istoryworld
All Events
Caesar is elected Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of the Roman state religion
An unproven rumour about Pompeia causes Caesar to divorce her on the grounds that 'Caesar's wife must be above suspicion'
Caesar's numerous creditors prevent him leaving Rome until the immensely wealthy Marcus Licinius Crassus stands bail for some of his debts
Caesar sets off to take up a post as governor of southern Spain, where a series of profitable raids improve his finances
Back in Rome, Caesar stands in the election to become one of the two consuls for the year 59, and wins
Julius Caesar persuades Pompey and Crassus to join him in a political alliance to their mutual advantage, known now as the first triumvirate
The alliance between Pompey and Caesar is sealed when Pompey marries Caesar's only daughter, Julia
Caesar and Pompey use violence and intimidation to force through the senate a bill giving public land to retired soldiers (with Pompey's men at the head of the queue)
Julius Caesar begins the long slow process of pushing Roman occupation steadily northwards in France (or Gaul)
Silla becomes the first of the three kingdoms of Korea, followed by Koguryo in 37 BC and Paekche in 18 BC
Julius Caesar makes the first of his two invasions of Celtic Britain
Julius Caesar returns to Britain for a second visit, this time reaching north of the Thames into the kingdom of Cassivellaunus
Crasssus is killed at Carrhae, in Turkey, when the Parthians defeat his army, largely thanks to their brilliance as mounted archers
The death of Crassus at Carrhae brings to an end the first triumvirate
The Celtic leader Vercingetorix inflicts an unaccustomed defeat on Julius Caesar, at Gergovia, but is captured later in the year
In his winter quarters Julius Caesar writes The Gallic War, an account of his own achievements in suppressing the Gauls
Ptolemy XII dies, leaving Egypt to his young son, now Ptolemy XIII, and to his older daughter Cleopatra
In the Ptolemaic tradition, Cleopatra marries her brother Ptolemy XIII and at the age of eighteen is joint ruler of Egypt
The Xiongnu split into two hordes, one of them submitting to China and the other moving west
The Phoenicians discover that a blob of molten glass can be puffed out to form a hollow vessel
A body preserved in the tannin of Lindow Moss, an English peat bog, is probably a sacrificial victim of the Druids
Gladiators have metal studs on their boxing gloves, and a public bout is expected to go on until the loser dies
The Great Stupa at Sanchi is the earliest surviving Buddhist stupa
The Maya independently develop the concept of place value in numbers, previously pioneered in Babylon
