98- Purchasing Power

After Commodus was assassinated, Pertinax reigned for 86 days. He was murdered by the Praetorian Guard in March 193 and the Imperial throne was auctioned off the highest bidder.

98- Purchasing Power

Comments

[Chad Edwards]

As a general comment, thanks Mike for making such a great podcast. You influenced my decision on a vacation spot. Yup, it was Rome. I wasn't disappointed. There little else better than listening to the "History of Rome" in Rome.

[Luise (Tasmania,Australia)]

Hi All! I notice that "The History of Rome " is in the "Whats Hot" section of iTunes podcasts.
History always was cool, just more people think so now thanks to Mike and others. Saving this episode for my day-off-relax-chill-out-time. Thanks Mike for the best podcast!

[TheJrd]

Wow, Pertinax sounds like he was the reincarnation of Galba. Stepped in after the bloody end of a dynasty. Strict authoritarian who didn't feel the need to pay into the imperial protection racket. Correspondingly short reign.

[Kieran]

Hi Mike, As an Australian who has just watched our team try to defend against the Germans, I have an even greater appreciation of the challenges faced by the Romans on the German border. They just keep coming and coming over and over. Inflicting a heavy defeat against an undermanned opposition. OK I am just looking to make a link to the current world cup in South Africa, (Maybe we will see Italy vs Germany and see how that goes?)

Thanks for a great Podcast, I am going to need a distraction from the current sporting events given the Australian team's form and there is nothing I enjoy more than traveling back in time to see how the empire is progressing. While on the topic maybe a show on sporting events in Roman times. We hear about the Games with gladiators and the related chariot events but what other sports were popular given the lack of football to entertain the crowds.

[Mike L]

Kieran- clearly where the Australian team went wrong (and the Romans before them): you can't beat the Germans without the help of the Americans and Russians. And as far as Dutch coaches go, Pim is certainly no Guus... how can you leave Timmy Cahill up front alone?

Mike, I'd just like to add my thanks to the chorus. I've been listening for about six months now, and loving every minute of it. Prior to this podcast, I knew so little about Roman history, particularly republican history. The whole journey has been a real eye opener.

ThJrd- to me, Pertinax seems at least slightly more principled, less thuggish than Galba. But yeah, history seems to be repeating in a decidedly eerie manner.

[J.R.]

Great episode, Mike. I'm impressed that you made the debasement of the princeps into such excellent entertainment; I felt like I was there as the Praetorians auctioned off the Emperorship.

But why were the Praetorians so stupid? Surely their greed alone couldn't have convinced them that auctioning off the most important office of the most important state of the ancient world wouldn't have any bad consequences for them.

[Luise (Tasmania,Australia)]

I felt sorry for Pertinax.

[Shawn]

Mike,
I wanted to tell you how much I have enjoyed your podcast. I have spent many hours and many miles listening to The History of Rome on my iPod. You have been a blessing during the dark hours of driving across the country. Your podcast dovetails perfectly into Lars Brownworth's Lost to the West, History of the Byzantine Empire. Thank you so much for your time and great storytelling.

[twitter.com/Akiracee]

These Praetorians are a fickle bunch.

Didn't anyone try to mitigate their power in some way? Such as rotating members of the urban cohort through frontier legions, or creating several competing legions of Praetorians so that power couldn't coalesce?

Cheers,

R

[Nursing tops]

Just read him, and if you meet him, offer him a single malt and you'll get the conversation you're looking for.

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