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Roman

Schama on 'Civilisations'. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Terracotta Warriors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

In pictures: The Terracotta Warriors

What’s the real history behind ‘Britannia’?

In ‘Venus Uncovered’ on BBC Four, Wednesday 15 November at 9pm, Bettany Hughes investigates the mythological figure of Venus. (© Sandstone Global/Image by Tim Knight)

Bettany Hughes on the symbol of Venus

Great Court, British Museum, Bloomsbury, London. (Getty Images)

Heaven… on Earth. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Niall Ferguson. (Photo by David Levenson/Getty Images)

Niall Ferguson on The Square and the Tower. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes. (Channel 5)

Eight Days That Made Rome: behind the scenes with historian Bettany Hughes

Christianity and the classical world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sveti Georgi (St George) a Roman-era church is Sofia's oldest preserved building

ExploreSofia, Bulgaria: an emperor’s home from Rome. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hannibal’s war elephants are defeated at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. (AKG)

How Hannibal beat the Alps but couldn't beat Rome. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history heroNick Knowles chooses Julius Caesar (100–44 BC). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Myth-making and belonging: the coins of the Roman provinces. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Celts: unpicking the mystery. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A history of Istanbul. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Bettany Hughes on the history of Istanbul. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Roman ruins in Ancient Ostia with the tenements of Serapide

FeatureFive facts about Roman insulae

Theodora was an Eastern Roman empress by marriage to emperor Justinian.(Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Theodora: from prostitution to empress of the eastern Roman empire

A Roman relief showing a market scene

A handbook to shopping in ancient Rome. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Roman amphitheatre in Caerleon, Wales. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

History Explorer: The Roman army in Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Peter Snow’s six most important documents in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Roman silver denarius coins AD 72 till 200 and were offered up at the beginning of the 4th century AD, from the Nydan Bog archaeological site. (Photo by Clare Rowan)

From bes to Bitcoin: alternative currencies in the ancient Roman world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Yangguan Museum and a statue of Zhang Qian. (Getty Images)

Global encounters of the ancient kind

The history of... re-enacting battles

Gold medallion of Constantius I, from the mint of Trier. It depicts Constantius celebrating his victory over Alectus in AD 296. Constantius is shown on a horse at the gates of London, welcomed by Britannia. (Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The LibraryThe first British Empire. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A combo picture of two images taken 13 August 2002 at Cairo Museum shows a foot of a mummy missing its big toe and beside it a prosthetic toe of leather and wood to replace the amputated real one. (Photo by Marwan Naamani/AFP/Getty Images)

Q&AHow long have people used prosthetic limbs?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A marble bust of the Emperor Hadrian who ruled from AD 117 to 138

Hadrian's travels. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A group of five marble busts of typical early Roman citizens. The empire expanded by absorbing the peoples it defeated, giving rights and obligations to former outsiders. (Photo by Gjon Mili/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Mary Beard on why Rome ruled the world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Roman garden at the House of the Golden Cupids, Pompeii. (Linda Farrar)

A guide to ancient gardening. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty which ruled over much of India from 1526 to 1858. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

How people make the past. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.