Free Republic

March 16 marks the anniversary of the assassination of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III in AD 455. Though he reigned for thirty years, Valentinian III presided over the slow but steady dismemberment of the Western Empire and was considered a weak and vacillating emperor. He had risen to the throne at the age of six or seven and was therefore under the thumb of powerful figures at court for most of his reign. Fortunately for him, one of these figures was the capable general Aetius who successfully defended the empire from the potentially cataclysmic invasion of Attila and his...

In March of the year AD 538, the late Roman general, Belisarius, pulled off one of the most incredible feats in military history: he successfully defended the massive city of Rome—with its 12 miles of circuit walls—with a scant 5,000 soldiers, against a vast army of Goths that outnumbered his own some 15 or 20 to 1. Indeed, by the time the Gothic King Vitiges broke up the siege after twelve frustrating months, it had become unclear which side was the besieged and which was the besieger. Unable to prevent the Romans from bringing in supplies or leaving the city...

When Justinian secured the so-called "Eternal Peace" with the Persians in AD 532 after the Battle of Daras, it is likely that he realized that the peace on his eastern frontier would not actually be perpetual. But he probably thought it would last longer that seven or eight years. In any event, the emperor made the most the respite, gathering his substantial forces from the east which had previously been on station to face down the Persian menace, and readying them for a thrust to the West. His first target was the Vandal Kingdom which had ruled Roman Africa for...

Seriously argued theories fingering every party to the Ukraine War for the Nord Stream blast have been made since underwater explosive charges took out the key route for importing natural gas from Russia to Europe last year. Yet according to a new report published by a group of European broadcasters and publications, Germany’s FBI-equivalent the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) is now looking into leads that implicate Ukraine. In a summary of the claims made by outlets including Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung, Sweden’s Expressen, and Denmarks Berlingske published by German broadcaster Tagesschau it is reported a yacht rented from a...

Much of our detailed knowledge of Attila and the Huns comes from one relatively obscure source, the late 5th century History of Priscus. It’s probable that you’ve never heard of Priscus because his history was considered lost after about the 10th century AD. All that survives of it are fragments that later historians have recovered from other ancient and medieval sources that incorporated or paraphrased certain passages of interest. Excerpts from Priscus may be found embedded within works such as the Gothic History of Jordanes, the Histories of Procopius, the works of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the Suda, the History of John...

VIDEOOn Election Night 2020, Chris Stirewalt of Fox News REFUSED to call Florida for Trump despite the fact that 91% of the vote was in with President Trump ahead by almost 400,000 votes which is why Fox had already assigned a 95% chance of a Trump victory in that state. Added to this ABSURDITY is the fact that it was mostly the very conservative Panhandle counties whose votes remained to be counted because their polls closed an hour later due to the time zone difference. Yes, liberal Broward County has a well deserved reputation for reporting their tallies late but...

Chief among the Big Lies currently being promulgated by the American Left is that Western culture is inherently racist, a manifestation of White Supremacy. This is not only nonsense but pernicious, dangerous nonsense. Before we go on, perhaps we should define “Western culture.” It is essentially the marriage of Judeo-Christian morality with classical (that is, Greek and Roman) intellectualism. It privileges reason over emotion and the individual over the state. Its central tenet is that, through their own efforts, a person can rise above their circumstances. Western culture is not now nor has it ever been perfect. But it has...

I recently ran across a passage written by Lactantius in his enigmatic and fascinating work entitled On the Deaths of the Persecutors about the demise of the original persecutor of Christians, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus—that is, Nero. Writing in the early 4th century AD, or about 250 years after the fact, Lactantius says the following of Nero: When Nero heard of those things [that is, the growth of Christianity in Rome] and observed that not only in Rome but in every other place a great multitude revolted daily from the worship of idols and, condemning their old ways, went over to...

One of the world’s oldest workshops for smelting copper – going back some 6,500 years – has been uncovered in Beersheba by archaeologists at Tel Aviv University and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The remnants go back to the Chalcolithic period – the word “chalcolithic” is made up of the Greek words for “copper” and “stone” – is so named because although metalworking was already in evidence, the tools used were still made of stone. An analysis of the isotopes of ore remnants in the furnace shards show that the raw ore was brought to Neveh Noy neighborhood from Wadi...

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Chrysopolis in Asia Minor. This was the last major battle between Constantine and Licinius for supremacy within the Roman Empire. With nearly 300,000 combined troops participating in the battle, it was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of ancient history. The battle was preceded by a large-scale naval conflict in which the Licinian fleet was crushed by Constantine's fleet under the command of his son, the Caesar Crispus at the Hellespont between Europe and Asia Minor. Once control of the sea had been established, Constantine moved his forces into Asia Minor...

Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a 2,000-year-old swan-shaped bronze vessel which they say contains more than 3 litres of a mysterious liquid. Researchers with the Sanmenxia Archaeology Institute in Central China's Henan Province announced the discovery of the intact grave on May 21. Tests are now being carried out to determine what the liquid is.

A world of ancient mystery is located in Iran, with some sites dating back over 7,000 years, far before the civilization of the Persian Empire and its capital, Persepolis. This archaeological site is the number one tourist destination in the country, and with good reason. Culture Trip takes a look into why this forgotten empire is one of the greatest wonders of the ancient world. Persepolis is no doubt the main attraction that lures tourists to Iran. Located about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) outside of the modern city of Shiraz, these ancient ruins served as the capital of the...

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the history field has seen a precipitous decline in the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in American colleges. As Benjamin Schmidt, a historian at Northeastern University, reported in the American Historical Association’s Perspectives, the number of history degrees awarded fell by 30 percent—from 34,642 to 24,266 in just nine years from 2008 to 2017. History’s steep decline is not an anomaly, but part and parcel of a broader “crisis” in the humanities. STEM has steamrolled these disciplines on college campuses: Computer science has more than doubled its students between 2013 and 2017. Moreover, critics have...

On Sunday, Kanye West took to Twitter to announce an opera. It’s titled, “Nebuchadnezzar” and will be performed at the Hollywood Bowl on November 24th, at 4pm. The announcement notes, “Music with Sunday Service, Peter Collins & Infinities Song*” As of right now, we don’t know what this opera will entail. The most obvious question some may have, though, is: why Nebuchadnezzar? Overall, one macro takeaway from the story of Nebuchadnezzar is this: you may not think God had anything to do with your success until one day you realize God had everything to do with your success. After the...

The 4th through 7th centuries are often considered periods of decay and decline for the Roman Empire. I view them, however, as times of crisis and regeneration, as the previously pagan Empire was transformed into an amazingly resilient Christian Empire which persisted for another millennium despite attacks on all sides and myriad convulsions from within. Who were the most effective rulers during this period? Opinions vary, but here are my choices. Portraits of all, taken from antiquity, may be found in the above image: Constantine the Great (AD 306-337). Constantine may be considered the founder of the Christian Roman...

I introduce Surah XXX, and explain the historical context of Arab attacks and conquests of the Byzantine Empire.

The universality of Saturn worship 6000 years ago. NASA image: Israelites appear to have been the first people to figure out that humans should not be worshiping dwarf stars (Jupiter, Saturn...). And if worshiping dwarf stars and former dwarf stars was a problem 6000 years ago, it is more of a problem now. Troy McLachlan's book describes the connection between ancient Satanic ritual, drug dealing, central banking, and modern Satanic ritual (Jeffrey Epstein and the Hildabeast). The Saturn Death Cult

The weak, vacillating and ultimately cruel and cowardly figure of Pontius Pilate is one of the most enigmatic figures in Sacred Scripture. From the Gospel accounts, he seems to be a man who almost wants to be a hero, to defend the innocent victim, Jesus, against the murderous lynch mob besetting Him. Indeed, Pilate is urged by his wife to "have nothing to do with that just man." In the end, however, he lacks the courage to act virtuously. He condemns Christ to a horrible death, despite knowing with certainty that He is innocent. But who was Pontius Pilate? Did...

VIDEO In all of politics, and perhaps anywhere, it would be hard to top this beyond bizarre CREEPY photo of Joe Biden. Forget all the pics you've already seen of Biden with his hands inappropriately upon young girls and women. The photo revealed in this video is way beyond anything you've seen before of creepy Biden. It is so beyond belief bizarre, that you can be forgiven if you think it was photoshopped. However, I assure you this photo is for real. And if Biden ever gets around to making his Big Announcement, it is almost certain the photo will...

More than a thousand years before the first European explorer reached Korea’s shores, the Persian Empire was writing love stories about Korean princesses. Recently, historians took a second look an old Persian epic written around 500 AD and realized that, at the center of the tale, was the unusual story of a Persian prince marrying a Korean princess. It’s an incredible discovery. Up until recently, we weren’t sure that the Persians of that time even knew Korea existed. This new revelation shows Persia didn’t just make contact with Korea – these countries were intimately connected. The story is called the...