Lusitania Pacified! The last remaining rebellious cities in Lusitania, Aeminium and Salamantica, have surrendered! Upon his arrival at Aeminium, Pro-praetor Caius Livius Drusus was pleasantly surprised to find representatives from both cities awaiting his arrival. The relieved personages presented the required tribute and sat down with the Pro-praetor to draw up documents of capitulation and peach. Apparently this sudden surrender was motivated by the sharp contrast between the treatment of the Caurium and the treatment of Scallabis, and the cities concerned became quite convinced, and rightly so, that any failure to surrender would only bring merciless destruction down upon their heads. The capitulation marks the end of the rebellion in Lusitania, and, for having brought the war agains the rebelsto such a successful conclusion, Pro-praetor Drusus is already receiving the highest praise in the Senate, in the cauponae, and on the streets. Certainly it is a great relief for all to now have two stable provinces in Hispania.

Incipient Baetican Rebellion Put Down Publius Pulcher, an aide to Quaestor Drakus Domitius Cordatus and acting quaestor in Cordatus’ absence, has achieved a major coup against the Baetican rebel underground. Tipped off by an informant that a meeting between important Tarracan and Baetican rebel leaders was to take place at a caupona in Asido, Pulcher took quick and decisive action. Surrounding the caupona with his best militiamen, he had a number of his troops wait inside in mufti, and when it was certain the rebels had arrived, the trap was sprung and all in the caupona were arrested. While many were deemed to be innocent and released, the owner, one of his assistants, and seven other individuals have been detained. These seven are clearly the rebel leaders and their guards, thought it is not yet known who is who, as they have so far revealed little under torture, except that they are indeed rebels. One thing is certain, though: that the Baetican rebels have suffered a severe blow as a result of this incident.

Carthago Nova Siege Proceeds! In yet another piece of positive news from Spain, the siege of the great city of Carthago Nova is going well, though it is by no means complete. Legio, under command of Legate Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, has constructed numerous siege engines that pund away at the city’s mighty walls all day, every day, and is also busy tunneling under said walls, to under mine them. The legates engineers estimate that a month remains before it will be advisable to actually assault the city; as it stands, any such attempt would be suicide.

Macedonian Peace Negotiations Stall The talks in Macedon have ground to a halt following King Philip V’s outright rejection of the terms offered him by the peace delegation. Four days ago, when our diplomats had finally established a reasonable and open atmosphere and presented the terms, Philip and his advisors rejected them completely and the king stormed angrily out of the room. Efforts over the next several days to reach some fort of compromise failed as well, as Philip repeatedly proposed highly unacceptable terms. As if this were not enough, an incident that has soured relations even further took place that night. At a dinner in the Macedonian camp, several Roman and Macedonian commission members let their tempers get the better of them and began an argument that culminated in both parties shouting at each other and hurling recriminations about the other’s parentage, nation, and religion. The meal broke up hurriedly to avert disaster, but not before lasting enmities had been engendered on both sides. In addition to this, the occasional fistfights and brawls between Roman and Macedonian soldiers are not helping matters either. The delegation, which includes Consul Titus Quinctius Flaminius, his consular aide Quintus Caecilius Metellus, and Legio V commander Licinius Sempronius Nocturnus, remains hopeful, but notes that as both sides become increasingly frustrated chances for peace grow ever more slim.

Delegation Arrives in Egypt The Roman treaty delegation to Egypt arrived in Alexandri some two days past, to be greeted by an enormous celebration in their honor, replete with food, women, musicians, and entirely too much wine. As yet, little has been accomplished, due to the fact that most of the festival’s participants are still recovering form their massive hangovers. Still, a very positive atmosphere of mutual goodwill has already been established, and the delegation’s members report that they have high hopes for a solid treaty. By way of a reminder, the delegation is headed by former censor Marcus Livius Salinator, ably assisted by Drakus Domitius Cordatus, Patricus Curius Hibernicus, Quintus Valerius Catullus, and Caius Iunius Aquila. They will be negotiating with the young ruler Ptolemy V Epiphanes and his grand viziers Alexandros and Euprhanes, one everyone’s head feels better.

Pirate Activity Subsides This past month has seen fewer pirate raids and attacks on shipping than the one before, for reasons as yet unexplained. Sulag in particular has not struck this month, nor have several of the other major pirate groups. Some speculate that the various pirate bands have set to fighting each other to claim the largest share of the spoils, others that the smart pirate leaders are husbanding their resources for some truly devastating raids in the coming days, while others claim they have been frightened off by the news of the new ships soon to be deployed. Whatever the case, it is a welcome relief while it lasts.

Gaius Silius Returns In a controversial move this past month, Tribune of the Plebs Gaius Silius vetoed the Lex Terentia Oppia Revocatum as soon as it became clear that the lex would pass the Assembly. This is the Tribune’s first public appearance in some time, following his legal troubles, and, as usual, it has caused a great stir in Rome. A number of older citizens applaud the move, many others deplore it, and some individuals are simply disgusted or stupefied to find themselves in agreement with Silius on this matter, most notably Licinius Sempronius Nocturnus, and Quintus Valerius Catullus, two of the Tribune’s most fervent and vocal opponents.