by David Tollen | Mar 30, 2023 | Ancient History, Teacher-Specific, Roman Empire, The Early Modern Age, Geography, Linguistics & Philology
I’m pleased to announce something unusual and fun. I’ve written a short booklet on history, and you can get a copy right here — for free. The booklet includes original illustrations by a great artist named Neerajana Deb, as well as artistic maps. I...
by David Tollen | Jan 25, 2020 | Ancient History, Roman Empire, Classical Civilization
This week in 41 CE, a faction Roman leaders assassinated their emperor, Caligula. The emperor had oppressed the nobles and the Senate (though not necessarily the common people), so this was not the first plot against his rule. The trigger for this final and successful...
by David Tollen | Aug 30, 2019 | Classical Civilization
During this week in 30 BC, Roman strongman Octavian completed his invasion of Egypt. He ordered the execution of Marcus Antyllus, eldest son of his defeated rival, Marc Anthony, who’d committed suicide. He also executed Caesarion, teenage son of his great uncle...
by David Tollen | Jan 17, 2018 | Ancient History, Teacher-Specific
A little while ago, I spoke at a TEDx conference — to an audience of smart, motivated high school students. My topic was the magic of history. I told the students many of my favorite short stories from past times. I wanted to reveal history’s endless well...
by David Tollen | Dec 12, 2016 | Classical Civilization
The early Roman Empire survived two mentally unbalanced emperors: Caligula and Nero. In fact, neither seems to have harmed the economy or disrupted the lives of the common people, despite bizarre behavior. That’s encouraging in the age of Donald Trump. During...