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Lucius Calpurnius Bestia (tribune 62 BC)
Lucius Calpurnius Bestia was a Roman politician, and one of the Catilinarian conspirators. He was possibly a grandson of Lucius Calpurnius Bestia (consul). He was tribune elect in 63 BC, and it had been arranged that, after entering upon his office, he should publicly accuse Cicero of responsibility for the impending war. This was to be the signal for the outbreak of revolution. The conspiracy, however, was put down and Bestia had to content himself with delivering a violent attack upon the consul on the expiration of his office. In modern literature, he is used as a secondary character in two of the SPQR series of mysteries by John Maddox Roberts; ''The Catiline Conspiracy'' and '' Saturnalia''. This Bestia is probably not the Lucius Calpurnius Bestia, aedile, and a candidate for the praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Catilinarian Conspiracy
The Catilinarian conspiracy (sometimes Second Catilinarian conspiracy) was an attempted coup d'état by Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline) to overthrow the Roman consuls of 63 BC – Marcus Tullius Cicero and Gaius Antonius Hybrida – and forcibly assume control of the state in their stead. The conspiracy was formed after Catiline's defeat in the consular elections for 62 (held in early autumn 63). He assembled a coalition of malcontents – aristocrats who had been denied political advancement by the voters, dispossessed farmers, and indebted veterans of Sulla – and planned to seize the consulship from Cicero and Antonius by force. In November 63, Cicero exposed the conspiracy, causing Catiline to flee from Rome and eventually to his army in Etruria. The next month, Cicero uncovered nine more conspirators organising for Catiline in the city and, on advice of the senate, had them executed without trial. In early January 62 BC, Antonius defeated Catiline in battle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucius Calpurnius Bestia (consul)
Lucius Calpurnius Bestia was a Roman senator, tribune of the plebs in 121 BC, and consul in 111. Having been appointed to the command of the operations against Jugurtha, he at first carried on the campaign energetically, but soon, having been heavily bribed, concluded a disgraceful peace. On his return to Rome he was brought to trial for his conduct and condemned, in spite of the efforts of Marcus Aemilius Scaurus who, though formerly his legate and alleged to be equally guilty himself, was one of the judges - apparently Scaurus defended him extremely eloquently during the proceedings, but then turned round and voted to condemn him. He may be the same man as, or the father of, the Bestia who encouraged the Italians in their revolt, and went into exile (90) to avoid punishment under the law of Quintus Varius Severus, whereby those who had secretly or openly aided the Italian allies against Rome were to be brought to trial. Both Cicero and Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SPQR Series
The ''SPQR'' series is a series of historical mystery stories by John Maddox Roberts, published between 1990 and 2010, and set in the final years of the Roman Republic. SPQR (the original title of the first book, until the sequels came out) is a Latin initialism for '' Senatus Populusque Romanus'' ("The Roman Senate and People"), the official name of the Republic. The stories are told in first-person form by Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger (born c 90-95 BC), nephew of Metellus Pius and member of the powerful Caecilius Metellus family of the Roman Senate. The stories are told in flashback-form by the old Decius, writing during the reign of Augustus Caesar. The stories range from 70 BC (''The King's Gambit'') to 20 BC ("The King of Sacrifices"), and have both an exciting and comedic tone. Decius' companions include his slaves Cato, Cassandra, and Hermes; his friends, the Greek gladiatorial physician Asklepiodes and the gangster/politician Titus Annius Milo; and h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Maddox Roberts
John Maddox Roberts is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction including the ''SPQR'' series and '' Hannibal's Children''. Personal life John Maddox Roberts was born in Ohio and was raised in Texas, California, and New Mexico. He has lived in various places in the United States as well as in Scotland, England and Mexico. He was kicked out of college in 1967 and joined the Army. He was in the US Army 1967–70, and did a tour in Vietnam. After he returned, he became a Green Beret. He lives with his wife in Estancia, New Mexico. Career Upon his return to civilian life, Roberts decided to be a writer and sold his first book to Doubleday in 1975; his book was published in 1977 as ''The Strayed Sheep of Charum''. His earlier books were in the science fiction, fantasy and historical genres. In 1989, Roberts published his first historical mystery, ''The King's Gambit'', set in ancient Rome. The book was nominated for the Edgar Award as best mystery ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saturnalia
Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves as it was seen as a time of liberty for both slaves and freedmen alike. A common custom was the election of a "King of the Saturnalia", who gave orders to people, which were followed and presided over the merrymaking. The gifts exchanged were usually gag gifts or small figurines made of wax or pottery known as '' sigillaria''. The poet Catullus called it "the best of days". Saturnalia was the Roman equivalent to the earlier Greek holiday of Kronia, which was celebrated during the Attic month of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aedile
''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order and duties to ensure the city of Rome was well supplied and its civil infrastructure well maintained, akin to modern local government. There were two pairs of aediles: the first were the "plebeian aediles" (Latin ''aediles plebis'') and possession of this office was limited to plebeians; the other two were "curule aediles" (Latin ''aediles curules''), open to both plebeians and patricians, in alternating years. An ''aedilis curulis'' was classified as a '' magister curulis''. The office of the aedilis was generally held by young men intending to follow the ''cursus honorum'' to high political office, traditionally after their quaestorship but before their praetorship. It was not a compulsory part of the cursus, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Praetor
Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge various duties. The functions of the magistracy, the ''praetura'' (praetorship), are described by the adjective: the ''praetoria potestas'' (praetorian power), the ''praetorium imperium'' (praetorian authority), and the ''praetorium ius'' (praetorian law), the legal precedents established by the ''praetores'' (praetors). ''Praetorium'', as a substantive, denoted the location from which the praetor exercised his authority, either the headquarters of his '' castra'', the courthouse (tribunal) of his judiciary, or the city hall of his provincial governorship. History of the title The status of the ''praetor'' in the early republic is unclear. The traditional account from Livy claims that the praetorship was created by the Sextian-Licinian Rogat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autocratic Roman Empire. Antony was a relative and supporter of Julius Caesar, and served as one of his generals during the conquest of Gaul and the Civil War. Antony was appointed administrator of Italy while Caesar eliminated political opponents in Greece, North Africa, and Spain. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Antony joined forces with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another of Caesar's generals, and Octavian, Caesar's great-nephew and adopted son, forming a three-man dictatorship known to historians as the Second Triumvirate. The Triumvirs defeated Caesar's killers, the ''Liberatores'', at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, and divided the government of the Republic between themselves. Antony was assigned Rome's eastern provinces, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1st-century BC Romans
The 1st century was the century spanning AD 1 ( I) through AD 100 ( C) according to the Julian calendar. It is often written as the or to distinguish it from the 1st century BC (or BCE) which preceded it. The 1st century is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. The 1st century also saw the appearance of Christianity. During this period, Europe, North Africa and the Near East fell under increasing domination by the Roman Empire, which continued expanding, most notably conquering Britain under the emperor Claudius ( AD 43). The reforms introduced by Augustus during his long reign stabilized the empire after the turmoil of the previous century's civil wars. Later in the century the Julio-Claudian dynasty, which had been founded by Augustus, came to an end with the suicide of Nero in AD 68. There followed the famous Year of Four Emperors, a brief period of civil war and instability, which was finally brought to an end by Vespasian, ninth Roman emperor, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
