Roman Empire

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...

29 November, 2018 - 13:57 Mark Miller

The Fall of Constantinople: Relentless Ottoman Fire Power Finally Pulverizes the Last Vestiges of the Roman Empire

Constantinople stood against sieges and attacks for many centuries, until finally new technology—the big cannons of the Ottoman Empire—brought down the Byzantine Empire’s capital. The fall of...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...