History explained, connected, and remembered
Death of the Republic The Battle of Actium in 31 BC rarely feels dramatic to students at first. There is no storming of Rome, no execution of a king, no formal declaration that the Republic is over. And yet, by the time the smoke cleared off the coast of western Greece, Rome’s republican experiment was... Continue Reading →
The Relevance of Julius Caesar Portrait of Gaius Julius Caesar (Vatican Museums). A marble head-portrait traditionally identified as Julius Caesar, preserved in the Museo Gregoriano Profano of the Vatican Museums via Wikipedia Commons Julius Caesar’s influence appears everywhere—from historic events like the Ides of March and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to Caesar salad, romaine lettuce, the month... Continue Reading →
The Battle of Zama When people think about Rome’s rise, it’s tempting to imagine an unstoppable machine slowly rolling outward. The Battle of Zama (202 BCE) shows something very different. Fought during the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage in North Africa (modern Tunisia), Zama was not inevitable. It was the result of learning,... Continue Reading →
Cosmopolitan cities are nothing new, nor are they confined to any one area. The city of Ai Khanum was no different. Tucked away along the Oxus River, on the edge of the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges, in what is now northern Afghanistan, Ai Khanum was once one of the most surprising cities of... Continue Reading →
Lyceum of History 