Roman Empire News
Caligula
The Roman historian and lawyer Suetonius wrote a biography of the mad Emperor Caligula. Even as a young man, Caligula was cruel and vainglorious. His character was evident during a campaign against the Britons.On arriving at the camp. in order to show himself an active general and severe disciplinarian, he cashiered the lieutenants who came up late with the auxiliary forces from different quarters. In reviewing the army, he deprived of their companies most of the centurions of the first rank, who had now served their legal time in the wars, and some whose time would have expired in a few days, alleging against them their age and infirmity; and railing at the covetous disposition of the rest of them, he reduced the bounty due to those who had served out their time ... Though he only received the submission of Adminius, the son of Cunobeline, a British king, who being driven from his native country by his fatherm came over to him with a small body of troops, yet, as if the whole island had been surrendered to him, he dispatched magnificent letters to Rome, ordering bearers to proceed in their carriages directly up to the forum and the Sentate-house, and not to deliver the letters but to the consuls in the temple of Mars, and in the presence of a full assembly of senators. |
Catullus and the Neoteroi
Gaius Valerius Catullus lived in interesting times. Born around 84 BCE and deceased sometime after 55 BCE (both dates as best as scholars can determine), those three decades witnessed the upheaval of the Republic in a political sense. For Catullus' childhood saw the dictatorship of Sulla and its proscriptions, and ...
12 Byzantine Rulers: Part 9 - Justinian - Part 3
With the reconquest of Italy seemingly complete and the Persian threat momentarily neutralized by the plague, Justinian could at last afford to rest. But the empire's enemies were everywhere- the plague abated and a charismatic new Gothic king arose in Italy. The empire could ill afford to keep its greatest general in disgrace, and Justinian would once again turn to the man he could never quite bring himself to trust. The final decade of his life would see the fruition of his epic dreams of reconquest, as well as the restoration of the building that still stands as the greatest testament to his reign. It would be the final act of a cast of characters the likes of whom the empire would never see again. Join Lars Brownworth for the conclusion of the reign of Justinian, the last of the Roman Emperors.
12 Byzantine Rulers: Part 8 - Justinian - Part 2
With the return of relative calm after the reign's turbulent beginnings, Justinian could turn to his most ambitious project, the reconquest of the Western Empire. For this, his most cherished goal, he looked to one man, the young, promising general, Belisarius. Justinian was rewarded with unswerving loyalty and unquestioned brilliance, and yet the road to reconquest was to be a difficult and tragic one for both men. Join Lars Brownworth as the story of Justinian's reconquest of Africa and Italy unfolds.
12 Byzantine Rulers: Part 16 - Constantine XI
The 14th century was not a kind one for Byzantium. The Fourth Crusade had left it a hollow shell of itself, fatally crippled in the face of Turkish aggression. A series of forgettable rulers did what they could, but by the middle of the next century all hope was lost. Surrounded on all sides by the hostile Turks, the once vast empire had shrunk to little more than the city of Constantinople itself. Led by the indomitable Constantine XI, the Byzantines faced certain destruction and fearsome new weapons of war with dignity and courage, determined to go down fighting with heads held high. Join Lars Brownworth as he talks about the last of the Byzantine Emperors, Constantine XI whose heroic final defense of the city earned him recognition as the first Greek National Martyr.
