The Great Conspiracy - The History of Rome Mike Duncan

What was the great conspiracy of the title?  It refers to a huge co-ordinated attack on the province of Britain by Picts, Irish, Franks and the Germanic tribe that was to have a surprisingly impressive CV later in history, the Saxons.  Sorting out this conspiracy was going to allow a new dynasty to emerge.  For a foggy out of the way island where it rains a lot, Britain was to play a disproportionate role in the history of the empire.

Julian the Pre Apostate - History of Rome Mike Duncan

This podcast is always good, but the highlight is always the portrayals of strong characters like Julius Caesar and Constantine.  It looks like we have another in the form of Julian the Apostate.  He was to be the last pagan emperor and we don't have that many emperors left now so lets hope we get the full treatment on this one.  This episode covers his early life while he was still a Christian, he only became the Apostate when he abandoned his Christianity. (Just in case you don't get the title.) 

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/07/143-julian-the-pre-apostate.html

New Rome - History of Rome Mike Duncan

This podcast is now so well known that I am going to do the same that I do with In Our Time and only post reviews of exceptional episodes.   The one on Constantine's founding of Constantinople was one such.  In this one Constantine founds a city, sets the currency on a firm footing, murders his son and taxes everyone into the middle of the next financial year.  Oh and his mum discovers the true cross.  All in all, quite a to do list to get through and well done to Constantine for achieving so much and to Mike for explaining it all so clearly.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/05/138-the-new-rome.html

Let this be our final battle - History of Rome Mike Duncan

A gripping account of the final triumph of Constantine of Licinius leaving him as the undisputed master of the whole Roman world.  Fans of the UK series Blackadder will enjoy spotting a quote that Mike slips in.  Another reliably good podcast.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/05/136-let-this-be-our-final-battle.html

Brothers in Name Only - History of Rome Mike Duncan

Constantine makes all the running yet again in this podcast from the History or Rome series.   Constantine starts settling disputes in the Church - not for the faint hearted - and picks an argument with Licinius.  Recommended - Mike is warming to the character of Constantine.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/04/135-brothers-in-name-only.html

And then there were two -History of Rome Mike Duncan

Constantine is most famous as the first Christian emperor and is often considered to be a saint. That doesn't seem to have stopped him engaging in some pretty low politics in his quest for supreme rule of the empire.  In this episode he maneuvers into position while his fellow emperor Licinius deals with Maximinus the emperor in the East.  It is all very confusing but Mike makes it clear. 

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/04/134-and-then-there-were-two.html

The Battle of the Milvian Bridge - History of Rome Mike Duncan

There are few battles in history so significant as that of the Milvian Bridge.  Mike is more interested in the personality and motivations of Constantine than in the details of the battle itself, which is a good way of making sense of an otherwise still quite confused situation.  You miss out on the drama of the battle, but you get a good insight into what the people thought about it at the time and how it must have seemed to people at the time.  As usual, Mike is at his best when describing a strong character.  This episode stands up pretty well as a one off, so if you are looking to see whether you want to start listening to the whole series, this one is a good place to start.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/04/133-the-milvian-bridge.html

Lost in Transition - History of Rome

 Diocletian must have hoped his solution to the succession issue would last.  It didn't.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/03/130-lost-in-transition.html

Abdication - History of Rome

Abdications are a rare thing in history, but  Diocletian's reign ended with a double abdication.  He decided to go and grow cabbages instead.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/03/129-abdication.html

The Great Persecution - History of Rome

The History of Rome is never less than excellent, but it shines particularly when there is a big personality about to describe.  Diocletian is certainly a big character and we hear a lot about his good points.  But like everyone, he wasn't flawless, and the persecution of the Christians was a big policy mistake.  Quite why the emperor decided to turn his ire against a harmless minority and cause a lot of totally unnecessary suffering not to say disruption we'll probably never know. 

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/02/128-the-great-perseuction.html

Commanding the Economy - History of Rome

Diocletian was a great emperor in many ways, but economics seems to have been a bit of weak spot.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/02/127-commanding-the-economy.html

All the King's Men - History of Rome

Diocletian's organisational reforms were far reaching.  They had some undoubted advantages, but in the long run the costs were to cripple the empire.


http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/02/126-all-the-kings-men.html

The Best Defence is a Good Defence - History of Rome

Mike looks at the reforms of Diocletian and ranges a bit further into the various potential defensive strategies open to the Romans.  In particular, he dismisses the so called 'defense in depth' idea which has been very popular among military historians. Defending the empire was a full time job and required a lot of resources.  Changing the centuries old size of the legions was one way Diocletian made the army more flexible, but this probably didn't go so far as to actually deliberately allowing barbarians to enter Roman territory to make them easier to defeat.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/02/125-the-best-defence-is-a-good-defence.html

Tetrarchs at War - History of Rome

Diocletian ruled over an empire that had numerous external and internal military challenges.  All were dealt with, though not always easily. Diocletian was clearly an able and effective soldier, but not a spectacular one.  Maximin did most of that side of things.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/01/124-the-tetrarchs-at-war.html

The Tetrarchy - History of Rome

 With enemies on every side it was proving that there were just not enough emperors to go round. The Tetrarchy was Diocletian's solution to the problem.  By having two senior and two junior emperors, every frontier got sufficient attention.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/01/123-the-tetrarchy.html

Jupiter and Hercules - History of Rome

Diocletian instigated a new style of emperor, much more based on an appeal to the Gods than to a connection to the old Roman republic. He also appointed a co-emperor in the form of his old friend Maximian.  Diocletian was sponsored by Jupiter and Maximian by Hercules.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/01/122-jupiter-and-hercules.html

Phase 3 Complete - History of Rome

You sense that Mike breathes a sigh of relief as the crisis of the third century is finally over with the accession of the emperor Carus.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2011/01/121-phase-three-complete.html

Interregnum - History of Rome

Following the death of Aurelian, Probus did a very good job of keeping the empire back on track.  Sources from this period are a bit confused but Mike does a great job of making as much sense of them as it is possible to make.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2010/12/120-interregnum.html

Restitutor Orbis - History of Rome

Aurelian was in many ways the most remarkable emperor of them all.  He took over when the empire wasn't just on the point of collapse, but had actually split into three.  It was far from obvious that it would ever be reunited, and was in severe danger of actually being overrun by barbarians.  That Aurelian succeeded in getting the show back on the road is little short of miraculous.

A good solid podcast gives a great insight into this able soldier.

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2010/12/119-restitutor-orbis.html

History of Rome - The Palmyrene Wars

Have you ever heard of the Palmyrene empire?  It was a short lived entity that came to prominence during the disruption to the empire at the end of the third century.  It was led by a woman called Zenobia. As always Mike Duncan does a great job of bring the story to life.  Palmyria briefly shone as a major power but was soon to fall and never be heard from again. 

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2010/12/118-the-palmyrene-wars.html