Timeline of the Roman Republic Quiz

Carthage (in modern day Tunisia) and Rome were the two major powers in the ancient Mediterranean Sea. They were probably going to get in each others' way eventually, but neither wanted to, nor was prepared to, in 264 BCE.

At this point, Sicily was not under Roman control. A group of unscrupulous mercenaries called the Mamertines was invited into Messina, which they then plundered. They used the city as a pirate base for 20 years, extorting Sicily. When Syracuse pushed back against the raids, the Mamertines called on Carthage for help, which was provided. Not caring for that Carthaginian help, the Mamertines also called on Rome for help. And with that, the First Punic War started, lasting 20 years and ending with Carthage losing Corsica and Sardinia to Rome, and Rome gaining control of Sicily.

The Second Punic War started because Rome made a treaty with Carthage outlining their spheres of influence (divided at the Ebro river in Spain), and then made a separate alliance with a city on the Carthaginian side (Saguntum). When Hannibal (son of Hamilcar, a general from the First Punic War) sacked Saguntum, war was on.

The Italian peninsula is capped by the difficult-to-pass Alps, so the Romans thought they were safe. Hannibal famously drove his army, including war elephants, through the treacherous passes, between Rome and its armies. He then plundered the Italian countryside, lost an eye, and won famous battles at the Trebia River, Lake Trasimene, and Cannae.

But while Hannibal won in Italy, the Second Punic War was lost by the Carthaginians in Spain and Africa.

Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus were born ten years apart. They were both populists, proposing laws that would help Rome's poor and disadvantaged. Because Rome was constantly fighting wars, the men went off to fight instead of tend their farms. These farms were neglected and often purchased by the wealthy, who would then run them with slaves captured from those same wars. The result was a glut of men trained in violence without land, and skyrocketing grain prices.

Tiberius was elected as a tribune, and was killed in mob violence. His brother's political career was remarkably similar. The era of the Gracchi brothers is known for introducing mob violence to Roman politics.

Numidia helped Rome against Carthage in the Punic Wars, largely taking over administration of North Africa. When King Micipsa died, he was succeeded by both his biological sons and his adoptive son, Jugurtha. Jugurtha was the most popular and wasn't going to share anything. He killed one of his brothers, and defeated the other in battle. The surviving brother escaped to Rome, pleading for help. Rome insisted that the two get along, but did not really do anything to dissuade Jugurtha - and Jugurtha probably paid a lot of bribes.

Jugurtha was summoned to Rome to give evidence, but he was a pawn in Rome's political game. The Romans were happy to receive his bribes, but his blatant attempt to have a cousin assassinated while he was there was too much. There was decorum to be maintained. The result was a prolonged guerrilla war in Africa. The Romans were used to decisive pitched battles. Ultimately, the Romans captured Jugurtha using his own methods: bribery.

An interesting view of this conflict can be found in "The First Man in Rome," a 1990 historical novel by Colleen McCullough.

Marius was twenty years older than Sulla, and the two worked together early in their careers (notably against Jugurtha). They became bitter rivals, starting a civil war. When one went away from Rome on campaign, the other would swoop in and take control. Both were responsible for reigns of terror, murdering the supporters of the other.

An excellent book about this time of the Republic is "The Storm Before the Storm" by Mike Duncan, published in 2017.

Spartacus was a gladiator/slave who rose up in Capua (just a bit south of Rome), starting the Third Servile War. Spartacus surprised the Romans by defeating them in battle. The slaves moved south until they were cornered in Calabria (the toe of Italy). They hired some pirates to ship them over to Sicily, but the pirates took the money and fled. Crassus defeated Spartacus at the Battle of the Silarius River and then lined the Appian Way with 6000 crucified slaves as a warning against future revolts.

Spartacus has been portrayed many times in modern media, most notably the 1960 film "Spartacus" by Stanley Kubrik.

Cicero was one of Rome's greatest orators. He suffered through the required military career to climb the cursus honorum, but preferred life as a lawyer and politician.

During Cicero's year as consul, Catiline launched a conspiracy to kill a large number of Senators, including Cicero, and take control of the government. Cicero found out and called out Catiline in front of the Senate. Catiline denounced the lies, then ran to an army. Cicero was given letters confirming the conspiracy, which he used to arrest and execute the conspirators in the city. Catiline himself wandered around Italy a bit with his army before finally being cornered and killed.

Julius Caesar was a powerful man who did some questionable things to get that prestige. He needed to maintain his "imperium," a status that protected him from prosecution. When politicians in Rome tried to finagle Caesar out of his imperium, he marched on Rome at the head of an army. The Rubicon was the boundary of Italy, so Caesar's crossing ignited his civil war, fought mostly against his former triumvir, Pompey. When Caesar crossed the river, he apparently said "Alea iacta est," ("The die is cast") to quote a play.

Both "crossing the Rubicon" and "the die is cast" are modern phrases that mean "passing the point of no return."

Mark Antony was one of Caesar's closest generals, and expected to inherit Caesar's prestige after the dictator was assassinated. Shocking everyone, Caesar had left most of his possessions, and his name, to his great nephew, Octavius. Octavius and Mark Antony immediately started vying for Caesar's legacy, raising legions to fight each other.

But when they finally met, instead of slaughtering each other, they entered a pact to divide and rule the republic (with Lepidus). This triumvirate lasted an uneasy 10 years until Octavian and Antony finally had it out in yet another civil war. Lepidus managed to stay out of the fighting, and died of old age twenty years after the war.

After Antony and Cleopatra were defeated at the Battle of Actium, Octavian was the undisputed ruler of the Roman Empire.

Octavian said placating words to keep the Senators happy, and never called himself emperor (the word emperor comes from "imperator," which was a commander with imperium). Instead, he just happened to hold a number of offices simultaneously, which together granted him near-total control. He was also the wealthiest Roman by orders of magnitude. He called himself "princeps," (first man), a simple title, similar to "president" for the United States. It wasn't until four years after the Battle of Actium that the Senate granted him the title Augustus, a vaguely religious title.

Augustus maintained this outward demeanor of not wanting to control the whole empire, but he lived an unusually long time (75 years). By the time he died, no one remembered how the republic used to be run, and were ready to continue with a sole ruler who would not be replaced every year. Augustus had started the Roman Empire and the Pax Romana.