Ancient Rome
Briton Warrior Queen Boudicca
By Ludwig Heinrich DyckThe lash bit into the flesh of the woman’s back, beaten raw by metal balls tied into the ends of leather thongs. Read more
Ancient Rome
The Roman Empire, which at times included much of the known world, came into being following the five centuries of the Republican period in the history of Rome. The Roman Empire was founded in 27 B.C. and existed as a unified entity until approximately A.D. 480. During this period, the Roman Empire extended from the Middle East to the British Isles. The Roman Empire is remembered for its influence of language, law, military operations, and culture. The Roman Empire was ruled by a succession of emperors, and a 200-year period of peace that began with the reign of Caesar Augustus is known today as the “Pax Romana.”
Ancient Rome
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
By Ludwig Heinrich DyckGnaeus Pompey was one of the pivotal Roman leaders during the last decades of the Republic. He was born into an old and wealthy provincial family from Picenum on September 29, 106 BC. Read more
Ancient Rome
Roman Disaster at Carrhae
By Ludwig Heinrich DyckGigantic clouds of dust rose from the sun-baked plain. The ground shook under the hoofs of thousands of cavalry. Read more
Ancient Rome
Roman Revenge at Aquae Sextiae
By John E. SpindlerIn the evening hours on a midsummer day in 102 bc, Roman Consul Gaius Marius decided that tomorrow was to be the day to confront the barbarians. Read more
Ancient Rome
The First Punic War’s Mortal Enemies: The Romans Versus Carthage
By Ludwig H. DyckThe huge gangplank dangled in the air, suspended by a rope and pulley from a massive pole standing upright in the bow of the Roman galley. Read more
Ancient Rome
Roman General Sulla
By Peter L. BoornWhen Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix was governor of Cilicia in 95 bc, he received an embassy from the Parthians. Read more
Ancient Rome
Slaughter at the Battle of Cannae
By Christopher MiskimonLong ranks of Carthaginian infantry stood on a dusty plain a few miles east of the ruined town of Cannae on August 2, 216 bc. Read more
Ancient Rome
Roman Army Pluck at the Battle of Pydna
By Tim MillerWhat began as a polite truce between armies that allowed each to draw water from the same river turned into the battle that would give Greece to Rome. Read more
Ancient Rome
Mark Antony’s Roman Navy: Clash at Actium & the Ionian Sea
By Joesph HorodyskiJulius Caesar’s assassination on the ides of March, 44 bc left Rome without a clear and decisive leader. Read more
Ancient Rome
Bloody Clash on the Tiber
By Tim MillerOn October 28, ad 312, a Roman emperor was drowning. The sight must have amazed his soldiers. All summer Rome had been filled with rumors of the western emperor, Constantine, and the ease with which he and his army had crossed the Alps and, once on Italian soil, strung together a handful of victories in the north. Read more
Ancient Rome
The Fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE: A Story of Roman Revenge
By Tim MillerAfter a summer of starvation and siege had been imposed on the city’s people during the fall of Jerusalem, the great Second Temple was finally on fire. Read more
Ancient Rome
The Roman Gladius
By Gabriele EspositoFew weapons in world history have had such great tactical importance as the Roman gladius. To understand the importance this short sword had on the battlefields of antiquity, it is best to start with the Roman historian Livy. Read more
Ancient Rome
Rome Avenged: Hannibal in Italy
By Eric NiderostTwo Generals met in the Fall of 202 BC in a last-ditch attempt to secure a mutually agreeable peace between their respective nations. Read more
Ancient Rome
Teutonic Fury
By Ludwig Heinrich DyckAs part of tribal obligations to appease Rome, Segimer, the powerful Cherusci chief, surrendered his sons Arminius and Flavus to the Roman emperor Augustus. Read more
Ancient Rome
Narses the Eunuch
By Peter L. BoornOn January 18, ad 532, a 54-year-old eunuch by the name of Narses, described by Agathias, a contemporary chronicler, as “small in stature and of abnormal thinness,” entered alone into the Hippodrome of Constantinople carrying a bag of gold. Read more
