The Roman Empire

Q&A Could Roman slaves buy their own freedom?

An allegorical depiction of the plague in ancient Rome, an angel batters down a door while people lie sick on the ground

The reign of Roman disease: why did disease hit a flourishing empire?

Illustration representing various empires across history

General ancient history

Have empires ever been a force for good?

A bust of Marcus Aurelius and a detail on Marcus Aurelius’s column in Rome

Marcus Aurelius: Rome’s reluctant killer

Bust of Germanicus, Roman General

In the footsteps of Germanicus – a Roman General’s journey to Egypt

This second-century AD column shows Romans beheading German nobles. Armed with the lethal gladius (short sword), Roman soldiers were feared throughout the empire. (Image by Bridgeman)

A guide to the Roman army, plus 10 facts about life in the legions

Appia Antica (The Appian Way), Rome, Lazio, Italy, Europe. (Getty)

Invention or adaptation: what did the Romans really do for us?

Marble bust of Nero

Rethinking Nero: was the Roman emperor really so bad?

Marble bust of Caligula

Caligula: murderous and depraved, or a victim of history?

Image depicting Roman general Germanicus oversing the burial of the bones of Romans killed in the battle of Teutoburg Forest

What was the Roman Empire’s greatest defeat? It might be Teutoburg Forest in AD 9

Augustus was the first Roman emperor (Photo By DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini via Getty Images)

Your guide to the Roman empire: when it was formed, why it split and how it failed, plus its most colourful emperors

Roman republic

Your guide to the Roman Republic

Marble relief depicting the Praetorian Guard, legionnaires and elite soldiers. In the Louvre, Paris, France. (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

The Praetorian Guard: the emperors’ fatal servants

Illustration of last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, surrendering to the 'barbarian' Odoacer

Your guide to... the fall of Rome

Portrait head of Roman Emperor Nero circa AD 59-64. (Photo by Alamy)

Nero: Rome’s Antichrist?