Was the Holy Roman Empire, Holy, Roman, or an...

In 46 BC, after 12 years away, Julius Caesar finally returned home to Rome. A lot had changed since he was last there. The entire Roman system had been upended, and he was now the man on top. To celebrate his homecoming, he did something that had never been done before or since. ...  Show more

For thousands of years, humans have gathered to watch horses run. What began as tests of speed and endurance on ancient plains evolved into chariot races before roaring crowds, royal competitions in medieval courts, and eventually a global sport worth billions. Along the way, it ...  Show more

Voltaire famously wrote that the "The Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.” But Dr. Eleanor Janega believes that literally everything about Voltaire’s statement is wrong - in the medieval context.

In this explainer episo ...

Rome has attracted aspiring conquerors and leaders for millennia, not just as a great metropolis, but as an idea. It has long been a symbol of military might and universal power, defined by political and religious authority as well as great feats of engineering that would leav ...

16 January 27 BC is a date sometimes associated with the beginning of the Roman Empire. It was on that day that Octavian received the name Augustus, effectively becoming the first emperor of Rome. Augustus ordered the gates of Janus to be closed, marking an end to the period o ...

The Persian Empire followed in the footsteps of the Assyrians and Babylonians, but it was a much different entity than its predecessors, and its founder - Cyrus the Great - deserves to be mentioned among history's most accomplished conquerors. Professor Matt Waters joins me to ...