The world's oldest customer complaint: Ea-nasir's bad copper

Around 1750 BCE in Mesopotamia a clay tablet in Akkadian cuneiform was sent to Ea-nasir, a copper trader based in Ur from merchant Nanni. Nanni sent his servants across the desert to purchase high-grade copper ingots from Ea-nasir. Instead of premium metal, Ea-nasir tried to force them to accept low-quality, sub-standard copper. When the servants refused, Ea-nasir was rude to them and sent them away empty-handed through enemy territory. The tablet reads ... "What manner of man are you? You have offered bad copper to my messenger... Saying: 'If you want to take them, take them; if you do not want to take them, go away!'... How have you treated me for that copper? You have withheld my money bag from me in enemy territory." A standing male worshiper votive figure from ancient Mesopotamia, dated to 2,750–2,600 BC. It was placed in a temple to pray eternally on behalf of its owner.

The tablet became a viral internet meme due to its surprisingly modern, relatable tone of frustrated customers.

When archaeologists excavated Ea-nasir's house in Ur, they discovered Nanni's complaint wasn't alone. His home was filled with dozens of other clay tablets from angry customers complaining about missing shipments, bad grades of copper, and broken promises. Ea-nasir is remembered very well by history as the world's oldest conman.

Death of Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great died on this day (June 10) in 323 BC at age 32.

Ancient depictions of Alexander the Great usually show a youth. A Roman copy of a bronze made by Lysippus, Alexander’s personal sculptor, is thought to be among the best showing Alexander's true likeness.

When he fell ill and mysteriously died after 12 days of excruciating suffering, his mind was alert until the very end. Before burning himself alive on a funeral pyre in 324 BCE, the Indian philosopher Calanus (Kalanos) said to Alexander "We shall meet in Babylon."

Nobody knew what this meant as Alexander had no plans to go there. In February 323 BC, Alexander ordered his armies to prepare for the march to Babylon. He was warned not to enter the city.

When Alexander the Great died in Babylon his body didn’t begin to decay for six days. To the ancient Greeks, this confirmed that he was not an ordinary man, but a god. It may have been because he was completely paralyzed and still alive. In the week before Alexander's death, accounts mention chills, sweats, exhaustion and high fever. He may have suffered from the neurological disorder Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), which caused his death. Guillain–Barré syndrome is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system.

After Alexander died the future of his empire was uncertain. His generals scrambled to determine who should succeed him as Alexander had no heir. On his deathbed, Alexander passed his signet ring to Perdiccas, nominating him as his successor, but Perdiccas did not claim power immediately.

This coin was minted within a year of Alexander’s death

Princess Roxana of Bactria was pregnant with Alexander’s child at the time, and the gender of the baby was unknown.

Roxane - Wife of Alexander the Great

The factions reached a compromise, and when Alexander IV was born in August 323 BCE, he and Philip III were jointly made kings but acted only as figureheads, while Perdiccas would actually rule the Empire as regent. The new regime was met with confusion, resulting in the assassination of Perdiccas in 321 BCE and 40 years of war between the fragmented generals, splitting Alexander’s Empire into the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Seleucid Empire, the Kingdom of Pergamon, and Macedonia.

Gladiators - Heroes of the Colosseum

Under Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD), games were allowed only during a few specific days of the year.

An exhibition called "Gladiators - Heroes of the Colosseum" examined the lives of gladiators. The first documented gladiator fights took place in Rome in 264 BC. Descendants of a deceased citizen had three pairs of slaves compete against each other in the honor of the departed. Typically, the fight would happen in a marketplace. These private battles of nobility became increasingly popular among citizens of ancient Rome.

Gladiators were not always prisoners or slaves. Gladiator schools (ludi - singular: ludus) ensured a supply of highly trained fighters. Many free Roman citizens also joined for fame, money, and glory. The games offered a chance for the most successful warriors to earn redemption, wealth and freedom. The typical schedule of a fight day started around noon, with executions of criminals sentenced to death. Afterward, circus acts would sometimes take the stage. After a few additional fights, the gladiators were presented as the main act. Women also fought against each other. This was officially banned in the year 200.

A gladiator was most often a slave, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death. The average age of those killed in the arena was around 28. Few gladiators survived more than ten matches. Gladiatorial combat rapidly became an essential feature of social life in the Roman world. Its popularity led to ever more lavish and costly games. The games lasted for nearly a thousand years, peaking between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. The games declined during the early 5th century after the adoption of Christianity.

The person who presided over the games was called the editor. He could be the emperor, a senator, or other political figure and made the final decision about the fate of the gladiators in the arena. To make sure the loser wasn’t pretending to be dead, an attendant dressed as Mercury would touch him with a hot iron wand. If still alive, another attendant, dressed as Charon, would kill him with a mallet.

If a gladiator repeatedly survived the arena and lived long enough to retire, they were given a symbolic wooden training sword, or rudis, as a token of their freedom. Even after winning freedom, the lucrative life of a gladiator appealed: rudiarii were gladiators who had earned their freedom but chose to remain fighting in the arena.

Gladius, an early ancient Roman sword

There were many types of gladiators and each had different weapons. It was usual to pair off combatants with widely different, but more or less equivalent, equipment. Studies have shown that gladiators fought to strict rules and barefooted. During combat musicians performed and altered tempo to match that of the combat. From left, a disarmed and surrendering retiarius and his secutor opponent, a thraex and murmillo, a hoplhus and murmillo (who is signalling his surrender), and the referee.

Roman Gladiator Dagger

The quadrens was a specialized close-quarter weapon used by the Roman net-fighter, or retiarius.

Roman soldiers were taught to deploy the gladius horizontally, piercing the enemy's ribs and penetrating vital organs.

Roman iron gladiator trident.

Gladiator Arm Guard

Greaves and dagger discovered at Pompeii's gladiator barracks.

Helmet of a murmillo.

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman general who founded the breakaway Gallic Empire. Taking advantage of Emperor Gallienus's absence, Postumus's troops in Germania declared him emperor after he executed the emperor's 18 year-old son, Saloninus. He governed Gaul, Britain, and Spain for the better part of a decade between 258–268.

Postumus ruled for nearly a decade until he was killed in 269 AD during a mutiny at Mogontiacum (modern-day Mainz, Germany). Unlike Rome, who were drastically debasing silver and gold coinages, Postumus maintained a high purity and weight for his coins. He produced spectactular issues at Western mints, primarily in Trier (Treveri) and Cologne (Colonia Agrippinensis).

Emperor Nero

On this day (June 9) in 68 AD Nero died. Nero is among the most famous of all Roman emperors – but not for good reasons. During his reign, from 54 to 68 CE, Nero had few accomplishments and many failures. Nero's mother, Agrippina the Younger, (Caligula's sister) dominated Nero's early life until he cast her off. Five years into his reign, he had her murdered. Nero's rule is thought that of a tyrant and most Romans thought him corrupt.

Silver denarius of 55/56

Nero was suspected of starting the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD in order to clear space for his new palace complex, the Domus Aurea. It caused widespread devastation and countless mansions, homes and temples were destroyed. The fire is reported to have burned for over a week. Nero seized Christians as scapegoats for the fire and burned them alive.

Nero is among the few Roman emperors who ages through their coin issues.

Nero is famous for brutally devaluing Roman currency for the first time in the Empire's history. He reduced the weight of the denarius from 3.85 grams to 3.35 grams. He also reduced the silver purity from 99.5% to 93.5%. Nero also reduced the weight of the aureus from 8 grams to 7.2 grams.

The Great Revolt between the Romans and the Jews in 63 CE began under Nero when Roman governor Gessius Florus looted the Second Temple. In 65 a conspiracy against Nero failed after being discovered. In March 68, Gaius Julius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, rebelled against Nero's oppressive tax policies.

The discontent of the legions of Germany and the continued opposition of the popular Galba in Spain, despite his being officially declared a public enemy, were Nero's undoing. The prefect of the Praetorian Guard abandoned his allegiance to the Emperor. When the Senate declared Nero a public enemy it was the end. Nero could not bring himself to take his own life but instead forced his private secretary to perform the task. Epaphroditos slit his throat and Nero evaded a Senate-imposed death by flogging.

In 69 CE, Galba, the governor of Hispania (Spain), rebelled and Rome saw the 'year of 4 emperors'. Nero aurei are among the more affordable because they are not rare.

In 2017 excavations at Mount Zion in Jerusalem discovered a gold coin bearing the likeness of Roman Emperor Nero. The coin had been struck in either 56 and 57 AD. The aureus bears a bare-headed portrait of the young Nero as Caesar. The coin would have been minted before the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Researchers hypothesized that the gold coin was part of a Jewish store of wealth, amassed before their mansions were razed – along with the rest of the city – by Titus and the Roman legions. The coin was likely hidden prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and overlooked by looting Roman soldiers.

The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War. The destruction of both the first and second temples is still mourned annually as the Jewish fast Tisha B'Av. The Arch of Titus, celebrating the Roman sack of Jerusalem and the Temple, still stands in Rome.