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The Battle of Marathon, 490 BC
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/marathon.htm' >Rome</a>The battle of Marathon is one of history's most famous military engagements. It is also one of the earliest recorded battles. Their victory over the Persian invaders gave the fledgling Greek city states confidence in their ability to defend themselves and belief in their continued existence. The battle is therefore considered a defining moment in the development of European culture. a Persian armada of 600 ships disgorged an invasion force of approximately 20,000 infantry -
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The Suicide of Socrates, 399 BC
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/socrates.htm' >Rome </a>On a day in 399 BC the philosopher Socrates stood before a jury of 500 of his fellow Athenians accused of "refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state" and of "corrupting the youth." If found guilty; his penalty could be death. -
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Alexander DefeatsThe Persians, 331 BC
//http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/alexander.htm' >Rome</a>Alexander began his war against the Persians in 334 BC. At the time the Macedonian leader was twenty-two years old. At his death eleven years later, Alexander ruled the largest empire of the ancient world. His victory at the battle of Gaugamela on the Persian plains was a decisive conquest that insured the defeat of his Persian rival King Darius III. -
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The Death of Alexander the Great,323 BC
Rome 2RomeIt was May of 323 BC and Alexander the Great was in Baghdad. The thirty-two-year-old King of Macedonia had spent the past thirteen years conquering much of the known world. In the process, he created an empire that reached from Macedonia through Greece and the Persian Empire to the fringes of India. He had plans to expand his holdings, but these dreams would never be realized. -
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Hippocrates, The Ideal Physician, c. 320 BC
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/idealphysician.htm' >Rome</a>Hippocrates was born on the Greek island of Cos off the coast of Turkey about four hundred-sixty years before the birth of Christ. It is believed that his father was a physician, as were a number of his ancestors. It is unclear whether he founded a school for physicians on his home island or joined an established institution. -
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The Druids, ca. 54 BC
RomeTheir history is cloaked in mystery. The ancient Druids were members of the priestly class of the Celtic society that originated in Britain and migrated to what is now central France. The Druids occupied a revered social status among the Celts due to their service to the community as priests, teachers, diviners, and magicians. Two of the significant attributes of the Celtic religion were the veneration of the oak tree and the ritual of human sacrifice in ceremonies supervised by the Druids. -
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Julius CaesarCrosses the Rubicon, 49 BC
Born with unbridled political ambition and unsurpassed oratory skills, Julius Caesar manipulated his way to the Roman Legionary
position of consul of Rome in 59 BC. After his year of service he was named governor of Gaul where he amassed a personal fortune and exhibited his outstanding military skill in subduing the native Celtic and Germanic tribes. Caesar's popularity with the people soared, presenting a threat to the power of the Senate and to Pompey, who held power in Rome. Accordingly, t -
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The Assassination ofJulius Caesar, 44 BC
Caesar now pursued Pompey to Greece. Although outnumbered, Caesar crushed the forces of his enemy but not before Pompey escaped to Egypt. Following Pompey to Egypt, Caesar was presented with his rival's severed head as a token of friendship. Before leaving the The Assassination of Caesarregion, Caesar established Cleopatra as his surrogate ruler of Egypt. Caesar defeated his remaining rivals in North Africa in 47 BC and returned to Rome with his authority firmly established. -
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The Burning of Rome, 64 AD
RomeDuring the night of July 18, 64 AD, fire broke out in the merchant area of the city of Rome. Fanned by summer winds, the flames quickly spread through the dry, wooden structures of the Imperial City. Soon the fire took on a life of its own consuming all in its path for six days and seven nights. When the conflagration finally ran its course it left seventy percent of the city in smoldering ruins. -
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Nero PersecutesThe Christians, 64 A.D.
A generation after the death of Christ, Christianity had reached Rome in the form of an obscure offshoot of Judaism popular among the city's poor and destitute. Members of this religious sect spoke of the coming of a new kingdom and a new king. These views provoked suspicion among the Jewish authorities who rejected the group and fear among the Roman authorities who perceived these sentiments as a threat to the Empire. -
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The Romans Destroy the Templeat Jerusalem, 70 AD
In the year 66 AD the Jews of Judea rebelled against their Roman masters. In response, the Emperor Nero dispatched an army under the generalship of Vespasian to restore order. By the year 68, resistance in the northern part of the province had been eradicated and the Romans turned their full attention to the subjugation of Jerusalem. That same year, the Emperor Nero died by his own hand, creating a power vacuum in Rome. In the resultant chaos, -
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The Destruction of Pompeii, 79 AD
RomeOn August 24, 79 Mount Vesuvius literally blew its top, spewing tons of molten ash, pumice and sulfuric gas miles into Vesuvius erupts, 1944the atmosphere. A "firestorm" of poisonous vapors and molten debris engulfed the surrounding area suffocating the inhabitants of the neighboring Roman resort cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae. Tons of falling debris filled the streets until nothing remained to be seen of the once thriving communities. -
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The Fall of Rome
At its height, the boundaries of the Roman Empire stretched from the north of England across the North Sea, along the Rhine and Danube Rivers to the Caspian Sea, south to Egypt, along the coast of Africa to Spain. The decline and eventual collapse of this vast empire took place over a period of years before reaching its bitter end in the middle of the 5th century. Its demise followed a pattern in which extended periods of weakness were followed by unsustainable bursts of strength that inevitably -
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Short Summary of Rome
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Cleopatra Seduces Antony, 41 BC
The romance between Antony and Cleopatra might have changed the world. If Antony had succeeded in wining sole control of Rome with Cleopatra as his queen, he could have changed the course of the Roman Empire, making the world we live in today a different place. However, their relationship ended in mutual suicide in 30 BC, eleven years after it started, when Roman troops engulfed the Egyptian city of Alexandria and threatened their capture. -
Gladiators, 50 AD
RomeThe spectacle of gladiatorial combat was initiated by wealthy Romans over 250 years before the birth of Christ as a part of the ceremonies held to honor their deceased relatives. Later, these games became separate events sponsored by Rome's leading citizens in order to enhance their prestige. With the decline of the republic and the rise of the empire, gladiator games were appropriated by the emperor.
