Twelve centuries of Roman history in 20 minutes

Ancient Rome explained

Ancient Rome left a high water mark on ancient civilization with its pragmatism and administrative prowess, dominating through its efficient military, engineering, and administration. At least 50 million people—a quarter of the world population—inhabited the empire, covering 5 million square miles at its height.

Roman roads have lasted for millennia and were key to its military might

Known for their almost absurd straightness, Roman roads connected the empire's armies, messengers, and traders as imperial administrators sought to keep down rebellion and build up Roman wealth. Rome's highways were expertly engineered, well-patrolled, and easy to navigate.

A history of Rome and wine

Wine and winemaking were integral parts of everyday Roman life. Wine was used medicinally and for religious rites, as well as for pleasure. It also contributed to the expansion of the Roman empire as wine and grapes were traded throughout the Mediterranean. Roman winemaking practices spread as the empire grew. Without Rome, wine may never have grown into what it became, and vice versa.

Fascinating 3D animation shows how Romans built roads

Highly efficient engineering and materials production allowed Roman administrators to lay down nearly 50,000 miles of roads across the ancient empire. These roads were built so effectively that many are still around today. Watch this quick 3-minute video to see how they did it.

Roman terror was key to its centuries-long dominance

Historians like Polybius recorded Rome's violent tactics in detail, including the enslavement of entire populations and the mass killing of whole cities. Even as terror and violence proved effective in war, many Romans came to view the tactics with skepticism.

‘Roman military pensions’ were among the first known pensions in history

Instituted by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, around 13 BCE, these early iterations of pensions made it so soldiers sometimes received about a decade's worth of their pay, plus some land to live on. Augustus instituted these pensions to secure loyalty and reduce the risk of coups and unrest. This video includes more fun tidbits about the history of retirement.

See a collection of ancient Roman coins used on the Silk Roads

As ancient Rome's appetite for eastern luxuries grew, long-distance trade routes linking the Mediterranean to Asia emerged along what became known as the Silk Road. Without shared language or legal systems, merchants could use the reliable Roman coins to exchange with other cultures. This exhibit features gold and silver pieces bearing the portraits of emperors and Latin inscriptions.

Explore different ways the ancient Greeks laid the foundation of Western culture, from philosophy to sports (w/quiz).

Eleven aqueducts funneled water to Rome's 1 million inhabitants

The Roman Empire's capital city was home to about one million people at its peak and managed to provide running water to many of its homes, fountains, and public baths. This was made possible by the 11 aesthetically grand aqueducts that poured into ancient Rome from the countryside.

Rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire in 60 seconds

In 330 CE, Emperor Constantine made the bold move of shifting the Roman capital to Byzantium and renaming it Constantinople. This decision helped shape the Eastern Roman Empire, or what we now call the Byzantine Empire. Here’s how the city rose to global prominence, and why its legacy lingers today.

How ancient Romans invested and worked

The first stock exchange didn't open for business until the early 1600s, but that didn't stop the Ancient Romans from working and investing their money centuries before. While Romans are better known for their political inventions than their economic ones, understanding how they viewed money can help paint a better picture of the Roman mindset that created systems like democracy. Read this article to learn more.

What do you mean ancient Rome had 'Five Good Emperors?'

Between the first and second centuries CE, Rome was ruled by five emperors who reversed the civilization's sprint toward civil war. By the end of the fifth emperor's reign, the Roman Empire had achieved a level of stability and power it would never hold again. This article details the reign of the Five Good Emperors—Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius—who were chosen based on their abilities instead of their bloodlines.

The western Roman Empire fell in the 5th century CE amid invasions, weakness

A mix of over-expansion, political instability, a weak military and economy, and the broad invasion of the Eurasian Huns prompted the downfall. Its eastern half, the Byzantine Empire, would last for another millennium.

Estimate the costs of an ancient Roman vacation

A day in the life of a Roman soldier

In 15 CE, Roman legionary Servius Felix was eight years into a 25-year career as a warrior for the Empire. Born to a poor farmer who hoped to retire and receive several acres of land, Servius served amid fights with Germanic tribes from the north. He hopes to marry a woman back home and mourns the loss of his fallen friends.

A reading of ancient Rome's best graffiti

Graffiti has been surprisingly common throughout history, and even the grandeur of ancient Rome's walls wasn't spared. This clever and funny video reads through some of the more notable messages relayed via graffiti in ancient Rome, from tidbits of wisdom like "A small problem gets larger if you ignore it" to more unsavory observations of lovers, friends, and enemies.

Visualize ancient Rome in 3D with this aerial view

Researchers have compiled meticulous representations of ancient Rome in this video game-like depiction of the Eternal City from the air. For eight minutes, viewers can take in what Rome looked like two millennia ago, from the terracotta-topped homes to the Forum and Colosseum.

Urban planning in ancient Rome

Ancient Rome represents one of the earliest examples of coordinated urban planning from a central government for which researchers have access to contemporary records. This review from MIT showcases ancient Roman cities built on various types of grids, from rectangular outlines to those shaped around two intersecting axes, with several examples and maps provided for each.

The 12 tables: Rome's attempt to fairly enforce the law

It's unclear exactly why ancient Romans drafted the Laws of the Twelve Tables in the mid-400s BCE, but the result was a collection of precisely worded, written laws that could be made known to everyone. This article explores the history and importance of these 12 bronze tables, which were an attempt to make the law equally applicable to all and were destroyed when Rome was attacked in 390 BCE.

The land where Greece's ancient language survives

In a remote corner of Turkey, locals speak Romeyka, a language with no written form and an "impressive" similarity to ancient Greek. This article details how the language may have survived and highlights the roughly 5,000 Romeyka speakers in the area. Research shows that Romeyka bears a startling resemblance to the Koine Greek spoken at the height of ancient Greek influence between fourth century BCE and fourth century CE.

Watch a quick overview the rich heritage of the ancient Greeks.

See how migrating tribes reshaped Europe after the fall of Rome

During the early Middle Ages (c. 300–700 CE), groups such as the Franks, Vandals, Visigoths, and Suebi migrated into former Roman territories. Their movements transformed European politics and culture while preserving many Roman traditions.

Ancient Romans were registered in lists of citizens to confirm their identity

Falsely claiming to be a Roman citizen was a capital offense, but taking up another identity was one way people could change their lot. Several accounts report how escaped enslaved people sought freedom by pretending to be citizens, and multiple "Neros" appeared after the real emperor died in 68 CE.

Explore the system of ancient Roman roads with this interactive

The Itiner-e map includes unpaved secondary roads that connected farms and towns to the empire's primary routes. Explore routes, view three-dimensional elevation, and compare the old roads to contemporary ones with this sprawling interactive project.

What was the Great Fire of Rome?

In the hours between July 18 and 19 in 64 CE, the glittering capital of ancient Rome became engulfed in flames. This 46-minute podcast details the Great Fire of Rome that destroyed much of the city, according to historical literary sources. The fire burned for nine days after starting at market stalls near the Palatine Hill and the Circus Maximus, one of the city's largest chariot racing stadiums. The fire's cause remains unknown.

The high-tech mechanisms of the Roman Colosseum

The Roman Colosseum is one of the most iconic amphitheaters in the world and still partially stands today. Aside from its sheer size, the arena was equipped with some of the most high-tech engineering from the classical world, including sophisticated lifts, a huge retractable awning, and an underground network of tunnels, elevators, and trapdoors.

A 101 on Pompeii

Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 CE preserved an entire Roman city in ash, leaving future archaeologists an unprecedented gift: the most complete glimpse to date into the daily life of ancient Romans. The encyclopedia entry, originally written by one of the site’s leading archaeological scholars, is a one-stop shop for all things Pompeii, including what several generations of archaeologists have discovered over centuries of excavation.

Read how Roman writers described gladiators

This article, drawn from an older classical dictionary, synthesizes the views of ancient Roman authors on gladiators. While archaeological knowledge has advanced, the core textual evidence remains the same, with links to translations of the sources.

Ancient Greece originated roughly 4,000 years ago around the Aegean Sea, and over centuries expanded as far as Spain and India.

The Middle Ages, the roughly 1,000-year period between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance, shaped the political and cultural foundations of modern Europe.

Ancient Romans helped develop modern cheese production techniques

The ancient Romans loved cheese and experimented with different processes to elevate its flavor, like aging. Some of their innovations, like Pecorino Romano, you can still find today. Others, like the smoked goat-milk Caseus, we only know about through historical records.

Charlemagne sparked a medieval revival of learning and Roman culture

During the Carolingian Renaissance, Charlemagne—the king of the Franks and later the emperor of much of Western Europe—and his successors promoted education, the arts, and scholarship. Monasteries preserved hundreds of Roman texts, while architecture and artistic styles drew inspiration from classical Rome.

What was the longest year in history?

In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar declared the year would last 445 days. This four-minute podcast and accompanying article explain why. Caesar wanted to make the following year start after the winter solstice, an achievement attainable due to his tinkering with the Roman calendar. But to start the year right, Caesar had to stretch the transitional year, leading to the creation of Caesar's Year of Confusion, the longest year in history.

The ancient Greeks and Romans were known to take vacations.

The rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire

A short but informative TED-Ed video summarizing the most important aspects of Byzantine civilization: how it all started, why Constantinople was so special, a few remarkable Byzantine authors (including Princess Anna Comnena, historian of her father’s reign), the Ottoman conquest, and why don’t just call the Byzantines “Romans.”

Ancient Romans sometimes lobbed insults through graffiti

Graffiti was used to communicate ideas, offer advice, and, not unlike the internet, talk some trash. That was especially true with tourists, who sometimes scrawled messages on the pyramids, including one person who complained, "I can not read the hierogylphics." In response, someone replied, "Why do you care that you can not read the hieroglyphics? I do not understand your concern."

The British Empire, explained

This three-minute 1440 explainer traces the rise of the British Empire, which at its height ruled nearly one in four people—about 500 million—and spanned so many regions that admirers called it “the empire on which the sun never sets.”

Watch the British Empire expand and recede over 5 centuries

This interactive map traces the British Empire from 1450 to today—showing its explosive 19th-century expansion to one-quarter of the world's land and its steady contraction after World War II.

Measuring the chance a Roman emperor would die violently

The odds of survival for a Roman emperor were like playing Russian roulette with a six-chambered revolver and four bullets, according to this scientific journal article. Of the 69 rulers of the unified Roman Empire between 14 CE and 395 CE, 43 suffered a violent death. This journal article examines Roman emperors' time-to-violent death using statistical tools of survival data analysis.

Bake bread like a Roman, and honor Ceres, the goddess of wheat

Grains made up about 70% of the Roman diet, and the word "cereal" stems from the goddess Ceres—the Roman equivalent of Greece's Demeter—to whom they prayed for good harvests. Cato the Elder, a famous statesman, left behind a simple home recipe for a Roman loaf.

Wildlife use Rome's sprawling archaeological sites as urban havens

The Italian capital features some of the world's most famous monuments as the inheritor of ancient Rome's grandeur. This photo essay explores the city's vibrant collection of wildlife, including long-concealed native crabs, peregrine falcons, and the beaver-like nutria.

Bad Ancient: a site to fact-check claims about the ancient world

Peruse popular questions about ancient Rome, Egypt, Greece, and more, from whether Greek boxers were ripped or to what extent Alexander the Great conquered the world.

A map of the Byzantine Empire

This map, hosted on the World History Encyclopedia, shows the Byzantine Empire in four eras. The area shaded dark purple is the original Eastern Roman Empire. The light purple areas represent the conquests of Justinian. The dark purple line surrounds the middle Byzantine Empire. The hatched area, finally, indicates the small “Latin Empire” established after the Fourth Crusade.

Spartacus led a 70,000-strong slave army that defeated Roman forces

After escaping a gladiator school in Capua, Spartacus led the largest slave revolt in Roman history, routing Roman armies before being crushed by forces under the command of Crassus and Pompey. Later generations recast him as a symbol of resistance.

The ancient Roman origins of the leap year

The earth's orbit around the sun takes about 365.2422 days, leaving farmer almanacs the awful job of pretending the calendar year fits into a whole number. This article explores the modern origins of the civil solar calendar and its leap year. The Julian calendar, named after the Roman emperor Julius Caesar, cut the calendar year into 365.25 days, gifting the public an extra day every four years. Learn more of the history here.

Structures from ancient Rome have endured for millennia because tiny pieces of lime in Roman concrete enabled it to self-heal and prevent cracks from spreading when exposed to water.

How the Code of Justinian formed the basis of modern law

This video explores the significance of Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis. The most important component of the Corpus, the Digest, collected the opinions of eminent Roman jurists. The Digest went on to become the legal framework of medieval Europe, and the basis for the civil codes used across two-thirds of the globe today—an underappreciated legacy of Byzantium.

The history of the British Empire—all in a single take

This video delivers a rapid, rhyming walk-through of the British Empire—filmed in one continuous shot aboard a sailing ship and featuring costumed actors portraying figures from Sir Francis Drake to Pocahontas.

Ancient Romans took trips to the coast to beat the heat and relax.

Synchronized swimming dates back to Ancient Rome

Known for gruesome gladiatorial contests, ancient Rome's aquatic spectacles may have been even more over-the-top. This article dives into the art of synchronized swimming in ancient Rome. Lakes were dug and amphitheaters flooded to provide space for aquatic reenactments of naval battles and artistic performances. Swimmers playing the role of water nymphs would create elaborate shapes, including ships with billowing sails.