rtrapasso
Posts: 22653
Joined: 9/3/2002 Status: offline
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Year 54: October 13 - Roman emperor Claudius dies, possibly after being poisoned by Agrippina, his wife and niece, and is succeeded by Nero. (Tacitus gives an interesting account of this... the doctor called in to treat a reported first poisoning attempt was in on the plot, and supposedly tried to induce vomiting... by sticking a poisoned feather down the throat of the Emperor). Nero tries to prohibit the Gladiatorial games. Maiden Castle in Dorset is captured from the Celtic Durotriges by Vespasian. * Under Nero, Rome annexes Aden to protect the maritime route between Alexandria and Asia. Two centurions are sent to the south of Egypt to find the sources of the Nile, and possible new provinces. They report that while there are many cities in the desert, the area seems too poor to be worthy of conquest. Violence erupts in Caesarea regarding the a local ordinance restricting the civil rights of Jews, creating clashes between Jews and pagans. The Roman garrison, made up of Syrians, takes the side of the pagans. The Jews, armed with clubs and swords, meet in the marketplace. The Governor of Judaea, Antonius Felix orders his troops to charge. The violence continues and Felix asks Nero to arbitrate. Nero, sides with the pagans and relegates the Jews to second-class citizens. This decision does nothing but increase the Jews' anger. Judea is returned piecemeal to Agrippa I's son Marcus Julius Agrippa between 48 and 54. *EDIT - maybe it was. Maiden Castle, near Dorchester, isn't a traditional castle, but rather a hill fort. "Mortimer Wheeler created a vivid account of the fall of the hill fort in his report following the excavations of 1934-1937. Later examination of his records by Niall Sharples has largely discounted this interpretation and it is no longer thought that the fort was besieged or violently taken by the Romans."
< Message edited by rtrapasso -- 6/30/2007 8:06:23 PM >
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