On this day in AD 4 Augustus organised the imperial succession
June 26, 2016
Tiberius was very much Augustus’ reserve choice for the succession…
On this day in AD392 the Roman emperor Valentinian II was found dead in Vienna
May 15, 2016
Text by Juliet O’Brien Valentinian II was born to Valentinian I, the western Roman emperor (r. 364-375), and his second wife Justina in 371. His birth name was Flavius Valentinianus. The elder Valentinian died in late 375 during a campaign in Pannonia against the Quadi. Despite being the younger son (Valentinian I had an elder …
On this day 1778 Joseph Addison’s play Cato: A Tragedy was performed to the American Continental army encamped in Valley Forge
May 4, 2016
Text by Gary Fisher The long winter of 1777 – 1778 which George Washington’s Continental army spent encamped in Valley Forge has entered into American folklore as the lowest point of the revolution with over 2,500 of Washington’s 12,000 soldiers dying of exposure, disease, and starvation, prompting Gouverneur Morris to describe the struggling revolutionaries as …
On this day in 43 BC the battle of Mutina was fought between Mark Antony and Octavian.
April 21, 2016
Text by Harry Tanton Image by Sarah Jordan Following the assassination of Julius Caesar in March 44 BC, Antony had assumed the leadership of the Caesarean party due to his friendship with the dictator. But he was directly challenged for this position by Octavian, who had been adopted by Caesar in his will and became …
On this day in AD 69 the Roman emperor, Otho, died by his own hand in Rome
April 16, 2016
Text by Mike Welbourn He was born Marcus Salvius Otho at Ferentium (modern-day Ferento) in Etruria on 28 April, 32. His family was one of the leading clans of the town and were apparently descendents of Etruscan royalty. Otho’s father, Lucius, seems to have been a courtier and close ally of both Tiberius and Claudius. …
On this day in AD217 the Roman emperor Caracalla was assassinated near the city of Carrhae
April 8, 2016
Text by Mike Welbourn Image Mint Imperials Caracalla was born in Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon in France) on 4 April, 188. His father was the emperor Septimius Severus, his mother was the empress Julia Domna. Caracalla’s birth name was Lucius Septimius Bassianus. In 193 his father declared himself emperor after the murder of Pertinax and …
On this day in AD 193 the Roman emperor Pertinax was assassinated at Rome
March 28, 2016
Text by Benedict Segal Publius Helvius Pertinax was born at Alba Pompeia in Liguria on 1 August, 126 the son of Helvius Successus, a man of humble origins who may have been a freedman. His mother’s identity is unknown. Pertinax received a basic Roman education, which led him initially to become a teacher before joining …
On this day in AD 101 the Roman emperor Trajan set out from Rome against the Dacians
March 25, 2016
Text by Michael Wuk Since the final days of the Republic, the Dacians had been perceived as a potential threat by Rome, and consequently they had been the focus of a number of military campaigns. According to Suetonius, Julius Caesar planned to subdue the Getae, as the Dacians were also known, and Augustus sent out …
On this day in AD 161, the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius died
March 7, 2016
Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus was born on 19 September, 86 on the family estate at Lanuvium, in Italy. However, his family came originally from Nemausus (modern-day Nîmes) in the province of Transalpine Gaul.
On this day in AD 303 the so-called “Great Persecution” of Christians within the Roman Empire began
February 24, 2016
If the ancient sources can be believed, the followers of Christ suffered greatly from the end of the second century AD onwards, when prominent ecclesiastical scholars such as Tertullian began to propagate their interpretations of scripture and argue against participation in imperial pagan ceremonies, resulting in some Christians being forced out of certain social, political and military institutions.
