ElagabalusMarcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nicknames Elagabalus (ˌɛləˈgæbələs, ) and Heliogabalus (ˌhiːliə-,_-lioʊ- ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for sex scandals and religious controversy. A close relative to the Severan dynasty, he came from a prominent Arab family in Emesa (Homs), Syria, where since his early youth he served as head priest of the sun god Elagabal.
NoricumNoricum (ˈnɒrɪkəm) is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, Raetia and Vindelici to the west, Pannonia to the east and south-east, and Italia (Venetia et Histria) to the south. The kingdom was founded around 400 BC, and had its capital at the royal residence at Virunum on the Magdalensberg.
Roman legionThe Roman legion (legiō, ˈɫɛɡioː), the largest military unit of the Roman army, comprised 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of the Roman Empire (27 BC – AD 476). The size of a typical legion varied throughout the history of ancient Rome, with complements ranging from 4,200 legionaries and 300 equites (drawn from the wealthier classes – in early Rome all troops provided their own equipment) in the Republic, to 5,500 in the Imperial period.
GaleriusGalerius Valerius Maximianus (ɡəˈlɛəriəs; Greek: Γαλέριος; 258 – May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign he campaigned, aided by Diocletian, against the Sasanian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across the Danube against the Carpi, defeating them in 297 and 300. Although he was a staunch opponent of Christianity, Galerius ended the Diocletianic Persecution when he issued an Edict of Toleration in Serdica in 311.
DaciansThe Dacians (ˈdeɪʃənz; Daci ˈdaːkiː; Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often considered a subgroup of the Thracians. This area includes mainly the present-day countries of Romania and Moldova, as well as parts of Ukraine, Eastern Serbia, Northern Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary and Southern Poland.
Crisis of the Third CenturyThe Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis (235–284), was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. The crisis ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the ascension of Diocletian and his implementation of reforms in 284. The crisis began in 235 with the assassination of Emperor Severus Alexander by his own troops. During the following 50-year period, the Empire saw the combined pressures of barbarian invasions and migrations into Roman territory, civil wars, peasant rebellions and political instability, with multiple usurpers competing for power.
DomitianDomitian (dəˈmɪʃən,_-iən, ; Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a ruthless but efficient autocrat", his authoritarian style of ruling put him at sharp odds with the Senate, whose powers he drastically curtailed. Domitian had a minor and largely ceremonial role during the reigns of his father and brother.
CaligulaGaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (kəˈlɪgjʊlə), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from AD 37 until his assassination in AD 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, Augustus' granddaughter. Caligula was born into the first ruling family of the Roman Empire, conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Roman cavalryRoman cavalry (Latin: equites Romani) refers to the horse-mounted forces of the Roman army throughout the Regal, Republican, and Imperial eras. In the Regal era the Roman cavalry was a group of 300 soldiers called celeres, tasked with guarding the king. Later their numbers were doubled to 600, then possibly 1,800. All of the cavalrymen were patricians. In the Republican era, the general name for the cavalry was Equites and consisted of the Equites class and the First Class, with a group of 300 cavalrymen in every legion.
ScutumThe scutum (ˈskuːt̪ʊ̃; plural scuta) was a type of shield used among Italic peoples in antiquity, most notably by the army of ancient Rome starting about the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted it when they switched from the military formation of the hoplite phalanx of the Greeks to the formation with maniples (manipuli). In the former, the soldiers carried a round shield, which the Romans called a clipeus. In the latter, they used the scutum, which was larger.
