Velleius Paterculus (c. 20 BCE - after 30 CE) Roman officer, senator, and scholar, author of a brief Roman History.In his Roman History, the Roman officer-historian Velleius Paterculus (20 BCE - after 30 CE) has included a description of the…
The Natural History
"There is no book so bad that some good cannot be got out of it," Pliny the Elder used to say, and he read everything that he could obtain. His nephew Pliny the Younger gives an indication how…
Pliny the Younger or Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (62-c.115): Roman senator, nephew of Pliny the Elder, governor of Bithynia-Pontus (109-111), author of a famous collection of letters.
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Founding of Carthage: according to tradition, Carthage was founded in 814 BCE by a Phoenician princess named Elissa.The story of the founding of Carthage is told by a Roman author named Justin, who made an excerpt of the history written…
In his History of the Jugurthine War, section 78, the Roman author Sallust (86-34 BCE) informs us about the early history of Lepcis Magna. When he speaks about "Sidon", he probably does not mean the city, but Phoenicia in general;…
In his Life of Otho, section 10, Suetonius gives us a brief glimpse of the history of his family. He tells how his father, Suetonius Laetus, was present when the emperor decided to commit suicide after the lost battle of…
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (c.71-c.135): Roman scholar and official, best-known as the author of the Lives of the Twelve Caesars.On 15 March 44 BCE, the Roman dictator Julius Caesar was murdered. A few days later, he was cremated on the Roman…
"Tabula Leersumiana": modern name of a fragment of an ancient Roman inscription, found near modern Leersum.
The Tabula Leersumiana
In the Roman Empire,…
On 19-27 July 64, Rome was destroyed by a great fire: only four of its fourteen quarters remained intact. The emperor Nero was blamed by the Roman populace, and in turn blamed the Christians. The Roman historian Tacitus explains what…
Before he starts to describe the Roman siege of Jerusalem, Roman historian Tacitus offers an account of Jewish history. It is a curious mix of fact, fiction, and slander. The translation of Histories 5.2-5 was made by Kenneth Wellesley.
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