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Sejanus' Fall...Tiberius soon grew suspicious of his minister's ambitions... he acted slyly: he began promising Sejanus even greater honours, and probably also allowed him to marry Livilla; in the meantime, he began showing indirectly that the praefect had lost his favour. For example, he left the consulship in May and forced Sejanus to do the same; he began criticizing some of Sejanus' friends while praising others; and in his letters to the Senate, he stopped including Sejanus' titles. He began showing affection for his nephews Gaius (better known as Caligula), the last surviving son of Germanicus, and Tiberius Gemellus, Drusus'...

On the occasion of the reopening of the Domus Tiberiana (Palace of Tiberius), we will take an in-depth look at the palace as a whole and its chronology. We also examine the rich artifact collection in the new museum spaces that document life in the palace. We will also identify the preserved frescoes on site. For an additional tour, please see @DariusArya's tour on opening day! And have a good look at our original Palatine hill model (by animator Andrea Troiani).The Domus Tiberiana: Palace of Tiberius | 10:19Ancient Rome Live | 44.3K subscribers | 44,598 views | September 26, 2023

Donald Trump’s indictment makes one wonder if the members of the Democrat party have ever picked up a history book, walked by one in a library, or accidentally heard an episode of the History of Rome podcast. I doubt it because if they had, they’d know that Rome didn’t transition from a republic to an empire overnight, and they’d be familiar with the modern iteration of the George Santayana adage: Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.By the time Caesar became dictator in 49 BC, the Republic was already gone in everything but name only. The...

Donald Trump’s indictment makes one wonder if the members of the Democrat party have ever picked up a history book, walked by one in a library, or accidentally heard an episode of the History of Rome podcast. I doubt it because if they had, they’d know that Rome didn’t transition from a republic to an empire overnight, and they’d be familiar with the modern iteration of the George Santayana adage: Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. By the time Caesar became dictator in 49 BC, the Republic was already gone in everything but name only....

THE VILLA OF TIBERIUS IS A ROMAN VILLA COMPLEX IN THE PRESENT-DAY TOWN OF SPERLONGA, LOCATED ON THE WESTERN COAST OF ITALY IN THE PROVINCE OF LATINA. The villa was first constructed during the Late Republican Era around 30 to 20 BC near to a large sea opening or grotto, for which “Spelunca” (Latin for cave or grotto) was named. Emperor Tiberius expanded the site during the 1st century AD to serve as his own personal retreat, enhanced with a gymnasium, Roman baths, terraces, private moorings, and several pools fed by natural springs and salt water from a coastal lake.

Researchers at McGill University have developed the strongest and toughest glass ever known. Inspired, in part, by the inner layer of mollusk shells, this glass does not shatter when hit, and acts more like plastic. The material, once commercially viable, could be used to improve cell phone screens, among other applications in the future. Interestingly, this may be an example of modern science rediscovering an old technology, now long lost. Apparently, a form of flexible glass existed during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar. So the story goes, as told by Petronius, a glassmaker brought a drinking bowl...

Shiny nacre of Abalone washed ashore. Strongest and toughest glass known developed by McGill University scientists. Scientists from McGill University develop stronger and tougher glass, inspired by the inner layer of mollusk shells. Instead of shattering upon impact, the new material has the resiliency of plastic and could be used to improve cell phone screens in the future, among other applications. While techniques like tempering and laminating can help reinforce glass, they are costly and no longer work once the surface is damaged. “Until now there were trade-offs between high strength, toughness, and transparency. Our new material is not only...

Over the course of this day in 31, Lucius Aelius Seianus went from virtual master of the Roman Empire to strangulation at the order of the Senate. Known simply as Sejanus, he was of equestrian stock who rose to prefect the Praetorian Guard when Tiberius succeeded Augustus as Rome’s first citizen. It was not yet the “infamous Praetorian Guard”. Sejanus would make it so: his were the institutional aggrandizement — long outliving Sejanus — that would position the Guard to arbitrate imperial succession; his the persecutorial internal policing that made it a swords-and-sandals Gestapo.

The Fezzan is an area of approximately 212,000 square miles of unforgiving desert and valleys. Situated in the south west of modern day Libya it’s not an area you’d easily traverse, let alone live in. Yet in the 1st millennium BCE a people did exactly that. They created art, irrigated the baked earth and sustained a culture. One of the earliest surviving references to the Garamantes is found in Herodotus’ Histories, written in the 5th century BCE[1]. Herodotus’ description was contradictory, they had no weapons, but they hunted a cave dwelling tribe nearby using chariots. He also went on to...

Much of the scholarly discussion about the circumstances of JesusÂ’ death relates to the question of who was responsible for his arrest and crucifixion.Who was responsible? The Jews or the Romans?Historically, the primary responsibility has been placed on the Jewish leadership and the Jews in Jerusalem. Throughout the centuries, this has sometimes had tragic consequences, resulting in anti-Semitism and violence against Jews.More recent trends in scholarship have shifted the blame to the Romans.The tendency to blame the Jews, it is said, arose in the decades after the crucifixion with the churchÂ’s growing conflict with the synagogue and its desire to...

Not long ago, certainly within the last couple of years, I yielded to the urge to start a squib when the US senate punted another enumerated power to president Obama. It might have been the power of the purse or maybe the treaty power, but in any event, I opened Tacitus’ (55-117AD) Annals, and tapped out a few notes below. Throughout the imperial period, Roman emperors kept up the façade of republicanism. They pretended to consult the senate and be guided by its votes. The senate in turn, pretended it had a will of its own. If men are willing...

PONTIUS PILATEHis name provides two valuable clues to his background and ancestry. The family name, Pontius was that of a prominent clan among the Samnites, hill cousins of the Latin Romans. They had almost conquered Rome in several fierce wars. The Pontii were of noble blood, but when Rome finally absorbed the Samnites, their aristocracy was demoted to the Roman equestrian or middle-class order, rather than the senatorial order. It is Pilate’s personal name Pilatus that proves almost conclusively that he was of Samnite origin. Pilatus means “armed-with-a-javelin”. The pilum or javelin was six feet long, half wooden and...

Buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, an over-life-size bronze portrait of Tiberius (ruled A.D. 14–37) was discovered in 1741, during the first years of excavation at Herculaneum. On loan from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples, this statue is the subject of the exhibitionTiberius: Portrait of an Emperor, on view at the Getty Villa October 16, 2013 through March 3, 2014. Brought to the Getty Villa for conservation and analysis last October, the sculpture provides an opportunity to re-examine the career and character of Rome’s second emperor. The exhibition has been co-organized by the J. Paul Getty...

Sept. 28, 2009 -- A number of ancient Roman statues might lie beneath the turquoise waters of the Blue Grotto on the island of Capri in southern Italy, according to an underwater survey of the sea cave. Dating to the 1st century A.D., the cave was used as a swimming pool by the Emperor Tiberius (42 B.C. - 37 A.D.), and the statues are probably depictions of sea gods. "A preliminary underwater investigation has revealed several statue bases which might possibly hint to sculptures lying nearby," Rosalba Giugni, president of the environmentalist association, Marevivo, told Discovery News. Carried out in...

George Baker - who rose to fame in 'The Dam Busters', was adored by millions as Inspector Wexford, and even had a dalliance with Brigitte Bardot - had the luck of the Bulgarians, says Robbie Collin It takes a great deal of talent, and no short supply of luck, for an actor to find a role for which he will not just be remembered, but celebrated. George Baker found himself two. It’s hard to imagine two characters more different from each other than the rumpled, kindly Chief Inspector Reg Wexford from The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, and the corrupt, embittered Tiberius...

Many comparisons have been made between the Roman Empire and the United States.  The Roman Empire was the most powerful civilization on Earth.  Similarly, the United States, for now, is the sole remaining superpower.  However, with the good comes the bad and the decline and fall of the Roman Empire has been compared to the decline and pending fall of the United States. We often forget the fact that the Roman Empire was preceded for 450 years by the Roman Republic, which arose in 509 B.C. with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy.  Of course, there's an interesting correlation with...

I used to do two series of threads. One was about politics and government in the Greco-Roman civilization, and the other was my own columns. Here's a list of them: Ancient Politics and Government The Athenian Constitution, Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five by Aristotle Chapter One of Polybius and the Founding Fathers by Marshall Davies Lloyd Deeds of Augustus by Caesar Augustus Cicero by Plutarch The Conspiracy of Catiline by Sallust Lives of the Twelve Caesars by Suetonius JuliusAugustusTiberiusCaligulaClaudiusNeroGalbaOtho The American Constitutionalist-In Defense of "Underage" Drinking -Anarchy vs. the Right to Life -Calling a...

Persecution? Posted: October 10, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com David Limbaugh has written an amazing book about Christian persecution – not in Sudan, not in China, but right here in the United States. It begins with the story of a judge threatening students in a public high school with arrest and incarceration for six months if they dare mention the name of Jesus. And the horror stories of anti-Christian bias, censorship and official intimidation continue throughout in his best-selling "Persecution." I had the pleasure of interviewing the WorldNetDaily columnist and author on my radio program yesterday. He explained...