IMPERIUM ROMANUM

Figures · Guide

Thematic routes

These routes compare different forms of influence. A person may appear in several routes because a career rarely belonged to one category alone.

Question Dossiers to compare
How does command become personal political power? Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Gaius Julius Caesar, Septimius Severus, Stilicho, Flavius Aetius, Ricimer
When can delaying or avoiding battle achieve a strategic purpose? Quintus Fabius Maximus, Quintus Sertorius, Viriathus, Belisarius
How do siege work engineering and supply change a war? Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, Gaius Julius Caesar, Titus, Belisarius
How do fleets and food supply influence politics? Sextus Pompey, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Cleopatra VII, Vespasian, Gaiseric, Leo I
How do women exercise authority through dynasty and institutions? Octavia Minor, Cleopatra VII, Livia Drusilla, Agrippina the Younger, Julia Domna, Galla Placidia, Pulcheria, Amalasuntha, Theodora
How do alliances make victories possible? Masinissa, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Mithridates VI Eupator, Odaenathus, Flavius Aetius, Attila, Narses
How are empire and provincial government reorganized? Augustus, Claudius, Hadrian, Caracalla, Diocletian, Constantine I, Anastasius I, Justinian I
What happens when reform exceeds the coalition supporting it? Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, Julian, Majorian
How are personal conviction and service to power reconciled? Marcus Tullius Cicero, Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo
How do religious claims shape public authority? Numa Pompilius, Elagabalus, Decius, Diocletian, Constantine I, Julian, Theodosius I, Theodora
How do opponents understand the same imperial frontier? Hannibal Barca, Vercingetorix, Arminius, Boudica, Decebalus, Shapur I, Zenobia, Khosrow I
How does an author make a political reputation last? Polybius, Gaius Sallustius Crispus, Titus Livius, Plutarch of Chaeronea, Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Claudian, Procopius of Caesarea, Jordanes

The other guides to figures

GuideAlphabetical registerNames follow the main dossier headings; alternate names appear within each dossier. Roman family names recur, so use…GuideChronological frameworkThese turning points orient the dossiers. A change of dynasty, provincial control, or religious policy was a process…GuideGeography and theatersThe regions below connect people across different centuries. They are not a claim that provincial boundaries remained…GuideThematic routesThese routes compare different forms of influence. A person may appear in several routes because a career rarely…GuideNames offices and political languageGuideDisputed traditions and common confusionsThe following distinctions prevent vivid stories and recurring names from overwhelming the people they are meant to…