In the beginning, he won the support of the powerful Praetorian Guard. He gave them bonuses and if there is one thing that professional soldiers like, its extra money. If you were the Emperor, the Praetorian Guard was definitely one group of people you wanted to have on your side. In their earliest days they simply acted as bodyguards for the Emperor. Later, however, the Praetorians decided to get political. They worked with the senate in order to remove Caligula and other emperors from power and were key political players during the Year of the Four Emperors.

Caligula then started to get a swelled head. After all, he was the Emperor, wasn’t he? The people loved him and he was able to make any of his detractors vanish. Many of them were accused of various crimes and were fined in order to get his hands on their estates. He also decided to raise money by auctioning off the lives of the gladiators who fought in the Coliseum. Suddenly, Centurions were told that they had to hand over the spoils that they had acquired during plundering and while on military campaigns. This did not sit well with the Praetorian Guard or the rest of the Roman population.

In the middle of all of this was Cassius Chaerea. He was known for his bravery and skill in battle. He had seen some hard action and was part of the military that managed to subdue a mutiny that popped up on the German frontier following the death of Augustus. Did Caligula honor this soldier for his deeds? No. Instead, he decided to mock Cassius Chaerea’s voice and to call him offensive names. That mockery, combined with Caligula’s increasingly unstable behavior helped Chaerea decide to kill Caligula.

Now, he wasn’t the only one to have planned this. There were quite a few plots that centered on ending Caligula’s life. Over time, the plots slowly melded into one larger plot that involved not only Chaerea but members of the senate, the Equestrians and other members of the Praetorian Guard.

On the 24^th of January, 41 CE, Caligula was in a cryptoporticus or underground corridor beneath the palaces on the Palatine Hill. Caligula was speaking with a troupe of young male actors when a group of individuals approached him. That group included Cassius Chaerea. The men surrounded Caligula and began to stab him. It is generally believed that Chaerea struck first. The position in the cryptoporticus made it impossible for Caligula’s loyal bodyguards to reach him in time. Caligula was dead.

After killing the Emperor, the men moved on. They searched out Caligula’s wife, Caesonia and a daughter named Julia Drusilla. Both were killed. They would have killed Caligula’s uncle, Claudius but he had already been spirited away to a Praetorian camp. Claudius later became Emperor of Rome.

Scientists have been able to excavate a cesspit that was located beneath the town. It has unearthed ten tones of human feces and ancient Roman garbage. The garbage came from both residential apartment blocks and from shops. It is believed that much of the garbage dates from around 79 CE. That was the year that Mount Vesuvius erupted burying both Herculaneum and Pompeii in a thick layer of volcanic ash.

The cesspit was located beneath a district inhabited mainly by artisans and shop keepers. In addition to the remains of food and human waste, scientists were also able to find coins, semi-precious stones, broken lamps, pottery and lost jewelry. The cesspit measured approximately 230 feet (70 m) long, three feet (one meter) wide and seven to ten feet (two to three meters) tall.

When scientists first discovered the cesspit they thought it was simply another part of the town’s drainage system. They did find, however, that the area did not have an outlet. It was then that archaeologists began studying the area in greater detail. They found that by putting the mixture through a series of graded sieves that they were able to separate out objects ranging from pottery and bone fragments to the nuts and seeds that made up part of the Roman diet.

From this mixture they were able to determine that the Romans who lived in Herculaneum had quite a varied diet. They found evidence that the Romans of Herculaneum consumed meat such as chicken and mutton, seafood such as fish, mollusks and sea urchins and other foods such s fennel, figs and olives. Scientists are also hoping that they will be able to find microscopic evidence of disease or to be able to find microscopic evidence of parasites that may have affected the people of Herculaneum.

Herculaneum has been a rich source of archaeological information simply because the town and its residents were well preserved by the fast moving mixture of ashes and hot gas. Remains were well preserved because the layer of ashes was so thick. It created an air tight seal which was not broken until 1738 CE. It is a valuable archaeological site as it is one of the only areas where Roman bodies were found. It was difficult for archaeologists to find evidence of Roman bodies anywhere else as cremation was a popular way of disposing of dead bodies. While Herculaneum did give archaeologists a lot of information about ancient Roman life it has been largely unexcavated. This was because archaeologists preferred the Pompeii site as it was much easier to find bodies and excavate the city.

While poison was used, and many ancient rulers utilized tasters in order to make sure they were not the victims, only Rome would have a professional poisoner. Her name was Locusta and it is believed that she caused the deaths of many important Romans including the Emperor Claudius and Britannicus, Claudius’ son. Locusta’s services were first employed by Agrippina the Younger, the final wife of Claudius, to permanently take care of her husband. The weapon of choice was a large dish of poisoned mushrooms.

Locusta was, of course, arrested and was sentenced to death. Agrippina was exiled. All seemed bleak for Locusta and it likely would have been if Nero had not taken over. Nero was a bit paranoid about his position and felt threatened by Brittanicus. After all, Britannicus was Claudius’ actual son, and Nero was only a nephew. Because he wanted to get rid of Britannicus, he was willing to cancel the death penalty if Locusta was willing and able to deal with the issue. The poisoning took place in the middle of a dinner party. Britannicus’ convulsions were passed off as an epileptic seizure and he was removed from the room. He was dead several hours later.

She was more than willing to do so. She managed to figure out a way to foil the food tasters by adding the poison to water rather than to the wine. The food taster didn’t bother tasting the water. Who adds poison to water after all? Locusta would, and she did. Britannicus ended up dead and Locusta ended up with a rather highly placed patron.

Locusta became quite rich as a result. She was given land, gifts and money. More importantly, even though she was known to have committed a series of poisonings she was fully pardoned. Many of her referrals came from the Emperor himself. Locusta was so good at her work that she even began to educate others in how to use the same toxins and poisonous herbs.

When you are known to be a poisoner and your prime patron was a much-hated emperor, your life expectancy is considerably shortened after your patron is deposed. Such was the case with Locusta. After Nero committed suicide, her life went sharply downhill. Suddenly she was called to account for the many murders she had committed. She was executed the same year in which Nero died.

But who were they really? In their earliest days, it is true that they carried out the roles for which they had been chosen. In later days, however, members of the Praetorian Guard became more powerful in their own right and began to act in ways that influenced the political structure of Rome.

Many of the Caesars had a group of personal bodyguards who were chosen for their skill and their loyalty. The Caesars who had such a bodyguard included Julius Caesar, Octavian Augustus and Sertorius. Not all of the personal bodyguards were Romans. Some Caesars chose units of Basque soldiers and others chose to have legions of German troops protecting them. However, it was not until Octavian Augustus took command in 27 BCE that the Guard was formally recruited as a tool that could be used to influence politics as well as the outcome of a battle.

The Guard started out as a relatively small unit. In its earliest days there were only nine cohorts of men. Each cohort held 500 men. Over time, the size of each cohort doubled although only three of the cohorts were on active duty in the capital. There were also cavalry units that were later added to the Guard. These patrolled the palace and other major Roman buildings. At this time, because there did not seem to be much political threat from the Guard most Romans hardly even took notice of their presence.

Things began to change in 23 CE. The prefect at the time, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, was a man with ambition. Due to his urging the Emperor Tiberius decided to build a fort specifically to house the Guard. This structure became known as the Castra Praetoria, which means the fort of the Praetorians. They now were stationed closer to Rome and could now begin to control the political climate in the city much more easily.

The Praetorians were known for their assassination of several Emperors including Caligula (who was killed in 41 CE) and Galba (killed in 69 CE). They also were the force behind Claudius taking the throne after Caligula’s assassination. Emperors knew that without the support of the Praetorian Guard their reign was likely to be a short one.

Later Emperors were careful to limit the size and influence of the Guard. The number of cohorts was reduced back to nine and one clever emperor, Vespasian, made sure to appoint his son as the Prefect or leader of the Guard. In 284 CE, the Guard was no longer involved in palace life. The emperor at the time, Diocletian, no longer lived in Rome. He replaced the Praetorians with two other units that would act as his personal bodyguards.

The Guard was ultimately disbanded in 312 CE by Constantine the Great. He sent the soldiers to various corners of the empire and even demolished their fortress. Their influence on Rome was finally at an end.

The early saints were killed in a variety of unpleasant ways. According to legend, two early saints named Chrysanthus and Daria were buried alive. Chrysanthus was the son of an Egyptian patrician. He and his father lived during the reign of Numerian, a Roman Emperor who reigned from 282 to 284 CE. The family was moved to Rome from Alexandria and Chrysanthus’ marriage to a Vestal Virgin named Daria was arranged. Vestal Virgins were priestesses of Vesta. She was a Roman goddess of the hearth. The priestesses kept a sacred fire burning and were also responsible for a number of other rituals as well.

Women were given to the priesthood before they entered puberty and were required to remain celibate and serve the priesthood for thirty years. After their thirty years were up they could then marry but this was quite rare. Many of the women had enjoyed their time of freedom from the social restrictions placed on women at the time and their life of luxury while acting as priestesses. It was because of this that they usually chose to stay on even after their term of service was up.

According to legend, Chrysanthus had remained a virgin after his conversion to Christianity despite his father’s attempts to tempt him with prostitutes and other secular pleasures. After his marriage, things did not change much for Chrysanthus or Daria. Chrysanthus did manage to convert Daria to Christianity but they continued to live in a state of chastity despite their marriage.

Chrysanthys didn’t end his converting ways after his success with Daria. Instead, he continued to work on other Romans, an act that was highly illegal. He was arrested and subjected to torture. Miraculously, his prison turned into a garden. According to legend his wife was sent to live as a prostitute but was able to remain pure due to the intervention of a lioness. When it was seen that this treatment did not break her faith, she was stoned and buried alive with her husband.

The legend of these two saints grew over time. Their grave was a sand pit near the Roman catacombs. Over time, as pilgrimages to the site increased, a church grew up over their grave. Recently, the remains of the skeletons were analyzed by scientists. They had been sealed off in the Italian cathedral that had been built over their grave.

Tests that were performed on the skeletons support many of the details surrounding Chrysanthus and Daria’s life and their death as well. The female skeleton showed she lived a life of ease and that she belonged to the upper class. The male skeleton was of a younger man and both dated from the period between 80 and 340 CE. While it is impossible to definitively identify the remains as being those of Chrysanthus and Daria, the results which were released in April of 2011 show that many of the details definitely support the information about their life and their death as well.

Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal’s father, was a military commander who led Carthaginian troops during a portion of the First Punic War. He also led Carthaginian troops successfully during several other battles and ultimately ended up dying in battle in 228 BCE. His hatred of Rome and his desire to defeat them in battle is believed to be one of the things which shaped Hannibal’s mentality and caused him to head from Carthage to Italy with his elephants in tow.

After crossing into Italy, Hannibal had managed to defeat the Roman military in several battles: the Battle of the Trebia and the Battle of Lake Trasimene. The Romans were not used to being defeated in battle and were not overly pleased that Hannibal had managed to win two battles. Because of this, they decided to appoint Fabius Maximus, a Roman politician, to the position of Dictator in order to handle the problem. This meant that he was able to take measures beyond those normally allowed a military commander in order to deal with threats to the Empire.

Fabius decided he wasn’t going to take Hannibal on directly. After all, doing so had simply led to Roman defeat and Maximus was not interested in having that happen while he was in charge. He ended up cutting off supply lines and avoiding any pitched battles against the Carthaginians. As a result of these tactics, Hannibal was able to regroup and prepare for a fight. Hannibal was able to hang around in Italy, enjoying the terrain and preparing for battle against the Romans. After all, if they wanted to go home, they would have to go back over the Alps and no one was really interested in making that trek again.

Finally, the Romans decided to put an end to Hannibal’s Italian tour. They gathered eight legions together along with allied troops and members of the cavalry. Approximately 90,000 Roman troops took the field against Hannibal’s total of 45,000 troops. The battle was to take place in 216 BCE at a town known as Cannae.

The battle was brutal. According to some historical accounts, the Romans outnumbered the Carthaginian troops and were armed with typical Roman arms and armor. The Carthaginians were armed with a variety of different weapons and protected by a variety of different types of armor. Hannibal was able to encircle the Roman forces and catch them in a pincer movement. They trapped the Romans and were able to slaughter them. It was reported that only 14,000 Roman troops were able to escape the battle.

Cannae remains perhaps the most massive and terrible of all Roman military losses and ended up causing Rome to completely rearrange and rethink its military structure.

The year was 378 CE. Two years prior, in 376 CE, the Roman Emperor Valens had thought he would do a good thing by allowing Goth tribesmen to settle in Roman territory. Oh sure, the Goths had fought against the Romans in the past, but surely by giving them land, they would earn the appreciation of these tribes and be safe from any further attack, right? Wrong. Ultimately, the Goths would overrun Rome and lead to the downfall of the entire Roman Empire.

One could argue that the Romans brought it on themselves. Things may have turned out very different for both Rome and the Goths if the provincial commanders hadn’t shown themselves to be completely dishonest. The Goths found life in their new territories to be incredibly harsh and finally they had enough. They revolted and fought against the Romans in the running battles that tribesmen tend to be good at and Roman legionaries tend to have problems with.

The Goths again asked for land. This time the Goths were denied which set things in motion and which would ultimately lead to the Battle of Adrianople. It is not totally certain how many troops were fighting on behalf of Rome but it is estimated that Roman troops and allies totaled a maximum of about 45,000 soldiers. They were veterans but when faced with 50,000 Gothic cavalry and between 12,000-and 15,000 other troops as well. These were not good odds for the Romans.

On August 9^th, 378 CE, the Romans and the Goths squared off. The Goths had been camped on top of a hill near Adrianople. The Romans had to march for seven hours in order to reach the field of battle and the terrain was incredibly difficult to move through. Because the Gothic cavalry wasn’t there at the beginning, the Romans were overeager and attacked before they were ordered to. Suddenly, the Gothic cavalry returned, surrounded the Roman troops and massacred them.

In the end, Valens was abandoned by the troops who were supposed to guard him. It is believed that he was killed on the field of battle although it is not certain that this is what happened. In the end, many experienced officers and troops were killed in the battle and this may have led to the eventual downfall of the Roman Empire as a whole. Suddenly the Goths went from being thought of as disorganized rabble to a dangerous adversary that could destroy Rome totally.

The Teutoburg Forest is located in what is now known as Germany. The terrain is made up of low mountains and the area is divided into two different portions by a valley. In 9 CE, the terrain was ruled by Germanic tribes that had formed an alliance against the Romans. The Germanic forces were led by Arminius. He was chieftain of the Cherusci and lived from 18 BCE to 21 CE. Arminius was actually able to achieve Roman citizenship during his lifetime but he chose to return to Germania and worked to drive the Romans out of the area. He became a symbol of the Germanic fight against Rome.

The Romans were led by Publius Quinctilius Varus who lived from, 46 BCE to 9 CE. Varus had a political career that saw him holding positions such as consul junior as well as governor of Africa and Syria. In Syria, he led four legions and was known for being a harsh ruler. He occupied Jerusalem and crucified approximately 2,000 Jewish rebels. He may have been one of the reasons for the strong anti-Roman sentiment that was common in the Judea.

In 9 CE, Varus was stationed near a river in Germania known as the Weser River. He had three legions of troops with him as well as a number of auxiliary troops as well. They were ambushed by Arminius, whom Varus trusted due to Arminius’ Roman citizenship. The terrain in the area was not suited to the fighting style of the Roman legionaries. It was swampy and heavily forested. After three days of fighting, the Romans were overwhelmed by the Germanic troops in an area known as Kalkriese Hill.

The legions were totally defeated. Even soldiers who fled the area were tracked down and killed. Some were killed in battle while others were burned alive after being placed in cages made of wicker. Others were turned into slaves or were ransomed off. Varus, commander of the Roman forces, committed suicide after it became obvious that the Roman troops were being completely destroyed.

When the dust settled, the Roman troops were shamed by their defeat. They were never able to rule the north or the east of Germany although they did retaliate against the Germanic tribes using eight legions to massacre the people of Germania and to capture the wife and son of Arminius. Arminius escaped capture and ultimately had to deal with inter-tribal conflicts and internal strife. In the end, Arminius was murdered by members of his own tribe.

To this day, the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest is still remembered as one of the worst Roman military defeats in the history of the empire.

Agrippina was married to Germanicus, a general in the armies of the Roman Empire. She was also his maternal second cousin. She bore him nine children, although only six lived past childhood. Two of the best known would have to be her son Caligula, who later went on to rule the Empire, and her daughter, the Empress Agrippina the Younger. Many of her children still had important roles to play in the political life of Rome.

Her husband was a popular military leader and was adored by the common citizens in Rome. While Augustus was in power, everything looked good for Agrippina and her husband. She accompanied him on his military campaigns, which was something quite unusual for the time. It was far more normal for a Roman wife to stay at home with the children while her husband was off on campaign. This was something that earned her a reputation for being a very devoted and heroic wife. She also earned the reputation for being a skilled diplomat as well.

Because her husband was a favorite of Augustus, Germanicus was even considered by Augustus as the heir to the empire. If that had taken place, things would likely have turned out very differently for Agrippina. Unfortunately, her husband was passed over for the position and Tiberius was made Emperor instead of Germanicus.

Her husband died during a trip to the Middle East in 19 CE. Agrippina accused Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the man who was then governor of Syria, of poisoning her husband and returned to Italy with his ashes. She continued to be active in the political life of Rome and, over time, Tiberius began to suspect her of disloyalty to him. She was arrested, along with two of her sons, in 29 CE and was banished to the island of Pandataria, which is now known as Ventotene. There, she was flogged by a centurion and lost an eye in the process.

Agrippina eventually starved herself to death in 33 CE. Of her three sons, Drusus also died of starvation while imprisoned, and her son Nero died after his trial in 29 CE. Reports state that he was either murdered or that he committed suicide. Caligula, her remaining son, succeeded Tiberius as emperor of Rome.

Although Tiberius tried to slander her name and reputation, he did not succeed. She was known for many positive things such as her courage and her devotion to her husband and her children. She also made it far more easy for women to wield power in Roman politics and showed them that women could indeed have a role in making policies that helped to shape the Roman Empire as a whole.

If a Roman wanted to ensure that they would have enough food in the house, they didn’t go to Juno or Vesta. Instead, a Roman would pray to Panes or Penates. These were earth spirits who also held sway over the pantry and kitchen of a Roman home. They were represented by statuettes that were prayed to daily and which were set out on a table during a meal.

There were several different names for the spirits of dead ancestors. Ancestor worship was a huge part of Roman religious life. When someone’s mother or father died, it was believed that they became one of the Parentes, which were spirits of immediate family members. Parentes could also be the spirits of close relatives who were still living. They were represented by statuettes and it was not unusual for a Roman to take the statuettes of living relatives with them. The statuettes of living relatives were accompanied by fire from a Roman’s own hearth.

The spirits of dead ancestors were believed to live in statuettes as well but these were known as Lares. A Roman family was expected to pray to them daily and make offerings to them at different times during the year. Significant dates such as anniversaries, weddings and birthdays were celebrated by more elaborate rituals.

Moving permanently from one household to another meant that the statuettes which represented the Lares and Panes would also be moved by the family. It was very important to Romans that the spirits were prayed to and worshipped properly. It was believed that if a spirit was not shown the proper respect or if a family forgot to pray to it, it could become wrathful or mischievous. Spirits who became unhappy were known as Lemures. Since the Romans believed that the world around them was full of spirits it was not unusual that they would think some were wrathful or out to do harm to the living.

Romans referred to the spirits of the deceased as Manes. The Manes were worshipped during a festival known as Parentalia. During the festival, sacrifices were made to the Manes. The sacrifices (which usually took the form of flower garlands, wine-soaked bread, wheat and salt) were placed at family tombs and the celebration was considered to be a positive one. However, the evil spirits were also addressed during Feralia, a celebration that marked the end of Parentalia. It was believed that unless Feralia took place, the spirits of the dead would rise from their graves and roam the streets.