Hercules

Right Head of Emperor Antoninus Pius (r. AD 138 161). Marble from Göktepe (Turkey), c.AD 138 140.

Off with their heads! The emperors of Chiragan

One of the finest collections of Roman emperors is to be found far from Rome in the Musée Saint-Raymond in Toulouse. But where did they come from, and how did such a magnificent gathering of Roman emperors come to lose their heads? The late Roman Empire was a time of growing religious intolerance. In the East, a Christian mob destroyed the Serapeum temple at Alexandria: did a similar outburst of violence take place in south-western France? Andrew Selkirk investigates.