a living roman calendar of ephemerides, woven into the encyclopædia: every day of the year, one event from ancient rome told in sixty seconds.https://yodidac.com/enhttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-vandal-sack-that-emptied-rome-in-fourteen-days/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-vandal-sack-that-emptied-rome-in-fourteen-days/the vandal sack of 455 was not a fit of barbarity but an inventory carried out in cold blood. for fourteen days, genseric's troops emptied rome of its gold, its treasures and its hostages, and carried off even the menorah from the temple of jerusalem.Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTvandalsgensericsack of romefall of romemenorahhttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-end-of-the-man-who-bought-the-empire/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-end-of-the-man-who-bought-the-empire/sixty-six days after buying the empire at auction, didius julianus discovered in an empty hall of the palatine that money does not buy the loyalty of those who wield the swords. on 1 june 193 they left him alone, and an ordinary soldier came looking for him.Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTdidius julianuspraetorian guardseptimius severusyear of the five emperorshistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-brutal-and-final-collapse-of-the-eastern-roman-empire/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-brutal-and-final-collapse-of-the-eastern-roman-empire/on 29 may 1453, after 53 days of siege and under the fire of mehmed ii's artillery, constantinople fell. the last emperor, constantine xi, stripped off the purple and died fighting like a common soldier. rome did not surrender on parchment: it went out in combat.Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTfall of constantinoplebyzantine empireconstantine ximehmed iihistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/constantines-master-calculation-on-his-deathbed/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/constantines-master-calculation-on-his-deathbed/constantine the great postponed his baptism until his final agony so as to die absolved of the purges he himself had ordered against his son and his wife. the conversion of the empire, read as a last play of power.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTconstantineroman empirechristianityconstantinian dynastyhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/he-hid-fearing-his-end-and-emerged-emperor/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/he-hid-fearing-his-end-and-emerged-emperor/in the middle of a palace massacre, claudius hid behind a curtain convinced he was next. a soldier saw his feet poking out. instead of killing him, he knelt and saluted him as emperor. that is how the court "fool" came to the throne.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTclaudiuscaligulapraetorian guardroman empirehistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/how-the-roman-empire-militarised-faith-to-crush-dissent/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/how-the-roman-empire-militarised-faith-to-crush-dissent/in 325, constantine summoned hundreds of bishops to nicaea, summoned them to his palace under escort and demanded a single dogma. for the emperor, theology was secondary; what was at stake was the public order of an empire.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTcouncil of nicaeaconstantineearly christianityhistory of the churchhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/how-the-worst-war-machine-in-history-woke-up/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/how-the-worst-war-machine-in-history-woke-up/march was not the month of spring, but of mars and war. on the equirria of 14 march rome celebrated the ritual lustration of its horses in brutal races, a sacred act where they also checked which had survived the winter.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTequirriaroman legionsmarscavalryhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/how-to-outwit-the-emperors-poison-taster/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/how-to-outwit-the-emperors-poison-taster/killing a rival in rome was hard; killing him when a taster samples everything he ingests demands criminal ingenuity. nero solved the problem with an undetectable trick and erased his half-brother britannicus in front of the entire court, without losing his composure.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTnerobritannicuspoisonlocustahistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/if-you-moved-this-stone-any-citizen-could-kill-you/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/if-you-moved-this-stone-any-citizen-could-kill-you/shifting a boundary stone was, for rome, a sacrilege so grave that archaic law authorised killing the culprit without punishment. every 23 february the terminalia consecrated those markers to the god terminus.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTterminaliaroman lawterminusbordershistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/rome-worshipped-a-foreign-meteorite-to-win-the-war/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/rome-worshipped-a-foreign-meteorite-to-win-the-war/desperate to defeat hannibal, the roman patricians imported from anatolia the cult of cybele, a goddess enclosed in a black stone of meteoritic origin. they accepted oriental magic, but shielded roman sobriety by law.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTcybelepunic warshannibalroman religionhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-3-last-orders-of-the-emperor-before-dying/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-3-last-orders-of-the-emperor-before-dying/dying in britannia, septimius severus left his two sons a testament of three lines, brutal and cynical: be united, fill the soldiers with gold and despise everyone else. caracalla learned the money part. of the unity, nothing.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTseptimius severuscaracallagetaseveran dynastyhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-cruel-fire-ritual-in-the-arena-of-the-circus-maximus/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-cruel-fire-ritual-in-the-arena-of-the-circus-maximus/every 19 april, rome closed the cerealia by releasing foxes with burning torches tied to their backs across the arena of the circus maximus. sympathetic magic against grain blight, performed by a city terrified of hunger.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTcerealiacerescircus maximusroman religionhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-dark-roman-ritual-to-repel-ghosts-at-midnight/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-dark-roman-ritual-to-repel-ghosts-at-midnight/at the lemuria, the roman patriarch rose barefoot at midnight, filled his mouth with black beans and spat them over his shoulder to drive away the hostile spirits of his dead. the domestic terror of the civilisation that ruled the mediterranean.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTlemurialemuresroman religionspiritshistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-day-masters-served-dinner-to-their-slaves/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-day-masters-served-dinner-to-their-slaves/1 march was the true roman new year. the vestals rekindled the sacred fire of the state and the wealthiest matrons served their own slaves at table in a ritual inversion of the hierarchies.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTmatronaliavestanew yearvestalshistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-day-rome-applauded-its-first-absolute-dictator/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-day-rome-applauded-its-first-absolute-dictator/the greatest autocratic system of antiquity was not imposed at swordpoint, but in a senate meeting drowned in applause. octavian pretended to give back the republic and they begged him to stay. he walked out with a new title: augustus.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTaugustusoctavianroman empiresenatehistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-day-the-dead-demanded-food-in-the-streets-of-rome/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-day-the-dead-demanded-food-in-the-streets-of-rome/every 21 february the romans carried bread, salt and violets to the tombs to feed their dead. the feralia closed nine days of mourning and was born of the terror that the deceased might return hungry.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTferaliaroman religiondeathmaneshistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-day-the-entire-world-sold-itself-to-the-highest-bidder/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-day-the-entire-world-sold-itself-to-the-highest-bidder/in 193 ce the praetorian guard killed the emperor pertinax and auctioned the roman empire from the walls of their camp. the magnate didius julianus bought it. it lasted 66 days.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTdidius julianuspraetorian guardyear of the five emperorscorruptionhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-day-the-roman-empire-admitted-rome-no-longer-mattered/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-day-the-roman-empire-admitted-rome-no-longer-mattered/on 11 may 330, constantine inaugurated constantinople and shifted the empire's centre of gravity to the bosphorus. a military and economic decision that guaranteed a further thousand years of life to the state in the east and sealed rome's decline.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTconstantinopleconstantinebyzantine empiregeopoliticshistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-disturbing-straw-tribute-of-the-roman-priestesses/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-disturbing-straw-tribute-of-the-roman-priestesses/every 15 may, the vestal virgins threw thirty rush effigies bound like prisoners into the tiber. a rite that ancient historiography itself read as the civilised echo of old human sacrifices.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTargeivestal virginsroman religionhuman sacrificehistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-exact-moment-a-roman-boy-lost-his-childhood/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-exact-moment-a-roman-boy-lost-his-childhood/in rome you did not become an adult on the day of your birthday. on the liberalia of 17 march the young man put aside his childhood amulet, donned the white toga of the citizen and, with it, came of age to go and die on the frontiers.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTliberaliacoming of agetoga virilisroman lawhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-exact-moment-the-roman-republic-collapsed/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-exact-moment-the-roman-republic-collapsed/the roman republic did not fall to an invasion or a catastrophe: it collapsed because a general decided to cross a ridiculously small stream with his army. by crossing the rubicon, julius caesar committed high treason and signed the death warrant of the state.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTjulius caesarrubiconcivil warroman republichistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-monument-to-peace-funded-with-war-booty/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-monument-to-peace-funded-with-war-booty/rome raised the most beautiful altar ever dedicated to peace. legend says it paid for it with gold torn from the peoples it had just crushed in war. the ara pacis is a marble masterpiece and, underneath, a perfectly polite military threat.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTaugustusara pacispropagandaroman arthistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-most-dangerous-roman-title-in-history-father/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-most-dangerous-roman-title-in-history-father/how do you get an entire empire to thank you while taking away its voice: by having them call you papa. when augustus accepted the title of father of the fatherland he was not receiving flattery, he was redefining what it meant to be father in terms that evoke the absolute authority of a paterfamilias.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTaugustuspater patriaeroman lawpaterfamiliashistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-murder-that-cemented-the-walls-of-the-roman-empire/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-murder-that-cemented-the-walls-of-the-roman-empire/the traditional date of rome's birth, 21 april 753 bce, does not celebrate a palace but a furrow drawn by a plough and a fratricide. according to legend, romulus killed remus for leaping over the sacred line, and turned border violence into a foundational act.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTromulus and remusfounding of romepomeriumpariliahistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-only-king-the-roman-empire-allowed-to-live/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-only-king-the-roman-empire-allowed-to-live/rome hated its kings with a visceral terror, but its religion required that certain rites be officiated by one. the solution was a gilded cage: a priest with the title of king and forbidden by law from touching power.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTrex sacrorumagonaliaroman religionmonarchyroman institutionshttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-real-reason-rome-depended-on-wine/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-real-reason-rome-depended-on-wine/every 23 april, the vinalia priora opened the amphorae of the latest harvest. wine was more than a luxury: it provided dense calories and, according to many scholars' reading, masked a water that often sickened or killed.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTvinalia prioraroman winedaily lifejupiterhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-roman-emperor-who-traded-absolute-power-for-a-vegetable-garden/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-roman-emperor-who-traded-absolute-power-for-a-vegetable-garden/diocletian pulled the empire out of the abyss of the crisis of the third century, installed a regime of absolute power and designed the tetrarchy. and then, on 1 may 305, he did what no emperor had done: voluntarily abdicate and retire to grow cabbages.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTdiocletiantetrarchycrisis of the third centuryroman empirehistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-roman-politician-who-changed-the-religion-of-europe-forever/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-roman-politician-who-changed-the-religion-of-europe-forever/constantine the great converted to christianity between faith and strategy: he staked his power on a persecuted and well organised minority. one man's military calculation redrew the religious map of europe.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTconstantineroman empirechristianityedict of milanhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-scandalous-festival-that-shattered-roman-morality/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-scandalous-festival-that-shattered-roman-morality/every late april, the floralia suspended the rules of rome: the sober toga fell, sex workers took the centre of the public stage and the state funded the chaos. a safety valve designed to keep social pressure from exploding.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTfloraliafloraroman societyroman festivalshistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-sound-of-bronze-that-terrified-all-of-europe/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-sound-of-bronze-that-terrified-all-of-europe/in the chaos of battle the general's voice was useless: roman infantry moved to the roar of the tuba. every 23 march the tubilustrium purified those war trumpets before the campaign.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTtubilustriumroman legionsmarstubasaliihistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-truth-behind-caesars-23-wounds/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/the-truth-behind-caesars-23-wounds/julius caesar's end was not a solemn act in the senate but a chaotic scuffle in which the conspirators wounded one another. of the 23 stab wounds, according to a single source, only one was fatal.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTides of marchjulius caesarassassinationforensic historyhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/they-tore-out-his-tongue-for-telling-the-truth/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/they-tore-out-his-tongue-for-telling-the-truth/the birth of marcus tullius cicero, the man who climbed to the top of rome without lifting a sword, only with words. that is why, when they killed him, beheading was not enough: they pierced his tongue with needles.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTcicerooratoryroman republicmark antonyhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/whips-and-chaos-the-real-roman-festival-of-fertility/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/whips-and-chaos-the-real-roman-festival-of-fertility/every 15 february, priests naked and ritually marked with blood ran through rome whipping women with goatskin thongs. the purification rite that gave the month its name and survived nearly a thousand years.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTlupercaliaroman religionfebruarypurificationhistory of romehttps://yodidac.com/en/fasti/why-your-year-begins-today-and-not-in-spring/https://yodidac.com/en/fasti/why-your-year-begins-today-and-not-in-spring/1 january is not a natural or astronomical date: it is a roman military formality. the day the consuls took office and the people honoured janus, the two-faced god who looks to the past and the future at once.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTjanusnew yearconsulsroman religionhistory of rome