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383. It was here that he began to write the great history that was described by Edward Gibbon in The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as being "mixed with the narrative of public events a lively
representation of the scenes with which he was familiarly conversant." The historian obviously intended to
pick up where Tacitus left off, but unfortunately much of his work was lost. Only those writings
detailing the times of Constantine II (partly), Julian, Jovian, Valentinian I and Valens have been
preserved, roughly from 350 to 378.
A pagan like his idol Emperor Julian, he admired Christianity and accepted its growing place in Roman
society and in the wider context of history.
¤ AMPIUS, T. BALBUS (fl. 1st century B.C.) Roman tribune involved in the political struggles of the
FIRST TRIUMVIRATE. Of Spanish descent, he gained the rank of citizen through the assistance of the
consul of Pompey. Ampius was a remarkable politician, gliding through the chaotic environment of civil-
war-torn, Republican Rome. He served Pompey in Spain and then Caesar in Rome, becoming his agent
during the GALLIC WARS. Put on trial for various offenses, he was saved by Pompey, Crassus and
Cicero. The officer placed his hopes on Caesar's campaigns and fought for his cause with his associate,
C. Oppius.
¤ ANDALUSIA Part of southern Spain that became a vital center of Roman trade and was traversed
heavily by marauding barbarian hordes entering Africa via Gibraltar. By 19 B.C., the entire area had been
Romanized to the extent that the majority of its inhabitants spoke Latin and lived in the Roman style.
Andalusia was influenced heavily by trade, and Italian merchants were common. Because of its fertility, the
area produced large quantities of agricultural goods for Rome. The Roman name for the region was
Baetica. See HISPANIA.
¤ ANICETUS (fl. 1st century A.D.) A freedman and admiral during the reign of Nero; he was the prime
mover in the murder of AGRIPPINA THE YOUNGER. Anicetus was typical of the FREEDMEN of the
Early Empire. Ambitious, thoroughly unprincipled and dangerous, he came to Nero's attention by
volunteering to complete the assassination of Nero's mother, Agrippina, after a previous attempt had
failed.
In 55 A.D., Nero sought an end to Agrippina's power and influence. While at the theater, Nero and his
tutor Seneca saw a ship split apart as part of a circus act. Nero resolved to build an exact duplicate, so