Tag: Rome

• Podcast

24th January 41: Caligula is assassinated by members of the Praetorian Guard

• 24th January 2022
• Tagged as: Ancient Rome, Assassination, Caligula, Politics, Roman Empire, Rome

Three Praetorian Guards cornered Caligula in a cryptoporticus beneath his palace on the Palatine Hill and stabbed him to death.

• Podcast

17th January 1944: Allies launch the Battle of Monte Cassino during the Second World War

• 17th January 2022
• Tagged as: Britain, France, Germany, Hitler, Italy, Rome, Second World War, Sicily, USA, War

The Battle of Monte Cassino began when Allied forces launched the first of four attacks against the Gustav Line in Italy.

• Podcast

16th January 27 BCE: The Roman Senate grant Octavian the titles Augustus and Princeps

• 16th January 2022
• Tagged as: Ancient Rome, Augustus, Emperor, Julius Caesar, Octavian, Roman Empire, Rome

The title Augustus is understood to translate as ‘the illustrious one’ and, although the title did not grant Octavian him political authority, many historians see this as the point at which his rule as first Roman Emperor began.

• Podcast

10th January 49 BCE: Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon River on his march to Rome

• 10th January 2022
• Tagged as: First Triumvirate, Julius Caesar, March on Rome, Pompey, Roman Empire, Rome, Rubicon

Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon with the 13th Legion during his march on Rome that led to the Roman Civil War.

• Podcast

30th December 1993: Israel and the Vatican City begin diplomatic relations

• 30th December 2021
• Tagged as: Anti-Semitism, Catholicism, Christianity, Israel, Judaism, Politics, Pope, Rome, Vatican, Vatican City

Relations between Catholicism and Judaism cover a long, complex and violent history in which Christians revered the Jewish scriptures yet held Jews collectively responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus.

• Podcast

1st November 1512: Michelangelo’s ceiling of the Sistine Chapel unveiled

• 1st November 2021
• Tagged as: Art, Culture, Italy, Michelangelo, Papacy, Pope, Renaissance, Rome, Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

The public saw the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for the first time when Pope Julius II celebrated All Saints Day mass.

• Podcast

31st October 1922: The cabinet of Benito Mussolini formally takes power in Italy

• 31st October 2021
• Tagged as: Blackshirts, Fascism, Italy, March on Rome, Mussolini, Revolution, Rome, Victor Emmanuel III

Mussolini, who was determined to restore the glory of the Roman Empire following the ‘mutilated victory’ of the First World War, had formed the precursor to the Fascist Party in 1919.

• Podcast

27th September 1590: Pope Urban VII dies, ending the the shortest papal reign in history

• 27th September 2021
• Tagged as: Catholicism, Europe, Mexico, Papacy, Papal States, Pope, Rome, Smoking, Tobacco, Urban VII, Urban VIII, Vatican

The shortest papacy in history ended after just twelve days following the death of Pope Urban VII, shortly after he introduced Europe’s first smoking ban.

• Podcast

2nd September 31 BCE: Marc Antony and Cleopatra defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium

• 2nd September 2021
• Tagged as: Augustus, Battle of Actium, Cleopatra, Egypt, Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, Navy, Octavian, Roman Empire, Rome

Octavian defeated the combined forces of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium.

• Podcast

13th October 54: Emperor Claudius dies in mysterious circumstances

• 13th October 2020
• Tagged as: Assassination, Empire, Poison, Politics, Roman Empire, Rome, Succession

On the 13th October AD 54, the Roman Emperor Claudius died, supposedly after being poisoned.