JULIUS CAESAR
125-101
100-76
75-51
50-26
25-1 BC
Politics & Military History
117 Chinese expand to the north west, garrisoning Gansu, the gateway to Central Asia. 115 Teutons and Cimbri leave their homelands in Germany. 112 Rome at war with Jugurtha, King of Numidia. Ill Chinese conquer Kingdom of Nan Yue (south China plus north Vietnam).
108 Chinese conquer North Korea.
106 Jugurtha captured.
105 Teutons and Cimbri defeat the Romans at Orange. 102 Roman General Marius defeats the Teutons at Aquae Sextiae (Aix en Provence): defeats the Cimbri at Vercellae (101).
91-89 ‘Social War’ in Italy between Rome and her Italian allies ends with all Italians getting Roman citizenship.
86 Sulla defeats Mithradates VI of Pontus in Anatolia; establishes dictatorship in Rome (82-79).
= Bantu migration of Negro peoples from west Africa into central Africa begins.
68 Chinese pull back behind the Great Wall.
66 Pompey finally disposes of Mithradates: campaigns in trans-Caucasia (65); deposes last Seleucid (64) and organises the whole of the eastern Mediterranean into provinces of states subordinate to Rome. 62 Pompey returns to Italy.
60 Pompey, Caesar and Crassus form the First Triumvirate.
59-51 Caesar conquers Gaul with side expeditions to Germany (55 and 53) and Britain (55 and 54).
53 Crassus killed by the Parthians at Carrhae.
49 Civil war between Caesar and Pompey ends in Pompey’s defeat at Pharsalus (48).
47-44 Dictatorship of Caesar ends with his assassination.
43 Second Triumvirate of Antony (Caesar’s lieutenant), Octavian (Caesar’s heir) and Lepidus (a nonentity): defeats Caesar’s assassins at Philippi (42) and divides empire (40). 40 Herod recognized as King of Judea by the Romans: takes Jerusalem (37).
36 Lepidus dropped.
31 Octavian defeats Antony at Actium: suicide of Antony and Cleopatra (30).
27 Octavian takes the name Augustus.
20 Parthians restore the standards captured at Battle o Carrhae in 53.
2 Augustus, who has refused the title of Dictator (but has been running the empire single-handed all the same), accepts the title of Pater Patriae.
= Bantu peoples reach Lake Victoria, Africa.
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Religion & Learning
113 Prince Liu Sheng, half brother of Emperor Wu Di, buried at Mancheng, Hebei, in a ‘jade suit’. Made of 2,690 separate jade plates sewn together with gold wire, the suit is an example of a type of burial gear exclusive to the imperial family.
= Sima Qian’s Historical Records lays the foundations for Chinese historical writings.
70 Cicero makes his
reputation by prosecuting
Verres, retiring Governor of
Sicily, for corruption.
c60 Diodorus begins work on
his World History.
c55 Lucretius On Nature.
51 Caesar Gallic War.
48 Fire destroys the Royal Library at Alexandria.
47 Varro, Librarian of Rome, publishes his 41 volume encyclopaedia. c40 Sallust Jugurthine War. c30 Vitruvius On Architecture. 26 First volume of Livy’s History of Rome published.
4the Great traditionally associated with birth of Christ and ‘Massacre of the Innocents’.
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Cities & Social Development
118 Narbonne founded, the first Roman colony outside Italy. Becomes the capital of the province of Transalpine (southern) Gaul.
87 Athens sacked by Sulla.
73-71 Rebellion of the gladiators of Capua led by Spartacus.
= Julius Caesar plans the refounding of Carthage and Corinth as Roman colonies: Augustus implements these plans on becoming Emperor.
Other important provincial colonies founded at this time include Lyons, Nimes, Trier and Seville.
22 Herod founds Caesarea: begins rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem (20).
= Augustan building programme at Rome includes Theatre of Marcellus (13), Altar of Peace (9) and Augustan Forum (2).
= Construction of Temple (Maison Carree) and aqueduc (Pont du Gard) of Nimes.
— Aosta and Turin founded following Augustus’ pacification of the Alps.
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Discovery & Invention
= Cargo of Rhodian ship wrecked off Antikythera includes cogwheel device for calculating the relative motions of the sun, moon and 5 known planets (recovered 1900-2).
= Opening of trans-Asian ‘silk route’ between China and the West.
= Invention of glass-blowing (?in the Levant) leads to glass vessels of all sizes and shapes becoming common articles throughout the Roman world.
46 Caesar institutes the Julian calendar based purely on the solar (tropical) year. Uses value of 365.250 days as against true value of 365.242. 36 Mexico: Earliest surviving example of a dating inscription in the ‘Long Count’ style invented by the Olmecs.
= Use of the water wheel general in the Roman world.
= Tower of the Winds, Athens, bearing a wind vane and nine sundials and containing a water-clock: this probably operated an astronomical dial of the type later used in medieval astrolabes.
The Arts
== Venus de Milo (Louvre).
c55 Catullus Poems.
55 Pompey uses the spoils of his eastern campaign to build Rome’s first stone theatre.
= Construction of major Buddhist monuments in India including Great Stupa at Sanchi and rock-cut temple at Karli.
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23 Horace Odes.
19 Virgil dies leaving the Aeneid almost complete.
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