It was the year 30 B.C. when Octavian’s victory at the Battle of Actium ended the Third Civil War, turning Egypt into a mere Roman province. With this new political-administrative status, the dignity of the Egyptian pharaoh disappeared and was replaced by that of a proconsul. The last one, who reigned alongside his mother Cleopatra […]
Julius Caesar
Caesar, besieged with Cleopatra in Alexandria, Ordered his Ships to be Burned to Prevent Retreat
If we talk about the sieges that Julius Caesar experienced, the one at Alesia immediately comes to mind, where he defeated the Gallic leader Vercingetorix after a month and a half of fighting and after being besieged himself when an enemy army unexpectedly appeared from the rear. He would go through this experience again five […]
The Encryption System Used by Julius Caesar in his Letters to Hide their Content
Cryptography is nearly as old as human language. Many civilizations felt the need to conceal their messages using more or less sophisticated encryption methods, as demonstrated by some documentary examples that have survived in Egypt, China, Mesopotamia, India, Greece… It is precisely in Egypt where the first example of cryptography has been found. The hieroglyphics […]
Ilerda, the Battle by which Julius Caesar Seized Hispania from Pompey
The 1st century BC wasn’t exactly peaceful for Rome. Apart from the wars it had to wage against external enemies, it found itself embroiled not in one but in two civil conflicts. The first was a power struggle between Lucius Cornelius Sulla and Gaius Marius, from 88 to 81 BC. The second came just thirty-two […]
Largo di Torre Argentina, the Place where Julius Caesar Died
On November 29, 1483, a priest and lawyer born in Strasbourg took on the role of Master of Ceremonies of the papacy in Rome, after purchasing the position for around 450 ducats. His name was Johann Burchard, and until his death in 1506, he served in that position for five popes. A few years earlier, […]
Ambiorix’s Revolt, when the Gauls annihilated fifteen Roman cohorts with a cunning ruse
Strictly speaking, the term genocide was not formulated until 1939, being legally defined as a crime in 1948. However, as a concept (deliberate and systematic extermination of a human group), it is possible to recognize it in some historical episodes, some on a large scale and others on a smaller scale. One of those often […]