What's changed, and when?
23/1/2026 We all think about the Roman Empire all the time (well, I don't, but apparently everyone else does). Of course the interesting bit of Roman history isn't the Empire, or the Republic, it's the bit in between. When the republic fell, the Romans didn't notice. There wasn't a single moment, or even a Rubicon, where the average senator in the forum would have agreed: "Today the Republic fell, tomorrow we will be subjects of the Empire". On the other hand at some point everyone was shouting "Hail Caesar" and not wondering, not even for a second, when the Senate was going to sort things out. Remember, the Senate murdered the first Caesar with knives, which was a pretty definitive expression of checks and balances I think. The Roman Republic fell sometime after JC (both of them) tested the boundaries, and before Caligula decided he was a God. I expect that even as Augustus was proclaimed there were many people who saw it as a temporary,...