Caesar

Abstract
This article examines the longstanding rivalry of Rome and Parthia, which began as an unintended consequence of Crassus’ decisive defeat at Carrhae in 53 BCE. It synthesizes the accounts and opinions of numerous Graeco-Roman writers from the Augustan Age to late antiquity in order to help illustrate the new and interconnected post-Carrhae world and its legacy. The rivalry of the Romans and Parthians became a primary focus of their foreign policies and drastically expanded their perceptions of the world in which they interacted. Even after the fall of the Parthians to the rebellious Sassanid Persians in the 220s CE, the Romans continued to find their three-century-long rivalry with the Parthians of interest and relevant to the changing world of late antiquity.

A lo largo de sus tres siglos de historia en la época imperial romana, la función principal de la Guardia Pretoriana fue la protección de la figura del emperador allí donde este se encontrara, ya fuera actuando permanentemente como su escolta y guardia personal  en el palacio imperial o como última línea de defensa en el ámbito militar. Pero como cuerpo de élite del ejército romano acantonado en la capital del Imperio también se les encomendó el mantenimiento y, en su caso, restablecimiento del orden allí donde fuera necesario. Así, la Guardia Pretoriana se conformaría como una de las piezas clave en la historia imperial romana como uno de los actores principales no solo a nivel militar sino también a nivel político, papel este último muy alejado de las funciones iniciales para las que fue creada pero que poco a poco fue cobrando especial relevancia tanto por su cercanía a la figura de los sucesivos emperadores como por su acantonamiento en la capital imperial. Consciente de su poder, no fueron pocas las ocasiones en que los pretorianos utilizaron su posición e influencias para dirigir y aprovechar los habituales cambios políticos en la cúspide del poder . Pero, aun siendo menos conocida, no sería menor la importancia bélica que en los campos de batalla protagonizarían los pretorianos en numerosas ocasiones como unidad militar y que a la postre les consagraría como uno de los pilares fundamentales del régimen imperial prácticamente desde su creación, en tiempos de Augusto , hasta su desmantelamiento llevado a cabo por el emperador Majencio.
Como cuerpo de élite del ejército, reconocidos como los mejor entrenados y preparados como demostraron en no pocas ocasiones, y en base a su especial misión recibían una paga superior al del resto de soldados; y su tiempo de servicio era varios años menor, por lo que resultaban ser la envidia del resto de unidades militares y en particular de aquellos que servían en el limes del imperio . Es por ello que trataremos aquí de realizar un estudio esquemático sobre su formación, estructura, actuaciones, etc. con el fin de ahondar en el conocimiento de esta institución muchas veces denostada por algunas de sus intervenciones.

Publicado en Gerión 7, 1989, págs. 149-205, con figs. y láms.N.B.- Por un incomprensible error editorial, sus tres mapas explicativos con mis propuestas, el general sobre el territorio emeritense (fig. 1) y los de detalle de sus praefecturae Turgaliensis y Mullicensis (figs. 2-3), se publicaron en versión borrador, a lápiz. Los mapas corregidos pueden consultarse ahora en https://terraeantiqvae.com/photo/albums/el-territorio-de-m-rida-y-sus-prefecturas-los-mapas-de-1989-2 , donde se añaden las dos láminas (I-II) de los Gromatici Veteres (pp. 178-179), agrimensores utilizados entonces por primera vez en España para aclarar un problema histórico-arqueológico y territorial, pero publicadas también con mediana calidad. En otro momento añadiré ibid. las fotos del oppidum vetón y lusitano de Lacimurga, en el Cerro de Cogolludo (págs. 183-188 y láms. V-VII), y sus hitos terminales de Mojongordo (láms. III-V).Resumen

Caesar’s geographies of Gallia and Britannia as set out in the Bellum
Gallicum differ in kind, the former being “descriptive” and much indebted to the
techniques of Roman land surveying, the latter being “scientific” and informed
by the methods of Greek geographers. This difference results from their different
contexts: here imperialist, there “cartographic.” The geography of Britannia is
ultimately part of Caesar’s (only passingly and late) attested great cartographic
endeavor to measure “the world,”

Mi sono occupato della figura di Scipione nell'ambito del dibattito cinquecentesco e primo-secentesco su quale sia stato il più grande generale della storia (dibattito di lunga tradizione, risalendo già a Tito Livio). Oltre che su opere espressamente dedicate a tale soggetto, come il Discorso del fiorentino Francesco Bocchi (1573), ho condotto l’analisi soprattutto sulla ricchissima produzione cinque-secentesca di trattati sul perfetto capitano. In queste opere, il confronto si fa serrato soprattutto con le figure di Cesare (che la maggioranza dei trattatisti indica come il più grande capitano di tutti i tempi), di Annibale e di Alessandro Magno. Un autore come Botero, però, si sofferma a confrontare analiticamente Scipione anche con un generale moderno come Consalvo di Cordoba. È interessante la sistematica e capillare classificazione delle virtù di Scipione operata dai trattatisti. Alcuni autori propongono esplicitamente alcune sue qualità a modello per la conduzione delle guerre del presente. Non tutte le voci, però, si levano in lode dell’Africano: è il caso di Girolamo Frachetta, che muove severe obiezioni al modo con cui Scipione gestì la campagna d’Africa. La valutazione della figura di Scipione risente del sempre più pervasivo affermarsi dell'ideologia controriformistica e dei cambiamenti nella mentalità nobiliare.

The present chapter traces how the rabbis in the tractate of Hagigah developed the biblical commands concerning cultic pilgrimage into laws for a bygone Jerusalem temple pilgrimage to see and be seen by God. Our investigation points to how the desire for, and loss of, the sight of God’s face punctuates and centers the Babylonian Talmud tractate of Hagigah. The biblical commandment to "see the face of God three times a year" allowed the rabbis to conjure forms and narratives of pilgrimage in an age of Greek and Roman "visual piety" but without the Jerusalem temple. The chapter shows how in varying ways earlier and later rabbis construct a pilgrimage of reciprocal vision (in which pilgrim and god mutually behold and are beheld), particularly in the Babylonian Talmud which emphasizes "homovisuality."

The article aims to reconcile Suetonius’ evidence about 6000 talents Caesar received “in his own name and that of Pompey” from Ptolemy for the latter’s establishment on the throne of Egypt, and Plutarch’s evidence that at the moment of his death Ptolemy owed Caesar a half of that sum (17 500 000 drachmas). The article argues against the view of M. Gelzer and M. Siani-Davies, according to which this debt originated in 54 BC, when a Roman banker Gaius Rabirius transferred unpaid debentures of Ptolemy to Caesar’s name. Additional arguments are proposed in favour of H. Heinen and R. Westall’s view that in 59 BC Caesar received only a promissory note but no payment in cash from Ptolemy. An attempt is made to clarify the roles of Pompey and Rabirius in this transaction.

On the basis of «The Achievements of the Divine Augustus» the author analyses the significance of the legacy of populares, one of the main political movements in the Late Republic, in the politics of Emperor Augustus. The main features of this political movement, in the opinion of modern researchers, were their demagogic political style, their assertion of the sovereignty of Roman people and their protection of economic interests of the lower classes. In the RGDA there is no mention of the odious political methods of the populares that entailed conflicts and unrest but the text significantly dwells on the tribunician power granted to Augustus. In the Late Republic the tribunician power served as the basis of the populares’ political method. The ideology reflected in the RGDA entrusts the Roman people with an important role in the public administration and describes the Roman people as a full-fledged partner of the Senate, however it lacks the populares’ contraposition of the Roman people to the Senate (or to the oligarchy controlling the Senate). The populares’ legacy is particularly apparent in the RGDA chapters describing Augustus’ expenses in favor of the Roman people such as the organisation of various social measures, shows and public building. Augustus inherited from the populares of the Late Republic the idea of Roman plebs as a source of political power and of satisfaction of its interest as a mechanism of maintaining political stability, but discarded those of populares slogans and methods that had a conflict potential.

This is a very integral paper to human history. It is not only a history detailing the reason for the fall of the Republic (and thus the Empire), it is a complete history of Rome itself. Moreover, it represents Cicero's view of the evolution of consciousness, of which the history of Rome is an integral part, and has it's place in the historiography set out by Ken Wilbur and many more. Look for a follow-up paper on these topics, which I am currently working on, "Simulacrum and Singularity."

Sondierungsgrabungen einer bislang unbekannten Schanze erbrachten erste Hinweise auf eine Interpretation als caesarisches Militärlager. Dieses liegt im strategischen Umfeld des treverischen Oppidums "Hunnenring" von Otzenhausen. Stichworte: Sondierungen, Militärlager, spätkeltisch, römsich republikanisch, caesarisch, Dressel 1 Amphore, Hunnenring Otzenhausen

Was Valerius Maximus Publicola (Emp. Marcian's father), aka Pope Anastasius I? Before you decide, read this paper and my other papers on the popes. Every pope who I have written a paper about has had the same common ancestor - Arrius Calpurnius Piso; the main creator of Christianity.

This article deals with those cities in Anatolia, which Caesar and Augustus founded colonies in, and it considers the question of whether Greek poleis subsisted alongside the colonies. +++ With respect to the Caesarian colonization proof can be furnished – partly by referring to ancient sources hitherto disregarded – for the peregrine population remaining constituted in self-governing communities in at least two of four cities: Sinope and Heraclea Pontica. Regarding the eleven cities of the Augustan colonization at least Iconium and Ninica Claudiopolis were double communities, which minted coins with both Greek and Latin legends. +++  Perhaps this form of settlement and constitution was chosen mainly in places, where Roman colonists only represented a small minority. Therefore they were neither in the position to ensure an efficient administration of the whole community nor were they able to assert themselves against the indigenous inhabitants, who were already not well-disposed towards the Romans for expropriations incurred and who were ready to defy Roman authorities in case of deprivation of their self-governance respectively their civil rights.

Le indagini stratigrafiche dell’Università di Padova presso il Tempio romano di Nora sono state accompagnate da una revisione dei dati d’archivio relativi agli scavi degli anni Cinquanta del Novecento. Lo studio ha consentito di recuperare la notizia del rinvenimento di un frammento epigrafico rimasto inedito, probabilmente riconducibile alla dedica a un imperatore. Questa nuova acquisizione sembra sostenere l’ipotesi, già in passato avanzata, di una destinazione al culto imperiale dell’edificio templare, sebbene sia possibile che all’interno del complesso venissero celebrate anche altre divinità, come parrebbe suggerire la dedica a Vulcanus Mulciber, pure rinvenuta durante le ricerche intraprese a metà del secolo scorso.

Deze tekst is een samenvatting van enkele hoofdstukken uit Deel II: Caesar tegen de Oude Belgen dat grotendeels gewijd is aan de strijd van CAESAR tegen de Aduatuci en de Eburones. We gaan ondermeer op zoek naar het Oppidum Aduatucorum, het grote oppidum der Aduatuci. Dat werd belegerd en veroverd door CAESAR in-57. Later, tijdens de volgende oorlogsjaren-54 en-53 schrijft hij over een versterkte vesting Aduatuca waarbij de naamsgelijkheid opvalt. We analyseren de betreffende alinea's van De Bello Gallico. Door het verschijnen van de schitterende studie over de goudschatten der Belgae krijgen we een nauwkeurig beeld over de respectievelijke woongebieden der Nervii en Eburones. Tongeren.) Merkwaardig is dat de medeauteur en archeoloog NICO ROYMANS in een latere persconferentie het oppidum der Aduatuci in Thuin plaatst. In het daar gelegen oppidum, met de naam Bois-du-Grand-Bon-Dieu, meent hij de versterking der Aduatuci gevonden te hebben. Nochtans zou een gewone rekenmachine de archeoloog kunnen verhinderen deze merkwaardige aannames te maken. Het Bois-du-Grand-Bon-Dieu is ongeveer dertien (13) hectare groot. CAESAR schrijft dat er in dit oppidum 57.000 Aduatuci verzameld zijn. Dertien hectare is gelijk aan 130.000 vierkante meter. Per individu dat zich in dit oppidum bevindt, geeft dit 2,26 vierkante meter levensruim. CAESAR schrijft ook dat de Aduatuci zich daar verzamelen met " sua omnia " , dit is met have en goederen, koeien, schapen, karren, potten, slaapgerief. Het merkwaardige aan heel deze zaak is dat ik al met verscheidene vakmensen over deze merkwaardige wiskunde discussieerde maar altijd ongelijk krijg. De pure wiskundige uitslag van een elektronische rekenmachine weegt niet op tegen een loze academische bewering. Ik maakte hetzelfde mee toen een andere academicus beweerde dat de 'Sabis' een beek de 'Samme' was die bij La Louvière stroomt. Mijn grondig gedocumenteerde tegenwerpingen hielpen niet. Tien jaar later kan men die gekheid nog altijd lezen op sommige wetenschappelijke pagina's. Men leze mijn tekst dus met veel kritische zin en controleer mijn stellingen. Zie ook op

At Cleopatra's banquet in Lucan's book 10 Caesar asks the Egyptian Acoreus to reveal the source of the Nile but receives a lengthy, evasive reply on the planetary influences on the Nile, on theories of its flood, and on its course through eastern Africa. This essay establishes the thematic coherence of this Nilescape within the scientific and ethical economy of the epic. First, Acoreus' Nilescape responds to earlier, hostile references to the Nile and contrasts a cosmological view of the river to those terrestrial perspectives. Second, Lucan's juxtaposition of these two views draws from st century ce stoicism, particularly Seneca's cosmology in the Natural Questions.

Resumen: El siguiente trabajo analiza, tanto desde un punto de vista arqueológico como histórico, ciertos aspectos del poblamiento rural en época bajoimperial romana y tardoantigua entre las localidades de Mérida y Alange (Badajoz). Se trata de un territorio ribereño constreñido por Occidente por el Iter ab Hispali Emeritam, y por Oriente por uno de los principales ríos de la Península Ibérica, el Guadiana, lo que crea las condiciones ecológicas y geográficas idóneas para el poblamiento humano ya desde el Paleolítico en adelante. Además, en sus diferentes villae rusticae asistimos a una interesante secuencia diacrónica de
ocupación, que vendrá relacionada con las fases históricas meritenses y sus dinámicas económicas, sociales y políticas.

"Palabras clave: Hispanias romanas, Guadiana, Augusta Emerita, Alange, mundo rural, villae rusticae, élites locales, pervivencias temporales, reocupación de espacios, villulae


Abstract: This paper is focused on certain aspects of the countryside and the Late Roman and Late Antique settlement on the territory between Mérida and Alange (Province of Badajoz, SW Spain), with both archaeological and historical views. Is a riverside territory placed between the Iter ab Hispali Emeritam and by the Guadiana, one of the main rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, with excellent ecological and geographical conditions in order to grant a continuous human settlement from the Paleolithic period onwards. Also, in the several Roman villae
rusticae sited in this territory we behold an interesting occupation process, linked with the near Emeritan History and its economical, social and political dynamics.

Keywords: Roman Hispaniae, Guadiana river, Augusta Emerita, Alange, countryside life, villae rusticae, local elites, time pervivences, spatial reoccupation, villulae"

Full article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-the-writings-of-julius-caesar/style-of-choice/AAA0677E26A6F3283D6B5D45796FE597/core-reader

The definition of 'elegantia'  covers most of what critics, ancient and modern, have deemed noteworthy of Caesar’s style; it will also provide the blueprint for this discussion of his () “Command of Language,” () “Rhetoric of Stringency,” and () “Choice (of) Words.” As will appear time and again, Caesar did not weld his style in isolation: an active contributor to current linguistic and rhetorical debates, he set his own rules, borrowed heavily from the texts of the Roman state (including laws and military reports) and, less clearly, from the traditions of the commentarius and historiography, and occasionally allowed barracks lingo. Caesar’s style is one of choice, and the subsequent pages will sketch what these choices were and how they changed, but also what makes Caesar Caesar, and, in the final section, what makes Caesar a classic – questions often overlooked in the past by those focused on specific problems in a text (especially the BG) that served first and foremost as a textbook of Latin. It has been, in Pascucci’s fine words, “la (s)fortuna di Cesare” that the school author overshadowed the classical author.

Plutarch, Cicero and the Bobbio scholiast tell us that the censor of 65 BCE, Marcus Crassus, supported a law about the annexation of Egypt, but he failed because of the opposition of the optimates. Suetonius, however, tells us that it was Caesar who tried to get the Egyptian command с.616 that year. According to the dominant view, Crassus wanted to get the Egyptian command for himself and Caesar acted only as his junior ally, but could in no way hope to receive the command for himself. In this article the evidence is re-examined and the conclusion is drawn that it was Caesar who should have got the Egyptian command, rather than Crassus. Also more precise dating of the whole episode at the end of 65 BCE is suggested.

The classics in the Italian writer Alfredo Panzini (1863-1939). Draft of the paper "Leggere Panzini rileggere i classici: classicità e attualità in romanzi dello scrittore di Bellaria", published in "Panzini scrittore europeo", a cura di Mariangela Lando, Bologna, Pendragon, 2014 (Collana “Archivio Alfredo Panzini”, 1), pp. 91-107 [ISBN 978-8865985502].

The paper analyzes Cicero’s hints at the “architects” of Servilius Rullus’ agragian bill of 63 B.C.E., hostile to Pompey, and makes an attempt to identify these persons and their aims. The author argues that Crassus and Caesar stood behind the back of Servilius Rullus, and his bill should not be viewed as “Pompeian” or “anti-Pompeian”. It was a partnership proposal offered to Pompey by Crassus and Caesar. Pompey could use the law to make land allotments to his veterans, but it would be possible only if he made an alliance with its “architects”.

At the end of the Gallic Wars in 52 BC Caesar led his legions to the hilltop town of Alesia in Burgundy; inside were over 80,000 Gallic soldiers and civilians commanded by the charismatic leader Vercingetorix. The Roman's decided to starve the defenders out in what has become one of history's most dramatic sieges. This article relates these events and describes the new museum and visitor centre which opened there in 2012.

The paper addresses the history of excavations of the largest Roman tomb, the Mausoleum of the Emperor Caesar Augustus. The author focuses on the results of recent archaeological activities and how they have transformed the perception of the monument. The tomb of the first Roman Emperor in the post-classical era underwent various transformations and was repeatedly plundered. As a result, the tomb has preserved in a severely damaged condition. The monument had been used for utilitarian purposes until the 1930s. The mausoleum was used as a quarry, a fortress which has been repeatedly destroyed, a vineyard, a garden, an amphitheater for bullfighting, a theater, and a concert hall. The first archaeological excavation in the territory of the monument was carried out in the 16th century. It is them which marked the beginning of the monument's study history. The material obtained during these field works is still of great importance for scholars who engage in the study of the monument. For a long time after the Renaissance era the Mausoleum was studied only periodically due to construction works carried out in its territory. The archaeological study of the monument has intensified since the beginning of the 20th century. Ambitious works were carried out in the 1920s and 1930s. Their implementation was not dictated by scholarly interest: Benito Mussolini sought to use the heritage of Ancient Rome for his propaganda. Nevertheless, as a result of the completed excavations, the mausoleum was not only freed from the post-antique layers, but the obtained results laid the foundation for the modern idea of the monument. New interest in the monument arose only after seventy years. The immediate reason to that was the government’s plan for the reconstruction of the mausoleum and the surrounding area. Excavations were carried out by the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Capital of Rome. The obtained archaeological data have greatly changed the modern perception of the monument and make it possible to put an end to the discussion of the issue.