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Michael McGill 🏛

@mcgillmd921

Sep 12

49 BC.

Julius Caesar stood on the banks of a small river in northern Italy.

The Rubicon.

To cross it meant civil war. To stay meant surrender.

What followed would change Rome forever. 🧵

How did it come to this?

For years, Caesar had risen through the ranks: brilliant general, ruthless politician, master manipulator.

He conquered Gaul, won riches, and secured loyalty from his legions.

But back in Rome, the Senate grew fearful.

The Senate, led by Pompey, once Caesar’s ally, ordered him to disband his army and return as a private citizen.

Without his legions, Caesar would be defenseless.
Trials for corruption and loss of power awaited.

It was checkmate.

Unless Caesar broke the rules.

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Michael McGill 🏛

@mcgillmd921

Sep 11

Cicero was one of ancient Rome's most complex figures.

At the height of his power, he was hailed as Pater Patriae: Father of the Fatherland. Yet he died with his hands nailed to the Forum.

Let’s dive into the rise and fall of Marcus Tullius Cicero 🏛️🧵

Who was Cicero?

A Roman statesman, philosopher, orator, and writer. Cicero was a Renaissance man before the Renaissance.

Besides Julius Caesar, he may be the most famous Roman of them all. And unlike Caesar, he started with no noble blood.

The New Man

Born in 106 BC in Arpinum, Cicero came from a wealthy equestrian family; but not the Roman elite.

He was a novus homo, or "new man", the first in his family to enter the Senate. Many saw him as an outsider.

His enemies never let him forget it.

Read 15 tweets

Michael McGill 🏛

@mcgillmd921

Sep 7

In the late Roman Republic, two brothers bravely dared to challenge the power of Rome’s elite.

They stood for the poor. For justice. For the Republic.

They paid for it with their lives.

This is the story of the Gracchi. 🏛️🧵

Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were born into privilege, but raised with a conscience.

Their mother, Cornelia Africana, was the daughter of Scipio Africanus, the hero who defeated Hannibal.

Cornelia raised them to be more than just noble.

Our story begins with Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, born into Roman nobility, but with a heart for the plebs.

In 133 BC, as Tribune of the Plebs, he proposed a radical idea: Redistribute public land to the poor.

It would ignite a firestorm in the Senate.

Read 13 tweets

Michael McGill 🏛

@mcgillmd921

Sep 5

September 4, 476 AD

The boy-emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed.

The Roman Empire, the greatest the world had known, was dead in the West.

This day marked the end of antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Here’s how it happened... 🧵

The Cracks in the Empire

For centuries, Rome ruled from Britannia to Egypt.

But by the 5th century, the Western Empire was a shadow of itself; plagued by civil wars, corruption, famine, and foreign invasions.

Barbarian tribes surged across the crumbling borders.

A Tale of Two Empires

By now, the Roman Empire had split:

East (Byzantium) — rich and resilient

West — bankrupt, chaotic, and barely hanging on

The Western Empire’s capital had moved from Rome to Ravenna.

Safer, but symbolic of retreat.

Read 11 tweets

Michael McGill 🏛

@mcgillmd921

Sep 2

September 2, 31 BC.

The fate of the Roman world hangs in the balance. A climactic naval battle is about to unfold between Octavian and the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

This is the story of the Battle of Actium.

And how it brought an end to the Roman Republic. 🏛️🧵

After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, a fragile alliance formed between Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus:

The Second Triumvirate.

They carved the Republic into three pieces.

But power cannot be shared forever.

Antony took the East. Octavian took the West.

And Lepidus? Well, he was quickly sidelined.

What followed was a cold war between two men, each trying to outmaneuver the other politically and militarily.

All under the pretense of shared rule.

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Michael McGill 🏛

@mcgillmd921

Aug 25

Rome’s most popular sport wasn’t gladiators.

It was chariot racing.

The Circus Maximus drew hundreds of thousands of screaming fans, obsessed over the rival factions: Blues, Greens, Reds, Whites. They weren’t just sports teams.

They were a way of life. 🏛️🧵

The factions began as practical.

Teams supplied horses, trained drivers, and managed logistics for the races.

But they grew into something much bigger: political machines, social clubs, even street gangs.

By the time the Empire formed, allegiance to a faction was identity.

The most famous? The Blues and the Greens.

They dominated racing. Fans rioted in their name. Emperors picked sides.

Chariot racing wasn’t just sport. It was a battle for prestige, influence, and money.

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