Throughout its long history, Rome achieved numerous military victories that allowed it to grow, expand, and dominate nearly the entire known world in Antiquity. But it also suffered defeats, and some proved especially painful due to the circumstances in which they occurred. One of them, surely among the worst due to the humiliation it entailed, […]
Ancient Rome
Posted inAncient Rome
Extreme droughts triggered the great barbarian invasion of Roman Britain in the mid-4th century AD
A study led by the University of Cambridge has revealed that a series of extreme droughts between the years 364 and 366 AD may have been a determining factor in the so-called Great Barbarian Conspiracy of the year 367, one of the most severe attacks on Roman rule in Britain since Boudica’s rebellion three centuries […]
Posted inAncient Rome, Science
Rocks Found in Iceland Explain How Late Antiquity Little Ice Age May Have Contributed to Fall of the Roman Empire
Research led by scientists at the University of Southampton, in collaboration with institutions from Canada and China, offers new evidence about the intensity and scope of the Late Antique Little Ice Age, a climatic episode that occurred in the 6th century and may have played a key role in the collapse of the Roman Empire. […]
Posted inAncient Rome
The Tarquinian Conspiracy: The Failed Attempt to Restore the Monarchy in Rome After the Republic Was Proclaimed
Ancient Rome transitioned from a monarchy to a republic in 509 B.C., after its seventh king, Tarquin the Proud, was overthrown in a palace coup triggered by his son, Sextus Tarquinius, who violated a young patrician woman named Lucretia, driving her to take her own life and unleashing widespread indignation. However, the monarchists did not […]
Posted inAncient Rome
When the Roman Empire Had Six Emperors in a Year
The Eastern Roman Empire had seven simultaneous emperors during the Middle Ages, between the years 1203 and 1204 AD. This was a record that the Byzantines set, living up to the most convoluted interpretation of their name and following the example of their Western counterparts, where similar situations occurred multiple times in antiquity. These instances […]
Posted inAncient Rome
The Tower of the Scipios, the Best-Preserved Roman Funerary Monument in Hispania
Six kilometers from Tarragona (roman Tarraco in Catalonia, Spain), next to the ancient Via Augusta, stands a stone monument that was misinterpreted for a long time: the Tower of the Scipios. The tower’s name comes from the mistaken belief that the Scipios, famous for their campaigns in the Second Punic War, had been buried here […]
Posted inAncient Greece, Ancient Rome, Art
A Study Reveals That Greek and Roman Statues Were Not Only Painted and Adorned with Textiles and Jewelry but Also Perfumed
A recent study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology has revealed a little-explored aspect of ancient art: the use of perfumes and aromatic substances in Greco-Roman sculptures. This research, led by archaeologist Cecilie Brøns, proposes a new way of understanding classical art, challenging the traditional perception of sculpture as a purely visual art form. […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Maes Titianus, the Merchant Who Organized the First Roman Expedition to China
Trade has been, since time immemorial, one of the main driving forces behind contact between civilizations. In this context, the Silk Road played a crucial role in connecting the Mediterranean world with the Far East. Among the many figures who contributed to this exchange, one of the earliest was Maes Titianus. This Macedonian merchant, of […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Quality of Life During the Roman Empire Was Higher in the Countryside Than in the Cities, According to a Bioarchaeological Analysis
A recent bioarchaeological study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports investigates the differences in lifestyle between urban and rural inhabitants of Roman Italy during the imperial period. The study, based on the analysis of skeletal remains from two distinct necropolises—one in the rural area of Contrada Nevola (Corinaldo) and the other in the […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Cincinnatus, the Dictator Who Voluntarily Renounced His Power Twice After Saving Rome
In Italy, it is not uncommon to find streets and neighborhoods named Cincinnatus, but even more familiar is the name of a city in the American state of Ohio. Although similar, these names have different origins: the U.S. city is named after The Society of Cincinnati (a society of veterans of the Revolution), while the […]
