116- Here Come the Illyrians

Aurelian became Emperor in 270 and immediatly faced an invasion of Italy by the Juthungi. After succesfully driving the Germans off, Aurelian turned his attention to building a new wall circuit around Rome to protect the capital in the future. 

In 272 Aurelian finally managed to bring the east back under Roman control by defeating Queen Zenobia of Palmyra. 

Following the bloody assassination of the twenty-eight year old Emperor Caligula, Rome found herself without a leader. Who then should fill the enormous power vacuum left by the death of an emperor? Should Rome return to a Republic? Then, one overlooked candidate - a scion of the ...  Show more

Rome is racked by ‘Imperial Crisis’ while strong Germanic tribes gather along the Rhine and Danube. The Alamanni, Franks, Vandals and Goths rise to power and provide us with many words in modern English. The Goths translate the Bible into … Continue reading → 

In May 540, Belisarius captured Ravenna from the Goths and took prisoner the Gothic king Wittigis. But before he could destroy the Gothic kingdom completely, he was recalled to Constantinople to face the invading Persians. In the next few years, a new Gothic king - Totila - would ...  Show more

Theodore Laskaris II beds down his father's conquests in Europe. But his early death sees his family sidelined by Michael Palaiologos. The new Emperor needs some victories to legitimise his seizure of power and the fates reward him beyond all expectations. Hosted on Acast. See ac ...  Show more