UNRV Ancient Roman Empire History

Flavian Dynasty As Galba struggled to secure order and support in the west, the governors in the east, including Vespasian, at first offered loyalty to the successive Neronian replacements, but soon began to formulate their own imperial dreams. As Galba fell to Otho, and then Otho to Vitellius, over a period of little more than [...]

Vespasian Born in AD 9, near the end of the reign of Augustus, Titus Flavius Vespasianus was raised an equestrian in the turbulent political environment of Tiberius? reign. Perhaps his youthful exposure to the Senatorial purgings of both Sejanus and Tiberius would help make Vespasian into the great stabilizer that he would become….

Year of the Four Emperors The end of Nero?s reign, resulting from his extravagances and paranoid arrests, differed from the violent end of Caligula?s reign in that there was no method of succession in place. While Claudius was certainly an unwanted choice by the Senate to replace Caligula, he did fill the role in a [...]

The Battle That Stopped Rome by Peter S. Wells Book Reviewed by Forum member Virgil61 In the “Battle that Stopped Rome” Professor Peter Wells brings to light discoveries in the recent find of one of the most famous and influential battles of the ancient world known as the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. This should be [...]

A new ‘epic’ mini-series premiered Tuesday June 28, 2005 on ABC Television in the US. Amid speculation of huge budget overruns and potential scrapping of the project… the series, along with ‘Rome’ due for a fall release on HBO/BBC, has created a stir among Romanophiles everywhere. While historically, there are elements which stray from accuracy, [...]

Truceless War Article submitted by community member ‘Hamilcar Barca’ The bloody conflict known as The Truceless War 241BC-237BC, fought between Carthage and it’s mercenary armies following the first Punic War is one of the lesser known conflicts fought in the ancient world, mainly on behalf of the fact that all Carthaginian accounts were likely destroyed [...]

Fall of the Julio-Claudians Towards the end of Nero?s tumultuous reign (AD 65 ? 68) things continued to spiral out of control. His excesses in Greece, performing as a singer and as an athlete in the Olympic games, were an embarrassment to Roman sensibilities, but Nero persisted, seemingly oblivious. He was not, however, completely detached [...]

Nero and the Christians During and after the revolt of Boudicca, Nero continued with his own extravagance in Rome and surrounding cities. Eventually performing on stage as both singer and actor, he indulged his artistic personality while earning the scorn and disrespect of elite society….

Defeat of Boudicca After leaving the towns of Londinium and Verulamium unchallenged to Boudicca?s rebel army, Suetonius prepared his terribly outmanned force in the forest of the midlands. (Ancient sources give estimates as greatly divergent as 200,000 to 10,000, but this is most assuredly wild propaganda on the part of Tacitus and Dio Cassius.) However, [...]

Rise of Scipio and the Fall of New Carthage Article contribution by forum member ‘Scanderbeg’ After the disaster that had struck the Romans, under the command of the Scipio’s, in 211 in Spain the remaining Roman armies had dispersed north of the Ebro. Under the command of Lucius Marcius, the self-appointed “propreator”, the Carthagenians suffered [...]

Armenia The ancient region of Armenia occupied the bulk of the lower Caucasus mountain region, east of modern Turkey, between the Black and Caspian Seas. Its harsh environment also provided excellent natural resources such as grapes, tobacco and native fruits. Gold, silver, iron, granite and marble were also mined in abundance. While the area is [...]

Boudicca’s Revolt After the rape of her daughters, her own lashing and the outright theft of Iceni lands at their Roman masters, Boudicca inspired an army of some 100,000 to break out from their oppressive yolk. Perhaps a more important factor, however, than any leadership qualities of the Iceni Queen, or feelings of vengeance among [...]

Bithynia The ancient province of Bithynia, corresponding roughly to central-northern Turkey, was situated on a fertile plain between Asia Minor in the west, the mountains of Galatia in the South, Pontus to the East and the Black Sea to the North. Nestled in a crossroads of trade, Bithynia flourished for centuries and was highly prized….