This Day in Ancient History - August 19

Prima Porta Augustus at Colosseum
CC Flickr User euthman

Not all Roman emperors were born, but all died in the era known as A.D. or C.E. In A.D. 14, the first Roman emperor, Augustus, died. [Source: DIR.]

"In August A.D. 14, while on a night journey by ship, he caught a chill and died on the 19th, at age 75, at Nola [in Campania]. The Augustan Age was truly over."
Augustus - End to an Era

Also on this day, the ancient Romans celebrated the Vinalia. There was an earlier wine festival in April, Vinalia urbana, but on August 19, it was the Vinalia rustica. This was when Romans opened wine casks sealed the previous fall. Read more about the Vinalia.

Related:

• Ancient Rome in Pictures
• Decay as a Reason for the Fall of Rome
• Dates of the Roman Emperors
• Real Romans and How They Lived
• Roman Roads