There are those, again, who know it almost only through the manuals of history; that is to say, they know the dates and facts of the reigns of the emperors, but have never realised, not to say visualised, the contemporary Roman as a human being. There exist denunciations of the morals...
By the end of 204 AD, Plautianus was the source of terrible friction within the imperial family. Severus' wife Julia Domna and his brother Geta despised the prefect, and the marriage between Caracalla and Plautina was not a happy one. A plot to kill Severus was exposed by a centurion (...
One might remember that Suetonius was writing imperial biographies in the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian, some 80 years after Caligula’s death. His source material was already biased, for Suetonius was not born until 30 years after Caligula’s death. Similarly, we might view Dio with suspicion,...
Drake had been very successful in defending Protestant England against their mortal foe, Roman Catholic Spain; so it is not hard to imagine that during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James, history would have been very kind to Drake. But, England eventually fell at the feet of the ...
Trajan's reign was also notable for the inclusion of women in imperial public life. Having nochildrenof his own and a considerably small primary family, the influence of his wife and sister is perhaps unrivalled inRoman history. Unlike such previous imperial women asLivia Drusilla (wife of Augu...
This led to the Christians persecutions in the reigns of Decius and Diocletian. "Pagan Romans believed that society was protected by Pax Deorum meaning the peace or agreement with the gods. The gods protected the land and the people in return for sacrifice and worship. The Christians refused ...