The Roman Empire

A bust of Marcus Aurelius and a detail on Marcus Aurelius’s column in Rome

Marcus Aurelius: Rome’s reluctant killer

Bust of Germanicus, Roman General

In the footsteps of Germanicus - a Roman General’s journey to Egypt

A guide to the Roman army, plus 10 facts about life in the legions

Invention or adaptation: what did the Romans really do for us?

Marble bust of Nero

Rethinking Nero: was the Roman emperor really so bad?

Marble bust of Caligula

Caligula: murderous and depraved, or a victim of history?

Image depicting Roman general Germanicus oversing the burial of the bones of Romans killed in the battle of Teutoburg Forest

What was the Roman Empire's greatest defeat? It might be Teutoburg Forest in AD 9

Your guide to the Roman empire: when it was formed, why it split and how it failed, plus its most colourful emperors

Roman republic

Your guide to the Roman Republic

Marble relief depicting the Praetorian Guard, legionnaires and elite soldiers. In the Louvre, Paris, France. (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

The Praetorian Guard: the emperors’ fatal servants

Illustration of last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, surrendering to the 'barbarian' Odoacer

Your guide to...the fall of Rome

Portrait head of Roman Emperor Nero circa AD 59-64. (Photo by Alamy)

Nero: Rome’s Antichrist?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Dan Jones by the River Medway at Rochester in Kent. Jones is the presenter of 'Walking Britain’s Roman Roads', which aired on 1 July 2020 at 9pm on 5Select

Exploring Britain’s Roman roads with historian Dan Jones

Marble bust of Nero

Emperor Nero: the tyrant of Rome

Sir Barry Cunliffe and a team of archaeologist roll up a Roman mosaic at Fishbourne Roman palace

Roll up, roll up: how the Roman mosaics at Fishbourne Palace were saved

Marble statue of a young Roman girl

Everything you wanted to know about Roman Britain – but were afraid to ask

Once he gained control of the entire Roman Empire, Constantine set about an ambitious programme of reform. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Constantine the Great: the emperor who created Europe

c1900: Relief depicting Roman officials and praetorians.

Q&ADid Roman men dodge their military service?

A c1850 bronze statue by Thomas Thornycroft commemorating Boudica and her daughters. (Photo by Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Boudica: scourge of the Roman empire

Hardian's Wall, a world heritage site. (Photo by Getty Images)

A tale of two walls: how Hadrian's Wall inspired Game of Thrones

Marble bust of Agrippina the Younger

Agrippina the Younger: the first true empress of Ancient Rome

A Gallo-Roman image shows wine being transported. According to Barry Cunliffe, there was a long period when the Romans traded extensively with the Celts of Gaul, tribes with whom the Romans co-existed in relative peace. (Photo by BeBa/Iberfoto/Mary Evans)

The Celts: were they friends or foes of the Romans?

Beard presents an episode of the BBC's 2018 headline arts series, 'Civilisations'. (Image credit: BBC/Nutopia)

Mary Beard: “I couldn’t give a toss what Roman emperor Donald Trump was most like” plus 3 other things we learned about her

Bronze statue of a she-wolf suckling twin brothers Romulus and Remus, the main characters of Rome's foundation myth. (Photo By DEA/G NIMATALLAH/De Agostini/Getty Images)

10 key Roman dates you need to know

Illustration by Jonty Clark

Ye olde travel guide: Rome 192 AD. 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

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

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

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

Hadrian's travels

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