A Capital Without Its Emperor For 45 years after Constantine the Great’s triumph in 312 AD, the people of Rome—once […]
The Shadow of Pyrrhus: A Costly Victory The term “Pyrrhic victory” originates from King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose battles against […]
A Precarious Appointment in a Divided Empire In the spring of 357 AD, Julian, the 25-year-old Caesar (deputy emperor) of […]
The Rise of a Reluctant Warrior In the early months of 356 CE, a 24-year-old Roman commander named Julian made […]
A Birthday Without Celebration On November 6, 355 AD, Julian turned twenty-four years old in complete obscurity. Unlike other aristocratic […]
The Last Son of Constantine In AD 351, Constantius II stood as the sole surviving son of Constantine the Great […]
The Inheritance of a Divided Empire When Constantine the Great died in 337 AD, he left behind an empire that […]
The Rise of a Transformative Emperor Constantine I, later honored as “the Great” (Magnus), died on May 22, 337, at […]
The Gathering Storm: Religious Conflict in the Late Roman Empire The year 325 AD marked a pivotal moment in world […]
The Making of a Future Emperor Born in Naissus (modern-day Niš, Serbia) around 275 CE to a Roman officer and […]
The Augustan Foundations of Rome’s Silver Standard When Augustus became Rome’s first emperor in 27 BCE, he inherited a republic […]
Origins in Rome’s Tribal Past The Roman Senate, like many foundational Roman institutions, did not emerge in isolation. Just as […]
The Decline of Traditional Rome Many historians conclude their narratives of Roman history with the reign of Constantine the Great, […]
The Fractured Empire: Rome’s Political Landscape in the Early 4th Century The year 313 CE marked a pivotal moment in […]
A Triumph Born from Political Necessity Erected beside the Colosseum in 315 CE, the Arch of Constantine stands as Rome’s […]
The Nature of Battles and Wars While wars may span years and multiple fronts, individual battles are concentrated engagements with […]
The Crossroads of Faith and Power in Late Imperial Rome The early 4th century marked a pivotal moment in Roman […]
The Tetrarchy’s Fragile Foundation In 293 CE, Emperor Diocletian established the Tetrarchy—a radical power-sharing system dividing imperial rule between two […]
A Sudden Death on the Northern Frontier In July 306 CE, the Roman Empire faced a crisis when Constantius Chlorus, […]
The Crisis That Created the Tetrarchy In the late 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire faced existential threats from multiple […]
From Imperial Vision to Public Luxury In the twilight of the 3rd century AD, as the Roman Empire struggled through […]
The Crisis That Forced Change When Diocletian ascended to the imperial throne in 284 AD, the Roman Empire was reeling […]