Greatest battles

Around midday, off the coast at Actium in western Greece, two great fleets met in a confrontation that would decide the fate of the Roman world. Octavian, adopted heir of Julius Caesar, led a discipli

Danny Bird What made you decide to write about the collapse of the western Roman empire and the rise of Christianity? Alice Roberts I’ve long been fascinated by this historical period, especially in B

A poet who prospered despite Rome’s bloody civil wars

Should ancient Athens serve modern progressive causes?

Inside History

In AD 897, Pope Formosus was put on trial for the crimes of perjury, coveting the papacy and violating canon law by holding more than one bishopric at a time. In truth, the whole thing was a spectacle