Romans

History

The Punic Wars Part III | “Delenda Cartago est”

“Delenda Cartago est” (“Carthage must be destroyed”)[1] Runs of Carthage, 1897 The third stage of the Punic Wars was by far the shortest, lasting from 149–146 BCE, and was entirely fought in Africa, resulting in the destruction of Carthage. The decades following the Second Punic War saw the Carthaginians regain prosperity, while the Romans engaged in nearly continuous warfare in Spain, Gaul, and Macedonia.[2] Goldsworthy describes the war as pure… Read more

History

The Punic Wars Part II | From A (Alps) to Z (Zama)

The second great conflict between Rome and Carthage is the most well-known because of the famous Carthaginian general, Hannibal Barca. While this war, like the first Punic War, ended in victory for Rome, it is Hannibal and his elephants, crossing the Alps into Italy, which has captured people’s imaginations. After the end of the first Punic War, and after defeating the rebellious (and unpaid) mercenaries in Carthage, Hamilcar, father of… Read more

History

The Punic Wars | Part I

The Punic wars were a series of conflicts encompassing 43 years of war over more than a century, from 265 BCE to 146 BCE. They led to the Roman Republic controlling much of the Mediterranean world, to the ruin of a great North African civilization, and to many modern people speaking a Latin-based or Latin-influenced language. They occurred about 120 years before the Empire was established under Augustus Caesar in… Read more

Book Club

Book Club | February 2021: Plutarch Parallel Lives

Such, then, are the memorable things about Romulus and Theseus which I have been able to learn. And it appears, first of all, that Theseus, of his own choice, when no one compelled him, but when it was possible for him to reign without fear at Troezen as heir to no inglorious realm, of his own accord reached out after great achievements; whereas Romulus, to escape present servitude and impending… Read more

Gallery

Gallery | The Romans in North Britain: the Antonine Wall

PaulT: Antonine Wall west of Bonnybridge CC BY-SA 4.0 Ask most people what the northernmost frontier of Roman Britain was, and they would probably say it was Hadrian’s Wall. But there was, for a short time, a boundary further north: the Antonine Wall, now a World Heritage Site. This ran between the Firth of Clyde in the west and the Firth of Forth in the east. NormanEinstein: Map showing locations… Read more