Marcus Junius Brutus: From Roman Republican to Caesar’s Assassin
Marcus Junius Brutus is remembered primarily as the Roman senator who joined the conspiracy that assassinated Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 BC. Yet reducing Brutus to …
Scipio Africanus: The Roman General Who Defeated Hannibal
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus was one of the most consequential commanders of the Roman Republic. He defeated Hannibal at Zama in 202 BCE, ended the Second Punic War, destroyed Carthage’s …
Horace: The Life, Works, and Legacy of Rome’s Great Augustan Poet
Quintus Horatius Flaccus, better known as Horace, was one of the defining literary figures of Augustan Rome. Born in 65 BC and dying in 8 BC, he lived through the …
Rome’s Insulae: How Most Romans Lived Rome’s Apartment City
Imperial Rome is remembered for its temples, aqueducts, roads, and monuments. Most Romans lived in a very different environment. At its height, Rome may have contained hundreds of thousands of …
Silbannacus: The Roman Emperor History Forgot
Silbannacus is one of the most obscure figures associated with the Roman Empire. No surviving ancient historian mentions him. No inscription records his name, and no statue preserves his image. …
Publius Ventidius: A Slave Who Was Awarded a Triumph in 38 BC
In 89 BC, a young man entered Rome in chains. He was a captive from Picenum, one of the Italian regions that had rebelled against Rome during the Social War. …
The Baths of Caracalla: How Rome Built Its Greatest Imperial Bath Complex
Few monuments demonstrate the scale, engineering ability, and political ambition of Imperial Rome as dramatically as the Baths of Caracalla. Known in antiquity as the Thermae Antoninianae, the complex was …
The Lost Church of Nicaea Foud? The First Council – 325 AD
For more than 1,700 years, one of the most important gatherings in the history of the Roman world has had a missing address. In AD 325, bishops from across the …
Roman Wedding 101: Ancient Rituals and Secret Details Exposed
Imagine a wedding day in ancient Rome. The house is busy from early morning. Relatives and friends have gathered, preparations are underway, and the bride is dressed in clothing that …
Alaric: The Legendary King Who Conquered Rome in 410
On 24 August AD 410, something happened that had seemed almost impossible for centuries. The gates of Rome opened to a Gothic army. For centuries, Rome had not been captured …
Roman Centurions: The Forgotten Officers of the Empire
The Roman army was far more than a fighting force. It was one of the principal instruments through which Rome imposed order, projected imperial authority, built infrastructure, collected revenue, and …
Poena Cullei: Rome’s Penalty of the Sack
Poena cullei, or the “penalty of the sack,” was one of the most severe punishments in Roman law. It was associated primarily with parricidium, especially the murder of a parent …
Cassius Scaeva: The Centurion Who Held the Line at Dyrrachium
The Roman army of the late Republic produced commanders whose names became inseparable from its greatest campaigns, but its battlefield success depended just as heavily on men whose careers rarely …
Circus Maximus: Inside Ancient Rome’s Greatest Chariot-Racing Arena
The Circus Maximus was ancient Rome’s principal venue for chariot racing and one of the largest entertainment complexes of the ancient world. Located in the valley between the Palatine and …