In the first chapter, Scorpus refers to his horse as horse "Incitatus." This is a reference to Emperor Caligula's favorite horse.
Despite the 2000 years of difference, the Roman Suburra described in the series is not very different from the sordid and criminal atmosphere of the Suburra of the novel by Giancarlo De Cataldo and Carlo Bonini, later adapted in the 2017 series of the same name.