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
The third century BC saw fierce naval competition arise all across the Mediterranean. In the west, the Romans and Carthaginians struggled for control of the sea. Read more
Ancient Rome
When we think “catapult,” we imagine the types of weapons used for hurling rocks, dead plague victims, or unlucky cows against a castle. Read more
Ancient Rome
The tattered banners of Hercules fluttered in the howling wind along the Frigidus River in western Italy, hard athwart the Adriatic Sea, on the afternoon of September 6, 394 ad. Read more
Ancient Rome
Of the thousands of commanders who have served in history’s armies, why is it that only a few are remembered as great leaders of men in battle? Read more
Ancient Rome
The early years of Rome’s second war with Carthage were some of the darkest the Republic had ever known. Read more
Ancient Rome
The basic unit of the Roman army of the late Republic was the legion, derived from the Latin word legio, meaning “military levy.” Read more
Ancient Rome
Imagine a time when human knowledge of elephants was not widespread. Just think how threatening these large animals would be coming over a hillside or out of a mist during battle. Read more
Ancient Rome
In ancient Rome, politics and family were inextricably linked. The incestuous nature of the ruling Julio-Claudian dynasty was well embodied by the brief but notable career of Germanicus, who rose to the heights of power, only to be cast down by his own blood kin. Read more
Ancient Rome
With their proclivity for feats of engineering, the Romans methodically advanced their frontiers. The glory-seeking Roman generals saw a wide river, mountain chain, or expansive swath of desert as a challenge. Read more
Ancient Rome
In ad 305, there occurred an event unprecedented in the history of the Roman Empire. Emperor Diocletian voluntarily abdicated to live the simple life of a farmer on his country estate. Read more
Ancient Rome
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo was probably born between 4 bc and ad 1. His younger half-sister was first the mistress and then the consort of Gaius Caesar Germanicus, better known as the Emperor Caligula. Read more
Ancient Rome
Gisgo, a commander in the Carthaginian army, sat on his horse nervously as he waited with other members of the staff for their general, the now-famous Hannibal, to complete his final inspection. Read more
Ancient Rome
Unlike Pompey, much of Julius Caesar’s military successes in the late Roman Republic stemmed not only from his ability as a leader of men and from tactical prowess on the battlefield, but also from his understanding of the importance of military intelligence. Read more
Ancient Rome
In 150 BC a young shepherd wandered down from the hills to surrender with others of his kind to the Romans. Read more
Ancient Rome
The Carthaginian hero Hannibal Barca has long been considered to have possessed one of history’s greatest military minds. Read more
Ancient Rome
Shortly before dawn on June 3, 1098, Bohemund of Taranto, one of the leaders of the First Crusade and the survivor of many campaigns, stood in the shadow of the Tower of the Two Sisters, one of the strongest points in the defenses of the ancient city of Antioch. Read more
Ancient Rome
The gray skies of winter still shrouded the town of Vesontio on the Dubis River. To the south, when not obscured by mist and rain, rose the Jura Mountains, and beyond that the lofty peaks of the Alps and the nearest Roman Province, Gallia Cisalpina. Read more
Ancient Rome
The ancient city of Selinus, a major trading center in Cilicia, sat atop a steep outcropping of rock that rises abruptly from the edge of the Mediterranean on the southern coast of Asia Minor, now modern Turkey. Read more
Ancient Rome
In 376 AD the Goths appeared on the lower Danube frontier of the Roman Empire. They came as a whole tribe, with warriors, women and children. Read more
Ancient Rome
The Celts, like all other Indo-European peoples, originated on the steppes of Eurasia, from whence they drifted into central Europe. Read more
