Romans | Alison Morton's Thrillers

Roman doesn't mean one thing

Traditionally, ancient Rome was founded in 753 BC. It grew into one of the largest empires in the ancient world with roughly 20% of the world’s population and an area of 6.5 million square kilometres at its height.

Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the western part of the empire broke […]

Roman dating essentials

With Julius Caesar (He’s the one on the plinth.)

Watching the countdown calendar to the publication day of INCEPTIO reminded me that the first of the month in the Roman system – the Kalends – ended up as our word for measuring the whole thing – calendar.

In my Roma Nova thrillers, I […]

Io Saturnalia! One big party or the ancestor of Christmas?

Saturnalia was THE most important Roman festival. Heavy on feasting, fun and gifts, it was originally celebrated in Ancient Rome for only a day around 17 December (today!), but it was so popular it expanded into a week or even longer, despite Augustus’ efforts to reduce it to three days, and Caligula’s, to five. […]