Roman Empire Articles

Few occurrences in antiquity are as widely discussed by a diverse, ancient authorship as transcontinental commerce between the Mediterranean Sea and East Asia. Yet modern historians remain profoundly divided over long-distance trade’s origin, operation and effect with regard to the governance of the Roman Principate. There is broad consensus, however... [continue reading]

The dissertation is intended to show whether it is possible for a Roman traveller to make a journey around the Roman world in the year C.E. 210, within 180 days, in a manner similar to that of Phileas Fogg, a character in Jules Verne’s novel Around the World in Eighty Days (1874). The Roman’s 180-day adventure to complete the journey within... [continue reading]

It is estimated that more than 100 million people were enslaved in the millennium during which the Roman Empire rose and fell, yet the archaeology of Classical slavery is still in its infancy, with many Roman archaeologists still believing that slaves remain ‘invisible’ to archaeological view. In the last few years however, a small group... [continue reading]

The Battle of Teutoberger Wald (9 A.D.) in which tribal Germans defeated a highly professional and disciplined Roman Army is not only one of the most decisive battles of the western world, but a historical example of successful asymmetrical warfare. At Teutoberger Wald, the technologically inferior Germans led by Arminius chose the time, place and circumstances... [continue reading]

This paper provides lessons learned from ancient Roman attempts to protect the aqueduct, which was considered one of their most critical infrastructures. It also offers an analogy to modern day efforts in securing our own critical infrastructures, particularly the United States’ electric power grid. Contemporary societies owe much to the Romans... [continue reading]

In this paper I use a theoretical hierarchy of financial sources to evaluate the effectiveness of financial markets in the early Roman Empire. I first review the theory of financial intermediation to describe the hierarchy of financial sources and survey briefly the history of financial intermediation in pre-industrial Western Europe to provide a standard... [continue reading]

A spa is defined as a bathing establishment which used thermal-mineral spring water for therapeutic purposes. Although the topics of bathing and medicine in the Roman world have received considerable attention, thermal-mineral spas have remained inadequately studied. Recent research acknowledges the importance of spas, but generally excludes any detailed... [continue reading]

Whereas the Greeks, particularly in Ionia in the early period and at Alexandria in the Hellenistic age, made unparalleled strides in the theory of cosmology and geography, the Romans were concerned with practical applications. This contrast is sometimes exaggerated, yet it can hardly be avoided as a generalization when seeking to understand the overall... [continue reading]

During the Roman occupation of Judea, lasting from 6-638 CE, the well-being of the Jewish population was hardly guaranteed. For the early part of this period, the Judean Jews were given a large degree of autonomy over their own affairs, and Rome allowed them considerable religious free- dom. However, between 66-73 CE (and again in 132-135 CE), the province... [continue reading]