Showing titles in Rome

Throughout history, walls have been constructed as part of nations’ and kingdoms’ defensive structures to keep barbarian hordes, marauding rebels, and recalcitrant tribes out of defined geographic areas. The Sasanians built an impressive wall in central Asia, one that was longer than Hadrian’s Wall and by all accounts just as effective. Throughout the centuries, the Sasanian wall has gone by several different names, but it is now known as the “Great Wall of Gorgan” due to its length and location near the city of Gorgan in the modern nation-state of Iran.

Explore the most enduring empire of the ancient Near East. Few nations were able to not only parry but also defeat the mighty Roman Empire, rivaling it in almost all segments. One of those was the Parthian empire, cultural and traditional successor of the more famous Achaemenid Persian empire that was brought down by the Alexander the Great.

Claudius is particularly remembered for the conquest of Britain, as Roman power there had weakened since Julius Caesar had invaded nearly a century before. Beyond this, he established Roman colonies on the frontiers of the empire, annexed several territories in North Africa (including Thrace and Mauritania), and made Judea a province. Claudius’s rule stands out in other aspects as well. He paid great attention to Rome’s judicial system and religious policy, and the Empire’s infrastructure was improved during his reign.

A wonderful journey through the splendors of the Eternayl City: Forum Romanum, Pantheon, Baths of Caracalla, Theater of Pompey, Forum of Augustus, Colosseum and Palatine.

Possibly the most important man of antiquity, and even all of history, was Julius Caesar. Alexander Hamilton, the famous American patriot, once remarked that "the greatest man who ever lived was Julius Caesar." Such a tribute, coming from one of the Founding Fathers of the quintessential modern democracy in reference to a man who destroyed the Roman Republic, is testament to the enduring mark that Caesar left upon the world.

Les Barbares ont une drôle de réputation. Les penseurs de la Renaissance leur imputent le naufrage de la seule véritable civilisation : Rome. Les historiens du XIXe siècle leur octroient volontiers l'origine des nations européennes : les Angles n'ont-ils pas donné leur nom à l'Angleterre, les Francs à la France ?

Book 5 of Mommsen's history of the Roman Republic brings to a conclusion this most magnificent of historical narratives. It begins with the death of Sulla and ends with the accession to power of the greatest and most fascinating Roman of them all, Gaius Julius Caesar.

Servilia is often cited as one of the most influential women of the late Roman Republic. During her second marriage, she began an affair with Julius Caesar, which probably lasted for the rest of his life and is further indicative of the force of her charm and her exceptional intelligence.

The year is 104 A.D. Two years have passed since King Decebalus knelt in submission to Emperor Trajan. The recent war between Rome and Dacia was brutal and costly for both sides. The graves of many thousands lie between the River Danube and the gates of Sarmizegetusa.

Constantine the Great is a complex figure surrounded by controversies and contradictions. The sources of history left for us to read are often biased one way or the other as he is the first Christian Roman emperor. His own propaganda paints a bright picture of his actions and his personality, while on the other side, we have his political enemies who paint him in much darker colors. All of the sources available to us either fully support Constantine or are strictly against him.

One of the names most synonymous with brilliant military strategy is Hannibal. He was the legendary Carthaginian general who marched elephants over the snowy Alps and took on Rome, the growing power in Europe at the time. He outsmarted the best strategists that Rome had to offer and twice sat in front of the gates of Rome with his army. There was never any doubt that Hannibal would serve his country in the military, but no one could have predicted just how well. Even centuries later, Romans used the phrase “Hannibal’s at the gates!” as a way of indicating misfortune or fear.

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was one of the greatest Romans who ever lived. A man of constant honor, he worked side by side with Augustus and was responsible for the marble masterpieces of architecture ancient Rome is known for today. He was a consul, general, architect, and statesman and lived his life according to a strict code of conduct. If not for his early death, the people of Rome were expecting him to be their next emperor. Explore his life and regal legacy and the incredible impact one person can have on the course of a nation's history.

Trade and Taboo addresses the creation of disrepute in ancient Roman society. What made someone disreputable in the eyes of Romans, and how did this effect their everyday life? The book tracks the shifting application of stigmas of disrepute between the Republican period and the later Roman Empire (45 BCE-565 CE) by following various Roman professionals. Through the lives of funeral workers, town criers, tanners, mint workers, and even bakers, Bond asks how certain tradesmen coped with stigmatization.

In this audiobook, you will discover many fascinating aspects of the Roman gods, goddesses, and mythological creatures. Each of the first six chapters begins with a narrative scene which helps bring the legendary and mythical characters to life.

The Romans were master builders, and much of what they built has stood the test of time. Throughout their vast empire they have left grand structures, from the Forum and Pantheon in Rome to the theatres and hippodromes of North Africa and the triumphal gates in Anatolia and France. Wherever they went, the Romans built imposing structures to show their power and ability, and one of their most impressive constructions was built on the northernmost fringe of the empire.

Given how bad some of Rome's emperors were, it's a testament to just how insane and reviled Caligula was that he is still remembered nearly 2,000 years later as the epitome of everything that could be wrong with a tyrant. The Romans had high hopes for him after he succeeded Tiberius in 37 AD, and by all accounts he was a noble and just ruler during his first few months in power. But after that, he suffered some sort of mysterious illness that apparently rendered him insane.

Over 1500 years before Leonardo Da Vinci became the Renaissance Man, antiquity had its own in the form of Archimedes, one of the most famous Ancient Greeks. An engineer, mathematician, physicist, scientist and astronomer all rolled into one, Archimedes has been credited for making groundbreaking discoveries, some of which are undoubtedly fact and others that are almost certainly myth.

In almost every nativity scene today are shown three kings presenting gifts to the newborn baby Jesus, and though everyone is familiar with the three wise men, they are also some of the most mysterious characters from the Bible. According to scripture, they journeyed from an unnamed land to Bethlehem, bearing gifts for Jesus Christ, and then disappeared. They were the first Christian pilgrims, they later became the patron saints of travelers, and their image is on millions of Christmas cards.

Two thousand years ago, 967 Jewish men, women, and children reportedly took their own lives rather than surrender to the Roman army. This dramatic event, which took place on top of Masada, a barren and windswept mountain overlooking the Dead Sea, spawned a powerful story of Jewish resistance that came to symbolize the embattled modern State of Israel. Jodi Magness, an archaeologist who has excavated at Masada, explains what happened there, how we know it, and how recent developments might change understandings of the story.

Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine, Greece as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement.