Free Republic

March 11, 222 marked the downfall of the Roman emperor Elagabalus (or Heliogabalus, in the Greek rendering).* Notorious to posterity for lapping the field in outrageous sensuality, he was the 14-year-old cousin of the deposed brute Caracalla and stepped into the purple because his crafty grandma won the civil war that ensued Caracalla’s assassination. By family heredity he was by that time already the high priest of the Syrian sun-god Elagabalus,** in the city of Emesa (present-day Homs, Syria). History has flattered the youth with the name of his novel god, although in life the former was simply Marcus Aurelius...

THE VILLA OF TIBERIUS IS A ROMAN VILLA COMPLEX IN THE PRESENT-DAY TOWN OF SPERLONGA, LOCATED ON THE WESTERN COAST OF ITALY IN THE PROVINCE OF LATINA. The villa was first constructed during the Late Republican Era around 30 to 20 BC near to a large sea opening or grotto, for which “Spelunca” (Latin for cave or grotto) was named. Emperor Tiberius expanded the site during the 1st century AD to serve as his own personal retreat, enhanced with a gymnasium, Roman baths, terraces, private moorings, and several pools fed by natural springs and salt water from a coastal lake.

The Emperor Has No ClothesJust in time for the State of the Union speech, Americans know that our country is in trouble. The painting is based on the famous fable from Hans Christian Andersen, "The Emperor's New Clothes." I hope you appreciate both the humor and seriousness of what this painting represents.

Aurelian was Roman emperor from 270 to 275 CE. He was one of the so-called Barracks Emperors, chosen by the Roman army during the turbulent period known as the Crisis of the Third Century (235-284 CE). Besides victories against various invading tribes, he successfully restored the Roman Empire by bringing the breakaway territories of the Gallic Empire and Palmyra back under Roman control, which earned him the title restitutor orbis ('Restorer of the World'). In order to defend Rome, he ordered the construction of the Aurelian Walls around the city, many parts of which are remarkably well-preserved thanks to their...

A missing finger from a giant statue of the Roman emperor Constantine has been reunited with the hand it came from, roughly 550 years after being separated. The 38cm long index finger was recently sent to the Capitoline Museums in Rome by the Louvre Museum in Paris. This week the piece was finally being returned to its rightful position on the hand, which sits in the museum alongside the colossal bronze bust of Constantine.

On this date in 1865, the Japanese samurai Okada Izo was dispatched by crucifixion. He was one of* the “Four Hitokiri“ — manslayers — whose legendary blades coruscated in the Bakumatsu era that marked Japan’s pivot from an isolationist feudal state, one where samurai were big men on prefectures, to a burgeoning modern power ruled by industry and mass conscription. The irony was that dinosaurs like the Hitokiri helped bring the asteroid down on their own heads. During the chaotic Bakumatsu period, triggered by Japan’s becoming involuntarily opened to the outside world, the emperor — long a figurehead marginalized by...

Japan's new emperor has yet to ascend the throne, but he already has his first foreign guest lined up: United States President Donald Trump. Current Emperor Akihito, 85, will step down at the end of this month, becoming the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in modern history. He will be replaced by his 59-year-old son, Crown Prince Naruhito. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will pay a state visit to Japan in late May, becoming Naruhito's first official foreign guest, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a press release Friday. Trump's trip will be the first state visit...

White Semidouble HENRY OF GERMANY, the second King, but the first Emperor of that name, was the last crowned representative of that branch of the house of Saxony descended from Henry the Fowler, to which God, in the tenth century, entrusted the mission of restoring the work of Charlemagne and Leo III. This noble stock was rendered more glorious by the flowers of sanctity adorning its branches, than for the deep and powerful roots it struck in the German soil by great and long-enduring institutions. The Holy Spirit, who divideth his gifts according as he will, was then calling...

Japan’s much admired Emperor Akihito plans to abdicate on April 30, 2019, at age 85 in the first such abdication from the Chrysanthemum Throne in about 200 years, the government said Friday. Akihito’s elder son Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend the throne a day later, on May 1, 2019, beginning a new as yet unnamed era. The decision was made Friday at a meeting of the Imperial House Council, which included politicians, judicial officials and imperial family members. Akihito expressed his apparent wish to abdicate in 2016, citing his age and health. Formal Cabinet approval of the decision is due...

Xi fills top military posts with loyalists Eliminating anyone close to predecessor Hu, president gains control of PLA SHUNSUKE TABETA and OKI NAGAI, Nikkei staff writers BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has the armed forces firmly under his thumb as he begins another five-year term, having succeeded in staffing the military's top command positions with his allies. The members of the Central Military Commission were selected at the first plenary session of the Communist Party's 19th Central Committee on Wednesday. The military body also was shrunk from 11 to seven members including Xi, its chairman. The remaining six posts...

Japan’s Emperor Akihito has expressed his intention to retire and relinquish his title in the next few years, the country’s public television said Wednesday. NHK said the 82-year-old Akihito did not wish to remain emperor if he had to reduce his official duties. […] It was not known if he had a timeline to relinquish his title to Crown Prince Naruhito. …

The difference between Donald Trump and Barack Obama amounts only to whatever difference may exist between each emperor’s set of cronies.The Obama years have brought America to the brink of transformation from constitutional republic into an empire ruled by secret deals promulgated by edicts. Civics classes used to teach: “Congress makes the laws, the president carries them out, judges decide controversies, and we citizens may be penalized only by a jury of our peers.” Nobody believes that anymore, because no part of it has been true for a long time. Barack Obama stopped pretending that it is. During the twentieth...

Trump told the audience at Liberty University that to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States he would make Apple "build their damn computers and things in this country." While this isn't a bad idea, or even the first time it has been suggested, Trump didn't offer any specifics on how he would force Apple to abruptly change its manufacturing. "Please, we have such amazing people in this country: smart, sharp, energetic, they're amazing," Trump said. 'I was saying make America great again, and I actually think we can say now, and I really believe this, we're gonna get...

Ted Cruz had a message for conservatives rabid for the repeal of Obamacare: Don't expect "Day One" results."The president doesn't have the constitutional authority to end it on Day One," he said in an interview aired Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union. "The only way to end it is to repeal that statute ... we will repeal Obamacare, but unlike Obama, I don't intend as president to be - to use his word - an emperor."It's a rare appeal to pragmatism from a candidate who typically stokes the conservative id. It came initially as a response to questions about...

Mike Gillette said Clancy called him Monday and said he was “very sorry,” and that the agency “did not handle the situation well.” A spokeswoman for the Secret Service confirmed that Clancy made the call. According to Gillette, Clancy offered to come to one of the group’s events to apologize in person and offered to have some of the children come to one of the agency’s training facilities in Maryland for a tour. ... In a statement e-mailed late Sunday, Brian Leary, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said the closures on Pennsylvania Avenue and Lafayette Square were “put into...

Japanese Emperor Akihito Saturday expressed "deep remorse" for his country's role in World War II, 70 years to the day following Japan's surrender to the Allies. Akihito makes a highly ritualized comment on this anniversary day every year, but this this is first year featuring such a statement. Akihito was born in 1933, and has reigned since 1989. He is the son of Hirohito, who was the reigning emperor during the war. Though the emperor's formal powers were degraded in the settlement with the Allied Powers, Hirohito was allowed to retain his throne in a largely ceremonial fashion, and famously...

The construction of a church in honour of Tsar Nicholas II and his family has been completed in Moscow. The ground breaking and initial construction began three years ago, in March of 2012. On March 8, 2013 the Head of the Russian Imperial House, HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna visited the site of the new church during an official visit to Moscow. The grand duchess lit a candle in memory of the Holy Royal Martyrs, and then took the time to speak and have tea with local parishers. The first liturgy was held on July 17, 2014 in a temporary...

As “Emperor Obama”—to cite a title applied to Barack Obama by House Speaker John Boehner, Senator Jeff Sessions, and others—proceeds with his plan to trample the Constitution by issuing an Executive Order on amnesty for illegals, perhaps it’s worth looking back to see how the authors of the Constitution might have reacted to such a crisis. The short answer is that the Founders worried about presidential power-grabbing, and so wrote a proper response into the Constitution. However, the longer answer is that Emperor Obama might be setting in motion a process that actually undermines the Constitution. Although he was defeated...

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) labeled President Barack Obama as “Emperor Obama” on Wednesday, after the White House leaked to reporters that the president would act unilaterally on Friday to amend U.S. immigration laws. “If ‘Emperor Obama’ ignores the American people and announces an amnesty plan that he himself has said over and over again exceeds his constitutional authority, he will cement his legacy of lawlessness and ruin the chances for congressional action on this issue – and many others,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said.

If President Obama assumes dictatorial powers and decides to rule by executive decree, an unconstitutional process, what action should a conservative dictator take when he or she comes into power?