Happy August. Sousse Roman mosaic showing August. From Sousse Archaeological Museum, Tunisia

Today 306AD Constantine I is proclaimed Roman Emperor by his troops. He was also the first Roman emperor to claim conversion to Christianity & is thus a significant figure in the history of Christianity. Constantine was hailed emperor in the Roman city of York, known as Eboracum

Today 350 Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the usurper Magnentius, in Rome.

Today 421AD The Eastern Roman/Byzantine Emperor, Theodosius II married Aelia Eudocia. Also known as Saint Eudocia, she is important for her literary work which entwines her pagan upbringing with her conversion to Christianity

Born today 15 BC Julius Caesar Germanicus, Roman commander, born in Rome. The details of Germanicus’s career are known from the Annals of the Roman historian Tacitus, who portrayed him as a champion of republican principles.

Died today 392AD Valentinianus II, emperor of Rome (375-392), murdered at 21. His brother Gratian made him emperor at the age of four, in 375

Today 1737 Edward Gibbon - English historian and author of 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' born in Putney, England

On May 8, 413 AD, Western Roman Emperor Honorius issued an edict granting tax relief to several Italian provinces—Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania, and Calabria—that had been ravaged by the Visigoths, particularly following the sack of Rome in 410.

6 000 crucified slaves, scene from the movie Spartacus, 1960

Today 1184 BC The Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse (traditional date) In Greek mythology the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta Follow for more on the Romans at x.com/romanhistory1

Today 753 BC Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional date). They were the children of Rhea Silvia and Mars. Their story is recorded by many authors including Virgil who claims their birth and adventures were fated in order for Rome to be founded. via @romanhistory1.bsky.social

The Appian Way is a roman road constructed in 312 BC that is still in use today.

Today is the anniversary of the Temple of Fortuna Publica, She was the Goddess of luck. At Vindolanda in Northen England there is a dedicated altar to her. Fortuna was honored with 3 temples on the Quirinal Hill in Rome in the neighborhood called tres Fortunae, "the 3 Fortunas".

Today 503BC Agrippa Menenius Lanatus was awarded a triumph for his victories over the Sabines. He was also a Roman consul in the same year.

Caracalla was Born today 188AD. He had his brother Geta murdered later in 211AD. Caracalla introduce the Antoninianus, a coin used during the Roman Empire thought to have been valued at 2 denarii.

Today 51AD Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth). He is infamously known as the Emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned" and as an early persecutor of Christians.

Today 364AD Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west.

Today 303AD 1st official Roman edict for persecution of Christians issued by Emperor Diocletian Issued a series of edicts rescinding the legal rights of Christians and demanding that they comply with traditional Roman religious practices.

Died today 4AD Gaius Caesar. Was the oldest son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. Tacitus suggested that there may have been foul play involved in the death of Gaius and that Gaius's step grandmother Livia may have had a hand in his death.

Today 457AD Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Leo proved to be a capable ruler. He oversaw many ambitious political and military plans, aimed mostly for the aid of the faltering Western Roman Empire and recovering its former territories

Today 474AD Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire together with his young son Leo II. They ruled jointly until Leo's death of an unknown disease at the end of November 474. Zeno's reign saw the end of the Western Roman Empire under Romulus Augustus

Died today 98AD Marius Cocceius Nerva, Died of a stroke at about 67. He became Emperor at the age of sixty-five after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. He the first Roman Emperor to be elected by the Senate.

Today 98AD Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva. Officially declared by the Senate as optimus princeps ("the best ruler"), he is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over the greatest military expansion in Roman history

Marcian died today 457AD. His policies left the Western Roman Empire without help against barbarian attacks, which materialized in the Italian campaigns of Attila and in the Vandal sack of Rome (455)

Today 27BC The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. First Roman emperor to have been made a god. His great-uncle was Caesar. He replaced the Roman republic with an effective monarchy and during his long reign brought peace & stability

Today Galba Died 69AD Roman Emperor for 7 months from 68 to 69. Galba was the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis & made a bid for the throne during the rebellion of Julius Vindex. He was the 1st emperor of the Year of the 4 Emperors & the last emperor born in the First Century BC

Today 69AD Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor, only rules for three months before committing suicide. 6th emperor of Rome. The governor of Hispania Tarraconensis at the time of the rebellion of Julius Vindex in Gaul, he seized the throne following Nero's suicide.

Today 46BC Julius Caesar defeats Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. It was fought in the Roman province of Africa. Caesar's former supporter had defected to the Republican side at the beginning of the civil war.

Happy January. Sousse Roman mosaic showing January. From Sousse Archaeological Museum, Tunisia

January is named after the Roman god Janus. He had two faces to see the future and the past