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Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla , 138 BC-78 BC, Roman general. At the height of his career he assumed the name Felix. He served under Marius in Africa and became consul in 88 BC, when Mithradates VI of Pontus was overrunning Roman territory in the east. Sulla and Marius both wanted the command against Mith...
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Cinna
Cinna (Lucius Cornelius Cinna) , d. 84 BC, Roman politician, consul (87 BC-84 BC), and leader of the popular party. Shortly after Cinna's first election, Sulla left Rome to fight against Mithradates VI of Pontus, having received from Cinna and Cinna's colleague Gnaeus Octavius a promise to maint...
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Chaeronea
Chaeronea , ancient town of Boeotia, Greece, in the Cephissus (now Kifisós) River valley and NW of Thebes. There the Athenians and Thebans were defeated (338 BC) by the Macedonians under Philip II, and in 86 BC Sulla defeated the army of Mithradates VI of Pontus under Archelaus. Chaeronea was...
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quaestor
quaestor , Roman magistrate, with responsibility for the treasury; in early times a quaestor also had judicial powers. At first there were two quaestors. Sulla named 20, and Caesar set 40 as the number (45 BC), but Augustus reduced them to 20. Quaestors were in theory deputies for consuls, praetors,...
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Quintus Roscius
Quintus Roscius , c.126 BC-62 BC, Roman actor. Born a slave at Solonium, he became the greatest comic actor of his time. From the dictator Sulla, Roscius received the honor of the gold ring signifying equestrian rank. In a lawsuit, Cicero, whom he had taught elocution, defended him by an extant orat...
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Samnites
Samnites , people of ancient Italy. Their country was Samnium . The Samnites were Oscan-speaking and therefore should be included among the Sabelli. The Tabula Agnonensis, a bronze tablet that carries an inscription engraved in the full Oscan alphabet, is an important record of the language. The ...
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dictator
dictator originally a Roman magistrate appointed to rule the state in times of emergency; in modern usage, an absolutist or autocratic ruler who assumes extraconstitutional powers. From 501 BC until the abolition of the office in 44 BC, Rome had 88 dictators. They were usually appointed by a consul...
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Pompey
Pompey (Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus) , 106 BC-48 BC, Roman general, the rival of Julius Caesar . Sometimes called Pompey the Great, he was the son of Cnaeus Pompeius Strabo (consul in 89 BC), a commander of equivocal reputation. The young Pompey fought for Sulla in Picenum, in Sicily, and in Africa ...
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Catiline
Catiline (Lucius Sergius Catilina) , c.108 BC-62 BC, Roman politician and conspirator. At first a conservative and a partisan of Sulla, he was praetor in 68 BC and governor of Africa in 67 BC The next year he was barred from candidacy for the consulship by false accusations of misconduct in office...
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Mithradates VI
Mithradates VI (Mithradates Eupator) , c.131 BC-63 BC, king of Pontus, sometimes called Mithradates the Great. He extended his empire until, in addition to Pontus, he held Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, and the Black Sea coast beyond the Caucasus. The increasing importance of Rome in Asia Minor brought ...
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