PolledHistory: Friday Bonus - Rome in the 1st Century BC

Hello! For today's special blog bonus on Friday we'll cover a period of Roman history between about 100 BC and 25 AD - a period in the 1st century BC.

This period, was a period of political instabillity, civil war, and constant shifts in leadership. 

Our story begins with the rise of two major stars in Roman politics and military: Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Let's study both big players first before we see their eventual clash in civil war.

Gaius Marius was a skilled Roman general and statesman, born in 157 BC and was a major player in Roman military and politics up until his death in 86 BC. He was born with connections to the nobillity and was born wealthy. He joined the army under the popular general Scipio Aemilianus, a relative of Scipio Africanus, the victor of the Second Punic War. Scipio Aemilianus was the one who would actually finally destroy Carthage in 146 BC. Back to Marius, though. He continued to rise the ranks in politics and military. In 112 BC, the new rebellion in Numidia (in North Africa, modern day Algeria) under the Numidian king Jugurtha formed a war between Numidia and Rome, known as the Jugurthine War. Marius managed to win the war as a commander there. Marius' next ambition was to become the consul of the Roman Republic, which was an elected politician who had control with another consul for one year (in the Roman Republic). Once he earned consulship in 107 BC, he enacted several reforms that formed the military system known as the legion, improvising the Roman army. Another of his successes were against the Cimbri, a tribe that had been attacking Rome and was victorious against the general Caepio in the battle of Arausio, the greatest Roman defeat, even worse than the Battle of Cannae (which, was explained in my first ever Friday bonus episode). He managed to defeat the Cimbri.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla, or simply Sulla, was a Roman general and dictator. Born 138 BC, he was from a richer family and was born to wealth, just like Marius was. However, when his father died, he was impoverished, possibly because his father disinherited him. He was a very ruthless political figure. Sulla took part as a figure in the Jugurthine War. Marius had entrusted him to organize his cavalry legions. He took part in the victorious Cimbri wars and he was also rising the political ranks. In 96 BC, he became governor of Cicilia (in modern day Turkiye). Sulla was one of the players that fought against King Mithridates VI of Pontus, who was a formidable and unrelenting threat to the Roman East. Sulla managed to defeat Mithridates. In 88 BC, he was granted consulship. But when Sulla realized Marius had tricked him into making Marius the chief commander in the Mithridatic Wars, Sulla was angry and began to march on the city of Rome - a brave and ambitious thing to do. He easily took Rome and Marius and his son escaped to the province of Africa. Soon after he fought Mithridates in the east yet again, and then started yet another civil war: named Sulla's Civil War. This is where we stop talking about Sulla and start about Sulla and Marius' clash. 

The clash began  in early 83 BC when Sulla crossed the Adriatic to Italy. A man named Marcus Licinius Crassus joined his side and so did a man named Ponpey who had raised a legion, and joined Sulla. Many joined Sulla's sides, but Italy itself opposed Sulla, fearing his wrath. He defeated Norbanus and Asiaticus, tue consuls at the time, and in 82 BC fout a battle with the Marian faction (the faction that supported Marius)  at Sacriportus, which was a Sullan victory and Marian defeat. The last battle in the Sullan Civil War was the Battle of the Colline Gate. Though Sulla had failures, Crassus, his lieutenant on the right wing, emerged victoriou. Sulla then became dictator until  his retirement in 79 BC and he death in 78 BC. Marius  had died years ago in 86 BC, though the Marian faction remained.

Sulla was the first man to gain power in Rome by force and he left the Roman Republic to its collapse and accelerated the conversion to empire. 

After Sulla, Pompey succeeded him in power. Pompey was a militaristic figure who had conquered parts of the Near East such as Syria and Judaea for Rome, as well as faced off Mithridates VI until 62 BC. Meanwhile, Spartacus, a slave who had rebelled, causing big trouble for Rome, was defeated by Marcus Licinius Crassus. Pompey and Crassus were rivals. Pompey was a militaristic general while Crasuss more of a rich financier. By this time, a man named Julius Caesar, born 100 BC, a nephew of Gaius Marius and someone whom Sulla has warned of, had rose in importance and became consul in 59 BC. Soon after, the three major players in Roman politics: Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus allied and this alliance was known as the First Triumvirate. This meant these three people had great political power and benefits.

In 59 BC, Caesar lead a vicious yet succesful campaign against the Gauls, conquering Gaul (modern day France), though was defeated in several battles against rebels. In the end, Caesar managed to finally conquer Gaul. Caesar had been related to Pompey as Caesar's daughter had married with Pompey, but when she died, Caesar chose civil war against Pompey, with ambition. The Senate sent an ultimatum to Caesar, demandi g him to back down. Caesar refused and crossed the river Rubicon, the boundary of Italy, a place that was important for the Roman Empire. Italy and Rome was easily taken. In 48 BC, he chased out his rival Pompey and eventually defeated Pompey in 48 BC at Pharsalus. Pompey fled to Ptolemaic Egypt but was killed there by the Ptolemaic Egyptian king. Pompey's death didn't end the war, however, and Caesar defeated the Pompeians (the remaining followers of Pompey) again at Munda and Thapsus. By this time, in 53 BC, Crassus had died in battle against the Parthian Empire at Carrhae after a reckless decision of his. Caesar then became the sole leader, and dictator of the Roman Republic, becoming dictatoe. In 44 BC,  he was assasinated by a group of conspirators lead by young people called Cassius, and Caesar's nephew Brutus. 

After Caesar's death, three figures rose again just like before, three people all related to Caesar: Marc Antony, Caesar's right hand man, Octavian, Caesar's adopted son and greatnephew, and Lepidus, Caesar's magistrate. They allied forming the Second Triumvirate. (Triumvir was a leader inside the Triumvirate). However, it is important to remember that Roman politics did not revolve around these three people bur instead two people: mostly Octavian and Marc Antony. They defeated the conspirators at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, and soon after the conspirators were killed. The Roman territories were divided. Octavian defeated Sextus Pompey son of Pompey, who had been problematic to Rome at the time. After a disagreement between Octavian and Lepidus, Lepidus was exiled. Marc Antony, meanwhile, in the Roman East, had married Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt, which was also a diplomatic alliance with Ptolemaic Egypt. Octavian used Antony's action to convince the people of Rome that Marc Antony was an enemy of Rome. 

Octavian defeated Antony at a naval battle at Actium off the shores of Greece, and Antony went back to Egypt, and comitted suicide in 30 BC. Octavian, in 27 BC, became the first emperor of Rome - and his name was then Augustus. And finally, there was stabillity. His forty one year long reign was a time of Pax Romana: "Roman Peace" in Latin, ending almost a century of political unrest since Sulla and Marius' civil war until the War of Actium.

Next Week Topic: The Sassanid Persian Empire