Rome’s Greatest Enemies Gallery By Dr Peter Heather King Shapur I and the Roman emperor Valerian (kneeling) ©   Born c. 210 AD Died c. 272 AD Enemy of Rome: Persian ‘king of kings’ who destroyed three Roman armies in elevating Persia to superpower status alongside Rome. In the third engagement he captured...
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    By Dr Peter Heather Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontos ©   Born 120 BC Died 63 BC Enemy of Rome: Led the resistance of the Hellenistic East against Roman expansion in the first century BC. He spread the banner of revolt all the way to Greece until finally defeated, after three...
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  Rome’s Greatest Enemies Gallery By Dr Peter Heather Hannibal, Carthaginian general and political leader ©   Born 247 BC Died 182 BC Enemy of Rome: Carthaginian general famed for bringing his army, including elephants, over the Alps. Inflicted three huge defeats on Roman armies, including the largest ever at the battle of Cannae...
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  Rome’s Greatest Enemies Gallery By Dr Peter Heather Attila, King of the Huns, portrait from 1883 ©   Born c. 410 AD Died c. 453 AD Enemy of Rome: He led the Huns and their massed subject peoples in four massive assaults, attacking the east and west of the Roman empire twice each....
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  Rome’s Greatest Enemies Gallery By Dr Peter Heather Arminius, ruler of the Cheruscans ©   Born c. 19 BC Died c. 19 AD Enemy of Rome: War chief of the Cherusci,who led Germanic resistance to the Roman advance beyond the Elbe. Destroyed Varus and three roman legions in an ambush at the Teutoburger...
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  Rome’s Greatest Enemies Gallery By Dr Peter Heather Alaric, leader of the Visigoths ©   Born c. 360 AD Died c. 411 AD Enemy of Rome: Created the Visigoths, a new ‘super-tribe’ which the Romans found impossible to defeat militarily. In 410 AD, he led the Visigoths to the first sack of Rome...
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  Rome’s Pivotal Emperors By Pat Southern Colossal head of Constantine I ‘the Great’ ©   Born sometime between 271 and 273 AD Reigned 306 – 337 AD Pivotal moment: Constantine brought the endemic civil wars of the later third century to an end and reunified the Empire under his sole authority, promoting the...
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Rome’s Pivotal Emperors By Pat Southern Marble bust of Septimus Severus ©   Born 145 AD Reigned 193 – 211 AD Pivotal moment: Severus fostered the armies of the empire, but distanced himself from the dangers of assassination by making the imperial family sacrosanct, paving the way for the emperors of the later third...
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  Rome’s Pivotal Emperors By Pat Southern Portrait bust of Marcus Aurelius ©   Born 121 AD Reigned 161 – 180 AD Pivotal moment: Marcus Aurelius increased social mobility by promoting army officer and civil administrators on merit and ability, rather than on birth and class. Hadrian determined upon Marcus Aurelius for the succession...
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  Rome’s Pivotal Emperors By Pat Southern Bronze head from a statue of Hadrian ©   Born 76 AD Reigned 117 – 138 AD Pivotal moment: Hadrian put an end to expansion and enclosed the empire within clearly marked frontiers. Publius Aelius Hadrianus was related to the emperor Trajan on his father’s side, and...
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