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“Religious observance began at that vital centre of Roman culture and experience: the family” Strange as it may seem to us today, to the people of Ancient Rome religion was of utmost importance, forming an integral and vital part of every day life. The gods controlled everything that happened to an individual and the nation as a whole, with the actions of these often volatile deities used to explain events that occurred, both good and bad. It is hardly surprising therefore to find that a great deal of time and energy was spent on religious practice by the Romans: from slaves to the emperors and everyone in between. Indeed, Rome itself as a whole congratulated itself on high levels of collective piety, believing that this, coupled with a talent for…

Rex Sacorum Their original purpose was to replace the religious role previously held by the kings of Rome with the dawning of the Roman Republic, the word rex a reminder of the origin of their position. These priests could not hold public office and was barred from sitting in the senate in an attempt to curtail their power. They were later responsible for declaring the many religious festivals on the calendar. Quindecimviri The Quindecemviri were charged with the important task of guarding the Sibylline Books; these books contained prophecies concerning the fate of the Empire and they were consulted at important moments to see what needed to be done. They were also responsible for amalgamating any gods of foreign origin adopted by Rome. Pontiffs Overseen by the Pontifex Maximus, a…

The Senate was designed to be the most democratic representation of Roman governance, so debates were long and took into account every member’s thoughts on a particular matter. It would begin by a presiding magistrate introducing a relatio (matter for discussion) and then opening the floor to debate. Every single one would be called forward to express their opinions before their fellow senators. The order with which members were called forward was very specific and was based upon their role. The order was as follows: Consules designati, Princeps senatus, Dictatorii, Censores designati, Censorii, Consulares, Praetores designati, Praetorii, Aediles curules designati, Aedilicii curules, Aediles plebis, designati, Aedilicii plebis, Tribuni plebis designati, Tribunicii plebis, Quaestores designati, Quaestorii and Privati. Once each senator had expressed their opinion on the relatio, the presiding magistrate…

It was the highest elected office in the days of the Roman Republic, and two consuls were elected at any one time, each serving a one-year term before being replaced. Their duties spanned a vast range of civil and military tasks, and from 367 BCE a plebeian (common) citizen could even stand for office. This kind of democracy wouldn’t last, however, as the death of Julius Caesar and subsequent wars led to the establishment of the Roman Empire in 27 BCE. The consuls’ powers were absorbed by that of the emperor, leaving them as mere figureheads. Inside the senate Venue Many locations were used for senate meetings, such as the Temples of Jupiter Capitolinus, Fides, Concord and Apollo. Consul As the consul would frequently address the senate, he was expected…

We can see from the architecture left behind across the former Roman Empire that the ancient Romans took construction very seriously and saw it as a way of displaying strength, sophistication and wealth. The equestrians, or the relatively affluent, would live in large, lavish homes called domus, that were erected over one floor surrounding an atrium and had multiple rooms, including one or two for the slaves. Their homes would often be decorative with marble statues and columns adorning their interior and exterior, and there would be beautiful paintings or mosaics. The domus also often had a large bathing pool and a garden in the middle of the building to create a sense of space and nature. However, the poor lived in cramped apartment blocks that could be as much…

During the Roman Empire, up to a third of the population of Rome consisted of slaves. These men, women and children had often been captured in battle, and were then bought by wealthy Romans to work for them in exchange for basic food and lodging. As well as providing manual labour and domestic duties, such as cleaning, cooking and transport services, slaves were also considered a symbol of wealth for Rome’s elite, and so the more servants a man owned, the greater his social standing. A very rich man could own as many as 500 slaves, while an emperor could have 20,000. Living conditions for a slave were brutal, and they lived relatively short lives as a result of this. Get up Slaves were expected to be up at dawn…

The Mediterranean Sea of Caesar’s time was infested by Cilician pirates, who often traded slaves with the Romans. While travelling, Caesar found himself kidnapped by these pirates and held prisoner. It is an event that offers a great insight into Caesar’s personality and self-belief in his earlier years. Initially the pirates asked for a ransom of 20 talents, at which Caesar laughed, claiming they had undervalued him and should raise it to 50. While his followers dashed off to find the money, Caesar remained the pirates’ captive for 38 days. But this was no captivity in chains. Not only did Caesar join in with their games, but he also demanded they be quiet when he was trying to sleep. He wrote speeches that he recited to them, and if they…

From Caesar’s birth in 100 BCE to the time he crossed the Rubicon River in a brazen act of rebellion in 49 BCE, the Roman Senate floor was a battleground, where power was taken by cunning, conspiracy and force. The powder keg had exploded into conflict in 88 BCE with the first in a series of civil wars and rebellions, with the conservative elite locked in combat with the growing ranks of populists; Rome was full of orators, soldiers and politicians fighting for control. Gaius Julius Caesar was all three. Caesar knew what he was capable of and what he wanted and, when Caesar saw an opportunity, he took it. His cunning, ruthlessness and the sheer scope of his ambition would change the landscape of western Europe and beyond. After…

Julius Caesar While Crassus gave the triumvirate gold and Pompey gave it military muscle, Caesar brought the political savvy and the ambition. The difficulty of reconciling two men who hated each other so bitterly should not be underestimated, but Caesar convinced them that the rewards he could give them through his consulship would far outweigh any petty rivalry. Once the First Triumvirate was formed, Caesar used brutal tactics to make sure he got what he wanted. The campaign he ran was so dirty that the famously honest Cato was forced to resort to bribery to make sure his son-in-law was elected to co-consul. Marcus Crassus Caesar needed financial support to run for consul and Crassus’s wealth was notorious. He’d amassed a huge personal fortune through underhanded real-estate dealings, his mining…

What do you do when you want to control the Roman Republic? Julius Caesar found two other men who wanted the same thing, so that together they could dominate the Senate. While Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, known to history as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was elected consul a few times, the first was with Marcus Licinius Crassus in 70 BCE. Although two men sharing the top job was supposed to keep the peace and discourage one taking too much power for themselves, this inherently caused rivalries – Pompey and Crassus were no different. What Crassus wanted most of all was military glory and he tried everything that he could to stop the more experienced Pompey from gaining more influence over the Senate. He ultimately failed. But tensions between the two…

In the 1st century BCE, Britain was an island on the edge of the so-called civilised world. A dark, uncharted place whose inhabitants were said to be half-beast, blue-painted savages who practised human sacrifice and wore the heads of their slaughtered enemies upon their belts. To most Romans, Britannia – as they called it – was a nightmarish netherworld best left in the shadows. But Julius Caesar wasn’t like most Romans. In August 55 BCE, having fought his way across present-day France conquering much of what was then called Gaul, Rome’s rising superstar stood on the shore at Boulogne and stared across the Channel. On a clear day, it’s just possible to see the coast of Kent from there. For Caesar, the great gambler, the unknown land on the horizon…

LEADER Gaius Julius Caesar STRENGTH Over 27,000 KEY UNIT Legionary Well-trained and equipped legionaries had to be fit enough to march 20 miles a day, and be able to swim. They were also highly proficient combat engineers and boatmen. KEY WEAPON Gladius short sword An ideal weapon for stabbing and slashing at close quarters while fighting from behind a shield within well-disciplined ranks. It measured 85cm (33in) long and was forged from steel. LEADER Cassivellaunus STRENGTH Unknown but likely to be tens of thousands KEY UNIT Warrior The only accounts of these fighters are Roman, which portray them as reckless savages. Their tactics and technology – their copper sulphate war paint, for example, had antiseptic qualities – suggest otherwise. Key weapon Spear Measuring 2.5m (8ft), these spears were designed to…

The North African kingdom of Mauretania had enjoyed a complex relationship with Rome in the decades before Caesar’s arrival on the political scene. In the late second century BCE the ruler Bocchus I had struggled to decide between remaining loyal to Rome or supporting the machinations of his son-in-law Jugurtha. Ultimately, he determined that might was right and lured Jugurtha into a trap where he was handed over to the Romans. Bocchus’ successors, the co-ruling brothers Bocchus II and Bogud, would play a significant role in Caesar’s campaigns during the civil war against the supporters of Pompey the Great. North Africa proved to be a crucial theatre of conflict, and Mauretania was a vital ally in the fight against Caesar’s enemy Juba I of Numidia. The pivotal battle took place…

“ [Sulla] commanded Caesar to divorce Cornelia, and stripped him of his positions, inheritance and dowry” Position: First wife Date of marriage: c.83-c.69 BCE When Caesar and Cornelia married around 83 BCE, both bride and groom were still mourning the deaths of both their fathers. Caesar was an ambitious 17 year old who was looking to move up in the world, but he was still only the new head of a family with relatively little influence. In contrast, Cornelia came from an influential home – she was the daughter of a leading Roman politician, Cinna. He had recently been killed in a soldier’s mutiny, but prior to that had been consul for four consecutive years, and a staunch supporter of Marius in his civil war with Sulla. Caesar hoped that…

Position: Third wife Date of marriage: 59-44 BCE If Caesar’s second wife attracted scandal and damaged his reputation, his third and final wife was quite the opposite. The daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, another rising politician like Caesar, Calpurnia was 16 years old when she married 41-year-old Caesar, who was serving his first term as consul having established the First Triumvirate with Crassus and Pompey. Calpurnia was a few months younger than Caesar’s daughter, Julia. Contemporaries reported that she was humble and shy, happy to live out of the spotlight that shone increasingly brightly on her husband during their marriage: Caesar would conquer Gaul within a few years of the wedding, before returning to cross the Rubicon and effectively seize control of Rome itself. Calpurnia was also intensely loyal,…

Egypt was in turmoil. In the year 81 BCE Ptolemy IX, the pharaoh who had dared to melt down the gold coffin of Alexander the Great, was dead. A series of bloody and violent family feuds had robbed his dynasty of any legitimate male heirs, so his popular and beloved daughter, Bernice III became queen. Following the family tradition, she married her half-brother, Plotemy XI, but just 19 days after the ceremony, the groom had his new bride murdered and claimed the throne as his own. The citizens of Alexandria were furious, and an angry mob quickly seized the new pharaoh and lynched him. This left Egypt leaderless and seemingly out of control. As the commander of the army and the personification of god on Earth, a pharaoh’s presence was…

The future first emperor of Rome was brought up during civil war. Born in 63 BCE to a relatively obscure patrician family, the silver lining was that he was related to the Caesars. His mother, Atai, was Julius Caesar’s niece, and after the death of his father, Octavian was raised by his grandmother, who was Caesar’s sister, Julia Caesaris. It wasn’t until 47 BCE that Octavian and the great Julius Caesar met. Aged 16, it was time for Octavian to don the Roman toga and become a man. Using family connections, he managed to take on responsibilities, and one of them was going to help his great-uncle Caesar fight in Hispania. However, his journey went somewhat awry when he became shipwrecked on the way there, and he had to cross…

Three years before Caesar’s murder his only son was born to Cleopatra, the result of an illicit affair between the pair. They had met following the murder in Egypt of Pompey in 48 BCE, killed on the orders of Ptolemy XIII in the hope of winning Caesar’s favour. But it was a miscalculation on the part of the teenage king, and an even bigger blunder was sending Pompey’s head to Caesar as a gift. The Roman dictator led his army into Egypt and soon fell under the charm of Cleopatra. The pair became lovers and Caesar had her installed on the Egyptian throne. Ptolemy Caesar, nicknamed ‘Little Caesar’, was the first of Cleopatra’s four children, the other three springing from her passionate alliance with Mark Antony after Caesar’s death. The…

Lupercalia A celebration of fertility Held on 15 February. Dogs and goats were sacrificed in the cave of Romulus and Remus, and two teams of boys wearing goatskins were daubed with the blood. Then carrying goatskin strips the boys would run a set route, whipping spectators as they went. Women hoping to become pregnant would position themselves along the course so that they could be whipped as the runners passed. Compitalia To honour the lares compitales, household deities of the crossroads One of the most important Roman festivals, it took place over three moveable days in late December or early January. Sacrifices were left at crossroads, and slaves could do what they wanted on those days. Wooden figures were placed on doorsteps to appease the lares and ask them to…

The limitations in power endured by the Senate differed from the Republic to the Empire. During the Republic, the Senate existed alongside the consuls – however, the consuls had far more power than the Senate and could effectively do what they wanted. This did put the Senate at a disadvantage, but since consuls could only serve for two years at most (while the Senate remained permanent) many consuls were often wary of the Senate’s power. It should be noted that the Senate actually had no executive power in its earliest days. Towards the end of the Republic, the Senate’s power exploded, but that power reduced rapidly under Imperial rule. Its control of everything from finance to judicial laws was limited as the emperors continued to consolidate power into their own…

Roman society was a complex system made up of a strong social pecking order that went far beyond a simplistic dichotomy of very rich and incredibly poor. While we are familiar with the privileged lives of the emperors, senators and the equestrians below them, perhaps the most intriguing class of all was that of the plebeian. The men and women of the lower classes were the beating heart of the empire but there were few comforts their work afforded them, and this didn’t go unnoticed. A great dispute arose between the patricians and the plebeians in 494 BCE and it raged intermittently for 200 years. In that year, the plebeians threatened to leave Rome – a withdrawal of manpower which would have proved devastating – and concessions were introduced. However,…

Before Caesar stepped onto the Senate floor, the Roman political system was divided in two: the optimates and the populists. Every politician stated their belief in freedom, but the problem was that the two groups had different ideas about what exactly freedom meant. The Senate had become something close to a private club run by the optimates, where privilege, status and who you knew meant power. However, that libertarian ideal meant something very different to the populists, who made their voices heard in the People’s Assembly. Both groups believed that they were acting in the best interests of the Republic, and both used the word “liberty” in their manifestos, but they agreed on practically nothing, leading to political chaos. The populists and conservatives would face each other in the Plebeian…

As you would expect, the First Triumvirate had its supporters and its enemies. Firmly on their side, though, was Cicero, a politician and orator who was strongly opposed to the optimates in the Senate. In fact, he was on such good terms with the triumvirate that he appealed to Pompey and Caesar to help him return to Rome in 57 BCE after his exile. It’s even thought that he was asked to join the triumvirate at the very beginning. He refused but that didn’t stop him from lending his legal services. His friend Lucius Lucceius also ran for the consulship with Caesar in 60 BCE and financed both of them, even though he was ultimately unsuccessful. But the trio perhaps had more enemies than friends. Bibulus, Caesar’s co-consul, was part…

Geography The island is triangular, and one of its sides is opposite to Gaul. This side extends 500 miles. Another side lies toward Spain and the west and is 700 miles. The third side is toward the north. This side is 800 miles in length. The island is about 2,000 miles in circumference. People All the Britons dye themselves a bluish colour, and thereby have a more terrible appearance in fight. They wear their hair long, and have every part of their body shaved except for their head and upper lip. Warriors Their mode of fighting with their chariots is this: firstly, they drive in all directions, throwing their weapons to break the ranks of the enemy, they then leap from their chariots and engage on foot. The charioteers in…

As befitted such a mighty and ambitious civilisation, Rome never lacked its share of enemies or rivals. Through the centuries clashes with Carthage, Macedon, the Etruscans and the Seleucid Empire had all shaped the contours of Roman history. During the 1st century BCE old animosities with the kingdom of Pontus in Asia Minor continued to simmer. Spheres of influence collided during the long reign of Mithridates VI, and Caesar himself would be forced to confront Pharnaces II, an engagement that prompted one of Caesar’s most famous utterances: “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Fortunately, this proved to be a rather easy triumph for Caesar: according to the historian Suetonius, Pharnaces was “vanquished in a single battle within five days of [Caesar’s] arrival and four hours of getting sight of him”.…

One of the great advantages of possessing so many provinces and cultivating so many client kingdoms was that Rome could count on the specialised military talents of peoples from many nations. This was particularly true of cavalry, a profession that had rather fallen out of fashion among the Roman elite. In his various campaigns, Caesar also made use of ‘slingers’ from the Balearic Islands and archers from Syria and Numidia. This latter profession was also a speciality of Crete, an island that enjoyed an unusually long and amicable relationship with Rome. As part of the conflicts with Mithridates VI of Pontus, Rome finally seized control of Crete in 68 BCE, and it would form part of a joint province with Cyrenaica, comprising part of present-day Libya. Rome did not make…

Position: Second wife Date of marriage: 67-61 BCE Caesar returned to Rome a year after the death of his first wife, and quickly found a suitable replacement. Just like Cornelia, Pompeia was the daughter of a former consul who had been killed in the civil war. She was also the granddaughter of Sulla, indicating that Caesar was willing to switch allegiances if it furthered his own ends. Four years after the wedding, Caesar was elected to the important position of Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of the Roman state religion. However, the grand appointment also led to the collapse of his marriage. Caesar’s new role came with an official residence on the Via Sacra, in which Pompeia was tasked with hosting the festival of Bona Dea with the Vestal Virgins…

Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator Macedonian, 62-47 BCE How did they get together? The marriage between Ptolemy and his sister was arranged, as was the tradition with Egyptian royalty. Was it true love? Considering their joint rule erupted into a brutal civil war, we can assume there was little love lost between the siblings. There is no evidence they consummated their marriage. How did it end? Ptolemy was forced to flee Alexandria when the forces of Caesar and his sister-wife Cleopatra claimed victory. He reportedly drowned attempting to cross the Nile when fleeing. Julius Caesar Roman, 100-44 BCE How did they get together? Cleopatra and her brother both needed Caesar’s support. Cleopatra met with Caesar before their scheduled meeting and managed to sway his vote. Her methods can be left to…

“The Roman Republic he had dedicated his whole life to protect had betrayed him once again” Marcus Tullius Cicero peeked out of his covered litter to check if he was being followed. He was sweating, his heart was pounding and he looked nervous. It was not the first time he was on the run from the authorities. The Roman Republic he had dedicated his whole life to protect had betrayed him once again and this time there would be no reprieve. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two armed soldiers strolling towards the slaves carrying the litter. They called him by name and told the slaves to stop; Cicero knew he had only moments to live. He regarded the men solemnly and declared: “There is nothing proper…

Today, Julius Caesar is among the most well-known figures in the history of humanity. He has been portrayed on stage and in film, and the focus of countless books, and he has served as an inspiration to many monumental men and women who have followed him. The mythical status that has developed around Caesar has created an aura of legend. But he was not a figure from myth – he was a man, a real man who lived and breathed, made mistakes, and paid for them. Who was he really? What did his friends, enemies and lovers think about him? And what was it about this man in particular that prompted him to rise out of the masses to obtain this legendary status? Perhaps the most well-documented aspect of Caesar…

Eight years ago, the three most powerful men in the Republic of Rome joined forces to rule as a triumvirate. Pompey is the greatest living military commander, Crassus is the richest man in Rome and you, Julius Caesar, are one of its most prominent politicians. With your combined money and influence, you overcame the objections of the Senate to enact populist land reforms and redistribute wealth to the poor. You also got yourself appointed governor of Gaul, but the various tribes living in the region haven’t always been happy about this, and so much of your time in the triumvirate has been spent away from Rome, commanding your legions. But now Crassus is dead, killed in battle, and Pompey, left alone in Rome, has grown arrogant, corrupt and suspicious of…

OCTOBER 45 BCE Caesar dismisses his security Believing that nobody would dare attack him, Caesar dismissed his Spanish bodyguard, an act that would allow the conspirators to carry out their ghastly plot effectively. 45 BCE FEBRUARY 44 BCE Dictator for life Caesar is named dictator for life, an honour which saw him elevated to almost divine status. His inflated arrogance began to infuriate those around him, especially his close allies in the Senate. 44 BCE FEBRUARY 44 BCE The festival of Lupercalia When Mark Antony attempted to place a laurel wreath on Caesar’s head while in the Forum, Caesar pushed it away stating that Jupiter was the king of Romans, an act that many saw as staged. 44 BCE MARCH 44 BCE The plot is hatched As they formulated their…

Banished family When the ruler found out that Augustus’ only child, Julia, had been sleeping with men out of wedlock – including one of Mark Antony’s sons – he had her exiled to Ventotene and they never saw each other again. The Roman wife Augustus’ third wife, Livia, served as the archetypal Roman woman and wife. However, Livia was set on ensuring that her son from another marriage would rule after Augustus, and she succeeded – Tiberius ruled from 14 CE. Famous last words On his deathbed, Augustus’ last words were reportedly: “I found Rome a city of clay but left it a city of marble.” While the emperor had achieved this, his wife said his last words were: “Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit.”…

Marcius Agrippa An unusual senator, Marcius Agrippa began life as a slave, working as a beautician. He flitted between a number of different roles, before pretending to be a man of higher rank (he was found out and banished). He was eventually called back, granted the same rights as a man who was born free and was elevated to senatorial rank. Aulus Gabinius A prominent figure in the twilight years of the Republic, Aulus Gabinius was a statesman, a general and a supporter of Pompey. As well as a senator, he had a storied history in the army and was the general who successfully helped Marc Antony restore Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes to his throne. Tillius Cimber Famously one of the men who betrayed and assassinated Julius Caesar, Tillius…

Lucius Junius Brutus 509 BCE The founder of the Roman Republic, he was one of the first consuls and is claimed to be an ancestor of Marcus Junius Brutus, one of Julius Caesar’s assassins. Julius Caesar 100-44 BCE Caesar was consul on five separate occasions, before being murdered after declaring himself a dictator for life. Mark Antony 83-30 BCE A consul on two occasions, he later ruled with Octavian before falling out, losing against him in battle and committing suicide with his lover, Cleopatra. Augustus 63 BCE-14 CE Formerly known as Octavian, he first became consul in 43 BCE, before becoming the first Roman emperor in 27 BCE.…

If there was a social leveller in Rome, then it would be found in the public toilets, where 95 per cent of the million-strong population sat, chatted and did their foulest of business. Within the latrine walls, the Romans were at their most naked, with their tunics pulled up and squatting over the large holes cut in wood or stone, and their privacy completely whipped away. They wiped their bottoms with water-soaked sponges attached to sticks, which they then discarded into the Roman sewer system. Back out on the streets, however, life was very different. There the class system was very much in place. At the top end of the scale were the higher ranks of Romans: the emperor, senators – who wore tunics with broad stripes called laticlavi –…

The part of Caesar’s ancestry that he referenced repeatedly throughout his rise to power and reign was actually the aspect that today would not be taken seriously at all — his relation to the goddess Venus. However, in Caesar’s Rome this claim was seriously impressive. As the goddess of love, Venus was one of the most important deities. She was also goddess of victory and fertility, and Caesar was eager to emphasise his supposed lineage to her. At the funeral of his aunt in 69 BCE Caesar publicly proclaimed his link to Venus, and when he faced Pompey in the civil war both men fought for Venus’ support. It was said that Pompey was afraid of Caesar’s relationship with the goddess, demonstrating just how powerful this claim was. Caesar vowed…

Throughout his regime, Caesar had used the approval of the people to his advantage. When he returned to Rome having defeated Pompey, Caesar knew it was crucial to keep the people onside. Mistakes were made along the way though. When he celebrated his win over Pompey’s son in Spain, it was seen as a serious faux-pas as such festivities were reserved for victories over foreign foes, not the sons of former consuls. His political reforms, however, addressed some of the major concerns many had aired. He understood that, if Rome was to truly be an empire, it could no longer hold back the benefits of living under Roman rule from those living outside Italy. With this in mind, he opened up citizenship to those living in Gaul, and encouraged people…

Among the many Gallican tribes who forged alliances with Rome, the Aedui of central France enjoyed a particularly close relationship. Their status as “brother kinsmen of Rome” brought significant political and economic benefits and allowed the Aedui to call upon Rome for assistance against their enemies and rivals, including neighbouring tribes such as the Arverni and the Helvetii. This privileged status had been sustained for six decades before Caesar’s arrival in Gaul and, during the early years of the proconsulship, appeared to remain mutually beneficial. The Aedui willingly provided logistical support and could always be relied upon for supplies of grain. Even with the arrival of Vercingetorix’s rebellion in 52 BCE, the Aedui were at first loyal to Rome, though tensions within the tribe began to emerge. A united front…

Behind every great man stands a great woman. Or, in Julius Caesar’s case, six women: three wives and three mistresses. In contrast with many other classical civilisations, Roman marriage was a monogamous institution that allowed a citizen to have only one spouse at a time. Each wedding was an opportunity for patrician families to bind themselves in political alliances, linking like-minded people together for their joint benefit, and allowing ambitious young men like Caesar to climb the greasy pole to power. However, Roman marriage was a lopsided affair that favoured men. Wives were expected to be loyal, silent and subservient, yet a blind eye was usually turned to a husband’s illicit sexual liaisons. Prostitutes and dancing girls were considered fair game; so was keeping a mistress, as long as she…

Position: Wife of Decimus Junius Silanus Date of affair: Pre 64-44 BCE Servilia’s first husband died in 77 BCE, her second husband died in 62 BCE. By the time she was a widow the second time, she had already begun an affair with Caesar, who was also on his second marriage. Although we don’t know the exact date it began, we do know that the affair was longest relationship in both their lives, lasting until Caesar’s death in 44 BCE. It’s clear that Caesar and Servilia were very fond of each other. He presented her with a rare black pearl from Gaul, and she would send love letters. One such note made the affair public when Caesar was acting in a secretive manner in the Senate. The letter he was…

Position: Queen of Mauretania Date of affair: 46 BCE Cleopatra was not the only royal who won Caesar’s affections. A year after the birth of Caesarion, Caesar found himself back courting royalty in North Africa. This time, he was in Mauretania (modern-day Algeria and Morocco) fighting the remnants of Pompey’s supporters, and wooing the wife of his ally, King Bogudes, for good measure. The affair seems to have lasted only as long as Caesar’s five-month campaign in the province, and Bogudes seems to have borne no grudges, perhaps helped by the gifts bestowed upon both he and his wife. Nor, if rumour is to be believed, did Caesar wait until the last years of his life before pursuing royal love. In 80 BCE, 20-yearold Caesar was sent to the court…

She was smuggled in a rug The image of a dishevelled and flushed Cleopatra being unrolled from a Persian rug at Caesar’s feet after being smuggled into the palace comes from the overzealous pen of Greek biographer Plutarch, but it’s difficult to prove this happened. It seems unlikely that Caesar, one of the most powerful men in the world, would have welcomed a suspicious package into his room and even if so, there’s no reason for her not to have emerged earlier and made a more elegant entrance. She was a femme fatale The idea that Cleopatra flittered between powerful men, wooing and manipulating with no idea of who fathered her children, is the result of an ancient smear campaign run against her by Roman officials. In fact, there’s only…

Rome the conqueror While Rome’s power was not at its height during Cicero’s lifetime, it was still a dominant force in the Italian peninsula and beyond. Its influence stretched from the muddy fields of Gaul, modern-day France, to the grain-rich plains of the Egyptian Nile. Slaves and free Romans Roman society was based around the distinction between Romans who had the right to own property and influence the political system and slaves who had no rights at all. Slaves were used in every part of Roman life, from domestic servants to labourers in mines. As was expected for a man of his standing, Cicero himself owned a number of slaves. The Republic Before the great emperors of Rome stood the Roman Republic, a political system dominated by the senate and…

Opinions towards Caesar today are even more complex than they were during the time he lived. Perhaps due to his portrayal in books, films and plays, the public is split over whether Caesar was a force for good or bad. Even Caesar’s greatest critics cannot deny that he was a smart, inspiring individual. He was an accomplished military leader and, even more impressive, a self-made man, who was not handed success on a plate, but rather strived for it. He was a visionary who, whether it was for personal glory or not, wanted to shake up the system for the benefit of the common people. Decrepit roads were fixed, and public works funded. However, Rome was a country that was proud to be free of the rule of kings, and…

What do you do when you’re worried about the state of your homeland? When you think it’s being run into the ground by one man with too much power? Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was in that precarious situation and, in the summer of 45 BCE, he decided what had to be done. After getting his brother-in-law Marcus Brutus to join, things began to gather pace. Their plan? To kill Julius Caesar. There were several reasons for people to dislike Caesar. One of the prevailing factors was that the senators – particularly those in the conservative optimates faction – were becoming increasingly concerned about Caesar turning his family into a ruling dynasty. There were rumours swirling around the city that he was going to govern with Cleopatra as his queen and…

When it happened In 44 BCE Caesar planned a major expedition against Parthia to avenge Crassus, and would be away for several years. Three days before he was due to leave, the assassins struck. It was 15 March – or the Ides, one of the three named days in each Roman month. The noblest Roman Brutus was the son of Caesar’s long-time mistress, Servilia, and her first husband. He was seen as an up-and-coming man in the Senate, although so far he had achieved little. A follower of the stern stoic philosophy, he was determined to the point of obsession. Caesar said: “Whatever Brutus wants, he wants badly.” Brutus insisted that only Caesar be killed, and naively seems to have assumed that a pristine republic would somehow spring back to…

As relations between Antony and his rivals continued to deteriorate in the years following Julius Caesar’s death, the great orator, Cicero, launched scathing attacks on Antony in a series of 14 speeches known to history as the Philippics. Cicero’s list of accusations was staggeringly wide-ranging. Antony and his supporters were arrogantly presuming to hijack Caesar’s legacy, Antony was demonstrating overweening ambition, and was a public enemy who deserved to be vanquished, not negotiated with. He was comparable to the worst traitors and conspirators in Roman history, while figures such as Brutus were the true champions of the Republic. Cicero’s personal animus against Antony was well known and, while he had played no direct role in Caesar’s assassination, his sympathy with the participants in the Ides of March was hardly a…

In his book The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, the ancient Roman historian Suetonius wrote of Julius Caesar’s assassins that “scarcely any of those who were accessory to his murder, survived him more than three years, or died a natural death”. Some, like Brutus and Gaius Cassius, both chief instigators of the murderous plot, committed suicide, and others, such as Decimus Brutus, were caught and executed by soldiers loyal to the slain Caesar. They had only themselves to blame. In the immediate aftermath of their crime, the enormity of what they had done seemed to paralyse their minds, minds that had failed to adequately plan for the uproar that would inevitably erupt once news of Caesar’s death broke. Brutus was one of many of the estimated 60 plotters who believed…