The Roman historian Livy wrote about Hannibal. One of Hannibal's coins shows a man riding an elephant. When did Livy live? Livy was a Roman historian who was born in northern Italy about 59 BC, in the Late Republic, when Julius Caesar was just beginning his career. More about the Late Republic More Latin literature All our [...]
The Roman emperor Claudius (died 54 AD) Claudius's family Claudius was born in 10 BC in the city of Lugdunum in Gaul (modern Lyons, France). His mother was Antonia Minor, Mark Anthony's youngest daughter with Octavia, and his father was Drusus, Tiberius' younger brother. Who was Mark Anthony? Who was Tiberius? Julio-Claudian emperors All our Ancient Rome [...]
The Roman emperor Caligula Why was his nickname Caligula? Caligula's real name was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (after his ancestors Julius Caesar and Augustus). But everyone called him Caligula because when he was a little boy he lived in military camps where his father was the general. In the camps, he wore [...]
Agrippina the Younger. 49-50 AD. Now in Milan, in the Civic Archaeological MuseumA Who was Agrippina the Younger? Agrippina the Younger was Caligula's oldest sister, so like him she was the daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, and she was a great-granddaughter of Augustus. Who was Caligula? The early Julio-Claudians All our Ancient [...]
Oldest known portrait of Paul (catacomb of Thecla, Rome, 300s AD) Paul starts out as Saul Saul was a Jewish man who converted to Christianity near the very beginning of the new religion. After he converted, he took the Christian name Paul. Judaism in the time of Jesus More about Christianity Roman Empire articles Paul preaches [...]
