Ctesiphon

Said to have been built on the East side of the River Tigris by King Vardanes (or Vardanus), Ctesiphon served as the administrative capital of both the Parthian and Sassanid Empires and attracted scientists, architects and writers from all over the Middle Eastern world. It was located twenty miles south of the location where Baghdad […]

Medieval Weapons – The Quarterstaff [Ep5]

The Quarterstaff became extremely popular in Medieval Europe, notably England, and was used as an informal, close-combat weapon.

Baghdad – Islam’s Greatest City

For five hundred years, Baghdad, the modern-day capital of Iraq, shone as the gem in the Muslim world. Founded during the Golden Age of Islam, Baghdad quickly expanded, becoming a sprawling metropolis of houses, markets, hospitals and schools.

Castor and Pollux – Mythology and Religion

The twin boys, Castor and Pollux, are often associated with Roman pagan religion. Merchants and sailors would pray or make sacrifices to them to ensure a safe voyage.

Medieval Weapons – The Mace [Ep4]

Maces, or as they were otherwise known, bludgeons, became extremely popular in the Middle Ages in Eastern Europe, where the poorer soldiers could arm themselves cheaply with an easy-to-produce weapon with deadly potential.

Alexander and the Gordian Knot – A Violent Solution

One of the best known stories of the Macedonian King Alexander’s reign, is the tale of the striking of the Gordian knot, a tightly twisted and bound bundle of rope connected to a wagon. Not only is it a nice story, it is also a possibly example of Alexander’s mentality and attitude towards solving problems, […]

An Outstanding Victory – Battle of Gaugamela, 331BC

With no defeats in his campaign, Alexander was prepared to turn his army and march to Babylon, where he hoped he could take over the city and be crowned King of the Persian Empire. But before he could do so, Darius III sent a letter asking for his wife and children to be given back. […]

“On Ancient Warfare” – Book Review

“On Ancient Warfare”, in my opinion, should be used as a general reference book on the topics of fighting in antiquity, rather than a cover-to-cover read. Thank you to Pen and Sword who sent these books out to review. This is the third episode of Reviewing History Products.

Titus Livius’ History of Rome Summary [Bk1Ch6]

Maybe I should be doing these chapter summaries more frequently so we can get into the more interesting chapters of Livy, but I want to keep the balance right. In this section, we see Amulius killed and Numitor placed rightfully back on the throne.

First Defeat of Darius – Battle of Issus, 333BC

With Memnon of Rhodes’ forces destroyed at the first major battle of the Persian invasion by the Macedonians, Alexander led his blood-thirsty army – which had little need for any recovery time – along Anatolia’s Aegean Coast, bribing, frightening and besieging the ports into submission. Consequently, he had diminished Persian naval dominance around the Greek […]

First Clash – Battle at the Granicus, 334 BC

After crossing the Hellespont from homeland Greece to Asia Minor – the Western half of the mighty Persian Empire – with an army of approximately forty-thousand men, Alexander gathered his men and headed for the Aegean coast and Persian naval bases. It was extremely important that he captured or took out these coastal cities otherwise […]

Five (More) Commonly Asked History Questions

1. Did the Romans really control a quarter of the world? No, they didn’t. They conquered the majority of Europe, a slice along the North of Africa and mostly dominated the east. This map shows the extent of the Roman Empire in the year 117AD, at around the height of its landmass and power. It […]

Top 10 Rules Of The Knights Templar

1. Always Obey Orders The sheer fighting skill and discipline of the Templars depended on complete obedience to instructions, and it was the duty of any of these Knights to carry out the commander’s orders to the best of his ability. No matter the circumstance, the Templars would always have to act like fighting machines […]

The Invention Of The Automobile – Who Made The First Car?

For centuries, humans had believed that there would be a way to move quicker and more easily without the use of animals such as horses or donkeys. They knew that mechanics and scientific innovation would lead to the invention of a carriage which was powered by nature and working parts rather than biological life. But […]

Titus Livius’ History of Rome Summary [Bk1Ch5]

In the fifth chapter of Livy’s work, we see Romulus escape capture, Remus taken for punishment to the King, and the assassination of the treacherous usurper Amulius. Here is my brief summary of chapter 5 of the first books – enjoy 🙂 Romulus and Remus were celebrating the festival of Lupercalia – founded by Evander, […]

A brief history of Christmas through the ages…

In the oldest, darkest of Ancient Times, there existed a period of great celebration stretching from around late December to the first days of January, known to the pagans and druids of the cold and icy North.

What was medieval farming like?

How did they follow the seasons? What tools did they use? How long did they work? How much were they payed?

Drawing a sword from your back? Nonsense.

We’ve seen it all, in movies, books, exaggerated but unhistoric illustrations and oftentimes our imaginations. But the question is, did swordsmen ever really pull a sword from a back scabbard, and how practical would it have been to carry your weapon out of your view – and potentially out of your reach?

In what ways could you be executed in Medieval Times?

The 13 unlucky ways you could be put to death for your crimes in the Dark Ages. These include medieval ways of public and private execution, and certainly some of the most painful and brutal methods in history.

Titus Livius’ History of Rome Summary [Bk1Ch4]

It’s getting a little bit more interesting here; we’re almost at the founding of Rome. Here is the brief summary of chapter 4…

The crossbow – Medieval weapons #3

The crossbow was able to release heavier, thicker bolts with more puncturing potential from a stored source of energy.

Use these tips to boost your history research efficiency

Studying? Working on a project? Or are you a blogger like me researching for your next post? Using the correct research techniques is the best way to save yourself time and effort when studying. Here are my favourite ten tips for tripling the efficiency of your learning and finding what you need to know quicker. […]

The longsword – Medieval weapons #2

The longsword was also known as the Bastardsword and became popular in Europe between 1100 and 1400.

Meet the Romans – What did they eat? [Ep2]

The food of Ancient Rome is often called the “most rounded and balanced diet of the ancient world”. And if you know the variety of different meats, vegetables and cheeses they ate, it’s not hard to see why. Although it is debatable whether they were better fed than their surrounding Mediterranean neighbours, we can be […]

Meet the Romans – On the march [Ep1]

During the Imperial Period, the Romans constructed hundreds of thousands of miles of paved and unpaved roads to connect provinces, towns and ports and enable widespread military mobilization within and outside the Empire’s borders.

The Longbow – Medieval Weapons #1

The longbow, a devastatingly powerful long range weapon, was highly popular with English armies in the Middle Ages, although it was the Welsh who designed such a practical and deadly device. English Kings brought it into common use following defeated attacks on Wales.

The Battle Of Agincourt, 1415

Following his ascending to the throne in 1413, Henry V planned to assert his dominance over the French and possibly take the throne. As they had been engaging in smaller scales skirmishes on the English coast as well as supporting their enemies – including Scotland – Henry decided to transport his army of around 12,000 […]

Titus Livius’ History Of Rome Summary [Bk1Ch3]

In the past few days, I’ve been reading far into Livy’s History of Rome. But as I do not want to clog my blog up with constant summaries, I’m taking it slow. Hope the summary of chapter 3 helps you….

Stop using a diary, start using this war journal

Hello, second episode of “Reviewing History Products”! It is thanks to my kind donor, James at History Gear, that I am able to continue doing these; he has sent me a package of different things to inspect and write upon. I’ve had a look at what has arrived, and it’s fair to say that I’m […]

This Book Will Train You Like A KNIGHT

This is the very first post in my new series, “Reviewing History Products”. I am really grateful to Pen and Swords Publishing who kindly sent me a set of books to review and it is because of their generous donation that I have decided to make this into a series. As of yet, I’ve been […]

Hoardes Of 17th Century Cannonballs Found In Stockholm

Archaeologists excavating around Stockholm in Sweden stumbled upon a treasure trove of various military equipment, including “hundreds” of cannonballs dating back to the great age of Newton, Elizabeth I and Bach. Credit: Archaeology Mag

A Short Biography Of William Shakespeare

Arguably the greatest poet and play-wright in English history, William Shakespeare was born on the 23rd of April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon.

Christmas is coming… but what’s on The Augustus?

What do we have to look forward to this December? Here I’ve compiled a list of posts which I’ve either planned to start or have already begun researching. I hope you find something that you are interested in!

How were medieval swords made?

Welcome, Knight Errant! I see you want to be talked through the steps in the process of forging your own medieval sword! We won’t be making no flimsy wooden swords here – grab your swordsmith and we can get to work blacksmithing a new weapon!

Medieval Battle Simulator iOS First Try

Titus Livius’ History of Rome Summary [Bk1Ch2]

I’ve read a few more chapters of Livy’s great work, the History of Rome. Here is my simple summary of the second chapter of the first book:

History – Guest Blogging, Reviews and Sponsors

Hi all, Currently I am in the process of expanding my blog and trying to find brands to work with to benefit both of us.

History lover? Five apps you need NOW

Here is a little list of five really great apps all people interested in learning history should have on their phone or tablet.

Trenches of War Gameplay – Battle of the Somme

Needless to say, this game is not historically accurate nor is designed to be so. Nevertheless it’s really fun to play, if you like World War I, I recommend you download it and try it out 🙂 Sorry if the video is taking a while to load… You can support me here: History Article Writing […]

Article Updates #2

Some more work has been done on the article Take a tour of Ancient Rome, and I hope you enjoy the additions. If you yourself have something to contribute to the article, let me know!

Take a tour of Ancient Rome….

… and much more in the rise of this glorious Empire. This is The Augustus, and today we’ll be talking about the industrialisation of a small Latin community into an thriving urban superpower, and what it was like to live in the “city of marble”.

Article Updates #1

I’ve been making additions to some of my blog posts – adding new facts, trying to elaborate more on my points and checking grammar. Here is the article of editing today:

Where I’ve Been, What I’ve Seen

Here are some of my most interesting pictures from the many historical places I have visited. I hope you enjoy them. I’m slowly expanding my territories of exploration 😂 so you’ll probably see more from me as time goes on…. can you identify some of these places??

Titus Livius’ History of Rome Summary [Bk1Ch1]

Titus Livius’ incredible work, The History of Rome, details everything from the inhabitation of Italy by Trojans until the rise of Augustus as the first Emperor. I’ve only just started reading this mammoth work – and here is a quick summary of the first chapter of the first book which I’ve already finished:

Endless Treasures Found In Greek “Griffin” Warrior Tomb

Archaeological excavations around the Ancient Greek city of Pylos have never yielded such stunning historical rewards.

I Will Write Your History Article From $5

I’ve decided that seen as I’m relentlessly writing blog posts on my own website, I may as well use my enjoyment of researching and writing about all aspects of history to help people that are interested in getting an article written for very cheap.

Armistice Day 11th November 1918

The eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 marked the signing of the Armistice and the end of World War I.

Addition to “Great Peloponnesian War” [UPDATE]

This section was added to the post, Great Peloponnesian War on 10th November 2018: One of the reasons Athens grew to such a size and became rich so quickly was because as they conquered lands, they forced the natives to pay tributes to them.

Addition To Hadrian’s Wall Post [UPDATE]

This addition to the post Constructing Hadrian’s Wall And Why Was It There? was made on the 6th November 2018: Also, the Emperor was particularly interested in architecture, which probably inspired his organised design of the wall. Other walls built during the slow decline of the Roman Empire didn’t match to Hadrian’s Wall.

Story Of The Gunpowder Plot And Is There More Than Meets The Eye?

Bonfire night is celebrated by communities all over the UK, but only recently has there been a growth in popularity for a new conspiracy theory about the plot. In today’s blog post, we look at the 400 year old tale and examine “gunpowder, treason and plot”.

I Saw The Wellington Monument

Around a week ago, I visited the Wellington Monument, which is a 19th century obelisk memorial to Duke Wellington of the British army who helped defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

Five Commonly Asked History Questions

Here is a list of frequently asked questions about all topics of history – I’m going to try and answer them in the best way. Please keep in mind some answers may be written with my personal opinion, but it will still be facts.

Photos From The RAMM Museum, Exeter

These are some pictures I took whilst looking around the Royal Albert Memorial Museum. The exhibitions are actually surprisingly large; there are lots of historical artifacts to blow your mind, as well as an Ancient Egyptian mummy. Hopefully you like the photos I took 🙂 17th Century Civil War armour, used by the soldiers defending […]

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Historical Brain Dump #1

This is the first ever historical brain dump. In each dump I provide ten revision facts about history that you might not know or might have forgotten. If you want more of these, comment below. Thanks! Caesar’s first invasion of Britain was in 55BC. The wheel was probably invented in about 3500-4000 BC The Battle […]

UPDATE: Rise and Fall of Napoleon [New Addition]

Original Article: https://the-augustus.com/2018/10/26/rise-to-power-wars-and-napoleons-death-in-misery/ This section was added to the article “Ride to Power, Wars and Napoleon’s Death in Misery”:

Top Ten Most Tragic Battles That Changed History Forever

Any blunder in war, big or small, is bound to fine tune our perception of fighting forever, but it is the greatest upsets in military history that truly turn the world in an entirely new direction. Furious encounters like the Battle of Stalingrad and nation-changing conflicts such as the Battle of Hastings will be remembered […]

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What To Expect From The Augustus In November

As we draw every closer to Christmas, Bonfire Night and the anniversary of Armistice Day, you’ll be seeing a lot more awesome articles from me about a range of interesting topics that I’m sure will make you stop and read.

Constructing Hadrian’s Wall and Why Was It There?

The seventy three mile long stone wall stretching from the west to east coasts of Northern England is one of the most remarkable and huge historical building projects ever.

How To Build A Pyramid – The Short Guide!

Pyramids were some of the greatest construction projects the world has ever beheld. Making one was no small feat. Today I’m going to show you how to do it yourself.

I Visited Exeter’s Incredible Roman Walls

Behind the hustle and bustle of every city in the UK, there is a hidden heritage that can only be seen to those who seek it specially. Exeter, in South West Devon, is no exception.