an early period, some songs or ballads, recounting, in rude strains, [74] the exploits of the heroes of Roman story, but all trace of these has disappeared. It was not till the conquest of the Greek cities in Southern Italy, shortly before the First Punic War, that we can date the commencement of the Roman literature. It began with the Drama. Dramatic ex
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THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS CÆSAR. B.C. 31-A.D. 14.
THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS CÆSAR. B.C. 31-A.D. 14.
Augustus, being now the emperor of Rome, sought to win the affections of his people. He lived with republican simplicity in a plain house on the Palatine Hill, and educated his family with great strictness and frugality. His public conduct was designed to conceal his unbounded power. He rejected all unworthy members from the Senate, and limited the number of the Senators to six hundred. The Comitia of the Centuries was still allowed to pass laws and elect magistrates, but gradually these powers
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FROM THE ACCESSION OF TIBERIUS, A.D. 14-37, TO DOMITIAN, A.D. 96.
FROM THE ACCESSION OF TIBERIUS, A.D. 14-37, TO DOMITIAN, A.D. 96.
A feeling resembling loyalty had grown up at Rome toward the family of Augustus, and no one ventured to dispute the claim of Tiberius to the throne. Livia, however, who had attended the death-bed of the emperor, concealed his death until her son arrived, and then proclaimed, at the same moment, the death of Augustus and the accession of his successor. The first event of the new reign was the assassination of Agrippa Postumus, grandson of Augustus, and, according to the modern rule of descent, th
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PROSPERITY OF THE EMPIRE, A.D. 96.—COMMODUS, A.D. 180.—REIGN OF M. COCCEIUS NERVA, A.D. 96-98.
PROSPERITY OF THE EMPIRE, A.D. 96.—COMMODUS, A.D. 180.—REIGN OF M. COCCEIUS NERVA, A.D. 96-98.
This venerable man was sixty-four years old when he was proclaimed emperor upon the death of Domitian. He was a native of the town of Narnia, in Umbria, and his virtues had won him a general esteem. The Prætorians, who had not been consulted in his election, never looked upon him with favor, and Nerva was obliged to act with great caution. He stopped trials for high treason, pardoned political offenders, diminished taxes, recalled exiles, and strove by every honest art to attain popularity. But
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FROM PERTINAX TO DIOCLETIAN. A.D. 192-284.
FROM PERTINAX TO DIOCLETIAN. A.D. 192-284.
Pertinax, an aged senator of consular rank, and now Præfect of the city, was summoned by the conspirators, who came to his house late at night, after the murder of Commodus, to ascend the vacant throne. He was one of the few friends and ministers of Marcus Aurelius who yet survived, and, having filled many important offices, had always been distinguished for firmness, prudence, and integrity. The rumor was spread that Commodus had died of apoplexy, and that Pertinax had succeeded him; but the Pr
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FROM DIOCLETIAN, A.D. 284, TO CONSTANTINE'S DEATH, A.D. 337.
FROM DIOCLETIAN, A.D. 284, TO CONSTANTINE'S DEATH, A.D. 337.
Diocletian began to reign A.D. 284, and once more revived the vigor of the declining empire, which now seemed more than ever to depend for its existence upon the qualities of a single ruler. It seems, indeed, to have required an intellect of no common order to preserve the unity of the empire, composed of so many different nations, of territories separated by such vast distances, and threatened on every side by innumerable foes; but, of all his contemporaries, Diocletian was best suited to this
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FROM THE DEATH OF CONSTANTINE, A.D. 337, TO ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS, A.D. 476.
FROM THE DEATH OF CONSTANTINE, A.D. 337, TO ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS, A.D. 476.
The three sons of the late emperor, Constantine, Constantius, and Constans, as soon as their father was dead, put to death their two cousins, Hannibalianus and Dalmatius, with many more of their relatives; only Gallus and Julian, the children of Julius Constantius, being left alive. They then divided the empire, A.D. 337, Constantine, the elder, retaining the new capital, Constans receiving the western provinces, while to Constantius was left Syria and the East. Sapor, king of Persia, invaded th
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ROMAN LITERATURE UNDER THE EMPIRE. A.D. 14-476.
ROMAN LITERATURE UNDER THE EMPIRE. A.D. 14-476.
Roman literature, which had risen to its highest excellence under Augustus, declined rapidly under his successors, and was finally lost with the fall of the Western empire. The language was no longer pure, and neither prose nor poetry retained the harmony and elegance of the Augustan age. A certain sadness and discontent, which marks all the later literature, forms also a striking contrast with the cheerful tone of the earlier writers. Every part of the empire, however, abounded with men of lett
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