Featured Book

Having finished Edward Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, we move on to a series of commentaries of Julius Caesar's first book of Civil War.

This is a commentary of the book found on the Perseus Collection

Featured Book

Following on from the last featured book, this week is Volume 5 of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.

Find it here

Featured Book

Following on from the last featured book, this week is Volume 4 of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.

Find it here

Featured Book

Following on from the last featured book, this week is Volume 3 of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.

You can find it here. 

Featured Book

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Volume 1) by Edward Gibbon is a great book for anyone who is interested in the Roman Empire.

It is quite dense, but written very clearly - definitely not an easy read but worth it! 


You can find the book for free on iTunes

Roman Empire Map

Today's post I'd like to share an old map of the Roman Empire when it was at its largest.  I am a massive fan of maps, and this one I think shows the extent of the roman empire in a particularly stylish way.

It is based approximately in the year AD 107 and you can find a larger resolution version here

Featured Podcast and Website

I found this great resource about the whole Roman History, they have a series of weekly podcasts that :

traces the history of the Roman Empire, beginning with Aeneas's arrival in Italy and ending (someday) with the exile of Romulus Augustulus, last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire 

The podcasts can be downloaded on iTunes from here. 


They also have an accompanying website, that you should take a look at, its really good and has illustrations and photos to go along with the podcasts. 

The History of Rome Website

Featured Podcast

This weeks featured podcast is another one by the Open University available free on iTunes U from this link. 

The splendidly evocative ruins of ancient Rome have long been a challenge to historians and archaeologists in reconstructing how it looked and functioned. It became the largest city in the western world during the imperial period, so how was the city constructed, and what were the materials used? How was it defended, supplied with food and water, and how were the people housed and entertained, and above all, how did it function? These video tracks use various famous sites such as the Baths of Caracalla and the Pantheon to answer some of these questions. 

Tunisian Mosaics

Roman Life: iPhone and iPad App

For anyone out there who uses an iPhone or iPad, there is an app that can show you the streets of Roman London.

Roman London where you can ‘excavate’ finds, using your fingers to dig and gradually reveal ancient artefacts where they were originally found. iPhone users can remove dirt by blowing into their microphone.Key Roman London sites, such as the amphitheatre and Temple of Mithras, have been brought to life through augmented reality video (iPhone only) – produced by HISTORY™ – showing scenes of Roman London, overlaid onto the view today. A soundscape to the Roman capital is also included, so you can listen to the hustle and bustle of the forum or the clamour of the Boudican rebellion.

Click here to learn more and download this new app
I think that this would be great for any enthusiast visiting London, or who wants to learn about Roman London in an interactive and exciting way.

 

Roman Mosaics and Amphitheatre -Tunisia

Alright, So it just occurred to me that I have photos of some of the best preserved Roman mosaics found in El Jem, Tunisia. So over the coming weeks I shall share some of them with you... In addition these I have photos of the Amphitheatre built around 238 and thought to be used for gladiator fights and chariot races. It is also the third larges amphitheatre; only the Colosseum in Rome and that of Capua, Italy are larger.

Especially since the "Arab Uprisings", and Tunisian Resistance. Fewer people will have access to them. They are found away from the main Colosseum, quite a walk away, but if you ever get the chance, this restored Roman house and the mosaics found inside are pretty amazing.

Here are some Taster photos:

Video

Today's post is a short video/animation looking around a Roman house

Roman Empire

To build on your background here are some websites and videos you could look at.
BBC - Romans
Roman Empire
The BBC have also had a series called What The Romans did for Us. The 5th Episode will be shown on BBC four on Monday at 19.30 GMT for those of you in England.

Snippets- Vocabulary, Context and more

Today's post has a number of snippets ranging from a link or two to a contextual PowerPoint and a vocabulary list to help those preparing for upcoming and vital exams.

Most importantly, the vocabulary lists:
Every day Latin- general phrases and the most common words that come up in texts, also Latin that is used today.
More Latin- again useful vocabulary that will make the exam easier.

Context:
The Growth of the Roman Empire

Links:
These will also be added to the useful links section of the website.
Latinum- a set of podcasts that are based on "A practical grammar of the Latin language" which can be downloaded here

Hopefully this will help both people with exams and those just learning Latin for fun :)

Roman Army

After a bit of an easter holiday I think everyone is fresh enough to start studying again.
Today's Contextual post is on the Roman army, the backbone of the empire and a set of military vocabulary as well.
Roman Army
Military Vocabulary

Temples

So continuing with the contextual resources todays post features a powerpoint on temples and looks at the styles, features and examples of them.
Great for the architecturally minded :)
Temples

Something different

Everyone knows that the study of Latin does not only focus on the language itself, to be able to understand a lot of what went on, and their literature, we need to know some context.


So over the next few posts I will provide some presentations that focus on context, starting with Childhood in the Roman Empire:
Childhood In the Roman Empire (slideshow office 2007)
Childhood In the Roman Empire (powerpoint file office compatible)

There will be more to follow.