The Peloponnesian War erupted from 431-404 BCE between the Spartans and the empire of the Athenians. Prior to this war the two enemies were allies against the Persians, but turned on each other. Reasons for this war were, power, greed, and treason between the two armies. Both of these powers wanted to be the most powerful and this caused a conflict amongst themselves. Athenians had been in previous wars and as time progressed it was clear that Athens had to be rebuilt, as the reconstruction process proceeded the Athenian empire began to dominate their allies politically and economically.
One group in Messana decided to rid the city of the Carthaginians, as they now saw Carthage as a greater threat than Syracuse. This group made an approach to Rome and this was a turning point of Rome and Carthage’s allegiance. At first, Rome was very doubtful as to whether to send a force to Sicily or not. They did not desire Carthage to stay in the Country and increase their influence, however sending men there would most likely provoke a war. The Romans were very cautious, however, influence from the upper and middle classes heavily swayed Rome’s decision.
In his commentary of Xenophon’s ‘Hellenica’, George Carkwell argues that Sparta originally lost her power from 394 BC, after the naval victory of the Persian and Greek fleet. The combined Persian and Greek fleet was under the command of the Athenian Conon and Pharnabazus. They defeated the Spartan navy led by Pisander. Following this significant defeat, Spartan ‘harmosts’ were expelled through the Aegean and this led to the Lacedaemonian maritime empire being virtually
Essays xix. The Peloponnesian War started when Megara and Thebes was forced into the Confederacy of Delos. They then decided to revolt with the help of Sparta, but that ended a decisive victory for Sparta and a peace treaty with Athens. Athens chose to break the deal and they went after Potidaea, but that ended up as a draw. Pericles was a very strategic leader and they decided to start another war by going to the source, Sparta.
King Leonidas Leonidas was the king of Sparta at one time. He is most famous for leading the three hundred Spartans against the Persian army. He lived in the Peloponnesus and the city state of Sparta. Leonidas had a major impact in his time; he led troops to eliminate Persians to defend Sparta. Doing this Sparta and Athens won the war against the Persians, but ended up losing to Rome.
The Romans say that the Spanish peoples wanted out of the Carthaginian rule and that is why they were fighting, but some Spanish peoples, along with the Carthaginians did fight hard. Whether this alliance was due to the Saguntum issue or other causes, there were still people believing in the Carthaginian rule. We know that Livy was biased in his account of the war and that he made Hannibal seem extremely cruel and brutish in some parts, but we also know that the Romans were known for their brutality as well. This could have been a factor in the Spanish peoples decision to fight for Hannibal. Another reason why the Spanish peoples are important is because, according to Livy, they are the reason Hannibal lost the war.
News reached him that the tribune_s veto against Pompey_s legislation had been disallowed, and that they had fled the city. Caesar knew that if he resigned his command on his army, that he would be immediately prosecuted for his actions in 59 BC. The only manouvere he could see which would enable him to continue to be free, was to enter Italy with his legions and defend his honour and reputation. OUTLINE THE CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION OF CAESAR IN THE PERIOD 49-44 BC Between 49-44 BC, Caesar became more and more autocratic, until the oligarchy government Rome had desperately tried to achieve for so long became a one man dictatorship. It began small, with a dictatorship lasting only 11 days, until in 44 BC he was given this position for life.
On the other hand, Maecenas took the role of making Augustus the sole figure as a leader to Rome with his inhibited propaganda as patron for some of the prominent writers of the time based on creating a perception of Augustus as a way ‘for the people’, rather than self ambition. The importance of Agrippa rose indistinguishably as being responsible for most of Octavian’s military triumphs. His role emerged during the ‘Sicilian conflict’ against Sextus Lepidus in 36 BC where after Octavian’s naval failure Agrippa engaged and destroyed the rebels fleet where Suetonius notes he “forced the enemy ships to sheer off “. Octavian’s opposition however, was marked most strongly by Mark Antony where coincidently it was again Agrippa whose military experience and instinct towered above Augustus, whom blockaded the ships of Antony and Cleopatra with a fleet under Octavian’s title. After the inauguration of Augustus of the first settlement, Agrippa’s militaristic conquests became
Rome: March Towards an Empire A republic plagued with civil wars and social infighting is bound to not remain a republic long. Such was the fate of Rome. The final years of the Roman Republic saw nearly a dozen civil wars; the final war, the Battle of Actium, ultimately leading to the Republic's demise. In such turmoil, as power becomes instable and violence common, a nation seemingly begs for the emergence of someone to stabilize and bring order to a chaotic state; someone to claim power above the squabbling factions; essentially a dictator. Rome also had such a figure -- in Julius Caesar.
Octavian, the grandnephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar, had made himself a central military figure during the chaotic period following Caesar's assassination. In 43 BC at the age of twenty he became one of the three members of the Second Triumvirate, a political alliance with Marcus Lepidus and Mark Antony. [1] Octavian and Antony defeated the last of Caesar's assassins in 42 BC at the Battle of Philippi, although after this point, tensions began to rise between the two. The triumvirate ended in 32 BC, torn apart by the competing ambitions of its members: Lepidus was forced into exile and Antony, who had allied himself with his lover Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, committed suicide in 30 BC following his defeat at the Battle of Actium (31