Showing titles in Rome

Indulgence is at the heart of modern perceptions of eating and drinking for the ancient Romans. Of course, the history of eating and drinking for the wider population within the more than 1,000-year span of the empire was somewhat different. These feasts depicted in the images of Roman dining were relevant to only the very elite and ignore the fact that Roman society was rigidly hierarchical. What the richest ate was markedly different from the fare on offer to their slaves, and between these two extremes, there were numerous socioeconomic groups whose habits varied.

Marc Aurèle restera dans l'histoire comme un homme aux multiples facettes : l'empereur, le philosophe et le guerrier. Un homme d'exception qui gouverna l'Empire romain à son apogée, au IIe siècle de notre ère, et qui cultiva la philosophie depuis son plus jeune âge. Peut-on devenir empereur tout en étant stoïcien ?

Comment était-ce de vivre dans l'une des villes les plus puissantes et les plus animées du monde antique, une ville huit fois plus densément peuplée que l'est New York de nos jours ? Dans ce guide aussi divertissant qu'instructif, l'historien à succès Philip Matyszak nous présente différentes personnes qui ont vécu et travaillé dans la Rome antique.

The Catacombs of Rome and Paris: The History and Legacy of Europe’s Most Famous Ossuaries examines the origins of these necropolises, their development throughout the years, and the period of rediscovery that put these subterranean cemeteries on the map. You will learn about the Roman and Parisian catacombs like never before.

Rome faced many formidable enemies over the course of nearly 1,000 years, but perhaps none are as enigmatic and forgotten as King Mithridates the Great of Pontus. King Mithridates the Great of Pontus: The Life and Legacy of the Leader Who Challenged Rome During the Mithridatic Wars looks at how Mithridates and his kingdom rose in power and became one of the Roman Republic’s most legendary enemies.

Nero Claudius Caesar holds a reputation as a tyrant, a maniacal leader. Some say he may have suffered from lead poisoning and gone mad, but most historical sources quickly dismiss this excuse for his cruelty. Various historical accounts record that Nero had his own mother killed, persecuted Christians, and ordered the setting of Rome’s Great Fire. The last ruler of the Julio-Claudian dynasty is certainly one of the most infamous leaders of the Roman Empire. This brief history explores what we know about the man behind the myth and the monster within the man.

Throughout the history of the Roman Empire, many rulers held the reins of ultimate power. Some of them, like Octavian, Trajan, Hadrian, Constantine, and Marcus Aurelius, are still celebrated and considered among antiquity’s great statesmen, generals and thinkers. Conversely, the Roman Empire also had its fair share of notorious villains, from the sadistic Nero to the debauched Commodus, and all of Rome’s poor rulers pale in comparison to the record and legacy of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, a young man remembered by posterity as Caligula.

It would be hard if not outright impossible to overstate the impact Roman Emperor Constantine I had on the history of Christianity, Ancient Rome, and Europe as a whole. Best known as Constantine the Great, the kind of moniker only earned by rulers who have distinguished themselves in battle and conquest, Constantine remains an influential and controversial figure to this day. He achieved enduring fame by being the first Roman emperor to personally convert to Christianity.

The life story of Jesus of Nazareth, considered by billions of Christians to be the messiah prophesized in the Old Testament of the Bible, is perhaps the most famous in history. Described in detail in the New Testament, Jesus comes from both divine yet humble roots, born in a manger to a young woman, but in time he leads a fervent following as tales of his miracles spread across the Holy Land.

Quante volte leggiamo sui giornali che i disagi e i crimini tra le mura di casa derivano dalla crisi della famiglia, una crisi tutta moderna? Come se la famiglia fosse sempre stata un luogo di riparo, di protezione da una società ostile. Ma è davvero così? Dopo lo studio sul mondo greco di "Non sei più mio padre", Eva Cantarella ritorna sul tema centrale della famiglia e indaga le regole e la quotidianità della vita familiare nel mondo romano, per verificare attraverso le fonti l'ipotesi secondo la quale la famiglia infelice nascerebbe solo con la modernità.

In ancient Rome, the use of slave labor in all levels of society was a part of the natural order. Eventually, like with any other empire, these less fortunate individuals, who found themselves with fewer rights than even livestock, would find the courage to stand up and fight for freedom against their all-powerful masters.

En los Idus de marzo del 44 a.C., Julio César fue asesinado. Su muerte, señalada por la erupción de un volcán y la aparición de un cometa, dio origen al periodo más convulso y al mismo tiempo decisivo de la historia de Roma. En él se sucedieron guerras, cambios revolucionarios y grandes traiciones.

It is the translation of the famous book written by an officer of Julius Caesar that tells us about the war in Alexandria of 47 BC, and other episodes that happened immediately after the battle of Farsalo. The book belongs to the series of books that tell of Julius Caesar's wars.

¿Sabías que Esquilo tuvo la muerte más tonta de la Historia, que la lengua de Cicerón acabó colgada en el Foro de Roma, que Dante se dormía en mitad de una frase y Maquiavelo no era tan «maquiavélico»? Pero aquí no acaban las jugosas historias de los grandes maestros de la literatura.

When people think of ancient Italy, the Romans are usually the first and last people who come to mind, but long before Rome was built by Latin-speaking people, the culture of Italy was dominated by the Etruscans. Although the Etruscans may not comprise the core of most histories of the ancient Mediterranean, they exerted a profound influence on the region from the eighth to fifth centuries BCE that continued to resonate for centuries after as the Romans carried on many of their traditions.

The 50 years following the assassination of Severus Alexander on March 19, 235 CE has been generally regarded by academics as one of the lowest points in the history of the Roman Empire. In stark contrast to the previous 150 years, which included the reigns of the Five Good Emperors and has been universally praised as one of the high points of the empire. Many historians have debated how the Roman Empire managed to survive in any form at all, let alone remain robust enough to allow Diocletian and his successors to restore it.

Julius Caesar is quite an enigmatic figure to contemplate. He is often viewed as an upholder of liberty, the hero of the Roman Republic, but in truth he died a dictator. In another strange turn of events his assassins were those that he had granted full pardons to in his famous acts of clemency. Caesar was a man who was often found to be a polarizing figure. He was loved by the general public but hated by his peers in the Senate.

The Roman Republic’s development from a city state into a world power that controlled large swathes of modern Italy, Gaul, and Spain, as well as other parts of Europe is seen by many as being the direct result of Roman fear of the “Celtic Threat.” The sacking of Rome by the Gauls in 386 BC became indelibly imprinted into the Roman psyche, and with this fear came a desire to put as much distance as possible between the city of Rome and any potential enemy.

While names like Nero, Caligula, Hadrian, and Constantine grab all the attention with their exploits, Marcus Aurelius tends to sit more in the historical background of the Roman Empire. In many ways, he is a lesser known emperor even though his written works have stood the test of time. Marcus, a prolific writer and formidable scholar, was perhaps the first to fulfill Plato’s dream of the philosopher king.

The Roman Republic’s development from a city state into a world power that controlled large swathes of modern Italy, Gaul, and Spain, as well as other parts of Europe is seen by many as being the direct result of Roman fear of the “Celtic Threat”. The sacking of Rome by the Gauls in 386 BCE became indelibly imprinted into the Roman psyche, and with this fear came a desire to put as much distance as possible between the city of Rome and any potential enemy. The result was the gradual acquisition of buffer zones that became provinces of an empire that grew.