One of the primary sources of propaganda in the ancient world was the minting of coins, and nowhere was this more apparent than in the Roman Empire. Minting a Roman coin would celebrate the accession and reign of emperors, military victories, and honor successful generals. In times of civil war or rebellion, opposing sides...
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Tags: allectus, artwork on coins, carausius, celebration coins, coin art, coins of the roman republic, constantius chlorus, historical coins, roman coins, roman empire, roman history, roman mint
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Over a 100-year span, the Roman Republic was involved in three major wars with Carthage. These three wars were known as the Punic Wars and were fought between 264 and 146 BC. These wars made a significant impact on the Roman Empire, helped Rome gain the majority of its wide range of power, and...
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Tags: barca, battle of cannae, battle of lake transimene, battle of trebia, carthage, carthage history, carthaginian army, carthaginian wars, fabius, general hannibal barca, hannibal, punic war, punic wars, regulus, roman army, roman defeat, roman history, roman military, roman wars, second punic war
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The two major players in the first Punic War, 264-241 B.C., were Rome and Carthage. Rome, prior to the Punic Wars, was not a major player in the Mediterranean world of the time by any means. Their one redeeming factor was that they absorbed their conquests into their fold. Conquered communities agreed to supply...
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Tags: appius claudius, battle of aegates, carthage, carthagian army, carthaginian army, first punic war, hamilcar barca, mamertines, punic wars, regulus, roman army, roman corvus, roman history, roman navy, rome army, rome sea battles, sicily
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Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (c. 272-337), or Constantine the Great, was Emperor of Rome from 306 to 337. During the reign of Constantine, the persecution of Christians ceased and the Emperor himself eventually converted to Christianity. As a great leader, warrior, and diplomat, Constantine revolutionized Roman life through his spirit of tolerance for religion,...
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Tags: ancient monetary systems, constantine, monetary system, roman history, roman mint, rome, rome money, rulers and money
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Prior to 44 B.C., Roman coins did not bear the image of a living person, although emperors might feature an ancestor. That changed when Julius Caesar ordered coins struck with his image. The practice continued, with some variations, until the fall of the Roman Empire.
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Tags: ancient coins, coin, coin collections, image coins, marc antony, mint, roman coins, roman history, rome
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As the Romans expanded their republic and subsequent empire, they did so with the fighting skills and technical savvy of their legions; but it has been argued that trade was the under-girding impetus and support behind this expansion. Towards the development of trade, then, a comprehensive and precise accounting system was used in Roman...
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Tags: abacus, counting coins, market, roman coins, roman history, roman money, roman numerals, rome
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As the Roman Republic grew in size, due to conquests of the Italian peninsula, the government in Rome saw the need for an official currency. Prior to the establishment of currency, the major forms of value throughout the Republic were either cattle or non-standard bronze pieces that had to be weighed before they could...
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Tags: copper mint, historians of rome, history of rome, roman currency history, roman gold mint, roman history, roman mint, silver mint, tresviri, tresviri monetales
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