The History of Rome

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 Persecuction

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

128- The Great Persecuction

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

122- Jupiter and Hercules

Immediatly after becoming the undisputed Emperor in 285, Diocletian elevated Maximian to serve as his Imperial colleague.

Podcast Squared Interview: http://lifestylepodnetwork.com.au/podcastsquared/podcast-squared-31-savage-history/

KOOP Radio: www.koop.org

122- Jupiter and Hercules

 

121- Phase Three Complete

The Crisis of the Third Century finally ended with the mini dynasty of Carus and his two sons. In 284 Diocletian rose to power, ushering in a new age in Roman history.

121- Phase Three Complete

Episode Delivery Issues

I have just been informed that The History of Rome's media-hosting service is experiencing DNS resolution issues. For the moment, all episode links have been broken and the show is not able to be downloaded. I have every confidence that problem will be resolved quickly.

Thanks for your patience,

Mike

PS Vacation is over and I am working on Episode 121 as we speak.

PPS Well, not "as we speak". "As we speak" I am alerting you to a DNS resolution issue, but I was working on Episode 121 before I was interrupted...

120- Interregnum

After Aurelian's death, an old Senator named Marcus Cluadius Tacitus briefly reigned before the throne fell to Probus, who ruled from 276-282.

120- Interregnum

 

119- Restitutor Orbis

Aurelian defeated the breakaway western provinces and reunified the Empire in 274 AD. The next year he was assassinated by officers who had been tricked into committing murder.

119- Restitutor Orbis

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118- The Palmyrene Wars

In 272 Aurelian finally managed to bring the east back under Roman control by defeating Queen Zenobia of Palmyra

118- The Palmyrene Wars

117- Aurelian's Walls

Aurelian became Emperor in 270 and immediatly faced an invasion of Italy by the Juthungi. After succesfully driving the Germans off, Aurelian turned his attention to building a new wall circuit around Rome to protect the capital in the future.

images from wikipedia

117- Aurelian's Walls

116- Here Come the Illyrians

Claudius Gothicus became Emperor in 268 and promptly lead the legions to victory against the Goths and the Alamanni. Unfortunately he died before he was able to reunify the Empire.

116- Here Come the Illyrians

115- Phase Two Complete

The near simultaneous deaths of Gallienus, Odenathus and Postumus upset the political equilibrium in the late 260s AD.

115- Phase Two Complete

114- The Nadir of Our Fortunes

The 260s AD were bad for the Romans, but they could have been a whole lot worse had not Gallienus, Postumus and Odenathus each done their part to defend their respective corners of the Empire.

114- The Nadir of Our Fortunes

 

 

113- Three Empires

Following the capture of Valerian in 260 AD, the western provinces broke away to form a seperate Empire and the east became controlled by the city of Palmyra.

113- Three Empires

112- Captured Alive

Valerian and his son Gallienus did their best to hold the Empire together through the 250s AD, but after Valerian was captured by the Sassanids things quickly spiraledout of control.

112- Captured Alive

111- Phase One Complete

After the Battle of Abrittus, Trebonianus Gallus was proclaimed Emperor. He reigned for two years before being ousted by Aemilianus, who lasted less than a month on the throne before being ousted by Valerian. 

111- Phase One Complete

110- A Gothic Horror

In 249 AD Decius ousted Philip the Arab and ascended to the Imperial throne. Two years later though, Decius was dead after leading the legions to a massive defeat at the hands of the Goths.

110- A Gothic Horror

[Update]: Re-posted to correct Nicopolis/Nicomedia flub. Thanks for the catch Miguel.

109- The New Millenium

Gordian III died in 244 AD and was succeeded by his Praetorian Prefect Philip the Arab. While Philip dealt with internal revolts and external invasion, he found time to celebrate Rome's 1000th birthday in 248 AD.

109- The New Millennium

108- Gordian's Knot

By August of 238, the other five men who had claimed a share of the purple were dead, leaving 13-year-old Gordian III as the last man standing.

108- Gordian's Knot

Also: We won the Baseball Jersey design contest! By one vote! Which means I am in the debt of every single listener out there who pulled the lever for us. Thank you so much. I am beyond thrilled.

A sham(e)less non-THoR related plug...

Mr. and Mrs. The History of Rome entered Uniwatch's Design-a-Baseball Jersey contest and our Seattle Mariners (who else?) redesign is now in the finals. The winner gets their entry made into a real life jersey!

If you are so inclined, feel free to click the link and vote for your favorite history podcaster/baseball uniform designer: http://www.uniwatchblog.com/2010/08/31/and-now-your-design-a-baseball-jersey-contest-finalists/.

Duncan-Mariners 2010! Believe Big!

-Mike+Brandi

107- The Year of the Six Emperors

In 238, a revolt in Africa sparked a revolution in Rome that would eventually lead to six different men claiming the title of Augustus.

Update: Episode 107...now with fewer typos and audio glitches! Thanks for being so on the ball everyone.

107- The Year of the Six Emperors

106- Barbarian at the Gate

After bungling a campaign in the east, Alexander headed to the Rhine where he was assassinated by Maximinius Thrax in 235 AD.

The History of Rome Tour! http://historyofrometour.com

106- Barbarian at the Gate

105- The Last Princeps

Alexander was only 13 when he ascended to the throne in 222. With the help of his mother and a few key advisers, he managed to avoid being the kind of disaster that previous teenage Emperors had been.

105- The Last Princeps

104- Here Comes the Sun

Elagabalus became Emperor in 218 AD at the tender age of 14. His reign was defined by a scandalous private life and an obsession with the eastern sun god El-Gabal.

104- Here Comes the Sun

103- The Equestrian

Carcalla was killed by his Praetorian Prefect Macrinus in 217 AD. Macrinus then spent a troubled year as Emperor before the House of Severus came back to challenge his rule.

103- The Equestrian

102- The Common Enemy of Mankind

Septimius Severus died in 211 while campaigning in Britain. He left the Empire to his sons, but their mutual hatred for one another meant that one of them was going to wind up dead.

102- The Common Enemy of Mankind

101- And All Was of Little Value

After defeating Clodius Albinus, Septimius Severus turned over daily administration of the Empire to his Praetorian Prefect Gaius Plautianus, while the Emperor himself went looking for further military victories in Parthia.

101- And All Was of Little Value

100- Black and White and Severus All Over

Septimius Severus became the undisputed Emperor of Rome after defeating Pescennius Niger in 194 and Clodius Albinus in 197.

100- Black and White and Severus All Over

99- What Evil Have I Done?

​After buying the Imperial throne, Didius Julianus only remained in power for 66 days before being ousted by Septimius Severus.

99- What Evil Have I Done?

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

97- The Fall of Hercules

Commodus went off the deep end around 190 AD. He was killed two years later by his inner circle.

97- The Fall of Hercules

96- The Most Aptly Named Emperor

​The reign of Commodus turned on a botched assassination attempt orchestrated by his sister in 182 AD.

96- The Most Aptly Named Emperor

95- The Beginning of the End

Marcus elevated Commodus to the position of co-Emperor and then died a few years later while campaigning in the north.

The Column of Marcus Aurelius (click on the image for an impressive amount of detail):

The column used to be topped by a statue of Marcus, but was replaced by a statue of St Paul in the late 1500s (Trajan's column was topped by St. Peter at the same time).

Marcus confronts German prisoners:

Marcus passing judgment from the seat of Justice:

A German council of war:

The Rain Miracle:

 

95- The Beginning of the End

94- Revolt and Meditations

In 175 Avidius Cassius led a revolt that forced Marcus to postpone his final triumph on the Danube.

94- Revolt and Meditations

93- The Marcomannic Wars

The Romans fought a series of campaigns against a coalition of German tribes from 168-175. They were on the verge of total victory when news arrived of a rebellion in the east.

93- The Marcomannic Wars

92- The Parthian War

After suffering some initial setbacks, Marcus sent Lucius east to deal with a suddenly critical war with Parthia.

92- The Parthian War

91- Marcus and Lucius and the Parthians

Marcus Aurelius was destined to become Emperor, but his insistence that Lucius Verus share the honor came as a surprise to everyone.

91- Marcus and Lucius and the Parthians

90- The Hundredth Episode

Big question-time blowout!

90- The Hundredth Episode

Technical Difficulties

Arg. Having issues. Will hopefully get episode posted in the morning.

Mike

89- Provincial Matters

In which I talk for way too long about where the best tin deposits in the Roman Empire can be found.

A worthwhile map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roman_Empire_125.svg

89- Provincial Matters

Update: Outro music has been added and the episode reposted. 

Update II: Here's another worthwhile Wikipedia map of the Empire in 117 AD (supplied by Rens down in the comment thread): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RomanEmpire_117.svg

88- A Day in the Life

Life in Rome began at dawn and lasted until sunset. Work was done in the morning while the afternoon was reserved for recreation.

88- A Day in the Life