Who's Who in the Roman Republic? Quiz

Answer: Brutus

After his civil war, Caesar pardoned his former opponents. He liked to be seen as magnanimous, and the people preferred it to the terror of the political purges of Sulla and Marius. One of those pardoned men was Marcus Junius Brutus, the son of Caesar's mistress, Servilia.

In Rome's mythical history, it was another Brutus that killed the last king of the Roman Monarchy, ushering in the Roman Republic. Brutus' colleagues said that only a Brutus could save Rome from a tyrant, imploring him to help remove Caesar. The conspirators were successful, but they hadn't planned for the aftermath of the assassination. Caesar's friends and the people of Rome were outraged, so the conspirators, soon after thinking they had just saved the republic, fled for their lives. Brutus was defeated by the second triumvirate forces, and committed suicide.

In popular culture, Brutus was a character in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," to whom Caesar asked "Et tu, Brute?" after being stabbed. In Dante's "Inferno," Dante placed Brutus alongside Longinus (another of the conspirators) and Judas Iscariot as the worst traitors in history.

Answer: Scipio Africanus

Publius Cornelius Scipio was a young brash man, but a great general, during the Second Punic War. Rome was focused on Hannibal as he ravaged the Italian peninsula. Scipio asked for a command of his own to take to Spain, which was granted by the Senate who saw it as an unimportant theatre in the war. Scipio took control of Spain from Carthage, cutting supplies, and then moved against Carthage itself. Carthage recalled Hannibal to deal with this new threat, and the two faced off in the Battle of Zama in north Africa. Scipio defeated Hannibal, ending the Second Punic War, and earned the title "Africanus."

Answer: Gaius Marius

There were two kinds of men in Rome's Senate: those that had a family history of prestige, and those that came into money on their own (novus homo). The latter was looked upon with disdain, which made Marius' achievements more impressive. He was elected to the consulship a record seven times, though the last one was a sham election during his civil war against Sulla. Marius died two weeks later of pleurisy at the age of 70.

Answer: Tiberius Gracchus

Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and his brother, Giaus Gracchus, were skilled orators who gained support by arguing for the plight of the common Roman. It was around this time that the optimates (advocates for the rich and powerful) and populares (advocates for the people and soldiers) political factions emerged. Gangs rose up to intimidate rivals and voters, which led to counter gangs, which led to factional violence. Tiberius was killed during a gang riot. Giaus managed to escape a similar riot, but then had his slave kill him.

Answer: Mark Antony

Marcus Antonius was a great military leader, but a terrible statesman with a penchant for debauchery. During the Gallic Wars and Caesar's civil war, Caesar relied a great deal on Antony for the military campaigns. Mark Antony was surprised when Caesar's will was read, and it was Octavius who received the most favour, largely leading to the civil war between the two. Mark Antony and Octavian tried to get along in the second triumvirate, but it was a doomed partnership from the start.

After a major defeat at Actium, Mark Antony and his lover, Cleopatra, both committed suicide.

Answer: Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla and Marius were former colleagues who led the two sides of Rome's first civil war. Sulla won when Marius died of old age. Despite being a great general and diplomat, Sulla is most remembered for his proscriptions: lists of men it was legal to kill and whose property could be confiscated.

The lists had names added every day, often not by Sulla himself, with his allies using the proscriptions to settle personal vendettas. Famously, Caesar was on the list, but he fled Rome and returned when it was safe.

The other side of the civil war also committed mass purges of their political opponents when they controlled Rome, especially Cinna.

Answer: Cato the Elder

Marcus Porcius Cato was a conservative senator alive during the Second Punic War. After the war, he went on a diplomatic trip to Carthage and was appalled at their renewed prosperity. Fearing that a Carthage would rise again and attack, he advocated for its destruction, ending every speech in the Senate with "Carthago delenda est" ("Carthage must be destroyed").

He got his wish in the Third Punic War. Cato the Younger was the Elder's great grandson, who opposed Caesar a hundred years later.

Answer: Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero was not a military man, but did his time in the legions as a requirement to pursue his true love: law and politics. He was a gifted lawyer, and prided himself on achieving every office "in his year" (the earliest year he was eligible). He tried to avoid taking factional sides during the republic's last years, instead insisting on voting according to his principles.

While Cicero was consul in 63 BCE, Catilina hatched a plot to overthrow the consuls. Cicero found out, captured the conspirators, and executed them without a trial, which was legal because he had been given the "Senatus Consultum Ultimum" ("The Final Decree"), which granted him the authority to do anything he saw fit to save the state. Despite the legality and being declared the "Father of the fatherland," this decision would haunt Cicero's later political career.

Answer: Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius was a skilled general who had both sides of the Marius-Sulla civil war courting him. He and his rival/co-triumvir Crassus ended up with Sulla, but Pompey got more favour. Sulla gave him the title "Magnus" (the Great) after Alexander the Great. Pompey joined with Crassus and Caesar to control the Roman Republic, but their triumvirate fell apart when Crassus died and Pompey's wife / Caesar's daughter Julia died. Pompey was recruited by the faction of senators who opposed Caesar, leading to their civil war.

After a defeat in Greece, Pompey fled to Alexandria. Ptolemy tried to curry favour with Caesar by killing Pompey when he arrived and offering the head to Caesar. Caesar would himself be murdered under a statue of Pompey.

Answer: Octavian

Octavian was born "Gaius Octavius," and when Caesar died, he inherited his great uncle's name, becoming "Gaius Julius Caesar." To keep the characters straight, historians call this person "Octavian" (meaning "formerly Octavius"). After winning his civil war against Mark Antony and taking a few years to stabilize Rome, he became the princeps (first citizen), and adopted the title Augustus (illustrious one), becoming the first emperor of Rome (though the that title would not be officially used until much later).