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Cicero & the Catiline Conspiracy
The Roman Republic was in death's throes. Within a few short years, the “dictator for life” Julius Caesar would be assassinated, and, as a result, the government would descend into chaos. The consequence of a long civil war would bring the...
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Authority in Ancient Rome: Auctoritas, Potestas, Imperium, and the Paterfamilias
Authority in ancient Rome was complex, and as one can expect from Rome, full of tradition, myth, and awareness of their own storied history. Perhaps the ultimate authority was imperium, the power to command the Roman army. Potestas was legal...
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Ten Should-Be Famous Women of Early Christianity
There were many famous women of early Christianity who made significant contributions to the development of the faith but have since been largely forgotten. Some have been canonized by the Church or recognized in other ways, but their efforts...
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Legions of Britain
After the Roman emperor Claudius (r. 41-54 CE) successfully conquered Britain in 43 CE, four legions were left there to maintain the peace: XIV Gemina, II Augusta, IX Hispana, and XX Valeria Victrix. However, by the end of the decade, XIV...
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Top 5 Roman Sites in Southern Spain
Almost 700 years of continuous Roman occupation have left impressive traces in the Spanish landscape. Spain was then known as 'Hispania' and is now a fascinating location for the archaeological traveller. The Spanish provinces were amongst...
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The Battle of Actium: Birth of an Empire
The battle of Cynoscephalae in 197 BCE concluded the Second Macedonian War (200-197 BCE) and consolidated Rome's power in the Mediterranean, finally resulting in Greece becoming a province of Rome in 146 BCE. This engagement is sometimes...
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Map of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, c. 480 CE
The disintegration of the Western Roman Empire unfolded gradually during the Migration Period (c. 400–800 CE), as waves of migrating and invading peoples reshaped Europe. After the death of Theodosius I (reign 379–395 CE), the last emperor...
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Scale Model of Augusta Emerita (Mérida, Spain)
Augusta Emerita (modern-day Mérida in Spain) was a Roman colony established by Augustus in 25 BCE. The city was the capital of the Roman province of Lusitania, and was one of the largest in Hispania with an area of over 20,000 square kilometres...
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Battle of Hydaspes mosaic
The representation of Alexander the Great, and the most emblematic scene of the Battle of Hydaspes in the triclinium floor of Medusa House. This proves to be a documentary source of enormous importance in the study of Late Antiquity elites...
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Funerary Inscription of a Child
Funerary stela of a mining boy from Hispania Citerior, 1st century CE.
National Archaeological Museum, Madrid.