Marcus Licinius Crassus(died 53 BC) Crassus grew up as the son of a consul and distinguished general.His career to fame and phenomenal wealth began as he started purchasing the houses of Sulla’s victims. Had Sulla confiscated all their belongings he sold them off cheap. And Crassus bought and made sensational profits when selling them on. …
Lucius Cornelius Sulla(138-78 BC) Lucius Cornelius Sulla stemmed from a good, though not very wealthy Roman family. He came to prominence most of all in the Social War (91-89 BC). When in 88 BC Mithridates, King of Pontus, attacked the Roman province of Asia, where a alleged 80’000 Romans and Italians were massacred, the senate …
Flavius Jovianus(AD 330 – AD 364) Born in AD 330 at Singidunum, Jovian was the son of the commander of imperial bodyguard (comes domesticorum) of Constantius II. Jovian began his career as a member of that very same force, serving first Constantius II, then Julian. By AD 363, following his father’s example, he rose to …
Gaius Gracchus(159-121 BC) After the violent death of Tiberius Gracchus, the Gracchus family wasn’t finished yet. Gaius Gracchus, a flamboyant and powerful public speaker, was to be a far more formidable political force than his brother. The legacy of Tiberius Gracchus, the agrarian law, was being applied in a manner which created a fresh grievance …
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus(168-133 BC) Tiberius and his brother Gaius Gracchus were to be two men who should become famous, if not infamous, for their struggle for the lower classes of Rome. They themselves though originated from Rome’s very elite. Their father was a consul and military commander and their mother was from the distinguished patrician …
The Battle of Adrianople on 9 August AD 378 was the beginning of the end for the Roman empire. Was the Roman empire weakening, then the barbarians were on the rise. Rome was no longer in its prime, yet it still could muster a tremendous force. The western empire at the time was ruled by …