Roman Empire
Is it meant to be a comedy? Gladiator II reviewed
It’s nearly 25 years since Ridley Scott’s Gladiator came out and you’ve probably been wondering what happened to the little…
Enthralling: BBC4’s Colosseum reviewed
In the year 2023, the Neo-Roman Empire was at the height of its powers. A potentially restive populace was kept…
On the trail of Roman Turkey with Don McCullin
Barnaby Rogerson on how his collaboration with a great photographer has brought the ancient world very close
An ancient stalemate may provide lessons today
History is always relevant, says Adrian Goldsworthy – and Rome’s long war with Parthia-Persia, ending in deadlock, should make Putin wary
Hearing Percy Bysshe Shelley read aloud was a revelation
Last week I heard the actor Julian Sands give a virtuoso performance of work by Percy Bysshe Shelley to mark…
The new treasures of Pompeii
One afternoon in AD 79 an unusual cloud appeared above Vesuvius in the Bay of Naples. ‘It was raised high…
Army recruiters should follow the Roman example
Advertisements encouraging men and women to join the army emphasise that their religious beliefs, sexual orientation and emotional needs will…
When in Rome…
I know I keep saying that in Decline of the West terms we’re all currently living in Rome, circa 400…
The best guide to being an EU politician – from 1,900 years ago
Boris Johnson argues that the current European Union is yet another failed attempt to replicate the golden age of a…
Might Eurovision determine the outcome of the EU referendum?
You might not think that the Eurovision Song Contest (screened live from Stockholm tonight) could have any connection with how…
Britain’s fight with European law goes back 750 years
It is no surprise that the laws imposed on the UK by a European parliament in Brussels should so infuriate…
Jean-Claude Juncker speaks to Britain like a Roman emperor
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU Commission, made a typically brilliant intervention in the EU referendum debate by arguing that…
György Spiro’s Captivity fails to captivate Tibor Fischer
It’s been a long time coming for György Spiró. However much Hungarian writers complain about the isolation forced upon them…
Jeremy Corbyn isn’t like Caligula’s horse – he’s like Caligula
Jeremy Corbyn has been compared to plenty of people over the past few months — a geography teacher, Michael Foot,…
Even Nazis weren’t quite sure how to do the Hitler salute
Gesture politics A royal home movie from 1933 apparently showed the future Queen, aged seven, and her mother giving a…
Vespasian’s Middle East policy (it should be ours, too)
As Ahmed Rashid argued last week, it is hard to see what the West is doing in the Middle East,…
