# 60s BC

This article concerns the period 69 BC – 60 BC.

## Events
### 69 BC
#### By place
###### Roman Republic

* October 6 – Roman Republic troops under Lucius Lucullus defeat the army of Tigranes II of Armenia in the Battle of Tigranocerta, and capture Tigranocerta, capital of Armenia.
* Consuls: Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus and Quintus Hortensius.
* Antiochus XIII Asiaticus is installed as king of Syria.
* Parthians and Romans re-establish Euphrates as a frontier.
* Gaius Julius Caesar is a quaestor in Spain.

###### Egypt

* Ptolemy XII deposes Cleopatra V, and becomes sole ruler.

###### Greece

* Kydonia, an ancient city on the island of Crete falls to Roman military forces.
* Rhodes becomes a bulwark against pirates, the Rhodians are unable to suppress piracy in the Aegean Sea. Delos gets the status of a free port.

### 68 BC
#### By place
###### Roman Republic

* Consuls: Lucius Caecilius Metellus and Quintus Marcius Rex.
* October 6 – Lucius Lucullus defeats Tigranes II of Armenia in the Battle of Artaxata.
* Gaius Antonius Hybrida elected praetor.
* Tribune of the plebs Gaius Antius Restio passes the Lex Antia sumptuaria law forbidding Roman magistrates from attending banquets.
* Ostia, the harbour city of Ancient Rome, is sacked by pirates. The port is set on fire and the consular war fleet is destroyed.

###### Osroene

* Abgar II becomes ruler of Osroene.

### 67 BC
#### By place
###### Roman Republic

* Consuls: Manius Acilius Glabrio and Gaius Calpurnius Piso.
* During Pompey's war against the pirates, he raises a fleet of 500 warships and fights with great success.
* The lex Gabinia gives Pompey command of the Mediterranean and its coasts for 50 miles inland for three years. He defeats the pirates in three months and pacifies Cilicia.
* Pompey divides the Mediterranean into 13 zones – six in the West and seven in the East – to each of which he assigns a fleet under an admiral.
* Pompey offers the ex-pirates and their families clemency, he settles them in agricultural colonies in eastern Mediterranean lands.
* Pompey takes over the command of Lucius Licinius Lucullus in the war against Mithridates VI of Pontus, and reaps the fruit of the latter's victories.
* Lex Acilia Calpurnia: permanent exclusion from office in cases of electoral corruption.
* Lex Roscia theatralis.
* Julius Caesar reconciles with Pompey and Crassus
* Julius Caesar marries Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla

###### Judea

* Hyrcanus II becomes king of Judea, for first time (until 66 BC), upon the death of his mother, Salome Alexandra.

###### Pontus

* Mithridates VI invades Pontus and defeats a Roman army at the Battle of Zela.
* After his victory at Zela Mithridates starts consolidating his power in Pontus; restoring his rule over his old kingdom.
* Lucullus returnes to Pontus, but his troops refuse to campaign for him any longer and he withdrew to Galatia.

###### China

* December – The army of the Han dynasty Chinese commander Zheng Ji is victorious over the Xiongnu in the Battle of Jushi.

### 66 BC
#### By place
###### Roman Republic

* Consuls: Manius Aemilius Lepidus and Lucius Volcatius Tullus.
* Catiline accused of conspiring against the Roman Republic with Autronius and the younger Sulla (also in 63 BC during the consulship of Cicero).
* The alliance between Mithridates VI of Pontus and Tigranes II of Armenia is broken.
* Tigranes II is forced to surrender, by a payment of 6,000 talents, and is reinstated by Pompey as a "friend of the Roman people" to hold Armenia as a buffer zone.
* Battle of the Lycus: Pompey the Great decisively defeats Mithridates VI, effectively ending the Third Mithridatic War.
* Gaius Antonius elected Roman praetor.
* The lex Manilia, supported by Cicero gives Pompey command over all of Asia.
* Cicero becomes praetor in Rome.

###### Judea

* Aristobulus II becomes king and high priest of Judea, until 63 BC.

### 65 BC
#### By place
###### Roman Republic

* In response to the illegal exercise of citizen rights by foreigners, the Roman Senate passes the Lex Papia, which expels all foreigners from Rome
* Tigranes of Armenia is defeated and captured by Pompey, thus ending all hostilities on the northeastern frontier of Rome.
* Pompey the Great subjugates the kingdom of Iberia and makes Colchis a Roman province.

###### Western Han Empire

* 9th year of the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han

### 64 BC
#### By place
###### Roman Republic

* Pompey destroys the kingdom of Pontus; king Mithridates VI commits suicide after escaping to the Crimea.
* Pompey annexes Syria and captures Jerusalem, annexing Judea.

###### Syria

* King Antiochus XIII Asiaticus is deposed and killed by the Syrian chieftain Sampsiceramus I – this is considered by some the end of the Seleucid dynasty.

### 63 BC
#### By place
###### Roman Republic

* Lucullus holds a triumph, then retires from war and politics to live a life of refined luxury.
* Establishment of the Decapolis and Year 1 of the Pompeian era.
* Pompey conquers the people of Phonecia, Coele-Syria, and Judea for the Roman Republic.
* Roman annexation of the Seleucid Empire and of Judea as a client kingdom. King Judah Aristobulus II removed from power, while his brother John Hyrcanus II is reappointed king (ethnarch) under Roman suzerainty and high priest, until 40 BC.
* Massacre of over 12,000 Jews on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by Roman troops, in support of John Hyrcanus II against Aristobulus II.
* Julius Caesar is elected Pontifex Maximus and praetor for 62 BC.
* Marcus Tullius Cicero is senior consul. He is the first novus homo (new man) to be elected to the consulship in 31 years.
* Gaius Antonius Hybrida is junior consul.
* Cato the Younger is elected tribune of the people for 62 BC, taking office in early December 63 BC.
* Servilius Rullus, a Roman tribune, proposes an agrarian reform law.
* Second Catilinarian Conspiracy against the Roman Republic is foiled by Cicero.

###### Pontus

* Pharnaces II becomes King of Pontus.

### 62 BC
#### By place
###### Roman Republic

* January 5 – The forces of the conspirator Catiline are defeated by the loyal Roman armies of Antonius Hybrida led by Marcus Petreius in the Battle of Pistoria.
* Julius Caesar divorces Pompeia, following the sacrilege of Publius Clodius Pulcher.
* Cicero delivers his Pro Archia Poeta in defense of Aulus Licinius Archias' claim to Roman citizenship.
* Cato the Younger, as tribune, presents a lex frumentaria (enacting a grain dole).
* Metellus Nepos, also tribune, leaves Rome.
* Caesar and Bibulus are praetors.

###### Commagene

* King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene builds his mountain-top tomb-sanctuary at Mount Nemrut.

### 61 BC
#### By place
###### Roman Republic

* Pompey returns to Rome with a triumph in honor of his for victories in the eastern provinces.
* Marcus Pupius Piso Frugi as consul attempts to gain ratification of Pompey's Eastern Settlement.
* Julius Caesar becomes governor in Hispania and creates Legio X Gemina (3,500 men). He puts down the Callaici and Lusitani rebellions.

### 60 BC
#### By place
###### Roman Republic

* Gaius Julius Caesar suppresses an uprising and conquers all of Lusitania for Rome.
* Creation of the First Triumvirate, an informal political alliance between Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus (or 59 BC).

###### Syria

* The Seleucid Empire comes to an end with the last two emperors being murdered on orders from Rome.

###### China

* The Han dynasty government establishes the Protectorate of the Western Regions, the highest military position of a military commander on the Western frontier (Tarim Basin).

## Significant people

* Pompey, Roman general, (lived 106 BC–48 BC)
* Mithridates VI, King of Pontus, (lived 132 BC–63 BC)
* Philip II Philoromaeus
* Gaius Antonius Hybrida, elected praetor in 66 BC
* Cleopatra VII is born (69 BC–30 BC) and grows into a young girl passing age 9.

## Births

69 BC
* Cleopatra VII Philopator, queen of Egypt (d. 30 BC)
* Hyeokgeose, Korean king and founder of Silla (d. AD 4)
* Wang Zhengjun, empress of the Western Han dynasty (d. AD 13)
68 BC
* Arsinoe IV of Egypt, daughter of Ptolemy XII (and probably Cleopatra V) (d. 41 BC)
67 BC
* Arsinoe IV of Egypt, daughter of Ptolemy XII (and probably Cleopatra V) (d. 41 BC)
* Sextus Pompey, Roman general and governor (d. 35 BC)
66 BC
* Octavia (the Younger), grandniece of Julius Caesar (d. 11 BC)
65 BC
* December 8 – Horace, Roman poet (d. 8 BC)
* Gaius Asinius Pollio, Roman orator, poet and historian (d. AD 4)
64 BC
* Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, Roman general and consul (d. AD 8)
* Nicolaus of Damascus, Jewish historian and philosopher (approximate date)
* Strabo, Greek philosopher and historian in Amaseia
63 BC
* September 23 – Augustus, first Roman Emperor (d. AD 14)
* Didymus Chalcenterus, Greek scholar and grammarian (approximate date) (d. c. AD 10)
* Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Roman statesman and general (d. 12 BC)
62 BC
* Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, king (pharaoh) of Egypt (d. 47 BC)
60 BC
* Curia, wife of Quintus Lucretius Vespillo (approximate date)
* Ptolemy XIV, king (pharaoh) of Egypt (or 59 BC)
* Tryphon, Greek grammarian (approximate date)
* Daeso, emperor of Dongbuyeo

## Deaths

69 BC
* Cleopatra II Selene, queen of Egypt
* Julia, wife of Gaius Marius (b. c. 130 BC)
68 BC
* Antiochus of Ascalon, Greek philosopher (b. c. 130 BC)
* Cornelia, wife of Julius Caesar (b. 94 BC)
* Huo Guang, official of the western Han Dynasty
* Lucius Caecillius Metellus, Roman consul
67 BC
* Lucius Cornelius Sisenna, Roman general and historian (b. c. 120 BC)
* Salome Alexandra, queen of Judea (b. 139 BC)
66 BC
* Licinius Macer, Roman annalist
65 BC
* Xiphares, son of Mithridates VI (b. c. 85 BC)
64 BC
* Antiochus XIII Asiaticus, king of the Seleucid Empire
63 BC
* Mithridates VI, King of Pontus (b. 135 BC)
* Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, pontifex maximus and general (b. c. 130 BC or 127 BC)
* Those involved in the organisation of the Catilinarian conspiracy in Rome, including Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura
62 BC
* Lucius Sergius Catilina, Roman politician (b. 108 BC)
* Quintus Roscius Gallus, Roman actor (b. c. 126 BC)
* Zhang Anshi, Chinese official of the Han Dynasty
61 BC
* Quintus Marcius Rex, Roman consul and general
60 BC
* Aretas III Philhellen, king of Nabatea (approximate date)
* Su Wu, Chinese diplomat and statesman (b. 140 BC)

## Citations

* ↑ Joseph Thomas, Universal Pronouncing Dictionary of Biography and Mythology, 1908, Lippincott, 2550 pages
* ↑ C. Michael Hogan, Cydonia, Modern Antiquarian, January 23, 2008
* ↑ Syme, Ronald (1963). "Ten Tribunes". Journal of Roman Studies. 53: 59.
* 1 2 3 4 LeGlay, Marcel; Voisin, Jean-Louis; Le Bohec, Yann (2001). A History of Rome (Second ed.). Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell. p. 128. ISBN 0-631-21858-0.
* ↑ Husband, R. (1916). On the Expulsion of Foreigners from Rome. Classical Philology, 11(3), 315-333. Retrieved March 11, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/261855
* ↑ Appian, Syriaca VIII 49, XI 70, Justin, Historiarum Philippicarum T. Pompeii Trogi XL 2.2, Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica XL 1a-b.
* ↑ Stambaugh, John E. (1988). The Ancient Roman City. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-8018-3574-7.
* 1 2 Dupuy, Richard Ernest; Dupuy, Trevor Nevitt (1993). The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History: From 3500 BC to the Present. New York: HarperCollins. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-06270-056-8.
* ↑ Moore 2017, p. 9.
* ↑ Grant, Michael. "Horace". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
* ↑ Jerome (Chronicon 2020) says he died in AD 4 in the seventieth year of his life, which would place the year of his birth at 65 BC.
* ↑ Roberts, John (2007). The Oxford dictionary of the classical world. Oxford University Press. p. 799. ISBN 9780192801463.
* ↑ Lassere, Francois. "Strabo". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
* ↑ "BBC - History - Augustus". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2021.