49 BC
Encyclopedia
Year 49 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Marcellus (or, less frequently, year 705 Ab urbe condita
). The denomination 49 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
calendar era
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Marcellus (or, less frequently, year 705 Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...
). The denomination 49 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
calendar era
Calendar era
A calendar era is the year numbering system used by a calendar. For example, the Gregorian calendar numbers its years in the Western Christian era . The instant, date, or year from which time is marked is called the epoch of the era...
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Roman Republic
- ConsulConsulConsul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
s: Lucius Cornelius Lentulus CrusLucius Cornelius Lentulus CrusLucius Cornelius Lentulus, surnamed Crus or Cruscello , was a member of the anti-Caesarian party.In 61 BC he was the chief accuser of Publius Clodius in the affair of the festival of Bona Dea...
, Gaius Claudius Marcellus MaiorGaius Claudius Marcellus MaiorGaius Claudius Marcellus Maior was a Roman consul in 49 BC.He is frequently confused with his cousin of the same name, Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor, a consul a year before in 50 BC. Gaius was also the brother of the Marcus Claudius Marcellus, the consul of 51 BC.Little is known of him before his...
. - The Great Roman Civil WarCaesar's civil warThe Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...
commences- January 1 – The Roman SenateRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
receives a proposalProposalProposal or The Proposal may refer to:* Proposal * Proposals , a play by Neil Simon*"The Proposal" , one of three episodes from the television show Dynasty...
from Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
that he and PompeyPompeyGnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
should lay down their commandsCommand (military formation)A command in military terminology is an organisational unit that the individual in Military command has responsibility for. A Commander will normally be specifically appointed into the role in order to provide a legal framework for the authority bestowed...
simultaneously. The Senate responds that Caesar must immediately surrender his command. - January 10 – Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
leads his army across the RubiconRubiconThe Rubicon is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, about 80 kilometres long, running from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the southern Emilia-Romagna region, between the towns of Rimini and Cesena. The Latin word rubico comes from the adjective "rubeus", meaning "red"...
, which separates his jurisdiction (Cisalpine Gaul) from that of the Senate (Italy), and thus initiates a civil war. In response, the Roman senateRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
invokes the senatus consultum ultimumSenatus consultum ultimumSenatus consultum ultimum , more properly senatus consultum de re publica defendenda is the modern term given to a decree of the Roman Senate during the late Roman Republic passed in times of emergency...
. - February – Pompey's flight to EpirusEpirusThe name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
(in Western Greece) with most of the SenateRoman SenateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
. - March 9 – Caesar advances against Pompeian forces in SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. - April 19 – Caesar's siege of Massilia against the Pompeian Lucius Domitius AhenobarbusLucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 54 BC)Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, consul 54 BC, was an enemy of Julius Caesar and a strong supporter of the aristocratic party in the late Roman Republic.He is first mentioned in 70 BC by Cicero as a witness against Verres...
; the siege was conducted later by Caesarian Gaius Trebonius. - June – Caesar arrives in SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
; seizes the PyreneesPyreneesThe Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
passes against the Pompeians L. AfraniusLucius Afranius (consul)Lucius Afranius was an ancient Roman legatus and client of Pompey the Great. He served with Pompey during his Iberian campaigns against Sertorius in the late 70s BC, and remained in his service right through to the Civil War. He died after the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC.-Early career:Lucius...
and Marcus PetreiusMarcus PetreiusMarcus Petreius was a Roman politician and general. He cornered and killed the notorious rebel Catiline at Pistoria.-Career:...
. - June 7 – CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
slips out of Italy and goes to Salonika. - July 30 – Caesar surrounds AfraniusLucius Afranius (consul)Lucius Afranius was an ancient Roman legatus and client of Pompey the Great. He served with Pompey during his Iberian campaigns against Sertorius in the late 70s BC, and remained in his service right through to the Civil War. He died after the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC.-Early career:Lucius...
and Petreius's army in IlerdaBattle of IlerdaThe Battle of Ilerda took place in June 49 BC between the forces of Julius Caesar and the Spanish army of Pompey the Great, led by his legates Lucius Afranius and Marcus Petreius...
. - August 2 – Pompeians in Ilerda surrender to Caesar and are granted pardon.
- August 24 – Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius CurioGaius Scribonius CurioGaius Scribonius Curio was the name of a father and son who lived in the late Roman Republic.-Father:Gaius Scribonius Curio was a Roman statesman and orator. He was nicknamed Burbulieus for the way he moved his body while speaking...
is defeated in North Africa by the Pompeians under Attius VarusPublius Attius VarusPublius Attius Varus was the Roman governor of Africa during the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompeius Magnus . He declared war against Caesar, and initially fought and defeated Gaius Scribonius Curio, who was sent against him in 49 BC.-Political career:Varus held the office of praetor no...
and King Juba I of NumidiaJuba I of NumidiaJuba I of Numidia was a King of Numidia. He was the son and successor to King of Numidia Hiempsal II.- Family :...
(whom he defeated earlier in the Battle of UticaBattle of Utica (49 BC)The Battle of Utica was fought between Julius Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius Curio and Numidian cavalry and foot soldiers sent by King Juba I of Numidia and commanded by Publius Attius Varus...
), in the Battle of the Bagradas RiverBattle of the Bagradas River (49 BC)The Battle of the Bagradas River occurred on August 24 and was fought between Julius Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius Curio and the Pompeian Republicans under Publius Attius Varus and King Juba I of Numidia...
, and commits suicide. - September – Decimus Brutus, a Caesarian, defeats the combined Pompeian-Massilian naval forces in the naval Battle of Massilia, while the Caesarian fleet in the Adriatic is defeated near Curicta (KrkKrkKrk is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county....
). - September 6 – Massilia surrendered to Caesar, coming back from Spain.
- October – Caesar appointed DictatorRoman dictatorIn the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
in Rome.
- January 1 – The Roman Senate
Deaths
- Gaius Scribonius Curio (suicide) (b. 90 BC90 BCYear 90 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Lupus...
) - XuanEmperor Xuan of HanEmperor Xuan of Han was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty from 74 BC to 49 BC. His life story was a riches-to-rags-to-riches story.Emperor Xuan was the great grandson of Emperor Wu...
, emperor of the ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Han DynastyHan DynastyThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(b. 91 BC91 BCYear 91 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Caesar...
) - LucretiusLucretiusTitus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is an epic philosophical poem laying out the beliefs of Epicureanism, De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things or "On the Nature of the Universe".Virtually no details have come down concerning...
, Roman poet and philosopher (b. c. 99 BC99 BCYear 99 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Albinus...
) - Zheng JiZheng Ji (Han Dynasty)Zheng Ji , born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, was a general during Han Dynasty, and served the first Protector General of the Western Regions in the 60 BC.-References:*Li, Bingquan and Zhao, Hongyan. . Chinese Literature and History. 2004.12. ISSN 1002-9869....