Imperial: Did you mean...?

1. Denarius of Emperor Nero (reigned 54-68 CE) of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The silver content of the coin (fineness) is >.92. Nero’s jowly face, gazing to the right, is recognizable, but barely. This coin was clipped around the edges...

Emperor Napoleon I (r. 1804-1815) on his throne. Oil on canvas by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1806. Musée de l'Armée, Paris.

This porphyry fragment is thought to have belonged to the sarcophagus of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Great. 4th century CE. From Istanbul, in modern-day Turkey. (Museum of Archaeology, Istanbul, Turley).

Wu Zetian was born in 624 CE to a wealthy family, and her father encouraged her to learn how to read and write, as well as how to play music, the art of public speaking, and how to compose poetry, even though these skills were usually reserved...

The Imperial Cult in the Roman Empire was an important tool for the romanization of the Empire, it brought with it a sense of commonality to the provinces of the Roman world. But it proved to be incompatible with Christianity. Narration...

There were many famous women in Rome’s history from the early Kingdom of Rome through the Roman Republic but among the best known are those of the Roman Empire and, among these, the women of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty - the first dynasty...

Hadrian built himself a vast palace in the countryside, the villa Adriana in Tivoli about 30 kilometres east of Rome. It was a huge complex, designed to accommodate thousands of people. It was his administrative capital and represents his...

Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism, a new exhibition at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, explores the dynamic historical intersection of politics, religion, and art as reflected through Tibetan Buddhism. The exhibition...

Totila (birth name, Baduila-Badua r. 541-552 CE) was the last great king of the Ostrogoths in Italy. He was the nephew of the Gothic king Ildibad who was succeeded by Eraric the Rugian (d. 541 CE). The Goths of Italy felt that Eraric was...

The Holy Roman Empire officially lasted from 962 to 1806. It was one of Europe’s largest medieval and early modern states, but its power base was unstable and continually shifting. The Holy Roman Empire was not a unitary state, but a confederation...