DOCSLIB.ORG

Proquest Dissertations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Proquest Dissertations INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis arxi dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality Illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did rx)t send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to t>e removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9” black arxJ white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI’ THE ROMAN CAVALRY CAVALRY COMBAT AND ELITE REPUTATION IN THE MIDDLE AND LATE REPUBLIC DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jeremiah B McCall, M A ***** The Ohio State University 2000 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. Nathan Rosenstein, Adviser Dr Jack Balcer Adviser Dr John Guilmartin ' History Graduate Program UMI Number 9982941 UMI UMI Microform 9982941 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and team ing Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT Throughout the middle Republic the wealthiest Roman citizens supplied a cavalry contingent to every field army. Cavalry service was a distinguished form of service so­ cially superior to service in the infantry and an important mark of elite status Neverthe­ less, in the early first century BCE, the citizen cavalry disappeared and foreign auxilia­ ries supplied all of Rome’s cavalry. The Romans had abandoned an institution that had lasted for centuries. According to the traditional explanation for the end of citizen cavalry service, the Romans were simply poor, ineffective cavalrymen. In contrast, foreign peoples possessed cavalry forces categorically superior to the Roman citizen cavalry. Therefore, the Romans completely replaced their poor quality Romano-Italian cavalry with superior foreign cav­ alry This traditional argument lacks any systematic analysis of the Roman cavalry’s military effectiveness to support it. We carmot accurately assess the military effectiveness of the Roman cavalry, however, without systematically analyzing the available evidence. Furthermore, supporters of the traditional argument have neglected to consider the social and cultural ramifications of citizen cavalry’s disappearance. Because cavalry service was u so essential to elite identity in the middle Republic, the members o f the Roman elite could not have relinquished cavalry service unless suitable alternative sources of prestige were available to them The present study offers what, to date, has been lacking: a systematic analysis of the Roman cavalry both as a military arm and as a source of social and political prestige for the Roman elite My primary concerns are why the citizen cavalry disappeared after centuries of service and how the first century elite acquired prestige and a reputation without cavalry service. The first part of this study demonstrates unequivocally that the Roman cavalry was militarily effective. Therefore, one cannot reasonably argue that the Roman cavalry disappeared because of its poor quality. The second part examines how alternative markers of elite status, particularly skill in oratory and possession of great amounts of money, became increasingly important in the late Republic. As a result of these alternative markers of elite status, cavalry service became irrelevant to the Roman elite. Ill ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my adviser. Dr. Nathan Rosenstein, for offering freely his time and knowledge, for setting high standards o f scholarship, and for believing in the value of my work. I also wish to thank Dr. Jack Balcer for the care and attention he devoted to the technical aspects of this thesis and for encouraging me every step of the way. I am grateful to Dr. John Guilmartin for sitting on my examination committee and for generously contributing a different perspective to this thesis. Finally, I thank Olivia for her patience and support, without which I could not have accomplished this. We achieved this together IV VITA April 20, 1972 ................................................ Bom - Chicago, Illinois 1990................................................................. B A History, University of New Hampshire 1997 ................................................................. M.A. Ifistory, The Ohio State University 1995 - present..................................................Graduate Teaching and Research Associate, The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field; History TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... iv V ita........................................................................................................................................V List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................... viii Chapters. 1 Cavalry Service and Elite Status; The Problem of the Citizen Cavalry’s .................1 Disappearance 2. Assessing the Military Effectiveness of the Citizen Cavalry ................................... 21 3. Equipment and Tack .................................................................................................. 42 4. Roman Cavalry Tactics in the Middle Republic .......................................................84 5. Combat Motivation: Cavalry Service and Elite Status ...........................................121 6. Dating the Disappearance of Citizen Cavalry Contingents .................................... 155 7. Alternative Marks of Elite Status and the End of Citizen Cavalry Service 178 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 218 VI Appendices: A. Roman Cavalry Formations: Some Considerations ................................................ 224 B. The Size of the Cavalry Class and the Burden of Cavalry Service ........................227 Before the Social War Bibliography .........................................................................................................................231 vu ABBREVIATIONS AbhM ünch Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, München, Philosophisch- historische Klasse. Abhandlungen AJA American Journal of Archeology AJP American Journal of Philology A ncW Ancient World AntAfr Antiquités africaines Ath U.S. Athenaeum new series BCH Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenique C.I.L. Corpus Insciptionum Latinarum CP Classical Philology CO Classical Quarterly CR Classical Review DialArch Dialoghi di archeologia Historia Historia. Zeitschrift fîir alte Geschichte I.L.S. Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae JMH Journal of Military History JRS Journal of Roman Studies MÉFR Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire de l’École française de Rome M iïM it Militargeschichliche Mitteilungen Phoenix Phoenix. The Classical Association of Canada Rphil Revue de philologie, de littérature, et d’histoire anciennes RivFil Rivista di filologia e d’istruzione classica Wfut World Futures Whist War in History vui CHAPTER 1 CAVALRY SERVICE AND ELITE STATUS; THE PROBLEM OF THE CITIZEN CAVALRY’S DISAPPEARANCE Throughout the middle Republic the wealthiest Roman citizens supplied a cavalry contingent to every field army. Each cavalryman was liable to serve a maximum of ten years between the ages of 17 and 46. Cavalry service was a distinguished form of service and an important mark of elite status. Neverthdess, in the early first century BCE' the citizen cavalry disappeared and foreign auxiliaries supplied all of Rome’s cavalry. The Romans had abandoned an institution that had lasted for centuries. The traditional explanation for the Roman citizen cavalry’s termination has per­ sisted for the better part of a century and received wide support fix>m historians. The Ro­ mans, according to this explanation, were simply poor cavalrymen. They lacked any na­ tive tradition of cavalry service, were unskilled as mounted warriors, and were ineffective against enemy cavalry Only too aware of the deplorable abilities of their citizen cavalry­ men, the Romans looked for a solution. Foreign auxiliary cavalry were the answer. For­ eign peoples—particularly the Numidians, Spanish, and Gauls—possessed cavalry forces categorically superior
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Narratology and the End of Monarchy in AVC 1
    Luke Patient Classics Department [email protected] University of Arizona Narratology and the End of Monarchy in AVC 1 I. The section of the narrative text to be considered ( AVC 1.59.1, 6-11): 1. Brutus illis luctu occupatis cultrum ex volnere Lucretiae extractum, manantem cruore prae se tenens, "Per hunc" inquit "castissimum ante regiam iniuriam sanguinem iuro, vosque, di, testes facio me L. Tarquinium Superbum cum scelerata coniuge et omni liberorum stirpe ferro igni quacumque dehinc vi possim exsecuturum, nec illos nec alium quemquam regnare Romae passurum." … Vbi eo ventum est, quacumque incedit armata multitudo, pavorem ac tumultum facit; rursus ubi anteire primores civitatis vident, quidquid sit haud temere esse rentur. Nec minorem motum animorum Romae tam atrox res facit quam Collatiae fecerat; ergo ex omnibus locis urbis in forum curritur. Quo simul ventum est, praeco ad tribunum celerum, in quo tum magistratu forte Brutus erat, populum advocavit. Ibi oratio habita nequaquam eius pectoris ingeniique quod simulatum ad eam diem fuerat, de vi ac libidine Sex. Tarquini, de stupro infando Lucretiae et miserabili caede, de orbitate Tricipitini cui morte filiae causa mortis indignior ac miserabilior esset. Addita superbia ipsius regis miseriaeque et labores plebis in fossas cloacasque exhauriendas demersae; Romanos homines, victores omnium circa populorum, opifices ac lapicidas pro bellatoribus factos. Indigna Ser. Tulli regis memorata caedes et inuecta corpori patris nefando vehiculo filia, invocatique ultores parentum di. His atrocioribusque, credo, aliis, quae praesens rerum indignitas haudquaquam relatu scriptoribus facilia subicit, memoratis, incensam multitudinem perpulit ut imperium regi abrogaret exsulesque esse iuberet L. Tarquinium cum coniuge ac liberis.
    [Show full text]
  • INGO GILDENHARD Cicero, Philippic 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119 Latin Text, Study Aids with Vocabulary, and Commentary CICERO, PHILIPPIC 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119
    INGO GILDENHARD Cicero, Philippic 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119 Latin text, study aids with vocabulary, and commentary CICERO, PHILIPPIC 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119 Cicero, Philippic 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119 Latin text, study aids with vocabulary, and commentary Ingo Gildenhard https://www.openbookpublishers.com © 2018 Ingo Gildenhard The text of this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the text; to adapt the text and to make commercial use of the text providing attribution is made to the author(s), but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work. Attribution should include the following information: Ingo Gildenhard, Cicero, Philippic 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119. Latin Text, Study Aids with Vocabulary, and Commentary. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2018. https://doi. org/10.11647/OBP.0156 Every effort has been made to identify and contact copyright holders and any omission or error will be corrected if notification is made to the publisher. In order to access detailed and updated information on the license, please visit https:// www.openbookpublishers.com/product/845#copyright Further details about CC BY licenses are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/ All external links were active at the time of publication unless otherwise stated and have been archived via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine at https://archive.org/web Digital material and resources associated with this volume are available at https://www.
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Context the Real Julius Caesar
    Name _____________________________________ Period __________ Standards Focus: Historical Context The Real Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar born July 12, 100BC, is one of the most well-known political leaders in history. Caesar was considered to be a military genius and brilliant politician, and his life and conquests continue to be widely revered and studied throughout the world. It was believed that Caesar was a direct descendant of the Trojan prince Aeneas, who was the son of the goddess Venus. His father, whom he was named after, was a war hero and respected politician. Although a member of the aristocracy, Caesar and his family lived in one of the lower-class neighborhoods in Rome. Little is known about Caesar’s early years, other than having two sisters, both of whom were apparently named Julia. Caesar’s father died in 84BC, and Caesar found himself the patriarch of the family at age sixteen. A year later, Caesar married Cornelia, daughter of the famous orator Cinna. As a young man, Caesar saw plenty of political and social unrest under the harsh dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Shortly after Caesar married Cornelia, Civil War erupted and Cinna was killed, leaving Caesar without an inheritance. In fear for his own life, he fled to Asia and joined the army, serving under Marcus Thermus. He received numerous honors, including the Civic Crown which was the second highest Roman military award at the time. In 78BC, Sulla died unexpectedly in his sleep, and Caesar returned to Rome. He began his political career, becoming a renowned orator and powerful politician.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of the Roman Army (200 BC – AD 476)
    Impact of Empire 6 IMEM-6-deBlois_CS2.indd i 5-4-2007 8:35:52 Impact of Empire Editorial Board of the series Impact of Empire (= Management Team of the Network Impact of Empire) Lukas de Blois, Angelos Chaniotis Ségolène Demougin, Olivier Hekster, Gerda de Kleijn Luuk de Ligt, Elio Lo Cascio, Michael Peachin John Rich, and Christian Witschel Executive Secretariat of the Series and the Network Lukas de Blois, Olivier Hekster Gerda de Kleijn and John Rich Radboud University of Nijmegen, Erasmusplein 1, P.O. Box 9103, 6500 HD Nijmegen, The Netherlands E-mail addresses: [email protected] and [email protected] Academic Board of the International Network Impact of Empire geza alföldy – stéphane benoist – anthony birley christer bruun – john drinkwater – werner eck – peter funke andrea giardina – johannes hahn – fik meijer – onno van nijf marie-thérèse raepsaet-charlier – john richardson bert van der spek – richard talbert – willem zwalve VOLUME 6 IMEM-6-deBlois_CS2.indd ii 5-4-2007 8:35:52 The Impact of the Roman Army (200 BC – AD 476) Economic, Social, Political, Religious and Cultural Aspects Proceedings of the Sixth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire (Roman Empire, 200 B.C. – A.D. 476) Capri, March 29 – April 2, 2005 Edited by Lukas de Blois & Elio Lo Cascio With the Aid of Olivier Hekster & Gerda de Kleijn LEIDEN • BOSTON 2007 This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
    [Show full text]
  • 11 Leadership Lessons from Julius Caesar
    11 LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM JULIUS CAESAR If there ever was a most characteristic military leader in history, that was Julius Caesar. Beyond his indisputable ability for strategy, the Roman General stood apart due to his prowess in leadership and his ability to transmit his wisdom and vision to the troops he was commanding who in turn gave Caesar their trust and loyalty. Caesar was born into a patrician family, the gens Julia, which claimed descent from Iulus, son of the legendary Trojan Prince Aeneas. Due to instability in Rome and because of Sullas proscriptions, Caesar the age of 19 Caesar joined the army and served with distinction at the Siege of Mytilene earning the Civic crown. After hearing of Sulla’s death, Caesar thought it safe to return to Rome although Pirates captured him and although eventually released he swore he would hunt them down and kill them, an act he successfully completed. Caesar climbed up the political ladder throughout his life eventually becoming Proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum. Caesar went on to become the greatest General and statesman of his era in which he attained ultimate power and received the title ‘Dictator for life’. However, the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved and on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated by a group of rebellious senators led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus and Decimus Junius Brutus. Caesar thought differently than his contemporaries and to help us to understand why he stood out as arguably the Greatest Roman who ever lived. Here are some lessons that a bright dead personality could teach us were they alive today, Gaius Julius Caesar – a man so successful in his time that his last name became synonymous with “Emperor”.
    [Show full text]
  • The Roman Army's Emergence from Its Italian Origins
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Carolina Digital Repository THE ROMAN ARMY’S EMERGENCE FROM ITS ITALIAN ORIGINS Patrick Alan Kent A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2012 Approved by: Richard Talbert Nathan Rosenstein Daniel Gargola Fred Naiden Wayne Lee ABSTRACT PATRICK ALAN KENT: The Roman Army’s Emergence from its Italian Origins (Under the direction of Prof. Richard Talbert) Roman armies in the 4 th century and earlier resembled other Italian armies of the day. By using what limited sources are available concerning early Italian warfare, it is possible to reinterpret the history of the Republic through the changing relationship of the Romans and their Italian allies. An important aspect of early Italian warfare was military cooperation, facilitated by overlapping bonds of formal and informal relationships between communities and individuals. However, there was little in the way of organized allied contingents. Over the 3 rd century and culminating in the Second Punic War, the Romans organized their Italian allies into large conglomerate units that were placed under Roman officers. At the same time, the Romans generally took more direct control of the military resources of their allies as idea of military obligation developed. The integration and subordination of the Italians under increasing Roman domination fundamentally altered their relationships. In the 2 nd century the result was a growing feeling of discontent among the Italians with their position.
    [Show full text]
  • Livy's Early History of Rome: the Horatii & Curiatii
    Livy’s Early History of Rome: The Horatii & Curiatii (Book 1.24-26) Mary Sarah Schmidt University of Georgia Summer Institute 2016 [1] The Horatii and Curiatii This project is meant to highlight the story of the Horatii and Curiatii in Rome’s early history as told by Livy. It is intended for use with a Latin class that has learned the majority of their Latin grammar and has knowledge of Rome’s history surrounding Julius Caesar, the civil wars, and the rise of Augustus. The Latin text may be used alone or with the English text of preceding chapters in order to introduce and/or review the early history of Rome. This project can be used in many ways. It may be an opportunity to introduce a new Latin author to students or as a supplement to a history unit. The Latin text may be used on its own with an historical introduction provided by the instructor or the students may read and study the events leading up to the battle of the Horatii and Curiatii as told by Livy. Ideally, the students will read the preceding chapters, noting Livy’s intention of highlighting historical figures whose actions merit imitation or avoidance. This will allow students to develop an understanding of what, according to Livy and his contemporaries, constituted a morally good or bad Roman. Upon reaching the story of the Horatii and Curiatii, not only will students gain practice and understanding of Livy’s Latin literary style, but they will also be faced with the morally confusing Horatius.
    [Show full text]
  • Aristocratic Identities in the Roman Senate from the Social War to the Flavian Dynasty
    Aristocratic Identities in the Roman Senate From the Social War to the Flavian Dynasty By Jessica J. Stephens A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Greek and Roman History) in the University of Michigan 2016 Doctoral Committee: Professor David Potter, chair Professor Bruce W. Frier Professor Richard Janko Professor Nicola Terrenato [Type text] [Type text] © Jessica J. Stephens 2016 Dedication To those of us who do not hesitate to take the long and winding road, who are stars in someone else’s sky, and who walk the hillside in the sweet summer sun. ii [Type text] [Type text] Acknowledgements I owe my deep gratitude to many people whose intellectual, emotional, and financial support made my journey possible. Without Dr. T., Eric, Jay, and Maryanne, my academic career would have never begun and I will forever be grateful for the opportunities they gave me. At Michigan, guidance in negotiating the administrative side of the PhD given by Kathleen and Michelle has been invaluable, and I have treasured the conversations I have had with them and Terre, Diana, and Molly about gardening and travelling. The network of gardeners at Project Grow has provided me with hundreds of hours of joy and a respite from the stress of the academy. I owe many thanks to my fellow graduate students, not only for attending the brown bags and Three Field Talks I gave that helped shape this project, but also for their astute feedback, wonderful camaraderie, and constant support over our many years together. Due particular recognition for reading chapters, lengthy discussions, office friendships, and hours of good company are the following: Michael McOsker, Karen Acton, Beth Platte, Trevor Kilgore, Patrick Parker, Anna Whittington, Gene Cassedy, Ryan Hughes, Ananda Burra, Tim Hart, Matt Naglak, Garrett Ryan, and Ellen Cole Lee.
    [Show full text]
  • Anglo-Saxon Constitutional History
    Outline 9/14/2020 ROMAN LAW PRINCIPATE CONSTITUTIONAL OUTLINE, PROCEDURE OUTLINE I. Chronology: Principate 27 BC – 284 AD; Dominate: 284–476 AD (in the West). There is some controversy as to where to place the beginning of the Dominate. 284 AD, the beginning of the reign of Diocletian, seems best. He seems to have been the first emperor to use the word dominus, from which we get ‘dominate’ as part of his official title. 1. 27 BC – 284 AD: Principate a. 27 BC – 69 AD: Julio-Claudian emperors. Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius (called Caligula), Claudius (made emperor by the praetorian guard), Nero (of burning of Rome fame) b. 68/69 AD, the year of the four emperors: Galba, Otho, Vitellus, Vespasian. The succession problem becomes public c. .69–96 AD: Flavian emperors (soldiers all): Vespasian, Titus (sacks Jerusalem), Domitian (Titus’ brother) d. 96–180 AD: “5 good emperors”: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius. The first three were unrelated, the last two began a dynasty of Antonines. e. 180–235 AD: The Antonine dynasty merged into the Severan dynasty: Commodus (Marcus Aurelius’ son, a disaster as an emperor), Septimius Severus (a tough soldier and a good administrator), Caracalla (of baths and constitutio Antoniniana fame), Elagabalus (a sun-worshipper from the East), Severus Alexander (the last of the line). The last great classical jurist died shortly after the end of the Severan dynasty. The chronology continues; the following will be considered in class on 9/22/2020: f. 235–284 AD: “30 tyrants” 2. 284–565 AD: Dominate II. The Constitution of the Principate 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Seutonius: Lives of the Twelve Caesars 1
    Seutonius: Lives of the Twelve Caesars 1 application on behalf of his friend to the emperor THE LIVES OF THE TWELVE CAESARS Trajan, for a mark of favor, he speaks of him as "a By C. Suetonius Tranquillus most excellent, honorable, and learned man, whom he had the pleasure of entertaining under The Translation of Alexander Thomson, M.D. his own roof, and with whom the nearer he was brought into communion, the more he loved Revised and corrected by T. Forester, Esq., A.M. 1 him." CAIUS JULIUS CAESAR. ................................................. 2 The plan adopted by Suetonius in his Lives of the Twelve Caesars, led him to be more diffuse on OCTAVIUS CAESAR AUGUSTUS. .................................. 38 their personal conduct and habits than on public TIBERIUS NERO CAESAR. ............................................ 98 events. He writes Memoirs rather than History. CAIUS CAESAR CALIGULA. ........................................ 126 He neither dwells on the civil wars which sealed TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS DRUSUS CAESAR. ..................... 146 the fall of the Republic, nor on the military NERO CLAUDIUS CAESAR. ........................................ 165 expeditions which extended the frontiers of the SERGIUS SULPICIUS GALBA. ..................................... 194 empire; nor does he attempt to develop the causes of the great political changes which A. SALVIUS OTHO. .................................................... 201 marked the period of which he treats. AULUS VITELLIUS. ..................................................... 206 When we stop to gaze in a museum or gallery on T. FLAVIUS VESPASIANUS AUGUSTUS. ..................... 212 the antique busts of the Caesars, we perhaps TITUS FLAVIUS VESPASIANUS AUGUSTUS. ............... 222 endeavor to trace in their sculptured TITUS FLAVIUS DOMITIANUS. .................................. 229 physiognomy the characteristics of those princes, who, for good or evil, were in their times masters of the destinies of a large portion of the PREFACE human race.
    [Show full text]
  • Gaius Julius Caesar Was a Roman Aristocrat, Politician and General Who Used His Military Success to Gain Politician Dominance
    Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman aristocrat, politician and general who used his military success to gain political dominance during the closing years of the Roman Republic. His Gallic Wars represent one of the largest acquisitions of territory by a single Roman general and brought Caesar the wealth, prestige and veteran army that allowed him to establish himself through force as dictator in Rome. Far-reaching political and social reforms followed, until on the eve of leaving Rome for a campaign against the Parthians, Caesar was assassinated by a conspiracy of former enemies and allies. Caesar was born in 100 BCE to the aristocratic Julian family that claimed ancestry back to the Trojan hero Aeneas and the gods. The Julii were one of oldest families in Rome and this gave Caesar an advantage in the intensely competitive political world of the late Roman Republic, though its members had not been particularly successful politically for several generations. The family had received a welcome financial boost through the marriage of Caesar’s aunt to the political newcomer Marius, one of Rome’s leading generals of the late second century BCE, but this brought with it dangers. His relationship with Marius led to Caesar’s life being endangered during the political upheavals during Sulla’s dominance in the 80s BCE and he was lucky to escape unscathed. He sensibly withdrew from Italy and undertook military service in the eastern Mediterranean, first on the staff of Minucius Thermus, the governor of Asia, and subsequently with Servilius Isauricus in a campaign against pirates. Whilst on Thermus’ staff, Caesar gained renown for two actions: his relationship with the king of Bithynia, Nicomedes, to whose court Caesar had been sent to acquire ships for Thermus’ campaign; and for his courage in battle.
    [Show full text]
  • Wjcl Certamen 2016 Novice Division Round One
    WJCL CERTAMEN 2016 NOVICE DIVISION ROUND ONE 1. What is the Latin word for “animal”? ANIMAL, ANIMĀLIS or FERA, FERAE B1. What is the Latin word for “snake”? SERPĒNS, SERPENTIS or ANGUIS, ANGUIS B2. What is the Latin word for “dragon”? DRACO, DRACŌNIS 2. In the Roman army, what was the job of the aquilifer? CARRIED THE LEGION’S EAGLE B1. In the armies of the Roman Empire, what was the imaginifer carrying? IMAGE OF THE EMPEROR B2. How many soldiers shared a tent together as part of a contubernium? EIGHT 3. We think of the gods as having perfect physiques, but this was not always the case. Who was the only lame Olympian? VULCAN/HEPHAESTUS B1. What was he the god of? THE FORGE/SMITHY B2.Who was his beautiful wife? VENUS/APHRODITE 4. What case or cases can the preposition “prope” take? ACCUSATIVE B1. What case does the preposition “in” take? ABLATIVE or ACCUSATIVE B2. What case can the preposition “circum” take? ACCUSATIVE 5. This lover of Zeus was turned into a heifer in an effort to hide her from a jealous Hera. IO B1. What hundred-eyed watchman did Hera recruit to keep an eye on the suspicious looking cow? ARGUS B2. After his demise, Argus’ many eyes were incorporated into the plumage of this bird, a symbol for Hera PEACOCK 6. Which of the following words differs from the others in use and function? Quinque, Tertius, Decem, Sex TERTIUS B1. What type of number is tertius? ORDINAL [accept definitions/explanations of what an ordinal is] B2.
    [Show full text]