042- Meanwhile, Back in Rome

In 49 BC Caesar led a single legion across the Rubicon River, sparking a civil war that would lead to the death of the Roman Republic. 

Following a setback at Dyrrachium, Caesar decisively won the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. After defeating Pompey, Caesar sailed for Alexandria, where settled a civil war by placing Cleopatra on the throne. 

Caesar took the overland route back from Egypt back to Rome and along the way pacified what little resistance he came across. After a brief stay in Italy he sailed for North Africa where he defeated the regrouped Republican army. Having emerged from the Civil War triumphant he re ... Show More

<p>In this episode, we look at the collapse of the Roman Republic, and the man whose brilliance and whose greed for power, caused a crisis in the Roman world. This was Julius Caesar, the most famous Roman of all.</p><p>For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website <a href ... Show More

The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind.<br><br>Today we are speaking with Tom Holland ... Show More

Las aptitudes militares de Espartaco y su carisma personal convirtieron una limitada revuelta de gladiadores en la mayor rebelión de esclavos que conoció la antigua Roma; apenas tenían armas, pero eran fuertes y sabían combatir, y bajo su mando, los insurrectos batieron a seis ge ... Show More

En la antigua Roma, las burlas y los chistes formaban parte del día a día de los ciudadanos, y no perdonaban a nadie. Los soldados eran especialmente dados a las pullas, incluso en momentos de gran solemnidad como los desfiles triunfales de los generales victoriosos en Roma. 

“Every man is the architect of his own destiny” Long before Rome reigned over the Mediterranean, there was Carthage: the supreme predator of Antiquity. But how did Rome rise to become one of the most ruthless powers of all time, united in cold, disciplined violence? And what was ... Show More

<p>For centuries, the Roman Empire commanded unparalleled control over the world around it. It expanded its borders through trade and conquest, sucking resources from the periphery into its thriving centre - Rome. And then, suddenly, everything changed. The Empire entered a state ... Show More

In 476, the last of the Roman emperors in the West was deposed; in 1776, historian Edward Gibbon wrote “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, and Rome’s fate became a major point of comparison for all empires. In Gibbon's view, instead of inquiring why the Rom ... Show More

En la antigua Roma las burlas y chistes formaban parte del día a día de los ciudadanos, y no perdonaban a nadie. Los soldados eran especialmente dados a las pullas, incluso en momentos de gran solemnidad como los desfiles triunfales de los generales victoriosos en Roma. 

En el 54 a.C., Julio César ordenó erigir en Roma un foro que superara en magnificencia a todo lo visto hasta entonces en la Urbe.