Tonight in AD64 the Great Fire of Rome started
July 18, 2015
On the night of the 18th July, AD 64, in the reign of the emperor Nero, the Great Fire of Rome broke out. It raged for six days and seven nights destroying more than half of the city; many citizens were killed and many survivors lost everything.
Happy Birthday Julius Caesar! Part II
July 13, 2015
The date is not absolutely certain, and the year is subject to slight question but… happy birthday from us, nonetheless!
On this day in AD138 the Emperor Hadrian died and was succeeded by Antoninus Pius.
July 10, 2015
Coming to the throne in 117, Hadrian was the third of the so-called ‘Five Good Emperors’, who were known for their peaceful and prosperous reigns. Hadrian was also well known for his love of learning and his extensive building works; he was especially loved by the Greeks, who named him as the second founder of the city of Athens because of his many building projects there.
Livi Webster reports about her recent research trip to the British Museum
June 5, 2015
“Did you bring your own magnifying glass, or do you need to borrow one?”
On this day in AD107 Trajan celebrated his second triumph over the Dacians
May 26, 2015
What was the nature of this military success?
On this day in AD 337 Constantine the Great died
May 22, 2015
The coin shows the emperor riding a four-horse chariot with the hand of God reaching down.
On this day in AD 214 the emperor Claudius II Gothicus was born
May 10, 2015
But who was this man who ruled for just two years?
On this day in 359, the emperor Gratian was born
April 17, 2015
He reigned for eight years as junior emperor and another eight years as the senior emperor of the West. And, on the 3rd October 382, Gratian saved the Roman Empire…
A coin of Pontius Pilate for Easter
April 5, 2015
Everyone has heard of Pontius Pilate: but what do ancient sources outside the Bible tell us about him?
On this day in 302 Diocletian issued his edict on Manicheanism
March 31, 2015
But who were the Manicheans? And what did Diocletian think of them?
