As far-flung provinces like this one [Libya] started gaining power and flexing their muscles, the Empire began to strike back ... It benefited Roman art. The Treasures of Ancient Rome III: The Empire Strikes Back
Only a fraction of Rome’s population was Christian. ibid.
Christian art evolved from a very Roman tradition. ibid.
3,000 years ago an extraordinary people rose from humble beginnings to force their will on the world. Larry Lamb, Rome: The World’s First Superpower: City of Blood, Channel 5 2014
They created the greatest empire mankind had ever seen – an empire that stretched from Britain to the Middle East. It lasted a thousand years and shaped the way we live today. ibid.
According to legend, Romulus and Remus were the semi-divine sons of Mars, the god of War. ibid.
Rome: founded on murder but not yet a city. ibid.
By 550 B.C., 200 years after the foundation, Rome’s population was around 30,000 people spread over 7 hills along the Tiber. It could now call itself a proper city. ibid.
The Romans were resourceful and ruthless. ibid.
Brutus was as good as his word – he and his followers drove Tarquin and his supporters out of Rome, and together gave birth to a new ideal – that no king would ever rule Rome again. ibid.
Ancient Rome was as unequal as any modern city. ibid.
The Etruscan civilisation was doomed. ibid.
400 B.C.: Rome is now 300 years old and a powerful city state. Larry Lamb, Rome: The World’s First Superpower II: Total War
The Carthaginian Empire had been built on the strength of its Navy. ibid.
Hannibal had finally crossed the Alps into Italy – an amazing feat. ibid.
Rome had won its world war. Carthage fell. ibid.
146 B.C.: A century of bitter warfare is about to reach its climax. Rome’s forces are poised outside the city walls of their greatest enemy: Carthage must be destroyed. Larry Lamb, Rome: The World’s First Superpower III: Death of a Hero
95% of the city’s population was crammed into places like this [high-rise blocks]. ibid.
49 B.C.: An Army stands on the banks of a river in northern Italy ... The general was Julius Caesar. Larry Lamb, Rome: The World’s First Superpower IV: Caesar
Caesar and his legions were very definitely on the make. ibid.
They turned to the one man who could restore calm – Pompeii. In desperation they made him sole console. ibid.
For ten days Caesar’s triumph flaunted the great power and wealth of the Roman republic. ibid.
Caesar was stabbed 23 times. ibid.
Rome had not ever been conquered by a foreign enemy in the Imperial period. Michael Kulikowski, University of Tennessee
A contemporary put it very well when he says, ‘The Mother of the World has been killed.’ That’s what people thought. Michael Kulikowski
The assassination of Julius Caesar was the fruit of a conspiracy like no other. It was headed by men who were his closest friends and allies. Men who owed him everything – their lives, their fortunes, their careers, their honours. Yet for months some of the best and brightest of Rome conspired to commit what became known as one of the most infamous assassinations in history. Manfredi, Caesar: A Roman Murder
He had made the city fit for a king. ibid.
Rome was split by warring factions, and Caesar left to join the army. ibid.
Crassus, Caesar and Pompey formed a political alliance ... That made Caesar’s election possible. ibid.
Corruption and kick-backs were already widespread evils in Rome. ibid.
Pompey’s support of Caesar had waned, and he now stood against his political enemy. ibid.
Caesar prepared to defy the Senate and cross the Rubicon. ibid.
According to Napoleon, abandoning Rome [Senate] was a terrible mistake. ibid.
Pompey was utterly defeated. ibid.
In 45 B.C. Caesar returned victorious to Rome. The Civil War had ended after five years. ibid.
Temples and statues sang his praises. His victories were made Public Holidays. ibid.
Cassius got his man. But Brutus too owed everything to Caesar. ibid.
Sixty men took part in the plot to assassinate Caesar. History has only recorded the more famous names in this extraordinary conspiracy. ibid.
Perhaps he thought that nobody would be man enough to kill him. ibid.
[The Senate] had created the very Monarchy they had tried to avoid. ibid.
Rome’s greatness depends on giving great men incentives to do great deeds. Barry Strauss, Cornell University
Caesar makes it clear that he has contempt for the old order. That he is not willing to play by the rules. Professor Barry Strauss
They thought that there was wide support in Rome for the idea that a would-be king should be put down. It is clear that they lacked Caesar’s view for the mood of the people. Barry Strauss
One of the founding myths of the Roman Republic was that it was born out of the expulsion of the kings of Rome. Brutus was a descendant of that first Brutus who expelled the kings, who gave birth to the Republic. So that pressure of the past is very strongly in the minds of the conspirators. Maria Wyke
All that has happened is that you kill Caesar and get another. Maria Wyke
And the greatest irony of all is that Octavian manages to create an imperial monarchy, to create if you like a tyranny far greater than anything that Caesar seemed to have been attempting. Maria Wyke
Public life in Rome was just that – public. Adrian Goldsworthy
Within months people had set up altars to him [Caesar]. Adrian Goldsworthy
The Romans were willing to learn from others. Adrian Goldsworthy
The political elite were very close-knit ... They loathed each other all the more. Tom Holland, historian
The scale of the crisis that had engulfed the Republic was simply too great to be erased by the assassination even of Caesar. Caesar the name has a potency that endures long after Rome itself has fallen. Indeed even in the twentieth century there were still rulers who were proud to wear it as their own personal title. That is some legacy. Tom Holland
In Rome in Caesar’s day there were two ways of doing politics: on the one hand there were the best tomatoes – the self-styled best men, who believed that power should be retained in the hands of the Senate, a small self-perpetuating aristocratic council. And on the other hand the popularis, who believed that power should be held and fully exercised by the sovereign assemblies of Rome. Professor Edward Bispham, historian
This is the story of how the Roman Republic was killed off ... Julius Caesar was cut down by his fellow Senators, his friends ... He has been called both hero and villain, but so have his killers. Rome Revealed s1e1: Killing Caesar, National Geographic 2010
The 1st Century BC: Rome has been an empire for 400 years. ibid.
Their ambition is the engine that powers this state. ibid.
The only danger is that one day one man will become too strong. ibid.
What he does will bring the Republic down. ibid.
History, tradition, above all family. ibid.
The ancient clans – these are the men who really run the city. ibid.
It’s not just spin – this man writes his own history. Time and again he turns adversity into advantage. ibid.