logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2021
1h 1m

Cicero’s Fight for the Roman Republic

History Hit
About this episode
Caesar Octavian, Mark Antony, Decimus Brutus and Cicero: the Battle of Mutina, April 43 BC, was a clash of giants. It also became the beginning of the end for one of Ancient Rome’s greatest orators, Cicero. For this episode, Steele Brand came back to take Tristan through the battle, and to explain how this event featured in Cicero's fall and represents the renowned orator's last great gamble. Steele is Assistant Professor of History at The King’s College in New York City. He has written about the Battle of Mutina in his book, ‘Killing for the Republic: Citizen-Soldiers and the Roman Way of War’.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Jan 18
The First Arabians
What can ancient DNA tell us about the first homo sapiens to arrive in Arabia over 50,000 years ago? Tristan Hughes is joined by Prof. Pierre Zalloua to delve into the groundbreaking advances in ancient DNA research that illuminate the complex journeys of these early human popula ... Show More
50m 58s
Jan 15
How to Survive on Hadrian’s Wall
Step into the daily lives of those stationed along Hadrian's Wall, from Roman soldiers to civilians. Tristan Hughes and Dr. Francis Macintosh are your guides to explore the routines, duties, and unique cultural identities that developed in this northern frontier of the Roman Empi ... Show More
1h 10m
Jan 11
Medea: Maligned Sorceress or Heartless Murderer?
She helped Jason win the Golden Fleece, betrayed her own family, and became one of the most feared figures in Greek myth. Medea’s name has echoed through the ancient world for over two millennia, a byword for passion and revenge but was she really a villain?In this episode of The ... Show More
52m 36s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2018
Cicero
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas developed by Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43BC) to support and reinvigorate the Roman Republic when, as it transpired, it was in its final years, threatened by civil wars, the rule of Julius Caesar and the triumvirates that followed. As Con ... Show More
49m 16s
Mar 2020
The Real Assassination of Caesar
The Ides of March, 44 BC. Ancient Rome’s most powerful dictator, Julius Caesar, is running late to a senate meeting. When he arrives, senators surround him and stab him 23 times. The assassination of Caesar has been told and re-told for centuries, but the facts are wilder than th ... Show More
19m 47s
Jun 2023
Caesar: Death of a Dictator Trailer
On the Ides of March, 44 BC, the most famous Roman in history was murdered. Julius Caesar’s killers hoped to save the Republic, but in the end they destroyed it. In the six episodes of Caesar: Death of a Dictator, Rob Attar is joined by a group of expert historians to revisit the ... Show More
3m 53s
Oct 2014
Julius Caesar
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life, work and reputation of Julius Caesar. Famously assassinated as he entered the Roman senate on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Caesar was an inspirational general who conquered much of Europe. He was a ruthless and canny politician who becam ... Show More
46m 30s
Oct 2014
Julius Caesar
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life, work and reputation of Julius Caesar. Famously assassinated as he entered the Roman senate on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Caesar was an inspirational general who conquered much of Europe. He was a ruthless and canny politician who becam ... Show More
46m 30s
Jul 2022
The Games to Win Ancient Rome
July 13, 44 BCE. Julius Caesar is dead, stabbed by a trusted friend. With Rome shaken, the Senate meets to decide next steps. They're confronting the brutal power struggle already breaking out among three men: Brutus, the deadly friend; Marc Antony, Caesar's gifted military comma ... Show More
29m 47s
Apr 2022
Episode CLXXXVII - The Battle of Philippi
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 Libera ... Show More
48m 12s
Nov 2022
Crassus: Rome’s richest man
Author Peter Stothard explores the eventful life of Marcus Licinius Crassus, an enormously wealthy politician and general, who rivalled Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great in late Republican Rome. In conversation with Rob Attar, Peter explores Crassus’s rise to wealth and influenc ... Show More
40m 9s
Jan 2022
134. Crossing the Rubicon: The rise of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar crossed the banks of the Rubicon river with his legion on this day (maybe) over 2000 years ago. In the first of a two-parter, Tom explains how Caesar rose to become powerful enough to take the decision that would eventually lead to him becoming the sole 'dictator' o ... Show More
39m 32s