HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: Home of Britain’s bestselling history magazine and award-winning podcast
date: 2025-12-22T12:07:28.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Think you know everything about ancient Rome? These 25 facts will prove otherwise
items: Rome's worst nightmare: the story of Spartacus
items: Blood, guts and spectacle: 6 shocking events from the history of ancient Roman gladiators
items: What gladiator would you be?
items: What were the lives of gladiators like in ancient Rome?
items: Bread and circuses: what happened in the amphitheatres of the Roman empire?
items: Who were the gladiators of ancient Rome? Plus Spartacus, Crixus and 8 more fighters you should know
items: From the handshake to the high-five: a brief history of gestures
items: 6 things you (probably) didn’t know about animals in ancient Rome
items: Ye olde travel guide: Rome 192 AD

Think you know everything about ancient Rome? These 25 facts will prove otherwise
type: item
date: 2025-11-28T13:02:32.000Z
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Death
subject: Gladiators
subject: Life in ancient Rome
subject: Roman rulers
description: Edward J Watts, author of The Romans: A 2,000-Year History, shares 25 things you need to know about one of the greatest civilisations of the ancient world – from their incredible feats of engineering to their sporting spectacles
encoded: 1. The Romans lived in an independent state for more than 2,200 years According to tradition, Rome was founded in 753 BC, shortly after the beginning of the Italian Iron Age. Its inhabitants were Latin-speaking pagans who lived along the river Tiber in what is now central Italy. The empire of Trebizond, the last independent Roman kingdom descended from that state, was captured in 1461 by an Ottoman army equipped with gunpowder weapons. The people living in Trebizond also called themselves ‘Roman’, but they were Christians who lived in a city on the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey and spoke a language they called Romeika (which translates as 'Roman', but which we now call Greek). 2. The Roman empire once included all, or part of, nearly 50 countries At the empire’s greatest extent in AD 117, Roman territory stretched from what is now the Atlantic coast of Portugal to the Persian Gulf beaches in Kuwait, from southern Egypt near the current Sudanese border to northern England, and from just south of Casablanca in Morocco to the Caspian Sea shores of Azerbaijan. The land area of the Roman empire was smaller than Australia, but if one included the territorial waters controlled by Rome (as is customary with modern states) the empire would rank as the fifth-largest country on earth if it existed today. 3. As much as one-third of the world’s population lived under Roman control Late during the reign of the emperor Trajan (ruled AD 98–117), it is thought that the Roman empire reached a population of 80 million, out of a total world population of around 230 million. In modern terms, Rome’s share of the world population at that moment would be nearly equivalent to a country with the combined populations of India and China. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/11/2GettyImages-1369193411-fa1bfb0-e1764241964618.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="A yellow, blue and red map showing the Roman empire" title="The Roman empire reached its maximum…

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Rome's worst nightmare: the story of Spartacus
type: item
date: 2025-06-05T08:00:30.000Z
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Gladiators
subject: Roman rulers
description: When the Spartacus revolt erupted in 73 BC, it exposed a terrifying truth: that the cocksure Roman Republic was nowhere near as invincible as it liked to believe. Guy de la Bédoyère takes up the story
encoded: It’s a measure of the enduring appeal of Stanley Kubrick’s 1960 swords-and-sandals epic that, when most of us hear the name Spartacus, a dimple-chinned Kirk Douglas springs immediately to mind. Heroic. Noble. Doomed. Roman citizens, it’s safe to say, saw Spartacus rather differently – as a rebellious slave who threatened the future of the Roman Republic. Violent. Disobedient. Dangerous. Though writing in the imperial Roman era long after the defeat of Spartacus, the words of the author Plutarch (AD 46–c120) capture something of the dread the warrior inspired. “It is said that, when he was first brought to Rome to be sold, a serpent was seen coiled about his face as he slept,” noted Plutarch, “and his wife, who was of the same tribe as Spartacus, a prophetess, and subject to visitations of the Dionysiac frenzy, declared it the sign of a great and formidable power which would end in misfortune.” So what’s the truth behind these very different legends? Why did Spartacus take up arms outside the gladiatorial arena? And why was the uprising he led – the third of the so-called Servile Wars, following rebellions in 135–132 BC and 104–c100 BC – perceived as being so threatening to Rome? Brutal degradations To answer these questions, it first helps to remember just how reliant upon slaves Rome had become by 73 BC, when the renegade band of trainee gladiators led by Spartacus burst out of their barracks in southern Italy. Their rebellion exposed the terrifying truth: that every city, every village and every villa estate was at risk from the slaves on whom every aspect of Roman life depended. Paradoxically, this reliance on slave labour had grown from Rome’s success. Having seen off the naval trading power of Carthage in three Punic Wars (264–241 BC, 218–201 BC and 149–146 BC), and having seized Greece in 146 BC, Rome had vastly increased its reach and territory. The Romans had also defeated Macedon and, in 133 BC, been granted the kingdom of Attalus III of Pergamon (spanning …

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Blood, guts and spectacle: 6 shocking events from the history of ancient Roman gladiators
type: item
date: 2024-11-14T17:12:59.000Z
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Gladiators
subject: Life in ancient Rome
description: How did gladiators supercharge the rise of Julius Caesar? And why were they seen as sex symbols? As Gladiator II arrives in cinemas, Guy de la Bédoyère tells the story of this brutal form of mass entertainment through six of its most significant (and surprising) moments
encoded: Julius Caesar turns death into mass entertainment Of all Roman pastimes, gladiators excite the most fascination and horror to this day – not least because of the sneaking suspicion that, if revived, they would rapidly pick up a fervent following. Yet, ironically, this most Roman of entertainments wasn’t the brainchild of the Romans. That dubious honour goes to the Etruscans, an ancient Italian people that emerged near the beginning of the first millennium BC. Gladiators used to fight in bouts to the death at Etruscan funerals – in short, they served as a form of human sacrifice. The Romans derived many of their customs from the Etruscans. And so it was perhaps inevitable that, as they grew into the dominant force on the Italian peninsula, they would adopt gladiatorial combat with gusto. Decimus Junius Brutus, later a consul, was said to have been the first to lay on a gladiatorial show – in honour of his deceased father, in c264–262 BC. Yet, as was the case with so many aspects of ancient Roman history, the concept of fighting to the death as mass entertainment was profoundly shaped by one Julius Caesar. In 65 BC, Caesar used his position as aedile (junior magistrate) to initiate a programme of public shows to secure, in the words of the historian Suetonius, “the good will of the masses”. He laid on 320 gladiatorial bouts and animal fights – and did so both in his name and in association with the other aedile, Marcus Bibulus, but in a way that ensured it was widely assumed the occasions were all his work. That, of course, was precisely his intention. Curiously, the 320 gladiatorial bouts represented a reduction of Caesar’s intentions. He had organised such a large number that his political opponents in the senate were terrified by the thought of so many armed men in Rome on Caesar’s payroll. And so they passed a law putting a cap on the numbers. The fears were well-grounded. Gladiators supplied muscle for thug politicians in the late Republic. By the 50s BC, when Ro…

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What gladiator would you be?
type: item
date: 2024-11-13T07:30:58.000Z
creator: Lauren Good
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Gladiators
description: Does the blood of a warrior run through your veins? Find out what sort of gladiator you would be...
encoded: View Riddle on the source website

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What were the lives of gladiators like in ancient Rome?
type: item
date: 2024-01-15T12:10:28.000Z
creator: Tony Wilmott
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Gladiators
subject: Life in ancient Rome
description: Hollywood likes to cast them as heroic freedom fighters, but what was life really like for Rome's arena-warriors? Tony Wilmott brings you the facts…
encoded: In 1993 Austrian archaeologists working at the Roman city of Ephesus in Turkey made a spectacular discovery – a cemetery marked by the tombstones of gladiators. The stones gave the names of the men and showed their equipment – helmets, shields, the palm fronds of victory. With the tombstones were the skeletal remains of the fighters themselves, many of which bore the marks of healed wounds as well as the injuries that caused their deaths. Perhaps the most spectacular find was a skull pierced with three neat, evenly spaced holes. This man had been slain with the barbed trident wielded by a type of gladiator called a retiarius, who also fought with a weighted net. The gladiator has long been an iconic symbol of ancient Rome, and a popular element in any Roman epic movie, but what do we really know about the lives and deaths of these men? How much is known about the lives of gladiators? Until the discovery of the cities of Vesuvius in the 18th century, virtually everything we knew about gladiators came from references in ancient texts, from random finds of stone sculptures and inscriptions, and the impressive structures of the amphitheatres dotted about all over the Roman empire. It is difficult now to quite comprehend the impact that the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum (both in the 18th century) had on the classically educated of Europe, who suddenly saw the reality of Roman lives in a bewildering array of objects, graffiti and paintings. Read more about the discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum The reality could be spectacular, and in some cases seemed to confirm the more lurid stories in the sources. In 1764 the temple of Isis at Pompeii confirmed the practise of mysterious and esoteric eastern religions. Two years later, in rooms around the courtyard of the theatre, a number of skeletons were found together with a large quantity of gladiatorial armour, identifying the rooms as a gladiator barracks. Among the dead was a woman adorned with bracelets, rings and …

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Bread and circuses: what happened in the amphitheatres of the Roman empire?
type: item
date: 2020-08-17T05:47:25.000Z
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Gladiators
subject: Life in ancient Rome
subject: Roman Britain
description: From gladiatorial fights to brutal executions by wild animals, the amphitheatres of Imperial Rome were home to many brutal spectacles designed to awe and entertain. Writing for BBC History Magazine, Tony Wilmott of English Heritage explains what really happened in the amphitheatres of the Roman empire
encoded: The secutor Astanax watched warily from beneath his heavy bronze helmet, his shield held tightly, his sword clenched in his hand. His opponent, the retiarius Kalendio circled him – unencumbered by heavy equipment, Kalendio was very light on his feet. The retiarius flailed with his net, holding the trident in reserve in his left hand. Suddenly, to a huge swelling cheer from the crowd who packed the amphitheatre, Kalendio threw the net and Astanax was enfolded. Now free to use the trident two-handed, Kalendio thrust home. Astanax stepped aside, and the trident caught in the net. The referee signalled to continue. Astanax pulled Kalendio close with the net, unbalancing him. A quick thrust and the retiarius was down, his blood staining the sand. The crowd bayed, iugula!, iugula! Despite Kalendio’s gesture of surrender, the mob wanted death. A hush descended, and the coup de grace was delivered and received with professional quiet dignity… This, or something very like it, actually happened in a Roman amphitheatre. The fight between Kalendio (a retiarius – who fought with a net and a trident) and Astanax (a secutor – his chaser) was commemorated on a mosaic in Rome (now in the Madrid museum). Despite Hollywood portrayals, the Roman amphitheatre was far more than a blood-drenched killing ground. It had symbolic, religious and political significance which went far beyond mere entertainment, important though this was. Spectacles were a part of Roman life before the amphitheatre was invented. Wild beast spectacles and gladiatorial combat had different origins and developed in different ways. The first recorded example of a venatio, in which ferocious wild animals fought together and were killed in Rome was during votive games in 186 BC, and featured leopards and lions. Not only did these spectacles demonstrate the domination of man over nature, but by the introduction of new and unfamiliar species from strange places, the geographical extent of Rome’s dominion was also symbol…

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Who were the gladiators of ancient Rome? Plus Spartacus, Crixus and 8 more fighters you should know
type: item
date: 2020-04-28T12:15:28.000Z
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Evergreen
subject: Gladiators
subject: Historical people
subject: Life in ancient Rome
subject: TV interest
description: Gladiatorial games were organised by the elite throughout the Roman empire in order to distract the population from the reality of daily life, and fearsome fighters of the Colosseum ranged from lowly animal wrestlers to egotistical emperors. Here, BBC History Revealed brings you a quick guide to the fighters of ancient Rome, plus ten famous gladiators
encoded: Q: Who were the gladiators of ancient Rome? A: Most gladiators were purchased from slave markets, being chosen for their strength, stamina and good looks, says Dr Miles Russell. Although taken from the lowest elements of society, the gladiator was a breed apart from the ‘normal’ slave or prisoner of war, being well-trained combatants whose one role in life was to fight and occasionally to kill for the amusement of the Roman mob. Not all those who fought as gladiators were slaves or convicts, however. Some were citizens down on their luck (or heavily in debt) while some, like the emperor Commodus, simply did it for ‘fun’ (read more below). Whatever their reasons for ending up in the arena, gladiators were adored by the Roman public for their bravery and spirit. Their images appeared frequently in mosaics, wall paintings and on glassware and pottery. A brief guide to ancient Rome and the Romans, plus 9 fascinating facts Q: What was life like for a gladiator in ancient Rome? A: Until the discovery of the cities of Vesuvius in the 18th century, virtually everything we knew about gladiators came from references in ancient texts, from random finds of stone sculptures and inscriptions, and the impressive structures of the amphitheatres dotted about all over the Roman empire, writes Tony Wilmott. Gladiators were at the bottom of the heap in Roman society. This remained the case no matter how much they were feted by the people. Above most qualities, the Romans valued ‘virtus’, which meant, first and foremost, acting in a brave and soldierly fashion. In the manner of his fighting, and above all in his quiet and courageous acceptance of death, even a gladiator, a despised slave, could display this. Gladiators were divided into categories – each armed and attired in a characteristic manner – and were then pitched against one another in pairings designed to show a variety of forms of combat. Gladiators in ancient Rome: how did they live and die? Q: What types of Roman gladiator …

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From the handshake to the high-five: a brief history of gestures
type: item
date: 2020-03-13T17:05:45.000Z
subject: General History
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Gladiators
subject: Medieval life
subject: Pandemics
description: Gestures – usually made with the hand, but in some notable cases with other parts of the body entirely – form a symbolic, non-vocal language; a shorthand way of sending a message without the need for words. Many gestures we make today have a long history, and some are supposedly connected with particular historical events. Here, historian Robert Hume considers the history – both real and imagined – of six popular gestures
encoded: The handshake This greeting dates back at least as far as Ancient Greece. In the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, a funeral stone from the 5th century BC depicts two soldiers shaking hands. The base of a column at the Acropolis Museum in Athens, meanwhile, shows Hera [the wife and sister of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion] shaking hands with Athena [the goddess of wisdom, courage and inspiration in ancient Greek mythology and religion]. By shaking hands, rather than bowing or curtseying, both parties proved they were equals and that they felt sufficiently comfortable in each other’s presence not to bring weapons. In van der Helst’s painting, The Celebration of the Peace of Münster, 18 June 1648, Captain Witsen [a counsellor and mayor of the city of Amsterdam] is shown shaking hands in a gesture of friendship with his lieutenant. Meanwhile, handshakes between man and wife are depicted in numerous 17th-century marriage portraits. In the wedding ceremony itself, the gesture sealed a sacred and legally binding commitment. “The very sight of her hands did almost turn my stomach”: a brief history of hand-washing The White House lawn became the setting for a notable handshake in Middle East history on 13 September 1993, when Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords [a set of agreements marking the start of a peace process]. President Bill Clinton had coaxed these bitter enemies together for the symbolic gesture. Unfortunately, the hoped-for peace in the Middle East failed to live up to the promise of that handshake. Thumbs up It is popularly believed that this gesture can be traced back to the Colosseum when gladiators fought in front of their emperor and a crowd of thousands. The fate of the fallen gladiator famously depended on how much of a fight he had put up. If he had made a good show, chances were the crowd would convey their appreciation with a thumbs-up gestu…

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6 things you (probably) didn’t know about animals in ancient Rome
type: item
date: 2019-02-20T10:30:18.000Z
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Family and parenting
subject: Gladiators
subject: Life in ancient Rome
description: Did the citizens of ancient Rome keep pets? How were animals used for entertainment? Iain Ferris, author of a new book on the role of animals in ancient Rome, explains more
encoded: Writing for History Extra, Dr Iain Ferris explores the roles of animals in ancient Roman society – from which animals were kept as pets, to the exotic species of imported animals that were used as fodder for entertainment in the bloody Roman arenas… My book analyses the place and role of animals in ancient Roman society and of their meaning and great significance in cultural terms. Most obviously, there would have been working animals on most Roman farms and animals were commonly kept as household pets. Meat and fish were highly important ingredients in Roman cookery. Animals were also commonly employed in warfare in the Roman period. The extraordinary slaughter of animals in the Roman arena for entertainment and by organised hunting inevitably hung heavily over my study. Again, animal sacrifice was considered as central to the practice and rites of Roman religion. Read more: 10 famous people in history and their bizarre pets Queen Victoria’s pets and animals Of course, there were animals in the Roman countryside, both wild and farmed, but there was not a complete split between town and country. In cities, animals were ever-present, providing a kind of murmuring undercurrent to Roman urban life: from nits in creatures’ hair and intestinal worms, to mosquitoes in the marshes in and around Rome; from thrips [small insects] in milled grain to mice in kitchens; from passerine birds in gardens, to scavenging, opportunistic foxes in the back alleys of houses and on the fringes of the cities. Throw guard dogs and other working animals and pets into the mix and then suddenly, the Roman city seems to have been a natural host to animal life. Caged birds were popular pets There is a considerable amount of evidence for the keeping of animals as pets in the Roman world and the most commonly attested pets in the Roman world were caged birds, particularly favoured by Roman women. The popularity of caged birds is clearly demonstrated in Latin love poetry. In total, it has been esti…

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Ye olde travel guide: Rome 192 AD
type: item
date: 2018-04-16T12:50:02.000Z
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Gladiators
subject: Life in ancient Rome
subject: Ye olde travel guide
description: Anthony Riches reveals the pleasures and dangers that are in store for a visitor to the capital of the Roman empire
encoded: Rome. Even the name inspires awe. One million inhabitants, consuming nine million kilos of grain a year and a million cubic metres of water per day. It has more diversions than could ever be crammed into even the longest of visits – but don’t let that stop you trying! When to go When all roads lead to Rome, there’s no excuse for not coming to the civilised world’s premier city. While there’s no wrong time to visit the glory that is Rome, we recommend that you arrive in late spring, usually a pleasant 22 degrees, and before everyone that matters flees from the stifling heat to the seaside. The end of April is a very pleasant time to visit (more later), but the autumn is to be avoided. Rain, more rain, and plenty of it! What to take with you You’ll only need two things. Money – this isn’t a cheap city for the outsider – and bodyguards to make sure that you don’t lose it. Skilled local protection will be expensive, but both the number of tourist frauds and the danger of robbery with violence make this expense essential. Oh, and don’t forget to pack your toga. Formal dinner parties will demand that you look the part. You’ll need a full purse to make the most of the delights offered by this fabulous city. You can ‘do Rome’ on five sestertii a day, but with a bottle of decent Falernian easily costing that much, you’ll want at least 50 sestertii per night. To really make the most of the city you’ll need one gold aureus to spend per day, but don’t carry it all round with you! Visit a bank and deposit your wealth, only withdrawing enough to fund your activities every day or two. And don’t trust any of the people around you with your money – including your local bodyguards! Where to stay First set your daily budget, then look for an appropriate hostelry. As ever, the more you pay the more convivial atmosphere you can expect. On a budget, look for a caupona (a restaurant with rooms) but be ready for a lively time. Your host will be doing whatever he – or she – has to in order …

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