Roman Empire
The Roman Empire, ruled from the city of Rome, was a large empire that existed in Europe. (TV: The Romans [+]Loading...["The Romans (TV story)"]) At its height, it was the most extensive political and social structure in the Western world. (PROSE: A History of Humankind [+]Loading...["A History of Humankind (novel)"]) It encompassed cities like Pompeii (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"]) and Byzantium, (PROSE: Byzantium! [+]Loading...["Byzantium! (novel)"]) with its legions conquering territory as far as Arabia, Africa and Northern England (GAME: "Amy's Profile: The Romans" [+]Part of Amy's History Hunt, Loading...{"namedpart":"Amy's Profile: The Romans","1":"Amy's History Hunt (video game)"}) They had a presence as far as Aberdeen (TV: The Eaters of Light [+]Loading...["The Eaters of Light (TV story)"]) and Gelligaer, where a Roman fort was situated. (TV: End of Days [+]Loading...["End of Days (TV story)"])
Society
The Romans spoke Latin. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"]) The sesterce was a coin currency used by the Roman Empire. (TV: The Romans [+]Loading...["The Romans (TV story)"])
In Roman culture, bisexuality was seen as "ordinary", and to only like one sex was seen by some as surprising. (TV: The Eaters of Light [+]Loading...["The Eaters of Light (TV story)"])
Merchants in Roman times traded in items including amphoras and marble. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"])
According to Doland, the Empire was built on slave labour. (TV: Terror of the Vervoids [+]Loading...["Terror of the Vervoids (TV story)"])
Romans ate ants in honey and dormice. They were known to drink wine. Olive oil could be used for medicinal purposes. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"])
Military
According to the Doctor, the Romans were the greatest military machine in the history of the universe, beating even the Daleks. (TV: The Pandorica Opens [+]Loading...["The Pandorica Opens (TV story)"])
The Roman Army fought in large groups, known as legions. Centurion was a rank. They fought with swords and shields. (TV: The Eaters of Light [+]Loading...["The Eaters of Light (TV story)"]) Soldiers in the Roman Army were usually male. (TV: The Pandorica Opens [+]Loading...["The Pandorica Opens (TV story)"], The Eaters of Light [+]Loading...["The Eaters of Light (TV story)"])
Religion
The Roman Empire existed during an age of superstition. Romans could therefore be easily deceived or frightened by more evolved species and futuristic technologies. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"], The Pandorica Opens [+]Loading...["The Pandorica Opens (TV story)"])
The Romans believed in numerous Gods and prophesies. Named Gods and Goddesses included Vulcan and Venus. There were also "Gods of commerce" and "Gods of the Underworld". (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"])
Romans worshipped Household Gods, who they believed were "always watching". In the Roman city of Pompeii, the tremors caused by Mount Vesuvius were believed by some to be the talk of the Gods, making their anger or approval known. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"])
The Sibylline Sisterhood were a cult of soothsayers active during the Roman Empire, who followed prophesies set down in the Sibylline Oracles. Augurs were paid by cities to tell the future. Haruspices were also known for seeing the truth. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"])
Architecture and engineering
When the Romans took over places, they built roads. These roads were famous for being straight. (PROSE: The Way Through the Woods [+]Loading...["The Way Through the Woods (novel)"])
Roman buildings included temples, thermopoliums and amphitheatres. Hypocausts or wood-burning furnaces were used for heating. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"])
They invented concrete, scissors and candles. (COMIC: Quite Interesting [+]Loading...["Quite Interesting (comic story)"])
History
Early history
One of Scaroth's temporal splinters posed as a high-ranking Roman. (TV: City of Death [+]Loading...["City of Death (TV story)"])
After several failed attempts, the Roman Empire succeeded in conquering Britain in 43. The Roman occupation of Britain lasted until the early 5th century. (AUDIO: The Wrath of the Iceni [+]Loading...["The Wrath of the Iceni (audio story)"]) One of these failed attempts was led by Julius Caesar in 55 BC. (AUDIO: Living History [+]Loading...["Living History (audio story)"])
A Roman legion under Flavius Silva laid siege to Masada, which was being held by rebel Jews. The siege ended when the Jews killed each other. The First Doctor and his companions were involved in these events. (PROSE: The Last Days [+]Loading...["The Last Days (short story)"])
By 64 AD, the Roman army had put down revolutions in many parts of the empire, including in Britannia, Gaul, Germania, Dalmatia, Macedonia, Judaea, Syria, Galatia and Assyria. (PROSE: Byzantium! [+]Loading...["Byzantium! (novel)"])
When the town of Pompeii was taken over by the Pyrovile in August 79, they planned to build an empire that would "topple Rome itself". (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"])
The Doctor visited southern Europe many times during the Roman period. At one point, the First Doctor met Emperor Nero and inadvertently gave him the idea to burn Rome. (TV: The Romans [+]Loading...["The Romans (TV story)"]) He was also alleged to have met, among other humans native to this time, Hannibal (TV: Robot [+]Loading...["Robot (TV story)"]) and Cleopatra. (TV: The Masque of Mandragora [+]Loading...["The Masque of Mandragora (TV story)"], The Girl in the Fireplace [+]Loading...["The Girl in the Fireplace (TV story)"]) He was also familiar with the accounts of Julius Caesar and Tacitus of the customs of the Celts and their Druid priests, noting them as among the few historically reliable ones, but with no great detail. (TV: The Stones of Blood [+]Loading...["The Stones of Blood (TV story)"]) He also visited Judea during the reign of Augustus, and beat Mary and Joseph to the last room in a local inn. (TV: Voyage of the Damned [+]Loading...["Voyage of the Damned (TV story)"])
In 100, (PROSE: A Sourcebook for Field Agents [+]Loading...["A Sourcebook for Field Agents (novel)"]) a group of Roman soldiers were kidnapped by the War Lords for their War Games. Though the survivors were returned by the Time Lords, (TV: The War Games [+]Loading...["The War Games (TV story)"]) the Twelfth Doctor suggested that the kidnapping of thousands of soldiers presented a setback to the empire. (PROSE: A History of Humankind [+]Loading...["A History of Humankind (novel)"]) As part of the Dalek Project, time travelling bronze Daleks engaged Roman soldiers in battle. (COMIC: The Dalek Project [+]Loading...["The Dalek Project (comic story)"])
In 111, Trajan was the Roman Emperor. (COMIC: The Long Con [+]Loading...["The Long Con (comic story)"])
Fall of Rome
In 451, Valentinian was Emperor. He had offended Attila the Hun, and subsequently the Huns launched a devastating invasion of the empire. (PROSE: Combat Magicks [+]Loading...["Combat Magicks (novel)"])
In 476, (PROSE: The Ruby's Curse [+]Loading...["The Ruby's Curse (novel)"]) the Doctor and Rory Williams were both present, but not together, during the fall of Rome. (TV: Day of the Moon [+]Loading...["Day of the Moon (TV story)"])
The Roman Empire split into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, with Ravenna becoming the capital of the west and Constantinople the capital of the east. By 540, the western empire had fell and the Eastern Roman Empire was ruled by Justinian, who was attempting to reconquer Italy from the Ostrogoths. (AUDIO: The Secret History [+]Loading...["The Secret History (audio story)"])
Constantinople remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire until 1453, when it was captured by the Turks. ((GAME: "Amy's Profile: The Romans" [+]Part of Amy's History Hunt, Loading...{"namedpart":"Amy's Profile: The Romans","1":"Amy's History Hunt (video game)"}, PROSE: Shadowmind [+]Loading...["Shadowmind (novel)"])
River Song's World
In an alternate timeline where all of history occurred at the same time, parts of the Roman Empire were integrated into Earth in 2011. Winston Churchill was the Holy Roman Emperor, with the title of Caesar. A Senate existed, and Roman soldiers were seen. (TV: The Wedding of River Song [+]Loading...["The Wedding of River Song (TV story)"])
Legacy
In an alternate history, the Lone Centurion was a legend emanating in Great Britain from the time of the Roman Empire. (TV: The Big Bang [+]Loading...["The Big Bang (TV story)"])
From the graffiti in Pompeii, historians were able to learn a great deal about Roman life. (AUDIO: The Unwinding World [+]Loading...["The Unwinding World (audio story)"])
By the year 12005, a New Roman Empire flourished. (TV: The End of the World [+]Loading...["The End of the World (TV story)"])
Parallel universes
There were at least 2,000 Known Worlds, called Romas, in which the Roman Empire never fell. They formed a coalition called the Empire of Empires and waged a war against the Greater German Reich during the War in Heaven. (PROSE: Warlords of Utopia [+]Loading...["Warlords of Utopia (novel)"])
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