Roman Empire Anecdotes
Pertinax: Eighty-Seven Days Before Rome’s Imperial Auction
An experienced commander took over after Commodus’s murder. His programme for Rome soon brought him into conflict with the men guarding the throne.
Roman Empire Historical Facts
Gaius Fulvius Plautianus: The Man Who Became Almost as Powerful as the Roman Emperor
He was not an emperor, yet his wealth and influence rivalled those of Rome's rulers. How did Gaius Fulvius Plautianus rise so high, and what threatened his position?
Roman Empire Anecdotes
Petronius Probus: One of the Most Powerful Men in the Roman Empire
He was one of Rome’s wealthiest and most influential aristocrats, admired for his generosity but accused of ruthless ambition. Petronius Probus left behind two very different reputations.
Roman Empire Historical Facts
Emperor Julian the Apostate: The Philosopher Who Became Rome’s Last Pagan Emperor
He loved philosophy more than power, yet became one of Rome's most unusual emperors. Julian's ambitions would put him at odds with the world around him.
Roman Empire Historical Facts
The Battle of the Milvian Bridge: Constantine, Maxentius and the Fight for Rome
On 28 October AD 312, Constantine confronted Maxentius outside Rome in a battle that ended with a disastrous retreat toward the Tiber. Ancient accounts describe fierce fighting, broken bridges and the drowning of an emperor, but disagree over how the final moments unfolded.
Roman Empire Historical Facts
Aurelius Victor: The Roman Historian Whose Greatest Work Was Lost
Born into a modest family in Roman Africa, Sextus Aurelius Victor rose to high imperial office and wrote a history of Rome's emperors. His career, sharp observations and the mystery of his lost historical work offer a fascinating glimpse into the fourth-century Roman world.
Roman Empire Anecdotes
Maxentius: The Forgotten Emperor Behind Some of Rome’s Greatest Buildings
Maxentius ruled Rome for just six years, yet commissioned some of its most impressive monuments, including a colossal basilica, a restored temple, and an imperial complex with its own circus and mausoleum. After his defeat, several of his buildings became associated with Constantine.
Roman Empire Anecdotes
The Roman World After the Last Emperor
The last western emperor was removed in AD 476, but Roman life did not end with him. Across the former empire, new rulers inherited Roman institutions, laws and communities, reshaping them in different ways.
Roman Empire Anecdotes
How a Roman Emperor Answered His Mail
Roman emperors received petitions, reports, legal questions and requests from across the Empire. Here is how that imperial correspondence actually worked.
Roman Empire Anecdotes
Nannies of the Empire: The Wet Nurses Who Raised Roman Children
Roman wet nurses did far more than feed infants. They could shape a child’s speech, habits and earliest education, while sometimes remaining part of their lives for decades.
Roman Empire Anecdotes
Roman Astronomers: The Men Who Studied the Stars in Ancient Rome
Roman astronomy was shaped by soldiers, statesmen, poets and natural philosophers who studied eclipses, stars, planets, calendars and comets.
Roman Empire Anecdotes
The Six Men Who Said No to Roman Emperors
From Thrasea Paetus and Helvidius Priscus to Basil, Ambrose and Martin of Tours, six men were remembered for refusing imperial demands. Their stories reveal very different forms of resistance; and very different levels of historical certainty.
Roman Empire Anecdotes
Gratian: A Child on the Throne, a Soldier in the Making
Raised to the rank of Augustus at just eight years old, Gratian spent his reign trying to grow into the military and political role his father had prepared for him.
Roman Empire Historical Facts
The Roman Rudis: The Award That Ended a Gladiator’s Service
The rudis marked a gladiator’s release from compulsory service in the arena, but it did not always mean legal freedom. From training weapon to retirement award and referee’s staff, its meaning reveals much about gladiatorial careers, status and life after combat.
Roman Empire Historical Facts
Magnus Maximus: The Roman Commander Who Rose from Britain to Rule the West
A Roman commander in Britain rose to imperial power in 383, ruled from Trier, challenged the western emperors, and later survived in Welsh tradition as Maxen Wledig.
Roman Empire Historical Facts
Emperor Theodosius I. The Man who Defined Christianity and also Massacred Thousands
Theodosius I inherited an empire shaken by Adrianople and ruled through Gothic settlement, civil war, religious conflict and dynastic change. His reign became surrounded by powerful later legends, but the surviving laws, letters and histories preserve a more complicated emperor.