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Enemies of Ancient Rome -A Gallery Tour

The great Roman Empire had many enemies during its long rise and fall among them the legendary Attila, Alaric, and greatest of all, Hannibal (image on coin) who defeated the legions at Cannae in 216 BC.

Hannibal showed the mastery of the combined use of infantry and cavalry for which he was famous to surround and annihilate a huge Roman army. Of perhaps 70,000 Romans, only 14,500 survived to be taken prisoner at the end of the day. It is the greatest number of casualties suffered in a single battle by any western army before or since.

In the long run, he never received enough reinforcements to threaten Rome itself despite his army surviving in Italy for over a decade. In 183 BC, he committed suicide by taking poison to prevent himself being handed over to the Romans. Posted by Casey Kazan.

Gallery  See also Great Battle of the Roman Empire -An Interactive 3-D Game

Gallery of Roman Religion

This BBC Gallery illustrates the religious practices and beliefs within the Roman empire. At their core was the state religion, which prescribed worship of traditional gods (Jupiter, image at left), of the emperor (generally only when deceased), and of certain members of the imperial family ('the imperial cult'). The state religion co-existed with local pre-Roman cults, with empire-wide imported cults such as Mithraism, and with individual superstitions and belief in magic.

In his epic The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon wrote: "The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful."

Gallery Link

Enemies of Ancient Rome -A Gallery Tour

The great Roman Empire had many enemies during its long rise and fall among them the legendary Attila, Alaric, and greatest of all, Hannibal (image on coin) who defeated the legions at Cannae in 216 BC.

Hannibal showed the mastery of the combined use of infantry and cavalry for which he was famous to surround and annihilate a huge Roman army. Of perhaps 70,000 Romans, only 14,500 survived to be taken prisoner at the end of the day. It is the greatest number of casualties suffered in a single battle by any western army before or since.

In the long run, he never received enough reinforcements to threaten Rome itself despite his army surviving in Italy for over a decade. In 183 BC, he committed suicide by taking poison to prevent himself being handed over to the Romans. Posted by Casey Kazan.

Gallery  See also Great Battle of the Roman Empire -An Interactive 3-D Game

Gallery of Roman Religion

This BBC Gallery illustrates the religious practices and beliefs within the Roman empire. At their core was the state religion, which prescribed worship of traditional gods (Jupiter, image at left), of the emperor (generally only when deceased), and of certain members of the imperial family ('the imperial cult'). The state religion co-existed with local pre-Roman cults, with empire-wide imported cults such as Mithraism, and with individual superstitions and belief in magic.

In his epic The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon wrote: "The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful."

Gallery Link