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The world of ancient Romans abounded in a number of amazing curiosities and information. The source of knowledge about the life of the Romans are mainly works left to us by ancient writers or discoveries. The Romans left behind a lot of strange information and facts that are sometimes hard to believe.
Although gladiator fights were officially banned by Constantine the Great in the year 325 CE they were held until 404 CE. That year, on January 1, the Western Roman Emperor Honorius finally and irrevocably abolished these bloody games.
Kingdom of Kush, which was located in what is now Sudan, was a country similar in culture and religion to ancient Egypt.
Pears were known and used in ancient Rome. Pliny the Elder states that there were 41 known varieties of pear, each of which had a different taste, appearance and name. They were known, for example “Tiberian”, from the name of Emperor Tiberius, or “Falernian”, from the Falernum wine, known for its sweet taste.
In Roman sources, Mithridates VI Eupator appears to us as the leader of the wars that the Romans had to wage for about 25 years in the East. Mithridates was to strive to create a regional power from Pontus and displace Roman influence from the territories of present-day Turkey. But can we really speak of Mithridates as an aggressor, or rather a victim of Roman imperialism?
Lex Annalis was the law which decisively regulated the order of office (cursus honourum) in the Roman Republic. Moreover, it set the minimum age that a Roman citizen must have had to apply for a questorship. The requirement was 26 years of age and 10 years of military service.
Lucius Licinius Lucullus (117 – 56 BCE), is a somewhat forgotten figure. He lived in interesting times, which is why many mentions of him have been preserved by various authors. A great commander, and at the same time a person who was unable to win over the soldiers. This is how Cassius Dio characterized him in his “Roman history”:
Preserved Roman plaque with an inscription commemorating the deceased, on which the words known to us are placed: “may the earth rest lightly on you”. Written on a stone in Latin: “Sit tibi terra levis”. The object is located in the National Museum of Roman Art in Merida (Spain).
An interesting inscription from Philippi (Greece) has been preserved to our times, describing the life and military service of a certain Decimus Furius Octavius Secundus. He was a Roman soldier in the first half of the 2nd century CE. The artefact perfectly shows us what a career in the Roman army was like.
