Emperors Of Rome

With enemies to confront in every direction, Valerian heads back to the east where Shapur and the Parthians are once again threatening the borders of the Roman empire. While Valerian anticipates a victory, what is to come is the greatest defeat of a Roman emperor. Episode III of 'Valerian'. Guest: Associate Professor Caillan Davenport (Head of the Centre for Classical Studies at the Australian National University).

Religious persecution wasn’t a new thing for Rome, but under the rule of Valerian they intensified. Christians were now the specified target, but the executions and confiscation of property did little to help the stability of the empire. Episode II of 'Valerian'. Guest: Associate Professor Caillan Davenport (Head of the Centre for Classical Studies at the Australian National University).

When Valerian became emperor in 253CE Rome was fighting on all fronts. With Shapur and the Syrians taking territory in the east, and Germanic tribes to the west and the north, the empire was going to get messy for Valerian and his newly established dynasty. Episode I of 'Valerian'. Guest: Associate Professor Caillan Davenport (Head of the Centre for Classical Studies at the Australian National University).

Brian Blessed is a treasured British actor who for our purposes will fondly be remembered for his iconic role as Emperor Augustus in the 1976 BBC television series I, Claudius. Brian dominated the screen with his performance and we were very lucky to get the chance to speak to him. Now funding on Kickstarter: Agricola (the podcast miniseries). Guests: Brian Blessed Dr Rhiannon Evans (Associate Professor in Classics and Ancient History at La Trobe University).

On the night of 18 July, 64 CE, a fire broke out in the Circus Maximus at Rome. It raged for nine days, destroying or damaging ten of the city’s fourteen regions. Was the fire just a terrible accident? Or was it deliberately lit, either by dissident Christians or by the emperor Nero, who allegedly sang while Rome burned? Recorded on 12th April 2022, in front of a live audience at the Australian National University. Now funding on Kickstarter: Agricola (the podcast miniseries). Guest: Associate Professor Caillan Davenport (Head of the Centre for Classical Studies at the Australian National University).

Every year Rome held an election in which two senators were chosen for the role of consul. Being elected consul was a great honour, and the position was hotly contested, and a successful campaign depended upon the candidate’s military achievements, rhetorical skills and their willingness to be corrupt. Now funding on Kickstarter: Agricola (the podcast miniseries). Guest: Dr Rhiannon Evans (Associate Professor in Classics and Ancient History at La Trobe University).

More than two years have passed since the death of Caesar, and we now find our story at the final battle of the Liberator’s war. Octavian and Mark Antony lead their forces west to confront Cassius and Brutus, who have amassed quite the army in the meantime. Part VI of 'The Liberator's War' Guest: Assistant Professor Steele Brand (History, The King’s College, New York City).

Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus have secured their alliance against Caesar's assassins, and since they have control of Rome, it's time for them to get rid of any competition. Proscribing an enemy means they will likely be executed, and their personal fortunes can be confiscated and put towards paying soldiers - and the second triumvirate make full use of this. Part V of 'The Liberator's War' Guest: Assistant Professor Zachary Herz (Legal Historian, Department of Classics, University of Colorado Boulder).

After his victory in at Mutina, Octavian desired honours that the senate declined to award him. This led him to re-evaluate who his enemy truly was, and make an alliance with the recently defeated Mark Antony. Part IV of 'The Liberator's War' Guest: Dr Rhiannon Evans (Associate Professor in Classics and Ancient History at La Trobe University).

As Antony heads north he finds the city of Mutina defended by Decimus Brutus. Antony lays siege, but he doesn't count on a young Octavian leading the army to confront him. Part III of 'The Liberator's War' Guest: Dr Rhiannon Evans (Associate Professor in Classics and Ancient History at La Trobe University).

As the power struggle in Rome continued and generals waged their war on the battlefield, Cicero took to the floors of the senate, confronting Antony with the greatest weapon in his arsenal: the spoken word. He called his speeches the Philippics, and they were influential in turning the senate against Antony. Part II of 'The Liberator's War' Guest: Dr Kathryn Tempest (Reader in Classics and Ancient History, University of Roehampton).

Caesar’s death created a power vacuum in the city of Rome. While Antony struggled against the senate to make a deal and assert his dominance, Octavian’s imminent arrival presented a rival he couldn’t anticipate. Part I of 'The Liberator's War' Guest: Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Senior Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at La Trobe University).

Crucifixion was a Roman practise or torture and execution that proved a popular punishment for slaves and enemies of Rome When crucified an individual was nailed to a cross or a piece of wood and left in the elements to asphyxiate. Obvious content warning! Guest: Dr Gillian Shepherd (Director, Trendall Centre, La Trobe University)

The Roman fort functioned as a base of operations for the army, a defensive and functional structure that could protect both the frontier of the Roman Empire and the supply lines. Guest: Dr Adrian Goldsworthy (historian and author, whose most recent work of fiction is titled 'The Fort').

For the seventh time, listeners provide questions and Rhiannon and Matt answer! In this episode: - What happened to the original sources - Did the Romans have dogs, and how did they use them? - What types of jobs did the Romans have that don’t exist today? - Did far-flung provinces retain their own languages? - What kind of libraries did the Romans have? - Did Emperors support the arts? - Have we rethought Domitian? Guest: Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Head of School of Languages and Linguistics, La Trobe University)

Romans had the reality of witches, those who made the brews and prepared the curses, but also the witches of fiction. In their poems and stories, a witch took on a horrific persona, one that skews much more closely to the modern idea of a witch. Guest: Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Head of Department of Languages and Linguistics, La Trobe University)

A witch occupied a strange niche in the Roman world. Distrusted but respected, persecuted but employed by the most elite, a witch in Rome existed on the sidelines and spoken of in hushed terms, and to many of the powerful, a weapon that could be employed. Guest: Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Head of Department of Languages and Linguistics, La Trobe University)

When Apuleius married his friend’s mother, little did he realise that it would lead to a charge of sorcery, with a raft of seemingly innocent actions from buying a mirror to writing bad poetry bought up in front of the courts to prove his wicked intentions. Unfortunately for his accusers, Apuleius was a skilled orator, educated in the art of philosophy and highly skilled at slandering his enemies. Guest: Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Head of Department of Languages and Linguistics, La Trobe University)

When Pedanius Secunus was murdered by his slave the law was precise - every slave in his household, every man, woman and child, would be crucified as punishment. The law that allowed this was the Senatus Consultum Silanianum, It existed to ease the minds of the wealthy slave owners of Rome, allowing them to live in power amongst slaves who knew that their actions would mean that all are punished. Guest: Assistant Professor Zachary Herz (Legal Historian, Department of Classics, University of Colorado Boulder)

In 60CE Rome came close to losing the province of Britannia in an uprising led by the warrior queen Boudicca, who united the tribes in the area, destroyed several Roman settlements and defeated part of a Roman legion. She has become an icon of British resistance, highlighting the difficulty Rome had in controlling the distant provinces. Part III of ‘Enemies of Rome’ Guest: Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Head of Department of Languages and Linguistics, La Trobe University) When in Rome series 6 is now crowdfunding on kickstarter.