(Thanks to Wikipedia for the image of Caracalla and Geta 1907 by Lawrence Alma-Tadema) Mothers like their children to do well, and jobs don’t come much better than being emperor of Rome. Both Julia Damna’s sons became emperor. It would have been perfect if only they hadn’t been emperor at the same time. Or if
Us humans pride ourselves on our intelligence. We certainly use our brains differently to all other animals, often in unusual and surprising ways. Does being clever make it likely that human beings as a species will survive for a long time? Far from it, Chomsky suggests.
Severus had two sons, Caracalla and Geta. Their mother was his second wife, Julia Domna. She was a great beauty and also a friend and patron of artists and writers. She wasn’t the kind of woman I would have picked out for the soul mate of a dour professional soldier. And maybe she wasn’t.
Right click on the link to download Severus Podcast (Control Click on the Mac) or just click it to listen now. Sending a severed head is rarely a sign of affection. Severus did not hold much truck with the Senate, or anyone else who might get in his way either. He brought to his
Right click on the link to download Civil War Podcast (Control Click on the Mac) or just click it to listen now. Augustus had discovered that you could get away with murder so long as you dressed it up in the right way. And when I say murder I mean that quite literally –
One of the things I love about the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is the artful way analysis and commentary are slipped in just where they seem to belong. A good example is found at the start of Chapter Five where we are treated to an explanation of the role of the army