It was a pleasant drive to Alcobaça, a small town with a population of about 16.000. Alcobaça is home to Portugal’s largest church and the church was the main reason we came here. Just to the east of the church and monastery is a large car park with ample space…
From our apartment in Vila Nova, near Cadaval, it was about 30 minutes to Óbidos by car. The weather was lovely and so was the scenery. This part of Portugal is known for its vineyards and pear orchards. People have lived in and around Óbidos for centuries. The area was…
The Santa Maria in Cosmedin is a church that is located on the Forum Boarium, Ancient Rome’s cattle market. Just to the north was another forum, the Forum Holitorium, which was a vegetable market. Both forums were obviously very important trading locations in Antiquity. A reconstruction of early Rome from…
The Santa Maria in Trastevere is easily my favourite church in Trastevere. Whenever I travel to Rome, I try to reserve a few moments of my time to visit this specific church. The Santa Maria would perhaps also have been my favourite church in all of Rome, had not some…
I have heard and read it time and time again: Roman cavalry was terrible. It was only good at riding down enemy troops that had already routed. The Romans neglected their cavalry and therefore lost important battles. And because of this neglect, they were ultimately unable to fight off foreign…
Adrian Goldsworthy (1969) is primarily known for his authoritative publications on the Roman army. A few years ago, he switched to Roman history in general, with a special interest in political history. Since then, Goldsworthy has written a superb biography of Gaius Julius Caesar, Caesar: The Life of a Colossus…
Although the Roman army had already been transformed from a conscript army into a professional fighting force during the Late Republic, we must credit Augustus with the creation of a professional standing army. In the year 6, he established the aerarium militare, the military treasury from which the soldiers were…
The Principate After emerging triumphant from the Civil War, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus created a system of government known as the Principate. It was based on the well-known Republican offices and institutions. The younger Caesar did not become dictator for life (dictator perpetuo), like his adoptive father – the Divine…
The Santo Stefano Rotondo is located on the summit of the Caelian hill, just opposite the Santa Maria in Domnica, but somewhat hidden behind a wall and trees (see the last image of this post). The church was built in the fifth century and it is the oldest surviving church…
The first challenge is to actually find this church. It is just a stone’s throw away from the Santa Maria Maggiore, yet it is still very easy to miss. The Santa Prassede is somewhat hidden between other buildings and the church’s campanile is completely invisible. One enters the church through…
The Santa Pudenziana, near the much more famous Santa Maria Maggiore, is one of Rome’s best kept secrets. It is a hidden gem. The church is one of the oldest in Rome and has an important and impressive late fourth or early fifth century apse mosaic. Yet the Santa Pudenziana…
The Santa Maria in Domnica, sometimes called the Santa Maria alla Navicella, lies on the crown of the Caelian Hill (Celio in Italian). The church is old, very old, but its earliest history is shrouded in mystery. The Santa Maria was built over the ruins of the barracks of the…
Paphos in the southwest of Cyprus is known for quite a few historical treasures. It became the capital of Cyprus during the Ptolemaic period (ca. 323-58 BCE), when the island was ruled by the descendants of Alexander the Great’s general Ptolemaios. Previously, the capital had been at Salamis, but the…
In zijn vorig jaar verschenen biografie van koning Willem III (1817-1890) bespreekt neerlandicus en biograaf Dik van der Meulen ook het gerucht dat deze tegenwoordig weinig tot de verbeelding sprekende vorst helemaal niet de vader van de latere koningin Wilhelmina (1880-1962) was. De echte vader zou de particulier secretaris van…
Not much is known about the lives of the twin brothers Cosmas and Damianus (Κοσμάς and Δαμιανός in Greek). Tradition dictates that they were born in Arabia, which is most likely Arabia Petraea, then part of the Roman Empire. Cosmas and Damianus both became physicians. They were apparently quite good…
Het plezierige aan de viering van 200 jaar Koninkrijk der Nederlanden is dat het feest gepaard gaat met de verschijning van prachtige publicaties. Daarbij moeten vooral de recent verschenen biografieën van de eerste drie Nederlandse koningen uit het Huis van Oranje genoemd worden. Initiatiefnemer Joost Dankers van het Onderzoeksinstituut voor…
In november 2013 bezochten mijn goede vriend en ik de Eeuwige Stad, Rome. Ons bezoek viel precies in de week waarin besloten zou worden over het lot van senator Silvio Berlusconi. Eigenlijk leek het ons wel interessant om de zitting van de Senato della Repubblica bij te wonen waarin zou…
Binnen iedere beroepsgroep heb je ze wel: mensen die zijn gezegend met een uitzonderlijk sterk gevoel voor humor. Rechter Fred Biery, chief judge van het United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, is zo iemand. Zijn humor blijft niet beperkt tot de kantine en de raadkamer, maar…
Chapeau voor het Hof Amsterdam! In een recent arrest heeft dit hof eens goed duidelijk gemaakt dat niet iedereen zich zomaar doctor mag noemen. Het Hof Arnhem-Leeuwarden had in april van dit jaar in een zwak gemotiveerde uitspraak de waarde van een doctorstitel flink op de tocht gezet door te…
Daar sta je dan. Na jaren van diepgravend onderzoek, nachtelijke arbeid en een verwaarloosd sociaal leven kun je eindelijk je proefschrift verdedigen. Na de succesvolle verdediging krijg je een prachtig getuigschrift mee en mag je jezelf “doctor” noemen en “dr.” voor je naam plaatsen. De titel “doctor” wordt beschermd door…