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Battle of Actium
The Battle of Actium (2 September 31 BCE, fought in the Ionian Sea off Actium, Greece) was the decisive engagement of the civil war fought between Octavian Caesar (l. 63-14 CE, later known as Augustus, r. 27 BCE - 14 CE) and the forces of...
Definition
Ancient Armenia
Ancient Armenia, located in the south Caucasus area of Eurasia, was settled in the Neolithic era but its first recorded state proper was the kingdom of Urartu from the 9th century BCE. Incorporated into the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great...
Definition
Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus (85-42 BCE) was a Roman politician and a leading figure in the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. Although he was granted amnesty after the Ides of March, a new civil war soon broke out. Brutus committed suicide...
Definition
Helena of Constantinople
Saint Helena of Constantinople (248/250-328 CE) was the mother of Roman emperor Constantine I (r. 306-337 CE). She famously made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where tradition claims found Christ's true cross and built the Basilica of the Holy...
Definition
Byzantium
The ancient city of Byzantium was founded by Greek colonists from Megara around 657 BCE. According to the historian Tacitus, it was built on the European side of the Strait of Bosporus on the order of the “god of Delphi” who said to build...
Definition
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla (138-78 BCE) was a ruthless military commander, who first distinguished himself in the Numidian War under the command of Gaius Marius. His relationship with Marius soured during the conflicts that would follow and lead...
Definition
Roman Imperial Cult
The Roman imperial cult was the practice of venerating Roman emperors and their families as having divine attributes, honoring their contributions to the spread of Roman religion and culture. It was instituted by the first Roman emperor Augustus...
Definition
Cato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato (95-46 BCE), better known as Cato the Younger or Cato of Utica, was an influential politician of the Roman Republic. As the great-grandson of Cato the Elder and a dedicated student of Stoicism, he believed in traditional...
Definition
Roman Naval Warfare
Military supremacy of the seas could be a crucial factor in the success of any land campaign, and the Romans well knew that a powerful naval fleet could supply troops and equipment to where they were most needed in as short a time as possible...
Definition
Mithridates VI
Mithridates VI (120-63 BCE, also known as Mithradates, Mithradates Eupator Dionysius, Mithridates the Great) was the king of Pontus (modern-day northeastern Turkey) who was regarded by his people as their savior from the oppression of Rome...