Search
Search Results
Article
Reforms of Augustus
Emperor Augustus (27 BCE – 14 CE) accomplished much during his time on the Roman throne, far more than many of his successors. According to historian Mary Beard in her book SPQR, he transformed the structures of Roman Empire, including its...
Article
The Principate of Augustus
Augustus (r. 27 BCE to 14 CE), as the adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE), brought an end to the Roman Republic, and on 16 January 27 BCE, by Senatorial decree, he became the first Roman emperor. However, he would not be addressed...
Article
Ancient Christianity’s Effect on Society & Gender Roles
Christianity began as a sect of Judaism in Judea in the 1st century CE and spread to the cities of the Eastern Roman Empire and beyond. In these cities, non-Jews, Gentiles, wanted to join the movement, and these Gentile-Christians soon outnumbered...
Article
Death's Mansions: The Columbaria of Imperial Rome
A columbarium is an underground chamber, which the Romans used for preserving the ashes of the dead. During the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, hundreds of columbaria lined the consular highways leading out of Rome, although now only some two dozen...
Article
Views of the Afterlife in Roman Tombstone Inscriptions
Ancient views of the afterlife are reflected in literature, tomb inscriptions, and grave goods. Then, as now, a belief in another stage of existence after death was a shared belief by all ancient societies. Initially, the Greco-Roman Hades...
Article
J. R. Giddings' Account of the Dade Massacre of the Second Seminole War
The Dade Massacre (also given as the Dade Battle, 28 December 1835) was the opening engagement of the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) between Euro-American forces and those of the Seminole, Black Seminole, and runaway slaves who had found...
Interview
Interview: The Werewolf in the Ancient World by Daniel Ogden
In this interview, World History Encyclopedia is talking to author Daniel Ogden about his new book The Werewolf in the Ancient World. Daniel Ogden (Author): Thank you for inviting me! Kelly (WHE): Of course, we are very excited to have...
Article
Collegia, Stability and the Vox Populi
This short analysis will investigate the associations known as 'collegia' (also known as clubs, associations, companies) mentioned in the letters (10.33-34) from the Roman pro-consul Pliny to the emperor Trajan. We will determine why Trajan...
Article
Ten Juneteenth Myths
The celebration of Juneteenth – originally known as "Freedom Day" – began on 1 January 1866 in Texas and, since then, a number of myths have grown up around the event it commemorates: the issuance of General Order No. 3 in Galveston Texas...
Quiz
Government & Society in Ancient Rome
Roman Government society Consul Praetor Aedile Quaestor Censor Plebeians Patricians Equites Freedmen SPQR Tribal Assembly Centuriate Assembly The Senate The Tribune