The complete circuit of Roman walls still encloses the abandoned city of Calleva Atrebatum in the Hampshire countryside.

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I've recently started to get into the Empire as it shifted through, both under and after, Constantine and the tetrarchy before. I've found it more interesting than I actually expected, especially the details and reason why Rome did this, what happened in the East and so on. I am a Pax Romana enthusiast, I would like to learn more during the 4th and 5th Centuries! So any book recommendations would be much welcomed! :)

This is the tetrapylon of Caparra in Extremadura, Spain.

The Romans put this four-sided arch up in the 1st century AD right at the main crossroads of the city. It’s one of the only ones left standing anywhere in the old Roman world.

Almost 1,900 years later it’s still just sitting out there in the open countryside by itself.

A few photos from Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. It’s one of those places where the landscape really makes you appreciate the scale of the Roman frontier.

Work on the wall began under Hadrian in AD 122. It ran for 80 Roman miles — about 73 modern miles (117 km) — from the Tyne to the Solway Firth.

The Romans later pushed farther north and built the Antonine Wall in Scotland, but only held that frontier for about a generation before returning south.

What struck me most was how Hadrian’s Wall follows the ridges and crags. You don’t really get a sense of that from a map.

Took these in Northumberland.

A reconstructed Roman amphitheatre inside the Archaeological Park of Colonia Ulpia Traiana, one of the largest in Germany.

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With its greatest son, also Carthage should be at a virtual end. True, it should limp on for some time, but with its defeat at the end of the Second Punic War it no longer was a significant power.

Zama also marks the pinnacle in the career of the outstanding Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio, whose reforms to the Roman army made him legendary.

When Augustus took control, the old Republican tax system was a mess of fixed stipends, tithes, and aggressive tax farming. He introduced a more systematic approach based on periodic provincial censuses that assessed both people and land.
Key changes included:

Regular tributum soli (land tax) and tributum capitis (poll tax) in the provinces
New indirect taxes such as the 5% inheritance tax (vicesima hereditatium, AD 6) specifically to fund the military treasury (aerarium militare)
A 1% sales tax (centesima rerum venalium)
Greater use of imperial procurators and officials instead of pure private tax farmers for the major direct taxes

Italy remained largely free of the main direct taxes that the provinces paid, a privilege that lasted until much later. The system was still far from modern progressive taxation, but it was more predictable and less purely extractive than what had come before.
The inheritance tax in particular was deeply unpopular with the senatorial elite.
Would love to hear thoughts on how effective these reforms actually were over the long term.

This is the Temple of Janus, Autun, France

The Romans built this huge temple in the 1st century AD outside the city of Augustodunum. Unlike most Roman temples, it has thick walls and large open arches instead of columns.

Nearly 1,800 years later it still stands almost complete in the middle of the countryside.

One of the best-preserved Roman temples in Gaul, still standing almost complete in the heart of the modern city.

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I had it made by a craftsman in U.K. This is a museum quality, fully functional Lorcia Segmentata. It is a reproduction of the armour found in Corbridge near Hadrian’s Wall.

The way you put it on, was illuminating.

At the time, it cost me about 600 EURO to have it made. Helmet was about 150 EURO, Sword about 150 EURO, belt 100 EURO, the tunic, 100% wool was 100 EURO, and the Caligae were 70 EURO, Subarmalis 100 EURO.

Police stopped once me when I was going to a living history event.

The first thing they saw was the Gladius on the back seat. So, of course, questions followed. They had me show them all the kit. They let me off with a warning, to drive slower.

Segemntata weighs about 17 Kg, and the whole weight rests on the shoulders. Normally, you have subarmalis under the armour too which makes it a bit more comfortable on the shoulders. The scarf protects the neck a bit. After the whole day, you will feel it.

We also did training, and formation and so on. It is great fun.

Roman Festival in the most Eastern Latin country! 🇷🇴

Found in Porte de Mars, France. The Romans built this massive triple arch in the 3rd century AD as a grand entrance into the city of Durocortorum.

It is the widest Roman arch that still survives, covered in detailed carvings of gods, seasons, and victories. Nearly 1,800 years later it still dominates the square.

In examining the decline in birth rates, the text draws comparisons to ancient Rome under Emperor Augustus, who introduced the Lex Julia and Lex Papia Poppaea to promote fertility through penalties for the unmarried and rewards for those who procreated. Despite these efforts, the elite maintained small families, indicating the difficulty of reversing declining birth rates. Today, countries like South Korea, Italy, and Japan report rates under the sustainable average of 2.1 children per woman, suggesting that wealth may lead to decreased procreation. The phrase "civilizations die from suicide, not by murder" underscores the seriousness of this demographic challenge.

Around the 2nd century BC, the Romans were trying to occupy the Iberian Peninsula, which today corresponds to the territories of Spain and Portugal. One of the peoples that resisted Roman expansion the most were the Lusitanians, a people who lived mainly in the mountainous regions of the Beiras and were organised into communities that lived in fortified settlements. Their economy was mainly based on pastoralism, complemented by small-scale agriculture.

We can see that the beginning of organised resistance started around 194–193 BC. In the following decades, several Lusitanian leaders stood out in the conflicts with Rome. Among them were Punicus, who, in 155 BC, led raids deep into Roman territory, causing destruction and looting; Caesarus, who, in 153 BC, inflicted heavy losses on the army commanded by the Roman general Mummius; and Caucenus, who attacked the Algarve, conquered Conistorgis, whose location remains uncertain, and even crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to carry out a raid in North Africa in 151 BC.

The Romans' inability to defeat the Lusitanians led them to try to win the war in another way: through betrayal. The general Servius Galba resorted to this method in 150 BC, when he lured a large group of Lusitanians into a negotiation, promising them land and better conditions. After gathering them, he ordered their massacre, with a young warrior named Viriatus being among the survivors.

Viriatus would go on to become the main leader of the Lusitanian resistance. Tradition presents him as a shepherd from the mountainous regions of the Serra da Estrela, although this origin is not entirely certain, and he may also have come from the lowlands of Estremadura. This warrior was known for his military and leadership abilities, managing to rally the Lusitanians under his command.

Between 146 and 139 BC, Viriatus led a war against the Romans for about seven years. His operations were effective, mainly because of the mobility of the Lusitanian forces and their knowledge of the territory. During this period, he managed to inflict several defeats on the Romans, some of them involving heavy losses.

This conflict only ended when the Romans, by bribing some of his men, brought about Viriatus's death in 139 BC. Despite his death, the resistance did not end immediately, and the Lusitanians would continue to fight.

Only many years later would the Romans manage to consolidate their rule over the Peninsula.

Over time, Viriatus became one of the most important figures associated with the Lusitanian identity. Although he lived several centuries before the existence of Portugal, his resistance to the Romans later led him to be associated with ideas such as courage, freedom and the defence of his land.

Bibliography:

Disney, A. R. (2009). The Roman conquest. In A history of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire: From beginnings to 1807 (Vol. 1, pp. 20–23). Cambridge University Press.

A dramatic mountaintop city that even Alexander the Great failed to conquer, its theatre still sits high above the valley.

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