The Roman Empire Podcast Episodes

Reasons For The Fall Of Rome - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 38 Part 3

History Books Review - March 28, 2015 14:50 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Towards the end of volume 3 of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Gibbon speculates about the reasons for its fall.  And so do I

Reign and Conversion of Clovis - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 38 Part 1

History Books Review - March 05, 2015 17:00 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The last remnants of Roman authority are swept away by the Visigoths and the Franks, while Clovis the Frankish ruler establishes the basis for the kingdom of France.

Conversion of the Barbarians - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 37 Part 3

History Books Review - February 26, 2015 17:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The fall of the empire, perhaps paradoxically led to greater religious uniformity than had ever been achieved before or since.  Paganism was eliminated.  Heresy was repressed. Before long, the only people left to persecute were the Jews.

Simeon Styllites - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 37 Part 2

History Books Review - February 19, 2015 17:00 - 12 seconds ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Simeon Styllites was a major celebrity in the fifth century, gathering attention from the public and the court alike.  What does Gibbon make of him? I find out in a reading from the book.

Monks - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 37 Part 1

History Books Review - February 12, 2015 17:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
One of the effects of the growth of Christianity into a mass religion was the development of monasticism.  The early monks were rather different to later ones, but even so their fanaticism was evident early on and meets with Gibbon's most extreme disapproval.

Extinction of the Western Empire - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 36 Part 3

History Books Review - February 05, 2015 17:00 - 18 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The collapse of the Western Empire took around 80 years from the invasions at the beginning of the fifth century to the deposition of the last emperor in 476.  It was a grim tale of failure and disaster, which got steadily worse as things went along.  In this episode we track the last events in ...

Last Emperors of the West - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 36 Part 2

History Books Review - January 29, 2015 17:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  Even after the sack of Rome by the Vandals, there was still some fight left in the western empire.  A series of emperors tried to turn the tide back in favour of the Romans.  They largely failed, and are largely forgotten by all but historians who specialise in the period. But it is instructi...

The Vandals Sack Rome - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 36 Part 1

History Books Review - January 22, 2015 22:39 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Rome had been saved from Attila by luck. Genseric's Vandal kingdom in Africa should have been easy to deal with.  In fact, it was the Vandals that did most to destroy the empire in the west.

Attila Invades and Evacuates Italy - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 35 Part 3

History Books Review - January 15, 2015 17:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Attila is surrounded and trapped by the Romans, but escapes or rather is allowed to escape.  He soon regroups and resumes his persecution of the Western Empire by an invasion of Italy.  

Invasion of Gaul by Attila - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 35 Part 2

History Books Review - January 08, 2015 05:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The invasion of Gaul by the forces of Attila the Hun is one of the great turning points in history, and although he was repulsed really marks the last major event in the history of the western half of the Roman Empire.  This was the last time the Romans would defeat barbarians in a large set pie...

Attila and Aetius - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 35 Part 1

History Books Review - January 01, 2015 05:00 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Faced with the arrogance of Attila, the court at Constantinople found some courage to face down the demands he continued to place on them.  But this didn't alter his overwhelming military advantage.  They might have found their backbone but still lost their empire had Attila not chosen to start ...

A Visit to Attila - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 34 Part 3

History Books Review - December 25, 2014 17:00 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  The Romans having failed to beat the Huns on the field, resort to dirty tricks.It didn't work out well for them, but it did give us a superb account of what life was like in the camp of Attila.

The Huns Invade the Balkans - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 34 Part 2

History Books Review - December 18, 2014 05:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The Huns swept into the Eastern empire and crushed the Romans, driving them back to their capital.

Attila the Hun -Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 34 Part 1

History Books Review - December 11, 2014 05:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The Huns were formidable fighters whose skill and numbers meant they were always a potential threat to the empire.  But it took leadership for that threat to manifest itself, and that leadership was provided by the famous Attila.

Genseric - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 33 Part 2

History Books Review - December 04, 2014 05:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Genseric was one of the German barbarians who did the most to wreck the Roman Empire.  Interestingly, he was very far from having the biggest bunch of barbarians to call on.  In many ways his career was one of the most unlikely of the age.   But it was deadly to the future of Rome in the West.

Death of Honorius - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 33 Part 1

History Books Review - November 27, 2014 05:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The death of the hapless Honorius finally allowed some people with genuine talent to reach the top rungs of Roman government.  Normally this would have been a good thing, but their internal disputes created even more problems for an empire whose position was rapidly deteriorating.

Theodosius II – Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 32 Part 4

History Books Review - November 20, 2014 05:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Theodosius II was a hands off emperor leaving the running of the empire to officials and his sister.  This was pretty much down to his lack of ability and ambition, but it was also the case that the imperial system made it hard for a monarch to make a mark.

St. John Chrysostom – Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 32 Part 3

History Books Review - November 13, 2014 05:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
St John Chrysostom has become an iconic figure in Eastern Christianity, and is very respected in the west as well.  His undoubted talents and his perhaps more doubtful sincerity have given his reputation an easy ride, but he had rather more trouble while he was still alive.

Revolt of Gainas – Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 32 Part 2

History Books Review - November 06, 2014 17:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  Germans were good soldiers and many had risen to very high rank in the Roman army.  This posed a risk, a big one.  The career of Alaric in the west showed just how risky.  But Constantinople came close to having its own Alaric in the form of Gainas, an ambitious Gothic general.

Eutropius – Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 32 Part 1

History Books Review - October 30, 2014 04:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  Gibbon is not keen on the Byzantine Empire, although some people have exaggerated how much he disliked it.  But it was certainly a very different kind of empire to the one from which it developed.  Europe was to draw its heritage mainly from the West, and despite its longevity the theocratic ...

The Death of Constantine III – Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 31 Part 6

History Books Review - October 16, 2014 16:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  After the disastrous invasion of Gaul by the barbarians in 405 the Roman Empire hung on in the North largely thanks to the activity of Constantine III.  His position was precarious but he survived by quick wits and deft diplomacy.  How long he could have kept this up is hard to tell.  As it w...

Gaul And Spain Fall To The Barbarians – Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 31 Part 5

History Books Review - October 09, 2014 04:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  Alaric had been joined in his invasion of Italy by his cousin Adolphus.  It was he who took over leadership of the Goths.  He was not interested in Alaric's African adventure and quickly concluded a peace treaty with the Romans and set off to Gaul to found a kingdom.

The Death of Alaric – Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 31 Part 4

History Books Review - October 02, 2014 04:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  The death of Alaric prevented him from turning his short term success into something more enduring, but even so he had a remarkable effect on the empire.

9-20-14 - Peter Mortlock - Christianity's Influence On The Roman Empire

Heart Of The City Church - September 25, 2014 19:25 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 18 ratings
9-20-14 - Peter Mortlock - Christianity's Influence On The Roman Empire by Heart Of The City Church

The Sack of Rome - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 31 Part 3

History Books Review - September 25, 2014 16:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  The Gothic chieftain Alaric returned to Italy where he undertook three sieges of Rome and his final one led to the sack of the city.

Manners of the Roman People - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 31 Part 2

History Books Review - September 18, 2014 04:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  The elite Romans of the late empire were a privileged group whose wealth was astonishing.  Meanwhile the masses lived off of handouts.  None of them knew what was about to hit them.  

Honorius - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 31 Part 1

History Books Review - September 11, 2014 04:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  Feeble minded Honorius who was most happy feeding his chickens had been under the protection of Stilicho, and was married to his daughter.  But he came to hate him and had him killed, just when the empire needed his skills most. On his own his advisors led him to one misjudgement after anothe...

Constantine III - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 30 Part 3

History Books Review - September 07, 2014 20:58 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Neglected by the rest of the empire and cut off from it by barbarians, the few remaining troops in Britain select a leader with an impressive name and set about conquering the western empire. By now, there is not much left to conquer.  

Wrestling is Real 08.17.14: WWE SummerSlam 2014; Brock Lesnar New World Champ; Rise of the Roman Empire Begins

Wrestling Is Real Wrestling Podcast - August 18, 2014 05:20 - 1 hour ★★★★ - 8 ratings
WWE SummerSlam 2014 Recap; Brock Lesnar is New World Champ. How does this finally change the face of the main event picture. The Rise of the Roman Empire Begins as Romain Reigns makes quick work of Randy Orton. AJ and The Miz drop their belts quickly to Paige and Dolph Ziggler respectively. If yo...

The Roman Empire's New Place in the World - Classics Alumni Day 15th March 2014

Faculty of Classics - June 09, 2014 11:47 - 32 minutes - Video
Prof Nicholas Purcell delivers his lecture "The Roman Empire's New Place in the World" as part of the Alumni day - "Classics from Helen to the Hijaz"