Manes, Lares, and Lemures. © Jason R. Abdale (August 21, 2021). Introduction Halloween is nearly upon us. As October rolls through its days and nights, inching ever-closer towards the 31st, some of us may celebrate the spooky season by indulging… Read More ›
barbarians
July 19-21 – The Lucaria: The Festival of the Sacred Grove
Photo by Jason R. Abdale (June 29, 2018). Trees are wonderful – most people will agree with that. They provide oxygen for us to breathe, they remove pollution and excess carbon dioxide from the air, they give us shade on… Read More ›
The Possibly Fictitious Battle of Potentiana, 379 AD
Roman soldiers of the late antique period assemble for battle at the Musée Parc Archéologique des Temps Barbares MARLE – Aisne. Photo by Jacques Maréchal (2013). Image used with permission. Introduction In the year 379 AD, an epic battle took… Read More ›
History Lecture – “The Great Illyrian Revolt” at the Queens Public Library – January 26, 2021
Greetings everyone! On January 26, 2021, I conducted my first ever public lecture as a historian when I delivered a talk for the Queens Public Library via WEBEX concerning the Great Illyrian Revolt, a massive uprising which took place against… Read More ›
An Announcement: I’ll be giving a public lecture on ancient Roman history!
Greetings all! I am happy to report that I will be delivering my first-ever public lecture as a historian. I will be giving a talk about the Great Illyrian Revolt of 6-9 AD, one of the biggest, most consequential, and… Read More ›
January 16, 7 BC – The Day that Germany Surrendered to Rome
The date of January 16, 7 BC is important for both Roman and German history. Ten years earlier in the year 17 BC, three German tribes crossed the Rhine and raided Gaul, which was controlled by the Roman Empire. It… Read More ›
October 15 – The Ludi Capitolini: The Capitoline Games of Ancient Rome
Introduction The ancient Romans named the middle part of each month as the “Ides”, and each of these days was dedicated to Jupiter, King of the Gods. Sometimes, these days were marked for holding special celebrations. The Ides of October,… Read More ›
The Battle of Teutoburg: A Problem with Dating
September 9 to 11 of the year 9 AD is often attributed in modern sources as the date for the legendary Battle of Teutoburg, more commonly known as the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest – except the battle lasted for… Read More ›
The First Roman-Illyrian War, 229-228 BC: Ancient Rome’s First Armed Conflict in the Western Balkans
Introduction For many people learning about ancient history in any detail for the first time, the title “civilization” is largely confined to the civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. In the West, especially, the Greek and Roman civilizations are… Read More ›
Get your Roman history book for the holidays!
Do you or someone that you know love ancient history, Roman history, or military history? Then you should buy a copy of The Great Illyrian Revolt and Four Days in September: The Battle of Teutoburg. These two histories are just… Read More ›
DINOSAURS AND BARBARIANS 