Cursus Honorum: The Roman Hierarchy

The cursus honorum officially begins with ten years of military duty in the Roman army as a Cadet or in the staff of a general. Nepotism is now condemned. A more prestigious position was that of a military tribune. As many men, at the age of around 28,as needed by the Legions are elected by the Centurion Council to serve as a Tribunes in one of the legions. These years normaly are mandatory to qualify for political office, but, in practice, the rule is not rigidly applied.

The following steps of the cursus honorum were achieved by direct election every year.

Quaestor

The first official post is that of quaestor. Candidates have to be at least 28-30 years old.
Twenty quaestors serve in the financial administration at Rome or as second-in-command to a governor in the provinces. They can also serve as the pay master for a legion. An additional task of all quaestors is the supervision of public games. Also, after the reforms of Sulla in the early 80s BC, election to quaestor brought automatic membership in the Senate, which previously was decided by the censors. As a quaestor, an official is allowed to wear the toga praetexta, but is not escorted by lictors, nor does he possess imperium.

AedilesThe first official post is that of quaestor. Candidates have to be at least 28-30 years old.
Twenty quaestors serve in the financial administration at Rome or as second-in-command to a governor in the provinces. They can also serve as the pay master for a legion. An additional task of all quaestors is the supervision of public games. Also, after the reforms of Sulla in the early 80s BC, election to quaestor brought automatic membership in the Senate, which previously was decided by the censors. As a quaestor, an official is allowed to wear the toga praetexta, but is not escorted by lictors, nor does he possess imperium.

Aediles

At 36 years of age, former quaestors can stand for election to one of the aedile positions. The aediles have administrative responsibilities in Rome. They have to take care of the temples (whence their title, from the Latin aedes, "temple") they organize games and are responsible for the maintenance of the public buildings in Rome. Moreover, they ar in charge of Rome's water and food supplies; in their capacity as market superintendents, they serve sometimes as judges in mercantile affairs.
The Aedile is the supervisor of public works. He oversees the public works, temples and markets. Therefore the Aediles have been in some cooperation with the current Censors, who have similar or related duties. Also they oversee the organization of festivals and games (ludi).
While part of the cursus honorum, this step is optional and not required to hold future offices. Though the office is usually held after the quaestorship and before the praetorship, there are some cases with former praetors serving as aediles.

Praetor

After holding either the office of Quaestor or Aedile, a man of 39 years can run for Praetor. The number of Praetors elected vary. In the absence of the Consuls, a Praetor will be given command of the garrison in Rome or in Italy. Also, a Praetor can exercise the functions of the Consuls throughout Rome, but their main function is that of a judge. They preside over trials involving criminal acts as well as grant court orders or validate "illegal" acts as acts of administering justice. As a Praetor, a magistrate is escorted by six lictors, owns imperium, and wears the toga praetexta. After a term as Praetor, the magistrate will serve as a provincial governor in the office of Propraetor, owning Propraetor imperium, commanding the province’s legions, and possessing ultimate authority within their province(s).
The Praetor Peregrinus, who is the chief judge in trials involving one or more foreigners. The other is the Praetor Urbanus, the chief judicial office in Rome. He has the power to overturn any verdict by any other courts, and serves as judge in cases involving criminal charges against provincial governors. The Praetor Urbanus is not allowed to leave the city for more than ten days. If one of these two Praetors is absent from Rome, the other will perform the duties of both.


Consul

The minimum age is 42. The names of the two elected consuls identifies the year. Consuls are responsible for the Republicas political agenda, command large-scale armies and control important provinces. The consuls served for only two years (to prevent corruption) and can only rule when they agree, because each consul can veto the other's decision.
The consuls alternate monthly as the chairmen of the Senate. They also are the supreme commander in the Roman army, with each being granted two legions during their consular year. Consuls also exercise the highest juridical power in the Republic, being the only office with the power to override the decisions of the Praetor Urbanus. Only laws and the decrees of the Senate or the People's assembly limit their powers, and only the veto of a fellow consul or a tribune of the plebs can supersede their decisions.
A consul is escorted by twelve lictors, owns imperium and wares the toga praetexta. Because the consul is the highest executive office within the Republic, they have the power to veto any action or proposal by any other magistrate, save that of the Tribune of the Plebs. After a consulship, a consul is assigned one of the more important provinces and acts as the governor in the same way that a Propraetor does, only owning Proconsular imperium. A second consulship can only be attempted after an interval of 10 years to prevent one man from holding too much power.

Governor

Though not part of the Cursus Honorum, upon completing a term as either Praetor or Consul, an officer is required to serve a term as Propraetor and Proconsul, respectively, in one of Rome's many provinces. These Propraetors and Proconsuls hold near autocratic authority within their selected province or provinces. Because each governor holds equal imperium to the equivalent magistrate, they are escorted by the same number of lictors and can only be vetoed by a reigning Consul or Praetor. Their abilities to govern are only limited by the decrees of the Senate or the people's assemblies, and the Tribune of the Plebs are unable to veto their acts as long as the governor remains at least a mile outside of Rome.

CensorAt 36 years of age, former quaestors can stand for election to one of the aedile positions. The aediles have administrative responsibilities in Rome. They have to take care of the temples (whence their title, from the Latin aedes, "temple") they organize games and are responsible for the maintenance of the public buildings in Rome. Moreover, they ar in charge of Rome's water and food supplies; in their capacity as market superintendents, they serve sometimes as judges in mercantile affairs.
The Aedile is the supervisor of public works. He oversees the public works, temples and markets. Therefore the Aediles have been in some cooperation with the current Censors, who have similar or related duties. Also they oversee the organization of festivals and games (ludi).
While part of the cursus honorum, this step is optional and not required to hold future offices. Though the office is usually held after the quaestorship and before the praetorship, there are some cases with former praetors serving as aediles.

Praetor

After holding either the office of Quaestor or Aedile, a man of 39 years can run for Praetor. The number of Praetors elected vary. In the absence of the Consuls, a Praetor will be given command of the garrison in Rome or in Italy. Also, a Praetor can exercise the functions of the Consuls throughout Rome, but their main function is that of a judge. They preside over trials involving criminal acts as well as grant court orders or validate "illegal" acts as acts of administering justice. As a Praetor, a magistrate is escorted by six lictors, owns imperium, and wears the toga praetexta. After a term as Praetor, the magistrate will serve as a provincial governor in the office of Propraetor, owning Propraetor imperium, commanding the province’s legions, and possessing ultimate authority within their province(s).
The Praetor Peregrinus, who is the chief judge in trials involving one or more foreigners. The other is the Praetor Urbanus, the chief judicial office in Rome. He has the power to overturn any verdict by any other courts, and serves as judge in cases involving criminal charges against provincial governors. The Praetor Urbanus is not allowed to leave the city for more than ten days. If one of these two Praetors is absent from Rome, the other will perform the duties of both.


Consul

The minimum age is 42. The names of the two elected consuls identifies the year. Consuls are responsible for the Republicas political agenda, command large-scale armies and control important provinces. The consuls served for only two years (to prevent corruption) and can only rule when they agree, because each consul can veto the other's decision.
The consuls alternate monthly as the chairmen of the Senate. They also are the supreme commander in the Roman army, with each being granted two legions during their consular year. Consuls also exercise the highest juridical power in the Republic, being the only office with the power to override the decisions of the Praetor Urbanus. Only laws and the decrees of the Senate or the People's assembly limit their powers, and only the veto of a fellow consul or a tribune of the plebs can supersede their decisions.
A consul is escorted by twelve lictors, owns imperium and wares the toga praetexta. Because the consul is the highest executive office within the Republic, they have the power to veto any action or proposal by any other magistrate, save that of the Tribune of the Plebs. After a consulship, a consul is assigned one of the more important provinces and acts as the governor in the same way that a Propraetor does, only owning Proconsular imperium. A second consulship can only be attempted after an interval of 10 years to prevent one man from holding too much power.

Governor

Though not part of the Cursus Honorum, upon completing a term as either Praetor or Consul, an officer is required to serve a term as Propraetor and Proconsul, respectively, in one of Rome's many provinces. These Propraetors and Proconsuls hold near autocratic authority within their selected province or provinces. Because each governor holds equal imperium to the equivalent magistrate, they are escorted by the same number of lictors and can only be vetoed by a reigning Consul or Praetor. Their abilities to govern are only limited by the decrees of the Senate or the people's assemblies, and the Tribune of the Plebs are unable to veto their acts as long as the governor remains at least a mile outside of Rome.

Censor

Main article: Censor (ancient Rome)
After consul, the next step in the Cursus Honorum is the office of censor. This is the only office in the Roman Republic whose term is a period of 30 months instead of the usual 24. Censors are elected every five years and although the office holds no military imperium, it is considered a great honor. The censors take a regular census of the people and then apportion the citizens into voting classes on the basis of income and tribal affiliation. The censors enroll new citizens in tribes and voting classes as well. The censors are also in charge of the membership roll of the Senate, every five years adding new senators who have been elected to the requisite offices. Censors can also remove unworthy members from the senate. Censors are also responsible for construction of public buildings
Censors also have financial duties, in that they have to put out to tender projects that are to be financed by the state. Also, the censors are in charge of the leasing out ofpublic land for public use and auction. Though this office owns no imperium, meaning no lictors for protection, they are allowed to wear the toga praetexta.

Tribune of the Plebs

Those who hold the office are granted sacrosanctity (the right to be legally protected from any physical harm), the power to rescue any citizen from the hands of a magistrate, and the right to veto any act or proposal of any magistrate, including another tribune of the people and the consuls. The tribunes can even convene a Senate meeting and lay legislation before it and arrest magistrates. Their houses have to remain open for visitors even during the night, and they are not allowed to be more than a days' journey from Rome. Due to their unique power of sacrosanctity, the Tribune has no need for lictors for protection and owns no imperium, nor can they wear the toga praetexta.

Princeps Senatus

Another office not officially a step in the cursus honorum is the princeps senatus.. The princeps senatus serves as the leader of the Senate and is chosen to serve a five year term by each pair of Censors every five years. Censors can, however, confirm a princeps senatus for a period of another five years. The princeps senatus is chosen from all senators who have served as a Consul, with former Censors usually holding the office. The office originally granted the holder the ability to speak first at session on the topic presented by the presiding magistrate but eventually gained the power to open and close the senate sessions, decide the agenda, decide where the session should take place, impose order and other rules of the session, meet in the name of the senate with embassies of foreign countries, and write in the name of the senate letters and dispatches. This office, like the Tribune, does not own imperium, is not escorted by lictors, and can not wear the toga praetexta.

Gaius Julius Octavius Augustus

After the civil wars which brought Augustus to power, on the winning side alone, 60 legions stood combat-ready.Augustus decided to retain 28, while the remainder would be demobilized and settled in the colonies.By this act, the west's first standing army of 150'000 legionaries and a similar number of auxiliaries was created. Length of service was set at sixteen years, later it was increased to twenty.Though his army of 28 legions Augustus made sure to quickly spread across the far reaches of the empire, with all the legions being posted both far away from Rome as well as as far away as possible from each other.It expressed Augustus' distrust of soldiers and of ambitious men who might rouse them against him.By keeping the armies close to the borders their energies would be directed outward, toward foreign enemies; and keeping them far from each other would ensure that no overwhelming force could be assembled which might threaten the throne.While this caution, right after the civil war, was understandable, Augustus' arrangements would long outlive him.Augustus disposition of the legions was matched by his manipulation of the provinces. Of these he retained the most powerful under his direct power on the grounds that they were insecure, either with enemies on their borders or were themselves capable of rebellion. But his real purpose was that he alone should have arms and maintain soldiers. In short, Augustus kept the outer, returning the inner provinces to the Senate. It was a muted way of assuring himself commander-in-chief, for the army would be stationed only in the outer provinces which would be governed and administered by the emperor's appointees. This meant that the frontier would be under direct imperial authority, establishing for the emperor a hold over foreign affairs and decisions of peace and war.The division of territory into 'Senate's share' and 'Caesar's share' was accompanied by a ban on senators even visiting a frontier province without imperial permission.It was clear from this that Augustus saw the Senate as one of the likeliest sources from which to expect a challenge to his position.To this one must add, that to Augustus (as well as to later Caesars) the Senate, with its centuries of experience, remained indispensable in running the empire.
The East of the empire gave no trouble. The small dependent kingdoms still surviving in Asia Minor (Turkey) were peacefully and gradually absorbed into the Roman provincial system. Parthia under king Phraates had no desire to challenge Rome. The unavenged disaster of Carrhae in 53 BC however had always rankled in the Roman mind. So when in 20 BC a demand was made by Rome, emphasized by a military demonstration of force along the border, for the return of the captives and most importantly for the legionary standards, which had been in Parthian possession since the disastrous defeat of Crassus over thirty years earlier. King Phraates wisely gave way, avoiding war against a newly united foe, increasing in strength. The standards were returned to Rome without a fight. An achievement which won Augustus high praise.

By 19 BC Agrippa had assured the submission of the Spanish tribes. But a German incursion across the Rhine in 16 BC defeated a Roman commander, Lollius, and called for the temporary presence of Augustus at the front, where he left the command in the hands of his stepson Drusus.

In 12 BC Agrippa died and with him Augustus lost his most obvious heir. For a while Augustus hoped for Gaius or Lucius, both sons of Agrippa to succeed him, but as they both died his choice somewhat reluctantly fell on Tiberius, the son by his wife out of a previous marriage.Then followed a conquest of Germany, initially to the Elbe. At first it was led by Drusus, who died on campaign. He was succeeded by Tiberius who had established Roman supremacy over Pannonia and Noricum.Sixteen years' struggle in mire and forest, amphibious landings and spectacular marches were rewarded with a succession of victories. A bold project, sometimes referred to as the 'Bohemian Plan', was mooted as a culminating blow. Tiberius would cross the Danube heading north, snip off what is now the western end of the Czech Republic, descend into the German plain and join hands with an army group advancing eastwards from the Rhine. The so-called 'Bohemian Plan' may have only been meant as one step in a much larger offensive.Rome, of course, virtually unbeaten so far and inexorably rising to conquer the word, by now virtually understood the rule of the world its birthright.But none of these grand schemes would be implemented. Shortly before commencement of operations, a revolt erupted in Tiberius' rear and spread rapidly across the Balkans. To quell it required almost half of Rome's fighting strength, to become tied up for three years in a mountain war.Meanwhile it was deemed that Northern Germany, west of the Elbe was sufficiently pacified. P. Quintillius Varus was entrusted as governor of the province. Though Germany was not ready for Roman civilization. In AD 9 disaster struck an empire which until then had virtually met no opponent capable of halting its rise to supreme power.Under the command of Varus three legions and three cavalry squadrons marched through the Teutoburger Wald (Saltus Teutoburgiensis) The German tribe, the Cherusci, under their leader known to the Romans as Arminius, had learnt their lesson.In open terrain, with room to manoeuvre, the Roman army was literally unbeatable. But in the middle of a forest, it was vulnerable. The trap was sprung and three entire legions were annihilated. Arminius' victory was a major turning point in the history of the Roman Empire. If Romans had previously marched as far as the Elbe, and even if they could do so in future, then this proved that they would never ever really rule any territory north of the Rhine and the Danube. - Rome had alas met its match in the barbarians of northern Europe.Though it was a costly lesson for Rome. Three legions had been annihilated. Varus and his staff committed suicide. It was to be remembered by the Romans as the 'Varian disaster'.Tiberius thereafter still could march his legions through Germany almost unhindered, in fact he did so. But not to subdue it and conquer it. For this, one now understood, was beyond Roman power.Tiberius was recalled from his task of restoring Roman authority in Germany. Instead command was left in the hands of Germanicus, who was to be highly popular with the legions, in contrast to the almost despised Tiberius.Had Germanicus had any serious political ambitions he would certainly have become a formidable opponent to any future emperor. Yet, Germanicus was loyal and a devoted soldier.
Alas, Augustus went out with advice to his successors that the empire should be kept within its existing boundaries. This was an astonishing turn of events. The imperialist had recanted. Rome could not expand indefinitely. He had in office learned of the problems facing an empire of this scale and appreciated the difficulties in holding it together.Any further expansion in the eyes of the elderly Augustus would take the empire beyond being practically governable.Also, the Mediterranean part of Europe, Africa and Asia, which Rome now ruled had been developed prior to Roman occupation. There was roads, town, cities. What prize was there to win, defeating the barbarian hordes of the north. Augustus ultimate conclusion from the Varian Disaster was that only civilized territories were worth the blood of Roman legionaries.His advice would have demanded a change in attitude by all Rome - to defend, not to conquer. Rome however, the she-wolf with her mighty legions, was not yet ready for such advice.

Today in history: Joan Of Arc Martyred (May 30, 1431)

At Rouen in English-controlled Normandy, Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who became the savior of France, is burned at the stake for heresy.

Joan was born in 1412, the daughter of a tenant farmer at Domremy, on the borders of the duchies of Bar and Lorraine. In 1415, the Hundred Years War between England and France entered a crucial phase when the young King Henry V of England invaded France and won a series of decisive victories against the forces of King Charles VI. By the time of Henry's death in August 1422, the English and their French-Burgundian allies controlled Aquitaine and most of northern France, including Paris. Charles VI, long incapacitated, died one month later, and his son, Charles, regent from 1418, prepared to take the throne. However, Reims, the traditional city of French coronation, was held by the Anglo-Burgundians, and the Dauphin (heir apparent to the French throne) remained uncrowned. Meanwhile, King Henry VI of England, the infant son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, the daughter of Charles VI, was proclaimed king of France by the English.

Joan's village of Domremy lay on the frontier between the France of the Dauphin and that of the Anglo-Burgundians. In the midst of this unstable environment, Joan began hearing "voices" of three Christian saints--St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. When she was about 16, these voices exhorted her to aid the Dauphin in capturing Reims and therefore the French throne. In May 1428, she traveled to Vaucouleurs, a stronghold of the Dauphin, and told the captain of the garrison of her visions. Disbelieving the young peasant girl, he sent her home. In January 1429, she returned, and the captain, impressed by her piety and determination, agreed to allow her passage to the Dauphin at Chinon.

Dressed in men's clothes and accompanied by six soldiers, she reached the Dauphin's castle at Chinon in February 1429 and was granted an audience. Charles hid himself among his courtiers, but Joan immediately picked him out and informed him of her divine mission. For several weeks, Charles had Joan questioned by theologians at Poitiers, who concluded that, given his desperate straits, the Dauphin would be well-advised to make use of this strange and charismatic girl.
Charles furnished her with a small army, and on April 27, 1429, she set out for Orleans, besieged by the English since October 1428. On April 29, as a French sortie distracted the English troops on the west side of OrlÝans, Joan entered unopposed by its eastern gate. She brought greatly needed supplies and reinforcements and inspired the French to a passionate resistance. She personally led the charge in several battles and on May 7 was struck by an arrow. After quickly dressing her wound, she returned to the fight, and the French won the day. On May 8, the English retreated from OrlÝans.

During the next five weeks, Joan and the French commanders led the French into a string of stunning victories over the English. On July 16, the royal army reached Reims, which opened its gates to Joan and the Dauphin. The next day, Charles VII was crowned king of France, with Joan standing nearby holding up her standard: an image of Christ in judgment. After the ceremony, she knelt before Charles, joyously calling him king for the first time.

On September 8, the king and Joan attacked Paris. During the battle, Joan carried her standard up to the earthworks and called on the Parisians to surrender the city to the king of France. She was wounded but continued to rally the king's troops until Charles ordered an end to the unsuccessful siege. That year, she led several more small campaigns, capturing the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moitier. In December, Charles ennobled Joan, her parents, and her brothers.
In May 1430, the Burgundians laid siege to Compiegne, and Joan stole into the town under the cover of darkness to aid in its defense. On May 23, while leading a sortie against the Burgundians, she was captured. The Burgundians sold her to the English, and in March 1431 she went on trial before ecclesiastical authorities in Rouen on charges of heresy. Her most serious crime, according to the tribunal, was her rejection of church authority in favor of direct inspiration from God. After refusing to submit to the church, her sentence was read on May 24: She was to be turned over to secular authorities and executed. Reacting with horror to the pronouncement, Joan agreed to recant and was condemned instead to perpetual imprisonment.
Ordered to put on women's clothes, she obeyed, but a few days later the judges went to her cell and found her dressed again in male attire. Questioned, she told them that St. Catherine and St. Margaret had reproached her for giving in to the church against their will. She was found to be a relapsed heretic and on May 29 ordered handed over to secular officials. On May 30, Joan, 19 years old, was burned at the stake at the Place du Vieux-Marche in Rouen. Before the pyre was lit, she instructed a priest to hold high a crucifix for her to see and to shout out prayers loud enough to be heard above the roar of the flames.

As a source of military inspiration, Joan of Arc helped turn the Hundred Years War firmly in France's favor. By 1453, Charles VII had reconquered all of France except for Calais, which the English relinquished in 1558. In 1920, Joan of Arc, one of the great heroes of French history, was recognized as a Christian saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Her feast day is May 30.

Discovering an ancient city

Archaeologists exploring an old military road in the Sinai have unearthed 3,000-year-old remains from an ancient fortified city, the largest yet found in Egypt, antiquities authorities announced Wednesday.

Among the discoveries at the site was a relief of King Thutmose II (1516-1504 B.C.), thought to be the first such royal monument discovered in Sinai, said Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.

It indicates that Thutmose II may have built a fort near the ancient city, located about two miles northeast of present day Qantara and known historically as Tharu.

A 550-by-275-yard mud brick fort with several 13-foot-high towers dating to King Ramses II (1304-1237 B.C.) was unearthed in the same area, he said.

Hawass said early studies suggested the fort had been Egypt's military headquarters from the New Kingdom (1569-1081 B.C.) until the Ptolemaic era, a period of about 1500 years.

The ancient military road, known as the "Way of Horus," once connected Egypt to Palestine and is close to present-day Rafah, which borders the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Archaeologist Mohammed Abdel-Maqsoud, chief of the excavation team, said the discovery was part of a joint project with the Culture Ministry that started in 1986 to find fortresses along that military road.
Abdel-Maqsoud said the mission also located the first ever New Kingdom temple to be found in the northern Sinai, which earlier studies indicated was built on top of an 18th Dynasty fort (1569-1315 B.C.).
A collection of reliefs belonging to King Ramses II and King Seti I (1314-1304 B.C.) were also unearthed with rows of warehouses used by the ancient Egyptian army during the New Kingdom era to store wheat and weapons, he said.
Abdel-Maqsoud said the new discoveries corresponded to the inscriptions of the Way of Horus found on the walls of the Karnak Temple in Luxor which illustrated the features of 11 military fortresses that protected Egypt's eastern borders.
Only five of them have been discovered to date.

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Crassus grew up as the son of a consul and distinguished general.His career to fame and phenomenal wealth began as he started purchasing the houses of Sulla's victims. Had Sulla confiscated all their belongings he sold them off cheap. And Crassus bought and made sensational profits when selling them on.Using his wealth he also kept a troop of 500 slaves, all skilled builders, on stand-by. He would then simply wait for one of Rome's frequent fires to break out and would then offer to buy the burning properties, as well as the endangered neighbouring buildings. Using his team of builders he would then rebuild the area and keep it to draw income from rent, or sell it on with a large profit. At one point Crassus was said even to own most of the city of Rome. There was no doubt some who wondered, if some of the fires started in Rome might not actually have been his doing.
But Crassus was not a man to be content with being extremely rich. Power was just as desirable to him as money. He used his wealth to raise his own army and supported Sulla on his return from the east.His money bought him the favour among many political friends and he therefore enjoyed great influence in the senate.But Crassus would not merely sponsor and entertain well established politicians. So, too, would he be granting funds to promising young firebrands who might just get lucky. And so his money helped build the careers of both Julius Caesar as well as Cataline.
Crassus; problem however was that some of his contemporaries possessed true genius. Cicero was an outstanding public speaker whilst Pompey and Caesar bathed in the glory of the marvellous military achievements. Crassus was a decent both as a speaker and as a commander, but he struggled and failed to live up to comparison with these exceptional individuals. His talent lay in making money, which might have bought him political influence but couldn't buy him true popularity with the voters.
His money though did open many doors. For his wealth allowed him to raise and maintain an army, at a time when Rome felt its resources stretched. This army was raised, with him as commander in the rank of praetor, to take on the terrifying menace of the the slave revolt of Spartacus in 72 BC. Two specific acts regarding this war made him truly infamous. When his deputy met the enemy and suffered a disastrous defeat, he chose to revive the ancient and gruesome punishment of 'decimation'. Of the five hundred men, whose unit were deemed most guilty for bringing about defeat, he had every tenth man killed in front of the entire army.Then, after defeating Spartacus in battle, the 6000 survivor's of the slave army were crucified along the road from Rome to Capua, where the revolt had first arise.
Despite his evident jealousy towards Pompey he held the consulship with him in 70 BC, the two of them using their term in office to restore the rights of the Tribunes of the People. In 59 BC the two were then joined by Julius Caesar in waht was to become known as the First Triumvirate, a period which saw the three of them cover all bases of Roman power so effectively that they ruled virtually unopposed. In 55 BC he once more shared the consulship with Pompey. Thereafter he managed to gain for himself the governorship of the province of Syria.Syria held two promises for its governor-to-be. The prospect of further riches (it was one of the wealthiest provinces of the entire empire) and the possibility of military glory against the Parthians. Had Crassus always jealously looked upon the military achievements of Pompey and Caesar. Now, alas, he sought to equal them. He charged headlong into a war, embarking on a campaign, whilst ignoring advice offered him on how to proceed.Finally he found himself stranded with little to no cavalry on the plains of Carrhae in Mesopotamia where the Parthian mounted archers shot his armies to pieces (53 BC).
Crassus was killed and it is said that his head as severed and molten gold was poured into his mouth as a mark of his infamous greed.

Themistocles: The Forgotten Hero

Themistocles , c.525-462 BC, Athenian statesman and naval commander. He was elected one of the three archons in 493 BC In succeeding years many of his rivals were eliminated by ostracism and he became the chief figure of Athenian politics. He persuaded the Athenians to build up their navy, foreseeing that the Persians, defeated at Marathon, would send another and stronger force against Greece. Xerxes invaded Greece in 480, and military defense of Athens was impossible; Themistocles evacuated the city. Although the Greek fleet was entrusted to a Spartan, Themistocles determined its strategy, thus bringing about the decisive victory of Salamis (480) and the retreat of Xerxes to Persia. A purported copy of Themistocles' decree to evacuate Athens, discovered at Troezen in 1959, indicates that the evacuation, as well as the battle of Salamis, was not hastily planned but was a measure carefully conceived months before to trap the Persians at Salamis. However, many scholars question the authenticity of the document. Despite Themistocles's prominence, in 479 the chief commands went to his rivals, who had previously been recalled from exile to fight the Persians. Themistocles devoted himself to strengthening the navy and the fortifications, especially those of Piraeus. About 471, after his opponents came to power, he was exiled. Ultimately he lived in Persia, where King Artaxerxes made generous provision for him.

This Day in History

On May 27, 1937, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge was opened to the public for the first time for "Pedestrian Day," marking the start of the weeklong "Golden Gate Bridge Fiesta" held to celebrate its completion. More than 200,000 people paid twenty-five cents each to walk the bridge. The following day at noon President Franklin Roosevelt, from across the continent at the White House, pressed a telegraph key and the Golden Gate Bridge was officially opened for vehicular use. A compilation of raw film footage of both day's events is available as part of the Prelinger Archive, acquired by the Library of Congress in 2002.
Completed just six months after its neighbor, the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge is painted a striking hue known as international orange, a reddish color that was chosen to compliment the bridge's natural surroundings. Like the George Washington, Brooklyn, and Williamsburg bridges in New York City, the Golden Gate is a suspension bridge, held up by massive steel cables strung between towers. Its central span, at 4,200 feet, remained the longest in the world until 1964 when the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, also in New York, was completed. (As of 2007, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan, at 1,991 meters—about 6,532 feet—has the longest single span of any suspension bridge.)
The area known as the Golden Gate is the narrow channel formed at the mouth of San Francisco Bay, where a gap in the line of low mountains opens to meet the Pacific Ocean. Although topographical engineer John C. Frémont first named these rocky straights the "Chrysopylae or Golden Gate" in his report to Congress in 1848, evidence suggests that the term was in use at least a few years earlier. Fremont's designation, which also appeared on his accompanying map of the region, caught the popular imagination when gold was discovered in California soon after.