Letter: Peace in his time

Sir: It seems a great pity that so much attention should be paid to 30 January as the date of Hitler's rise to power in 1933, rather than as the date of the Roman Emperor Augustus's consecration of the Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis) in 9BC. The altar marked the establishment of peace over a large area of the civilised world, including the land that used to be Yugoslavia and the whole of the Middle East. The peace lasted, virtually unbroken, for something like 200 years. Would this not be a better anniversary to celebrate?

Yours sincerely,

SUSAN WOODFORD

London, NW3

30 January