View source for 56 BC

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{{More citations needed|February 2024|date=February 2024}}
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Year '''56 BC''' was a year of the [[Roman calendar|pre-Julian Roman calendar]]. In the [[Roman Republic]], 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.

== Events ==
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=== By place ===

==== Roman Republic ====
* Roman [[Consul]]s are [[Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus]] and [[Lucius Marcius Philippus (consul 56 BC)|Lucius Marcius Philippus]].
* [[Clodia (wife of Metellus)|Clodia]] accuses her former lover [[Marcus Caelius Rufus]] of trying to [[poison]] her. The trial ends with the defendant acquitted thanks to the ''[[Pro Caelio]]'' speech of [[Cicero]]. There is no more reference to the formerly well-known Clodia.
* Third year of [[Julius Caesar]]'s [[Gallic Wars]]: 
** [[Battle of Morbihan]]: [[Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus]], one of Caesar's subordinates, defeats the [[Veneti (Gaul)|Veneti]] of [[Brittany]]. The Gauls lose most of their warships to the Romans in a sea battle at modern-day [[Quiberon Bay]]. The strongholds on the coast are stormed, and the population is slaughtered or sold into [[slavery]].
** The three Roman politician-generals of the [[First Triumvirate]] — [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]], [[Pompey]] and [[Crassus]] — meet at the [[Luca Conference]] at the town of Luca (modern [[Lucca]], in [[Tuscany]]), near [[Pisa]], where they renewed their fraying political alliance, and further cemented the three men's increasing consolidation of power in the [[Roman Republic]].
** Autumn &ndash; Julius Caesar leads an attack on the [[Morini]] and the [[Menapii]] tribes of the [[Belgae]] on the [[North Sea]]. They withdraw into their forests, creating difficulties for Caesar's supply lines. The onset of bad weather forces him to pull back into [[Gallia Belgica]].<ref>Nic Fields (2014). Osprey: ''Alesia 52 BC – The final struggle for Gaul'', p. 14. {{ISBN|978-1-78200-922-1}}.</ref>

==== Britain ====
* This year, or possibly the following year, the king of the [[Trinovantes]] called [[Imanuentius]], is overthrown and killed by his rival [[Cassivellaunus]]. His son [[Mandubracius]] flees to [[Gaul]] and appeals to Julius Caesar for help.
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== Births ==
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== Deaths ==
* [[Lucullus|Lucius Licinius Lucullus]], Roman politician (b. [[118 BC]])
*[[Philip II Philoromaeus]], king of the [[Seleucid Empire]] (approximate date)
*[[Imanuentius]], the king of the [[Trinovantes]] (a kingdom in  Pre-Roman Britain)

== References ==
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[[Category:56 BC| ]]