How an Empire Ends: Gothic Christianity

⁠⁠⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! Hundreds of years before European contact, the biggest city in North America was located along the Mississippi River. At its peak, perhaps 15,000 people lived there—and over 30,000 in the surrounding suburbs. Today, w ...  Show more

⁠⁠Help keep our podcast going by contributing to our Patreon! We're on hiatus until April 9. Until then, please enjoy our entire Boudicca series, all in one place. The story of Boudicca’s revolt is as epic as you can get. It’s got murder and pillage, Romans behaving badly, cities ...  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