Roman legion: Did you mean...?

The interiors of Roman buildings of all description were very frequently sumptuously decorated using bold colours and designs. Wall paintings, fresco and the use of stucco to create relief effects were all commonly used by...

The Huns were a nomadic tribe prominent in the 4th and 5th century whose origin is unknown but, most likely, they came from "somewhere between the eastern edge of the Altai Mountains and the Caspian Sea, roughly modern Kazakhstan" (Kelly...

Training in oratory was a crucial part of Roman education; it was associated with a young boy's transition into adult life. As Athens was considered the intellectual centre of the eastern Mediterranean, many students undertook...

To the ancient Romans, everything was imbued with a divine spirit (numen, plural: numina) which gave it life. Even supposedly inanimate objects like rocks and trees possessed a numen, a belief which no...

The toga was an item of clothing worn by men who were citizens of Rome. The toga consisted of a single length of wool cloth cut in a semicircle and wrapped around the body of the wearer without any fastenings. The Roman toga was...

The Peace of Westphalia, the name given to the multiple treaties, marked the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War. Signed on 24 October 1648, it aimed to secure political autonomy for the multitude of small states that made...

Vespasian (9-79 CE) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79 CE. Despite his low birth, he worked hard to rise through the ranks of Roman politics and eventually achieved prominence as a military commander. He...

Gaius Sallustius Crispus (86-35 BCE), better known as Sallust, was a Roman statesman and historian. He turned away from an unsuccessful career in both politics and the Roman army, choosing instead on a writing career and produced three...

The Social War (also called the Marsi War or the War of the Allies) of 91-87 BCE was the result of decades of contention between Rome and its Italian allies. Roman warfare relied heavily on the Italian allies (socii), but the Roman...

The Punic Wars were a series of conflicts fought between Carthage and Rome between 264 BCE and 146 BCE. The name Punic comes from the word Phoenician (Phoinix in the Greek, Poenus from Punicus in Latin) as applied to the citizens...