Tag Archive for: Romans

Agrippa’s Meeting of Kings at Tiberias

Josephus tells us of a most interesting meeting in Tiberias, apparently convened by Agrippa I (37-44 CE), grandson of Herod the Great, probably around 42 CE…

The courtesan Laïs in Corinth

Sex sells. That is common knowledge to the yellow press and tour guides alike, as early as ancient times. Already the Corinthians cashed in on that and promoted a tourist attraction of a particular kind: the tomb of the famous courtesan Laïs…

Manual to identify Roman coins

England’s Portable Antiquities Scheme is the most successful program on coin finds world-wide. No other country has won so many supporters to …

Drusus and Sejanus – Roman Rules of Succession to the throne

At the death of Augustus the Roman polity was not a hereditary monarchy. The power over the Romans was not transferred automatically …

Bread for Tarsus

In the 3th cent., Asia Minor was famine-stricken. The city of Tarsus scored a coup that made the emperor leave the grain necessary for survival to it at a cheap rate. A coin tells of how that was achieved.

Nine months and 13 days: the reign of Galba

In its Auction 333 to be held on November 30, 2017, the long-standing auction house Hess-Divo offers a particularly remarkable special collection, the Galba Collection. It is dedicated to the Roman Emperor Galba, as the first emperor who no longer stemmed from the Julio-Claudian dynasty. We tell his story through some of the rarities stemming from this collection.

A fan of Alexander the Great

Many Roman politicians adored the conquerer of the world, Alexander the Great. The emperor Caracalla was no exception…

A Struggle for Rome

During the auction week from October 8th-12th, Künker will be putting a rare solidus of Theodoric the Great up for auction. The piece, minted in Rome in the name of Emperor Anastasius I, presents a good opportunity to retell the history behind the coin.

Gallienus and the East

On February 15, 2018, Münzen & Medaillen GmbH offers an impressive series of coins of Gallienus stemming from the Markus Weder collection. Claire Franklin-Werz is telling the story of their historical background.

The sacrilege of Tarpeia – or propaganda under Augustus

Augustus’ reign went down in history as a Golden Age even though hardly any other emperor had more lives on his conscience. How did the “Prince of Peace” who continuously fought wars make his citizens believe that they lived in the happiest of all worlds?