In 207 B.C., Hannibal had been in Italy for 11 years. It had been 9 years since his stunning victory at Cannae. In that battle, he destroyed a Roman army of 80,000 men, but he was not able to get Rome to concede that the war was lost. Since Read more…
The Great Roman Fire started on the night of June 18, 64 A.D. It most likely started either in an apartment building or a shop. Poor Romans lived in multi-story apartment buildings called insulae. People cooked in their apartments. Some of the shops sold fast food or sold flammable Read more…
Rome was devastated by the Great Roman Fire on July 18, 64 A.D. It is believed to have broke out in an area of merchant shops near the Circus Maximus. It raged for six days and then reignited for three more. 71% of the city was destroyed, including Nero’s palace. Read more…
*** Take the most sensational of these facts with a grain of salt. Roman historians tended to be very anti-Nero. He was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. His father was a consul and his mother was Agrippina the Younger, sister of Caligula. Supposedly when he was born, his father said: “Nothing Read more…
Here are a few examples of how insane Nero was. He fought in the arena as a gladiator against wild animals, but they were all drugged, so he was not in any danger and could not lose. He hired a group of youths to follow him around and applaud. The Read more…
Agrippina was the wife of Emperor Claudius. She had a son named Nero from her first marriage. She was determined that her son would be the next emperor. When Claudius began to have second thoughts of his step-son succeeding him, she poisoned her husband. Before she put her plan into Read more…