Episode 67: Breaking the camel’s back

It’s difficult to overstate the impact al Mutawakkil’s usurpation had on the political reality of the caliphate. Not only did it completely hijack control of the state, but it also had decisive implications for the nature and locus of official authority. We’ll kick off our journe ...  Show more

Al Muntasir’s sudden passing took the caliphate into uncharted political territory. It had only been six months since the plot against his father had succeeded, and he was still much too young for succession planning. The Turks tried to capitalize on this disaster: in an attempt ...  Show more

At this point in time, General Douglas MacArthur was still leading U.S. forces against the Japanese empire. He was successful in his advances and was able to establish territory several miles long on a beachhead. 

Hubris, an excessive pride in oneself, is a common trait among history's greatest figures. In the decades that followed the death of Alexander the Great, the Diadochi "successors" fought each other for control of the vast empire their leader had built. In the end, the ...

The Emperor Anastasius deals with more riots along with an invasion in the West by the Bulgars and the East by the Persians. He then begins to give in to his monophysite sympathies and is almost toppled after allowing his Patriarch to interfere with the O Hosted on Acast. See aca ...  Show more

The assassination of Julius Caesar left an enormous power vacuum in Rome, thrusting his successors into an epic, intercontinental battle for control of the empire that reshaped the future of the modern world.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy N ...  Show more