Rhiannon Garth Jones
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rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Rhiannon Garth Jones
@rhigarthjones.bsky.social
5.6K followers 890 following 4K posts
Teaching Fellow in Global Medieval History, Uni of Leeds. PhD in early Abbasid visual language of power & relationship to Rome, general geek, chronically ill. I want to live on a boat again. She/her.

*All Roads Lead to Rome* out now with Aurum Press.
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rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Ooooh in service of your campaign for food joy: I was too busy to do grocery shopping/cook much yesterday but still had some leftover ingredients from the tofu larb so I made a sort of crispy omelette/pancake thing with tofu larb food confetti and it was excellent 🤤
Photo of crispy omelette with tofu larb "food confetti" (crumbled fried tofu, toasted fennel and coriander seeds, chopped peanuts, chopped cucumber, fresh mint, pickled chilli, sliced spring onion)
August 26, 2025 at 4:40 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Of course! I didn't have any Thai basil leaves yesterday so I added more fennel seeds to the dressing. The first time I made it from this recipe, I misread and added fennel seeds with the tofu and I love the texture so now I always do that; recently I added the coriander seeds too.
A delicious recipe for Tofu & Green Bean Larb from the Jikoni cookbook
August 23, 2025 at 7:01 AM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
hey @adapalmer.bsky.social, we are bookshelf buddies at my home library (Burnley Central)! 🥰
A bookshelf in Burnley Central Library containing, amongst other books, Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer and All Roads Lead to Rome by Rhiannon Garth Jones
August 14, 2025 at 12:13 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
My book is on sale at *HERCULANEUM* 🤭

I am not a classical archaeologist but A) I've done more than enough of it, for my sins (including teaching a course on Roman Herculaneum and the history of the site since!) and B) it's Herculaneum, y'all. Damn.
Five copies of the book _All Roads Lead to Rome: Why we think about the Roman empire daily_ by Rhiannon Garth Jones, on sale in the Herculaneum gift shop next to Mary Beard's _Pompeii_ and Anthony A. Barrett's _Rome is Burning_.
July 9, 2025 at 12:12 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Extremely this!

The section of the annotated bibliography that covers the early Islamic empires draws heavily on my own research so I got to say "here are some of my absolute faves" in print and it was such a godsdamned joy, let me tell you
Photo of a page in the book _All Roads Lead to Rome_ by Rhiannon Garth Jones. The text says: Chapter 8: Rivalling Rome: the empires of early Islam This chapter came from my PhD research. I would therefore like to take the opportunity to introduce you to some of my favourite public scholarship on the early Islamic world, which has influenced how I communicate my own work. These are Dr Glaire D Anderson, Dr Amira Bennison, Dr Ali A Olomi, and Dr Rachel Schine.
July 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
A lot of people have mentioned they loved the 'Want to Know More?' section of my book – basically an annotated bibliography but with a clear statement on citation ethics (shout out to Sara Ahmed) and a focus on *accessible* scholarship.

That means blogs, podcasts, books for a popular audience.

🧵
Photo of text from the book _All Roads Lead to Rome_ by Rhiannon Garth Jones. The text reads: Want to know more? ‘Citation is how we acknowledge our debt to those who came before; those who helped us find our way when the way was obscured because we deviated from the paths we were told to follow.’ Sara Ahmed, Living a Feminist Life, Duke University Press, 2017. There are so many scholars whose brilliant work I have relied upon to form my thoughts in the process of researching and writing this book. Here, I have highlighted the people whose research I particularly relied upon and suggested some of their public scholarship that you might enjoy, if you want to learn more. I have included podcasts and writing intended for a popular audience, as well as books that you might be able to find in your local bookstore or library. These suggestions are organised by chapter to help the reader, although, of course, the influence of these scholars is not limited to just one section or chapter. This is intended as a way for me to properly acknowledge those who helped me find my way and as a place for interested readers to start exploring. If you are looking for a more exhaustive list of references, a full bibliography follows.
July 9, 2025 at 9:38 AM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
okay I think this is my fave. The rest of that paragraph is great💚💜📌
Screenshot from the article. The text reads: I like it that there are no cynics in education. Not about education anyway. Tony might have got slightly more than he bargained for when he said he liked science. He was sitting with Casey, who already has a chemistry degree and is now doing another in physics, and Casey sort of kidnapped him and is teaching him science. In fact, Casey arranged to transfer wings so that Tony can have daily tutorials and Tony has now applied to do an OU degree. I wrote his reference and made him sound like a close associate of Einstein and Bertrand Russell.
July 6, 2025 at 10:43 AM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Screenshot extract from the book All Roads Lead to Rome Indented, in italics: In front of two large Corinthian columns, on a stage famous for oratory, the speaker addresses a rapt audience. The acoustics, perfectly designed, help his carefully chosen words carry to the very back of the hall. He reminds the crowd of their shared values, of their hard-won rights, of their laws and obligations. His powerful rhetoric is peppered throughout with clever references to remind the assembled people of his education and to reassure them he is one of them. He speaks of liberty and tyranny, of behaviour that befits a great people and acts that condemn barbarians. In a rousing conclusion, he speaks of his hope for the future and the crowd’s renewed commitment to freedom. Left justified, regular text: This man was Frederick Douglass, the Black self-emancipated former slave, and his speech directly addressed the hypocrisy of celebrating liberty and the overthrow of tyranny in the United States of America when around 3.2 million men, women, and children were enslaved. The particular discrepancy between the ideal of liberty and the reality of enslavement that Douglass challenged in his speech had its roots in Roman ideas. Many of the so-called Founding Fathers of the USA explicitly used Republican Rome as an ideal precedent when they wrote the constitution for their new nation. The country they established had, and still has, many parallels with ancient Rome – just perhaps not the ones we think. Screenshot, extract from the book All Roads Lead to Rome: The United States of America was going to be different, just as the Roman Republic had been. Liberty would be proclaimed for elite men while others were enslaved, just as in the Roman Republic. The profits of empire would not go to an unelected monarch who could exploit all colonial subjects with impunity but instead would be shared among elite men, just as in the Roman Republic. The contradictions pointed out by people like Frederick Douglass were a feature of this system, not a bug – just as in the Roman Republic. It is important to acknowledge that these were all features of the Roman Republic.
July 4, 2025 at 1:04 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Ooooh stats to back us up
Screenshot from a BBC Sport article about the England (and Wales) cricket team: England, though, are turning into supreme chasers. On home pitches, that age like fine wine, England will bat second unless there is irrefutable evidence not to. Listen to what Stokes says at a toss: "We'll have a chase", not "we'll have a bowl". Since Stokes became captain, England have won the toss 10 times in home Tests. They have batted second in nine, winning seven, losing one and drawing the other - the Old Trafford Ashes Test, which they would have won had it not been for the Manchester weather. The one time they batted first, they lost.
June 25, 2025 at 1:20 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
"To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of government*; they make a wasteland and call it peace."

*we usually translate 'imperium' as 'empire' for various reasons but it is worth remembering that in ancient Rome it meant a type of official, legally defined, government authority.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!Thank you for your attention to this matter.
June 22, 2025 at 8:33 AM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
It's my final day in Switzerland and I've such a perfect time: childhood dreams and adult breakthroughs, time with my best mate and off work, amazing art and lovely city parks, and, ofc, most of all, adventuring around the absolutely stunning countryside - just look at this view 🥰
A view of Lake Brienz and the mountains behind from Harder Kulm. At the centre right of the image is a stunning blue lake, fringed by a town. Across the back of the image are mountains, including the Jungfrau range towards the left of the image. Above are clouds, some of them moody great, and the bottom of the image is a beautiful forest in various shades of green.
June 9, 2025 at 3:24 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
So many people have sent me a photo of my book in a shop and I haven't seen it *once* irl until today! In Basel, of all places! Total surprise, very fun. Suddenly a huge fan of this city.
Me, standing in front of a corner of bookshelves and holding up my book "All Roads Lead To Rome", in A Real Life Bookshop, looking slightly giddy
June 3, 2025 at 1:31 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Today is Luzern and Mount Pilatus aka me trying to face a 2,130m mountain after very recently discovering I am slightly afraid of heights... (extremely worth it for the views but it's a very steep train to the top and a pretty terrifying cable car down)
Lake Luzern, sparkling in the sun, with mountains in the background and a few fluffy clouds in the sky The view of the surrounding alps from the top of Mount Pilatus, under some gloomy grey clouds Me, trying not to look scared at the top of the mountain, with a view of the Alps behind me A view of the green downward slope and winding footpath of Mount Pilatus, with the four arms of Lake Luzern at the base
June 1, 2025 at 4:38 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Also I just did this really lovely Q&A at a fab indie bookshop (Red Lion Books, Colchester) and they had such great questions! And that was after a fab launch party last night - some of this author lark is not too bad...
Two fabulously dressed women in front of bookshelves holding the book ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME (the woman on the left is in loose royal blue trousers and a cropped, fitted, red and blue striped quilted jacket with powerful shoulders; the woman on the right is in a floaty green patterned dress) A woman sat on a brown leather armchair reading from the book ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME. Behind her is a bookshelf lit up in fairlylights and a bunch of sunflowers is in the bottom left corner of the image.
May 29, 2025 at 7:58 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
And with the second half of the alt text
Russia claimed to be the Third Rome, the major Orthodox Christian power following Byzantium's decline, and the upholder of its true religion in contrast to the heretical Catholics under the Pope with their rival Holy Roman Empire in the West-a position still held by Vladimir Putin. [Pull quote] "Russia claimed to be the Third Rome-a position still held by Vladimir Putin" Our modern monotone version of a pristine-white, Western-centric Rome emerges in 18th century Enlightenment Europe and in the US, the first four presidents of which were classicists. Archaeologists furnishing European museums with Classical art scrubbed paint off ancient statues until they were white, unable to accept that they were once brightly coloured, as were Roman buildings. The author assumes no prior knowledge of the ancient world and explains the basics without patronising the reader nor losing the attention of the better informed. I liked the way in which she gives women their due, as with Safiye Sultan's diplomatic corre-spondence with Elizabeth I, in which she discusses beauty creams alongside the suggestion that Britons and Turks have common heritage in their descent from Trojans.
May 26, 2025 at 9:48 AM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Another lovely review from Bronwen Riley in Country Life
ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME By RHIANNON GARTH JONES All Roads Lead to Rome: Why We Think of the Roman Empire Daily by Rhiannon Garth Jones (Aurum, £22) Review by Bronwen Riley HOW often do you think about the Roman Empire? Videos of women posing this question to the men in their lives and their bewilderment at receiving the answer 'daily', or 'several times a week', went viral on social media a couple of years ago. Their confessions didn't surprise Rhiannon Garth Jones, who sets out in this engaging popular history to explain why Rome remains so present in our 21st-century lives, in politics, architecture and popular culture. Her overall contention is that Rome has held such sway across millennia because it symbolises power and that leaders throughout history, be they queens or dictators, politicians or priests, have claimed legitimacy, and asserted their authority and superiority over others, by casting themselves as the legitimate heirs of Rome, shaping their image of Rome to suit their own agenda. Our 21st-century version of Rome, she argues, bears little resemblance to how the Romans saw themselves. Theirs was an empire centred around the Mediterranean, which was far more focused on, and culturally influenced by, Asia and North Africa than northern Europe. In turn, early Islamic empires engaged artistically and intellectually with Romes legacy, rivalling it in splendour and transmitting Classical scholarship back to the West. Westerners are taught that Rome fell in 476, yet, by then, the capital of its empire and the seat of its senior emperor had long shifted to Constantinople or 'New Rome', now Istanbul. This Rome survived for another 1,000 years, until 1453, when the Ottomans sacked the city under Sultan Mehmed II.
May 26, 2025 at 9:48 AM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
In just over a week, cis women and trans women will come together to play a "Ruck You, Ruck the Ban" match in Oslo on June 1. The aim is to show that trans women are women, we are stronger together, and that transphobia and misogyny are two sides of the same coin.

In their own words:
A coming together of Cis Women and Trans Women. Ruck the Ban, Ruck You Match. We are doing a Go Fund Me to remain independent, and to involve you all, to show there is an army of you behind this game to support us in making it a reality. This is a match which is being played in a fight for inclusion in sport. To go back to the grassroots of Rugby, All Shapes and Sizes and namely to demonstrate that ALL WOMEN come in all shapes and sizes and every kind of outward appearance. Segregation only harms us all, as the definition of "what defines a woman" is becoming narrower and being publicly policed. This is a battle cis women did not want and did not ask for, it diminishes us as being considered an inferior sex, and it means no one can live freely to express themselves. We are the embodiment of strong not skinny, all shapes and sizes, and Rugby is the perfect sport for inclusion. That is what this game is about. Dignity, respect, inclusion. Transphobia & misogyny are the same side of the same coin. We need your help in raising funds to get the team together & kitted up, to ensure this game takes place in less than a months time. All extra proceeds will be sent to the Good Law Project in their fight against the recent "what defines a woman" Supreme Court Ruling.
May 24, 2025 at 8:38 AM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Please enjoy this photo of me giddily laughing with my friend, delighted to be holding a copy of the book in my hands.
Photo of the author, a white woman with blonde hair, in a plain white t-shirt and pink, embroidered jeans, standing in a sunny garden, laughing, and holding the book All Roads Lead To Rome
May 22, 2025 at 11:12 AM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
The lovely @lollardfish.bsky.social aka David M. Perry, co-author of The Bright Ages and Oathbreakers, said I was WITTY AND ELOQUENT and you better believe I sent a lot of frankly un-eloquent texts celebrating this one.
‘All roads lead to Rome, but the fight is over which Rome? Whose Rome? This eloquent, well-researched, and witty book shows us that not only are the flat black and white memories of Rome the product of cynical political exploitation, but that the real thing was a riot of color and complexity that was so much more interesting!’
May 16, 2025 at 12:18 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Then one from the brilliant @goingmedieval.bsky.social aka Eleanor Janega, author of "The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society" and podcast host extraordinaire.

Eleanor also said 'I enjoyed the fuck out of this' and I remain sad we coudn't put that on the cover jacket...
‘A fascinating and entertaining analysis of how Rome’s propaganda has colonized our collective imaginations, and what it says about us and them. All Roads Lead to Rome is an un-putdownable must-read for everyone who says they think about the Roman Empire daily, when they are actually thinking about myths and catchy PR.’
May 16, 2025 at 12:15 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Next up, a review from Raphael Cormack, author of "Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt's Roaring ‘20s", as well as "Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age: A Forgotten History of the Occult":
‘Rhiannon Garth Jones's stunning new history takes us on a deeply-researched journey through the overlooked legacies of Rome. She shows us that Romans were so much more than just swords and sandals; wherever there is empire – Ottoman, Russian, British, American – the spectre of Rome is never far away. This book will change the way you think about world history.’
May 16, 2025 at 12:08 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
I'm currently unemployed (which of course means I am just as busy but with a lot less money) and I'm trying to take advantage of that in a few ways, one of which is making absolutely baller meals as often as possible.

Today's effort: spiced almond porridge, with rose, pistachio, and raspberry...
A small ceramic bowl, decorated with painted green olive leaves, contains my delicious breakfast: spiced almond porridge (a very light beige colour), topped with bright pink raspberries, dried dark rose petals, and chopped green pistachios.
April 14, 2025 at 10:14 AM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
This remains one of my favourite things from twitter, way back when
Meme showing four images of an adorable cat under a fluffy orange blanket. From top left, clockwise, it shows: The cat peeking out of the blanket, eyes wide, saying "Is it still anti-Palestinian out there?"; The cat peeking out of the blanket, eyes narrowed, saying "Y'all need to fix that"; The cat half out of the blanket, collapsing backwards, saying "Do a revolution or something"; The cat half out of the blanket, collapsed backwards, eyes closed, saying "Damn".
April 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
The experience was enhanced by the lovely views and sunny vibes, I'm sure, but past episodes have been good even without such cheatcodes...
The avenue of cherry blossom trees at Bispebjerg Kirkegaard, Copenhagen. The trees are in half-bloom, against a blue sky above and flanked by green-ish grass on the ground. A view of Utterslev Mose in Copenhagen. This is technically a swamp but Shrek would probably have been cheerier if he lived here! The photo shows a sun in the top-right corner, in a blue sky above trees. The top left corner shows the overhang of a willow tree above a flat, calm body of water that reflects the trees around it.
April 3, 2025 at 4:30 PM
rhigarthjones.bsky.social
Okay I think this whole time I haven't quite dared to believe that my book is "real"?

I had a wonderful time writing it (don't get me wrong, it was also hellish and exhausting - I'm a nerd to my core so engaging with and bulding on so much brilliant research in itself was enough for me.

BUT ALSO 🤭
Two OFFICIAL hardback covers of the book All Roads Lead to Rome, showing a polychromic statue of Augustus on a mosaic-effect background, with the words: All Roads Lead to Rome - why we think of the Roman Empire daily, by Rhiannon Garth Jones. Displayed on an unfortunately messy backdrop of cushions, rugs, and packaging.
March 31, 2025 at 5:18 PM