Money in Ancient Rome

The Battle of the Milvian Bridge changed our world. The christogram is wedded to this event. Constantine made it the symbol of his victory. This podcast is dedicated to the first use of the Chi-Rho on a coin.

Do you know, what Asklepios the Greek god of healing has to do with a football? Nothing at all. Nevertheless you will find a ball next to his foot on coins. The reason for it you will get to know in this podcast.

Marriage in Rome was originally based on custom and tradition and the political system scarcely affected the nature of marriage. Only on the change from the republic to the empire did interference in private life become clearly detectable.

This DVD deals with the Christian religion and examines the question of what the New Testament has to say about money and the right way to handle it. In the scriptures there are more answers than you might think.

She was a stunner this Galla Placidia. Daughter of an emperor, hostage and widow of a Gothic king, widow of an emperor, mother and regent of an emperor and always in the middle of politics.

Nero was quite a popular emperor in his day. And when he received the brother of the Parthian king, the whole of Rome had a celebration.

It was a long way until the old deities were finally replaced by Christian Trinity in the Roman Empire. The images on coins testify to this change of religion being a difficult one.

Isis, Osiris, Mithras and Cybele – they all were venerated in a way that bears strong resemblance to Christianity. What was the difference of these cults from the traditional kinds of religion in the ancient world?

The magical belief of a people of plain peasants constitutes the cornerstone of Roman religion. As the Roman Empire expanded, so did the Roman pantheon as we can deduce from the designs of the Roman coins.

Hadrian (117–138) was a very special emperor. His voyages made Rome a cosmopolitan Empire. One of them brought Hadrian to Egypt. Our podcast reports about this trip.

Long before man paid with coins he used standardized objects as money. Merchants preferred metal: gold, silver, copper, bronze all over the world through the ages.

How do you reign an empire without being equipped with telephone and internet? Share the work! Like Diocletian did. He created the tetrarchy and ruled the Roman empire very successfully with a little help of his colleagues.

Agrippa was no Roman Emperor. Nevertheless we are finding his portrait on a coin. Who was this man? And why had his grandson him pictured on coins.

Do you know how athletes were honored during the era of the Roman Empire? This podcast deals with price crowns, trophy money and professionals who made big money due to their talent.

The Emperor was not only a political and military, but first and foremost the most important economic power in Rome. He obtained the money from the elaborated fiscal system, which he controlled.

What happened after the murder of Caesar, and how did Octavian manage to edge all the other important politicians aside, despite his adverse initial situation.

Caesar came out of nowhere and became the mightiest man in Rome. Money played a decisive part. Which, you will learn here.

As soon as the Roman legionaries became professional soldiers their commanders won power to a degree the Roman Republic never had seen before. The Imperators dominated the first cent. BCE.

The Caecilii Metelli are a true example for the way families and their network dominated Roman politics in the Republican period.

A political career cost money in Rome and those who failed were wiped out financially. Which consequences this brought for those who lived in the Roman provinces and in neighboring regions, you will read here.

Roman Republican thinking focused on war. Everything was connected with war: important gods, the army. Therefore it’shardly surprising that the Romans invented money just to improve warfare.

Those who wanted to get to the center of power in Rome had a very long way ahead of themselves. Outsiders had a difficult time. But there was one other possibility: to use the popular assembly - watch how the system crumbled.

Imagine to be in ancient Rome and you want to become a politician. There were specific preconditions and career steps. The historian Ursula Kampmann explains the system.

Roman politicians needed much money to win the vote. As a result, each one was overindebted. Part of the Roman Empire is based on the money crunch of Roman politicians.