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.
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...
problems on iTunes and typepad... yshhh
Posted by: alec | March 27, 2011 at 08:27 PM
My book recommendation from Audible is "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God." I like the unabridged, but there IS an abridged version read by Derek Jacobi, for those who wouldn't have him in any other voice. The unabridged is quite excellent, though.
Thanks for making Roman history so accessible! I started listening right before the collapse of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, and have been a die-hard listener ever since. :)
Posted by: Garret | March 27, 2011 at 10:09 PM
Thanks again Mike, having to wait a fortnight really makes me realize how much I love this podcast.
I do have one demand though.... If you ever get around to making your American history podcast, you must charge for it. Say 99c an episode perhaps. I know I for one would be more than happy to pay for something no doubt fantastic. And I'm willing to bet everyone else would agree. The right to do so is always that of podcast maker, but with the quality you produce, you have more than earned it.
Gratitude!
Posted by: Benjamin | March 28, 2011 at 01:28 AM
by the way, every time it came you talking about Diocletian's 'apple cart', I kept mentally hearing 'cabbage cart' haha
Posted by: Benjamin | March 28, 2011 at 02:31 AM
Not to steal Constantine's spotlight, but I'm becoming ambivalent about Diocletian. On one hand, there's all his accomplishments and reforms. OTOH, what really worked? Is the criterion, that he aimed so high mere mortals couldn't reach the heights, but did enough to save the empire?
Posted by: Account Deleted | March 28, 2011 at 03:17 AM
I take it you're a firejoemorgan.com reader? Nice.
Posted by: rike | March 28, 2011 at 06:34 AM
Does anyone else listen to the podcast on a Zune? If so, do you know how long it usually takes for a new episode to reach the marketplace?
Posted by: Sean | March 28, 2011 at 09:31 AM
Given the absurd settlement he helped to broker, you get the feeling that Diocletian was either senile or had simply stopped caring about worldly things at this point. I'm imagining him dragged out of retirement to attend this high-level summit, nodding off at the conference table and occasionally rousing himself to say "Sure guys, whatever you say..."
Posted by: Jay Bahadur | March 28, 2011 at 03:51 PM
Lol at the Joe Morgan quip.....
Posted by: Cody | March 28, 2011 at 10:00 PM
Mike, thanks for the name check. Listening to the podcast on the way to work and it made my day. I also read Moneyball evidenced by my fantasy draft which focused exclusively on R-HR-OPS-WHIP-K/9. And of course as a fan of good baseball commentary and a lifelong Dodger fan, I despise Joe Morgan.
Posted by: Casey | March 28, 2011 at 10:20 PM
Hey Mike,
Just wanted to say that this podcast makes my week & it has really sparked my interest in Rome. I mean I'm only a junior in high school & I've already started reading Gibbon.
Anyway I was curious about Egypt. Back during the episodes on Augustus you said that he claimed Egypt as his own personal possession and that every emperor after him did so as well. I was just wondering, during the years of the tetrarchy, which emperor claimed Egypt? Was it just Diocletian or was it shared equally by all four emperors? And what about after Diocletian abdicated but before Constantine became sole emperor?
Thanks Mike for all the hard work that you put into this podcast.
Posted by: Parker | March 29, 2011 at 05:12 PM
Hi Mike,
First I'd like to say how much I appreciate all the work you've done with this podcast (I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before, but it's true). My week pretty much revolves around THOR.
One quick question (a little late, but it's been bugging me for awhile and I thought I'd ask): during the episode "All the King's Men," you mentioned how the office of Praetorian Prefect became central to the Imperial bureaucracy Diocletian established. What I was wondering was did each Emperor have his won Praetorian Prefect attached to his staff? Were there two per Emperor? Or were there simply two residing in Rome as there had been before?
Thank you so much again for doing this podcast, I'm not sure how I would get through each week if I didn't have THOR to look forward to every Sunday.
Posted by: Dylan | April 03, 2011 at 11:52 AM
Well, I've finally decided to go to audible.com/rome but can't remember all the books you have recommended. Are they all listed someplace on this site or do I have to listen to all the podcasts again?
Posted by: Sandy Quackenbush | April 03, 2011 at 04:20 PM
So what was Diocletian's big misstep? Why did The Tetrarchy fall apart? Did he write laws to bind the Tetrarchs in matters of succession or did he just expect them all to play nice once he was gone?
P.S. Mike thanks for all you do. I found Your podcast in January and just caught up. What a ride!
Posted by: Aeneas | April 04, 2011 at 03:40 PM
Great work Mike, your podcast is integral to my morning commute.
Can I simply encourage you not to end the podcast with the demise of the Western Empire, but to continue on with the Eastern Empire - at least to the death of Justinian.
Constantinople is a hugely important and integral part of the Roman Empire, and these citizens were Romans until the fall of the city in 1453.
Posted by: Tribonian | April 05, 2011 at 01:13 PM
Without the help of a scholar, a writer with no social life. Many manufacturers of post-graduate degree are satisfied with the service of doctrine, most of whom are holders of masters and doctoral themselves.
Posted by: essay service | June 30, 2011 at 10:51 AM