A Little History of the World No.21
Julius Caesar’s successor Augustus ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BCE until 14 AD. Back then Palestine was a provincial outpost of the empire. And that’s where this very well known story took place. The earliest Christians had a tough life: they were persecuted and often faced horrible deaths in Roman colosseums in front of big crowds.
A Little History of the World No.20
We’ve reached the time of the Romans. You can divide the roman era into two distinct periods. For 500 years it was a Republic with senators and governors. Then, in the last century BCE, it became an empire: autocratic and ruthless. In this first period the republic grew from the centre of Italy to dominate most of Europe; it spent most of its time suppressing local tribes and crushing a slave revolt (the thing with Spartacus).
A Little History of the World No. 19
Right, back to the Mediterranean. With the Greek age winding down, a new society was growing from humble roots in the centre of Italy. After taking control of Italy they came up against their greatest enemy: the Carthaginians. That sparked an epic expedition in 218BCE. Hannibal would eventually lose and the Romans would dominate Europe for centuries.
