Lindsay Powell

As emperor, Tiberius adopted an approach of strategic patience, preferring to conduct proxy war through Rome’s Germanic allies, rather than direct intervention, in order to keep potential threats to her interests in check. Had he acceded to Germanicus’ wishes, Tiberius’ forces could – some say would– have retaken Germania. That outcome would have changed the course of world history. Instead, the Rhine became Rome’s de facto north-western frontier and the legionaries withdrew to camps along the left bank to guard against incursions of Germanic warriors from the other side.

In ad 135–136 the prisoners of the Bar Kokhba War were hauled to the annual slave market held by the Terebinth-Eloh tree in Hebron, where ‘Hadrian’s market’ was spoken of for centuries. It was said that there were so many captives for sale that the price of a human fell to that being paid for a measure of horse feed.