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 these dramatic events and reveal how the assassination helped turn Rome into an emp ... Show More
Yesterday
The Fifth Crusade: triumph, disaster and the battle for Egypt
In 1217, crusaders launched an ambitious campaign to conquer Egypt, believing it held the key to reclaiming Jerusalem and securing the Holy Land. Historian and author Thomas Smith tells Emily Briffett why the crusaders targeted Egypt, charts the dramatic naval assault that preced ... Show More
45m 9s
Aug 1
Is the Odyssey myth or memory?
The Odyssey is a tale of impossible monsters, angsty gods and the unquiet dead – but does that mean it holds no truth? In this third episode of HistoryExtra's four-part series, Kev Lochun and classicist Daisy Dunn turn archaeologist, tracing the real Bronze Age world of feasting ... Show More
43m 38s
Jul 30
Renaissance Italy's firearm revolution
Long before the modern debates over gun control, Renaissance Italy was grappling with many of the same questions. As firearms became smaller and easier to conceal, guns spread rapidly through society: moving from battlefields to appearances at court, and the streets of the Italia ... Show More
40m 21s
Dec 2023
The Assassination of Julius Caesar
<p>March 15th 44BC is perhaps the most notorious date in all of ancient history. On that fateful day, the Ides of March, 55-year-old Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of disaffected senators.</p><br><p>In this episode, Tristan (with a little help from ... Show More
50m 23s
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
18m 47s
Feb 2023
304: The Murder of Julius Caesar
“He was trapped - he couldn’t get up. There was blood everywhere. The faces were coming closer, the knives rose and fell. And then, to his relief, he saw Brutus.”
One of the most iconic deaths in history, Caesar’s assassination is the brutal climax to an impressive series of vi ... Show More
57m 44s
Mar 2022
The Legacy of Julius Caesar's Assassination
<p>The legacies of the Ides of March stretch from that very afternoon on March 14th 44BC to the modern day. From Roman times to the Medieval period, from Dante to Shakespeare, and from Brutus to the other infamous assassin he inspired in John Wilkes Booth, the echoes of Julius Ca ... Show More
55m 26s