Roman Empire

Welcome to our website's section on the Roman Empire, one of the most fascinating and influential civilizations in world history. For over a thousand years, the Romans ruled a vast territory stretching from the Mediterranean to the North Sea, leaving an indelible mark on art, culture, language, law, and politics. The Romans were masters of engineering, building roads, aqueducts, and monumental structures that continue to impress us to this day. But the Roman Empire was not just about conquest and military might; it was also a complex society with a diverse population, a rich mythology, and a unique worldview. In this section, we invite you to explore the many facets of the Roman Empire, from its founding myths and legendary heroes to its decline and legacy. Whether you are a history buff, a student, or just curious about the ancient world, we hope you will find this section informative, engaging, and inspiring.

Plastico di Roma imperiale at the Museum of the Roman Civilization. Source: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra / CC BY-SA 2.0.

14 July, 2019 - 23:05 Sarah P Young

The Plastico di Roma Imperiale Wasn’t Built in a Day: Accurate Mini Rome Model Took 35 Years

The Roman Empire dominated most of Europe and parts of Africa and the Middle East for over thousand years, evolving from a monarchy to a democracy and finally a militaristic dictatorship. The empire...

Goths cross a river by Évariste-Vital Luminais.

15 February, 2019 - 14:02 ancient-origins

How Ancient Rome Dealt with the Barbarians at the Gate

Cavan W. Concannon / The Conversation A caravan of Goths – the Thervingi and the Greuthungi – were massing along the Danube river, at the border of the Roman Empire. This was not an invading army,...

The Council of The Gods.

23 January, 2019 - 01:49 dhwty

The Roman Pantheon Had A God for All Seasons - And Then Some

The Romans were a polytheistic people who worshiped a great number of gods. Nevertheless, the most important gods in the Roman pantheon are the twelve gods and goddesses of the Dii Consentes , who...

Roman soldiers and their general (vukkostic / Adobe Stock)

19 January, 2019 - 22:58 dhwty

The Roman Republic – Was It Truly A Republic?

The Roman Republic was the period in ancient Roman history that superseded the Roman Kingdom and preceded the Roman Empire. Traditionally, the founding of the Roman Republic is dated to 509 BC, when...

Coronation of Louis the Pious as King of Aquitaine.

3 December, 2018 - 14:01 dhwty

The Troubled Reign of Louis the Pious, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire

Louis I (byname the Pious, the Fair, or the Debonair) was a King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor belonging to the Carolingian Dynasty. He lived between the 8 th and 9 th centuries AD and reigned...

Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (ca.245-313), Roman Emperor Diocletian. Marble bust, XVIIth century, Florence, Italy. On display at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, France.

13 November, 2018 - 01:50 dhwty

Emperor Diocletian: The Stabilizer of Rome Had a Green Thumb

Diocletian was a Roman emperor who lived between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. Prior to his ascension to the throne, the Roman Empire was going through the Crisis of the Third Century, a period...

A set of four ‘hipposandals’ or Roman horseshoes found at Vindolanda.

15 August, 2018 - 23:00 Ed Whelan

Ironclad Hoof: Unique Roman Horse Shoes Found on Hadrian’s Wall

The BBC is reporting an exciting find on the famous Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England. Four Roman era horseshoes were unearthed during a planned dig at the site of the ruined Vindolanda fort...

Tigranes the Great, King of Armenia

5 July, 2018 - 23:15 dhwty

The Rise and Fall of Tigranes the Great, King of Armenia

Under King Tigranes II the Great, from 95 to 55 B.C. Armenia thrived, and became the strongest state in the Roman east for a time. In the millennia leading up to Roman rule, the Armenian Plateau...

Gladiators after the fight, José Moreno Carbonero (1882)

1 July, 2018 - 15:44 Julia Huse

Gladiators: Were any of them Christian?

The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire is no secret. Christians posed a dangerous threat to the security of the Empire by refusing to worship the pagan gods, whose favor was seen as...

Theatrical masks of Tragedy and Comedy. Mosaic, Roman artwork, 2nd century CE. Capitoline Museums, Rome, Italy

29 June, 2018 - 19:58 MartiniF

The Black Sheep of the Empire: Actors and Actresses in Ancient Rome

The ancient Greeks loved the theater and ancient Greek actors enjoyed a position of eminence and respect. In contrast, although entertainment and drama were similarly adored in Ancient Rome, theater...

1,500-Year-Old Graffiti reveals Gladiator Battles

16 June, 2018 - 02:17 Mark Miller

1,500-Year-Old Graffiti reveals Gladiator Battles

The Italian word graffiti dates only to 1851, online sources say, but the practice of drawing and scribbling on walls and surfaces in public places dates back millennia. In fact, a Professor from...

A relief of Epona, flanked by two pairs of horses, from Roman Macedonia, foruth century C.E.

5 June, 2018 - 22:11 Riley Winters

The Celtic Goddess Epona that Rode Swiftly Across the Ancient Roman Empire

The protector of horses, mules, and cavalry, Epona was one of the only non-Roman goddesses to have been wholly adopted by the Roman Empire . Often depicted astride a horse, Epona resonated in the...

Hannibal crossing the Alps on elephants by Nicolas Poussin

1 June, 2018 - 03:33 Mark Miller

2,200-Year-Old Moat with Artifacts Linked to Hannibal Unearthed in Spain

Spanish university students trying to retrace Hannibal’s war march through northeastern Spain found a huge buried moat with ancient objects in it. The moat may have been meant to protect the ancient...

Skull from Roman Dead exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands

26 May, 2018 - 14:00 ancient-origins

The Dead Tell Us of a Diverse Londinium

Rebecca Redfern / The Conversation Our knowledge about the people who lived in Roman Britain has undergone a sea change over the past decade. New research has rubbished our perception of it as a...

Horace, the Misunderstood Soldier turned Poet and Creator of “Carpe Diem”

30 April, 2018 - 20:34 MartiniF

Horace, the Misunderstood Soldier turned Poet and Creator of “Carpe Diem”

The literary works of Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 - 68 BC), or Horace, spans an extraordinarily wide range, making him one of the central authors in Latin literature. Horace seemed to be just as...

Pederastic couples at a symposium, as depicted on a tomb fresco from the Greek colony of Paestum in Italy.

9 March, 2018 - 15:18 MartiniF

The Love Affair of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and the Handsome Antinous

Not much was known of the young Antinous before he attracted the attention of the ruler of the Roman world at its zenith. He was born in 111 AD in the Roman province of Bithynia, which would include...

Tabula Cortonensis: A 2,200-year-old Tablet with a Bronze Key to Understanding the Etruscan World

17 December, 2016 - 21:56 Natalia Klimczak

Tabula Cortonensis: A 2,200-year-old Tablet with a Bronze Key to Understanding the Etruscan World

2,200 years ago, a pair of skilled Etruscan hands crafted a tablet that became a key to the language of this remarkable civilization. This unique bronze artifact is known as the Tabula Cortonensis...

The old imperial port of Rome reveals its archaeological remains.

1 May, 2016 - 01:03 Marilo

Rome Reopens its Historical Imperial Port to the Public

Roman rule meant the control of Rome on ports and marine and land trade routes. In fact, Roman maritime commercial traffic was so important that they improved and expanded existing land routes,...

Divers and marine archaeologists used high-resolution sonar systems to survey the ancient sea route and associated features.

12 September, 2015 - 21:54 Mark Miller

Researchers in Turkey identify Bronze Age sea route and ancient shipwrecks

Marine archaeologists working in the eastern Mediterranean Sea are reconstructing the facts around what they call a 5,000-year-old shipping route and shipbuilding center that have been long submerged...

The code of laws controlling and protecting the ancient Turkish city of Laodicea’s water supply were carved into this marble block.

26 August, 2015 - 14:52 Mark Miller

Marble slab inscribed with 1,900-year-old Water Law unearthed in Turkey

An ancient Roman water law inscribed in Greek on a large marble slab has been unearthed in Laodicea, Turkey, which appointed curators to oversee the city’s water supply and set fines for people who...

The remnants of a Roman street in Legio, a permanent Roman military outpost in Palestine

9 July, 2015 - 14:24 Mark Miller

Archaeologists unearth 2,000-year-old Roman Legion outpost that controlled Jewish uprisings

Rome had its hands full in Palestine in the 1 st and 2 nd centuries AD with two Jewish uprisings against Roman rule. The establishment of a Roman Legion outpost in the Galilee may have prevented the...

Some of the victims of Pompeii were sitting, some lying when the superhot gas cloud enveloped them.

25 May, 2015 - 00:48 Mark Miller

Frozen in Time: Casts of Pompeii Reveal Last Moments of Volcano Victims

The plaster casts of 86 agonized victims of the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD near Pompeii will go on exhibit May 26, 2015, in National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy. People of Pompeii, a...

Archaeologist Ivan Hristov displays the Jacuzzi heater

5 May, 2015 - 22:05 Mark Miller

Ancient Luxury Outpost with Heated Jacuzzi served Roman Emperor in Bulgaria

A highway outpost with a heated jacuzzi and swimming pool, plus a meeting place for VIPs, sits on a highway servicing a major world power. It sounds like a modern resort or hotel complex, but it was...

The trepanning of the man’s skull, the edges of which had healed, may have been to relieve pain from the deformity of his jaw.

10 April, 2015 - 01:23 Mark Miller

Medieval man with facial deformity may have had head drilled in an exorcism

A medieval or Saxon man whose skeleton was found in a Roman villa in Hampshire, England, may have been buried in the countryside because of a jaw deformity that made his community consider him...

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