The History of Rome

166- As Long As She's Nice To Look At

Constantius III continued to lead the Western Empire as its defacto Emperor until 421, when he was officially elevated to the rank of Augustus. Unfortunately, this elevation was not recognized by Cosntantinople.

166- As Long As She's Nice To Look At

165- Reviving the Roman Name

Between 412 and 415 relations between the Romans and Goths shifted back and forth between alliance and antagonism. 

165- Reviving the Roman Name

164- The Sack of Rome

After failing to secure a deal with Honorius, Alaric sacked Rome in August of 410. It was the first time the Eternal City had been sacked in 800 years. 

164- The Sack of Rome

163- Theodosius's Walls

Following the death of Eudoxia, the Praetorian Prefect Anthemius took control of the Eastern Empire and ran it wisely for the next decade. Meanwhile in the West, anti-barbarian policies will lead to the invasion of Italy by Alaric.

163- Theodosius's Walls

Here are Mrs. The History of Rome's pictures from The History of Rome Tour May 2010 (http://historyofrometour.com)

The poor foot-soldier's view as he approaches the wall. In front is the outer 8 meter wall. Behind it is the inner 12 meter wall and the 20 meter guard towers. This isn't going to work is it?:

The no man's land between the two walls. This is where that poor soldier is going to die:

Looking down from atop the Inner wall into the no man's land and the outer wall. This is where the guy who killed that poor foot soldier stood:  

And it just goes on like that from the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn. Um General, I don't want to attack Constantinople. I want to go home:

 Hi Tony!

The line on the far left is the Theodosian Walls:

162- Opening the Floodgates

On New Year's Eve 406 a horde of barbarians crossed the lower Rhine into Gaul. Their arrival would have severe consequences for the Western Empire. 

162- Opening the Floodgates

161- The Swamps of Ravenna

Alaric and his Goths invaded Italy in 402. After they were pushed out, Stilicho moved the seat of the Western Imperial Court to the city of Ravenna. 

161- The Swamps of Ravenna

 

160- East vs. West

In the late 390s, the generals and ministers who dominated Arcadius and Honorius battled with each other for control of the Empire. 

160- East vs. West

159- The Divine Winds

After winning the Battle of the Frigidus River, Theodosius stood alone as the last sole ruler of the Roman Empire. He would be dead just four months later.

159- The Divine Winds

 

158- An Imperial Suicide

In 392 Valentinian II was found hanged in his bedchamber, paving the way for another Roman Civil War. 

158- An Imperial Suicide

 

Well that was unexpected...

So the History of Rome went to the ER on Friday complaining of abdominal pain and we wound up having our appendix removed about six hours later*. I'm doing fine and am resting comfortably, but unfortunately that means this week's episode has been cancelled. Shouldn't have any trouble getting back to work next week though, so I'll see you then. 

C'est la vie,

Mike

*No word on whether my footnotes were also removed, but thanks for your concern Scott... 

 

157- Only the Penitent Man Shall Pass

After defeating the usurper Maximus in 388 AD, Theodosius found himself facing an even greater opponent in Ambrose of Milan.

 157- Only the Pentitent Man Shall Pass

156- Jockeying for Position

From 383-387 the tense quasi-partnership of Maximus, Valentinian II and Theodosius ruled the Roman Empire. During those years Bishop Ambrose and Nicean Christianity pushed themselves to dominance over their Arians rivals.

156- Jockeying for Position

155- The New Bishop of Milan

In 383 the General Magnus Maximus rose up in revolt against Gratian. The power sharing agreement that followed Maximus's victory would be negotiated in part by St. Ambrose, the influencial new Bishop of Milan.

Update: The first Sack of Rome was in 410 not 406. Brain fart corrected.

155- The New Bishop of Milan

 

154- The Gothic War

Following Adrianople, Theodosius was brought in to salvage the situation. After determining that he could not beat the Goths in battle, the new Emperor was forced to sign a peace with the barbarians that treated them as, gasp, equals. 

154- The Gothic War

153- Adrianople

Operating with faulty intelligence and desperate to defeat the Goths on his own, Valens forced the disasterous Battle of Adrianople in August 378.

153- Adrianople

152- The Storm Before the Storm

In 375 the Huns exploded into Gothic territory, sending refugees fleeing for the saftey of the Roman Empire.

152- The Storm Before the Storm

151- Bursting a Blood Vessel

Valens spent the late 360s and early 370s dealing with hostile Goths in the north and hostile Persians in the east. In 375 he would be left to face these threats alone when Valentinian suddenly died.

151- Bursting a Blood Vessel

150- The Perils of Mismanagement

n the late 360s and early 370s AD Roman mismanagement of three different regions in the Western Empire led to armed conflict.

150- The Perils of Mismanagement

149- The Great Conspiracy

In the winter of 367, Britannia was hit from all sides by a coordinated barbarian invasion. It would be more than a year before the Romans were able to reassert control over the island.

149- The Great Conspiracy

148- The Cousin's Cousin

Shortly after Valentinian and Valens ascended to the throne, one of Julian the Apostate's maternal cousins seized control of Constantinople.

148- The Cousin's Cousin

147- Capitulation

Jovian extracted the Roman legions from the east at a heavy price. He then ruled the Empire for eight months before suddenly dying on his way to Constantinople in early 364.

147- Capitulation

146- The Spear of Destiny

In 363 Julian launched an invasion of Sassanid Persia. He would die in battle just three months later.

146- The Spear of Destiny

Update: OK, wow, passing along the recommendation for 1421: The Year China Discovered the World was a huge blunder. I have re-recorded the ad to correct the mistake. The embedded link reflects the newer version, so if you want to forget this grizzly business, just erase the episode you have and replace it with the one linked to above.

The new ad script:

"This week I initially passed along a listener recommendation for 1421: The Year China Discovered the World. However, I must confess that I did not do my usual due diligence on researching the merits of the book and so am just now discovering that 1421 is basically pseudo-historical nonsense that relies on no good evidence whatsoever, speculates wildly beyond the facts and that the author Gavin Menzies is basically a novelist pretending to be a historian. I am embarrassed to have given 1421 The History of Rome’s seal-of-approval, it is not good history, and I sincerely apologize for what can only be described as a sloppy recommendation. How about next time I just recommend The History of the World in 100 Objects or maybe one of those Star Wars books people keep wanting me to plug?"

Mea Culpa,

Mike

145- Julian the Apostate

Julian came to power in late 361 and immediately set about trying to turn back the clock on both Church and State.

145- Julian the Apostate

144- The Road to Constantinople

Once he was established as a force to be reckoned with in the west, Julian revolted against Constantius II in 360 after the Emperor ordered half the Gallic army redeployed to the eastern frontier.

144- The Road to Constantinople

143- Julian the Pre-Apostate

After a childhood spent mostly in exile, Juian was elevated to the rank of Caesar in 355. His first assignment was to clear Gaul of Germanic invaders.

143- Julian the Pre-Apostate

142- You've Earned It

After two years of sporadic war, Constantius II defeated the usurper Magnentius in 353. Following his victory the Emperor let his advisors talk him into executing first Gallus in 354 and then Claudius Silvanus in 355.

142- You've Earned It

141- Blood and Water

Constantius and Constans shared the Empire for a decade until Constans was overthrown by a rebel general named Magnetius in 350 AD.

141- Blood and Water

Update: Redirect issue fixed. Sorry about that.

140- My Three Sons

The three sons of Constantine took control of the Empire following the death of their father and the murder of most of their extended family.

140- My Three Sons

139- Wash Away Your Sins

Constantine was baptized on his deathbed after arranging a plan for succession.

139- Wash Away Your Sins

138- The New Rome

Live and direct from the Old Rome!

138- The New Rome

137- The Christian Emperor

This episode brought to you live and direct from Constantinople! After defeating Licinius, Constantine found his dream of a united Christian Empire foiled by a very disunited Christian Church.

137- The Christian Emperor

136- Let this Be Our Final Battle

War between Licinius and Constantine flared up again in 324 AD. This time Constantine would finish the job.

136- Let this Be Our Final Battle

 

135- Brothers in Name Only

Constantine and Licinius divided up the Empire following the death of Maximinus Daia in 313. It did not take long for relations betweent the two Emperors to turn sour.

135- Brothers in Name Only

134- And Then There Were Two

In 313 AD, Maximinus Daia and Licinus fought for control of the Eastern Roman Empire.

134- And Then There Were Two

133- The Milvian Bridge

On October 28, 312 AD Constantine and Maxentius fought a battle at Rome's doorstep for control of the Western Empire.

133- The Milvian Bridge

132- In This Sign

Prior to the Battle of the Milvian Bridge Constantine experienced visions and dreams that promised him victory if he embraced Christianity.

The Chi-Ro:

Depiction of what the Labarum might have looked like:

132- In This Sign

Images from Wikipedia

 

131- The New Game in Town

With the Tetrarchy in shambles, Diocletian will be called out of retirement in 308 AD to help broker a settlement. But the new new order will prove as bad as the old new order.

131- The New Game in Town

Note: For some reason Libsyn is telling me that the link won't go live for another couple of hours, but I'm posting this now because I want to go to bed please...

130- Lost in Transition

Less than two years after Diocletian's abdication, the Tetrarchy was left in shambles following the power plays of Constantine and Maxentius.

130- Lost in Transition

Christchurch and Japan Earthquake Appeal

As I'm sure you are all aware, Japan has now been devestated by a massive earthquake as well. Here are some links to all manner of support sites:

Red Cross for New Zealand: http://www.redcross.org.nz/

New Zealand Government: http://www.christchurchearthquakeappeal.govt.nz/

Red Cross for Japan: http://redcross.org/portal

UK Red Cross: Click here for New Zealand. Click here for Japan

Thank you and may the gods soon relent. 

 

129- Abdication

In 305 AD, Diocletian and Maximian voluntarily abdicated the throne, handing power over to Galerius and Constantius.

129- Abdication

128- The Great Perseuction

In 303 AD Diocletian initiated the last and greatest of the Christian persecutions.

128- The Great Perseuction

127- Commanding The Economy

Rome's economy was in disarray when Diocletian came to power and he initiated major overhauls to get the system running again.

127- Commanding The Economy

126- All The King's Men

Over the course of his reign Diocletian overhauled the government, transforming it into a centralized bureaucracy run by career civil servants.

Link to a good map of the Empire c 400 AD showing the new provincial organization established by Diocletian: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/The_Roman_Empire_ca_400_AD.png

126- All The King's Men

125- The Best Defence is a Good Defence

Over the course of his reign Diocletian instituted a number of reforms to the military structure that helped transform the legions into a new kind of army.

125- The Best Defence is a Good Defence

 

124- The Tetrarchs at War

In the mid-to-late 290s the Imperial Tetrarchy was at war on multiple fronts. In the west Constantius undertook the reconquest of Britain, while in the east, Galerius fought a newly hostile Sassanid Empire.

124- The Tetrarchs at War

123- The Tetrarchy

In 293 AD Diocletian and Maximian invited Constantius and Galerius to share in their Imperial burdens, forming what we today call the Tetrarchy.

123- The Tetrarchy