Romaika is a book detailing Roman history from its earliest times to the first century. It was written by Dion Cassius, the Roman historian. Research Romaika
The week is the period of seven days now universally adopted. It is of Hebrew or Chaldean origin and is generally regarded as a memorial of the creation of the world according to the Mosaic account. Dion Cassius attributes the invention of the week to the Egyptians. The Ptolemaic arrangement of the heavenly bodies, according to their distances from the earth, is Saturn (the most distant), Jupiter, Mars, the sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon; and it was a principle of the ancient astrology that these bodies presided in this succession over the hours of the day. If the first hour be assigned to Saturn, the twenty-fifth or first hour of the next day, will fall to the sun; the forty-ninth, or first hour of the second day will fall to the moon and so on. From the names of the planets have been formed the modern names - Saturday (Saturn), Sunday (Sun), Monday (Moon), Tuesday (Tiu, the Saxonequivalent of Mars), Wednesday (Woden the Norseequivalent of Mercury), Thursday (Thor the Norseequivalent of Jupiter) and Friday (Frygga the Norseequivalent of Venus). Research Week
Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus originally called Caius Octavius,was a Roman Emperor. He was born in63 BC and died in 14 AD. He was the son of Caius Octavius and Atia, a daughter of Julia, the sister of Julius Caesar. Octavius was at Apollonia, in Epirus, when he received news of the death of his uncle in 44 BC, who had previously adopted him as his son. He returned to Rome to claim Caesar's property and avenge his death, and now took, according to usage, his uncle's name with the surname Octavianus. He was aiming secretly at the chief power, but at first he joined the republican party, and assisted at the defeat of Antony at Mutina. He got himself chosen consul in 43. Soon after the first triumvirate was formed between him and Antony and Lepidus, and this was followed by the conscription and assassination of three hundred senators and two thousand knights of the party opposed to the triumvirate. Next year Octavianus and Antony defeated the republican army under Brutus and Cassius at Philippi.
The victors now divided the Roman world between them, Octavianus getting the West, Antony the East, and Lepidus Africa. Sextus Pompeius, who had made himself formidable at sea, had now to be put down; and Lepidus, who had hitherto retained an appearance of power, was deprived of all authority in 36 BC and retired into private life. Antony and Octavianus now shared the empire between them; but while the former, in the East, gave himself up to a life of luxury, and alienated the Romans by his alliance with Cleopatra and his adoption of Oriental manners, Octavianus skilfully cultivated popularity, and soon declared war ostensibly against the Queen of Egypt. The naval victory of Actium, in which the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra was defeated, made Octavianus master of the world, in 31 BC. He returned to Rome in 29 BC, celebrated a splendid triumph, and caused the temple of Janus to be closed in token of peace being restored. Gradually all the highest offices of state, civil and religious, were united in his hands, and the new title of Augustus was also assumed by him, being formally conferred by the senate in 27 BC. Great as was the power given to him, he exercised it with wise moderation, and kept up the show of a republican form of government.
Under him successful wars were carried on in Africa and Asia (against the Parthians), in Gaul and Spain, in Pannonia, Dalmatia, etc; but the defeat of Varus by the Germans under Armmius with the loss of three legions, in 9 AD, was a great blow to him in his old age. Many useful decrees proceeded from him, and various abuses were abolished. He gave a new form to the senate, employed himself in improving the morals of the people, enacted laws for the suppression of luxury, introduced discipline into the armies, and order into the games of the circus. He adorned Rome in such a manner that it was said, ' He found it of brick, and left it of marble.' The people erected altars to him, and, by a decree of the senate, the month Sextilis was called Augustus (our August). He was a patron of literature; Virgil and Horace were befriended by him, and their works and those of their contemporaries are the glory of the Augustan Age. His death, which took place at Nola, plunged the empire into the greatest grief. He was thrice married, but had no son, and was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, whose mother Livia he had married after prevailing on her husband to divorce her. Research Augustus
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus often called simply Marcus Aurelius was Roman emperor and philosopher. He was born in 121 AD and died in 180 AD. He was the son-in-law, adopted son, and successor of Antoninus Pius. He succeeded to the throne in 161. His name originally was Marcus Annius Verus. He voluntarily shared the government with Lucius Verus, whom Antoninus Pius had also adopted. Brought up and instructed by Plutarch's nephew, Sextus, the orator Herodes Atticus, and Volusius Mecianus, the jurist, he had become acquainted with learned men, and formed a particular love for the Stoic philosophy. A war with Parthia broke out in the year of his accession, and did not terminate until 166.
A confederacy of the northern tribes now threatened Italy, while a frightful pestilence, brought from the East with the army, raged in Rome itself. Both emperors set out in person against the rebellious tribes. In 169 Verus died, and the sole command of the war devolved on Marcus Aurelius, who prosecuted it with the utmost rigour, and nearly exterminated the Marcomanni. His victory over the Quadi in 174 is connected with a famous legend. Dion Cassius tells us that the twelfthlegion of the Roman army was shut up in a defile, and reduced to great straits for want of water, when a body of Christians enrolled in the legion prayed for relief. Not only was rain sent, which enabled the Romans to quench their thirst, but a fierce storm of hail beat upon the enemy, accompanied by thunder and lightning, which so terrified them that a complete victory was obtained, and the legion was ever after called 'The Thundering Legion'. After this victory the Marcomanni, the Quadi, as well as the rest of the barbarians, sued for peace. The sedition of the Syrian governor Avidius Cassius, with whom Faustina, the empress, was in treasonable communication, called off the emperor from his conquests, but before he reached Asia the rebel was assassinated. Aurelius returned to Rome, after visiting Egypt and Greece, but soon new incursions of the Marcomanni compelled him once more to take the field. He defeated the enemy several times, but was taken sick at Sirmium, and died at Vindobona (Vienna) in 180.
His only extant work is the Meditations, written in Greek, and which has been translated into most modern languages. This may be regarded as a manual of practical morality, in which wisdom, gentleness, and benevolence are combined in the most fascinating manner. Many believe it to have been intended for the instruction of his son Commodus. Aurelius was one of the best emperors ever Rome saw, although his philosophy and the magnanimity of his character did not restrain him from the persecution of the Christians, whose religious doctrines he was led to believe - perhaps with good reason - were subversive of good government. Research Aurelius Antoninus
Caius Cassius Longinus was a Roman soldier. He was one of the assassins of Julius Caesar. In the civil war that broke out between Pompey and Caesar he espoused the cause of the former, and, as commander of his naval forces, rendered him important services. After the battle of Pharsalia he was apparently reconciled with Caesar, but later was amongst the more active of the conspirators who assassinated him in 44 BC. He then, together with Brutus, raised an army, but they were met by Octavianus and Antony at Philippi. The wing which Cassius commanded being defeated, he imagined that all was lost, and killed himself in 42 BC. Research Cassius
Dion Cassius or Dio Cassius was a Greek historian and administrator. He was born in 155 at Nicaea and died in 230. After accompanying his father to Cilicia, of which he held the administration, he came to Borne about 180, and obtained. the rank of a Roman senator. On the accession of Pertinax Dion Cassius was appointed prastor, and in the reign of Caracalla he was one of the senators whom it had become customary to select to accompany the emperor in his expeditions, of which he complains bitterly. In 219 he was raised to the consulship, and about 224 became proconsul of Africa. In 229 he was again appointed consul; but feeling his life precarious under Alexander Severus, he obtained permission to retire to his native town of Nicaea. The period of his death is unknown. The most important of his writings, though only a small part is extant, is a History of Rome, written in Greek and divided into eighty books, from the arrival of AEneas in Italy and the foundation of Alba and Rome to 229 AD. Research Dion Cassius
Henry Cooper is a British former boxer. He was born in 1934 at London. He was Amateur Boxing Association light-heavyweight champion in 1952 and 1953 before turning professional. In 1959 he won the British heavyweight title, beating Brian London, which he subsequently held apart from a brief spell until 1971 when he lost it to Joe Bugner in a controversial decision, and subsequently announced his retirement. In 1963 he floored Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammed Ali), though he didn't go on to win the fight. In 1966 he again fought Cassius Clay for the World Heavyweight title, and lost again. Since retiring from boxing he has been a popular figure in advertising and as a guest on television shows in the UK. Research Henry Cooper
Herod (Herod the Great) was King of the Jews. He was born in about 74 BC at Ascalon, in Judea. He was the second son of Antipater the Idumean, who, being made procurator of Judea by Julius Caesar, appointed Herod to the government of Galilee. He at first embraced the party of Brutus and Cassius, but after their death reconciled himself to Antony, by whose interest he was first named Tetrarch, and afterwards king of Judea. After the battle of Actium he successfully paid court to Augustus, who confirmed him in his kingdom.
On all occasions his abilities as a politician and commander were conspicuous; but his passions were fierce and ungovernable, and his wife Mariamne, her brother, grandfather, and mother, and his own sons by her, were all put to death by him. He rebuilt the temple at Jerusalem with great magnificence, and erected a stately theatre and amphitheatre in that city. He also rebuilt Samaria, which he called Sebaste, and constructed many strong fortresses throughout Judea, the principal termed Caesarea, after the emperor.
The birth of Jesus Christ is said to have taken place in the last year of the reign of Herod, about 4 BC, the year was also signaled by the massacre of the children of Bethlehem. Herod's policy and influence gave a great temporary splendour to the Jewish nation, but he was also the first to shake the foundation of the Jewish government, by dissolving the national council, and appointing the high-priests and removing them at pleasure, without regard to the laws of succession. Research Herod
Caius Julius (more popular known as Julius Caesar or Caesar) was a great Roman general, statesman, and historian. He was born in 100 BC and died in 44. He was the son of the praetor Caius Julius Caesar, and of Aurelia, a daughter of Aurelius Cotta. At the age of sixteen he lost his father, and shortly after he married Cornelia, the daughter of Lucius Cinna, the friend of Marius. This connection gave great offence to Sulla, the dictator, who proscribed him for refusing to put away his wife. His friends obtained his pardon with difficulty, and Caesar withdrew from Rome, and went to Asia, serving his first campaign under M. Minucius Thermus, the praetor in Asia.
On the death of Sulla, Caesar returned to Rome, where he distinguished himself as an orator. He afterwards visited Rhodes, when he was taken by pirates, and compelled to pay fifty talents for his release. To revenge himself, he fitted out some vessels at Miletus, overtook the pirates, made the greater number of them prisoners, and had them crucified before Pergamus. He now returned to Rome, where his eloquence and liberality made him very popular. He was pontifex maximus in 63 BC, praetor in 62 BC, and governor of Spain in 61 BC.
On his return to Rome, having united with Pompey and Marcus Crassus in the memorable coalition called 'the first triumvirate,' he became consul, and then obtained the government of Gaul with the command of four legions.
His military career was rapid and brilliant. He compelled the Helvetii, who had invaded Gaul, to retreat to their native country, subdued Ariovistus, who at the head of a German tribe had attempted to settle in the country of the AEdui, and conquered the Belgae. In nine years he reduced all Gaul, crossed the Rhine twice (in 55 BC and 53 BC), and twice passed over to Britain, defeated the gallant natives of this island in several battles, and compelled them to give him hostages.
The senate had continued his government in Gaul for another period of five years, while Pompey was to have the command of Spain, and Marcus Crassus that of Syria, Egypt, and Macedonia for five years also. But the death of Marcus Crassus in his campaign against the Parthians dissolved the triumvirate; and about the same time the friendship between Caesar and Pompey cooled. The senate, influenced by Pompey, ordered that Caesar should resign his offices and command within a certain time, or be proclaimed an enemy to the state, and appointed Pompey general of the army of the Republic. Upon this Csesar urged his soldiers to defend the honour of their leader, passed the Rubicon (in 49 BC), and made himself master of Italy without striking a blow, Pompey retiring into Greece. Caesar then levied an army with the treasures of the state, and hastened into Spain, which he reduced to submission without coming to a pitched battle with Pompey's generals.
He next conquered Massilia (now Marseilles), and returned to Rome, where he was appointed dictator. He then followed Pompey into Greece, and defeated him at Pharsalia, from which Pompey escaped only to be assassinated in Egypt. In Rome the senate and the people strove eagerly to gain the favour of the victor. They appointed him consul for five years, dictator for a year, and tribune of the people for life. When his dictatorship had expired he caused himself to be chosen consul again, and without changing the ancient forms of government, ruled with almost unlimited power. In 46 BC he crossed to Africa, defeated the Pompeians Scipio and Cato at Thapsus, and returning to Rome he was received with the most striking marks of honour. The term of his dictatorship was prolonged to ten years, the office of censor conferred on him alone; his person was declared inviolable, and his statue placed beside that of Jupiter in the capitol.
He soon after was honoured with four several triumphs, made perpetual dictator, and received the title of imperator with full powers of sovereignty. In February, 44, he declined the diadem which Antony publicly offered him, and next morning his statues were decked with diadems. His glory, however, was short lived, for a conspiracy was set on foot by his enemy Cassius, and joined by many of his own friends, including M. Brutus; and, notwithstanding dark hints had been given to him of his danger, he attended a meeting of the senate on 15th (ides) March, 44 BC, and fell beneath the daggers of the conspirators.
Of his writings, we still possess the history of his wars with the Gauls and with Pompey. Caesar was undoubtedly the foremost man of all this world, being great as a statesman, a general, an orator, a historian, and an architect and engineer, and his assassination was brought about more by jealousy and envy than by real patriotism. Research Julius Caesar
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Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Romaika
