Crassus: Rome’s richest man

Long before the modern debates over gun control, Renaissance Italy was grappling with many of the same questions. As firearms became smaller and easier to conceal, guns spread rapidly through society: moving from battlefields to appearances at court, and the streets of the Italia ...  Show more

How did the sign of the Red Vampire help British surgeons during the Second World War? Roderick Bailey, author of 'The Life Savers', explains to David Musgrove how Britain led the way in blood banks during the war, and how such prowess saved lives, strengthened the war effort, an ...  Show more

Often overshadowed by his more successful peers (anyone heard of Julius Caesar?), Crassus' rise and fall from power is that of legend. A Roman General, Statesman, and once called the 'Richest Man In Rome', Crassus' power and influence is undisputed. But how did Crassus come to ...

The Romans built an empire that reshaped the world through brutal wars, brilliant strategy, and even the power of the pen. From the blood-soaked battlefields to the marble halls of Rome, a few towering figures stand out: Pompey, Scipio, Augustus, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius... but ...

After Sulla's death two men emerged as the vanguard of Rome's new political generation: Marcus Crassus who would become Rome's richest man and Pompey the Great, who would become Rome's greatest general. In a few years these two men would join forces with Julius Caesar to form the ...  Show more

Julius Caesar is one of history’s most famous figures. But before his legendary conquests and romance with Cleopatra, how did he rise to power?

In this episode of The Ancients, host Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Catherine Steel to explore Caesar’s ea ...