The History of Rome

87- Thinking and Feeling

With Roman education leaving much to be desired, many citizens found enlightenment in the eastern mystery cults or Greek philosophy.

87- Thinking and Feeling

86- Wealth and Class

The Roman world was divided between slaves, freedmen, and free citizens of every economic class. Gross inequality though was the order of the day, with the Emperor himself controlling the lion's share of the Empire's wealth.

86- Wealth and Class

100th Episode Question Thread

What would you like to know?

85- Antoninus the Dutiful

 Antoninus's reign is often pointed to as the golden age of the Roman Empire. In many ways the assessment is correct, though unresolved issues would come back to haunt his successors.

85- Antoninus the Dutiful

Clearly I'm messing with the RSS feed

Things may get a bit wonky.

Mike

84- Longing For Death

After returning to Italy in 134 Hadrian spent a final few miserable years trying to plan the long term future of the Imperial dynasty before dying in 138.

84- Longing For Death

83- May His Bones Be Crushed

Hadrian's relationship with the teenage boy Antinous raised eyebrows even in permissive Ancient Rome. His relationship with the Jews raises eyebrows even today.

83- May His Bones Be Crushed

82- Hadrian's Walls

Hadrian's reign got off to a rough start following the political murders of four ex-consuls. The new Emperor would eventually settle in though and set out on his first grand tour of the Empire in 121.

82- Hadrian's Walls

81- The Greekling

Though Hadrian's career had long been guided by Trajan, when the Emperor died in 117 he still had not named Hadrian heir.

81- The Greekling

80- Optimus Trajan

Trajan greatly improved the infrastructure of the Empire and finished his reign by conquering much of the Middle East.

80- Optimus Trajan

79- The Dacian Wars

After Trajan ascended to the throne in 98 AD he fought two wars against the Dacians, finally annexing the country in 106 AD.

79- The Dacian Wars

78- Imperial Stop Gap

Nerva's brief reign was stormy, but his choice of Trajan as heir was inspired.

78- Imperial Stop Gap

77- What Time is It?

After Saturninus's revolt in 89 AD, Domitian's paranoia increased. In 96 AD court officials afraid for their lives conspired to have the Emperor killed.

BBC Interview: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/pods/

or

iTunes>Audio Podcasts>Tech News>BBC>Pods and Blogs

77- What Time is It?

76- Mock Triumphs

Domitian attempted to emulate Augustus, but his heavy-handed treatment of the Senate earned him many enemies. Meanwhile, his focus on frontier defense brought charges of cowardice and his treaty with the Dacians was seen as a humiliation.

76- Mock Triumphs

75- The Forgotten Son

Domitian had spent his life in the background, but in 81 AD he found himself Emperor and soon demonstrated that he had very strong ideas about how to wield power.

75- The Forgotten Son

74- Friends, I Have Wasted a Day

Titus succeeded his father to the throne in 79 AD, but ruled for only two years before dying of a sudden infection in 81. Throughout the reign of the Flavians, Agricola campaigned in Britain to Romanize the island.

74- Friends, I Have Wasted a Day.

73- The Only Man Who Improved

Vespasian served as Emperor from 69-79 AD, stabilizing the Empire after a year of Civil War.

73- The Only Man Who Improved

72- Vitellius and Vespasian

If you are interested in attending a Lars Brownworth lecture in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, San Fransisco or Austin please email Detlef Kroeze ([email protected]) or sign into the Forum and look for the heading "Lars Brownworth Lectures" (http://forumgallorum.freeforums.org/lars-brownworth-lectures-t120.html)

72- Vitellius and Vespasian

71- Otho and Vitellius

After murdering Galba, Otho ascended to the throne in January 69 AD. He immediately had to deal with Vitellius revolt and after suffering a defeat at Bedriacum in April, Otho committed suicide having served as Emperor for just three months

71- Otho and Vitellius

70- Galba and Otho

Galba's refusal to pay off the Praetorian Guard came back to haunt him when Otho looked for accomplices to aid in his assassination plot early in 69 AD.

70- Galba and Otho

Just Because I'm Gone Doesn't Mean You Should Stop Talking Amongst Yourselves

Hi All,

Longtime listener Detlef has set up a discussion board for talking about/around/beyond The History of Rome. If you have questions, thoughts, comments or just want a place to hang out where you don't have to worry about convincing anyone that Roman history is totally fascinating, by all means bookmark the Forum Gallorum and check back often because the episodes themselves are just the beginning of the conversation.

Have fun while I'm gone,
Mike

PS It has also come to my attention that there is a Facebook fanpage for the show. You'd think that a savvy podcaster like myself would be on top of all the social media sites, but I'm actually pretty terrible at these things. If you're on Facebook, join in the fun right here. I promise to be on Twitter sometime in early 2011...

69- A History of Rome Wedding

Marriage was one of the key institutions of Roman culture and many of the traditions surrounding weddings persist today.

69- A History of Rome Wedding

68- Three Emperors: The History of Rome

The personalities of each of the men who vied for the throne in 69 AD had a major impact on how events unfolded.

68- Three Emperors

67- What an Artist the World is Losing: The History of Rome

In 66 AD the Great Revolt broke out in Judaea, leading Nero to appoint Vespasian to crush the uprising. But the Emperor did not live to see the end of the conflict- in 68 AD he committed suicide after a palace coup.

67- What an Artist the World is Losing

66- 666: The History of Rome

Nero's popularity with the people began to wane in the early 60s AD. Things got so bad that after the Great Fire of Rome swept through the city, many held Nero responsible.

66- 666

The Future of the Thing I do in the Present About Things that Happened in the Past

Though I’ve been alluding to it for awhile, I think it’s about time to formally announce that The History of Rome is getting married on September 23rd.* What I have not alluded to is that, after a brief honeymoon, we are throwing The History of Rome’s Research Assistant in the backseat and moving to Austin, TX. What’s that you say? You couldn’t be happier for us? Well, don’t get too excited, because this does have ramifications for the show schedule.

*By an eerie coincidence this happens to be Augustus’s birthday. The sacred chickens appear to be gorging themselves.

The long and short of it is that The History of Rome is going to be off the air for about a month. The last show before the wedding will post Sept 13 and the first show back after the break will be Oct 18. Between the wedding, the honeymoon and the move, I just don’t think I’ll have the time to focus enough on the show to make it any good so I’m not even going to try (and I think the Really-Soon-To-Be-Mrs. History of Rome would have justifiable grounds for an annulment if she caught me working on the podcast during our honeymoon).

When it comes to the long term future of the show I want to address the growing number of calls in the comments for me to press on past 476 and cover the Byzantine Empire in full. I don’t want to shut the door on the idea completely (because who knows how I’ll feel when it actually comes time to fish or cut bait), but to be clear: this is probably not going to happen. Not only is the Byzantine Empire outside my comfort zone academically, but I plan on heading back to school after establishing residency in Texas and am skeptical of my ability to keep up the pace of a weekly podcast and knock out a Master’s Degree at the same time. So, like it says it right there in the header: A weekly podcast tracing the history of the Roman Empire, beginning with Aeneas's arrival in Italy and ending (someday) with the exile of Romulus Augustulus, last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

In the long long term, I have enjoyed this all so much that I would definitely want to return to podcasting when life/school/career permit, but now we’re talking 2 ½ - 3 years out and in technological terms that’s an eternity. By that point, to be blunt, podcasting might be obsolete. So while I have been fiddling off an on with an American History project (that has grown from a simple, biography driven show on the Presidents to an overarching economic-political history of the United States*) and often get lost in Wikipedia pages on Ancient Mesopotamia (Ur! Woooo!), whether or not podcasting per se turns out to be the platform for those projects remains to be seen.

 *Dear International Listeners: this will be cool, I promise.

So to sum up: Episodes for the next four weeks? Yes! Episodes for the four weeks after that? No. Episodes for another year (or more) until we get to the fall of the Western Roman Empire? Yes! Episodes after that covering the Byzantine Empire? Probably not. Some future Mike Duncan history project covering a yet-to-be-determined topic on a yet-to-be-invented New Media platform? Boy I hope so; I'm having a ball.

Mike

[Update]: For those of you who are curious, our wedding page is located here. The picture is from New Year's 07, which we spent at the Kennedy School (and had such a good time that we decided to throw the wedding there). 

65- Burn it to the Ground: The History of Rome

Between 58 and 63 AD Rome dealt with a major conflict over the Kingdom of Armenia and a revolt in Britain led by the warrior Queen Boudica.

[Update]: You know the part where I'm talking about the Romans being marched out under the yoke? Alert listener Robert caught me referencing the Battle of the Colline Gate, when I should have referenced the Battle of the Caudine Forks. Sorry about that. (But in my defense, they do both start with a "C")

65- Burn it to the Ground

64- Smite My Womb: The History of Rome

After Nero came to power he was dominated by Agrippina. But it didn't take long before the 16-year-old Emperor got tired of his mother telling him what to do.

64- Smite My Womb

William Marr Duncan 1923-2009

Unfortunately there will be no episode this week. My grandfather passed away on Thursday and I am focused on my family right now. Should be back next week and ready to dive into Nero.

Mike

63- A Farewell to Claudius

Claudius turned out to be one of the more successful Emperors in Roman history, but unfortunately in 54 AD he was assassinated to make way for one of the worst.

 

63- A Farewell to Claudius

62- Take My Wife...Please: The History of Rome

Though Claudius had great success in his public life, his private life was a different story. Each of his marriages ended in either divorce or execution.

62- Take My Wife...Please

61- What, me Claudius?

Claudius became Emperor after the assassination of Caligula in 41 AD. Far from a bumbling fool, Claudius turned out to be capable and dedicated ruler.

61- What, me Claudius?

60- No Better Slave, No Worse Master: The History of Rome

Caligula was insane. Luckily for the Romans, he wielded absolute power.

60- No Better Slave, No Worse Master

59- To the Tiber with Tiberius: The History of Rome

Tiberius's final years were consumed with treason trials and private licentiousness. After he died in 37 AD, the infamous Caligula ascended to the throne.

59- To the Tiber with Tiberius

58- Partner of my Labors: The History of Rome

After the death of Tiberius's son Drusus, Praetorian Prefect Lucius Sejanus's influence grew exponentially. Sejanus was the defacto ruler of Rome from 26 AD until his fall from power 5 years later.

58- Partner of my Labors

57- Germanicus: The History of Rome

The early years of Tiberius's reign were defined by his growing jealousy of his nephew/adopted son Germanicus. After winning victories on the far side of the Rhine, Germanicus was sent east, where in 19 AD he died under mysterious circumstances.

Pics from the British Museum by Justin. Thanks Justin!

57- Germanicus

56- The King is Dead, Long Live the King

After putting his affairs in order and ensuring that the transition of power to Tiberius would be smooth, Augustus died on August 17, 14 AD.

Read The Deeds of the Divine Augustus

56- The King is Dead, Long Live the King

55- Teutoburg Nightmares: The History of Rome

The Julio-Claudian family was rife with conflict, but nothing compared to the battle fought against the Germans in the Teutoburg Forest.

 

 

Pics by Carolyn. Thanks Carolyn!

55- Teutoburg Nightmares

54- All in the Family: The History of Rome

Augustus promoted his steps sons Tiberius and Drusus to high office long before they were technically eligible. He hoped they would share power with him until Gaius and Lucius Caesar came of age, but Drusus died young and Tiberius went into self-imposed exile.

54- All in the Family

53- Reigning Supreme: The History of Rome

After attaining power, Augustus set about reforming the Empire.

53- Reigning Supreme

52- Caesar Augustus: The History of Rome

The Senate bestowed upon Octavian the title Caesar Augustus during the constitutional settlement of 27 BC. Four years later Augustus and the Senate altered their power sharing agreement.

52- Caesar Augustus

51- Actium: The History of Rome

On Sept 2, 31 BC Octavian defeated Antony at the Battle of Actium. Antony and Cleopatra fled back to Alexandria where they committed suicide the next year, following Octavian's invasion of Egypt.

51- Actium

50- The Donations of Alexandria: The History of Rome

After Antony failed to conquer Parthia, the Triumvirate partnership broke down, leading to a declaration of war.

50- The Donations of Alexandria

49- Apollo and Dionysus: The History of Rome

After winning the Battle of Philippi Antony and Octavian divided the empire into two halves. Antony took control of the east where he formed an alliance with Cleopatra, while Octavian commanded the west.

49- Apollo and Dionysus

48- The Second Triumvirate

In 43 BC Marc Antony, Octavian and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate. After initiating proscriptions to raise funds and purge their enemies, the Triumvirs headed east, where they defeated Brutus and Cassius at Philippi.

48- The Second Triumvirate

47- Octavius-Octavian: The History of Rome

Caesar posthumously adopted his great nephew Gaius Octavius and the 19-year-old was thrust into the center of Roman politics. In the months following the assassination Octavian and Mark Antony will vie for the support of the legions.

47- Octavius-Octavian

46- Sic Semper Tyrannis: The History of Rome

In the last months of his life, rumors swirled about Caesar's monarchical ambitions. On the Ides of March 44 BC, a group of Senators put the issue to rest by assassinating Caesar during a session of the Senate.

46- Sic Semper Tyrannis

45- The End Of The War

Caesar took the overland route back from Egypt back to Rome and along the way pacified what little resistance he came across. After a brief stay in Italy he sailed for North Africa where he defeated the regrouped Republican army. Having emerged from the Civil War triumphant he returned to Rome and began his ambitious reform programs.

45- The End of the War

44- Caesar Triumphant: The History of Rome

Following a setback at Dyrrachium, Caesar decisively won the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. After defeating Pompey, Caesar sailed for Alexandria, where settled a civil war by placing Cleopatra on the throne.

44- Caesar Triumphant

43- Insert Well Known Idiom Here

In 49 BC Caesar led a single legion across the Rubicon River, sparking a civil war that would lead to the death of the Roman Republic.

43- Insert Well Know Idiom Here