Category: Augustus
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The Battle of Carrhae 53BC
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Battle of Carrhae – June 9, 53 BC “At first impression, the interminable series of wars between the Roman Empire and Persia… look almost inexplicable. They went on and on, century after century… Upper Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Syria had become an unfortunate playground for princes” –Michael Axworthy, historian The Battle of Carrhae (modern-day Harran in…
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Metamorphoses
Juul Kraijer’s Spawn (2019) Wherever the might of Rome extends in the lands she has conquered, the people shall read and recite my words. Throughout all ages, if poets have vision to prophesy truth, I shall live in my fame. Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.877–9 Funny, devastating, flip, throat-catching – the moods of the Metamorphoses are as…
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Augustus: Shrewd operator
The Meroe head of Augustus – British Museum, London Augustus had a ruthless reputation. What he could not eliminate with the strength of arms, he did so by manipulation – Alvin Ang Augustus transformed Rome from a bitterly-divided, war weary republic into an empire in a series of superb strokes of political manipulation. Emerging victorious…
