60s BC

This article concerns the period 69 BC – 60 BC.

Events

69 BC

By place

Roman Republic

October 6 – Roman Republic troops under Lucius Lucullus defeat the army of Tigranes II of Armenia in the Battle of Tigranocerta, and capture Tigranocerta, capital of Armenia.
Consuls: Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus and Quintus Hortensius.
Antiochus XIII Asiaticus is installed as king of Syria.^[1]
Parthians and Romans re-establish Euphrates as a frontier.
Gaius Julius Caesar is a quaestor in Spain.

Egypt

Ptolemy XII deposes Cleopatra V, and becomes sole ruler.

Greece

Kydonia, an ancient city on the island of Crete falls to Roman military forces.^[2]
Rhodes becomes a bulwark against pirates, the Rhodians are unable to suppress piracy in the Aegean Sea. Delos gets the status of a free port.

68 BC

By place

Roman Republic

Consuls: Lucius Caecilius Metellus and Quintus Marcius Rex.
October 6 – Lucius Lucullus defeats Tigranes II of Armenia in the Battle of Artaxata.
Gaius Antonius Hybrida elected praetor.
Tribune of the plebs Gaius Antius Restio passes the Lex Antia sumptuaria law forbidding Roman magistrates from attending banquets.^[3]
Ostia, the harbour city of Ancient Rome, is sacked by pirates. The port is set on fire and the consular war fleet is destroyed.

Osroene

Abgar II becomes ruler of Osroene.

67 BC

By place

Roman Republic

Consuls: Manius Acilius Glabrio and Gaius Calpurnius Piso.
During Pompey's war against the pirates, he raises a fleet of 500 warships and fights with great success.
The lex Gabinia gives Pompey command of the Mediterranean and its coasts for 50 miles inland for three years. He defeats the pirates in three months and pacifies Cilicia.
Pompey divides the Mediterranean into 13 zones – six in the West and seven in the East – to each of which he assigns a fleet under an admiral.
Pompey offers the ex-pirates and their families clemency, he settles them in agricultural colonies in eastern Mediterranean lands.
Pompey takes over the command of Lucius Licinius Lucullus in the war against Mithridates VI of Pontus, and reaps the fruit of the latter's victories.
Lex Acilia Calpurnia: permanent exclusion from office in cases of electoral corruption.
Lex Roscia theatralis.
Julius Caesar reconciles with Pompey and Crassus^[4]
Julius Caesar marries Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla^[4]

Judea

Hyrcanus II becomes king of Judea, for first time (until 66 BC), upon the death of his mother, Salome Alexandra.

Pontus

Mithridates VI invades Pontus and defeats a Roman army at the Battle of Zela.
After his victory at Zela Mithridates starts consolidating his power in Pontus; restoring his rule over his old kingdom.
Lucullus returnes to Pontus, but his troops refuse to campaign for him any longer and he withdrew to Galatia.

China

December – The army of the Han dynasty Chinese commander Zheng Ji is victorious over the Xiongnu in the Battle of Jushi.

66 BC

By place

Roman Republic

Consuls: Manius Aemilius Lepidus and Lucius Volcatius Tullus.
Catiline accused of conspiring against the Roman Republic with Autronius and the younger Sulla (also in 63 BC during the consulship of Cicero).
The alliance between Mithridates VI of Pontus and Tigranes II of Armenia is broken.
Tigranes II is forced to surrender, by a payment of 6,000 talents, and is reinstated by Pompey as a "friend of the Roman people" to hold Armenia as a buffer zone.
Battle of the Lycus: Pompey the Great decisively defeats Mithridates VI, effectively ending the Third Mithridatic War.
Gaius Antonius elected Roman praetor.
The lex Manilia, supported by Cicero gives Pompey command over all of Asia.
Cicero becomes praetor in Rome.

Judea

Aristobulus II becomes king and high priest of Judea, until 63 BC.

65 BC

By place

Roman Republic

In response to the illegal exercise of citizen rights by foreigners, the Roman Senate passes the Lex Papia, which expels all foreigners from Rome^[5]
Tigranes of Armenia is defeated and captured by Pompey, thus ending all hostilities on the northeastern frontier of Rome.
Pompey the Great subjugates the kingdom of Iberia and makes Colchis a Roman province.

Western Han Empire

9th year of the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han

64 BC

By place

Roman Republic

Pompey destroys the kingdom of Pontus; king Mithridates VI commits suicide after escaping to the Crimea.
Pompey annexes Syria and captures Jerusalem, annexing Judea.

Syria

King Antiochus XIII Asiaticus is deposed and killed by the Syrian chieftain Sampsiceramus I^[6] – this is considered by some the end of the Seleucid dynasty.

63 BC

By place

Roman Republic

Lucullus holds a triumph, then retires from war and politics to live a life of refined luxury.
Establishment of the Decapolis and Year 1 of the Pompeian era.
Pompey conquers the people of Phonecia, Coele-Syria, and Judea for the Roman Republic.
Roman annexation of the Seleucid Empire and of Judea as a client kingdom. King Judah Aristobulus II removed from power, while his brother John Hyrcanus II is reappointed king (ethnarch) under Roman suzerainty and high priest, until 40 BC.
Massacre of over 12,000 Jews on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by Roman troops, in support of John Hyrcanus II against Aristobulus II.
Julius Caesar is elected Pontifex Maximus and praetor for 62 BC.^[4]
Marcus Tullius Cicero is senior consul. He is the first novus homo (new man) to be elected to the consulship in 31 years.
Gaius Antonius Hybrida is junior consul.
Cato the Younger is elected tribune of the people for 62 BC, taking office in early December 63 BC.
Servilius Rullus, a Roman tribune, proposes an agrarian reform law.
Second Catilinarian Conspiracy against the Roman Republic is foiled by Cicero.

Pontus

Pharnaces II becomes King of Pontus.

62 BC

By place

Roman Republic

January 5 – The forces of the conspirator Catiline are defeated by the loyal Roman armies of Antonius Hybrida led by Marcus Petreius in the Battle of Pistoria.
Julius Caesar divorces Pompeia, following the sacrilege of Publius Clodius Pulcher.
Cicero delivers his Pro Archia Poeta in defense of Aulus Licinius Archias' claim to Roman citizenship.
Cato the Younger, as tribune, presents a lex frumentaria (enacting a grain dole).
Metellus Nepos, also tribune, leaves Rome.
Caesar and Bibulus are praetors.

Commagene

King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene builds his mountain-top tomb-sanctuary at Mount Nemrut.

61 BC

By place

Roman Republic

Pompey returns to Rome with a triumph in honor of his for victories in the eastern provinces.^[7]
Marcus Pupius Piso Frugi as consul attempts to gain ratification of Pompey's Eastern Settlement.
Julius Caesar becomes governor in Hispania and creates Legio X Gemina (3,500 men). He puts down the Callaici and Lusitani rebellions.

60 BC

By place

Roman Republic

Gaius Julius Caesar suppresses an uprising and conquers all of Lusitania for Rome.^[8]^[4]
Creation of the First Triumvirate, an informal political alliance between Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus (or 59 BC).^[8]

Syria

The Seleucid Empire comes to an end with the last two emperors being murdered on orders from Rome.^{[citation needed]}

China

The Han dynasty government establishes the Protectorate of the Western Regions, the highest military position of a military commander on the Western frontier (Tarim Basin).^{[citation needed]}

Significant people

Pompey, Roman general, (lived 106 BC–48 BC)
Mithridates VI, King of Pontus, (lived 132 BC–63 BC)
Philip II Philoromaeus
Gaius Antonius Hybrida, elected praetor in 66 BC
Cleopatra VII is born (69 BC–30 BC) and grows into a young girl passing age 9.

Births

69 BC

Cleopatra VII Philopator, queen of Egypt (d. 30 BC)
Hyeokgeose, Korean king and founder of Silla (d. AD 4)
Wang Zhengjun, empress of the Western Han dynasty (d. AD 13)

68 BC

Arsinoe IV of Egypt, daughter of Ptolemy XII (and probably Cleopatra V) (d. 41 BC)

67 BC

Arsinoe IV of Egypt, daughter of Ptolemy XII (and probably Cleopatra V) (d. 41 BC)
Sextus Pompey, Roman general and governor (d. 35 BC)

66 BC

Octavia (the Younger), grandniece of Julius Caesar (d. 11 BC) ^[9]

65 BC

December 8 – Horace, Roman poet (d. 8 BC)^[10]
Gaius Asinius Pollio, Roman orator, poet and historian (d. AD 4)^[11]

64 BC

Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, Roman general and consul (d. AD 8)^[12]
Nicolaus of Damascus, Jewish historian and philosopher (approximate date)
Strabo, Greek philosopher and historian in Amaseia^[13]

63 BC

September 23 – Augustus, first Roman Emperor (d. AD 14)^[14]
Didymus Chalcenterus, Greek scholar and grammarian (approximate date) (d. c. AD 10)
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Roman statesman and general (d. 12 BC)

62 BC

Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, king (pharaoh) of Egypt (d. 47 BC)

60 BC

Curia, wife of Quintus Lucretius Vespillo (approximate date)
Ptolemy XIV, king (pharaoh) of Egypt (or 59 BC)
Tryphon, Greek grammarian (approximate date)
Daeso, emperor of Dongbuyeo

Deaths

69 BC

Cleopatra II Selene, queen of Egypt
Julia, wife of Gaius Marius (b. c. 130 BC)

68 BC

Antiochus of Ascalon, Greek philosopher (b. c. 130 BC)
Cornelia, wife of Julius Caesar (b. 94 BC)
Huo Guang, official of the western Han Dynasty
Lucius Caecillius Metellus, Roman consul

67 BC

Lucius Cornelius Sisenna, Roman general and historian (b. c. 120 BC)
Salome Alexandra, queen of Judea (b. 139 BC)

66 BC

Licinius Macer, Roman annalist

65 BC

Xiphares, son of Mithridates VI (b. c. 85 BC)

64 BC

Antiochus XIII Asiaticus, king of the Seleucid Empire

63 BC

Mithridates VI, King of Pontus (b. 135 BC)
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, pontifex maximus and general (b. c. 130 BC or 127 BC)
Those involved in the organisation of the Catilinarian conspiracy in Rome, including Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura

62 BC

Lucius Sergius Catilina, Roman politician (b. 108 BC)
Quintus Roscius Gallus, Roman actor (b. c. 126 BC)
Zhang Anshi, Chinese official of the Han Dynasty

61 BC

Quintus Marcius Rex, Roman consul and general

60 BC

Aretas III Philhellen, king of Nabatea (approximate date)
Su Wu, Chinese diplomat and statesman (b. 140 BC)

Citations

^ Joseph Thomas, Universal Pronouncing Dictionary of Biography and Mythology, 1908, Lippincott, 2550 pages
^ C. Michael Hogan, Cydonia, Modern Antiquarian, January 23, 2008
^ Syme, Ronald (1963). "Ten Tribunes". Journal of Roman Studies. 53: 59.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d LeGlay, Marcel; Voisin, Jean-Louis; Le Bohec, Yann (2001). A History of Rome (Second ed.). Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell. p. 128. ISBN 0-631-21858-0.
^ Husband, R. (1916). On the Expulsion of Foreigners from Rome. Classical Philology, 11(3), 315-333. Retrieved March 11, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/261855
^ Appian, Syriaca VIII 49, XI 70, Justin, Historiarum Philippicarum T. Pompeii Trogi XL 2.2, Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XL 1a-b.
^ Stambaugh, John E. (1988). The Ancient Roman City. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-8018-3574-7.
^ ^a ^b Dupuy, Richard Ernest; Dupuy, Trevor Nevitt (1993). The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History: From 3500 BC to the Present. New York: HarperCollins. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-06270-056-8.
^ Moore 2017, p. 9.
^ Grant, Michael. "Horace". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
^ Jerome (Chronicon 2020) says he died in AD 4 in the seventieth year of his life, which would place the year of his birth at 65 BC.
^ Roberts, John (2007). The Oxford dictionary of the classical world. Oxford University Press. p. 799. ISBN 9780192801463.
^ Lassere, Francois. "Strabo". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
^ "BBC - History - Augustus". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2021.

References

Moore, Katrina (2017). "Octavia Minor and the Transition from Republic to Empire" (PDF). Clemson University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09.

[1] Joseph Thomas, Universal Pronouncing Dictionary of Biography and Mythology, 1908, Lippincott, 2550 pages

[2] C. Michael Hogan, Cydonia, Modern Antiquarian, January 23, 2008

[3] Syme, Ronald (1963). "Ten Tribunes". Journal of Roman Studies. 53: 59.

[leglay-4] LeGlay, Marcel; Voisin, Jean-Louis; Le Bohec, Yann (2001). A History of Rome (Second ed.). Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell. p. 128. ISBN 0-631-21858-0.

[5] Husband, R. (1916). On the Expulsion of Foreigners from Rome. Classical Philology, 11(3), 315-333. Retrieved March 11, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/261855

[6] Appian, Syriaca VIII 49, XI 70, Justin, Historiarum Philippicarum T. Pompeii Trogi XL 2.2, Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XL 1a-b.

[7] Stambaugh, John E. (1988). The Ancient Roman City. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-8018-3574-7.

[Dupuy-8] Dupuy, Richard Ernest; Dupuy, Trevor Nevitt (1993). The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History: From 3500 BC to the Present. New York: HarperCollins. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-06270-056-8.

[FOOTNOTEMoore20179-9] Moore 2017, p. 9.

[10] Grant, Michael. "Horace". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved February 22, 2024.

[11] Jerome (Chronicon 2020) says he died in AD 4 in the seventieth year of his life, which would place the year of his birth at 65 BC.

[12] Roberts, John (2007). The Oxford dictionary of the classical world. Oxford University Press. p. 799. ISBN 9780192801463.

[13] Lassere, Francois. "Strabo". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 23, 2024.

[14] "BBC - History - Augustus". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2021.

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