The Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which followed it controlled most of the Mediterranean world for over half a millennium. That’s twice the length of the time that the United States has existed. At its height in the second century AD, Rome’s power extended from southern Scotland in the north-south to the Sahara Desert […]
How Roman Military Tactics Won Them Their Empire Read More »
On the 28th of June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Empire of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated in the streets of Sarajevo by a Serb nationalist by the name of Gavrilo Princip. A diplomatic crisis between Austria-Hungary and Serbia followed, which escalated in early August into Europe’s major powers declaring war on each other.
How Were the Leaders of WW1 Related? Read More »
Between the third century BC and the fifth century AD, the city of Alexandria, named after Alexander the Great and sitting at the mouth of the River Nile Delta in northern Egypt, was one of the greatest cities in the world. While Rome grew to become the political center of the Mediterranean world, Alexandria was
What Happened to the Lighthouse of Alexandria? Read More »
Medieval European history is full of notable characters, from Leif Erikson, the Norse explorer who discovered North America approximately 500 years before Christopher Columbus, to William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy who conquered most of Britain in the eleventh century, to Frederick Barbarossa, the German ruler who established his authority over much of Central
Why is Charlemagne Known as the Father of Europe? Read More »
Rome lasted for over 1,000 years, from around 753 BC to approximately 476 AD. At its height, the Roman Empire spanned most of Europe, from England to the eastern corners of Babylonia (modern-day Iraq). Ancient Rome has had many contributions to modern life, and we still feel the influences of their culture and methods even
The Many Amazing Inventions of Ancient Rome Read More »
On the 31st of October 1517, the Professor of Moral Theology at the University of Wittenberg, a man called Martin Luther, nailed a document to the door of All Saint’s Church in the town of Wittenberg. This document, known today as Luther’s ’95 Theses’, contained a series of arguments against the Papacy’s sale of indulgences.
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All cities have their histories, and these often blend elements of myth and reality, particularly when it comes to their earliest history and foundation. None is more elaborate than the founding of Rome. The myth says that the city was first established on a specific day, the 21st of April in 753 BC. The story
The Strange Myth of Romulus and Remus, The Founders of Rome Read More »
In the 60s BC, the Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius, later known as Pompeius Magnus or Pompey the Great, undertook a series of wars in the Eastern Mediterranean on behalf of the Roman Republic. These were famous conflicts, as Pompey won successive victories, bringing the remainder of the Seleucid Empire in Syria under Roman occupation and
The True Story of Mithridates the Great, the Poison King Read More »
Often when one reads world histories, they are confronted with a strange contradiction regarding the medieval period of European history. Readers at once believe that the Middle Ages were a long homogenous period stretching from about 500 to about 1500. During this time, European society was uniformly backward and static. But, dig down into more
Why Are the Early Middle Ages Called the Dark Ages? Read More »
We know how the Roman Republic’s war machine facilitated its rise. By the third century BC, the Roman legions were the most significant fighting force in the Mediterranean. But often less commented upon is how the political institutions of the Roman Republic allowed for the rise of the city on the Tiber to pre-eminence across
What Was a Consul During the Roman Republic? Read More »
