The History of Rome

The history of The History of Rome...Why the Western Empire Fell when it did...Some thoughts on the future...Thank you, goodnight.   ...

In 468 the two halves of the Empire combined forces to dislodge the Vandals from North Africa.They failed spectacularly. ...

In the late 420s AD, the Roman General Flavius Aetius connived and backstabbed his way up the chain of command.  ...

Following the death of Eudoxia, the Praetorian Prefect Anthemius took control of the Eastern Empire and ran it wisely for the next decade. Meanwhile in the West, anti-barbarian policies will lead to t...

In 392 Valentinian II was found hanged in his bedchamber, paving the way for another Roman Civil War. ...

In 375 the Huns exploded into Gothic territory, sending refugees fleeing for the saftey of the Roman Empire....

Jovian extracted the Roman legions from the east at a heavy price. He then ruled the Empire for eight months before suddenly dying on his way to Constantinople in early 364....

Constantine and Licinius split up the Empire following the death of Maximinus Daia in 313. It did not take long for relations betweent the two Emperors to turn sour....

In 303 AD Diocletian initiated the last and greatest of the Christian persecutions....

Immediatly after becoming the undisputed Emperor in 285, Diocletian elevated Maximian to serve as his Imperial colleague....

The Crisis of the Third Century finally ended with the mini dynasty of Carus and his two sons. In 284 Diocletian rose to power, ushering in a new age in Roman history....

Claudius Gothicus became Emperor in 268 and promptly lead the legions to victories against the Goths and the Alamanni. Unfortunately he died before he was able to reunify the Empire....

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In 249 AD Decius ousted Philip the Arab and ascended to the Imperial throne. Two years later though, Decius was dead after leading the legions to a massive defeat at the hands of the Goths.  ...

Alexander was only 13 when he ascended to the throne in 222. With the help of his mother and a few key advisers, he managed to avoid being the kind of disaster that previous teenage Emperors had been....

Carcalla was killed by his Praetorian Prefect Macrinus in 217 AD. Macrinus then spent a troubled year as Emperor before the House of Severus came back to challenge his rule....

Commodus went off the deep end around 190 AD and was finally killed by his inner circle in 192. ...

The Romans fought a series of campaigns against a coalition of German tribes from 167-175. They were on the verge of total victory when news arrived of a rebellion in the east....

Marcus Aurelius was destined to become Emperor, but his insistence that Lucius Verus share the honor came as a surprise to everyone.  ...

With Roman education leaving much to be desired, many citizens found enlightenment in the eastern mystery cults or Greek philosophy....

Domitian attempted to emulate Augustus, but his heavy-handed treatment of the Senate earned him many enemies. Meanwhile, his focus on frontier defense brought charges of cowardice and his treaty with ...

Galba's refusal to pay off the Praetorian Guard came back to haunt him when Otho looked for accomplices to aid in his assassination plot early in 69 AD....

The personalities of each of the men who vied for the throne in 69 AD had a major impact on how events unfolded....

Between 58 and 63 AD Rome dealt with a major conflict over the Kingdom of Armenia and a revolt in Britain led by the warrior Queen Boudica....

Augustus promoted his steps sons Tiberius and Drusus to high office long before they were technically eligible. He hoped they would share power with him until Gaius and Lucius Caesar came of age, but ...

Caesar took the overland route back from Egypt back to Rome and along the way pacified what little resistance he came across. After a brief stay in Italy he sailed for North Africa where he defeated t...

Sulla returned from the east and after winning a short Civil War was made Dictator for Life. After purging his enemies and reorganizing the consitution he inexplicably stepped down in 80 BC....

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Cincinnatus was famously appointed dictator of Rome in 458 BC and then resigned soon after, securing his place in history as a paradigm of republican virtue....

The monarchy had been overthrown and the Roman Republic was now established. Despite the appearance of a free democratic republic, the Romans were beset with economic and political divisions that thre...