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Thapsus

(Encyclopedia)Thapsus thăpˈsəs [key], ancient N African seaport, c.100 mi (161 km) SE of Carthage in what is now Tunisia. The last stronghold of Pompey's party, the town was besieged in 46 b.c. by Julius Caesar....

Sallust

(Encyclopedia)Sallust (Caius Sallustius Crispus) sălˈəst [key], 86 b.c.–c.34 b.c., Roman historian. He was tribune of the people (52 b.c.) and praetor (46). He was ejected (50) from the senate ostensibly for a...

Gaul

(Encyclopedia)Gaul gôl [key], Lat. Gallia, ancient designation for the land S and W of the Rhine, W of the Alps, and N of the Pyrenees. The name was extended by the Romans to include Italy from Lucca and Rimini no...

Ariovistus

(Encyclopedia)Ariovistus ârˌēōvĭsˈtəs [key], fl. 58 b.c., Germanic chieftain, leader of the Suebi. He crossed the Rhine c.71 b.c., defeated the Aedui, and came to dominate much of Gaul (see Gallic Wars). In ...

Juba I, king of Numidia

(Encyclopedia)Juba I jo͞oˈbə [key], c.85 b.c.–46 b.c., king of Numidia in N Africa. He joined Pompey's party and in 49 b.c. routed Caesar's legate, Curio. He fought on the side of Metellus Scipio and took his ...

Agrippina the Elder

(Encyclopedia)Agrippina the Elder ăgˌrĭpīˈnə [key], d. a.d. 33, Roman matron; daughter of Agrippa and Julia and granddaughter of Augustus. She was the wife of Germanicus Caesar and accompanied him on his prov...

Scipio

(Encyclopedia)Scipio sĭpˈēō [key], ancient Roman family of the Cornelian gens. They were patricians. During the 3d and 2d cent. b.c. they were distinguished by their love of Greek culture and learning. Their we...

Aedui

(Encyclopedia)Aedui hĕˈdyo͞oī [key], Gallic people, occupying in the 1st cent. b.c. a part of what later became Burgundy. Defeated by Ariovistus and at odds with their Gallic neighbors, they were allies of the ...

Triumvirate

(Encyclopedia)Triumvirate trīŭmˈvĭrĭt, –vĭrātˌ [key], in ancient Rome, ruling board or commission of three men. Triumvirates were common in the Roman republic. The First Triumvirate was the alliance of Ju...

Cleopatra

(Encyclopedia)Cleopatra klēəpăˈtrə, –pāˈ–, –päˈ– [key], 69 b.c.–30 b.c., queen of Egypt, one of the great romantic heroines of all time. Her name was widely used in the Ptolemaic family; she was ...