How an Empire Ends: Gothic Christianity

⁠⁠⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When Augustus rolled into town after defeating Marc Antony and Cleopatra, he was greeted as a hero—because the Senate ordered its people to stand outside the gates and cheer. The reality was, there was fear on both si ...  Show more

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! When we look at the demise of Roman democracy, we think of the time of Augustus—and maybe Caesar before him. But in reality, the seeds of the republic’s destruction were planted at the time of its birth. It’s probab ...  Show more

Like many ancient civilizations, the Romans had a vast pantheon of gods. Unlike other civilizations, the Romans were very flexible in where their gods came from. In particular, they adopted many of their gods from the Greek pantheon. It wasn’t just a matter of copying them. They ...  Show more

For most of its history, Rome barely bothered with the Greek east. Then, quite suddenly, Rome exploded onto the scene, laying low the two most powerful Hellenistic warrior-kings of the past century. Within ten years, Rome became the undisputed hegemonic power of the Mediterran ...

At the beginning of the 4th century BC, Rome was still not the dominant force in Latium, the small region surrounding the city; by the end of that century, Rome was the dominant power in all of Italy. How did that happen? The answer lies not so much in conquest as cooperation. ...

Also called Flagellum Dei, or the “scourge of God,” Attila was known to Romans for his brutality and a penchant for sacking and pillaging Roman cities. He's considered one of the greatest “barbarian” rulers in history, having successfully expanded the rule of the Huns and maintai ...  Show more