Opinion
The past reveals successful systems for civilization survival.
Roman Empire News
Palace plots, chariot races and spectacularly bad decisions: our countdown ranks ten Roman series for your next binge, from gritty drama to irreverent comedy.
Roman Empire News
Ancient DNA from four of seven men buried at Roman Mursa shows varied ancestry. Bone wounds point to violence, while the burial’s exact cause remains uncertain.
Roman justice was never equal. From trials in the forum to brutal punishments like crucifixion and exile, the law upheld social order through fear and spectacle. This article explores how crime and punishment shaped power in the empire.
A boy-emperor draped in silk and scandal, Elagabalus shook the Roman world with rituals, rumors, and rebellion. His brief reign remains one of the Empire’s most controversial and enigmatic chapters.
Salt and salary are often linked to Roman soldiers, but historical records reveal a different understanding of military pay in ancient Rome.
The Roman passion for red mullet drove them to pay fortunes to have this delicacy on their tables.
As the Severan dynasty rose to prominence, the two brothers were groomed to jointly inherit their father’s empire. Despite their shared upbringing, their differences—both personal and political—were stark and irreconcilable.
Anecdotes, historical facts, fictional stories and news curated from a small team of human writers, fascinated with Ancient Rome and its myriad myths and legends.
A brooch and pottery near Kapersburg's Roman temple may point to later use of the site. New research adds context to the changing German frontier.
Horace rose from the son of a freedman to one of Rome’s most celebrated poets, writing about friendship, wine, ambition, ageing and the difficult art of knowing when enough was enough.
Four scent stations and three modern products reveal how the Glyptotek and Karmameju interpret Roman fragrance, from ancient texts to a sealed perfume flask.
A study of Doclea’s forum and basilica in Montenegro places their main construction in the first century CE, before later work in Diocletian’s era.
Three late-antique rooms with mosaic and marble floors accompany newly reported wall paintings around Smyrna’s agora and theater in modern İzmir.
A novice gladiator known from Pompeian graffiti, Marcus Attilius won two remarkable bouts against far more experienced fighters.
A pink Tiberius, surviving tunics and imperial boots anchor the Glyptotek’s new exhibition on how Romans used appearance to present authority.
An inscribed slab found in place at Hadrian’s Villa points to a Roman lightning rite. Its ancient parallels show what the evidence can – and cannot – tell us.
A study of two painted tombs at Tarquinia combines acoustic measurements and AI models to test how their spaces may have guided ancient visitors.
Born an Aemilius and adopted into the house of Scipio, Scipio Aemilianus built his reputation in Spain before becoming the conqueror of Carthage and Numantia.
Cato layered grain dough with fresh cheese centuries before macaroni and cheese. His Roman recipes reveal a surprising backstory, with important differences.
Rome’s colonies were more than new towns. They redistributed land, strengthened control and changed the balance between settlers and existing communities.
