The expansion of Roman rule in Asia Minor

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The expansion of Roman rule in Asia Minor from Shepherd’s Atlas of World History.

Two maps on the spread of Christianity

[Copyright: MacGraw-Hill 1995]
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Two maps on the Spread of Christianity till the 4th century (the first map) and till 451 (the 2nd map) christian centers, the

Urban Plans of Caesaraugusta (Roman Saragossa)

Site Plan of Caesaraugusta  (Roman Saragossa)

The emperor’s armour: Bronze statue of Hadrian from the legionary camp at Tel Shalem (Judaea), Israel Museum

Republication from Following Hadrian

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A magnificent bronze statue of Hadrian, now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, was found by chance by an American tourist in Tel Shalem (Beth Shean Valley, Israel) on 25th July 1975 while searching for ancient coins with a metal detector. Tel Shalem was once occupied by a detachment of the Sixth Roman Legion (Legio VI Ferrata). The 50 fragments of this statue were found in a building which stood at the center of the camp, perhaps in the principia (the headquarters tent or building).

Bronze statue of Hadrian, found at the Camp of the Sixth Roman Legion in Tel Shalem, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
© Carole Raddato

Cataphractarii! (3) – The cataphract cavalry in a period of 2,500 years

Continued from Part 2

Mongol cataphract, 13^th century.

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By Periklis  Deligiannis

Cataphractarii! (2) – The cataphract cavalry in a period of 2,500 years

Continued from Part I

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A superb restoration of a Sassanid  cataphract (credit: Total War: Rome II, Sega).

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By Periklis  Deligiannis

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Cataphractarii! (I) – The cataphract cavalry in a period of 2,500 years

 

The onslaught of a unit of Sassanid or Central Asia Iranian  cataphracts in a marvelous artwork by Mariusz Kozik (credit: Creative Assembly Sega/Mariusz Kozik).

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By Periklis  Deligiannis

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The following text is a small part of the Introduction of my study: Kataphraktarii and Clibanarii: Late Roman full-armoured cavalry. Along with it I give a gallery of cataphracts from most of the ethnic and cultural regions in which their use was spread over a period of two and a half millennia.
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The first cataphracts or clibanarii were rather an invention of the Iranian Saka tribes of the Central Asian steppes – being the ancestors of the Sarmatians, the Scythians, the Dahae and the Massagetae among many others – or the non-Iranian but Indo-European as well Tocharians of the same steppes that is the ancestors of the Wu Sun and the Yuezhi of the Chinese chronicles. The term  cataphract is a Greek word (κατάφρακτος) meaning the ‘fully armoured’ warrior and was adopted by the Romans (catafractarius) while the other almost synonymous Latin term clibanarius is actually the Latinized and originally Iranian term grivpanvar which is possibly analyzed as griva–pana–bara, meaning the bearer of neck-guard plates being a feature of the early cataphracts. I prefer to use the more correct verbal type kataphraktos which is closer to the original Greek word κατάφρακτος but in this abstract I will use the Latin-originated term cataphract in order not to confuse the reader.

Roman military footwear: Bronze caliga from an over life-size statue of a Roman cavalryman

Republication from Following hadrian (by Carole Raddato)

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Bronze caliga from a over life-size statue of a Roman cavalryman
© Carole Raddato

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Caligae were heavy hob-nailed military boots worn by the Roman legionary soldiers, auxiliaries and cavalrymen throughout the Roman Republic and Empire.

Roman engineering II: The Roman Temple of Évora (Portugal)

Republication from Following hadrian (by Carole Raddato)

The Roman Temple of Évora (Templo romano de Évora), also referred to as the Templo de Diana (although there is no basis in fact for this designation) is an ancient temple in the historic city of Évora, Portugal. The temple is part of the historical centre of the city, which was included in the classification by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

In 57 BC, the city was conquered by the Romans who renamed it Liberalitas Julia and expanded it into a walled town. The temple is believed to have been built around the first century AD and was probably erected in honour of emperor Augustus. It was built in the main public square (forum) of Liberalitas Julia.

The temple has undergone numerous changes throughout history. What remains of this structure today is the podium, almost completely preserved and made of granite blocks, an intact colonnade along its northern facade consisting of six columns, four columns to the east and four columns on its western facade.

The Roman Temple of Évora, the northern facade consisting of six columns
© Carole Raddato

[image not to  be shown here: visit the original source]

The Roman Temple of Évora
© Carole Raddato

The Weapon That Changed History

Republication from the Archaeology Magazine

 

Roman legionaries board on a Carthaginian warship during the First Punic War. Artwork by Peter Connolly.

by Andrew Curry

Evidence of Rome’s decisive victory over Carthage is discovered in the waters off Sicily

In his work The Histories, the second-century B.C. Greek historian Polybius chronicles the rise of the Romans as they battled for control of the Mediterranean. The central struggle pits the Romans against their archenemies the Carthaginians, a trading superpower based in North Africa. For 23 years, beginning in 264 B.C., the two rivals fought what became known as the First Punic War.

Roman engineering: The Hadrianic aqueduct of Caesarea Maritima, Israel

Republication from Following hadrian

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Caesarea Maritima is perhaps one of Israel’s most famous attractions. Its ruins are located by the sea-shore of Israel about half way between Tel Aviv and Haifa. It is the site of one of the most important cities of the Roman World, the capital of the province of Judaea. The city was founded between 22 and 10 BC by Herod the Great (37-4 BC) as an urban centre and harbor on the site of the earlier Straton’s Tower. The city has been populated through the late Roman and Byzantine era. Today, Caesarea is a large and beautiful national park and a fascinating place to visit while exploring the Holy Land.

Herod the Great’s palace and circus, Caesarea
© Carole Raddato

The Judaean port of Caesarea had no reliable source of fresh water when construction on the city began around 22 BC. King Herod commissioned a raised aqueduct to deliver water from the springs near Shuni, 16 kilometers north-east of Caesarea Maritima. Today, the most impressive part of the Herodian aqueduct (known as the high-level aqueduct I) can be seen on the beach of Caesarea, north of the ancient city.