56 BC
Encyclopedia
Year 56 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 Philippus (or, less frequently, year 698 Ab urbe condita
). The denomination 56 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 Philippus (or, less frequently, year 698 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 56 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.
Britain
- This year, or possibly the following year, the kingKing- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
of the TrinovantesTrinovantesThe Trinovantes or Trinobantes were one of the tribes of pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex and Suffolk, and included lands now located in Greater London. They were bordered to the north by the Iceni, and to the west by the Catuvellauni...
, possibly called ImanuentiusImanuentiusImanuentius appears in some manuscripts of Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico as the name of a king of the Trinovantes, the leading nation of south-eastern Britain at that time, who ruled before Caesar's second expedition to the island in 54 BC. Variant spellings include Inianuvetitius, Inianuvetutus...
, is overthrown and killed by his rival CassivellaunusCassivellaunusCassivellaunus was an historical British chieftain who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. The first British person whose name is recorded, Cassivellaunus led an alliance of tribes against Roman forces, but eventually surrendered after his location was...
. His son MandubraciusMandubraciusMandubracius or Mandubratius was a king of the Trinovantes of south-eastern Britain in the 1st century BC.-History:Mandubracius was the son of a Trinovantian king, named Imanuentius in some manuscripts of Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico, who was overthrown and killed by the warlord Cassivellaunus...
flees to GaulGaulGaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
and appeals to 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....
for help.
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: Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus MarcellinusGnaeus Cornelius Lentulus MarcellinusGnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus was a Roman statesman and consul of 56 BC. He was married at least twice. His first wife is unknown but his second wife was probably Scribonia, at least twenty years his junior, who later became the second wife of Augustus.He was the father of Lentulus...
and Lucius Marcius PhilippusLucius Marcius PhilippusLucius Marcius Philippus was a member of a Roman senatorial family. He was a descendant of Roman King Ancus Marcius and the son of the consul and censor Lucius Marcius Philippus. He was a praetor in 60 BC, and became propraetor of Syria in 59 BC, although Appian records that he was...
. - ClodiaClodiaClodia, Clodia, Clodia, (born Claudia Pulchra Prima or Maior or also Quadrantaria c. 95 BC or c. 94 BC and often referred to in scholarship as Clodia Metelli ("Clodia the wife of Metellus"), was the third daughter of the patrician Appius Claudius Pulcher and Caecilia Metella Balearica.She is not to...
accuses her former lover Marcus Caelius RufusMarcus Caelius RufusMarcus Caelius Rufus was an orator and politician in the late Roman Republic. He was born into a wealthy equestrian family from Interamnia Praetuttiorum , on the central east coast of Italy...
of trying to poisonPoisonIn the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
her. The trial ends with the defendant acquitted thanks to the Pro CaelioPro CaelioMarcus Tullius Cicero gave the speech, Pro Caelio, on April 4, 56 BC, in defense of Marcus Caelius Rufus. It is unknown why Cicero agreed to defend Caelius, who had been a political enemy, though various theories have been postulated. Caelius' was charged with vis , one of the most serious crimes...
speech of Marcus Tullius Cicero. There is no further mention of the previously famous Clodia. - Gallic War: Decimus Junius Brutus AlbinusDecimus Junius Brutus AlbinusDecimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Roman politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination...
defeats the VenetiVeneti (Gaul)The Veneti were a seafaring Celtic people who lived in the Brittany peninsula , which in Roman times formed part of an area called Armorica...
of BrittanyBrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
: The GallicsGaulGaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
lost most of their swanships to the Romans at the battle in modern-day Quiberon BayQuiberon BayThe Baie de Quiberon is an area of sheltered water on the south coast of Brittany. The bay is in the Morbihan département.-Geography:The bay is roughly triangular in shape, open to the south with the Gulf of Morbihan to the north-east and the narrow peninsular of Presqu'île de Quiberon providing...
. The strongholds on the coast are stormed and the population is slaughteredSlaughteredSlaughtered is an Australian slasher horror film who is directed by Kate Glover, produced from Sue Brown, the movie stars Steven O’Donnell and James Kerley.-Cast:* Chloe Boreham* Cassandra Swaby* Michael Lewis...
or sold into slaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
.
Deaths
- LucullusLucullusLucius Licinius Lucullus , was an optimate politician of the late Roman Republic, closely connected with Sulla Felix...
, 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...
(b. c. 118 BC118 BCYear 118 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cato and Rex...
) - Tigranes the GreatTigranes the GreatTigranes the Great was emperor of Armenia under whom the country became, for a short time, the strongest state east of the Roman Republic. He was a member of the Artaxiad Royal House...
, king of ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
(b. c. 140 BC140 BCYear 140 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sapiens and Caepio...
)