Potentially Interesting Roman History
Archive
12 articles
A Reader's Guide to the Historia Augusta
The second part of the Life of Marcus Aurelius, with a complete reader's guide to the text.
May 23, 2025
The House on the Hill
What's so special about the Palatine Hill? How do we understand the sprawling ruins there?
May 21, 2025
All Provinces Great and Small
A tour through the overlooked corners of the Roman world and the people who governed them.
May 19, 2025
Was Nero Mad?
Was Nero actually as mad as we are led to believe, or is it the result of propaganda?
May 14, 2025
A Reader's Guide to the Historia Augusta
The emperor who never drew a sword. How Antoninus Pius built Rome's golden age through restraint.
May 9, 2025
No Country for Young Men
Augustus was consul at 19. The minimum age was 43. Here's how the age rules worked.
May 7, 2025
Were the Vestal Virgins the First Nuns?
They both have distinctive headwear, are both sworn to chastity, and spend their lives doing religious things.
May 5, 2025
A Reader's Guide to the Historia Augusta
The life of Lucius Aelius Caesar, adopted son of Hadrian and father of Lucius Verus.
May 2, 2025
A Banquet of Gaudy Excess
The latest dispatch from the streets, kitchens, and bathhouses of the ancient world.
Apr 30, 2025
The House on the Palatine
A deeper look at the imperial residences that defined the word palace for all of Western civilisation.
Apr 28, 2025
All Roads Lead to Rome
The engineering marvel that connected an empire and changed the way humanity thought about distance.
Apr 25, 2025
The Last Days of the Republic
How the greatest political system the ancient world had known tore itself apart in a generation.
Apr 21, 2025