When reigning over any sizeable area, or indeed the Roman Empire, there is always someone looking to dethrone you—or worse. Roman Emperors faced constant threats from outsiders and their own inner circle.

Political tensions and jealousy were rife in the Roman court, and many an Emperor met a sticky end at the hands of a usurper, or even their own staff. Let’s explore some of those unlucky leaders, and find out just who was behind their assassinations.
One such Emperor who met their maker after a betrayal is infamous in his own right. Gaius Julius Caeser was stabbed to death in Rome on March 15, 44 BC by his own peers. The “dictator for life” of the Roman Republic, as he was named, was not considered tyrannical by most of his citizens. They thought of him favourably, and his military prowess helped to expand the Republic to include what is now Spain, France, Germany, and many more modern-day countries.

However, numerous members of the Roman Senate, a group of appointed political leaders, resented Caesar’s popularity and made a plan to kill the Roman leader. The murder plot was a sordid betrayal, and Caesar was stabbed a reported 23 times by the group of 60, which included his own nephew, Marcus Junius Brutus. The iconic quote “et tu, Brute?” (and you, Brutus?) was the last line that Caesar supposedly uttered before his demise.

The death of Julius Caesar was wildly unpopular with the Roman public, and many civil wars followed the assassination. Caesar’s grandnephew Octavian emerged as the new leader, renamed himself Augustus Caesar, and his reign served to mark the end of the Roman Republic and the start of the Roman Empire.


Portrait of Julius Caesar (1st century BC) at the Archaeological Museum of Sparta
The Praetorian Guard served a very important purpose in the Roman Empire—protecting the Emperor. This began all the way back with the first Emperor of the Roman Empire, the aforementioned Augustus, but their reputation became that of ‘kingslayers’ as time went on. Their unfettered access to such rulers presented a problem in itself. If the Praetorians took a dislike to any one Emperor, they could effectively do away with him with no repercussions and install someone of their choosing.

The Praetorian Guard are thought to have been responsible for the deaths of over a dozen Emperors. The bodyguards were critical in the assassination of Caligula and the selection of his successor Claudius in 41 AD, and also played a part in the slaying of Commodus in 192 AD, Caracalla in 217 AD, Elagabalus in 222 AD, and Pupienus and Balbinus in 238 AD.

Oftentimes the Praetorian Guard would install their own Emperor after any one killing, only to assassinate him later on. When Galba ascended to the throne in 68 AD, he was then slain by the Praetorians only a year later after they felt they were not adequately rewarded for their actions.

But just why did the Praetorian Guard kill so many Emperors? Power and wealth ruled the day in Ancient Rome, and they wanted their piece of the pie, just as many officials did. Ensuring their own power was critical to their mission, and they were more than willing to partake in the slaying and installing of new Emperors when tempted by money or control.

Due to these rampant eliminations, Emperor Constantine the Great disbanded the Guard in 313 AD.

Check out more Conqueror’s Tales about the culture of the Ancient Romans that inspired Conqueror’s Blade: Colosseum, with looks at female fighters, animals in the arena, and just what the Romans ever did for us.

Prove your mettle in the All or Nothing limited-time event from now until October 27 to earn Stars to exchange for Treasure Troves, which can contain new Weapon Skins!

Simply play Colosseum Mode to earn Stars. Winning a battle will award you with 1 Star, but be careful—losing one battle means losing all the Stars you have accumulated so far. Exchange them while you can, or take the gamble for more Stars!



To give you a chance to grab more Stars, the Colosseum Mode will be open longer during this period. Check out the new times below:

• 16:00 CEST - 20:00 CEST (EU) / 07:00 - 11:00 PDT (NA2) / 10:00 - 14:00 EDT (NA3) 
• 22:00 CEST - 02:00 CEST (EU) / 13:00 - 17:00 PDT (NA2) / 16:00 - 20:00 EDT (NA3)

You can exchange your Stars for Treasure Troves via the Event Page. Your first Golden Trove is guaranteed to include one of the following random Colosseum-themed Weapon Skins:

• Crowd-Pleaser's Poleaxe
• Tridentine Spear
• Cheetah's Dagger

Treasure Troves can include Treatises, Silver Keys, Gold Dust, Epic and Rare Artillery, and two brand-new items that can be consumed to receive a special bonus before a battle: Victory Horn & Protection Charm. 

Using a Victory Horn will grant you 2 Stars for a win, and consuming a Protection Charm will prevent the loss of Stars if you are defeated.

Protection Charms can also be purchased from the in-game Store for extra self-preservation.
Until November 10, you can gain access to a new Doctrine Pool, which includes a brand-new Epic Doctrine. When the event ends, this Doctrine will be added to the pools permanently.

Start your winning streak in the Colosseum and earn Stars today!

Please be aware that from 08:00 CEST on October 20 (23:00 PDT on October 19), the Conqueror’s Blade servers will be inaccessible. The downtime is expected to last for 4 hours.

Please refer to the Patch Notes for documented changes. Meanwhile, stay tuned to our Discord channel in case of any immediate server updates.

You can now gift an assortment of useful items to your friends in Conqueror’s Blade!

Head to the in-game Store, choose a nice present for your pal, and add a message to accompany their gift. The following items can now be gifted:

• Expansion Permit
• Vault Key
• 10-Battle Unit XP Card
• 10-Battle Hero XP Card
• 7-Day Premium Account
• 30-Day Premium Account
• 90-Day Premium Account
• 180-Day Premium Account
• Disguise Kit
• Honour Reset Token
• Gender & Appearance Reset
• Cross-region Migration Token
• New Identity Document
• Scribal Service
• Horse Trough

You must meet the following requirements to access gifting:

1. Gifts can be sent 72 hours after becoming friends.
2. Gifts can be given to House members 72 hours after joining a House.
3. The gift giver must be at least Level 100, and the recipient must be at least Level 60.

Take on new quests to earn cosmic rewards to exchange for special Doctrines in the Stargazer’s Wisdom Event!

• Sign-in Event: Log in daily to earn Silver Keys, Treatises and Astronomer's Almanacs (which can be traded for limited-time rewards).
• Warden Quests: Complete Quests from the Warden to earn Bronze, Honour, and tradeable Flasks of Wisdom.

Log in daily to pick up Astronomer’s Almanacs and complete quests from the Warden for Flasks of Wisdom.

Head to the Event Exchange to exchange these items for Treatises and Special Doctrines!

• Dimachaeri Siccae Doctrine: Reduces Siccae Torrent cooldown by 5 seconds.
• Myrmillones Shield Doctrine: Reduces ranged damage taken by 90 points.
• Retiarii Marching Doctrine: Increases the Movement Speed bonus granted by Trident Charge by 10% & increases Trident Charge's damage by 5%.
• Historical Doctrine Selection Box: Choose between a Berserker's Assault, Shieldmaiden's Guardian, Rangers' Mobility, or Imperial Pike Guards Attack Doctrine.

Reward exchanges are available until November 3 (08:00 server time).

IMPORTANT: Any unspent Astronomer’s Almanacs and Flasks of Wisdom will not expire and should be kept safe for future events.

Go galactic with up to 30% off the following bundles in the in-game Store until October 27!

• Campaigner's Payroll: Bronze, 100x Unit Medals, and 10x 1-Battle Super Unit XP Cards await in this useful bundle. (Purchase Limit: 10)
• Spoils of War: The Spoils of War pack activates when purchased, then sends you up to seven days of daily rewards (provided you log in to claim them), totalling 70x Unit Medals and 35x 1-Battle Super Unit XP Cards, along with 60x Unit Medals and 8x Marshal’s Handbooks. (Purchase Limit: 2)
• Heavy Weapons Bundle: Explode like a supernova in battle with this bundle containing 30x Powdered Silver, 5x Rare Weapon Schematics Selections, 5x Random Rare Artillery Chests, and 2x Random Epic Artillery Chests (Purchase Limit: 5)
• Prospector Pack: All the resources you need, including 15x Powdered Silver, 5x Large Chests of Silver, 5x Chests of Resources, 30-Day Premium Account Time, and 5x Random Rare Artillery Chests. (Purchase Limit: 3)
• Captain’s Bundle: Sail to the stars with a bounty of Bronze, 5x Magistrate's Memoirs, and 5x Rare Schematic Chests. (Purchase Limit: 5)
• Weaponsmith's Notes: Hoard your loot with 3x Golden Keys and 2x Rare Weapon Schematics. (Purchase Limit: 2)
• Shieldmaker's Notes: Stock up with 5x Golden Keys and 5x Rare Armour Schematics. (Purchase Limit: 5)
• Armorer's Archive: Seek out treasure with 10x Golden Keys, 5x Huge Chests of Resources, and 5x Large Chests of Bronze. (Purchase Limit: 5)

Have a galactically good time during the Stargazer’s Wisdom Event!

Please be aware that from 08:00 CEST on October 13 (23:00 PDT on October 12), the Conqueror’s Blade servers will be inaccessible. The downtime is expected to last for 4 hours.

Please refer to the Patch Notes for documented changes. Meanwhile, stay tuned to our Discord channel in case of any immediate server updates.

In the Colosseum, gladiators weren’t the only ones laying down their lives for the entertainment of the Roman public. Animals had their part to play in the spectacle too, and thousands of wild beasts were hunted and killed in amphitheatres for the amusement of bloodthirsty onlookers.

Named “venatio” (“venationes” plural), this particularly cruel form of entertainment was incredibly popular and led to the slaying of thousands of animals.
The first recorded venatio is thought to have occurred in either 185 or 186 BC as part of a military victory celebration held by Marcus Fulvius Nobilior. Marcus hosted games where gladiators would fight big cats in a staged hunt.

Roman historian Livy wrote of the auspicious event: “a hunt was staged in which lions and panthers were the quarry, and the games were celebrated with practically all the resources and variety that the entire age could muster.”

One of the most extravagant venationes occurred in 248 AD, when elephants, tigers, hyenas, hippos, giraffes, and more filled the amphitheatre for the celebration of the millennium of Rome, marking the supposed anniversary of Rome’s founding by the legendary Romulus.

By the fourth century, the popularity of venationes had dropped, mainly due to the waning finances and military might of the Roman Empire, and thus their ability to procure the exotic animals used in a venatio.


A fragment of a Roman marble and limestone mosaic (300-400 AD) depicting a venatio. Displayed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy.

Venationes were held in the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Saepta, and the Circus Maximus; all mass entertainment venues located in Rome. The exotic beast hunts would take place in the morning as a precursor to the main event of gladiatorial bouts in the afternoon. 

Very few animals survived a venatio, and thousands of animals would be slaughtered in a single day, resulting in the alteration of the ecosphere of an entire region thanks to this bloodthirsty exercise.

The animals fought each other or were hunted, but sometimes were pitted against “venatores” (hunting gladiators). The armed fighters participating in the exhibitions were criminals, prisoners, or professional hunters. Venatores would train for their bouts with wild animals, and at first, the animals were chained so they could easily be killed by the gladiators. However, by 100 BC, the animals were given free rein to roam the arena and possibly kill their human opponents.

It wasn’t just the Roman people who were excited by venationes; their Emperors were too. Emperor Commodus (ruled from 177-192 AD) was known as a gladiator and thought himself a venatore too, and eagerly entered the venationes himself.
In order to entertain the masses with a venatio, Roman authorities would gather animals from across their Empire. They went to great lengths to collect everything from bears from Scotland, to tigers from Persia, and rhinos from India. Roman poet Oppian spoke of the danger involved in capturing such beasts to bring back to Rome, writing: “bears greatly rage with jaws and terrible paws.”

Lions were especially prevalent in venationes and gladiator bouts and Caesar once imported 400 lions from Syria and North Africa for use in the Circus Maximus. Not all the animals used in venationes were lethal. Cows, horses, gazelles, goats, and rabbits all entered the arena, and some were trained to perform tricks rather than fight to the death.

Wolves were not displayed in the hunting portion of venationes. They were considered sacred to the Romans, due to the famous myth of the founding of Rome by the orphaned twins Romulus and Remus, raised by Lupa the she-wolf. With reverence to this tale, wolves were not intentionally harmed.

Take a look at more Conqueror’s Tales about the culture of the Ancient Romans that inspired Conqueror’s Blade: Colosseum, with the life of a gladiator, amphitheatres, female fighters, and just what the Romans ever did for us.

As the final gladiator faction of Conqueror’s Blade: Colosseum steps into the deadliest arena known to man, we ponder the question: was it also known to woman? Tales of fearsome male fighters achieving victory in the Colosseum are rife in Ancient Roman history, but the fairer sex also got to experience the same triumphant action—albeit on a smaller, less grievous scale.
The term “gladiatrix”, now used to describe a female gladiator, is a modern term and was not in use until the 1800s. In their time, they were referred to as “ludia” (female performers). The gladiatrixes wore the same costumes as their male counterparts—-topless, a loincloth, and grieves covering their legs and arms. Becoming a ludia meant a woman was no longer eligible for marriage and was considered undesirable and low-class, despite the attention they garnered from ogling male fans.
History only has a few clues about when women were first permitted to enter the Colosseum and become gladiators. A marble relief found in Turkey dating back to the 2nd century AD depicts two female gladiators engaged in combat, whose stage names are inscribed as “Amazon” and “Achillia”. The inscription also states that the women fought to an honourable draw. The statue most likely tells the story of Achilles and the Amazon queen Penthesilea, in which Achilles slays the queen in battle at Troy and then falls in love with her, regretting his actions.

A statue discovered in Hamburg from the same period depicts a female gladiator holding a raised “sica” (a short sword or large dagger) in a triumphant pose.

Literature from the era also supports the existence of female fighters. The Roman poet Juvenal wrote in his Satires:

“What sense of shame can be found in a woman wearing a helmet, who shuns femininity and loves brute force...If an auction is held of your wife's effects, how proud you will be of her belt and arm-pads and plumes, and her half-length left-leg shin-guard! Or, if instead, she prefers a different form of combat how pleased you will be when the girl of your heart sells off her greaves! Hear her grunt while she practices thrusts as shown by the trainer, wilting under the weight of the helmet.”
However, in 20 BC, a showrunner in Pompeii organised a festival in honour of Apollo, and the entertainment included five sets of female fighters. The event was packed, with people travelling far and wide to see the spectacle and may have been the first occurrence of female gladiators.

Female gladiators didn’t last forever. Their lust for sporting achievement almost led to their participation in the Olympic Games, but instead subsequently got the women banned from fighting in the arena. In 200 AD, Emperor Septimius Severus travelled to Greece to watch the Antiochene Olympic Games, and upon seeing the Grecian female athletes, was concerned that Roman female gladiators would want to compete in the Olympics as well. When he returned home, he banned their involvement in gladiator combat, dubbing their participation ‘unseemly’, thus putting an end to any professional sporting ambition.


Marble statue of a Wounded Amazon (Female Gladiator) from an original by Phidias

While men were rigorously trained to fight and provided with tutors and barracks, women were more of a showcase in the Colosseum and couldn’t learn the same skills needed to properly compete in an all-out brawl. Female gladiators were most likely taught privately with a “lanista” (wooden sword).

Gladiator battles were a popular form of entertainment, and organisers needed new and interesting content to keep ticket sales up. One of the ways showrunners kept the Roman public coming back was with the female gladiators, thought of as hilarious by the spectators. As performers, the women were not always in danger of losing their lives like the male gladiators and mostly acted as entertainers for the crowd.
Just like their male counterparts, women wanted the same luxuries afforded to them for becoming gladiators—-fame, fortune, and fun. Roman women in their patriarchal society had little freedom and were generally not allowed to make any decisions for themselves. Female gladiators were some of the first wholly independent women in history, amassing their own wealth and glory. Souvenirs were created in the likeness of some of the most famous female gladiators, including dolls, art, and oil lamps, as their popularity grew.

As more women sought to join the gladiator games as a ludia, the token performances gave way to real tournaments, where prize money was up for grabs, and real weapons were used.

Check out more Conqueror’s Tales about the Ancient Romans and their culture with our look at the gladiatorial games, the life of a gladiator, their amphitheatres, and just what the Romans ever did for us.

Treat yourself to stunning recoloured Hero Attires, available now on select Hero Attire! Grab awesome revamped threads by pressing ‘P’ to open the character menu and selecting the Attire.
IMPORTANT: You must already own the full Attire to purchase the recoloured variant.

Keep checking the ‘P’ menu for more recoloured Attires coming soon!

Please be aware that from 08:00 CEST on October 6 (23:00 PDT on October 5), the Conqueror’s Blade servers will be inaccessible. The downtime is expected to last for 4 hours.

Please refer to the Patch Notes for documented changes. Meanwhile, stay tuned to our Discord channel in case of any immediate server updates.